The leader of Shi’ite group Hezbollah has appealed for calm after people blocked roads in Beirut to protest the kidnapping of 11 Lebanese Shi’ites.

Syrian President Bashar Assad’s opponents appear to be resorting to assassinations of loyalist military officers in an escalation of their campaign.

Syrian troops have shelled rebel-held neighbourhoods in Homs, a day after the UN General Assembly condemned human rights violations by the regime.

Syria has rejected the Arab League’s plan to end the country’s conflict, saying the call for a unity government is a violation of Syria’s sovereignty.

Syrian troops fought intense battles with hundreds of fellow soldiers who have turned their weapons against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Tens of thousands of Syrian protesters have shouted for President Bashar al-Assad’s death in a dramatic escalation of their rage and frustration.

Syrian troops backed by helicopters and tanks regained control on Sunday of a town where police and soldiers joined forces with the protesters.

Syrian security forces arrested hundreds of activists and anti-government protesters in house-to-house raids across the country on Monday.

The discovery of gas reserves under the eastern Mediterranean could mean a huge windfall for Israel and Lebanon, if it doesn’t spark a new war.