TheRepublic.com - Beirut News

Rights groups: Syria holds thousands incommunicado

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:46:44 -0400

BEIRUT - About 30 security agents showed up just after midnight, breaking down the door to an apartment in the town of Daraya near the Syrian capital of Damascus. They grabbed a 24-year-old university student and drove off.

Syria ex-minister leads rebuilding plan

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:20:37 -0400

BEIRUT - A six-member U.N. team led by a former Syrian planning minister is drawing up a comprehensive postwar reconstruction plan even as the country's civil war rages on with no apparent end in sight.

Politics commandeer stage in Mideast TV contest

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:33:04 -0400

BEIRUT - TV singing contests around the world tend to serve up light, glitzy entertainment with a dash of emotional drama. But in the Middle East's version of "American Idol," it's the region's troubles that often take center stage.

A look at reasons for Israeli airstrikes in Syria

Sun, 05 May 2013 15:22:41 -0400

BEIRUT - A look at the reasons for and possible implications of the escalation of Israel's involvement in Syria's civil war.

Syrian air defenses pose formidable challenge

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:10:44 -0400

BEIRUT - International military action against Syria's government over its alleged use of chemical weapons would run up against one of the Middle East's most formidable air defenses, a system bolstered in recent years by top-of-the-line Russian hardware.

Syrian prime minister escapes bombing in Damascus

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:10:45 -0400

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria's prime minister narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in the heart of the heavily defended capital Monday, state media said, laying bare the vulnerability of President Bashar Assad's regime.