Anne Frank's diary has been censored out of a school textbook in Lebanon following a campaign by Hizbullah claiming the classic work promotes Zionism.The row erupted after Hizbullah learned excerpts of "The Diary of Anne Frank" were included in the textbook used by a private English-language school in western Beirut. Hizbullah's Al-Manar television channel ran a report slamming the book for focusing on the persecution of Jews.

The road safety awareness group KunHadi celebrated its third anniversary with a dinner and address from Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud, who told the group that road accidents in Lebanon last year had claimed 10 times as many fatalities as criminal acts.Baroud told his audience in Achrafieh on Thursday night that the 2008 statistics revealed around 800 fatalities from accidents, compared to 83 people who had been killed by crime.

A former Internal Security Forces (ISF) adjutant was questioned on Thursday by the Permanent Military Court about his alleged collaboration with Israel and involvement in an attempted bomb attack. Mahmoud Rafeh was questioned about his role in placing a bomb under the Naameh Bridge, south of Beirut, in a bid to assassinate an official from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The Internal Security Forces (ISF) is calling on people to retrieve stolen goods found in the possession of a suspect arrested in Jdeideh. The suspect was arrested earlier in the week for buying goods with forged checks. The suspect admitted to stealing 12 portable computers by impersonating military officers, a statement said.

The Internal Security Forces (ISF) detained a suspected car hijacker in a high-drama sting in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday. Hussein Mahmoud Arbid informed the ISF on Thursday that his parked car had been stolen in Mreijeh and that he had received a call from the perpetrators demanding a ransom of $7,000.

It's only the first day of business, but by 2 p.m. Friday, the restaurant is packed full of diners who compete for elbow room as they eagerly ladle out helpings of some of Lebanon's finest dishes.While many an office worker across Beirut chows down on a pizza or hamburger, those who are eating with such gusto at Tawlet Souk el-Tayeb savor dishes created closer to hom.