LEBANON ? Were you born in Lebanon between 1936 and 1952, back when the current city library building housed the hospital? Did you work there or go in for surgery?

Paris Hilton at a news conference in Lebanon; Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Sarah Silverman in Vegas, and more celebrities.

Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah slammed on Friday regional and international interference in Lebanon's domestic affairs. "We hear of slogans calling for freedom and democracy, yet regional and international powers interfere in Lebanese domestic affairs and make decisions on our behalf," Fadlallah said.

US socialite Paris Hilton arrives at the Grand Hills Hotel in Brummana, east of Beirut , yesterday. Hilton, who has taken her TV reality show and a hunt for a new best friend to Dubai , arrived from the Gulf emirate to host a party in the Lebanese capital.

Lebanon's fiscal performance report through the end of May showed a decline in the deficit as a percentage of revenue to 29.14 percent compared to 33.56 percent during the same period in 2008. The decrease in the deficit comes on the back of a solid 173 percent year-on-year increase in fuel-tax revenue in May.

If by naming Beirut as the 2009 World Book Capital the United Nations wishes to encourage the Lebanese to study more, its latest report should be a must-read. Lebanon's fourth National Human Development Report (NHDR), "Towards a Citizen's State," highlights a worrying discrepancy in adult reading rates between urban and rural regions.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevalier announced on Friday that Foreign Minister Kouchner will hold talks with Lebanese officials on July 9 to convey France's satisfaction with the manner in which Lebanon's June 7 parliamentary polls were managed. The situation in Lebanon will also be the focus of talks between.

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syria's leader sent a July 4 message full of praise to President Barack Obama on Friday and invited him to visit Syria ? the latest signs Damascus is hedging its bets in Mideast politics, warming up to its rival the United States at a time when its longtime ally Iran is in turmoil.

Investigators were still on the scene at midafternoon of a two-vehicle crash that closed Route 72 just north of Lickdale in Lebanon County. State police said the 1:05 p.m. accident involved a motorcycle and a sport-utility vehicle and occurred near the Interstate 81 overpass.

Syria's leader praised President Barack Obama's outreach for dialogue and invited him to visit Damascus in remarks released Friday just days after the United States said it plans to return its ambassador to Syria after a four year absence.

Reporting from Cairo and Beirut - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can in one instant appear the diplomatic equivalent of damaged goods and in the next a confident leader whose bellicose speeches leave the West wondering how to deal with him and his perplexing nation now that he's won a much-disputed reelection.

Gad Elmaleh, "the funniest man in France," will not be tickling audiences this month at the Beiteddine Festival. Last Saturday, the French stand-up comedian and actor, of Jewish-Moroccan descent, announced he had cancelled his performances in Lebanon because of security concerns.

Lebanon High graduate Neal Cotts, a left-handed reliever with the Chicago Cubs, underwent Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery Thursday and will miss the rest of the season, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein stayed in Baghdad until he saw "the city was about to fall." Months later, he was caught hiding at the same farm where he had fled in 1959 after taking part in an attempt to kill the country's prime minister.

A t-shirt showing Victoria Beckham in the nude caused Raffi Nernekian, a Lebanese national, to be jailed in Dubai.

The Internal Security Forces (ISF) arrested late on Wednesday and early Thursday two members of a gang who ambushed and robbed, one day earlier a group of six students from the American University of Beirut. The six students, who were abducted Wednesday by a group of gunmen in the mountainous region of Aqoura.

Lebanon is once again experiencing severe electricity rationing this summer as thousands of Lebanese and Arab visitors flock to the country, increasing strain on power stations that meet less than 60 percent of the country's electricity needs. Many areas in the country are already receiving less than 14 hours of electricity each day.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 2 (UPI) -- The hashish trade in southern Lebanon has been largely tolerated by authorities, but traffickers and growers alike say they are embracing reform.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry and the Lebanese Shiite armed group Hezbollah both criticized Thursday UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's 10th report on the implementation of UN resolution 1701, local Elnashra website reported. "The report did not consider the Israeli spying networks as a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty," but only said that the alleged networks "could threaten the delicate ...

The Lickdale Road bridge over Oil Run in Swatara Township, Lebanon County, will close July 6 for replacement, PennDOT announced. Motorists will be detoured using Route 72 and Route 22, as well as portions of Lickdale Road. The project should be completed by the middle of September, PennDOT said.

LEBANON TWP. ? Dimitri Devieux, 33, of Scotch Plains, was arrested on Sunday, June 21, and charged with eluding a police officer and drunk driving following a high-speed chase on Route 78, police said.

BEIRUT - The Lebanese army said on Thursday it has arrested 21 people over a street battle in west Beirut at the weekend that left a woman bystander dead.

Lebanon: Airline investment in IT is set to reach a new low this year as aircraft operators cope with unprecedented financial losses, according to the 2009 Airline IT Trends Survey co-sponsored by SITA and Airline Business, which was launched today at the annual SITA Air Transport IT Summit in Cannes. [AMEInfo.com]

Chase Cochran didn?t want his future to wait any longer. So the Lebanon High School senior-to-be ended his recruiting process Wednesday, July 1, choosing to become an Ohio Bobcat. . . .

BEIRUT (AFP)--The Lebanese army said Thursday it has arrested 21 people over a street battle in mainly Muslim west Beirut at the weekend that left a woman bystander dead.

Lebanon: Fitch Ratings has affirmed Lebanon-based Bank Audi S.A.L.'s (Bank Audi) ratings at Long-term Issuer Default (IDR) 'B-' with Stable Outlook, Short-term IDR 'B', Individual 'D' and Support '5'. [AMEInfo.com]

Lebanese authorities claim to have cracked a web of spy rings set up by Israel to infiltrate the country's south.

BEIRUT: Lebanon was ranked the 29th most failed state in the world by Foreign Policy's online annual index released last Wednesday. The placement is an 11-rank improvement from last year's ranking of 18th, but still a far cry from the country's position as 65th in the 2006 index.

Source: Reuters NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) - A Lebanese man convicted of agreeing to sell millions of dollars of weapons to leftist guerrillas in Colombia was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday. Tareq ...

Mark North, superintendent of Lebanon Schools since 2006, annnounced today that he is taking the job of superintendent of the Beavercreek schools near Dayton.

Hundreds of fires tore through Lebanon Tuesday and Wednesday, despite warnings to citizens that fire-starting is an imprisonable offense. Environment Minister Dr Tony Karam praised Civil Defense Force efforts in tackling more than 305 fire-related incidents, including 88 rescue and relief operations.

If you could send a message to Beirut, what would it say? Some people are doing just that in letters addressed to a city they both love and lament. "I hope you will excuse my honesty: Beside other cities of the Mediterranean, you are not the most pretty. There are other places that are better preserved, more attractive aesthetically.

Lebanon Superintendent Mark North has been tabbed as the next leader of Beavercreek schools in Greene County. Beavercreek school board president Richard Eckhardt said moving to the larger district is a ?natural progression? for North, who impressed the board and several panels of people who conducted interviews. . . .

Lebanon was ranked the 29th most failed state in the world by Foreign Policy's online annual index released last Wednesday. The placement is an 11-rank improvement from last year's ranking of 18th, but still a far cry from the country's position as 65th in the 2006 index. The index ranked 177 countries according to their potential for failure.

The appointment of billionaire businessman Saad Hariri as Lebanese prime minister last weekend was greeted not only by opulent fireworks over Beirut but also by a stock market rally.

The Lebanon Police Department, Emergency Services Chaplain Program and Midwest Police Consultants will provide a church safety and security course for area church leaders at the Cowan Civic Center Saturday, July 11.

BEIRUT, July 1 (Reuters) - Below is a table of the latest Lebanese economic statistics.

The art association in Syria gave permission to a number of Lebanese artists like Haifa Wahbe and Elissa to perform in Syria and to participate in Syrian music festivals.

Lebanon: How does a bank work? Not only did 160 students at selective Beirut schools learn about finance, they actually managed their own banks. [AMEInfo.com]

Lebanese Sunni Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said Monday that the outbreak of street violence in Beirut Sunday was an aggression against the state, local Naharnet website reported. "The riots were an act of aggression against the state and against the security in the country," Qabbani said in a statement denouncing the fighting which erupted in west Beirut Sunday ...