Lebanese

Everything about Byblos seems cute and simple, almost effortlessly so. The food and decor at Federal Hill's new Lebanese eatery go hand-in-hand; both are charming and down to earth, with shades of the Middle East, and neither assumes too much. It's the kind of restaurant you didn't know you needed until it opened about three months ago, amid the neighborhood's plentiful pubs and sushi spots. Named after the Lebanese city, Byblos is run by the husband-and-wife team of Sami and Hala Tabet.

The Lebanese Taverna in Harbor East has been around long enough to feel like one of the old-timers in the development. When it opened, back in 2007, the restaurant was a block or two off the beaten path. You'd have had to know to look for it. But now, Lebanese Taverna is in the middle of everything. To its back, there's the new Four Seasons Baltimore Hotel, and right across the street the first Under Armour "brand store" opened last month. And speaking of brands, the Lebanese Taverna is a successful one across two beltways.

IN ABRUPTLY resigning this week, Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karami took his lead from the streets of Beirut, not Damascus. Others should follow his example. Let's start with President Emile Lahoud, a longtime proxy for the Syrian regime. As he contemplates a successor to Mr. Karami, Mr. Lahoud should concede that the voices of his fellow Lebanese, protesting by the thousands, should count the most. Next on the list: Syrian President Bashar Assad. What's taking place in Beirut these days - citizens clamoring for the right to control their own country - can't be ignored.

Bigger isn't always better. I've never been a fan of enormous restaurant menus. So, this was good news. Lebanese Taverna, a family-owned restaurant group based in Arlington, Va., has recently unveiled a new "modernized" menu at its six full-service restaurants, including the one in Harbor East The new, streamlined one-page menu showcases Lebanese Taverna favorites and some new dishes like Shrimp Arak, Chicken Shawarma Salad, a Halloumi Sandwich Platter...

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A bombing by Shiite Muslim guerrillas killed the mayor of a town in the Israeli-controlled zone of southern Lebanon yesterday.Hours later, Israeli troops and their Lebanese militia allies shelled Shiite villages in the vicinity.Two bombs exploded yesterday morning in Tair Harfa. One went off near the house of Mayor Selim Ahmed Yousef, fatally wounding him and wounding his wife.The other bomb, near the house of a school principal, wounded members of the principal's family.

PHILADELPHIA - When this year started, no one could have imagined Syria would pull its 14,000 occupation troops and thousands of intelligence agents out of Lebanon in the foreseeable future. That withdrawal was completed Tuesday, leaving Lebanon free of Syrian soldiers for the first time in 29 years. Most Lebanese are both exultant and apprehensive. They remember that Syrian troops arrived in 1976 at the invitation of a Christian-led Lebanese government to put down a brutal civil war that didn't formally end until 1990.

TRIPOLI, Lebanon - A bomb hidden in a briefcase tore through a bus packed with Lebanese soldiers on their way to work yesterday morning, killing 15 people, including nine soldiers, and wounding more than 40 people. The bombing overshadowed news from Damascus that Syria and Lebanon would establish diplomatic relations for the first time since each country achieved independence from France in the 1940s. The announcement, at the start of a fence-mending mission by President Michel Suleiman of Lebanon, did not say when the countries would exchange ambassadors.

QASMIYA, Lebanon -- Israeli bombing has knocked out irrigation canals supplying Litani River water to more than 10,000 acres of farmland and 23 villages in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, raising accusations here that Israel is using its war on Hezbollah to lay claim to Lebanon's prime watersheds. Heavy fighting and a series of targeted strikes on open water channels and underground water diversion pipes has effectively suspended much of Lebanon's agricultural use of the Litani River along the coastal plain and in parts of the Bekaa Valley near Qaraon dam, according to water engineers who have surveyed the south.

WASHINGTON -- For someone who has watched the career of Lebanese publisher-politician Gebran Tueni, the real shock of his death in a car bombing yesterday at age 48 was that he had survived for so long. In the spring of 2000, when few Lebanese dared criticize Syria's virtual control of their country and even fewer openly campaigned against it, Mr. Tueni published a front-page editorial in his family-owned newspaper, An-Nahar, calling for Syria to end its 10-year domination of its neighbor and begin withdrawing its troops.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- U.N. peacekeeping forces withdrew from three villages in southern Lebanon yesterday and handed their positions over to the regular Lebanese army as tension grew in the area between Muslim fundamentalist guerrillas and Israeli troops.The U.N. flag was taken down as the Ghanaian battalion of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon pulled out from Maarakeh, Janata and Yanouh. Four hundred Lebanese soldiers backed by armored personnel carriers moved into the three villages and hoisted the Lebanese flag.

Apples are fall's fruit to most. But there's another forgotten fruit that's in season -- one that is, in my opinion, a better flavor to infuse into cocktails: the pomegranate. This seedy little wonder is tangier than an apple, sweeter than a cranberry - basically, the perfect taste for richer, darker autumnal drinks. Pomegranates are also associated with ancient Middle Eastern cultures, which use the harvest in a variety of salads, sauces, oils, and drinks. Lebanese Taverna in Harbor East pays homage to the fruit and their own heritage with the Beirut, a potent cocktail of traditional arak.

The Lebanese Taverna is hosting a Halloween party on Saturday night to benefit the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum. The evening includes hors d'ouevres, a costume contest, dancing and silent auction. Tickets to Edgar Allan Poe's Halloween Party are $25, or $35 at the door. The evening is sponsored by the Lebanese Taverna and Raven beer. Silent auction items are being accepted through Tuesday. Contact Susan Gordon at the restaurant for donation information. Know about another good Halloween party?

Could this be the beginning of the end of Hezbollah? For the first time since its official emergence in 1985, Lebanon's powerful Shiite "Party of God" is feeling nervous about its future as an autonomous and untouchable politico-military organization. It is not a potential war with Israel that is making Hezbollah anxious, though it is doing everything it can to prevent one from happening. Instead, what deeply worries Hezbollah is a string of events that could unfold at home following an expected indictment of the group — or at least rogue elements within it — by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)

Everything about Byblos seems cute and simple, almost effortlessly so. The food and decor at Federal Hill's new Lebanese eatery go hand-in-hand; both are charming and down to earth, with shades of the Middle East, and neither assumes too much. It's the kind of restaurant you didn't know you needed until it opened about three months ago, amid the neighborhood's plentiful pubs and sushi spots. Named after the Lebanese city, Byblos is run by the husband-and-wife team of Sami and Hala Tabet.

TRIPOLI, Lebanon - A bomb hidden in a briefcase tore through a bus packed with Lebanese soldiers on their way to work yesterday morning, killing 15 people, including nine soldiers, and wounding more than 40 people. The bombing overshadowed news from Damascus that Syria and Lebanon would establish diplomatic relations for the first time since each country achieved independence from France in the 1940s. The announcement, at the start of a fence-mending mission by President Michel Suleiman of Lebanon, did not say when the countries would exchange ambassadors.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Lebanon's political and military leaders struggled to pull the country back yesterday from a deepening civil conflict that has left at least 34 people dead in four days of violence between Iranian-backed militias and supporters of the pro-U.S. government. By yesterday evening, the government appeared to back away from the political decree that sparked the confrontation, while the Shiite militia Hezbollah gave up its control of West Beirut, which it had seized handily a day earlier in an offensive that stunned Lebanese and sent shock waves throughout the region.

JERUSALEM -- Nearly two months after the rest of its army left southern Lebanon, Israel agreed yesterday to pull its few dozen remaining soldiers from the Lebanese part of a village divided by the border, yielding control to U.N. peacekeepers. The move came as Israel's Cabinet discussed the three-day-old siege of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government by pro-Hezbollah demonstrators in Beirut. Commentators here called the troop pullout a diplomatic gesture aimed at shoring up Siniora's position, but some said it would be of little help.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- At least five civilians were killed in Beirut yesterday evening during an hours-long clash between Lebanese soldiers and young Shiite Muslim men protesting electricity cuts, security officials said. A dozen or more people were wounded in the melee when gunfire erupted as demonstrators were throwing rocks and fireworks at troops. Several residents in an adjacent Christian neighborhood were injured by a hand grenade, Lebanese television reported. The violence came two days after a car bomb killed one of the country's top intelligence officials and 12 days after another blast struck a U.S. Embassy convoy, killing three civilians.