At a Beirut restaurant, a sandwich can kill you


BEIRUT: At Buns and Guns, you can order a Kalashnikov sandwich from a bullet-shaped menu, prepared by chefs in military fatigues with the roar of explosions as background music.


This new fast food restaurant in Beirut's southern suburbs, where the Hezbollah movement holds sway, was the brainchild of co-owner Ali Hammoud. He said the war theme was a novel concept that had nothing to do with Lebanon's bloody recent history.

“It's just an idea I had, nothing more, nothing less. I could have put toys in place of the sandbags and teddy bears instead of guns. But it was just an idea,” said Hammoud.

“You could say that the situation in the country made people pay attention,” said Hammoud, sitting outside his restaurant, which has become popular with teenagers. Guns, bullets and pictures of other weapons decorate the interior. The slogan “A sandwich can kill you”, with a picture of a gun superimposed on a burger, is displayed outside. Sandbags surround the outdoor seating area complete the war motif. The menu features sandwiches and burgers with names such as Terrorist meal and RPG, as well as Kalashnikov.

“The first time I came here, I thought it was a weapons shop. When I looked at the names of the dishes, I still thought so. I only realised it was a restaurant when I went inside,” said 15-year-old Hussein al-Hajj Ali


Diamond earrings found in NY garbage dump

NEW York: Diamonds in the rough? Try a USD 20,000 pair of diamond earrings in a reeking truckload of trash.


A Staten Island jeweller has gotten her 3-carat diamond earrings back after she, her husband and city sanitation employees sorted through a smelly heap of garbage. The studs were in a small jar of cleaning solution, which a worker at the couple's jewelry store had accidentally thrown away.


The earrings were recovered on Thursday at the former Fresh Kills landfill, where trash is compacted and shipped out of state.


Owner Haya Sharon calls the find "a miracle" The earrings were an anniversary gift from her husband.


Sanitation Department spokesman Keith Mellis says engagement rings and other precious possessions have been plucked from piles of city garbage in the past.


US motorists mad for free gas

NEW YORK: Some US motorists sick of getting clobbered at the pump seem willing to do just about anything for free fuel, from giving up the right to name their children to stealing from day-care centers to donating blood.

In Orlando, Florida, David Partin pledged to name his son after local radio hosts to win a $100 gas card as part of a contest.

Partin will collect the card in December, when his son is born, if he can produce a birth certificate proving the baby is named Dixon Willoughby Partin, after the hosts. "(His wife said) this is his problem to explain when the child is older," Greg Stevens, WHTQ-FM programme director said.

At the Shady Lady Ranch brothel in Beatty, Nevada, clients who spend $300 or more this month will receive $50 gas vouchers as part of a promotion to beat the summer slump in business.

"It's rocking along. We're doing quite well. June and July historically are not big months," said James Davis, who co-owns the ranch with his wife, Bobbi.

The first $1,000 in gas cards were given out within a week, he added.

In Mesquite, Texas, thieves drained $100 worth of gasoline from buses used by the Higher Ground Church day-care center and have hit four or five other church center fleets in the area.

"It was someone who was desperate," said James Green, the church's pastor. "All he had to do was come and ask us and we would have bought him a tank of gas."

The American Red Cross, meanwhile, is running a summer raffle where blood donors are eligible to win a year's supply of fuel.

At St. Ann's Parish in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the Rev. Edward McDonagh has decided to institute a drawing for a $50 gasoline card at weekly mass.

The drawings are symbolic gestures and not intended to boost attendance, he said.

"When Jesus was at the wedding feast of Cana, the groom ran out of wine, he produced the wine for them," he said. "In that spirit, we feel that this might be comparable."

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