The Arab American News
Author's Posts
U.S., Cuba restore ties after 50 years
December 19th, 20140 WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Cuba agreed on Wednesday to restore diplomatic ties that Washington severed more than 50 years ago, and President Obama called for an end to the long economic embargo against its old Cold War enemy. After 18 months of secret talks, Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro agreed in a phone call on Tuesday on a...Arab Americans take action for U.S. census recognition
WASHINGTON — Every 10 years, we ask you to stand up and be counted on the Census. And every year, we struggle with the fact that there is no category on the Census that makes sense for Arab Americans. For the first time ever, we are close to securing just that – an accurate count of our community. There is currently no category...Fighting terror with terror is futile
The 528-page Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture may come as a shock to many, but would not have surprised the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY). In 1991 and again in 1995, fed up with his dealings with this agency, he introduced a bill for its abolition. Too much secrecy that amounted to a blanket...
Questioning the wisdom behind Ashura processions
December 19th, 20140 The Arbaeen march at Ford Woods park in Dearborn.The local Shi'a have been commemorating Ashura increasingly and more visibly each year. Last weekend about 6,000 people marched from the Karbala center in Warrendale to Ford Woods Park in Dearborn to mark the Arbaeen, the 40th day after the death of Imam Hussain. Ashura is a grand...Saudi Arabia will not reduce oil output despite plunging prices
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the OPEC oil cartel, cannot reduce its output, the kingdom's oil minister said on Thursday despite plunging prices. Ali al-Nuaimi added that commodity price fluctuations are to be expected, and he expressed optimism for the future despite crude's price drop of about 50 percent since...“Islamic State”-linked group claims 2013 murders of Tunisian politicians
Slain Tunisian politician Chokri Belaid.TUNIS — Jihadists who have since joined the "Islamic State" group claimed the 2013 murders of two secular politicians that plunged Tunisia into crisis, warning of more killings just days before a presidential runoff election. "Yes, tyrants, we're the ones who killed Chokri Belaid and Mohammed...
Draft UN resolution sets deadline to end Israeli occupation
December 19th, 20140 RAMALLAH — Jordan submitted a draft resolution on ending Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands captured in 1967 to the UN Security Council for a possible vote. The resolution wants Israeli security forces withdrawn from the illegally occupied West Bank no later than the end of 2017. Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said...U.N. appeals for $8.4 billion for humanitarian relief to Syrians
A Syrian refugee girl cries at a tent at the Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, Dec. 7.NEW YORK — The United Nations launched its biggest ever humanitarian appeal for Syria on Thursday, seeking $8.4 billion after only securing about half the funding it asked for in 2014. The aid is...
Legendary newsman Bill Bonds remembered
December 19th, 20140 Bill Bonds.DETROIT — Iconic news anchorman Bill Bonds died Saturday, Dec. 13 after suffering a heart attack at his Bloomfield Hills home. He was 82. Bonds and co-anchor Diana Lewis dominated Detroit’s television market for years. “He helped mold my career,” Lewis said. “He influenced my person as a woman. He was...The U.S. carried out 97 percent of December coalition airstrikes in Syria
Moke rises after an U.S.-led air strike in the Syrian town of Kobani Oct. 10.WASHINGTON — As U.S. fighter jets pound "Islamic State" targets in Syria, Washington's coalition allies appear increasingly absent from the air war. Although President Obama's administration announced the Syrian air strikes three months ago as a joint...Iraq seeks one-year deferral on Gulf War reparations
A U.S. soldier stands night guard as oil wells burn in the distance in Kuwait, just south of the Iraqi border Feb. 26, 1991.BAGHDAD — Iraq requested a one-year deferral of a $4.6 billion reparations payment for destroying Kuwait's oil facilities during its 1990-91 occupation, a U.N. official said on Wednesday. The request comes as...Iraqi Kurds break “Islamic State” siege on Sinjar mountain
Displaced Iraqis from the northern town of Sinjar head towards the autonomous Kurdistan region on August 4.BAGHDAD — Kurdish peshmerga fighters have fought their way to Iraq's Sinjar mountain and freed hundreds of people trapped there by "Islamic State" fighters, a Kurdish leader said on Thursday. "The peshmerga have managed to reach...
City Council to revise “illegal” building permit resolutions
December 19th, 20140 Councilman Mike Sareini (second from left) sits across from Councilman Robert Abraham (third from right) after a heated debate in a briefing meeting, Dec. 16.DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council will revise two ordinances that raise building permit renewal fees from $25 to $1,000 and limit the time of construction to one...Dearborn Police Department hiring part time officer
DEARBORN — The Dearborn Police Department is looking for a qualified candidate for an open part time police officer position. The job pays $25 an hour. Part time officers are required to work 28-hours a week. Minimum requirements for the job include at least five years experience as a certified police officer and associate degree...Judge declares Obama immigration action unconstitutional
WASHINGTON — President Obama's new plan to ease the threat of deportation for 4.7 million undocumented immigrants violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal judge found on Tuesday, handing down the first legal ruling against the plan. The ruling has no immediate impact, with the government saying there was no reason for Judge Arthur......
Four die in plane crash during UAE, Egyptian military exercise
CAIRO — An aircraft crash killed two Egyptian and two Emirati servicemen Wednesday during a joint military drill, Egypt's army said. The crash occurred in Egypt, the UAE's official news agency WAM reported. The downing was caused by a technical malfunction, the Egyptian military said in a statement, without elaborating. Authorities...Kuwaiti ship, Egyptian fishing boat collision kill 18
CAIRO — Egypt ordered an investigation into an accident, on Dec. 15, in which a Kuwaiti container ship and a fishing vessel collided in the Red Sea in an incident that killed 18 Egyptians. A statement from the prosecutor's office said initial enquiries showed the fishing boat capsized after it and the Kuwaiti ship hit each other after......
Saudi cleric sparks uproar for appearing with wife on TV
Ahmed al-Ghamedi and his wife Jawaher bint Ali.DUBAI — A Saudi cleric has sparked uproar by appearing on television along with his wife -- whose face was uncovered in an open challenge to strict tradition in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom. Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamedi, who has said covering the face is not a must for women under...
Arab family sues Dearborn Heights Police for discrimination
December 18th, 20140 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — An Arab American family is suing the city of Dearborn Heights for alleged racial discrimination by the police. The lawsuit, which was announced at the office of the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) on Tuesday, says Dearborn Heights police officers failed to investigate an assault against two of the...
The ACLU-MI defends anti-Muslim protesters’ free speech
December 12th, 20140 DETROIT — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU-MI) filed an amicus brief last week urging a federal court of appeals to reverse the decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought against Wayne County by a group of anti-Muslim protesters. During the Arab International Festival in 2012, county deputies escorted...
Dearborn firefighters surprise needy family for the second time
December 12th, 20140 Salli places the star at the top of the Christmas tree as a Dearborn firefighter lifts her up.DEARBORN — "I really feel like I have a family right now," Mona El-Darnouh said while decorating the new Christmas tree Dearborn firefighters surprised her family with on Sunday. While handing El-Darnouh an ornament to put on the tree,......
Mayor O’Reilly: City is not financially liable for sewage backup in August flood
December 12th, 20140 DEARBORN — The city announced this week that it would not be held liable for flooding damages caused by the heavy rainstorm on August 11 that impacted more than 10,000 homes. In a letter sent to residents last week, the city stated that it had "completed a thorough investigation" that determined there was "no basis for...Soccer player suspected of killing referee set to face trial
Saad.LIVONIA — A Dearborn Heights man who allegedly fatally assaulted a referee during a soccer game in Livonia on June 29 is set to begin his trial in February at the Wayne County Circuit Court. Bassel Abdul-Amir Saad was charged with second degree murder following a scuffle in which he struck and killed referee John Bieniewicz,......
Civil rights groups: Religious freedom act can lead to discrimination
December 12th, 20140 LANSING — Civil rights organizations expressed strong opposition to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that passed the Michigan House of representatives last week. The bill protects sincerely held religious beliefs from interference by the state. The bill H.B. 5958, was approved in a party line vote in the...
PART TWO: Detroit residents complain of health effects from breathing in toxins
December 12th, 20140 A diagram provided by the Sierra Club that shows which companies need to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. DTE Energy is responsible for 85 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions in Wayne County according to the Sierra Club. MICHIGAN — Sulfur dioxide is harmful to human health. Short-term exposure to the toxic gas causes......