The Arab American News
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Lebanese PM calls rivals to elect president
BEIRUT — Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam called Wednesday on rivals Hezbollah and the Future Movement to facilitate the election of a new president. Speaking following a meeting with Patriarch Beshara Rai at the seat of the Maronite Church in Bkirki, Salam said he hoped that the Hezbollah-Future dialogue, which kicked off Tuesday...Suicide bomber kills 33 anti-“Islamic State” fighters
BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber attacked fighters opposed to the "Islamic State" as they gathered Wednesday to receive salaries south of Baghdad, killing at least 33 people and wounding 55 others, Iraqi police and medical officials said. "The attacker was wearing an Iraqi army uniform, and an explosive vest packed with ball bearings," a...Of $5.4 billion pledged for Gaza, only a fraction delivered
GAZA — Two months after donors pledged $5.4 billion to help rebuild Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas, Palestinian, U.N. and other officials say barely 2 percent of the money has been transferred. The conference in Cairo had been hailed as a success, with Qatar promising $1 billion, Saudi Arabia $500 million and the United...
New Zaman International center to offer multiple services to needy families
December 19th, 20140 Najah Bazzy, Zaman International president, inside the organization's new centerINKSTER — When Najah Bazzy, a transcultural nurse specialist, visited a refugee family with a terminally ill child in 1996, there was no furniture whatsoever in the house. The baby was lying in a laundry basket atop folded white towels. The...
Residents furious over FEMA rejections
December 19th, 20140 Many households in east Dearborn are claiming they were denied by FEMA, despite severe flooding in their basements.DEARBORN — Residents are left scrambling following the announcement last week that the city would not be held financially liable for the August 11 flood that impacted more than 10,000 homes. Despite the city's...Sony cancels film release date following cyber terrorist threats linked to North Korea
LOS ANGELES — Sony Pictures has canceled the release of a comedy on the fictional assassination of North Korea's leader, in what appears to be an unprecedented victory for Pyongyang and its abilities to wage cyber-warfare. Hackers who said they were incensed by the film attacked Sony Corp last month, leaking documents that...Michigan film incentive positively impacts Arab actors and minority filmmakers
"Home Again," shot in Pontiac this month, involved a diverse group of local actors and producers. DETROIT — Filmmakers have been increasingly capturing Michigan’s unique ambiance with the help of a diverse group of locals— both in front of and behind the camera— since the state approved a film incentive in 2008. Michigan’s...
Dearborn Transit Center dedicated to John Dingell during grand opening ceremony
December 19th, 20140 An old-fashioned locomotive is one of the items on display in the John H. Dingell Transit Center. Photo: Patrick KeatingDEARBORN — On Monday, Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. welcomed dozens of federal, state and local elected officials for the grand opening ceremony at Dearborn’s intermodal passenger rail station,...
State Rep. John Olumba makes racist and ignorant remarks about Chaldeans and Asians
December 19th, 20140 LANSING — While delivering his farewell speech on the house floor Thursday, Dec. 11, State Rep. John Olumba made racist and ignorant remarks about Chaldeans. “Asians and Chaldeans should have a Black misery appreciation day, selling fake hair and looseys to people just looking for fresh air and making a fortune doing...
Environmental groups urge defeat of bill defining burning tires as renewable energy
December 19th, 20140 LANSING — On Monday, environmental groups called on the Michigan Senate to defeat House Bill 5205, which redefines renewable energy to include burning hazardous waste, tires and railroad ties. The bill passed the House on Dec. 4 and was referred to the Senate Energy and Technology Committee on Dec. 9. “Michigan’s actual...
Probe into Wayne County corruption expected to end early 2015
December 19th, 20140 Ficano. DETROIT — The probe into corruption in Wayne County government is expected to come to an end early next year. Federal prosecutors are close to announcing whether Wayne County CEO Robert Ficano will be criminally charged. The corruption probe was launched in 2011 and has resulted in the convictions of four former Ficano aides...
More than $75 million in federal funding will be divided among 12 cities
December 19th, 20140 DETROIT — Twelve cities— including Detroit— will share more than $75 million in federal funding to combat blight and continue driving Michigan’s economic revitalization. The program, proposed by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), is funded under the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund...
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......