The Arab American News
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Private U.S. prisons for immigrants rife with abuses
AUSTIN — Private prisons holding more than 25,000 people who violated U.S. immigration laws are cutting corners to generate profits and subjecting inmates to systematic abuse, a report released on Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union said.The Criminal Alien Requirement (CAR) prisons, five of which are located in...Minimum wage support grows
During a recent talk at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson indicated his support for legislation in Congress to raise the federal minimum wage. “I will tell you we will support legislation that moves forward,” he said. Later in the talk, Thompson continued, “McDonald’s will be...
Crain’s “American Dreamers” highlights Arab immigrants’ contributions to our region
June 13th, 20140 Here’s something that immediately stood out to us in the “American Dreamers” list complied by Crain's Detroit Business: About one third of the successful immigrants on it are Arab Americans. The list features 38 immigrants, 11 of whom are Arabs. We take great pride in our community's visible presence. This is noteworthy...
Metro Detroit Iraqis pray for peace after militants seize major cities
June 13th, 20140 A family fleeing the violence in Mosul waits at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region, June 11, 2014. Sunni insurgents from an al Qaeda splinter group extended their control from the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to an area further south that includes Iraq's biggest oil refinery in a devastating show...
ADC President issues apology for handling of sexual harassment scandal
June 13th, 20140 DEARBORN — One year after a sexual harassment scandal rocked the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and impacted the local community, the newly-appointed president of the organization has issued an apology for their handling of the case.It's been over a year since State Representative Rashida Tlaib sent a public letter...Why true Palestinian unity remains elusive
What has been agreed upon in the Shati’ (Beach) refugee camp in April, which lead to the formation of a transitional government in the West Bank in June, has little to do with Palestinian unity. The latter is a much more comprehensive and indispensable notion. Without it, the Palestinian people risk losing more than a unified...Israel elects right-wing legislator as president
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Reuven Rivlin., a right-wing legislator opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state, was elected Israel's president on Tuesday, June 10, succeeding Shimon Peres in the largely ceremonial post. Rivlin, 74, is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party. He has a reputation for political...
ISIS captures Mosul and Tikrit, eyes Baghdad; Kurdish militants seize Kirkuk
June 13th, 20140 Mourners grieve near the coffin of a victim killed by a suicide bomber who blew himself up inside a tent filled with mourners in Baghdad, during a funeral in Najaf, south of Baghdad, June 12. BAGHDAD — Iraqi Kurds took control of the northern oil city of Kirkuk on Thursday, June 12, after government forces abandoned their...Syria’s Assad grants amnesty after re-election
DAMASCUS — Syrian announced a wide-ranging amnesty on Monday, June 9, less than a week after he was re-elected to another seven-year term in the midst of civil war.In a decree published by state media, Assad commuted some death sentences to life imprisonment, reduced jail terms for many offenses and canceled some others...Egypt’s Sisi tells interior minister to fight sexual harassment
CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered the interior minister to fight sexual harassment following the arrest of seven men for attacking women near Cairo's Tahrir Square during his inauguration celebrations, his office said on Tuesday, June 10.Egypt issued a new law last week which punishes sexual harassment with at...Yemenis protest over power cuts, fuel shortages
SANAA — Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Yemeni president's house in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday, June 11, to call for the fall of the government, angry at a city-wide power cut about to enter its third day and severe petrol shortages.President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has replaced five ministers in his cabinet amid...Jordan charges Iraqi journalists with terrorism
AMMAN — Jordanian military prosecutors accused a group of journalists of terrorism after closing an Amman-based television channel critical of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a judicial official said."State security court prosecutors charged the owner and 13 journalists of the Al-Abasiya satellite station with using the Internet...Leading anti-Mubarak activist sentenced to 15 years
CAIRO — An Egyptian court sentenced leading activist Alaa Abdel Fattah to 15 years in jail on Wednesday, June 11, for violating a protest law and on other charges, his lawyer said, a move that outraged human rights groups.Abdel Fattah, 33, became a symbol of the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak through his leading role in...Suicide bomber attacks Benghazi police station
BENGHAZI — A car bomb exploded at a police station in Libya's second city Benghazi late Wednesday, June 11, leaving the suicide bomber dead and five police officers injured, security officials said."A suicide attack took place Wednesday evening at the Berses post and, according to preliminary information, there are a number of victims...
Arab American News reporter discusses social integration with German journalists
June 13th, 20140 DEARBORN — Ali Harb, a reporter for The Arab American News, met with a delegation of German journalists at the newspaper’s office on Monday, June 9, to discuss social integration among immigrants. The European journalists were visiting Metro Detroit as a part of a program sponsored by the U.S. State Department, which......
Poetry corner: Nothing pleases me
As a part of its continuing effort to share a portion of the literary wealth of Arabic poetry with the English reader, The Arab American News translates a poem by the legendary Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.Nothing pleases me"Nothing pleases me,"Says the traveler on the bus-- Not the radio,Nor the morning papers, not the forts on the...Outdoor neighborhood pools to open June 14
DEARBORN — Dearborn’s outdoor pool season swings into high gear June 14 with the opening of the Lapeer, Ten Eyck and Summer-Stephens neighborhood pools. Each of the pools will offer open swimming daily from 1-6 p.m. through August 17. The city’s two community pools, Dunworth at Levagood Park and Ford Woods, have been open......
Wanted former Dearborn man killed in Syria
June 13th, 20140 DEARBORN — Faouzi Mohamad Ayoub, a former Dearborn resident on the FBI's “Most Wanted Terrorist” list, was killed in Syria this week while fighting with Hizbullah alongside Syria's government forces.Ayoub, 47, served as a senior commander with Hizbullah. The FBI was alerted of his death from a twitter account affiliated with the...Stop mosquito breeding with proper yard drainage
As you enjoy time outdoors, it’s important to remember that warmer weather means prime mosquito breeding season in outdoor areas around your home and yard.With the risk for mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus (WNV), families are being urged to take preventative steps to protect themselves, such as by using mosquito repellant and...16 Cedar Point employees arrested for disorderly conduct
SANDUSKY, OH — Sixteen workers at Cedar Point were arrested after a late night fight at an employee recreation center over the weekend while the park was shut down due to a water main break, police said on Tuesday.All 16 of the workers at the amusement park were charged with felony aggravated rioting, 15 were charged with...Reports of sex crimes up at colleges and universities
NEW YORK — Reports of forcible sex crimes at colleges and universities increased by over 50 percent to 2011 from 2001, even as on-campus crime has declined for every other category, according to a federal report released on Tuesday.The Education Department report found that 3,300 sex crimes, including rape and forced......
Hundreds more migrant children shipped to Arizona from Texas
PHOENIX — Hundreds of children who crossed the U.S. border illegally were transported to Arizona from Texas over the weekend as border agents face a surge of unauthorized Central American migrants entering the country, authorities said on Monday.Nearly 1,000 unaccompanied minors have been sent in the last week from overflowing...Lawsuit accuses Chicago Firefighters of hate crime against Muslim man
CHICAGO — An African-American Muslim man says white suburban firefighters deliberately soaked him with the hose on their fire truck — simply because of his faith and race.Omar Ali, 30, alleged in a federal lawsuit filed last week that three Tinley Park firefighters who saw him wearing a turban as he walked home past their fire......
New local civil rights group to look after prisoners
DEARBORN — A new local civil rights organization was announced on Thursday, June 5. The newly-formed American Human Rights Council (AHRC) is "a not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting, promoting and defending human rights," according to a statement by the group.Imam Mohammad Mardini will serve as the Interim AHRC President....Pension board agrees to urge ‘yes’ vote on Detroit bankruptcy plan
DETROIT — The board of one of Detroit's two pension funds agreed on Wednesday to urge its members to vote in favor of the city's plan to adjust $18 billion of debt and exit the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.Detroit's General Retirement System (GRS) said it will mail a letter early next week to current workers, retirees......
