The Arab American News
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Protesters and police clash in Bahrain
MANAMA — Anti-government demonstrators clashed with police who fired tear gas and birdshot in Bahrain on Thursday, April 3, following a funeral procession in a village south of the capital Manama, witnesses said.The violence in the village of al-Eker outside the capital Manama came ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix, an annual event...Attack on Yemen army HQ kills six soldiers
ADEN — Ten suspected Islamist militants and six soldiers died during a suicide bombing and assault on the main military headquarters in Aden on Wednesday, April 2, Yemen's Defense Ministry said.The attack bore the hallmarks of previous assaults on military installations by al-Qaeda, including one on the Defense Ministry compound in...Saudi Arabia charges three over Twitter remarks
RIYADH — Three Saudi men have been charged over comments they made on Twitter, Saudi newspaper al-Eqtisadiah reported Tuesday, quoting sources from the censorship and investigation committee.The three have been accused of sedition, incitement and breaching obedience to the king, according to the newspaper.The men were the first to be...Kuwait parliamentary panel rejects GCC security pact
KUWAIT CITY — The Kuwaiti parliamentary committee for foreign relations rejected Thursday, April 3, a security pact ratified by other Gulf nations, with MPs saying the government-backed treaty is unconstitutional.Leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) approved the pact at a summit in December 2012 after it was signed...The Fort Hood shooting should be analyzed within the larger context of U.S. militarism
On April 2, U.S. Army Specialist and Iraq war veteran Ivan Lopez opened fire at Fort Hood military base in Texas, killing four people - including himself - and injuring 16.According to Fort Hood commander General Mark A Milley, Lopez had "behavioral and mental health issues". He was under evaluation for post-traumatic stress disorder...CIA misled public on interrogation program
McLean, Virginia — The Central Intelligence Agency misled the U.S. government and public for years about aspects of its brutal interrogation program, concealing details about harsh treatment of detainees and other issues, according to a report in the Washington Post.U.S. officials who have seen a Senate Intelligence Committee report on...UMD student government approves divestment resolution
DEARBORN - Last week, while divestment talks stalled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor after the school's student government voted against a long debated proposal, the movement gained major momentum at the University's Dearborn campus.On March 28, UMD's student government approved a divestment resolution in an overwhelming 17-5...Dearborn to reinforce parking ordinance on public service day
DEARBORN — Public Service Days begin again in Dearborn on the week of Monday, April 7. Residents are reminded that no parking is allowed on residential streets 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Public Service Days, which are the same day as a neighborhood’s trash day. Tickets will be issued to cars parked on the street during a...Immigration proposal draws praise, caution among minority communities
Michigan Gov. Rick Synder’s proposal to jump start Detroit’s economy by bringing 50,000 immigrants to the city on work visas over the next five years was met with praise and caution by ethnic and minority publishers. They welcomed a more diverse Detroit, but stressed city services and safety must improve and immigrants must not face...Severstal’s $8M should be used to benefit South End residents
Of all the pressing issues Dearborn residents are concerned about, the renovation of a new city hall certainly isn't one.The drastic decline in housing values since the 2008 recession considerably affected the city's greatest source of income. As property values went down, major cuts were made to public safety, and the number of...Homage to #UMDivest
After the Central Student Government at the University of Michigan voted against a resolution to set up a committee to investigate international corporations that do business with the Israeli military in order to divest from them, there was a sense of both disappointment and pride among the students.UMDivest, a group of students who...State Representatives back young activist Rashid Baydoun’s bid for public office
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — State Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan’s 6th House District and State Representative David Knezek of Michigan’s 11th House District both delivered speeches in support of community activist Rashid Baydoun’s bid for public office at a fundraiser for his campaign Tuesday, Mar. 25 at Lava Java Café in...Saudi Prince Muqrin named second-in-line to succeed king
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a former intelligence chief in the conservative kingdom, has been appointed deputy crown prince, Saudi state television reported on Thursday, March 27.The appointment makes Muqrin, the youngest son of the kingdom's founder King Abdulaziz al-Saud, next in line to succeed in the...Wanted bomb maker killed by Lebanese army in shootout
BEIRUT - A suspected bomb-maker died of his wounds after he was shot by Lebanese soldiers trying to arrest him at a house in a border town near Syria, security sources said.Sami Al-Atrash was suspected by authorities of preparing car bombs and coordinating rocket attacks on Shi'a towns in retaliation for Hizbullah's role in...Sisi announces presidential bid, vows to fight “terrorism”
CAIRO - Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the general who ousted Egypt's first freely elected leader, declared his candidacy on Wednesday, March 26, for a presidential election he is expected to easily win.Sisi toppled Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood last July after mass protests against his rule and has emerged as the most influential......
Egyptian court sentences 529 Islamists to death, increased instability predicted
International human rights groups have strongly denounced Monday’s sentencing by an Egyptian court of 529 Islamists to death for a riot in which one policeman was killed.Egypt specialists here say the sentences, which are widely seen as the latest in a series of steps taken by the authorities to crush the Muslim Brotherhood, as well...The irrelevance of the Israel-Palestine talks
For the first time since the U.S. launched the Middle East peace talks last summer, the Palestinian leadership may be sensing it has a tiny bit of leverage.Barack Obama met the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Washington last week in what Palestinian officials called a “candid and difficult” meeting. The U.S. president hoped......
ABC Family Pulls Plug On ‘Alice In Arabia’ Pilot
ABC Family will not go forward with its "Alice In Arabia" pilot, a project about an American girl kidnapped by her Saudi royal family and forced to live with them.The network released a statement and said, "The current conversation surrounding our pilot was not what we had envisioned and is certainly not conducive to the creative...Jury convicts bin Laden son-in-law on terrorism charges
NEW YORK — Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, was found guilty of terrorism-related charges on Wednesday following a three-week trial that offered an unusually intimate portrait of al Qaeda's former leader in the days after the September 11, 2001 attacks.Abu Ghaith, 48, a Kuwait-born teacher, faces life in prison...CNN journalists arrested trying to sneak into World Trade Center
NEW YORK — Two CNN journalists were arrested for trying to sneak past security at the World Trade Center in New York City on Tuesday in an attempt to report on recent security lapses at the site, police said.Yon Pomrenze, 35, and Connor Fieldman Boals, 26, first tried to talk their way in through the main gate to the center in...Wanted bomb maker killed by Lebanese army in shootout
Wanted bomb maker killed by Lebanese army in shootoutBEIRUT - A suspected bomb-maker died of his wounds after he was shot by Lebanese soldiers trying to arrest him at a house in a border town near Syria, security sources said.Sami Al-Atrash was suspected by authorities of preparing car bombs and coordinating rocket attacks on Shi'a towns......
Agents protecting Obama abroad sent home for disciplinary reasons
WASHINGTON — Three members of the U.S. Secret Service detail that protects President Barack Obama were sent home from Amsterdam for disciplinary reasons, a Secret Service spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.The spokesman, Brian Leary, declined to provide further details.The agents were disciplined after going out for a night of...Qatari sentenced to death for killing British teacher
DOHA - A court sentenced on Thursday, March 27, a Qatari national to death for the murder of 24-year-old British teacher Lauren Patterson, a judicial source said.A second Qatari, Mohammed Hasan Abdulaziz, was given three years in prison for aiding the first convict, Badr Khamis Abdullah Hashim in "burning the body of Lauren Patterson and......
Five charged for smuggling 115 immigrants in “stash house”
HOUSTON — Five men suspected of being part of a human smuggling ring that held more than 100 people captive in a derelict Houston area home were charged with hostage-taking and firearms crimes at a federal court on Tuesday.Jose Aviles-Villa, Jonathan Solorzano-Tavila, Antonio Barruquet-Hildiberta, Jose Cesmas-Borja, and...Iraq electoral commission resigns en masse weeks before vote
BAGHDAD - The entire board of Iraq's electoral commission tendered its resignation on Tuesday, March 25, in protest against political interference, casting doubt on a nationwide vote scheduled for next month.The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said it had found itself caught between conflicting rulings from parliament and......