The Arab American News
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Businessman Mikati secures votes to be designated Lebanon’s PM
July 26th, 20210 BEIRUT — Wealthy Lebanese businessman Najib Mikati secured enough votes in parliamentary consultations on Monday to be designated the next prime minister. Mikati, who has been prime minister twice before and unlike many Lebanese leaders does not hail from a political bloc or dynasty, received 72 votes out of a total of 118 members...
Lebanon: The accusations against Major General Abbas Ibrahim are malicious and politically motivated
July 25th, 20210 By Osama Siblani / Publisher One of the most unfortunate aspects of Lebanon’s continuing crisis is the way criminal investigations into major violent acts are handled. This has been the case since Lebanon was founded last century. Most of these investigations either did not occur at all, were done unprofessionally or were derailed by...
Masked haj pilgrims on Mount Arafat pray for COVID-free world
July 22nd, 20210 MT. ARAFAT — Thousands of face-masked Muslims gathered on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat on Monday, praying for an end to the pandemic and faster vaccination as the annual haj pilgrimage reached its climax. Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, has barred worshippers from abroad for a second year running and...
Attainable housing critical to growing economic opportunity
July 20th, 20211 — The following article was contributed by Michele Wildman, senior vice president at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). When it comes to economic development, topics around jobs and private investment often dominate the conversation – and there is no doubt they are a crucial driver of growth and talent...
Reports: Israeli firm’s spyware used to target journalists’ and activists’ cell phones
July 19th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Israeli company's spyware was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists around the world, according to an investigation by 17 media organizations published on Sunday. One of the organizations, The Washington Post, said the...
Lebanon spins further into crisis as Hariri abandons bid to form government
July 15th, 20210 BEIRUT — Lebanese politician Saad al-Hariri abandoned his months-long effort to form a new government on Thursday, dimming the chances of a cabinet being agreed on any time soon that could start rescuing the country from financial meltdown. Hariri announced his decision after meeting with President Michel Aoun, saying it was clear...
EU to adopt sanctions regime for Lebanon leaders, France says
July 12th, 20210 PARIS — On Monday, the European Union agreed to adopt a sanctions regime for Lebanese leaders by the end of July, France said, in an effort to force a stable government to emerge from nearly a year of political chaos following the Beirut blast. "There was a moment ago a political consensus to put in place a legal sanctions framework...
First person: Dearborn’s devastating flood exposes mistrust, deep divides
July 9th, 20210 Bilal Baydoun is a Michigan-based policy advisor and writer. He previously served as a lead policy and communications advisor in the Michigan Department of Attorney General. Ali Abazeed is a public health advisor with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services based in Washington D.C. The authors were born and raised in East...
Pfizer to ask FDA to authorize booster dose of vaccine as Delta variant spreads
July 8th, 20210 The drugmaker Pfizer said on Thursday it will ask the U.S. government for the approval of a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine within the next month, as fears among experts grow around the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. The request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is based on evidence of greater risk...
Saudi minister says he held “great meeting” with Blinken
July 8th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman said he held "a great meeting" on Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in which they explored strengthening U.S.-Saudi ties and reviewed regional developments. Prince Khalid, the brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto...
Lebanon is “days away” from social explosion, PM Diab warns
July 6th, 20210 BEIRUT — Lebanon is a few days away from a social explosion, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab warned on Tuesday, calling on the international community to save a country in deep economic crisis. The World Bank has called Lebanon's crisis one of the worst depressions of modern history. The currency has lost more than 90 percent...
Dearborn government answers questions about sewer system and flooding
July 3rd, 20210 DEARBORN — The city government released a Q & A memo regarding the recent flooding and the sewage backup through its public information department. The answers below were up-to-date as of June 28. What is believed to have caused the significant flooding that occurred June 26? The storm that led to severe flooding on June 26...
Farewell to Donald Rumsfeld, dreary war criminal
July 2nd, 20210 At 2:40 p.m. on September 11, 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld issued orders to one of his underlings. Among Rumsfeld’s thoughts: Best info fast. Good enough judge whether good enough hit SH @ same time not only UBL And: Near term target needs – – go massive – sweep it all up – Things related &...
Booster may be needed for J&J shot as Delta variant spreads, some experts already taking them
June 28th, 20210 Infectious disease experts are weighing the need for booster shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech, or Moderna mRNA-based vaccines for Americans who received Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccine due to the increasing prevalence of the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant. A few say they have already done so themselves, even without...
U.S. suspects 4,000 cases of fraud in Iraqi refugee program
June 25th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. authorities pursuing a sweeping fraud investigation suspect some 4,000 Iraqis of filing fraudulent applications for resettlement in the U.S. as refugees, and they are re-examining cases involving more than 104,000 others, according to State Department reports reviewed by Reuters. More than 500 Iraqis already......
U.S. envoy: Aid programs for Yemen under threat without increased funding
June 24th, 20210 YEMEN — On Thursday, the U.S. called on the international community, especially regional countries, to fulfill their pledges to increase funding for humanitarian assistance to Yemen and warned that aid programs could otherwise be forced to close. U.S. Special Envoy to Yemen Timothy Lenderking told a webinar sponsored by the...
Iran accuses U.S. of meddling for criticising election
June 22nd, 20210 TEHRAN — Iran accused the U.S. on Tuesday of interference for saying its election was neither free nor fair as political factions traded blame for the record low turnout and high number of invalid ballots. Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline judge who is under U.S. sanctions, secured victory as expected on Saturday in an election marked by......
First patient set to receive controversial Biogen Alzheimer’s drug
June 16th, 20210 On Wednesday, a U.S. hospital will give the first infusion of an expensive, controversial new Alzheimer’s drug from Biogen Inc. before Medicare had even said what it will pay for — and with some doctors upset by its approval last week. The first administration of the drug, Aduhelm, outside of a clinical trial is scheduled to take...
Netanyahu faces end of rule in parliamentary vote on new government
June 8th, 20210 ISRAEL — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces an end to his long hold on power in Israel on Sunday when the country's legislature votes on approving an improbable government of diverse parties that came together to unseat him. "It's happening!" opposition leader Yair Lapid of the centrist Yesh Atid party wrote on Twitter on...
Detroit commemorates 54 Years since Al-Naksa
June 5th, 20210 DEARBORN - Organizers and community members will gather this Saturday, June 5th, at Ford Woods Park in Dearborn, to commemorate the 54th anniversary of Al-Naksa (or "the setback") marking 54 years since the second major land loss and mass expulsion of Palestinian people from their homeland. The event will include a march and a...
A tribute to Francis Allen, an Arab American veteran and a decorated Detroit Police deputy chief
May 31st, 20210 Francis Cyril Allen, born a Detroiter in 1929 to Sadie (Maklouf) of Trablos and Minum Allen of Zahle; a CYO football champion and (in his mind at least) sandlot hall of fame third baseman; a Korean War Veteran; for 59 years, the faithful husband to the only woman he ever loved (the girl next-door and his eighth grade crush); the father......
Ethical Danish pension fund considers excluding Israel over human rights
May 29th, 20210 A Danish pension fund, which prides itself on being the world's strictest on human rights violations, says it is considering adding Israel to a long list of countries it excludes following this month's conflict with Palestinians. The $22 billion Akademiker looks after the pensions of Denmark's teachers and university lecturers and has...
Syria’s Assad wins fourth term with 95 percent of the vote, in election the West calls fraudulent
May 28th, 20210 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office with 95.1 percent of the votes, in an election that will extend his rule over a country ruined by war, but which opponents and the West say was marked by fraud. Assad's government says the election on Wednesday shows Syria is functioning normally despite the decade-old......
One in two Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
May 26th, 20210 Nearly one out of two Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday, while half the citizens above the age of 18 in the country have been fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency said 164,378,258 people, or 49.5 percent of the total U.S....
Abdul El-Sayed: American taxpayers are subsidizing Gaza’s destruction
May 21st, 20211 — This essay, penned by Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, originally appeared in his newsletter The Incision on Thursday under the title "Gaza." It has been edited for style. In 2004, a couple childhood friends and I decided, like many 20-somethings, to spend the summer abroad. We headed to the Middle East, land of our forefathers. Our goals were......
