The Arab American News
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Israeli Navy Storms Humanitarian Flotilla
May 31st, 20100 RAMALLAH (IPS) - Israeli naval commandos killed at least nine people and wounded dozens Monday as they attacked an unarmed humanitarian and civilian flotilla - in international waters - trying to bring desperately needed aid to Gaza. The death toll was expected to rise. Israeli soldiers ride aboard a naval vessel in the...
Hariri meets Obama, presides over UN Security Council
May 30th, 20100 BEIRUT — The "clock is ticking" on Middle East peace, Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri told U.S. President Barack Obama this week in his first official visit to Washington since forming a government of national unity. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri presides over United Nations Security Council meeting in New York on Wednesday, May...Local girl sacrifices life to save sister
DETROIT — The body of Nadaa Thabet was recovered Wednesday three quarters of a mile from where she was last seen on Belle Isle in Detroit. Thabet, 16, lost her life May 22 around 6 p.m. after her body disappeared into the Detroit river. Nadaa ThabetAccording to family members, Thabet, a Yemeni American, jumped into the river in an...
Elvis Costello cancels forthcoming concerts in Israel
May 23rd, 20100 Elvis Costello has canceled two concerts he was scheduled to play in Israel in protest of its treatment of Palestinians. Elvis CostelloCostello, one of the most gifted British songwriters of his generation, was due to play on June 30 and July 1 but says his conscience dictated that he pull out of the performances.He joins a list of...
Controversy rages in NYC over planned mosque near Ground Zero
May 23rd, 20100 NEW YORK— The project to build a mosque and Islamic cultural center close to Ground Zero in New York City has raised a sense of hope in a city whose Muslim population wants to move on from the 9/11 attacks.Construction is yet to begin at the site where the mosque and Islamic center are set to be located, which is the former...
The new face of America
May 23rd, 20100 DEARBORN — Ask any of Rima Fakih's friends, co-workers, and family members about what allowed her to win Sunday's Miss USA pageant, and they will invariably all talk about her physical beauty. Rima Fakih gives a thumbs up after being crowned Miss USA during the 2010 Miss USA pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las...
Former commander: Israeli troops torture children
May 23rd, 20100 (BBC) — A former Israeli military commander has told the BBC that Palestinian youngsters are routinely ill-treated by Israeli soldiers while in custody, reports the BBC' s Katya Adler from Jerusalem and the West Bank. A Palestinian throws a stone towards Israeli troops during a protest against the construction of the controversial...Lebanese caught by surprise
BEIRUT — It was far from business as usual in the second round of Lebanon's municipal elections. An image taken from a video of a minor scuffling incident at election polls in in south Lebanon."Urgent: The Free Patriotic Movement calls on its supporters to volunteer and vote for us to make a difference. Five hours remain! Change is a...
Arab American crowned Miss USA!
May 17th, 20100 Miss Michigan Rima Fakih reacts after being crowned Miss USA during the 2010 Miss USA pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada May 16, 2010. REUTERS/Steve MarcusLAS VEGAS — Rima Fakih of Dearborn was crowned Miss USA Sunday. Miss Michigan Rima Fakih gives a thumbs up after being crowned Miss USA during...Renowned scholar Michael Suleiman dies
Renowned Arab American professor of political science and author Dr. Michael W. Suleiman died this week at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer. Professor Michael W. SuleimanSuleiman was in the process of finishing an annotated bibliography on the Arab American community and working on a book-length manuscript on...
Deadly blasts hit Sadr City
May 16th, 20100 A woman walks past a piece of a destroyed car at the site of Wednesday's bomb attack in Baghdad May 13, 2010. REUTERS/Kareem RaheemBAGHDAD — A late night car bomb that tore through a cafe in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood killing nine people appears to have detonated prematurely, also blowing up three suspected militants in the...Court rules government can’t shut down charities without a warrant
NEW YORK (IPS) — In a major decision overturning a George W. Bush-era policy that has been continued by the administration of President Barack Obama, a federal court ruled that the U.S. Treasury Department cannot freeze a charity's assets without a warrant, and must also give access to any classified evidence before effectively...
Ponzi scheme strikes Arab community
May 16th, 20100 A federal racketeering lawsuit was filed on May 6 by about 100 Iraqi Americans alleging that they have been victimized in two Ponzi schemes involving millions of dollars.The plaintiffs have not identified themselves in the case and are seeking a protective order from the judge in order to keep their identities secret for fear of...
Yemen’s sorrowful options: Revolt, migrate or die
May 15th, 20100 When the Soviets concluded their pull-out from Afghanistan in February 1989, the United States government abruptly lost interest in the country. A man walks under a poster supporting Yemen's national unity in the southern port city of Aden May 13, 2010. Yemenis will celebrate on May 22, the 20th anniversary of the reunification of South...Miss USA contestant has community backing in Vegas
LAS VEGAS — When the brights lights and cameras turn on for Sunday night's opening dance number at the 2010 Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas, 51 contestants from across the country will be on full display in front of millions of people on NBC at 7 p.m. Rima Fakih being crowned Miss Michigan in Port Huron in 2009.But what many TV viewers......
Celebrity visits Dearborn, dines at Habib’s
DEARBORN — The movie company Mandalay Productions was in Dearborn from Monday, May 3 to Wednesday, May 5 filming scenes from the movie “Salvation Boulevard” starring former James Bond title character actor Pierce Brosnan as well as Ed Harris.Brosnan stopped at Habib's Restaurant on Michigan Avenue during a break in the filming...
Blacks, Arab Americans support each other as NAACP observes 101 years of activism
May 13th, 20100 Local Arab American activist Zohair Alawie (far left), AAPAC VP Nabih Ayad, NAACP Detroit Executive Director Heaster Wheeler, The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani, NAACP Detroit President Rev. Wendell Anthony, and ADC-MI Regional Director Imad Hamad pose at the NAACP's annual dinner at Cobo......
Groups meet to address youth violence
May 13th, 20100 DETROIT — The American Bar Association Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice held a town hall meeting at the Youthville Detroit complex on Monday, May 3 with the goal of bringing together various community and government leaders to discuss ways to curb youth violence, especially from teens. Judge Dennis Archer keynoted the...Unity or annihilation — the real choice for the Palestinians (again)
With Israel seriously considering how best to destroy Hamas (and Hizbullah and possibly Iran) and bolster the stooge leadership of Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian friends have been asking me what I think the Palestinians could and should now do to improve their prospects for obtaining an acceptable amount of justice. A Palestinian...Young Lebanese demonstrate for secularism in Beirut
BEIRUT — "Sectarianism kills" and "We are for civil marriage, not civil war" read the colorful banners at a protest in the center of Beirut.Hundreds of young Lebanese gathered to march for secularism in a country that lives under a deeply divisive sectarian system.Being Lebanese in Lebanon comes second to being a Christian or a Muslim,...
Funny or not, South Park writers have rights
May 2nd, 20100 When the network Comedy Central altered an episode of South Park without consulting the writers because the previous night's show had elicited warnings from an alleged Muslim extremist group, we think they made a mistake. We also think it's time for all Muslims to recognize this: The restrictions and prohibitions in Islam are for......
Iran a threat? I mean, really?
May 2nd, 20100 With all the current hype about the "threat" from Iran, it is time to review the record - and especially the significant bits and pieces that find neither ink nor air in our Israel-friendly, Fawning Corporate Media (FCM). First, on the chance you missed it, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said publicly that Iran "doesn't directly...
Arizona is messing with the Constitution
May 2nd, 20100 Last week, the elected Republican members of the State Government of Arizona declared their support for an awful, dangerous and probably unconstitutional bill signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer that would make illegal immigration a state crime and empower local and state law enforcement to ask people (read: Latinos and dark-skinned......
Israel’s security lies in regional peace
Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu on March 22 defiantly declared to the world that: "there will be no freeze on construction in Jerusalem. Everyone knows it." An enduring occupation requires a high level of arrogance and a poker face in rationalization of injustice. The international community is well aware that Israel may have...Hookah lounge owners unify, weigh options for May 1 smoking ban
About 50 hookah café, restaurant, and bar owners gathered at Greenfield Manor in Dearborn April 26 to discuss their next course of action in relation to Michigan's May 1 smoking ban, which could have a disastrous affect on their businesses. About 50 hookah business owners attended the meeting, but many of them are still......