The Arab American News
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Funds for governor’s race near $17 million
February 9th, 20180 LANSING — The amount of money raised for the soon-to-be open governor's seat is nearly $17 million, according to reports. These figures are more than double amount last time the seat was available in 2010. The numbers represent both the eight Republican and four Democratic candidates for the August primary. "In general, each race...
Gov. Snyder appoints Publisher Osama Siblani to the State Officers Compensation Commission
February 9th, 20181 LANSING — On Thursday, Feb. 8, Gov. Snyder announced the appointment of The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani to the State Officers Compensation Commission. Snyder named Siblani, of West Bloomfield, along with Phyllis Browne of DeWitt, Gerald Hildenbrand of Plainwell and Dan DeGrow of Burtchville. The SOCC is a seven-person...
Air strikes kill 31, including children, in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta
February 7th, 20180 BEIRUT — Air strikes killed 31 civilians including 12 children in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region near Syria’s capital Damascus on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It said Syrian government air strikes and artillery hit the towns of Douma, Beit Sawa and Hammouriyeh in the insurgent-controlled...
Trump wants military parade in Washington
February 7th, 20180 WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump has ordered Pentagon and White House officials to begin planning a military parade in Washington similar to the Bastille Day parade he witnessed in Paris in July, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. At a meeting at the Pentagon on Jan. 18 that included Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint...
‘Losing opportunities’, Lebanon campaigns for more women in parliament
February 7th, 20180 BEIRUT — In a country where women occupy only three percent of the parliament seats, Lebanon’s first women’s affairs minister - a man - is supporting a campaign to attract more female politicians. The government’s decision to appoint him as women’s minister in 2016 attracted some criticism. But Jean Oghassabian said the...
Rashida Tlaib seeks Conyers’ seat, would be first Muslim woman in Congress
February 6th, 20180 DETROIT — Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat, has officially thrown her hat in the race for Michigan's 13th congressional district. The seat was left open by longstanding U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit), who retired in December amid sexual harassment allegations. "Serving in the U.S. Congress is about much more than voting on bills,"...
Yemen’s Islah party suspends membership of Nobel laureate Karman
February 6th, 20180 DUBAI — Yemeni Nobel Prize winner Tawakkol Karman was suspended from a party allied with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after she accused the Saudi-led coalition that backs him in the country’s civil war of acting as occupiers. Karman won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her role in Arab Spring protests that ousted authoritarian...
New SpaceX jumbo rocket set for debut test launch in company milestone
February 6th, 20180 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A new SpaceX jumbo rocket in line to become the world’s most powerful launch vehicle in operation was set for its highly anticipated debut test flight on Tuesday from Florida, carrying a Tesla Roadster as a mock payload. Liftoff of the 23-story-tall Falcon Heavy was slated for as early as 1:30 p.m. EST at...
Cash or custody: Israel kicks off deportation of African migrants
February 5th, 20180 JERUSALEM — Israel has started handing out notices to 20,000 male African migrants giving them two months to leave the country or risk being thrown in jail. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is offering the migrants, most of whom are from Sudan and Eritrea, $3,500 and a plane ticket to what it says is a safe...
Syrian rebels down Russian plane, kill pilot
February 3rd, 20180 DAMASCUS/MOSCOW - Syrian rebels shot down a Russian warplane on Saturday and killed its pilot on the ground after he ejected from the plane, Russia’s defense ministry and Syrian rebels said. The SU-25 came down in an area of northern Idlib province that has seen heavy air strikes and fighting on the ground between Syria’s...
Lebanon, Israel clash over offshore energy, raising tensions
February 2nd, 20180 BEIRUT — President Michel Aoun said on Thursday that Lebanon was using diplomatic means to counter Israel's stance regarding an offshore energy block in disputed territory on their maritime border. On Wednesday Israel described as "very provocative" Lebanon's first offshore oil and gas exploration tender and said it would be a...
Protests erupt in response to Bassil’s slur against Berri, Aoun urges forgiveness and stability
February 2nd, 20180 BEIRUT — On Tuesday, President Michel Aoun called for forgiveness and stability in Lebanon after a political row involving his son-in-law triggered street protests and deepened a rift with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil called Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri a "thug" in a closed meeting. Berri...
Lebanon will not force Syrian refugees to return
February 2nd, 20180 BEIRUT — Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Thursday that Lebanon would not force refugees to return to Syria but called for more international help in dealing with the refugee crisis. More than a million Syrians fled into neighboring Lebanon after war broke out in their country in 2011 and now account for about a...
Palestinian President Abbas to address U.N. Security Council amid U.S. tensions
February 2nd, 20180 UNITED NATIONS — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 20 during the body's monthly meeting on the Middle East amid tensions over the United States decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Since President Trump broke from decades of United States policy with his Dec....
Syrian opposition will work with Sochi proposal under U.N. guidance
February 2nd, 20180 ISTANBUL — Syria's opposition will cooperate with proposals made at a Russia-hosted conference this week to rewrite the country's constitution as long as the process remains under U.N. auspices, the chief opposition negotiator said on Thursday. Participants at Tuesday's meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in Russia - which is a......
‘Whitewashing’ genocide in Myanmar
February 2nd, 20180 By Ramzy Baroud Although the genocide of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar has gathered greater media attention in recent months, there is no indication that the international community is prepared to act in any meaningful way, thus leaving hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees stranded in border camps between Myanmar and...
Pence’s Middle East
February 2nd, 20180 The real danger of seeing the world through a narrow ideological lens is that while the lens may be your own, the world being viewed through it is not yours to control. By Dr. James J. Zogby Vice President Pence's recent foray into Middle East politics has been nothing short of a disaster. Because he sees the world through the lens......
The danger facing Lebanon is bigger than Bassil’s loose tongue
February 2nd, 20180 In the last decisive moments, Lebanon avoided the edge of a cliff and perhaps saved fragile peaceful coexistence among its people, which for the past few days has been hovering over that fine edge. A telephone call from President Michel Aoun to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was enough to defuse a potential civil war that would have...
Gallup: Uninsured Americans rises most in near decade
February 2nd, 20180 WASHINGTON — The number of Americans without healthcare insurance rose by 3.2 million people between 2016 and 2017, or 1.3 percentage points to 12.2 percent, according to a Gallup poll released on Tuesday, the biggest jump in the uninsured rate in nearly a decade. Several factors likely contributed to the jump, Gallup said,...
Pollution and southwest Detroit
February 2nd, 20180 By Omar Abdel-Baqui The Latino Press "These particles and chemicals can penetrate our body and enter our bloodstream and wreak havoc on health. We have only recently realized the serious damage PM2.5 can cause." - Guy Williams, president & CEO of Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice Residents of southwest Detroit...
Arab Americans undeterred despite failure to get MENA category on 2020 Census
February 2nd, 20180 "Accurate Census information ensures equal opportunity access to public resources, particularly for historically marginalized groups." -ADC DEARBORN — A promising decade-long endeavor by America's most targeted communities to gain political and social leverage hit a roadblock after the U.S. Census Bureau rejected the addition of a......
Wayne County Treasurer offers free mobile app to pay delinquent tax bills
February 2nd, 20180 DETROIT — Wayne County Treasurer Eric R. Sabree has introduced a new mobile app that allows people to pay their delinquent tax bills or payment plan installments via a free mobile app that accepts credit cards or checks. "We are very pleased to offer a mobile app that will give Wayne County taxpayers even greater convenience in...
This is why Arabs are questioning Hollywood Oscar nominations, boycotting ‘The Post’
February 2nd, 20180 Not so subtle agenda – Hollywood, Washington and Israel sprung from the same DNA. By Farah Harb Hollywood and Washington have been two faces on the same coin for the past century, where political messages have often been imported through Hollywood's media content. As renowned scholar Jack Shaheen has pointed out through......
U.S. State Department designates Hamas leader as “terrorist”
January 31st, 20180 WASHINGTON - The State Department said on Wednesday it had designated Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Hamas Movement, as a "terrorist". The State Department said in a statement that Haniyeh, along with two active groups in Egypt and one in the Palestinian territories, were listed as specially designated "global terrorists". It...
DHS extends TPS for current Syrian holders, but refuse to re-designate Syria
January 31st, 20180 WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took a decision to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 7,000 Syrian beneficiaries residing in the U.S. Today’s decision only allows current TPS holders to renew their status and remain temporarily in the U.S. However, DHS refuse to......
