Iraqi militia launches mortar attack on Saudi border
RIYADH - Six mortar bombs landed near a border post in northern Saudi Arabia in an attack claimed by an Iraqi Shi'a militia, which said on Thursday, Nov. 21, that it was warning the kingdom to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs.The mortar rounds hit desert on the far northwestern fringes of the kingdom's oil-producing region on Wednesday,...Car bomb kills 25 in northeast Iraq
BAGHDAD - A car bomb exploded in a busy market in northeastern Iraq on Thursday, Nov. 25, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 30, according to medics.Iraq is suffering its worst wave of violence in at least five years, with insurgents targeting mainly Shi'a Muslim civilians in attacks on public places such as shopping areas...Egyptian army chief Sisi won’t rule out presidential bid
CAIRO - Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi, held open the possibility he might run for the presidency in an interview published on Thursday, Nov. 21.Sisi, 59, deposed the Islamist Morsi in July following mass protests against his rule. He has since emerged as a popular...
Reuters survey exposes lack of women’s rights in the Arab world
November 15th, 20130 CAIRO — Egypt is the worst country for women in the Arab world, closely followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen, according to gender experts surveyed in a Thomson Reuters Foundation poll released on Tuesday.Comoros, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar came top of the survey, which assessed 22 Arab states on violence against women,...Syria: Militants capitulate in Damascus countryside
Damascus – The city of Damascus is no longer in danger. This is the conclusion come to by military sources directly involved in the battles in the governorates of Damascus and the Damascus countryside since July 2012.Since then, the opposition militants announced more than one raid against the capital, but their plans have all...Nasrallah: Hizbullah will stay in Syria as long as needed
Hizbullah will keep fighting in Syria's civil war alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces as long as necessary, the group's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday, Nov. 14.Hizbullah has helped turn the tide in Assad's favor this year, leading the recapture of the town of Qusair and fighting alongside his forces south of...Fuel shortage causes sewage swamps in Gaza
GAZA CITY — Children waded through sewage submerging the streets of a central Gaza neighborhood on Thursday, Nov 14, a day after one of the blockaded Palestinian enclave's largest waste water treatment plants stopped for lack of fuel.Fetid muck, which bubbles up from manholes and overflows from the idle plant when waste goes...Israel’s nuclear ambiguity prodded
OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM — As Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and nuclear talks on Iran’s disputed nuclear program continue, a unique international conference, “A Middle East without Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs),” was held in Jerusalem.The topic is taboo because Israel maintains a veil of “studied ambiguity” on its...Rashida Tlaib raises funds for state senate campaign
DEARBORN — About 75 people attended a fundraiser in support of Democratic State Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s campaign for state senate on Nov. 7 at Habib’s Cuisine here. Tlaib is running for Michigan State Senate in the 4th District. She will face off against incumbent Sen. Virgil Smith, who currently represents the state’s fourth...Secretary of State proposes tough disclosure rules for campaign ads
LANSING — Making a point that the public has a right to know who is behind some of the most negative advertising in political campaigning, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, proposed a sweeping new disclosure rule.“In a country where free speech is protected, these ads are part of the political landscape and we can’t stop them —...Qatar makes military service mandatory for men
DOHA — Qatar's government has approved a draft law making it compulsory for men in the Gulf state to do military service for up to four months, media reports said on Thursday, Nov. 14.Under the proposed legislation, the first of its kind in Qatar, it would be mandatory for men aged between 18 and 35 to serve in the military for...Suicide bomber attacks Iraqi Ashura pilgrims, killing 35
BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber blew himself up during a Shi'a Muslim religious ritual in the eastern Iraqi city of al-Sadiya on Thursday, Nov. 14, killing at least 35 people and wounding 75, a senior official and security sources said.No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the day of Ashura, a holy ritual...Egypt’s Sisi expects new defense cooperation with Russia
CAIRO — Egypt's top general hailed a new era of defense cooperation with Moscow on Thursday, Nov. 14, during a visit by Russian officials, sending a message to Washington after it suspended some military aid.Relations between Cairo and the United States deteriorated after the army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on July 3....Lebanon aid chief arrested on corruption charges
BEIRUT — The head of Lebanon's governmental aid body, through which millions of dollars are funneled, and his wife have been arrested on embezzlement charges, judicial sources said on Monday, Nov. 11.The criminal investigation against High Relief Council (HRC) Secretary General Ibrahim Bashir comes as Lebanon appeals for direct aid to...Israeli settlers torch cars, spray threatening graffiti in West bank village
Israeli settlers torched two Palestinian cars in a West Bank village on Thursday, Nov. 7, locals told Ma’an news agency. According to Ma’an, a group from the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba set fire to the vehicles in a village near Hebron. The cars belonged to two brothers. The settlers also sprayed threatening graffiti......
Saudi rounds up thousands of illegal immigrants
RIYADH - Saudi authorities rounded up thousands of illegal foreign workers at the start of a nationwide crackdown, ultimately aimed at creating more jobs for locals, media reported on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Hundreds of thousands of workers have already left the kingdom following a grace period of seven months during which authorities told...Protesters seek to halt Libyan gas exports to Italy
TRIPOLI - Libyan demonstrators encamped at a gas terminal in the west of the country demanded, on Wednesday Nov. 6, a halt to gas exports to Italy, raising the stakes in their protest for greater political rights.The protesters from the minority Amazigh, or Berber, ethnic group had been inside the port for more than a week."The Mellitah......
Saudi bank to launch $10 billion Islamic bond program in Dubai
DUBAI - The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) ISDBA.UL will set up a $10 billion (sukuk) issuance program on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange, a boost to Dubai's efforts to become a top center for Islamic finance in competition with other cities.It would be the Jeddah-based IDB's third sukuk program - it already issues Islamic bonds in London and...Suicide bomber kills six in attack on Iraqi police station
BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber drove an oil tanker packed with explosives into an Iraqi police station in a village north of Baquba on Wednesday, Nov. 6, killing at least six policemen, police said.No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but members of the security forces are a prime target for resurgent Islamist...2013 Election Results
Dearborn Mayoral Race John B. O'Reilly, Jr. 13,883 Edward Binkley 3,102Dearborn City Clerk Kathleen Buda 12,347 Khalil Dakhlallah 4,026 Dearborn City Council Susan A. Dabaja 9,398 Thomas Patrick Tafelski 9,366 Mike T. Sareini 8,723...Evidence supports Arafat poisoning theory, wider probe needed
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The remains of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat showed test results consistent with polonium poisoning and should lead to a judicial investigation even if they were not absolute proof that he died that way, Swiss experts said on Thursday.The two forensic experts were part of an international team that......
Egyptian court upholds Brotherhood ban
CAIRO - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood failed in an attempt on Wednesday, Nov. 6, to overturn a court ruling banning it, the state news agency said, another blow to the debilitated Islamist movement.A court in September had outlawed the Brotherhood after the army overthrew President Mohamed Morsi in July following mass protests against his...Syrian Army breaks rebel hold on Southern Damascus suburbs
SYRIA — The Syrian army and loyalist fighters on Thursday captured a strategic southern suburb of Damascus, threatening rebel control of the wider area and cutting off a supply route for insurgents around the capital, opposition activists said.The town of Sbeineh is the third rebel neighborhood to fall to government forces since the......
Middle East failing to protect domestic workers
Montevideo, Uruguay – The Middle East depends heavily on domestic workers, but trails other regions in adopting critical reforms to protect their rights, the International Domestic Workers Network (IDWN), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Human Rights Watch said Oct. 27. The groups released a report, assessing...Syria: Building up for war in Qalamoun
It appears that the much-hyped “Great Battle of Qalamoun” will only take place in the media. While the Syrian army does not deny that it has been mobilizing troops in the vicinity of the Qalamoun district, a Qusair-like battle is not inevitable. Instead, gradual advances are taking place to spare Qalamoun large-scale......