Syria sets date for presidential election
DAMASCUS — Syria has called a presidential election for June 3, preparing the ground for Bashar al-Assad to defy widespread opposition and extend his grip on power days after he said the war was turning in his favor.A leading Syrian opposition group said the election showed the president was divorced from reality.Western and Gulf...
Ficano kicks off reelection campaign, vows to lead and strengthen county in the next four years
April 25th, 20140 DETROIT — Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano kicked off his reelection campaign Monday at the IBEW Local 58 in Detroit. Mike Richard, head of IBEW Local 58, introduced Ficano, calling him “a great friend of labor.” Ficano is seeking his fourth four-year term after filing for reelection on April 21.“We are energized,...Dearborn Board of Education President Hussein Berry to run for State Representative in 9th House District
DEARBORN—Hussein Berry, a longtime community activist and president of the Dearborn Board of Education, announced this week that he is running for State Representative in Michigan’s 9th House District. Berry is also chair of the Henry Ford College Board of Trustees. “I am ready and willing to serve my community at the next...
Palestinian rivals sign agreement for unity government, Israel suspends peace talks
April 25th, 20140 GAZA CITY — A meeting of Palestinian leaders in Gaza has reached a milestone reconciliation pact that will see rival Palestinian groups form a national consensus government in five weeks, after seven years of operating under separate administrations.Under the agreement announced on Wednesday, April 23, rival groups Fatah, Hamas and...Turkey’s Erdogan offers condolences for 1915 Armenia killings
ANKARA — Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan offered what the government said were unprecedented condolences on Wednesday, April 22, to the grandchildren of Armenians killed in World War I by Ottoman soldiers.In a statement issued on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the deeply contested deaths, Erdogan unexpectedly described the...Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano to announce re-election campaign
Ficano.DETROIT—On Monday, April 21 Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano will announce plans to run for reelection at the IBEW Local 58 located at 1358 Abbott in Detroit. The event kicks off at 5 p.m. In an email, Ficano told supporters he was inviting them to join him in continuing the momentum of moving the county...Iraq shuts down infamous Abu Ghraib prison
BAGHDAD — Iraq has closed Abu Ghraib prison, which was made infamous by Saddam Hussein's regime and U.S. occupation forces, due to security concerns following a mass breakout last year, the justice ministry said Tuesday, April 14.The country is suffering a protracted surge in violence that has claimed more than 2,550 lives so far...Rebel videos, photos show U.S.-made rockets in Syria
DAMASCUS — Recently emerged videos and photos show Syrian rebels armed with what experts say are U.S. anti-tank rockets. These are the first significant American-built armaments to be seen in the country since the outbreak of the civil war three years ago.Although it was not possible to independently verify the footage – most...Israeli army abducts five Lebanese shepherds
BEIRUT — Israeli forces crossed into Lebanon on Thursday, April 17, and abducted five people from the Bastra farms of the southern town of Shebaa, the Lebanese state news agency reported. Lebanon's National News Agency identified the kidnapped as Hassan and Ismail Qassem Zahra, Nouhad Awad, Wafa Moussa, Woroud Moussa.Television...Israel appropriates more land in West Bank
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel has carried out a new land appropriation in the occupied West Bank, Israeli newspaper Haaretz said on Sunday, April 13.The newspaper said the Defense Ministry declared nearly 250 acres of territory in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc just south of Jerusalem "state land."Asked by Reuters about the report, the...Algeria’s Bouteflika expected to win presidential re-election
ALGIERS —Algerians voted on Thursday, April 17, in an election President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is expected to win after 15 years in power, despite speaking only rarely in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.With the dominant National Liberation Front (FLN) party, allied movements and unions behind him, many Algerians believe...Yemen’s al-Qaeda leader vows to attack America
SANAA — The leader of al Qaeda's wing in Yemen has vowed to attack the United States, in a video apparently showing a gathering of the group celebrating a mass jailbreak of fighters.In February, attackers mounted a bomb, grenade and gun assault on the main prison in Sanaa in which 29 inmates, including 19 jailed for terrorism-related...Saudi spy chief and architect of Syria policy relieved of his duties
RIYADH — Saudi Arabian intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the architect of Riyadh's attempts to bring down Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been removed from his post, state media reported on Tuesday, April 15.His departure, months after he was quoted warning of a "major shift" from the United States over its Middle...Syrian troops retake Maaloula, three Lebanese reporters killed
DAMASCUS — Syrian soldiers backed by Hizbullah fighters recaptured the town of Maaloula, north of Damascus, on Monday, April, 14, further squeezing rebels' supply routes through the Qalamoun mountains into Lebanon.Islamist fighters, some from the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, had taken over part of the ancient Christian town in December...Palestinian American activist Yusif Barakat seeks U.S. Senate seat
DETROIT—Despite his limited political experience and lack of campaign funds, Palestinian American activist Yusif Barakat is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate. And he thinks he can win. Barakat, 78, describes himself as an "idealist and a dreamer." He was elected in 1970 as Oakland County Commissioner and ran unsuccessfully for......
Egypt court upholds jailing of leading pro-democracy activists
CAIRO — An Egyptian appeals court on Monday, April 7, upheld the jailing of three leading figures of the 2011 pro-democracy uprising, tightening a crackdown on secular activists opposed to the army-backed government.Critics see their case as an attempt to stifle the kind of political street activism common since the uprising that...Thirteen car bombs rip through Iraq
BAGHDAD — Attacks across Iraq, including 13 car bombs, killed at least 18 people Wednesday, April 9, highlighting the persistent danger from militants 11 years after American forces captured Baghdad.The latest violence is part of a protracted surge in nationwide bloodshed that has killed more than 2,400 people so far this year.Eight......
Arrest warrant issued for prominent pro-Syria leader in Lebanon
BEIRUT — Military Investigative Judge Riyad Abu Ghayda issued on Thursday, April 10, an arrest warrant in absentia for pro-Assad figure Rifaat Eid and 11 of his associates over their alleged involvement in clashes in the northern city of Tripoli.Abu Ghayda’s warrants are based on articles in the Penal Code, which could lead to the...Egypt court sentences four men to prison for homosexuality
CAIRO — A court in Egypt sentenced four men to up to eight years in prison on Monday, April 7, for practicing homosexuality, a judicial official said.Prosecutors had accused the men of holding "deviant parties" and dressing in women's clothes. Three were sentenced to eight years and the fourth to three years in prison.Prosecutors have...Yemen border attack kills two Saudi soldiers
RIYADH — Two Saudi soldiers have been killed in a clash with unidentified gunmen who fired on them from across the border with Yemen, the interior ministry said Thursday, April 10.A border guard patrol in the southwestern province of Asir "came under heavy gunfire on Wednesday morning from unknown sources inside Yemeni territory," said...Bomb kills air force officer in Benghazi
BENGHAZI — A Libyan air force officer was killed Wednesday, April 8, and his wife and daughter were seriously injured, when a bomb placed under their car exploded in the eastern city of Benghazi, officials said.Benghazi was the cradle of the 2011 revolution that ousted long-time dictator Moamer Gaddafi, and has since been plagued by......
Tunisia prosecutor seeks death penalty for rapist policemen
TUNIS — Tunisia's public prosecutor appealed a seven-year jail term on Monday, April 7, for two policemen jailed for rape, and demanded a retrial with a view to seeking the death penalty."The prosecution relates to the characterization of the facts as sex under duress with the threat of violence, under Paragraph 227 of the Penal Code,...Syrian army retakes Rankous, official says election on time
DAMASCUS — The Syrian army regained full control of Rankous in the Qalamoun region, Al-Manar television and Syrian state news agency reported on Wednesday, April 9.Regime forces continued to hunt down remnants of “terrorist” groups on the outskirts of the area known as the Northern Neighborhood and surrounding mountains after......
Kerry slams Israel for faltering Mideast peace
April 11th, 20140 WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested on Tuesday, April 8, that Israel's announcement of plans to build about 700 housing units in East Jerusalem was the proximate cause for the near collapse of its peace talks with the Palestinians.However, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Kerry was not seeking to...Palestinians asked to spy in exchange for medical treatment
GAZA CITY - “If you want to live and receive medical treatment, you have my number, so you can call me and agree to my request. You will then get medical help, and survive.” The request, the patient said, was from an Israeli intelligence officer looking to recruit him in exchange for treatment. The 28-year-old......