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...Egyptian students protest after Brotherhood leader arrest
Egyptian police fired teargas at protesting students at Cairo's al-Azhar University on Wednesday, Oct. 30, hours after authorities announced the detention of Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam El-Erian, part of a crackdown against the Islamist movement.Erian, deputy leader of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, was taken into...Lebanon gets its first ‘sect-less’ baby
BEIRUT — Opponents of sectarianism in Lebanon are celebrating what they are calling the first child born without a religious sect. Nidal Darwish and Kholoud Sukkarieh announced Saturday, Oct. 26, that their one-month-old son Ghadi had been registered without a religious affiliation. In January, the couple celebrated the first civil...Israel plans to build 3,500 more settler homes in West Bank
Throughout the years, Lebanon’s demographics have experienced periodic influx. But particularly in the last two years, the demographic shift has been so overwhelming due to the flood of Syrian refugees in desperate need for shelter. The situation is highly charged, if not perilous, considering Lebanon’s unmanageable sectarian...
Dearborn Heights voters to choose Mayor, four council members
November 1st, 20130 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The municipality race in Dearborn Heights this year has been rather low key, leading up to the General Election on November 5. The City did not have a primary, as not enough candidates pulled petitions to warrant one.Several key positions are up for election in the City this year. Two candidates are running for...Juliette Kayyem: I am driven by my background
Juliette Kayyem, a daughter of Lebanese immigrants, has spent most of her career in public service. She says her Arab American roots are the motivation for her involvement in the public sphere. She has worked in government and for the public because of — not despite —her family's background.Kayyem has served as a civil rights......
Saudi court convicts Jordanian of spying for Israel
RIYADH — A Saudi court convicted a Jordanian citizen of spying for Israel and sentenced him to nine years in jail and 80 lashes, a pro-government Saudi newspaper reported on Wednesday, Oct. 30.The Arabic-language al-Riyadh newspaper did not identify the Jordanian but said the Riyadh criminal court found him guilty of "writing to...Sectarian clashes kill dozens in north Yemen
SANAA — The death toll from a Houthi Shi'a attack on a mountain town in northern Yemen held by their Salafi Sunni Muslim rivals has risen to 24, a Salafi spokesman said on Thursday, Oct. 31, as the two sides fought for a second day.Abu Ismail al-Hajouri said more than 100 people were also wounded in Damaj, which he said the......
Gunmen steal $55 million from Libyan central bank
TRIPOLI — Gunmen stole $55 million in a heist on a van carrying local and foreign currency for the Libyan central bank on Monday, Oct. 28, state news agency Lana said.Ten armed men stopped the van in the coastal city of Sirte, carrying 53 million Libyan dinars ($43.49 million) and foreign currency worth $12 million. The van was coming...Israel on the lookout: Lebanon haunted by the ghosts of Civil War
Throughout the years, Lebanon’s demographics have experienced periodic influx. But particularly in the last two years, the demographic shift has been so overwhelming due to the flood of Syrian refugees in desperate need for shelter. The situation is highly charged, if not perilous, considering Lebanon’s unmanageable sectarian...Saudi warns women against defying driving ban
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia has warned that it will take measures against activists who go ahead with a planned weekend campaign to defy a ban on women drivers in the conservative Muslim kingdom.The women organizing the campaign have been posting online footage of themselves driving in Saudi cities, and have called on Saudi women with foreign...Saudi Arabia warns of rift with U.S. over Iran, Syria
RIYADH - Upset at President Barack Obama's policies on Iran and Syria, members of Saudi Arabia's ruling family are threatening a rift with the United States that could take the alliance between Washington and the kingdom to its lowest point in years.Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief is vowing that the kingdom will make a "major shift" in......
Syrian opposition sets preconditions to attend Geneva II
October 25th, 20130 DAMASCUS - Syria is set to hand over a detailed plan for destroying its chemical arsenal, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said, as a rebel attack near Damascus triggered widespread power outages.The plan is the next step for Damascus under the terms of a U.S.-Russian deal to head off military strikes on...Iraq province takes first steps to energy independence
BAGHDAD - Iraq's northwest Nineveh province has started talks with oil companies and is drafting terms to attract investment in its significant oil and gas reserves, steps that are certain to antagonize the central government.Nineveh Governor Atheel Nujaifi says Baghdad has focused on the giant southern oil fields and has paid little......
Qatari poet sentenced to 15 years in prison for insulting emir
DOHA - A Qatari court on Monday, Oct. 21, upheld a 15-year jail sentence handed down to a poet, convicted of criticizing the former emir and attempting to incite revolt, a relative said.In his verses, Muhammad Ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami praised the Arab Spring revolts that toppled four authoritarian leaders. He also criticized Qatar's former...Ten killed in Tunisia clash
TUNIS - At least eight Tunisian policemen and two Islamist militants were killed on Wednesday, Oct. 23, when they clashed during a raid by security forces in Sidi Bouzid in the south of the country, security sources and state television said.Tunisian authorities say Ansar al-Sharia, one of the Islamist militant movements to emerge since......