Friends or foes, Syria’s neighbors wary of Assad’s ouster
September 3rd, 20110 As Syria accelerates a violent crackdown on opposition demonstrators, the country's rising instability and uncertain future are already reverberating beyond its borders in Iran, Israel, Lebanon and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (C) attends Eid Al Fitr prayers at President Hafez al-Assad mosque in...U.S. blacklists two top Syrian officials
WASHINGTON — The United States slapped sanctions on Syria's foreign minister and two other top officials on Tuesday as it pressed President Bashar al-Assad's regime to stop its crackdown on protesters.The sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department are the third in a series of punitive U.S. measures placed on Assad and top government...Bahrain’s Wefaq demands military courts close
MANAMA — Bahrain's main Shi’a opposition party, Al-Wefaq, demanded on Tuesday last week the closure of military courts set up during a protest crackdown and condemned an attack on the home of its leader. Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman: Main Shi’a opposition party demands release of all political prisoners, start of real political...Hizbullah urges ‘peaceful resolution’ in Syria
MAROUN AL-RAS — Lebanon's Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last Friday called for a "peaceful resolution" in crisis-hit Syria, warning of regional fallout. Nasrallah: All those who claim they are friends of Syria must step up efforts to help calm the country’s situation."All those who claim they are friends of Syria ... must...Maliki: U.S.-Iraq pull-out to proceed as scheduled
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said U.S. forces will leave Iraq as scheduled by year's end, and that there will not be any permanent U.S. bases in the country, a statement from his office said on Tuesday."The agreement on the withdrawal of American forces will be implemented on schedule by the end of the year, and...Candidates file for two Dearborn School Board seats
DEARBORN/DEARBORN HEIGHTS – School board races have taken shape in the area as four people have filed for the Dearborn Public School Board race. The election happens on Nov. 8. Incumbents Mary Pelitchkoff and Joseph Guido filed for reelection in Dearborn with Roxanne McDonald and Stephen Dobkowski challenging them for the two...Palestinian youth in Gaza skeptical about PA’s UN bid
Along with several other bloggers and activists in the Gaza Strip, I was recently invited to take part in a short video about young Palestinians' reaction to the Palestinian Authority's (PA) bid to have the United Nations admit a Palestinian "state" as a full member of the international body this September. A Palestinian man reacts at a...Libya’s Iran embassy declares “solidarity” with rebels
TEHRAN- The Libyan Embassy in Tehran has declared its "solidarity" with rebel fighters and taken down the flag of strongman Muammar Gaddafi's regime, the Quds newspaper reported on Thursday."Libya's diplomatic mission in Tehran announces its complete solidarity with February 17," the date when fighters began an insurgency against...
Washington’s battle over Syria
August 27th, 20110 Two distinct camps are forming to battle over Syria policy in Washington. The first is made up of the neoconservatives, who are busy fitting the Arab Spring into U.S. strategic interests as they see them. John Bolton, Michael Doran and Elliott Abrams have been leading the charge in articulating this argument.The second group are the...
Rebel leader: Libya civil war cost more than 20,000 lives
August 27th, 20110 BENGHAZI, Libya – Libyan rebels continued hunting this week for Muammar Gaddafi and battled the remnants of his forces after overrunning his Tripoli compound, as the strongman urged residents to cleanse the capital "of rats." Rebels trample on a Gaddafi statue in Bab al-Aziziya. Two powerful blasts thought to be caused by an air attack...Schuette appoints Abbatt to Legacy DMC board
LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced the appointment of longtime Dearborn resident, attorney and 2008 19th District Judge candidate Candyce Abbatt to the Board of Trustees of Legacy DMC, formerly the Detroit Medical Center. A total of 18 other trustees of Legacy DMC will also serve an indefinite term at the...
Hariri tribunal publishes indictment to try Hizbullah members and Nasrallah slams it for lacking evidence
August 21st, 20110 The UN-backed court probing the 2005 murder of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafiq Hariri said Wednesday it had enough evidence to try four Hizbullah members, as it published the full indictment. Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks on television, as a waiter serves food at a restaurant in the port-city of Sidon,...
Defiant Assad ignores western leaders’ calls to step aside
August 21st, 20110 President Barack Obama Thursday led a chorus of calls by world leaders for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, as the UN warned his regime could be guilty of crimes against humanity. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (C), new Defence Minister Hassan Turkmani (L) and former Defence Minister Mustafa Tlas (R) attend a ceremony at...Constan wants recount of Heights clerk race
DEARBORN HEIGHTS – Bob Constan, who currently serves as a State representative (D-Dearborn Heights), has asked for a recount of August 2's hotly contested primary race for the city clerk job. Incumbent Walter Prusiewicz came in first with 1,456 votes while Councilwoman Janet Badalow had 905, ten more than Constan. The top two...
Libya rebels push towards Tripoli, tighten noose on Gaddafi
August 20th, 20110 BENGHAZI — Libya's rebels pushed to strangle two supply lines to Tripoli on Wednesday, hoping to ratchet up pressure on the regime as their leaders prepared for the transition to democracy. Rebel fighters celebrate after taking control of the coastal town of Sabratha, 65 km (40 miles) west of Tripoli, August 18, 2011. Libyan rebels......
Yemen opposition forms council to lead transition
August 20th, 20110 SANAA — Yemen's opposition elected an umbrella council on Wednesday aiming to take over power from embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in Riyadh for 10 weeks recovering from a bomb blast.A 143-member "National Council for the Forces of the Peaceful Revolution" was elected by around 800 representatives of diverse...Accused Jordanian, Israeli spies to go on trial October 2 in Egypt
CAIRO - The trial of a Jordanian and Israeli accused of spying for the Jewish state is to begin on October 2 in Cairo, the state-run MENA news agency reported on Tuesday.Detained Jordanian national Bashar Abou Zeid, a telecommunications officer and Ofer Herari, an escaped Mossad officer will be tried at the High Emergency State......
Egypt army officer, two security men killed in Israeli border raid
CAIRO — An Egyptian army officer and two security personnel were killed during an Israeli raid on militants along the Egyptian Israeli border, an Egyptian army official told Reuters Thursday.The army officer was a border guard and the two men were from the Central Security force, the official said. The three were killed as the Israeli...Poll: Snyder’s approval numbers tumble
EAST LANSING — Michigan State University's 'State of the State' Survey of more than 900 Michigan residents found that Governor Rick Snyder's approval rating fell from 44% in March to 31%. According to analysts, Snyder's job future appears tied to the economy. A recall effort for November's ballot fell short but Snyder is still...
Mubarak trial another win for Tahrir protesters
August 13th, 20110 CAIRO (IPS) — Egyptians watched with rapt attention as deposed president Hosni Mubarak was hauled before court on live television to answer charges of corruption and murder. The move appears to have restored public confidence in Egypt's ruling military council, which has governed the country since Mubarak's February ouster. Since...Primary winners in Dearborn Heights, Hamtramck announced
DEARBORN — Both Walter Prusiewicz and Janet Badalow will compete on the November ballot for the position of Dearborn Heights city clerk after winning the top two spots in Tuesday's primary election. Prusiewicz recieved 41.7 percent, while Badalow got 25.9 percent. Prusiewicz currently holds the position and was appointed in April......
Jordan: Ripe for reform, slow to change
AMMAN (IPS) — Having weathered the maelstrom that engulfed the Middle East earlier this year, Jordan's government has faced simmering unrest as protesters continue to press for political and economic reforms.The desert kingdom's ferment, which began in January, was inspired by the mass uprisings that ousted the dictators of Egypt and...Snyder recall effort won’t make November ballot
LANSING — The committee to recall Gov. Rick Snyder says it has fallen short of the more than 800,000 signatures needed to recall him. But the group says it will continue and try to get the issue in front of voters this February instead. They have more than 300,000 signatures so far in protest of the Michigan governor who has taken heat......
Mubarak pleads not guilty to murder as historic trial begins
August 5th, 20110 Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is seen in the courtroom for his trial at the Police Academy in Cairo, in this still image taken from video August 3, 2011. Mubarak was wheeled into a courtroom cage in a hospital bed on Wednesday to face trial for killing protesters -- an image that thrilled those who overthrew him and must have...Chaos reigns in Tunisian politics
TUNIS (IPS) — The Islamist Ennahda party seems poised to take advantage of a chaotic situation ahead of general elections in Tunisia. Ennahda and other Islamist parties are taking advantage of the Aug. 2 deadline for registration for elections coinciding with the start of the holy month of Ramadan, when there is better attendance at......