How Biden’s secret 2002 meetings led to war in Iraq
August 3rd, 20190 Even though former Vice President Joe Biden’s favorability has declined following the first Democratic debate, he remains largely considered the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination by many mainstream media outlets and pundits. Early in the first debate, Sen. Bernie Sanders mentioned how Biden had supported the...
Canadian Somali journalist Hodan Nalayeh killed in terror attack
July 22nd, 20190 KISMAYO, SOMALIA - A prominent Canadian Somali journalist who was among 27 people killed in a terrorist attack in Somalia’s southern port city of Kismayo Saturday is being celebrated for her efforts to change the narrative about her country. Hodan Nalayeh dedicated her life to telling stories about Somalia that focused on more than...
Netanyahu and Nasrallah exchange threats amid rising tensions in the region
July 22nd, 20190 BEIRUT — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke during the annual commemoration of the 2006 victory of Lebanon's second war with Israel, addressing his support for Iran and saying he sees it as a partner that not only threatens Israel, but also views itself as a proud part of an “axis of resistance” against the U.S. and its...
Iran: From strategic patience to mutual action
July 20th, 20190 TEHRAN - After a pressure campaign from the U.S. and its allies on the Iranian economy, followed by a few threat exchanges, Iran has seized an oil tanker it claimed was carrying 1 million liters of "smuggled fuel," state news agency Press TV said on Thursday. The IRGC said it had initially responded to distress calls from a ship on...
Netanyahu could deny Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib entrance into Israel
July 20th, 20190 TEL AVIV - Since condemning freedom of expression with regard to the BDS (Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions) movement has been prevalent in the U.S., and with President Trump's recent unapologetic racist remarks about Democratic congresswomen of color (a remark that included U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit)),...
Trump cancelled Iran deal to spite Obama, leaked memo says
July 17th, 20190 LONDON — A newspaper in the UK published additional leaked memos from Great Britain's ambassador in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, despite a warning from police that doing so may be considered a crime. One 2018 cable published by the Mail on Sunday included information that UK ambassador Kim Darroch said President Trump pulled out of...
Saudi Arabia among 37 states backing China’s Xinjiang policy of detaining one million Muslims
July 13th, 20190 GENEVA - Saudi Arabia and 36 other states have written to the United Nations supporting China’s policies in its western region of Xinjiang, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters on Friday, in contrast to strong Western criticism. China has been accused of detaining a million Muslims and persecuting ethnic Uighurs in...
Hezbollah leader says U.S. seeking to talk
July 13th, 20190 BEIRUT - The leader of Hezbollah said on Friday that Washington was seeking to open channels of communication despite ramping up sanctions against the Iran-backed movement’s officials. “Trump’s administration is seeking to open channels of communication to Hezbollah in Lebanon through mediators. ... These are the American...
Iran, U.S., U.K. and Israel, a nuclear game of Russian roulette
July 13th, 20190 The U.S. and Iran have had a rocky relationship for a while now, but now that Iran has "violated" a key element in the 2015 international agreement that mandated the country to limit its development of nuclear weapons, an empty shot in a game of Russian roulette between the states has begun. The Iranian state news service, Fars,...
Muslims and Arabs in Hollywood: A century of vilifying a religion and culture
July 5th, 20191 It's been a long road to respect, equal rights, and fair, accurate representation for Arab American and Middle Eastern actors. And as late author Jack Shaheen's famous 2006 documentary "Reel Bad Arabs" demonstrated, Hollywood's culture has stacked the deck so strongly against Arab actors that oftentimes the situation seems...
Jared Kushner’s ‘deal of the century’ fails in Bahrain
July 3rd, 20190 MANAMA - The so called "deal of the century" proposed by President Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, which sought to deal with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, was met with minimal interest from the attending crowd. With the Palestinians absent from the conference table, in addition to the refusal of many Arab...
Palestinian-Canadian journalist threatened with jail time by Germany for “anti-Semitic” speeches
July 3rd, 20190 BERLIN — Palestinian-Canadian journalist Khaled Barakat was barred from speaking at a Palestine solidarity event in Berlin, and has been told to avoid all gatherings of more than 10 people or face a prison sentence. Barakat, an activist who was invited to speak to an Arab community event in Berlin on June 22 to discuss Palestinian...
Tunisian president, 92, leaves hospital, expected to resume work in coming days
July 2nd, 20190 TUNIS — Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi, who became ill last week, left the hospital on Monday in “normal health” and was expected to resume work in the coming days. “The head of state left the military hospital to his residence in Carthage after having received the necessary treatment and having recovered,” his office...
Ending America’s endless war
June 30th, 20190 The United States has been at war for too long. Even today, we seem to be preparing for a new war with Iran, which would be the worst yet. Earlier this month, President Trump ordered thousands of additional U.S. troops to the Middle East to confront Tehran and its proxies. And we recently learned that the Pentagon had presented the...
U.S. launches cyberattacks on Iran
June 30th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. - It appears that the United States launched cyberattacks on Iran in response to that nation’s shooting down of an American drone aircraft. According to reports, President Trump had ordered a conventional military response, but had backed down upon learning that the attack would have caused over 100 Iranian......
Lebanon opposes U.S. plan for Mideast, not attending Bahrain conference
June 30th, 20190 BEIRUT — The Lebanese government and parliament both oppose a U.S. plan for settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Wednesday, the National News Agency reported. The first phase of President Trump’s plan to revive the peace process is being discussed at an economic workshop in Bahrain and...
Trump hits Iran with new sanctions in retaliation to downing of drone
June 24th, 20190 WASHINGTON — President Trump announced on Monday that he was imposing new sanctions on Iran, further squeezing the Iranian economy in retaliation for what the United States says are recent "aggressive" acts by Tehran, but the response to the penalties targeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were "is that all you got?" This......
Palestinians reject Kushner ‘economy first’ approach to Middle East peace plan
June 22nd, 20190 GAZA - Palestinian officials on Saturday dismissed proposals unveiled by President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for big money projects to form the first economic portion of the Trump administration’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan. Senior Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official Hanan Ashrawi said Kushner’s...
Canadian Arab businessman awarded $2.5M for suffering hate speech
June 22nd, 20190 ONTARIO, CANADA — An online media personality whose websites frequently air anti-Muslim content has been ordered to pay the owner of a prominent Middle Eastern restaurant chain millions of dollars after publicly accusing him of funding terrorism. Ontario Superior Court Justice Jane Ferguson ordered Kevin J. Johnston to pay a total...
Two men from Chicago convicted of providing support to ISIS
June 22nd, 20190 CHICAGO — Two Chicago-area men were found guilty on Thursday of supporting ISIS in a federal case in which one of them was accused of saying he hoped to see the terrorist group’s flag over the White House, local media reported. Edward Schimenti and Joseph Jones, both 37, were convicted for providing material support and resources...Iran says it shot down American ‘spy’ drone, Trump plays it down as unintentional
June 20th, 20190 DUBAI - Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have shot down a U.S. “spy” drone in the southern province of Hormozgan, the Guards’ news website Sepah News said on Thursday. State news agency IRNA carried the same report, identifying the drone as an “RQ-4 Global Hawk." “It was shot down when it entered Iran’s airspace near......
Mohamed Morsi died in court, in a soundproof cage under guards’ watch
June 18th, 20190 CAIRO - Egypt's former civilian president, Mohamed Morsi, ousted by the military in 2013 after one year in office, collapsed in a courtroom and died on Monday, June 17. A leader in the now-banned Islamist movement Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi had just spoken from a cage at a hearing on charges of espionage. State TV said the cause of...
Trump administration providing “false” information on Gulf of Oman attack, Japanese tanker owner says
June 15th, 20190 TOKYO, JAPAN — A Japanese tanker owner is disputing U.S. reports about an attack that occurred on Thursday in the Gulf of Oman that was blamed on Iranian naval forces. According to the ship operator as quoted in a report from The Independent, “flying objects” that may have been bullets were the cause of damage to the ship, and......
Netanyahu thanks Indian prime minister for vote against Palestinian group
June 14th, 20190 TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for voting in favor of a decision introduced by the Jewish state that objected to granting consultative status to a Palestinian group at the U.N.'s Economic and Social Council. In its first pro-Israel move, India voted on Tuesday...
Local Arab Americans claim they were victimized by alleged Ponzi scheme
June 14th, 20190 DEARBORN – Three people with ties to the Metro Detroit area are among those claiming they were defrauded by former Canton resident Syed Arbab, a recent graduate of the University of Georgia, who has attracted the interest of the Securities and Exchange Commission. On June 3, the SEC announced that it was taking emergency action,......
