Syrian forces consolidate control of Aleppo, Russia and Turkey get pulled in to conflict
February 21st, 20200 ALEPPO — The Syrian army said on Monday it had taken full control of dozens of towns in Aleppo’s northwestern countryside and it would press on with its campaign to wipe out militant groups “wherever they are found." The advances were made after President Bashar al-Assad’s forces drove insurgents from the M5 highway linking...
Netanyahu’s political campaign in trouble as corruption trial looms
February 21st, 20200 TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will spend the last days of his election campaign under the shadow of serious and damaging corruption charges, as Israeli courts announced Tuesday that his criminal trial will begin March 17. Netanyahu is expected to attend the initial hearing just two weeks after the March 2...
Senate rebukes Trump, votes to limit Iran war making ability
February 20th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Thursday to limit President Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran, rebuking him weeks after a strike against an Iranian military commander and Tehran’s retaliation raised fears of broader regional conflict. Eight of Trump’s fellow Republicans joined Democrats to pass...
Dingell and Pocan call to restore humanitarian aid to Gaza
February 19th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) today sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging the administration to immediately restore all U.S. funding for humanitarian aid in Gaza, including United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and United Nations Relief...
The EU rejects Trump’s Middle East peace plan, Israeli annexation
February 7th, 20200 BRUSSELS – The European Union rejected parts of President Trump’s peace plan for the Middle East on Tuesday, prompting an angry response from Israel, which has strongly backed the U.S. proposal. The plan, announced by Trump last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side, was rejected outright by the...
At least two Palestinians killed, 16 Israelis hurt in violence over Trump plan
February 7th, 20200 RAMALLAH, West Bank – At least two Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank and 16 Israelis were hurt on Thursday in a surge of violence that erupted amid Palestinian anger at a U.S. peace plan. In Jerusalem, an Arab citizen of Israel was killed after he shot and slightly wounded an Israeli paramilitary border policeman at...
Crisis and opportunity: The ‘Deal of the Century’ challenge for Palestinians
February 5th, 20200 After several postponements, President Trump has finally revealed the details of his Middle East plan, dubbed “Deal of the Century”, in a press conference in Washington on January 28. Standing triumphantly beside Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must have surely understood that the timing of the announcement, only...
Documentary director discusses MLK, Palestine and nonviolence
January 30th, 20200 DEARBORN — To commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day last week, The Arab American News reached out to director and producer Connie Field, to talk about her 2013 documentary Al Helm: Martin Luther King in Palestine. The film was recently shown at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, for the second time since its...
Trump’s Middle East plan satisfies Netanyahu, offers a disjointed Palestinian nation
January 28th, 20201 WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Trump and his hard-line, right-wing ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, unveiled Trump’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan on Tuesday. The plan has been preemptively rejected by Palestinians, who see no signs in the plan of an end to Israeli occupation and illegal settlements. Netanyahu, on...
Netanyahu formally charged with corruption after dropping bid for immunity
January 28th, 20200 Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-running prime minister, became its first sitting PM to be indicted on criminal charges after dropping his bid for immunity from prosecution in three corruption cases, according to an announcement from Israel's attorney general. The development came as Netanyahu visited Washington for the launch of...
Trump to release Mid East peace plan next week after meeting with both Netanyahu and Gantz
January 24th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House said in a statement on Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House next Tuesday to meet with President Trump about Trump’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan. Trump confirmed the news, telling reporters on Air Force One that he will release the details of the...
Trump says U.S. to add Nigeria, six other countries to travel ban soon
January 24th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. is moving to add more countries to its travel ban list, President Trump said on Wednesday without giving details, but saying the changes would be announced soon. A source familiar with the draft proposal said the tentative list of nations included Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and...
Soleimani assassination adds new dangerous dimension to Iraq unrest
January 23rd, 20200 BAGHDAD — Iraqi Shi'a groups have exhorted Iraqis to turn out for a “million-strong” march on Friday aimed at whipping up anti-American sentiment as the United States’ struggle with Iran plays out on the streets of Baghdad. Those behind the rally have two goals in mind — to pressure Washington to pull its troops out of...
The jeopardy of media bias against Palestine
January 22nd, 20200 Jeopardy! is an American television game show that has been on the air for decades, with nearly 8,000 episodes to date. It is a trivia competition that quizzes contestants on general knowledge, and they receive cash rewards for each correct response. In a recently broadcasted episode recorded a few months ago, one question asked...
More U.S. troops leave Iraq over potential brain injuries as Trump downplays the damage
January 22nd, 20200 WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, President Trump said he did not consider the brain injuries suffered by 11 U.S. service members in Iran’s recent attack on a base in Iraq to be serious, as the American military moved more troops out of the region for potential injuries. In a statement on Wednesday, U.S. Central Command said that more......
Lebanon forms new government with backing of major political parties
January 21st, 20200 BEIRUT — Lebanon formed a new government on Tuesday under Prime Minister Hassan Diab after the Hezbollah group and its allies agreed on a cabinet that must urgently address the economic crisis and ensuing protests that toppled its predecessor. The heavily indebted country has been without effective government since Saad al-Hariri...FDA approves new drug to treat pancreatic cancer patients
KENILWORTH, NJ — A new drug, Lynparza (olaparib) has been approved for pancreatic cancer patients in the United States whose diseases have not progressed on at least 16 weeks of a first-line platinum-based chemotherapy regimen, a report from Fox 2 Detroit said. The drug, which was originally created for ovarian cancer sufferers, was......
Beirut shaken by crackdown on violent protests
January 16th, 20200 BEIRUT — An upsurge of violence in Lebanon’s protests against the ruling elite, with police meting out beatings and protesters hurling stones, has alarmed rights groups and whipped up public fury. After a brief lull in largely peaceful protests since October, people filled the streets again this week, angry at a political class that...
A third choice for the Lebanese crisis
January 16th, 20200 How did Lebanon end up on the brink of financial collapse? A country that many have called in the past the Switzerland of the Middle East and the birthplace of Khalil Gibran and Kamel Al-Sabbah. With the third largest shipping company (CMA-CGM) in the world belonging to a Lebanese family, the country benefits from one of the richest...
Pentagon admits there was no specific evidence of attack on four U.S. embassies
January 12th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Defense Secretary Mark Esper contradicted President Trump on Sunday, saying he did not see any specific evidence from intelligence officials that Iran had plans to attack four U.S. embassies. Trump has used these purported plans to justify the Jan. 2 killing of Iran Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in...
Washington rebuffs Iraqi request to pull out troops
January 10th, 20200 BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has rebuffed an Iraqi request on Friday to prepare to pull out its troops, amid heightened U.S.-Iranian tensions following the U.S. killing of an Iranian commander in Baghdad. Iraq looks set to bear the brunt of any further violence between its neighbor Iran and the United States, its......
Ukraine says Iran cooperating in plane crash probe, cautious on blaming missile
January 10th, 20200 KIEV — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Friday that Iran was cooperating with an investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane, and that Kiev was not ruling out any version yet of what might have happened. Canada and others have said the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile, probably by...
U.S. flirts with war in the Middle East: A looming military conflict with Iran
January 10th, 20200 The world has been in the grips of an uncertain fear since it woke up to news of the Jan. 2 assassination of a top Iranian general at the hands of the U.S.. Images from recent memory of endless, expensive and insane military ventures in the Middle East became vivid once more as Tehran promised revenge and President Trump goaded the......
Trump indicates deescalation with Iran, promises further economic sanctions
January 8th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. - At the White House on Wednesday, President Trump seemed to simmer down days of heated rhetoric and said the U.S. would not respond to early morning missile attacks on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops with military force. Early Wednesday, both Iranian authorities and U.S officials confirmed Tehran launched a series of...
Iran responds with missile attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq
January 7th, 20200 TEHRAN - Tensions came to a head on early Wednesday as Iran retaliated against the U.S. killing of Iran Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani by launching a series of surface-to-surface missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. Reuters reports the firing of more than a dozen ballistic missiles from Iranian......
