February 3rd, 20230DETROIT — A Dearborn man who was captured on a Syrian battlefield in 2018 has been convicted on charges of providing support to ISIS and attending one of the group's training camps, prosecutors said.
A federal jury convicted Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli, 32, on Monday of charges of providing and attempting to provide material support to...
October 24th, 20220Before Lebanon's government approved a U.S.-brokered deal settling a decades-long maritime boundary dispute with Israel, the powerful Hezbollah had scrutinized the final draft line by line and given a crucial nod of acceptance.
Branded a "terrorist group" by Washington and a sworn enemy of Israel, the Iran-backed Hezbollah was certainly...
September 16th, 20220Syria's simmering 11-year war is at risk of boiling up once again with a return to large-scale combat after several frontlines across the country flared up in recent months, the United Nations warned on Wednesday in a new report.
"Syria cannot afford a return to larger-scale fighting, but that is where it may be heading," said Paulo...
September 15th, 20220ANAHEIM, CA — After years of lobbying by advocates, Anaheim finally designated its Arab American enclave as "Little Arabia" on Tuesday.
In a statement, Anaheim's spokeswoman told CNN the city plans to follow up the designation with in-depth research.
"The Little Arabia designation recognizes an area of our city we've always...
August 12th, 20220BIRMINGHAM - Rana Lotfi, an Arab American artist, pursues art as a means of therapy and expression.
Lotfi immigrated to the United States from Syria in 2002 after obtaining her bachelor's degree in fine art from Damascus University in Damascus, Syria.
Lotfi told The Arab American News that her passion for painting began at...
July 22nd, 20220Russian President Vladimir Putin ended his first major summit outside Russia since the invasion of Ukraine with an endorsement from Iran for its response to NATO, a clash with Turkey over Syria and signs of progress over the lifting of the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain.
The White House said the Tehran summit held between Putin,...
July 22nd, 20220Poor rainfall, fuel shortages, soaring fertilizer prices: It's been a bad year for farmers in northeastern Syria, where a disappointing wheat crop looks set to deal another blow to food supplies in a country grappling with climate change and war.
Farmer Mohamed Hussein said he planted around a fifth of the area he would usually...
May 28th, 20221BEIRUT — Lebanon’s intelligence chief said Thursday that he met with Biden administration officials this week to discuss ways he could help secure the release of six Americans who are being held prisoner or are missing in Syria, including Austin Tice, a freelance journalist who contributed to The Washington Post.
Maj. Gen. Abbas...
May 3rd, 20220WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, a U.S. judge imposed a lifetime prison sentence on a member of an ISIS militant group nicknamed "The Beatles" who beheaded American hostages, at a hearing where one victim's mother told the defendant, "I will not hate you."
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis in Alexandria, Virginia, held an emotionally...
April 26th, 20220BEIRUT — Lebanon's cabinet ordered the military court on Tuesday to investigate the capsize of a migrant boat after colliding with a naval vessel giving chase, with at least six dead and dozens missing.
The boat carrying Lebanese and Syrian migrants sank off the coast near the impoverished northern city of Tripoli on Saturday...
March 11th, 20220MACOMB COUNTY — A Macomb Township doctor wanted by authorities over accusations of sexual assault was caught in Canada after he was initially believed to have fled to his native Syria.
Dr. Mfed Mosely, a pediatrician, is accused of sexually assaulting at least three of his young female employees, trying to buy their silence and...
February 23rd, 20220BEIRUT — Lebanese security forces have foiled plans by militants linked to ISIS to carry out three suicide attacks in Beirut's southern suburbs, the interior minister said on Wednesday.
The plans for the attacks involved rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire as well as suicide vests rigged with explosives that would have killed...
February 3rd, 20220WASHINGTON, D.C. — The leader of ISIS died when he blew himself and family members up during a U.S. military raid in Syria, President Biden said on Thursday, dealing a blow to the jihadist group's efforts to reorganize as a guerrilla force after losing large swathes of territory.
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi had led ISIS...
May 28th, 20210Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office with 95.1 percent of the votes, in an election that will extend his rule over a country ruined by war, but which opponents and the West say was marked by fraud.
Assad's government says the election on Wednesday shows Syria is functioning normally despite the decade-old...
April 23rd, 20210DAMASCUS — Thanks to a global initiative, Syria received the first 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, U.N. officials announced on Thursday.
The doses were delivered through the global COVAX initiative, which has also delivered the badly needed vaccine to Yemen. Another 54,000 vaccines were delivered to the northwest...
April 18th, 20210DAMASCUS — Syria will hold a presidential election on May 26 that is virtually certain to return President Bashar al-Assad for a third term — an event that Washington and the opposition say is a farce designed to cement his autocratic rule.
Assad's family and his Baath party have ruled Syria for five decades with the help of the...
April 16th, 20210BEIRUT - Lebanon's caretaker energy minister on Thursday blamed the country's fuel crisis on profiteers who smuggle gasoline into neighboring Syria.
At a Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue, Raymond Ghajar said the gap in gasoline prices between the two countries meant smugglers could make huge profits.
"The price of 20 liters of...
April 11th, 20210JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister pledged on Sunday to cooperate with the U.S. on Iran, voicing hope that Israeli security would be safeguarded under any renewed Iranian nuclear deal that Washington reaches.
“Israel views the United States as a full partner across all operational theatres, not the least Iran,” Benny Gantz...
March 15th, 20210ALEPPO — Mohammed Abu Rdan has known nothing but conflict throughout his short life.
Born in rural Aleppo in 2011 when peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s government began, his childhood is anything but typical.
The protests quickly turned into a multi-sided conflict that has sucked in world powers,...
March 8th, 20210SYRIA — Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and his wife, Asma, have tested positive for COVID-19 after showing minor symptoms, his office said on Monday.
The Syrian leader and his spouse, who announced her recovery from breast cancer in 2019, were in good health and would keep working in isolation at home, the statement...
February 26th, 20210WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, President Biden ordered U.S. military airstrikes in eastern Syria, on the border with Iraq, against facilities belonging to what the Pentagon described as "Iran-backed militia", in a calibrated response to recent rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq.
The strikes appeared to be limited in scope,...
February 4th, 20210WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, President Biden said he seeks to raise the annual refugee cap to 125,000, an increase that will take place in the beginning of October.
Biden made the announcement during a speech at the U.S. State Department.
Biden also said he would approve an executive order that would restore the U.S. refugee...
November 21st, 20200DAMASCUS – Syria’s longtime Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, a career diplomat who became one of the country’s most prominent faces to the outside world during the uprising against President Bashar Assad, died on Monday. He was 79.
Al-Moallem, who served as ambassador to Washington for nine years, starting in 1990 during...
October 8th, 20200WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has gained a prominent endorsement from several diplomatic and policy experts on the Middle East.
A substantial list of former ambassadors to Middle East and North African (MENA) nations, foreign policy advisors and Middle East affairs experts have signed on to a letter,...
October 3rd, 20200DEARBORN — With the November election now a month away, U.S. Senator Gary Peters is in a race to maintain his seat for another term against conservative, Trump-backed John James.
Several polls, including RealClear and Reuters, puts Peters ahead of James. Peters has a history of direct engagement with the Arab American community,...
July 27th, 20200BEIRUT (Reuters) — Lebanon reimposed severe COVID-19 restrictions on Monday for the next two weeks, shutting places of worship, cinemas, bars, nightclubs, sports events and popular markets, after a sharp rise in infections.
Shops, private companies, banks and educational institutions would be permitted to open, but only on Tuesdays...
July 18th, 20200ROCHESTER — Majd Faraj, a second-year medical student at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB), is leading a project to bring much needed medical supplies to Lebanon.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the Lebanese healthcare infrastructure this year. The problem has been compounded by an already...
July 17th, 20200WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (I-Cascade Township), has announced that he will not be running for re-election to represent his district in the western part of Michigan in the U.S. Congress.
“I love representing our community in Congress. I always will. This is my choice, but I’m still going to miss it,” Amash...