The Arab American News
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Iraq seeks one-year deferral on Gulf War reparations
A U.S. soldier stands night guard as oil wells burn in the distance in Kuwait, just south of the Iraqi border Feb. 26, 1991.BAGHDAD — Iraq requested a one-year deferral of a $4.6 billion reparations payment for destroying Kuwait's oil facilities during its 1990-91 occupation, a U.N. official said on Wednesday. The request comes as...Iraqi Kurds break “Islamic State” siege on Sinjar mountain
Displaced Iraqis from the northern town of Sinjar head towards the autonomous Kurdistan region on August 4.BAGHDAD — Kurdish peshmerga fighters have fought their way to Iraq's Sinjar mountain and freed hundreds of people trapped there by "Islamic State" fighters, a Kurdish leader said on Thursday. "The peshmerga have managed to reach...
City Council to revise “illegal” building permit resolutions
December 19th, 20140 Councilman Mike Sareini (second from left) sits across from Councilman Robert Abraham (third from right) after a heated debate in a briefing meeting, Dec. 16.DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council will revise two ordinances that raise building permit renewal fees from $25 to $1,000 and limit the time of construction to one...Dearborn Police Department hiring part time officer
DEARBORN — The Dearborn Police Department is looking for a qualified candidate for an open part time police officer position. The job pays $25 an hour. Part time officers are required to work 28-hours a week. Minimum requirements for the job include at least five years experience as a certified police officer and associate degree...Judge declares Obama immigration action unconstitutional
WASHINGTON — President Obama's new plan to ease the threat of deportation for 4.7 million undocumented immigrants violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal judge found on Tuesday, handing down the first legal ruling against the plan. The ruling has no immediate impact, with the government saying there was no reason for Judge Arthur...Four die in plane crash during UAE, Egyptian military exercise
CAIRO — An aircraft crash killed two Egyptian and two Emirati servicemen Wednesday during a joint military drill, Egypt's army said. The crash occurred in Egypt, the UAE's official news agency WAM reported. The downing was caused by a technical malfunction, the Egyptian military said in a statement, without elaborating. Authorities...Kuwaiti ship, Egyptian fishing boat collision kill 18
CAIRO — Egypt ordered an investigation into an accident, on Dec. 15, in which a Kuwaiti container ship and a fishing vessel collided in the Red Sea in an incident that killed 18 Egyptians. A statement from the prosecutor's office said initial enquiries showed the fishing boat capsized after it and the Kuwaiti ship hit each other after...Saudi cleric sparks uproar for appearing with wife on TV
Ahmed al-Ghamedi and his wife Jawaher bint Ali.DUBAI — A Saudi cleric has sparked uproar by appearing on television along with his wife -- whose face was uncovered in an open challenge to strict tradition in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom. Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamedi, who has said covering the face is not a must for women under...
Arab family sues Dearborn Heights Police for discrimination
December 18th, 20140 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — An Arab American family is suing the city of Dearborn Heights for alleged racial discrimination by the police. The lawsuit, which was announced at the office of the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) on Tuesday, says Dearborn Heights police officers failed to investigate an assault against two of the...
The ACLU-MI defends anti-Muslim protesters’ free speech
December 12th, 20140 DETROIT — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU-MI) filed an amicus brief last week urging a federal court of appeals to reverse the decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought against Wayne County by a group of anti-Muslim protesters. During the Arab International Festival in 2012, county deputies escorted...
Dearborn firefighters surprise needy family for the second time
December 12th, 20140 Salli places the star at the top of the Christmas tree as a Dearborn firefighter lifts her up.DEARBORN — "I really feel like I have a family right now," Mona El-Darnouh said while decorating the new Christmas tree Dearborn firefighters surprised her family with on Sunday. While handing El-Darnouh an ornament to put on the tree,...
Mayor O’Reilly: City is not financially liable for sewage backup in August flood
December 12th, 20140 DEARBORN — The city announced this week that it would not be held liable for flooding damages caused by the heavy rainstorm on August 11 that impacted more than 10,000 homes. In a letter sent to residents last week, the city stated that it had "completed a thorough investigation" that determined there was "no basis for...Soccer player suspected of killing referee set to face trial
Saad.LIVONIA — A Dearborn Heights man who allegedly fatally assaulted a referee during a soccer game in Livonia on June 29 is set to begin his trial in February at the Wayne County Circuit Court. Bassel Abdul-Amir Saad was charged with second degree murder following a scuffle in which he struck and killed referee John Bieniewicz,...
Civil rights groups: Religious freedom act can lead to discrimination
December 12th, 20140 LANSING — Civil rights organizations expressed strong opposition to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that passed the Michigan House of representatives last week. The bill protects sincerely held religious beliefs from interference by the state. The bill H.B. 5958, was approved in a party line vote in the...
PART TWO: Detroit residents complain of health effects from breathing in toxins
December 12th, 20140 A diagram provided by the Sierra Club that shows which companies need to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. DTE Energy is responsible for 85 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions in Wayne County according to the Sierra Club. MICHIGAN — Sulfur dioxide is harmful to human health. Short-term exposure to the toxic gas causes......
Ex-CIA officials say torture report is one-sided, flawed
A protester holds his hands up during a protest for the death of Eric Garner.WASHINGTON — A group of former top-ranking CIA officials disputed a U.S. Senate committee's finding that the agency's interrogation techniques produced no valuable intelligence, saying such work had saved thousands of lives. Former CIA directors George...Police body cameras carry risks without firm rules
WASHINGTON — Civil rights activists and some police chiefs are warning that the Obama administration's proposal to help local police departments buy 50,000 body cameras must come with firm rules on how to use the equipment. They say that without proper oversight to address potential misuse, such as when police turn off their cameras...Medical schools across U.S. protest chokehold death
NEW YORK CITY — Students at medical schools around the United States planned "die-ins" to protest the chokehold death by police of an unarmed Black man and New York activists demanded the city take action after a grand jury declined to indict the officer involved. Protests intensified last week after the grand jury decision to not...Kerry urges flexibility in U.S. war powers against Islamic State
Kerry.WASHINGTON — Any congressional authorization of U.S. military force against "Islamic State" should be flexible and not limit the fight to Iraq and Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday. The authorization should also not restrict President Obama in deploying combat troops against the militant group if needed,......
Officials who authorized torture should be prosecuted
December 12th, 20140 The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a report on the CIA's enhanced interrogation methods (euphemism for torture) that revealed gruesome torture, cover-ups, mismanagement, lies and deliberate misleading of the public by the agency. The report released on Tuesday is the result of a five-year Senate investigation into the...Palestinian minister dies after confrontation with Israeli soldier
RAMALLAH — A Palestinian minister died on Wednesday shortly after an Israeli border policeman shoved and grabbed him by the throat during a protest in the West Bank, an incident Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described as barbaric. Ziad Abu Ein, 55, a minister without portfolio, was among scores of Palestinian and foreign......
Bombs kill three in Bahrain
MANAMA — A bomb explosion killed a Bahraini citizen and wounded an expatriate man on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said, the second fatal attack in the Gulf Arab state in as many days. Political tensions have been running high in the kingdom since the opposition boycotted elections last month. The ministry called Tuesday's attack...U.S. hostage in Yemen killed during rescue mission
SANAA — Al-Qaeda in Yemen blamed the United States for the death of U.S. and South African hostages killed in a failed rescue attempt by U.S. forces, an official of the militant group said, arguing Washington had "foolishly" chosen armed force over negotiation. President Obama "and his government knew the fairness of our demands and......
