ISIS captures Mosul and Tikrit, eyes Baghdad; Kurdish militants seize Kirkuk
June 13th, 20140 Mourners grieve near the coffin of a victim killed by a suicide bomber who blew himself up inside a tent filled with mourners in Baghdad, during a funeral in Najaf, south of Baghdad, June 12. BAGHDAD — Iraqi Kurds took control of the northern oil city of Kirkuk on Thursday, June 12, after government forces abandoned their...Syria’s Assad grants amnesty after re-election
DAMASCUS — Syrian announced a wide-ranging amnesty on Monday, June 9, less than a week after he was re-elected to another seven-year term in the midst of civil war.In a decree published by state media, Assad commuted some death sentences to life imprisonment, reduced jail terms for many offenses and canceled some others...Egypt’s Sisi tells interior minister to fight sexual harassment
CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered the interior minister to fight sexual harassment following the arrest of seven men for attacking women near Cairo's Tahrir Square during his inauguration celebrations, his office said on Tuesday, June 10.Egypt issued a new law last week which punishes sexual harassment with at...Yemenis protest over power cuts, fuel shortages
SANAA — Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Yemeni president's house in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday, June 11, to call for the fall of the government, angry at a city-wide power cut about to enter its third day and severe petrol shortages.President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has replaced five ministers in his cabinet amid...Jordan charges Iraqi journalists with terrorism
AMMAN — Jordanian military prosecutors accused a group of journalists of terrorism after closing an Amman-based television channel critical of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a judicial official said."State security court prosecutors charged the owner and 13 journalists of the Al-Abasiya satellite station with using the Internet...Leading anti-Mubarak activist sentenced to 15 years
CAIRO — An Egyptian court sentenced leading activist Alaa Abdel Fattah to 15 years in jail on Wednesday, June 11, for violating a protest law and on other charges, his lawyer said, a move that outraged human rights groups.Abdel Fattah, 33, became a symbol of the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak through his leading role in...Suicide bomber attacks Benghazi police station
BENGHAZI — A car bomb exploded at a police station in Libya's second city Benghazi late Wednesday, June 11, leaving the suicide bomber dead and five police officers injured, security officials said."A suicide attack took place Wednesday evening at the Berses post and, according to preliminary information, there are a number of victims...
Bashar Assad wins Syria presidential election in landslide vote
June 6th, 20140 Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma (R) cast their votes in the country's presidential elections at a polling station in Damascus June 3, 2014, in this handout released by Syria's national news agency SANA.DAMASCUS — Bashar al-Assad has won a landslide victory in the Syrian presidential poll with 88.7 percent of the...
Why I am running for state representative
June 6th, 20140 Berry.I am a candidate for the office of state representative in Michigan’s 9th House District – which includes portions of Dearborn and Detroit – because one of the most important aspects of a community—quality public education under local control— is under attack from Lansing.As president of the Dearborn Public School Board...UN: Nearly 800 killed in Iraq last month
BAGHDAD — Nearly 800 people were killed in violence across Iraq in May, the United Nations said on Sunday, making it the deadliest month so far this year.Of the 799 people killed, 196 were members of the Iraqi security forces, and the rest were civilians - often victims of attacks by insurgents who have been regaining ground and...Bahrain court jails 4 for life over 2012 bombing
MANAMA — On Thursday, June 5, a Bahraini court convicted and sentenced four activists to life imprisonment over the death of an Asian man in a 2012 bomb attack, according to an attorney for one of the defendants.The case centered on the death of an Asian man killed in a series of bombings that claimed two lives in the tiny Gulf...Yemen: 500 militants, 40 soldiers killed in clashes
SANAA — Five hundred al-Qaeda militants and 40 soldiers have been killed since the military launched an offensive against the group in April, Yemeni army spokesman. Colonel Saeed al-Faquih told a news conference on Thursday, June 4.Yemen's military mounted a campaign in the south of the country to try to crush the Islamist group that...Prosecutor: Election of new Libyan PM unconstitutional
TRIPOLI — The election of Ahmed Maiteeq as Libya's new prime minister was conducted in violation of the country's temporary constitution, a prosecutor told the Supreme Constitutional Court on Thursday, June 4.The North African country is struggling with a political crisis as outgoing premier Abdullah al-Thinni has refused to hand...Egypt imposes tougher penalties for sexual harassment
CAIRO — Egypt approved new punishments Thursday, June 4, for sexual harassment, amid rising pressure on authorities to fight the rampant phenomenon.Until now, Egypt has not had a law defining sexual harassment, despite more than 99 percent of women being subjected to some form of abuse, according to a study by the United Nations...Kerry calls for ‘fully empowered’ president for Lebanon
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam (R).BEIRUT — On Wednesday, June 4, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Lebanon's politicians to overcome their "deeply troubling" stalemate and elect a new president to help respond to the damaging fallout of civil war in neighboring Syria.Kerry, on......
Reporting on the Middle East: Please go back to the streets
Irrespective of how one feels about the direction taken by various Arab revolutions in the last three years, a few facts remain incontestable. Arab revolts began in the streets of poor, despairing Arab cities; and Arabs had every right to rebel, considering the dismal state of affairs in which they live.Few disagree with these two...
Israel in political isolation over new Palestinian government
June 6th, 20140 UNITED NATIONS — The United States’ decision to “work with" the new Palestinian government has virtually isolated Israel: the only country so far to have publicly rejected the political alliance between Fatah and Hamas.“Not a single nation has heeded Israel’s futile call to boycott the new unity government," said Riyad...
Santana commits to promote understanding of region’s Arabs and Muslims
May 30th, 20140 Santana.DETROIT — Over the years, Harvey Santana has shown steadfast commitment to defending the region’s Arab and Muslim communities against hate. He has also been a champion for promoting diversity and understanding about immigrants, and other various ethnic groups. Santana, a democratic state representative for the 9th...Sudanese woman facing execution for apostasy gives birth in jail
KHARTOUM — A Christian Sudanese woman sentenced to death for apostasy has given birth in jail, a Western diplomat said on Tuesday, May 27."She gave birth to a girl today," said the diplomat, who is familiar with the case of Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, 27. "The mother and the baby seem to be doing OK. It's a cruel treatment to be in......
Tunisia’s Jews torn between protecting traditions and assimilation
DJERBA, Tunisia — Jews and Muslims have coexisted for hundreds of years on Tunisia's Djerba island, but while relations between the two religions are good, some members of the tiny Jewish community say the atmosphere is stifling."We, the Jews, have been living here for more than 2,000 years," said Claudine Saghroun, who lives in the...Women journalists seize initiative in Gaza
GAZA CITY — “We let the men participate in the workshop discussions, but the training sessions are only for women journalists,” said Mona Khadir, who coordinates the activities of the Filastiniyat Women Journalists’ Club in Gaza. The meeting hall at a hotel in Gaza is full of journalists. What catches the eye is the row of......
Thousands of Syrian expatriates vote in early poll
May 30th, 20140 BEIRUT — Refugees waved flags and held pictures of Bashar al-Assad as they crushed into Damascus' embassy in Lebanon on Wednesday, May 29, to join Syrians worldwide in voting early in an election that looks certain to give him a third seven-year term as president.Expatriates and those who have fled the war were casting...Attacks kill 74 in one day in Iraq
BAGHDAD — A post-election wave of attacks across Iraq, including car bombings in Baghdad and a northern city, killed at least 74 people, officials said Thursday, May 29.The compiled death toll for Wednesday, with the number rising to 74 after late-night attacks, made it the bloodiest single day in Iraq in more than seven months.It was......