Israel accused of abusing detained children
UN report says Palestinian minors, most arrested for rock-throwing, face systemic ill-treatment by Israeli authorities.UNICEF said that most of the detained Palestinian youths were arrested for rock-throwing Palestinian children detained by Israeli authorities face systematic abuse that violates international law, the United Nations...Israeli apartheid further cemented by segregated bus lines
WEST BANK - Israel launched two Palestinians-only bus lines in the occupied West Bank on Monday, a step an Israeli rights group described as racist and which the Transport Ministry called an improvement in service.The left-wing Haaretz daily reported the ministry opened the lines, to be used by Palestinian laborers traveling between...Lon Johnson chosen as new State Democratic leader after Brewer withdraws
Lon Johnson.DETROIT- Mark Brewer ended his candidacy for Democratic Chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party Saturday after 18 years in the seat.Brewer announced his withdrawal from the race, opening the door for Kalkaska Democrat Lon Johnson to become the party's next chairman, which was cemented in a unanimous vote by 3,600...Kerry tells Syrian opposition weapons won’t be provided
ROME - The United States will send non-lethal aid directly to Syrian rebels, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday, disappointing opponents of President Bashar al-Assad who are demanding Western weapons.Earlier this month, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said his country had already sent $50 million in non-lethal assistance to the...EU urges sanctions against Israel
Israel's construction in east Jerusalem is a deliberate strategy to prevent the city from becoming capital of two states, an internal EU report found Wednesday, urging members to block funding for any settlement activities.In its Jerusalem Report 2012, a copy of which was seen by AFP, the European Union said Jewish settlement...
Nasrallah refutes rumors of ill-health, Hezbollah in Syria
March 1st, 20130 BEIRUT — Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah debunked rumors regarding his health as well as reports of his deputy Naim Qassem's assassination in a televised speech Wednesday evening, while renewing calls to ward off "Sunni-Shia strife in Lebanon" and “plans to partition Syria.” Reports of Nasrallah's...Courting catastrophe in Syria
The United States and Saudi Arabia appear to be ramping up aid to the Syrian rebels. Here we go again on the road to debacle. Why? The media never holds anybody to either their predictions or their results — officeholders, politicians, and of course their own pundits. And it’s a good thing for people like Bill Kristol, John McCain,...Beirut infrastructure among world’s worst
The Lebanese capital’s infrastructure is among the worst of cities across the world. According to a ranking by Global Investments reported by Byblos Bank’s Lebanon This Week, Beirut placed 204th out of 221 cities worldwide and 21st out of 25 in the Middle East and Africa region. Out of 42 middle-to-high income cities,...Hizbullah link to bombing doubted
When European Union foreign ministers discuss a proposal to designate Hizbullah as a terrorist organization, Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov will present his government’s case for linking two suspects in the July 18, 2012, bombing of an Israeli tourist bus to Hizbullah.But European ministers who demand hard evidence of...Political violence grips Egypt from all sides
CAIRO - Since the second anniversary of the uprising that ended the Mubarak regime, Egypt has witnessed a spate of political violence. Egypt’s opposition led by the high-profile National Salvation Front (NSF) blames President Mohamed Morsi for the bloodshed, but many blame the NSF and its leaders.“The NSF’s slowness in condemning...Analyst: ‘Syrian rebels too weak to target Hizbullah sites’
BEIRUT - The situation in Syria has escalated lately since terror groups are trying to counter any negotiations that could lead to a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict, strategic expert Ameen Hutait told RT Arabic.In a new turn in the nearly two-year-old civil war, Syrian rebels warned the Lebanese political party Hizbullah to...
Deadly terrorist attacks rock central Damascus
February 22nd, 20130 DAMASCUS - A powerful car bomb exploded Thursday close to ruling party offices in Damascus, killing over 50 people and causing widespread destruction in the Syrian capital's deadliest attack for more than nine months.The bombing, which rocked the city center and sent thick smoke scudding across the skyline, was followed soon after by a...Israel to drill for oil in Syria’s Golan
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Israel has authorized drilling for oil on the occupied Golan Heights in a move likely to draw international protest, local media reported on Thursday.Yediot Aharonot daily said that a license to prospect had been issued to U.S.-Israeli energy company Genie, headed by Effie Eitam, a Golan settler and former hardline...Dearborn’s 2013 elections: City Council race attracts early interest
DEARBORN - Last week the announcement of Jack O'Reilly's candidacy to seek a second term as Mayor, as well as the announcement of Attorneys Tarek Baydoun and Susan Dabaja seeking one of seven city council positions kick started the city's Municipality race. The primary elections will be held on August 6, and from there the top vote...Egypt floods Gaza tunnels to cut Palestinian lifeline
GAZA — Egyptian forces have flooded smuggling tunnels under the border with the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip in a campaign to shut them down, Egyptian and Palestinian officials said.The network of tunnels is a vital lifeline for Gaza, bringing in an estimated 30 percent of all goods that reach the enclave and circumventing a......
‘We grow, they bulldoze, we re-plant’
ZEITOUN, Gaza — Tawfiq Mandil, 45, stands amongst hundreds of Palestinian farmers, activists, and international supporters in the Gaza Strip’s eastern Zeitoun district, about half a kilometer from the border with Israel. They are renewing a call for the boycott of Israeli goods.“The Israeli army destroyed my house and my five...Head of historic philosopher Abu al-Alaa al-Maari cut off by ‘sword’ of extremism
BEIRUT - Unidentified members of an armed group in northern Syria have cut off the head of a statue honoring Abbasid-era poet Abu al-Alaa al-Maari, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday."An armed group in the (rebel-held) town of Maaret al-Numan have cut off the head of a sculpture honouring the memory of poet and...Britain cautions against gathering Syrian extremist threat to Europe
DAMSACUS - President Bashar al-Assad's forces bombarded the southeast of Damascus with air strikes and artillery on Wednesday to try and dislodge rebel fighters who have gained a foothold in the Syrian capital, opposition activists said.A Middle East diplomat following the military situation described battles in and around Damascus as a...Revolution redux: Libya to mark two years post-Gaddafi
TRIPOLI - Libya is set to celebrate two years since the start of the uprising that ended with the death of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi. But this anticipation is marred by an expectation of mass protests, a lack of reform and a resurgent secessionist mood.While no official commemoration is planned, many cities in Libya are raising......
Human Rights Watch urges Saudi Arabia to release founder of rights group
DUBAI - Human Rights Watch on Wednesday urged Saudi authorities to free an ex-judge and founder of a rights group who is serving a 15-year jail sentence for "breaking allegiance to the king."Sulaiman al-Rashudi, 76, was one of 16 people detained in 2007 and sentenced to jail in November 2011 "for peacefully trying to establish a human...Qatif uprising: Demanding inclusion
The uprising in Qatif, Saudi Arabia is not a revolution. For the most part, people have not demanded the “fall of the regime.” Starting in March 2011, one month after Bahrain’s uprising, this majority Shi'a town found itself at the center of a campaign in the Eastern Province to lift sectarian injustice.The marginalization of the......
Former Dearborn police officer announces City Council bid
DEARBORN - Mohamed Berro has officially announced his bid to seek one of the seven City Council seats in the city's Municipality elections this year, making the race even more competitive for the Arab American community. Berro joins Attorneys Susan Dabaja and Tarek Baydoun as the third Arab American candidate vying for a...
New political crisis in Tunisia after assassination of opposition leader
February 8th, 20130 TUNIS - Tunisia's political crisis looked likely to deepen on Friday with strikes and protests planned around the funeral of assassinated opposition politician Chokri Belaid.Belaid's killing on Wednesday has brought thousands of people onto the streets of the capital Tunis and other cities in violence-marred protests. Unions have called......
