Bursting the ‘blood bubble’
February 14th, 20140 MISHOR ADUMIM INDUSTRIAL ZONE, Occupied West Bank — The longstanding Israeli practice of labeling settlement products “Made in Israel” is leading to mounting opposition to the occupation.Settlements are considered a violation of international law. In Israel, they aren’t. And so, more often than not, consumers of Israeli products...
Lebanese olympic skier faces investigation after appearing in racy photos
February 14th, 20140 BEIRUT — Lebanese skier Jackie Chamoun is being investigated by the Lebanese Olympic Committee for appearing in racy photos and a Youtube video with nothing but underpants, covering her breasts with skis. The skier, who is not expected to be a medal contender, may have given the Sochi Games its first controversy after partially nude...UN: Clashes in Iraq’s Anbar displaced 300,000
BAGHDAD - Violence in Iraq's Anbar province, where armed groups fully control one city and parts of another, has displaced up to 300,000 people in six weeks, the United Nations has said.The province has been hit by a surge in fighting between pro- and anti-government forces that began at the end of last year, as Iraq suffers its worst...Libya TV studios attacked by gunmen
BENGHAZI — Gunmen attacked the Benghazi studios of two privately run television channels overnight, journalists and security officials said Thursday, Feb. 6, as violence in Libya's second city showed no let-up.The attacks were the latest in a spate of assaults by suspected former-rebel militia on the independent media, which have...Yemenis protest to scrap ‘corrupt’ gas deals with foreign firms
SANAA — Several hundred protesting Yemeni youths demanded Thursday, Feb. 6, that the government scrap "corrupt" gas deals with foreign firms, including France's Total, which they claim are at vastly lower rates than market prices."Total out! Our gas is ours," chanted the demonstrators, who had gathered outside the Sanaa residence of...Israel approves plans for 550 settlement homes in East Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel on Wednesday, Feb. 6, approved building plans for more than 550 new homes in illegal settlement neighborhoods of annexed east Jerusalem, the city council said.In a statement listing "building permits that were approved" during a local planning committee session, it said permits were granted to private...Bahrain toughens penalties for insulting king
MANAMA — The king of Bahrain has approved on Thursday, Feb. 6, a law imposing a jail sentence of up to seven years and a fine of up to 10,000 dinars ($26,000) for anyone who publicly insults him.bin Isa Al-Khalifa's measure highlights the sensitivity of Bahrain and other Gulf Arab states to criticism of senior officials and ruling...HRW: Iraq illegally detains thousands of women, tortures many
BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities are detaining thousands of women illegally and subjecting many to torture and ill-treatment, including the threat of sexual abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Thursday, Feb. 6. Many women were detained for months or even years without charge before seeing a judge, HRW said, and...
Phil Cavanagh to officially announce candidacy for Wayne County Executive this month
February 7th, 20140 DEARBORN — When Democratic State Representative Phil Cavanagh reflects on the legacy his father Jerome Cavanagh left behind as the mayor of Detroit, he remembers the historic March down Woodward Avenue that civil rights leaders around the country participated in more than 50 years ago.During the march, Martin Luther King Jr....
Yemen: A nation chewing itself to death
February 6th, 20140 SANAA — The Yemeni capital of Sanaa is reputed to be over 2,500 years old, making it one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. But it is living on borrowed time.Economists warn that if poverty trends continue, by 2030 more than half of the Sanaa’s projected four million inhabitants will be unable to afford their...Gunmen kill Egyptian general, Sisi to run for president
CAIRO — Islamist militant gunmen on a motorcycle killed a top Interior Ministry official in Cairo on Tuesday, Jan. 28, in the latest blow to a military-backed Egyptian government struggling to curb violence and suppress dissent.General Mohamed Saeed, head of the ministry's technical office, was shot in his car outside his home in...Saudi Arabia to give Egypt up to $4 billion more aid
CAIRO — Saudi Arabia is expected to give Egypt up to $4 billion in additional aid in the form of central bank deposits and petroleum products, state-run Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram reported on Thursday, Jan. 30.Citing an unnamed ministerial source, the newspaper said the package would be worked out during a visit next week to the...Six suicide bombers attack Iraqi ministry, kill 24
BAGHDAD- Six suicide bombers burst into an Iraqi ministry building, took hostages and killed at least 24 people including themselves on Thursday, Jan. 30, before security forces regained control.The brazen attack on the building belonging to the Ministry of Transportation in northeast Baghdad coincided with a month-long standoff between...Israel threatens to attack Hizbullah at the cost of civilians
TEL AVIV- Israel accused Lebanon's Hizbullah guerrillas on Wednesday, Jan. 29, of putting "thousands" of bases in residential buildings and said it would destroy these in a future conflict, even at the cost of civilian lives.The unusually explicit threat by air force chief Major-General Amir Eshel appeared to be part of an effort by...Sectarian violence threatens Algeria’s desert
ALGIERS- Weeks of violence between two rival communities have swept Algeria's desert city of Ghardaia, inflamed by the destruction of a historic Berber shrine, with analysts warning of sectarian conflict engulfing the fragile region.For more than a month, the city of 90,000 inhabitants has witnessed clashes between the Chaamba community......
‘Unknown persons’ kidnap son of Benghazi security chief
BENGHAZI - The son of the Libyan army's Special Forces commander in Benghazi was kidnapped in the eastern city on Thursday, Jan. 30, military sources said.Ali Abu Khamada, son of commander Wanis Abu Khamada, was "kidnapped by unknown persons near Gar Younes university," a special forces officer said, asking not to be named.He gave no...Regional strife endangers historic Arab treasures
In August 2013, looters stole or damaged 1,060 of 1,089 objects housed at Egypt’s Mallawi Museum in Minia, killing a security guard. The following month 400 artifacts were recovered. However, the Arab Spring hasn’t always been bad for the heritage of Egypt and the Arab world. During the 2011 Egyptian uprising, looters broke into...Erdogan discusses shift in Syria policy in visit to Iran
GENEVA - Opposing sides in Syria's civil war stood together in silence to honor victims of the three year conflict on Thursday, Jan. 30, but the week-old peace talks were still stuck on the question of how to proceed with just one day left before they head home.The United States said on Thursday it was concerned that Syria was falling...
Shared moments of silence, but little progress at Geneva 2 talks
January 30th, 20140 GENEVA - Opposing sides in Syria's civil war stood together in silence to honor victims of the three year conflict on Thursday, Jan. 30, but the week-old peace talks were still stuck on the question of how to proceed with just one day left before they head home.The United States said on Thursday it was concerned that Syria was falling......
Yemen extends Hadi’s presidency by one year, approves federal state
SANAA — Political factions in Yemen extended Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's presidency by one more year and approved a new federal system for the country at a national reconciliation conference that ended on Tuesday, Jan. 21, officials said.Hadi, who became head of state in 2012 for a two-year term under a Gulf power transfer deal that saw...Amnesty International blasts Egypt for ‘unprecedented’ state violence
CAIRO — Egypt has seen state violence on an "unprecedented scale" since the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last July following mass protests against his rule, Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday.Interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, responded by saying......
Remembering Haret Hreik’s victims: Loss, tears and perseverance
January 24th, 20140 BEIRUT — On January 2, after a car bomb exploded in the Haret Hreik neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs killing five people, Maria Jawhari, an 18-year-old resident of the area, posted on her Facebook page: “This is the third bombing I escaped from, I don’t know if I’ll die in the fourth.”More than two weeks later, her...
UN envoy meets Syria parties to salvage talks after bitter start
January 24th, 20140 GENEVA — A UN envoy met members of Syria's opposition in Geneva on Thursday, Jan. 23, as efforts began to salvage peace talks by focusing on local ceasefires and prisoner swaps rather than a political deal.The first day of talks on Wednesday was dominated by fierce rhetoric from President Bashar al-Assad's government and its foes.......