Peters seeks reelection against Clarke, Lawrence in newly-drawn 14th Congressional District
TROY — U.S. Congressman Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) announced on Thursday his intention to run for reelection in the newly-drawn 14th Congressional District in Michigan in 2012. Peters told his supporters in an email blast that he believes the creation of this new Congressional District bridges diverse communities and comes at...
Lebanon: Israel’s proposed sea border threatens peace
September 12th, 20110 BEIRUT — Lebanon warned the United Nations on Monday that Israel's proposed sea border threatens peace and security, as tensions rise between the neighbors over offshore oil and gas reserves."Foreign Minister Adnan Mansur has sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon rejecting geographic coordinates Israel submitted to the...Saudi star-gazers accused of bungling dates of Ramadan
RIYADH — When is a moon not a moon? That is the question vexing Muslim astronomers after accusations that Saudi Arabia jumped the gun in declaring the festival of Eid ul-Fitr because they mistook Saturn for the Moon.The festival is the most joyous moment in the Islamic calendar and celebrates the end of the fasting month of Ramadan....
Libya now set to be a scene of multiple battles
September 11th, 20110 After six months of defiant resistance, fiery speeches, chilling threats and blood-curdling brutality, Gaddafi has finally fallen on his sword. His collapse, however, is far from the end of the story. Instead, it heralds the start of a more complicated chapter in his country's history. As tanks surround Gaddafi's last outposts in Sirte,...Poll: Romney leads among Michigan Republican voters
LANSING — Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney leads among those likely to vote in Michigan's 2012 Republican Presidential Primary. Romney got 32 percent according to the EPIC-MRA poll with Texas Governor Rick Perry receiving 17 percent. Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter of Livonia received just one percent of the vote....
Special Tribunal for Lebanon concealed evidence Al-Qaeda cell killed Hariri
September 3rd, 20110 WASHINGTON - In focusing entirely on the alleged links between four Hizbullah activists and the 2005 bombing that killed Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the indictment issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon earlier this month has continued the practice of the U.N investigation before it of refusing to acknowledge the much stronger...
Israeli military arms settlers in preparation for Palestinian protests
September 3rd, 20110 West Bank settlers are given training before protests predicted to coincide with a Palestinian petition for UN recognitionThe Israeli military is arming and training West A Palestinian youth (front) and a Jewish settler (rear) prepare to throw stones at each other during clashes which according to witnesses, erupted after...
How Israel takes its revenge on boys who throw stones
September 3rd, 20110 Six-hour video reveals the brutal interrogations faced by young Palestinians The boy, small and frail, is struggling to stay awake. His head lolls to the side, at one point slumping on to his chest. "Lift up your head! Lift it up!" shouts one of his interrogators, slapping him. But the boy by now is past caring, for he has been...
Friends or foes, Syria’s neighbors wary of Assad’s ouster
September 3rd, 20110 As Syria accelerates a violent crackdown on opposition demonstrators, the country's rising instability and uncertain future are already reverberating beyond its borders in Iran, Israel, Lebanon and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (C) attends Eid Al Fitr prayers at President Hafez al-Assad mosque in...U.S. blacklists two top Syrian officials
WASHINGTON — The United States slapped sanctions on Syria's foreign minister and two other top officials on Tuesday as it pressed President Bashar al-Assad's regime to stop its crackdown on protesters.The sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department are the third in a series of punitive U.S. measures placed on Assad and top government...Bahrain’s Wefaq demands military courts close
MANAMA — Bahrain's main Shi’a opposition party, Al-Wefaq, demanded on Tuesday last week the closure of military courts set up during a protest crackdown and condemned an attack on the home of its leader. Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman: Main Shi’a opposition party demands release of all political prisoners, start of real political...Hizbullah urges ‘peaceful resolution’ in Syria
MAROUN AL-RAS — Lebanon's Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last Friday called for a "peaceful resolution" in crisis-hit Syria, warning of regional fallout. Nasrallah: All those who claim they are friends of Syria must step up efforts to help calm the country’s situation."All those who claim they are friends of Syria ... must...Maliki: U.S.-Iraq pull-out to proceed as scheduled
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said U.S. forces will leave Iraq as scheduled by year's end, and that there will not be any permanent U.S. bases in the country, a statement from his office said on Tuesday."The agreement on the withdrawal of American forces will be implemented on schedule by the end of the year, and...Candidates file for two Dearborn School Board seats
DEARBORN/DEARBORN HEIGHTS – School board races have taken shape in the area as four people have filed for the Dearborn Public School Board race. The election happens on Nov. 8. Incumbents Mary Pelitchkoff and Joseph Guido filed for reelection in Dearborn with Roxanne McDonald and Stephen Dobkowski challenging them for the two...Palestinian youth in Gaza skeptical about PA’s UN bid
Along with several other bloggers and activists in the Gaza Strip, I was recently invited to take part in a short video about young Palestinians' reaction to the Palestinian Authority's (PA) bid to have the United Nations admit a Palestinian "state" as a full member of the international body this September. A Palestinian man reacts at a......
Libya’s Iran embassy declares “solidarity” with rebels
TEHRAN- The Libyan Embassy in Tehran has declared its "solidarity" with rebel fighters and taken down the flag of strongman Muammar Gaddafi's regime, the Quds newspaper reported on Thursday."Libya's diplomatic mission in Tehran announces its complete solidarity with February 17," the date when fighters began an insurgency against...
Washington’s battle over Syria
August 27th, 20110 Two distinct camps are forming to battle over Syria policy in Washington. The first is made up of the neoconservatives, who are busy fitting the Arab Spring into U.S. strategic interests as they see them. John Bolton, Michael Doran and Elliott Abrams have been leading the charge in articulating this argument.The second group are the...
Rebel leader: Libya civil war cost more than 20,000 lives
August 27th, 20110 BENGHAZI, Libya – Libyan rebels continued hunting this week for Muammar Gaddafi and battled the remnants of his forces after overrunning his Tripoli compound, as the strongman urged residents to cleanse the capital "of rats." Rebels trample on a Gaddafi statue in Bab al-Aziziya. Two powerful blasts thought to be caused by an air attack...Schuette appoints Abbatt to Legacy DMC board
LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced the appointment of longtime Dearborn resident, attorney and 2008 19th District Judge candidate Candyce Abbatt to the Board of Trustees of Legacy DMC, formerly the Detroit Medical Center. A total of 18 other trustees of Legacy DMC will also serve an indefinite term at the......
Hariri tribunal publishes indictment to try Hizbullah members and Nasrallah slams it for lacking evidence
August 21st, 20110 The UN-backed court probing the 2005 murder of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafiq Hariri said Wednesday it had enough evidence to try four Hizbullah members, as it published the full indictment. Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks on television, as a waiter serves food at a restaurant in the port-city of Sidon,...
Defiant Assad ignores western leaders’ calls to step aside
August 21st, 20110 President Barack Obama Thursday led a chorus of calls by world leaders for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, as the UN warned his regime could be guilty of crimes against humanity. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (C), new Defence Minister Hassan Turkmani (L) and former Defence Minister Mustafa Tlas (R) attend a ceremony at......
Constan wants recount of Heights clerk race
DEARBORN HEIGHTS – Bob Constan, who currently serves as a State representative (D-Dearborn Heights), has asked for a recount of August 2's hotly contested primary race for the city clerk job. Incumbent Walter Prusiewicz came in first with 1,456 votes while Councilwoman Janet Badalow had 905, ten more than Constan. The top two...
Libya rebels push towards Tripoli, tighten noose on Gaddafi
August 20th, 20110 BENGHAZI — Libya's rebels pushed to strangle two supply lines to Tripoli on Wednesday, hoping to ratchet up pressure on the regime as their leaders prepared for the transition to democracy. Rebel fighters celebrate after taking control of the coastal town of Sabratha, 65 km (40 miles) west of Tripoli, August 18, 2011. Libyan rebels......
