World Cup 2022 – a promise fulfilled?
January 15th, 20230 By Duggan Flanakin The pyrotechnics have finally settled in Doha on what was a truly sensational and hard fought 2022 World Cup, the stadiums no longer emanating the joyous cheers from audiences who for weeks remained at the edges of their seats, taking in upset after upset — and in the place of pyrotechnics, today Qatar revels in...
Detroit Metro Airport ranks No. 2 for on-time departures in 2022
January 15th, 20230 Air travelers faced delays and cancellations during the holidays, one of the busiest times of the year, as winter weather set in. Still, according to a recent ranking of percentage of on-time departures by an aviation analytics firm, Michigan's biggest airport ranked No. 2 nationally, and No. 4 globally. Of Detroit Metro's nearly...
Former Lebanese Parliament Speaker Hussein al-Husseini, architect of Tiaf Peace Accord, dies at 86
January 14th, 20230 Lebanese Shi'a politician Hussein al-Husseini, a former parliament speaker who was an architect of the peace agreement ending the 1975-90 civil war, died on Wednesday aged 86. Husseini, speaker from 1984 to 1992, was central in asserting a larger role for a Shi'a community that was largely downtrodden at the time, including by helping...
These are the world’s most powerful passports, and the least, to hold in 2023
January 14th, 20230 Henley & Partners have announced the world’s most (and least) powerful passports for 2023. After analyzing exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), they developed the index based on the number of destinations passport holders can access without a prior visa. Global travel is now at around...Israel was never a democracy: So why is the West lamenting end of “liberal” Israel?
Even before the new Israeli government was officially sworn in on December 29, angry reactions began emerging, not only among Palestinians and other Middle Eastern governments, but also among Israel’s historic allies in the West. As early as November 2, top U.S, officials conveyed to Axios that the Biden administration is “unlikely...
U.N. World Arabic Language Day: Americans’ desire to learn Arabic grows
December 24th, 20220 December 18 marked the 10th United Nations World Arabic Language Day, which celebrates the language spoken by more than 300 million people, primarily in the Middle East and North Africa. Arabic is also the fastest-growing language in the United States, according to Census data. Arabic has become the eighth-most taught language in U.S....
Jordanians protest over fuel price increases, day after policeman killed in riots
December 24th, 20220 AMMAN — Jordanians staged sit-ins on Friday, Dec. 16 and activists called for more protests over fuel price increases that have added to a cost-of-living squeeze, a day after riots in a southern city left one police officer dead, witnesses and security sources said. Authorities said the policeman was killed the night of Dec. 15 by a...
Netanyahu says he has secured deal with religious and far-right to form Israeli government
December 21st, 20220 On Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu said he had secured a deal to form a new Israeli government after weeks of unexpectedly tough negotiations with religious and far-right coalition partners. "I have managed (to form a government)," Netanyahu said on Twitter, minutes before a midnight deadline set by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. A...
U.S. court decision against Lebanon’s banks gives hope to depositors
December 20th, 20220 A U.S. court of appeals determined this week that cases against Lebanese commercial banks can be tried outside Lebanon, paving the way for more cases by depositors seeking to unlock their frozen funds. The court decision, issued on Thursday in a case brought by Lebanese depositors against leading lender Bank Audi, overturned a federal...
The Nakba Day triumph: How the U.N. Is correcting a historical wrong
December 18th, 20220 The next Nakba Day will be officially commemorated by the United Nations General Assembly on May 15, 2023. The decision by the world’s largest democratic institution is significant, if not a game changer. For nearly 75 years, the Palestinian Nakba, the "Catastrophe" wrought by the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist militias in...
U.N. approves resolution to commemorate 75th Nakba anniversary
December 17th, 20220 UNITED NATION – The U.N. General Assembly has approved a resolution to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, a term used to describe the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the lead-up to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Ninety countries voted in favor of the measure, with 30...
Israeli troops kill Palestinian girl during West Bank firefight
December 16th, 20220 WEST BANK – Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian girl during a firefight with militants during a raid in the city of Jenin on Sunday, authorities said, as a wave of violence in the occupied West Bank continued. An Israeli military statement said soldiers hit the girl unintentionally as they returned fire at armed...
Pan Am Flight 103 bombing suspect taken into U.S. custody, formally charged in connection with the December 1988 terrorist attack
December 16th, 20220 WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Libyan man accused of making the bomb that killed 270 people after it blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 is in custody in the United States, Scottish and U.S. law enforcement officials said on Sunday. Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi was taken into custody about two years after...
The next generation of resistance fighters: An interview with a Palestinian activist
December 12th, 20220 A commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and another Palestinian resistance fighter were killed early Thursday morning in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli occupation forces near Jenin. The clashes happened after the IOF raided the city overnight to conduct arrests. According to the Spokesperson’s Unit of the IOF, three...
Hosting its first ever World Cup — MENA countries show up, in the stands, on the pitch
December 10th, 20220 By Marc Serber, football analyst The first-ever FIFA World Cup held in the MENA (Middle East/North African) region has brought a real opportunity to showcase football pedigree on the field and introduce the world to its fan culture in the stands and outside of Qatar’s eight stadiums. While the host nation bowed out in......
On “hate” and love at the World Cup: Palestine is more than an Arab cause
December 10th, 20220 We were mistaken to think that Palestine represents the central issue for all Arabs. Such language suggests that Palestine is an external subject, to be compared to other collective struggles that consume most Arabs, everywhere. The ongoing celebration of Palestine and the Palestinian flag at the Qatar World Cup 2022 by millions of...
Yemeni American man returns to Detroit after more than a month of imprisonment in Saudi Arabia
December 9th, 20220 MELVINDALE – A Yemeni American who resides with his family in Melvindale returned home after spending more than a month imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. Mohamed Salem, 63, walked off a plane at Detroit Metro Airport just after noon Thursday, five weeks after he was detained while on a religious pilgrimage. Salem arrived in...
Seattle man, 22, sentenced to four years in prison for attempting to join ISIS
December 6th, 20220 SEATTLE — A 22-year-old Seattle man was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison after being arrested while trying to board a flight to join the Islamic State group last year. Elvin Hunter Bgorn Williams was arrested at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as he checked in for a flight to Cairo and later pleaded guilty to...
Why the decision of the FBI to investigate Abu Akleh’s murder is unprecedented
November 26th, 20220 The recent decision by the United States Department of Justice to open an investigation into the killing, last May, of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is not a game-changer, but important and worthy of reflection, nonetheless. Based on the long trajectory of U.S. military and political support of Israel, and......
World’s eyes focus on Qatar as it hosts the most expensive World Cup in history
November 25th, 20220 Qatar's ruler opened the World Cup on Sunday with a call for people of all races and orientations to put aside their differences, speaking as the host nation faced a barrage of criticism over its treatment of foreign workers and supporters of LGBT rights. The Muslim Gulf nation is staking its reputation on delivering a smooth...
Israeli occupying forces kill a Palestinian teen, injure dozens in the West Bank
November 25th, 20220 NABLUS, WEST BANK – Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian teenager Tuesday night during an Israeli incursion near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Ahmad Amjad Shehada was shot during a confrontation while Israeli occupation forces secured an Israeli settler incursion at the site of Yosuf’s Tomb. Amjad was only......
Who is Michael Boulos? Trump’s new Lebanese son-in-law
November 21st, 20220 - This story was originally published in Business Insider Donald Trump's daughter Tiffany, 29, wed billionaire Michael Boulos before 250 guests at the former president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on November 12. Boulos, 25, joins the family after he and Tiffany began dating in 2018. They were engaged in January 2021 with Tiffany...
FBI to investigate Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder; Israel says it won’t cooperate
November 18th, 20220 The U.S. Department of Justice has decided to investigate the killing of renowned Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, with Israel saying it does not plan to cooperate. The investigation by the FBI comes after months of pressure from rights groups, Democrats and Abu Akleh’s family on the Biden administration to push......
