The Arab American News
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Assad meets top U.N. official on Iraqi refugees
DAMASCUS — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres this week to discuss the plight of Iraqi refugees in Syria, official news agency SANA reported. They discussed "cooperation between the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and Syria with regard to improving the conditions (of refugees)...UNICEF warns of ‘time bomb’ for Somali children
GENEVA — Thousands of children in war-torn Somalia risk dying from the insecurity, famine and sickness as the country's humanitarian crisis worsens, the United Nations children's agency warned this week. Somalian child suffering from the famine"Unless we are able to address the very basic needs of water and food you will see a time bomb...Bahrain-based bank to build Libyan Energy City
TRIPOLI — Bahrain-based Islamic bank Gulf Finance House (GFH) has won a contract to build a multi-billion dollar city in Libya offering support services for oil firms, the state news agency JANA said on Monday. The 3.8 billion dollar Energy City will feature residential and business facilities over 1,300 acres in the Sabratha district,...Hamas renews call for ceasefire with Israel
JERUSALEM — A Hamas official this week renewed calls for a ceasefire amid mounting Israeli demands for a broad military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Writing in the Israeli daily Haaretz, Ahmed Yussef, a Hamas foreign policy advisor, called for a long-term ceasefire between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces. Sderot solidarity...For the world, Gaza is reality TV
GAZA CITY (IPS) — "We are being starved, killed, tortured, and besieged — and all this while the world just watches," says Abu Wael at the funeral of the latest group of Gazans killed by Israeli forces. The death toll is mounting, even if much of the media is taking little note of killings on the Gaza side. Palestinian woman waits...A ‘grand bargain’ for U.S. and Iran?
There are welcome signs of a coming thaw in America's hostile and ice-bound relations with Iran — if not in the remaining months of George W. Bush's presidency, then under his successor. For the first time in many years, such a possibility is being actively debated and envisaged by American policy-makers and influential think-tanks. An...Will Netanyahu surge oust Olmert?
OAKLAND, Ca (IPS) — One day after the Jan. 30 release of the Winograd Commission report, which in part detailed some of the failures of the Israeli government and the military during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign. "The committee concluded...Mughnieh murder could trigger retaliation
February 16th, 20080 'This is something that Hizbullah cannot let pass' Beirut — A shadowy senior Hizbullah commander, thought to have masterminded spectacular terrorist attacks in the 1980s, was killed Tuesday in a Damascus car bombing that will almost certainly trigger a retaliation from the militant Shi'a group. Hizbullah top military leader Imad...U.S.-backed groups challenge government
BAQUBA (IPS) — U.S. backed Sunni militants have challenged the U.S.-backed Iraqi government in Baghdad, and demanded political power after two women were killed by government forces. Tensions rose earlier this month when men dressed in Iraqi security personnel uniforms kidnapped two women. Their naked bodies were found later. After the...A pause in troop withdrawal?
WASHINGTON (IPS) — As the man responsible for the health and strength of the U.S. military, Pentagon chief Robert Gates is increasingly finding himself between the devil and the deep blue sea. On the one hand, there's the devil in his Iraq-obsessed boss, President George W. Bush, who clearly opposes any move that could risk what gains...Lebanon cleric advises ‘modern Shi’a’
BEIRUT — The ayatollah has a simple piece of advice for any Muslim woman being abused by her husband: Hit him back. "A woman can respond to physical violence inflicted on her by a man with counter- violence as a self-defense measure," Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Lebanon's senior-most Shi'i cleric, wrote in a fatwa late...Cairo welcomes Iranian overtures
CAIRO (IPS) — In recent months, Washington has tried hard to convince Arab leaders of the threat to the Middle East posed by Iranian regional ambitions. Nevertheless, several recent visits to Egypt by top-level Iranian officials suggest that Cairo, despite U.S. objections, may be close to restoring diplomatic ties — severed for almost 30...Hezbollah may be threat in the U.S., FBI warns
February 16th, 20080 WASHINGTON -- The FBI and Department of Homeland Security sent a bulletin Friday to state and local law enforcement authorities advising them to watch for potential retaliatory strikes by Hezbollah, one day after the Lebanese militia group vowed to avenge the death of a top commander by attacking Israeli and Jewish targets around the...Nasrallah: We’re ready to fight
As Hizbullah mourns official, March 14 bloc observes anniversary of Hariri murderBEIRUT — In a speech to supporters mourning the death of a senior commander, the secretary-general of Hizbullah has said that his movement is ready for open warfare with Israel, accusing Israel of killing Imad Moghniyeh in a car bomb blast in the Syrian...Obama’s Virginia win sweeter than McCain’s
February 16th, 20080 It was hard to know where the good news ended for Barack Obama as results piled in from the Potomac. There was no question that Obama would dominate in DC and Maryland. But his overwhelming romp in Virginia — one of a handful of formerly "red" states that are toss-ups for 2008 — made the best case yet that the Illinois senator just might......
Benatta sent by Canada to U.S. torture
The Canadian government recently removed references to torture by the United States from a training manual for diplomats posted abroad. How inconvenient, then, that Benamar Benatta and his lawyer Nicole Chrolavicius came to the nation's capital to tell of his experience of being tortured in the United States. In a public forum...MDCH and Delta Dental launch public service campaign to improve oral health
LANSING — The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and Delta Dental of Michigan this week launched a new public service campaign, "A healthy mouth means a healthier you," to raise awareness among Michigan residents that good dental habits will help people stay healthy. The campaign features television, radio and print public...Receiving green turns Snow green
DEARBORN — Snow Elementary School was one of three schools selected to receive a $1,000 grant to help them with their Columbus Courtyard Discovery Zone project. The grant, being offered by the Rouge Education Project, includes $500 to purchase native Michigan plants and another $500 for expert assistance in designing and implementing the...Kindergarten Roundup is just around the corner
DEARBORN — The start of the 2008-09 school year is several months away, but now is the time for parents to get their child ready to start Kindergarten in the Dearborn Public Schools. Elementary schools around the district will be holding Kindergarten Roundup in March and April. The annual event provides parents with the opportunity......
LWV releases political guide
DEARBORN — The 2008 WHO'S WHO, issued by the League of Women Voters for Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, is now available at those respective city halls, city clerk offices, libraries, community centers and on the web at www.LWVDDH.org. This publication lists all elected officials for Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, including addresses and...Postage to go up
WASHINGTON — Mailing a letter will soon cost a penny more. The cost of a first-class stamp will rise to 42 cents starting May 12, the U.S. Postal Service said Monday. The price of the Forever stamp will go up at the same time, meaning those stamps can still be purchased for 41 cents but will remain good for first-class postage after......
Major Michigan companies to recruit candidates at ESD’s Engineering & Technology Job Fair
SOUTHFIELD — Compuware, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Ford Motor Company, R.L. Polk & Co., and TRW Automotive are only a few of the more than 70 major companies from throughout Michigan that will be recruiting candidates at this year's Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) Engineering & Technology Job Fair. Keeping...FL Attorney General agrees to Muslim advisory group
TALLAHASSEE — In a meeting this week with state and national Muslim leaders in Tallahassee, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum agreed to establish a Muslim community advisory group. The meeting came following a controversy in which McCollum's office reportedly directed staff throughout the state to view the controversial anti-Islam......