Middle East

May 17 2013

Experts say the virus could show up in the United States

A new virus in the same family as SARS — found for the first time in humans in recent months — has infected 40 people, most of them in the Middle East.

Half of those infected have died, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Earlier this week, the WHO reported two health care workers in Saudi Arabia had been sickened while treating patients.

Cases of the virus, called the novel coronavirus or nCoV, have also been reported in European countries, most recently France but also Germany and the United Kingdom.

May 16 2013

His murder in Mexico raises suspicions

People often describe me as troubled. I’m not going to say that I’m not. But I’m not crazy. I have troubles. A lot of us do. But you need to understand where I’m coming from and why I am the way I am. Considering what I’ve been through, it’s a miracle that I’ve been able to hold it together. I’m just trying to find my way. [I’ve read newspaper stories about me that] say, “Experts testify [that boy] is psychotic.” The way they describe me is wrong—bi-polar, depression, pyro, whatever. I know I’m not at all.

Apr 18 2011

Begins at sundown

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Passover, which celebrates what the Old Testament describes as God's deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, begins at sundown today with observant Jews in the Southland and around the world gathering for a feast called a Seder.

Seders feature six symbolic foods, including matzo, a cracker-like unleavened bread symbolizing the Exodus from the land of pharaoh, when there was not enough time to let the bread rise. Jews are not supposed to eat anything leavened during the holiday period.

Karen Bass  |   OW Guest Columnist
Mar 31 2011

Unrest in Libya

The Arab spring that awoke in lands throughout North Africa and the Middle East was a sight to behold. The spigot of unrest was too powerful, the energy too spontaneous, the movement too organic for any government to turn off.

Seasons of discontent were reversed by the keyboard clicking and smart phone tapping of a youthful generation expressing their exuberance in 140 characters on Twitter, and organizing movements of shared struggle on Facebook fan pages.

Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Mar 24 2011

Between the Lines

The decision to elevate the assault on Libya and its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has some very chilling forecasts for normalizing relations with Muslims in America. Libya is involved in a civil war for which no vital American interests are at stake. Libya only controls 2 percent of the world’s oil, of which the United States is not highly invested. The destabilization of Libya now threatens the stabilization of the whole Middle East region. Yet the United States can’t resist invading another Muslim nation.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”