How scandal in California opened door to region’s first Arab-Muslim mayor

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Updated 01 September 2023
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How scandal in California opened door to region’s first Arab-Muslim mayor

  • Entrepreneur Ali Saleh had helped lead campaign to end high salaries in City of Bell which saw his election as mayor
  • Several elected officials ousted for paying themselves exorbitant wages after campaign led by Arab-American businessman

CHICAGO: When the news broke in 2010 about excessive salaries being paid to the manager and council members in the City of Bell, southeast of Los Angeles, the controversy provoked voters to look for new leaders. 

One person who surfaced to lead a reform political movement in the City of Bell was Ali Saleh, a Muslim-American businessman whose parents immigrated to California from southern Lebanon in the 1970s. 

Saleh — who appeared on The Ray Hanania Radio Show this week — founded BASTA, the Bell Association to Stop the Abuse, which ousted the city’s five members after it was disclosed they were each being paid $100,000 annually, with the manager earning more than $1 million. 

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“I was born and raised in the City of Bell. In 2010, we had a scandal unfortunately that happened here where the city manager was making over one million and council members were making close to $100,000,” Saleh told Arab News during the taping of the show Wednesday. 

“In comparison, I currently take a salary which is $670 a month which comes out to be a bit over $8,000 a year. And those council members (took) close to $100,000 each. The scandal was broken by the LA Times. At that time, I was a regular community member, working and trying to raise a family here in the City of Bell. Obviously, property taxes were high and we got involved. We created a community group called BASTA (or) Bell Association to Stop the Abuse.  

“And I was one of the founders of that organization and we were successful in recalling all of the council members and bringing in five new council members. In the City of Bell, like a lot of the small cities here in LA County, we appoint a mayor and vice mayor every year within the council and I had served as the first mayor right after all that had happened here in the City of Bell. I did not expect myself to be able to succeed but I was the top vote getter in a community that is 96 percent Latino.” 

Saleh said the financial scandal fueled support for change among the public and voters that led to his election. 

Although the City of Bell is 96 percent Hispanic, with a small pocket of Lebanese Americans, council members named him the city’s new mayor, the first Muslim-Arab to hold the position in the state. The mayor is appointed by the elected council and changes annually. 

“I ran with being transparent and being able to show the community what we do,” Saleh said. 

“We were able, because of the City of Bell, (ensure) everyone in the State of California has to show their salaries, and what they are making. So, you could basically go on the transparency website in the state and be able to see each government employee and what they are making.” 

After the election Saleh said the decision by the new council members to cut their salaries saved taxpayers nearly $500,000 a year. 

Saleh, a Democrat, said he was never interested in pursuing a career in politics and spent his time working in his family apparel business, which has several branches.  

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“I had never had any interest of going into politics. And because of the unfortunate circumstances that happened here in the City of Bell that is how I got into politics,” Saleh said. 

“A lot of Lebanese here in LA County just want to put food on the table for the family and be able to raise a family here. And politics is secondary. But I am seeing a lot of new generations going into politics. When I first got elected in 2011, you didn’t see that much. I probably was the first Lebanese-Muslim mayor here in the state of California. I am hoping the young generations get more involved and take a career into politics and hopefully be able to serve their communities. There is a lot that we can give as Arab Americans to this great country.” 

Saleh said Arab Americans need to build trust among other constituencies and help them understand that they are really like everyone else. 

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“I am fortunate to represent a community that is 96 percent Latino and they have entrusted themselves to have an Arab American to be on the city council here. This is my third term. I have been the top vote getter every single time and I am hoping to serve this community in any way possible whether it is on the council — or if I retire, I definitely will stay involved in our community,” said Saleh who is fluent in Spanish and Arabic. 

Saleh said the mostly Lebanese-Arab community constitutes about 2 percent of the city’s population and that there is a mosque and a Muslim Youth Center, which was used as a meeting location for the BASTA political movement. 

Saleh said that the goal of entering politics is to advocate for issues that bring services to the community and engender tolerance and acceptance of all peoples regardless of their heritage or national origins. 

The BASTA movement and the City of Bell show that Arab Americans and Hispanics can work together toward the same goals, he said. 

Saleh made his comments on The Ray Hanania Radio Show, broadcast Wednesday Aug. 30, 2023, on the US Arab Radio Network in Detroit on WNZK AM 690 radio and Washington D.C. on WDMV AM 700 radio. 

You can listen to the radio show’s podcast by visiting ArabNews.com/rayradioshow.


Suicide bomber kills at least 10 in a restaurant in northeast Nigeria

Updated 41 min 5 sec ago
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Suicide bomber kills at least 10 in a restaurant in northeast Nigeria

  • The suicide bomber was able to slip through unnoticed because of a heavy downpour
  • No group has claimed responsibility for the

ABUJA: A suicide bomber in Nigeria’s northeast state of Borno killed at least 10 people and injured several others in an explosion in a restaurant, police said Saturday.

The blast occurred in the Konduga area late Friday, police spokesperson Nahum Daso told The Associated Press.

The suicide bomber was able to slip through unnoticed because of a heavy downpour, said Ismail Ahmed, a resident of Konduga. The town is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Local media reported that those injured in the attacks have been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. They also reported that the bomber was female.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Nigeria’s northeast has been hit by attacks carried out by Islamic militants from the Boko Haram group and its splinter, the Daesh West Africa Province.

Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown militants, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law. The conflict also has spilled into Nigeria’s northern neighbors.

Some 35,000 civilians have been killed and more than 2 million displaced in the northeastern region, according to the UN

Despite promises by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to address Nigeria’s security challenges, the violence has persisted.


Where does India stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

Updated 21 June 2025
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Where does India stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

  • Middle East situation shows India deviating from its traditionally pro-peace foreign policy, experts say
  • Indian foreign ministry called both sides ‘to avoid any escalatory steps,’ engage in dialogue

NEW DELHI: India is on a path of non-involvement in the growing conflict in the Middle East, experts said on Saturday, as they warned Delhi’s silence could have serious implications for the region.

Israeli attacks on Iran started on June 13 when Tel Aviv hit more than a dozen sites — including key nuclear facilities and residences of military leaders and scientists — claiming they were aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

After Iran retaliated with ballistic missile strikes against Israel, the two countries have been on a tit-for-tat cycle of bombing.

Israel’s attacks on Iran have reportedly killed at least 639 people and wounded 1,329 others, while Iranian missile strikes have killed 24 people and injured hundreds more in Israel.

India has yet to join other Asian nations — such as China, Japan, Pakistan and Indonesia — in condemning Israel’s initial strikes against Iran.

It was also the only country in the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization which did not endorse a statement issued by the bloc, condemning Israel’s military strikes on Iran. SCO is a political and security body that includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Central Asian nations.

In a statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs urged “both sides to avoid any escalatory steps” and engage in dialogue and diplomacy “to work towards de-escalation.”

“India enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support,” the ministry said.

Talmiz Ahmad, an Indian diplomat who served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, described the statement as “a very low-key remark and is meant for the record.”

“India is not interested in engaging itself with serious matters pertaining to regional diplomacy. India is not interested in pursuing ways in which we could promote security and stability,” he said.

Historically, India’s ties with countries in West Asia — a region that includes the Middle East — have been bilateral and transactional, lacking engagement “with the region in a collective sense.”

“With regard to the Israeli-Iran issue we have taken a position of non-involvement … (but) silence in this matter where Israel has initiated a conflict that could have potentially horrendous implications for the region, is another and is something which India should be very concerned about,” Ahmad said.

“There is no justification whatsoever for India to be so indifferent to the flames that are now gathering speed and strength right in our neighborhood.”

India is Israel’s largest arms buyer and Israel is India’s fourth-largest arms supplier. According to a report from Reuters, India has imported military hardware worth $2.9 billion over the last decade.

Delhi also has strategic interests in Iran and has invested around $370 million in a port development project in the Iranian port of Chabahar, aimed at hastening trade and connectivity links to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Moreover, there are over 10,000 Indian nationals living in Iran, the majority of whom are students. Delhi has prioritized safely evacuating them since Israeli attacks began last week.

Peace in the region should be within India’s strategic interest, according to Delhi-based foreign policy scholar and researcher N. Sai Balaji, who highlighted the 9 million Indians living and working in West Asia.

“Not only that these (9 million) Indians contribute to billions of dollars in terms of remittances (but) India’s energy needs are met from West Asia,” Balaji told Arab News. “Any conflict with Iran or any conflict in West Asia does not only destabilize its financial stability in forms of remittances but also energy security.”

He said the Indian government was “taking sides clearly by not calling out the aggression of Israel.”

“India is not only abdicating its historic responsibility but also changing its foreign policy to accommodate Israel,” Balaji added.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, who served as an advisor to India’s former premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said the country had shifted its traditional approach in foreign policy.

“India has always stood for peace in the world … Therefore, it is deeply painful that Narendra Modi’s government has deviated from this traditionally pro-peace foreign policy of India,” Kulkarni told Arab News.

“It is wrong for the government to keep silent in the face of Israel’s naked aggression against Iran … Under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, Israel is the aggressor. It has violated international law. Iran is the victim. Iran has the right to defend itself.”


Ukraine says received Russian bodies in war dead exchanges

Updated 21 June 2025
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Ukraine says received Russian bodies in war dead exchanges

  • Zelensky accused Russia of “not checking” who they were sending
  • “Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports“

KYIV: Kyiv received the bodies of 20 Russian soldiers instead of Ukrainian ones during exchanges of war dead with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Saturday.

He accused Russia of “not checking” who they were sending, and suggested Moscow might be doing it on purpose to conflate the number of Ukrainian bodies they had.

The repatriation of fallen soldiers and the exchange of prisoners of war has been one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring sides since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Moscow and Kyiv agreed earlier this month during talks in Istanbul to exchange the bodies of 6,000 soldiers each.

“It has already been confirmed during repatriations that the bodies of 20 people handed over to us as our deceased soldiers are Russian,” Zelensky said in remarks released on Saturday.

“Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports,” he added.

An “Israeli mercenary” fighting for Moscow was also among those sent, he said.

Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since the war began. Neither country regularly releases information on military casualties.

Zelensky said there were currently “695,000 Russian troops” on Ukrainian territory.


Iran-Israel war must not become refugee crisis: UN

Updated 21 June 2025
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Iran-Israel war must not become refugee crisis: UN

  • UNHCR said the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries
  • “This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement,” said Grandi

GENEVA: The United Nations said on Saturday the Iran-Israel war must not be allowed to trigger another refugee crisis in the Middle East, saying once people fled there was no quick way back.

UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, said the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries.

Such movements had already been reported from Tehran and other parts of Iran, it said, with some people crossing into neighboring countries.

Strikes in Israel had caused people to seek shelter elsewhere in the country and in some cases abroad.

“This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement. We cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees.

“The time to de-escalate is right now. Once people are forced to flee, there’s no quick way back — and all too often, the consequences last for generations.”

Israel said on Saturday it had launched fresh air strikes against missile storage and launch sites in central Iran.

Iran has responded with barrages which Israeli authorities say have killed at least 25 people.

Iran hosts the largest number of refugees in the world — around 3.5 million — mostly of them from Afghanistan.

If the conflict persists, Iran’s existing refugee populations would also face renewed uncertainty and yet more hardship, UNHCR said.

The agency called for an urgent de-escalation in the conflict and urged countries in the region to respect the right of people to seek safety.

The Israeli government says the unprecedented wave of attacks it has launched at Iran since June 13 is aimed at preventing its rival from developing nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran strongly denies.

Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.


Aviation regulator orders Air India to remove officials

Updated 21 June 2025
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Aviation regulator orders Air India to remove officials

  • Airline’s voluntary disclosures “point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability”
  • Air India crash in June 12 in Ahmedabad killed all but one of the 242 people on board. At least 38 others on the ground also perished

NEW DELHI: New Delhi’s civil aviation regulator has ordered Air India to remove three officials from their roles over “systemic failures,” according to a directive seen by AFP Saturday, as the carrier comes under scrutiny after a deadly crash.

The instruction from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) did not detail whether it was linked to the June 12 crash in Ahmedabad, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board. At least 38 others on the ground were killed.

The DGCA directive noted that the airline’s voluntary disclosures “point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability.”

“Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,” said the order, which was issued on Friday.

“These officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses,” it said.

The regulator has directed Air India to remove three officials named in the order “from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling,” take disciplinary action, and report on steps taken within 10 days.

Future violations could also result in “license suspension.”

The airline said on Saturday it had implemented the order.

“Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,” it said in a statement.

Investigators are attempting to find out what caused the airline’s London-bound plane to hurtle to the ground moments after takeoff in Ahmedabad.

Air India said on Thursday that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane was “well-maintained” and that the pilots were accomplished flyers.

The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder have been recovered from the crash site.