Two French security advisers seized in Somalia this week have been split up and are now being held by two different hardline groups, reports say.The pair were snatched by gunmen from a Mogadishu hotel on Tuesday and were being held by the Hizbul-Islam group. But officials say the al-Shabab group wanted them and after a row, Hizbul-Islam handed one of the men over. Al-Shabab has recently carried out several beheadings, amputations and stonings in areas it controls.
Two French security advisers seized in Somalia this week have been split up and are now being held by two different hardline groups, reports say.
The pair were snatched by gunmen from a Mogadishu hotel on Tuesday and were being held by the Hizbul-Islam group.
But officials say the al-Shabab group wanted them and after a row, Hizbul-Islam handed one of the men over.
Al-Shabab has recently carried out several beheadings, amputations and stonings in areas it controls.
The Obama administration has objected to a provision in the 2010 defense funding bill currently before the Senate that would bar the military's use of contractors to interrogate detainees. The provision, strongly backed by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), describes interrogations as an "inherently governmental function" that "cannot be transferred to contractor personnel." It would give the Defense Department one year from the bill's enactment to ensure that the military had the resources to comply with it. A White House policy statement yesterday signaled "many areas of agreement" with the bill that emerged from Levin's committee late last month but said the administration has "serious concerns" about some provisions. The statement repeated Obama's threat to veto the $680 billion bill unless $1.75 billion to fund an additional seven F-22 fighter aircraft is removed. Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates "are as serious as a heart attack on this," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.
The Obama administration has objected to a provision in the 2010 defense funding bill currently before the Senate that would bar the military's use of contractors to interrogate detainees.
The provision, strongly backed by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), describes interrogations as an "inherently governmental function" that "cannot be transferred to contractor personnel." It would give the Defense Department one year from the bill's enactment to ensure that the military had the resources to comply with it.
A White House policy statement yesterday signaled "many areas of agreement" with the bill that emerged from Levin's committee late last month but said the administration has "serious concerns" about some provisions. The statement repeated Obama's threat to veto the $680 billion bill unless $1.75 billion to fund an additional seven F-22 fighter aircraft is removed.
Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates "are as serious as a heart attack on this," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.
Riots in Jerusalem over the recent arrest of an ultra-Orthodox woman suspected of starving her 3-year-old son escalated as demonstrators concluded their third consecutive day of violent protests with no indication that they were planning to ease up. The riots erupted Tuesday when the news of the arrest became public. The ultra-Orthodox community was outraged that the woman, who belongs to one of the most extreme ultra-Orthodox sects, was in custody, rejecting suspicions that she had systematically starved her son over the course of the last two years. The boy is currently hospitalized in serious condition and weighing only 7 kilograms. Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters hurled rocks at police late Thursday night on Highway 1 near the Haredi neighborhood of Beit Yisrael. Police arrested dozens of people and used water cannons to disperse the crowds. Seven police officers were lightly wounded by rock thrower.
The riots erupted Tuesday when the news of the arrest became public. The ultra-Orthodox community was outraged that the woman, who belongs to one of the most extreme ultra-Orthodox sects, was in custody, rejecting suspicions that she had systematically starved her son over the course of the last two years. The boy is currently hospitalized in serious condition and weighing only 7 kilograms. Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters hurled rocks at police late Thursday night on Highway 1 near the Haredi neighborhood of Beit Yisrael. Police arrested dozens of people and used water cannons to disperse the crowds. Seven police officers were lightly wounded by rock thrower.
Maybe we should stop calling them "Islamic extremists" or "Islamic militants" and start calling them "orthodox (ultra-orthodox?) Muslims". Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.
Frank Delaney ~ Ireland
