The week at a glance...International

Manda Island, Kenya

Disabled woman kidnapped: Hotel owners and residents of Kenya’s Lamu archipelago expressed fears this week that a second kidnapping of a foreign visitor in less than a month could lead to the destruction of Kenya’s tourism industry. Marie Dedieu, a 66-year-old wheelchair-bound Frenchwoman, was dragged from her beachfront bungalow on Manda island last week, and is being held captive in a rebel-controlled region of neighboring Somalia. Briton Judith Tebbutt was snatched by Somali bandits from a nearby island last month. Britain and France advised against all “nonessential” travel to the area.

Mogadishu, Somalia

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Deadly terrorist blast: At least 72 people were killed and scores maimed on Tuesday by a suicide bombing in Mogadishu. Eyewitnesses said an explosives-laden truck rammed into a building housing the Ministry of Education before the detonation. “The scene looks like something from World War II. This was total devastation,” said a local resident. Many of the dead were students lined up to register for scholarships offered by the Turkish government. A spokesman for al-Shabab, the Islamist militant group, said that one of its fighters had carried out the attack. Al-Shabab was largely driven out of Mogadishu this summer, but, the U.N.-backed transitional government said, “the attack shows that the danger from terrorists is not yet over.”

Manama, Bahrain

Princess accused: Some of the 20 doctors sentenced last week to long prison sentences for incitement to overthrow the government have said that a Bahraini princess played a direct role in torturing detainees. The medics, who were arrested as they treated protesters injured during a government crackdown on March’s pro-democracy rallies, allege that they were forced to sign false confessions, and accuse Bahraini princess Sheikha Noora bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa—who works as an undercover policewoman—of torturing them during their interrogations. “She slapped me, beat me, and called me a Shia pig,” said Nada Dhaif, a female physician. “She put a cable in my ears and gave me electric shocks.” A government spokesman had no comment on the allegations.

Tuba-Zangaria, Israel

Arson attack on mosque: Vandals torched a mosque in an Arab village in northern Israel this week, leaving behind graffiti of the Hebrew words for “price tag” and “revenge.” The arson follows similar incidents against mosques in recent months, in which radical Zionist settlers have targeted Palestinians in retaliation for attacks on settlements. In response to the mosque attack, several hundred villagers marched to a nearby town, burning tires and throwing stones at police sent to disperse them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the arson a “shocking” incident that has “no place in the state of Israel.” The day before the attack, Netanyahu formally agreed to a proposal from international mediators to restart peace talks with the Palestinians. But the Palestinian leadership said it would not return to the negotiating table until Israel agreed to halt construction of new settlements.

Damascus, Syria

Assad’s foes unite: Syria’s fragmented dissident movement has unified behind a single leadership council that will challenge the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The formation of the Syrian National Council, at a meeting in Istanbul this week between secular and Islamist factions, was greeted with cheering and dancing in Syrian streets. Protesters have been demonstrating since March against the four-decade rule of the Assad family, and have faced a brutal crackdown that the U.N. says has claimed at least 2,700 lives. “The world is waiting for a united Syrian [opposition] that can provide the alternative to this regime,” popular opposition figure Burhan Ghalioun said, adding that he hoped the international community would recognize the new council.

Kabul

Haqqani commander killed: A senior leader of the Haqqani militant network was killed in an airstrike this week in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan, NATO announced. The killing came a week after a joint NATO-Afghan operation captured Haji Mali Khan, described by the White House as the network’s senior commander in Afghanistan. The U.S. said last month that the Pakistan-based Haqqani clan had the direct support of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, in carrying out the suicide bombing that killed top Afghan peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani, as well as earlier attacks on the U.S. Embassy compound and the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. In a BBC interview this week, the operational leader of the clan, Siraj Haqqani, denied a role in Rabbani’s death and links to the ISI.

Beijing

Obama Fried Chicken: Photos surfaced this week of a Chinese fried chicken outlet that calls itself OFC and features a large image of a smiling President Obama wearing the string tie and suspenders made famous by Col. Sanders. “We’re considering legal action as it is a knockoff and has nothing to do with us and it infringes on our brand trademark,” said a representative for KFC China. The Rev. Al Sharpton said the shop was “insulting, offensive, and plays to racial stereotypes.” In light of the global economic competition between the U.S. and China, he added, “For them to be mocking the leader of the free world, I find it even more appalling.”

Manila

Twin typhoons: At least 59 people were killed when two powerful typhoons pounded the Philippines last week, leaving thousands struggling with severe flooding, landslides, and impassable roads and bridges. The larger of the two storms, Typhoon Nesat, slammed into the northern provinces located on the large island of Luzon, flooding villages and sending waves over the seawall protecting Manila Bay. The second storm, Typhoon Nalgae, hit many of the same regions. “The immediate need is ready-to-eat food and water,” said Jay Mijares, a spokesman for World Vision, a nonprofit humanitarian group. “We are seeing a mass exodus of people looking for food; there is no supply, and on top of that their livelihood is disrupted.”