Word: ransoming
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...trial of 27 youths accused of involvement in the February 2006 abduction, persecution and murder of Halimi, the anti-Semitic attitude and motivations of alleged gang leader Youssouf Fofana became quite clear. Previously, Fofana had told police he and his cohorts had chosen to kidnap Halimi for ransom because the victim and his family were Jews and therefore, Fofana believed, had to be rich. But once in court, Fofana sought to frame his behavior in jihadist language: after shouting "Allahu akbar" at the court, for example, Fofana gave his name as "Arabs, African, Revolt, Armed, Barbarian, Salafist [the literalist Muslim...
...time of Halimi's death, many commentators - and, initially, even the French police - declined to see Halimi's abduction and murder as an anti-Semitic crime. Instead, they explained it as a naive ransom attempt by plotters whose motivation was financial gain, even if their social milieu and limited education had led them to accept grotesque racist stereotypes of Jews. No one is offering such rationalizations any longer...
...Phillips brought the end of a crisis, but it may be the beginning of a longer military effort. This year pirates have attacked dozens of vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, which leads into the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Egged on by generous ransom payments, they're holding more than 300 sailors hostage. Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, was the first one taken off a U.S. vessel. A Red Sox fan, a family man, a good-humored snowboarder, a pillar of his Vermont village who had the courage to offer himself...
...with nation-size ambitions who is accountable to no nation. Slice it any way you like, it is a challenge that resembles fighting terrorism. There are a lot of suggestions on the table: A system of World War II - style convoys and escorts. An international moratorium on ransom payments. Some urge arming crews, although assuming that shippers can outgun young men fitted out with the best the Somali black market has to offer is a risky bet. The best solution is likely to be military, based on inspections, exclusion zones, rapid reaction and deadly force. That is how our partners...
Rather than governments trying to ban ransom payments - which could be futile - Costa suggests trying to choke off the flow of money pirates and kidnap gangs receive. "They may move some of their money offshore, using the hawala [underground banking] system and through third parties, particularly in financial centers where shipping companies are located." Costa and Clinton have also said that shipping and insurance companies should work on developing Somalia, rather than simply paying ransoms - a suggestion that insurance brokers reject. "It's not down to insurance companies to promote peace in Somalia," says Cooper Gay's Regester. "That...