Face-veil ban in Egypt

Face-veil ban in Egypt

CAIRO — Egypt’s top Islamic cleric said Thursday that students and teachers will not be allowed to wear face veils in classrooms and dormitories of Sunni Islam’s premier institute of learning, al-Azhar, part of a government effort to curb radical Islamic practices.

The decision announced by Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, sheik of al-Azhar, came days after he said the face veil, or niqab, “has nothing to do with Islam.” His comments and actions have sparked an outcry from Islamists who see them as an attack on their religion and some rights organizations who believe banning the niqab violates constitutional freedom.

The explosive issue of how much of a Muslim woman’s body should be covered remains contested among Islamic scholars.

Swine-flu hospitalizations

One-quarter of Americans sick enough to be hospitalized with swine flu last spring wound up needing intensive care, and 7 percent of them died, the first such study of the early months of the global epidemic suggests.

That’s a little higher than with ordinary seasonal flu, several experts said.

What is striking and unusual is that children and teens accounted for nearly half of these cases, including many who were previously healthy.

“Contrary to the perception among many people that this influenza, novel H1N1, is mild, these data vividly demonstrate that influenza can make you very, very ill,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University flu expert and spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

“Clearly, the best way to protect yourself and your family is to get vaccine as soon as it becomes available,” said Schaffner, who had no role in the study but has consulted for swine-flu vaccine makers.

Help for dairy farmers

WASHINGTON — Dairy farmers suffering from low milk prices would benefit from $350 million in emergency funding approved by the Senate on Thursday as it cleared a $121 billion agriculture spending bill for President Barack Obama’s signature.

The bill also delivers a record $58.2 billion for the food-stamp program, which when combined with benefit increases passed under Obama’s stimulus bill earlier in the year would mean a 19 percent increase in food-stamp spending above current levels.

The measure passed by 76-22 vote. Obama is expected to sign it into law soon.

Pot-growing operation found after explosion

LOS ANGELES — Explosives and a marijuana farm were discovered at a Southern California home doubling as a child day-care center after a man blew off his hand while mixing homemade explosives, authorities said Thursday.

Benjamin Kuzelka, 23, remained hospitalized, and his mother and brother were arrested and jailed, Riverside County authorities said.

Authorities went to the home after a local hospital reported late Wednesday that Kuzelka had walked in and said he had shot himself in the hand, but the wound was inconsistent with that type of injury, sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said.

Investigators found explosives, a sophisticated marijuana-growing facility and evidence that the home recently had been used as a state-licensed child-care facility, Gutierrez said.

House OKs defense bill

WASHINGTON — Despite a vague veto threat by President Barack Obama, the House on Thursday easily passed a major defense-policy bill that calls for continued development of a costly alternative engine for the Pentagon’s next-generation fighter jet.

The bill, passed by a 281-146 vote, also prohibits the Obama administration from transferring any detainees being held at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba to the U.S. until 45 days after the administration submits a comprehensive plan for closing the controversial prison.

Police: French-fry order mix-up triggered assault

QUINCY, Mass. — A Massachusetts couple are accused of hurling coins and safety cones at McDonald’s cashiers in Quincy when they didn’t get enough french fries.

Christine Galipeau of Quincy and Eugene Jackson of Boston have pleaded innocent to assault and battery in the Tuesday incident.

Police say Galipeau threw coins at one cashier and fought her when she got small fries instead of a large order.

Jackson is accused of throwing a cone from the mopped floor at the cashier, then tossing another one at a second cashier who copied their license plate, cutting her nose.

Combined dispatches