Somalia

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Somalia Piracy Hampers Food Aid: UN

Danger of hijacking has raised costs dramatically, WFP official says

(Newser) - Piracy off the coast of Somalia is making relief organizations' work even more difficult, Reuters reports. The UN’s World Food Program  today decried both the hijacking of ships bearing aid supplies—the Maersk Alabama, for example, had 232 WFP containers on board when it was seized this week—and...

As Ship Resumes Sailing, FBI Joins Pirate Negotiations

(Newser) - As FBI hostage negotiators joined the effort to end the standoff with Somali pirates over a captive American captain, the Maersk Alabama got under way today, bound for its original destination, the AP reports. An FBI spokesman said the bureau was “fully engaged” with the Navy in strategizing how...

Pirates in Navy Standoff Running Out of Options

Pirate lifeboat 'dead in the water' as warships close in

(Newser) - Four Somali pirates still holding a American captain hostage this morning are rapidly running out of options in their standoff with a US Navy warship, the AP reports. The pirates are in a lifeboat seized to replace their own vessel, floating hundreds of miles away from Somalia with enough food...

US Warship Arrives at Hijacking Site; Captain Still Held

(Newser) - A Navy warship and other vessels have arrived in the waters off Somalia where pirates are holding the American captain of a cargo ship hostage, CNN reports. The pirates and the captain are in a lifeboat as the cargo ship's American crew continues negotiations to free Capt. Richard Phillips of...

Crewmember: Pirates Still Have Ship's US Captain

(Newser) - The American crew of a ship hijacked by pirates today off northern Somalia has retaken control, though a crewmember says the vessel’s captain remains a hostage. The AP called a satellite phone aboard the Maersk Alabama, and was told by someone with an American accent that the 20-member crew...

Pirates Seize 21 Americans on Cargo Ship off Somalia

Sixth ship seizure in a week; first with all-American crew

(Newser) - After a sustained 5-hour attack off the coast of northern Somalia overnight, pirates have hijacked a US-flagged cargo ship with 21 crew members aboard, the BBC reports. A Kenya-based diplomat identified the vessel as the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama, reports the AP, and said all the crew members are American....

Somali Pirates on Hijacking Spree, Capture 5 Ships

Somali pirates moving further afield to dodge naval patrols

(Newser) - Somali pirates operating in the Indian ocean are on a hijacking binge, reports the BBC, capturing 5 vessels since Saturday, including a British cargo ship this morning in the Gulf of Aden. AFP reports. The pirates are venturing further afield to avoid the increased international naval presence in the Gulf...

Latest Bin Laden Tape Targets Somali President

Oust leader for compromising with US, it says

(Newser) - An audio message allegedly from Osama bin Laden posted on the Internet today and entitled “Fight On, Champions of Somalia,” calls for Somalia's new president to be “dethroned, fought, and removed with armed force,” reports CNN. The elected Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed—who backtracked from a...

Terrorists Recruiting Somali-Americans in Heartland US

Counterterrorism agencies fear emergence of homegrown terror cells

(Newser) - US counter-terrorism agencies are warning of a mounting terror threat as Somali extremists linked to al-Qaeda recruit Americans, the Washington Post reports. Agencies are probing the disappearance of a number of young Somali-Americans now believed to be in Somalia, and cite the case of Shirwa Ahmed, who lived in Minneapolis...

Pirates Target Brit Cruise Ship

US Navy comes to rescue after suspicious craft approach liner in dangerous waters

(Newser) - Frightened British cruise ship passengers were herded below decks in a chilling encounter with Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the Sun reports. The crew sent up flares and fashioned fake guns out of wood to appear to be armed when they spotted two suspicious small craft speeding toward...

Somalia Will Impose Sharia Law
Somalia
Will Impose
Sharia Law
Mar 1, 2009 10:40 AM CST

Somalia Will Impose Sharia Law

Prez submits to rebel demands, but vows loose enforcement

(Newser) - In a move to broker peace between his troops and insurgents, Somalia’s president has agreed to militants’ call to impose Islamic law, CNN reports. The law bars girls from school, requires beards for men and veils for women, and bans TV and music. But President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed,...

US Navy Arrests 7 Suspected Pirates

(Newser) - The US Navy today let pirates around the Horn of Africa know that there's a new sheriff in town. A Navy vessel arrested seven suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden after they attempted to board a commercial tanker, CNN reports. The arrests are the first by a US-led international...

Somali Pirates Score $3.2M Ransom, Release Arms Ship

Pirates receive $3.2M ransom after September hijacking

(Newser) - Crime does pay—to the tune of the $3.2 million ransom that Somali pirates collected today in exchange for releasing a Ukrainian ship they hijacked in September, reports the BBC. The pirates had initially sought $20 million for the arms-laden MV Faina, which had been en route to Kenya....

Tanker Owner Recounts Pirate Drama
Tanker Owner Recounts Pirate Drama
Jan 31, 2009 5:08 AM CST

Tanker Owner Recounts Pirate Drama

Seizure of ship by Somali pirates started 56 days of negotiations

(Newser) - It took 56 days of tense negotiations to free the MV Biscaglia and its 28 crew members from the clutches of Somali pirates, shipping exec George Christodolou tells the Wall Street Journal. After the vessel was seized in the Gulf of Aden, Christodolou had to scramble to gain the pirates'...

Somali Pirates Hijack Another Tanker, Crew of 13

Dozen crew members include Filipinos and an Indonesian

(Newser) - Somali pirates have hijacked a tanker and its crew of 12 Filipinos and one Indonesian. The cargo the Longchamp is carrying is unknown. Though the Gulf of Aden is now patrolled by more than a dozen warships from countries including Britain, France, Germany, Iran, and the US, they were not...

UK Journo Recounts 40 Days With Somali Captors

40 uncertain days spent in caves, mountains

(Newser) - On assignment covering Somali pirates, Daily Telegraph reporter Colin Freeman and his photographer were kidnapped by their own bodyguards and carted off to a barren mountain range. For 40 days, Freeman clung to his good humor as he tried to befriend his mercurial captors. “The more you come across...

5 Somali Pirates Drown With Ransom Share

Tanker released after $3M airdrop, but pirate boat flips in storm

(Newser) - Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker yesterday drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, the AP reports. The boat, with eight people on board, overturned in a storm; three people reached shore after swimming for several...

Pirates Free Saudi Tanker, Get $3M Ransom

Ship headed to safety after November capture

(Newser) - A Saudi tanker taken by Somali pirates in November has been freed after a $3 million ransom was paid, a pirate negotiator said. Pirates have left the ship, which is now headed to safety. The Sirius Star, which carried 2 million oil barrels and 25 crew members, was the largest...

French Frigate Foils Attack, Captures Pirates

Nabs dastardly robbers

(Newser) - A French warship nabbed a boat full of pirates in the Gulf of Aden today, responding to a distress call from a Panamanian vessel, Reuters reports. The pirates fled when they saw the French ship approach, but they later returned to try their luck with the ship again, and the...

For Refugees, New Year Means New Way of Life

(Newser) - It's no coincidence that 15% of recent Somali refugees to the US share a birthday today. Aid workers often assign Jan. 1 when a birth date is unavailable, as is often the case in war-ravaged and disaster-ridden countries or cultures that don't celebrate birthdays. American rituals seem especially peculiar to...

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