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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Somalia

Somalia stories: 145 news summaries

61 - 80 of 145 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next >>

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(Newser) - Somali pirates holding an American ship captain hostage say they want a $2 million ransom and have threatened to kill him, Reuters and the AP report. The ransom demand followed an escape attempt by Richard Phillips, who attempted to swim for safety early this morning. Reports conflict on what happened... More »

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Somalia • kidnapping • piracy • Indian Ocean • pirates • Horn of Africa • hostage • Maersk Alabama • Richard Phillips

 Showdown Looms: Pirate 
 Ships Head to Hijacking Site 

Previously-captured boats carry 54 international hostages

Apr 10, 09 8:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - As bandits hold a US captain on a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean, their pirate colleagues are rushing to their aid with an international gallery of hostages, the AP reports. The bandits apparently fear being shot or arrested if they hand over the captain and are hoping to get support... More »

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Somalia • Indian Ocean • pirates • US Navy • hostage • Richard Phillips

updated

 Captain Recaptured by Pirates 
 After Swim Escape Attempt 

Family say hostage captain's sense of humor could keep him alive

Apr 10, 09 6:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - The American captain held hostage by Somali pirates jumped into the ocean last night and tried to swim to a nearby Navy destroyer, but pirates swam after him and pulled him back, CNN reports. He was not believed to be harmed in the attempt, a US official said. The four... More »

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Somalia • pirates • US Navy • hostage • Maersk Alabama • Richard Phillips

(Newser) - The high-seas hostage situation rolls on, with a growing armada of US vessels on site or en route and negotiations continuing between the pirates and the Navy, assisted by the FBI. The four bandits, adrift in a 24-foot lifeboat with the American captain, sound desperate: "We are surrounded by... More »

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Somalia • Indian Ocean • pirates • hostage • Richard Phillips

 Somalia Piracy Hampers 
 Food Aid: UN 

Danger of hijacking has raised costs dramatically, WFP official says

Apr 9, 09 2:22 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Somalia • United Nations • piracy • shipping container • insurance • shipping • food aid • World Food Program • international aid

(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... More »

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Somalia • FBI • pirates • US Navy • hostage • Maersk Alabama • Richard Phillips

 Pirates in Navy Standoff 
 Running Out of Options 

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

Apr 9, 09 6:30 AM CDT
(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... More »

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Somalia • pirates • US Navy • hostage • Maersk Alabama

(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... More »

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Somalia • Indian Ocean • pirates • hijacking

(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... More »

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Somalia • pirates • US Navy • Maersk Alabama

 Pirates Seize 21 Americans 
 on Cargo Ship off Somalia 

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

Apr 8, 09 6:17 AM CDT
(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.... More »

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Somalia • pirates • cargo ships • hijacking

 Somali Pirates on 
 Hijacking Spree, 
 Capture 5 Ships 

Somali pirates moving further afield to dodge naval patrols

Apr 6, 09 7:37 AM CDT
(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... More »

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Somalia • Indian Ocean • pirates • yachts • Gulf of Aden

Latest Bin Laden Tape Targets Somali President

Oust leader for compromising with US, it says

Mar 19, 09 12:29 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Somalia • Africa • Osama bin Laden • al-Qaeda • Islamic terrorism • Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

Terrorists Recruiting Somali-Americans in Heartland US

Counterterrorism agencies fear emergence of homegrown terror cells

Mar 11, 09 4:57 AM CDT
(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... More »

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Somalia • terrorism • Islamic extremists • counterterrorism • terrorist • al-Qaeda

 Pirates Target Brit Cruise Ship 

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

Mar 5, 09 5:21 AM CST
(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... More »

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Somalia • piracy • cruise ships • pirates • US Navy • Gulf of Aden

Somalia
Will Impose
Sharia Law

Prez submits to rebel demands, but vows
loose enforcement

Mar 1, 09 10:40 AM CST
(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,... More »

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Somalia • Islamic Sharia law • Islamic law • Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

(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... More »

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Somalia • pirates • Horn of Africa • US Navy • Gulf of Aden

Somali Pirates Score $3.2M 
Ransom, Release Arms Ship

Pirates receive $3.2M ransom after September hijacking

Feb 5, 09 8:00 AM CST
(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.... More »

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Somalia • Kenya • ship • piracy • Ukraine • pirates • weapons • ransom

Tanker Owner Recounts Pirate Drama

Seizure of ship by Somali pirates started 56 days of negotiations

Jan 31, 09 5:08 AM CST
(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'... More »

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Somalia • piracy • negotiation • shipping • pirates • Gulf of Aden

Somali Pirates Hijack Another Tanker, Crew of 13

Dozen crew members include Filipinos and an Indonesian

Jan 29, 09 7:49 AM CST
(AP) - 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... More »

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Somalia • Indonesia • piracy • Philippines • shipping • pirates • Gulf of Aden • Longchamp

UK Journo Recounts 40
Days With Somali Captors

40 uncertain days spent in caves, mountains

Jan 11, 09 6:45 PM CST
(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... More »

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Somalia • kidnapping • pirates

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