Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean stories: 20 news summaries

Somali Pirates Demand $7M Ransom for UK Couple

Paul and Rachel Chandler went missing a week ago

(Newser) - The British couple abducted from their yacht at gunpoint are being held for $7 million ransom, a rep for the Somali pirates who kidnapped them said today. Paul and Rachel Chandler went missing a week ago in the Indian Ocean. "NATO operations had a lot of negative impact here,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Somalia kidnapping abduction Indian Ocean pirates yachts ransom African Paul Chandler Rachel Chandler

Thirteen Bodies, Plane Wreckage Found Near Tanzania

Remains suspected to be from Yemenia flight

(Newser) - Thirteen bodies found off the coast of Tanzania’s Mafia Island may be the remains of passengers from the Yemen Airways flight that crashed into the Indian Ocean last week, Reuters reports. Tanzanian authorities say that airplane seats and what may be part of an airplane wing were also found... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Africa flight Tanzania plane crash Indian Ocean Comoros accident remains bodies Yemenia Air

Sub Reports Signal from Yemenia Black Boxes

No word on when data recorders will be recovered from ocean

(Newser) - A submarine has located the black boxes from Yemenia Flight 626 in the Indian Ocean, a French investigative agency said today. Divers and search crews are still working to find debris from the plane, and have recovered parts of the fuselage, reports the AP. Officials did not say when the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
black box plane crash Indian Ocean Comoros Yemenia Air

UPDATED
(Newser) - Rescuers have pulled one survivor the wreckage of a Yemeni airliner that went down early today in the Indian Ocean, though officials have issued conflicting details, the AP reports: one says it was a 14-year-old girl, another a 5-year-old boy. Yemenia Air Flight 626 was en route from Yemen to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Airbus plane crash Indian Ocean Comoros Yemen Yemenia Air Airbus A310

(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 »

MORE ABOUT:
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

(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 »

MORE ABOUT:
Somalia Indian Ocean pirates US Navy hostage 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 »

MORE ABOUT:
Somalia Indian Ocean pirates hostage Richard Phillips

(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 »

MORE ABOUT:
Somalia Indian Ocean pirates hijacking

 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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Somalia Indian Ocean pirates yachts Gulf of Aden

 Africa Crushes Comoros Coup 

20th time unlucky for Indian Ocean rebels

(Newser) - The latest renegades to seize power in the Comoros Islands have been defeated, reports the Independent. Government and African Union troops regained control in an amphibious assault at sunrise yesterday. The island nation in the Indian Ocean has been rocked by more than 20 coups or coup attempts, many... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Africa African Union Indian Ocean Comoros mercenaries coup d'etat

 WWII Ship Found After 66 Years 

Legendary HMAS Sydney sank in battle with German raider

(Newser) - A legendary Australian war ship sunk in the Indian Ocean by a German raider during World War II has been found nearly intact after 66 years, the Australian PM confirmed today. The HMAS Sydney sank after a 30-minute battle with the Kormoran in Australia's greatest tragedy at sea. The wreckage... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Australia Germany shipwreck sailor Indian Ocean history World War II Kevin Rudd sonar discovery

Risqué Pics Won't Dethrone
Miss France

Pageant winner barred from international competition under deal

(Newser) - Miss France will keep her crown despite the publication of racy pictures featuring the 22-year-old student, AFP reports. Photographs of Valerie Begue licking yogurt off a wall and straddling a cross in a bikini had Genevieve de Fontenay, the pageant's sharp-tongued patron, threatening to strip Begue of her title; Begue... More »

MORE ABOUT:
France Indian Ocean Miss France Valerie Begue Reunion Genevieve de Fontenay beauty pageants

Tsunami Survivors Look Ahead

Officials concerned about post-aid economy, beefing up warning systems

(Newser) - As candles are lit today in memory of the 230,000 victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Christian Science Monitor reports on the results of the $13.6 billion effort to help survivors. The aid has largely been used effectively, but now officials worry about the recovering... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Nations Indonesia tsunami Thailand aid Indian Ocean natural disaster Aceh foreign donors Tamil Nadu

Japanese Party Scrambles to Keep Boss
to Dodge Chaos

Opposition chief to quit amid deadlock mess

(Newser) - Members of Japan's opposition party are pleading with their leader to rethink his announced resignation, fearing the move will break up the party and hurt its chances at the polls. The head of the Democratic Party of Japan said he would resign yesterday after the party leadership resoundingly voted to... More »

(Newser) - British officials will investigate persistent claims that the CIA secretly interrogated terrorism suspects at a UK prison in the Indian Ocean, the Guardian reports. Authorities have repeatedly questioned American officials, who deny the reports. But an organization representing detainees insists the claims are true, adding that the British may... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Nations CIA torture terrorism United Kingdom Diego Garcia Indian Ocean interrogation black sites Barry McCaffrey al-Qaeda

Earliest Humans Put a Shrimp
on the Barbie

'Mother of all' ice age survivors roasted shellfish at the beach

(Newser) - Remnants of one of the earliest known human settlements, possibly the community from which all modern people are descended, have been discovered on the South African coast. The band of humans survived 164,000 years ago on cooked shellfish and the occasional whale, and wore red body paint, according to... More »

Fourth Quake in 2 Days Wracks Indonesia

Nine dead in latest burst of seismic activity under Indian Ocean

(Newser) - The fourth in a string of violent earthquakes and more than 60 lower-level tremors rattled Indonesia late today, at a magnitude of 6.2. With its epicenter two miles deep in the Indian Ocean, 65 miles west-northwest of Bengkulu, the government issued, then canceled, another tsunami warning. Nine have died... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Indonesia tsunami Indian Ocean natural disaster Jakarta Bengkulu earthquake

Tsunami Warning as Quake Rocks Indonesia

Powerful tremor registers 7.9

(Newser) - Indonesia has been hit by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake—triggering widespread tsunami warnings. Buildings swayed in Jakarta, and an official warning has been issued for much of the region surrounding the Indian ocean. More »

MORE ABOUT:
Indonesia tsunami Indian Ocean Jakarta earthquake

China to Test Controversial Malaria Treatment

Researchers aim to eradicate disease on African island

(Newser) - A Chinese researcher will test a radical new strategy designed to wipe out malaria on a small African island, the International Herald Tribune reports. Mass treatment with a highly effective antimalarial drug would virtually clear the parasite from patients' blood, but critics fear the plan could backfire, causing drug resistance... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China Africa health drugs malaria public health artemisinin treatment Indian Ocean Moheli Comoros

Islanders Win Bid to Return

UK subjects, forced
out by US military
30 years ago, prevail
in legal battle

(Newser) - Thousands of Indian Ocean islanders will be allowed to return home 30 years after being forced out to make room for a US air base, a British court ruled today. The court said the British government acted unlawfully when it expelled the Chagos archipelago residents after secretly selling a lease... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Chagos Archipelago Diego Garcia Indian Ocean air base islanders

20 Stories