Somalia

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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...

Rivals Wary of China's New Sea Power

(Newser) - China's decision to flex its burgeoning naval muscles by sending two warships to patrol Somalia's pirate-infested waters has been met with equal parts thanks and worry from the international community, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The mission is China’s first outside of its own waters, and many are wondering...

President of Somalia Resigns as Rebels Battle

Islamist groups turn on one another in political vacuum

(Newser) - Somalia's warlord-turned-president resigned today, reports the New York Times, as militant Islamists continued their gradual takeover of the country. The departure of Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed prefigures more woe for the deeply troubled nation, but it could also provide an opportunity. His resignation may let moderate Islamists come into the government,...

Pirate Hostages Brace for Christmas at Sea

More than 260 remain off Somalia's coast in 14 hijacked vessels

(Newser) - More than 260 hostages will spend Christmas with pirates off Somalia’s coast, CNN reports. At least 14 vessels remain in pirate custody as a tumultuous year—with nearly 100 attacks on cargo ships, oil tankers, and yachts—nears its end. The EU, China, and Iran have stationed naval vessels...

China May Launch Pirate Patrol
 China May Launch Pirate Patrol 
Dec 18, 2008 2:09 AM CST

China May Launch Pirate Patrol

Officials weigh Chinese naval mission in 500 years

(Newser) - China is poised to embark on its first naval combat mission in 500 years—to take on pirates off the coast of Somalia, reports the Financial Times. Any patrols launched would be closely monitored by the US, Russian and British navies, concerned about China's growing  military power. 

Pirates Step Up Attacks After UN OKs More Force

Security Council says foreign forces can pursue Somali miscreants onto land

(Newser) - Pirates attacked more vessels off the coast of Somalia today despite a UN Security Council decision green-lighting foreign military forces to pursue them on land, reports the BBC. Four ships were attacked, and three—a tugboat, merchant ship, and private yacht—were being held by the pirates. A Chinese ship...

Citing 'Treason,' Somali Prez Fires His PM

Gov't near collapse, insurgents vow never to talk to leadership

(Newser) - Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf fired his prime minister today and accused him of paralyzing the government with "corruption, inefficiency, and treason." Hours later, as the government veered toward collapse, Islamic insurgents held a brazen news conference in the capital and vowed never to negotiate with the leadership.

Indian Navy Seizes 23 Pirates, Arms, and Ammo

Pirates off Somali coast have grown brazen, upped attacks

(Newser) - The Indian navy has arrested 23 Somali and Yemeni pirates who tried to capture an Ethiopian merchant vessel off the Somali coast, CNN reports. Officials, whose helicopter sent the pirates scurrying for cover today, also recovered seven AK-47 automatic rifles, rockets, grenade launchers, and a GPS receiver. Pirates have attacked...

Tired of Pirate Attacks? Time to Call Blackwater

US forces aren't coming, Shippers need to hire their own army

(Newser) - Somali hijackers have free rein around the Horn of Africa, and neither the US nor any other nation has a prayer of stopping them with their ineffectual patrols. What to do? Call in the troops—or, more precisely, the fomer troops, writes Peter Hannaford in the American Spectator. Namely, Blackwater....

Cruise-Ship Outfit Flies Passengers Around Pirates

Liner picks them up in Oman to continue month-long journey

(Newser) - Passengers will evacuate a German cruise liner and fly over the troubled waters off Somalia’s pirate-infested coast to avoid being the next victims of a maritime attack, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Hapag-Lloyd ship, slated to reach Yemen today, will travel empty through the Gulf of Aden and...

Somali Pirates Arrrr... Our Future Heroes?

Piracy is back

(Newser) - They may not wear eye patches or cry “Arrr!” but make no mistake, Somali pirates are successors of the 17-century villains we romanticize today, David Montgomery writes in the Washington Post. Pirates inspire “awe and a little bit of envy at authentic roguish derring-do," even...

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