Thesun 2009-05-04 Page07 Somali Pirates Hijack Another Ship

theSun

| MONDAY MAY 4 2009

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Somali pirates hijack another ship MOGADISHU: Somali pirates said yesterday they hijacked a Pakistani-owned ship even as France and the Seychelles nabbed 14 more suspects in the intensifying international hunt for high-seas bandits. The latest hijacking brings the pirates’ haul since the start of the year to more than 30 vessels, at least 18 of which are still being held, together with around 300 seamen, close to a third of them Filipinos. The MV Al-Misan was captured on Friday 100km off the capital Mogadishu, said Ahmed Abdi, a pirate commander in the coastal village of Harardhere. According to elders and traders in the region, it was transporting vehicles and commodities such as sugar and cooking oil for Somali traders and had been sailing from the United Arab Emirates. “One of the two ships we hijacked is confirmed to have been chartered by Somali traders and there are already talks to release

briefs Two US soldiers shot dead BAGHDAD: Two American soldiers were shot dead and three more were wounded on Saturday when an Iraqi, wearing army uniform opened fire on them south of the northern town of Mosul, the US military said. “According to initial reports, an individual dressed in an Iraqi army uniform fired on the Coalition forces and was killed in the incident” around 20km south of Mosul, the statement said. It called the incident “a small arms fire attack at a combat outpost.” A Mosul police officer identified the assailant as Hassan al-Dulaimi, a soldier who also served as the imam of a mosque at an Iraqi army training centre south of the city, the capital of Nineveh province. – AFP

10 killed as storm batters Philippines MANILA: At least 10 people were killed and 15 missing in landslides and floods triggered by a storm battering the eastern Philippines, the Office of Civil Defence (OCD) said yesterday. Seven of the fatalities were buried in mud and debris when the side of a hill collapsed on a village in Magallanes town in Sorsogon province, 375km south of Manila. The OCD said 15 people were missing in the landslide in Magallanes. Rescuers were continuing to search for victims, but bad weather was hampering operations. Three people were killed in floods in the provinces of Camarines Norte and Quezon, authorities said. More than 13,000 people have been affected by the storm, while more than 4,400 passengers

it,” Ahmed told AFP by phone. One Somali trader with a stake in the hijacked ship’s cargo said he was hopeful the vessel would be released soon. “There are efforts to free the ship and its crew, Somali traders and elders are already negotiating with the pirates and we are hopeful that they will soon release it,” Abdullahi Moalim Barre told AFP. The French frigate Nivose captured 11 more armed pirates early yesterday in waters near the Seychelles, after two small skiffs attacked it, apparently thinking the warship was a merchant vessel. The Nivose moved into the sun to keep its cover and when the assailants were close enough, unleashed commandos on outboards and a helicopter to intercept the pirates. The Seychelles also announced yesterday that it had apprehended three suspected Somali pirates in its vast exclusive economic zone. – AFP

were stranded in seaports after the coast guard suspended all ship travel, the OCD said. – dpa

Turmoil feared as Nepal sacks general KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Maoist government yesterday fired army chief Gen Rookmangud Katawal for failing to comply with orders, raising fears of a showdown between the prime minister and the military. The sacking – three years after the end of the Himalayan nation’s civil war – is the latest episode in a worsening power struggle between the leftist former rebels and their one-time enemies in the army. But Nepalese television stations reported Katawal had refused to stand down, and a military official told AFP that army generals had met to decide their next move. The dismissal also triggered political repercussions, with the Maoists’ main ally the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist pulling out of the ruling coalition. – AFP

Suicide tutorials SYDNEY: Australian euthanasia campaigner Phillip Nitschke was detained for several hours before being allowed entry to Britain to give “suicide tutorials,” news reports said yesterday. Nitschke, 61, told the Australian broadcaster ABC that he had been held at London’s Heathrow Airport for nine hours before being given permission to stay in the country for seven days. “It’s quite a shock and it’s not very pleasant, and I guess we would have liked to have had some warning,” he said. It was the first time the founder of the euthanasia lobby group Exit International had been questioned about his activities in Britain. Nitschke presided over the world’s first legal lethal injection in 1996 and helped in the suicides of four people before a law allowing assisted suicides was repealed by the Canberra parliament. – dpa