Thesun 2009-05-11 Page09 Somali Pirates Free Cargo Ship

theSun

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| MONDAY MAY 11 2009

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Somali pirates free cargo ship NAIROBI: Somali pirates on Saturday released an Italian-operated, British-owned cargo ship that was seized in April, two maritime watchdog organisations said. “The MV Malspina Castle was freed by her captors at around 5:30pm local time (10.30pm in Malaysia) ... after a ransom had been delivered,” said Ecoterra International, an environmentalist group that monitors piracy and other illegal marine activities in the region. Andrew Mwangura, who runs the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, also confirmed to AFP the vessel had been freed. The 30,000-tonne bulk carrier, ferrying iron ore with a crew of 24, was seized in the Gulf of Aden on April 6, the same day a Taiwanese vessel was taken near the Seychelles. The pirates first held it near Garaad and later moved it to Eyl in Somalia’s northern breakaway region of Puntland. “The crew is said to be all right,” said Ecoterra. It included 16 sailors from Bulgaria, four Filipinos, two Ukrainians, a Russian and an Indian. At least 19 ships are still being held by Somali pirates along with several hundred mariners. In the first quarter of 2009, 102 piracy incidents were reported to the International Maritime Bureau, nearly double the number during the same period in 2008. Foreign naval ships, including from Nato and the European Union, have thwarted several hijacking attempts and made dozens of arrests. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Saturday that the problem of piracy would be one of the themes of the G8 summit that he will host in July. “We will discuss piracy, a phenomenom which has recently appeared on an unprecedented scale,” he said. – AFP

briefs Indonesian president’s party wins legislative polls JAKARTA: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s bid for re-election in July was boosted at the weekend when official results showed his party won the most votes in April parliamentary elections. The final results, released late Saturday, showed Susilo’s Democratic Party had won 20.85% of ballots cast on April 9, nearly tripling its total from the 7.5% it earned in 2004 legislative polls. Golkar, which was former president Suharto’s political vehicle for three decades, was second in the April polls with 14.45% of the vote. Ex-president Megawati Sukarnoputri’s Democratic Party of Struggle won 14.03%. – AFP

Give me your money, and your ears: Mexican thief AGUASCALIENTES (Mexico): Clearly unfazed by the swine flu outbreak, a machete-wielding Mexican thief dressed like a crooning cowboy stole his victims’ belongings, and forced them listen to him sing, authorities said. Police arrested Vicente Fernandez decked out in a charro (singing cowboy) outfit, with a 40-cm machete he used to frighten passersby into handing over their loot, local police spokesman Alfredo Barro said. But his crime did not stop there: at least one victim was forced to listen to the thief (who shares the name of a real singer) belt out his own bit of warbling. – AFP

Tigers say Sri Lanka shelling kills over 2,000 civilians COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers yesterday accused the government of killing more than 2,000 civilians in 24 hours of artillery attacks, but the military vehemently denied the allegations. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said in a statement posted on the pro-rebel Tamilnet website that the army had unleashed a devastating offensive on the small coastal patch of land that the rebels still control. The website said rescue workers had counted more than 1,200 bodies. Many of the dead were “found in bunkers and inside the tarpaulin tents”, it said. – AFP

EARTHREPORT Week Ending May 8 Climate change realtor AN Indonesian minister has proposed that the country “rent” out some of the archipelago’s numerous uninhabited islands to people who are losing their own island and coastal homes due to rising sea levels. The Jakarta Post reports Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi raised the idea prior to an international forum on how climate change is affecting the world’s oceans. The report said he had not yet discussed the proposal in depth with President Susilo. Some small island nations have begun to shop around for new “homeland” in other countries for citizens that may be rendered homeless when the rising tides submerge areas where they now live. This is an especially urgent issue for the Maldives, where most of the land is only about 5 feet above the surface of the Indian Ocean.

British rat plague AN exploding rat population in British cities is being blamed on the rodents’ growing resistance to existing poisons. The resistance may lead to the use of chemicals currently banned due to environmental reasons. “We are very concerned about this from a public health point of view,” said Oliver Madge, chief officer of the British Pest Control Association. The trade group says it has identified two unnamed towns in Berkshire, where it claims the rats are very nearly immune t o c u rrently

allowed poisons. It also points to years of mild winters and wet summers that have created favorable conditions for the rats to breed. The association is petitioning the government to allow the outdoor use of two powerful rodenticides, brodifacoum and flocoumafen, which some fear could endanger birds and pets.

Bat cave ban THOUSANDS of bat caves and former mines are being closed for up to a year across 33 states in an effort to control a fungus that has killed a half-million bats in two years. US Forest Service biologist Becky Ewing said an emergency order was issued for caves in 20 states from Minnesota to Maine, and another 13 states in the southern region should join in later this month. Caving groups have said they do not object to the closings, considering the urgent threat posed to much of the country’s bat population.

Earthquakes RESIDENTS in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and nearby areas were awakened before dawn by a sharp quake centered just south of the capital. While there were no reports of significant damage or injures due to the quake, torrential rains and high winds damaged several transmission towers, knocking out power to some sections of Caracas not long after the shaking ended. • Earth movements were also felt in Guatemala, southern Germany and Bulgaria. – Universal Press Syndicate