Japan lower house OKs piracy law to allow greater role for navy on Somali mission

TOKYO — Japan’s lower house approved an anti-piracy bill Thursday that will allow the country’s navy ships on a mission off the Somali coast to escort foreign vessels.

UN chief says Security Council should reject immediate UN peacekeeping force for Somalia

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended Wednesday that the Security Council reject an immediate U.N. peacekeeping force for Somalia, saying such a deployment could exacerbate the Horn of Africa country’s long and bitter conflict.

French commandos turn over 11 pirate prisoners for trial in Kenya

MOMBASA, Kenya — Masked French commandos marched a band of barefoot, glum-looking pirate suspects down the gangplank of a naval frigate Wednesday in Mombasa before turning the 11 Somali men over to Kenyan authorities.

Somalia wants international help to create a coast guard aimed at combating piracy

BRUSSELS — Somalia’s foreign minister urged the international community Wednesday to help its fledgling government set up a coast guard to fight the rampant piracy that has disrupted shipping in one of the world’s busiest waterways.

Nations meet, hoping that reducing anarchy on land in Somalia will help cut down on piracy

NAIROBI, Kenya — Pirates are constantly attacking ships off the coast of lawless Somalia despite naval patrols by more than a dozen nations. On land, an extremist Islamic group is targeting African Union peacekeepers and humanitarian workers.

Somali pirate remains a mystery, but mother insists he was duped into piracy

MOGADISHU, Somalia — At home in central Somalia, Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse studied English, frequented a dusty, outdoor cinema after school where he watched Bollywood films dubbed into his native Somali and, his mother says, “was wise beyond his years.”

A teenage pirate to appear in NY courtroom, a world away from impoverished Somalia

NEW YORK — Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse grew up destitute in Somalia, the oldest of 12 kids and the product of a violent, lawless nation where his parents scraped together a few dollars a day selling milk and tending to a small herd of camels, cows and goats.

Global pirate attacks nearly doubled in first quarter due to sharp spike off Somalia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Sea attacks worldwide nearly doubled in the first three months of 2009, mainly due to increased pirate raids on vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia, an international maritime watchdog said Tuesday.

Hostage captain arrives to cheers in Vt. small town welcome, thanks Navy SEAL ’superheroes’

Pirate hostage captain gets small town welcome

UNDERHILL, Vt. — A small Vermont town welcomed home its hero, an unassuming shipping captain who many have lauded for helping his crew survive a high-seas, international hostage drama off the coast of Somalia.

Security forces arrest seven pirates in Somalia

HARGEISA - Security forces have arrested seven suspected pirates in the northwestern Somali port town of Berbera, officials said Thursday.

Somalia’s presidential election on Jan 26

BAIDOA - Somalia’s presidential election will be held Jan 26, officials announced here Sunday.

Kidnappers free two Western journalists in Somalia

BOSASSO - A Spanish and a British journalist have been freed after almost six weeks in captivity in Somalia’s volatile Puntland state, EFE reported.