Morning Brief: Somali pirates hijack U.S. ship
Top Story The recent pirate hijacking spree continued today with the seizure of a U.S. cargo ship off the coast of Somalia. The Maersk Alabama (not pictured here) is a U.S. flagged vessel operated by a Danish shipping company with 21 crewmembers aboard, reportedly all Americans. The Alabama’s seizure follows five hijackings last weekend, a ...
Top Story
Top Story
The recent pirate hijacking spree continued today with the seizure of a U.S. cargo ship off the coast of Somalia. The Maersk Alabama (not pictured here) is a U.S. flagged vessel operated by a Danish shipping company with 21 crewmembers aboard, reportedly all Americans. The Alabama’s seizure follows five hijackings last weekend, a dramatic increase after only eight ships were seized in the first three months of 2009.
Many of the pirates are based in the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland which today requested more international funding to fight the problem. “It’s better for the international community to give us $1 million to clear out the pirates on the ground, instead of paying millions of dollars to keep the warships at sea,” said the region’s security minister.
Middle East
Barack Obama finished his trip abroad with a surprise visit to Iraq where he met with U.S. troops and urged reconciliation of the country’s warring factions.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to announce that his country has mastered the final stage of nuclear enrichment. Ahmadinejad said today that he would welcome “honest” talks with the United States.
Deadly attacks against gays are on the rise in Iraq.
Europe
Moldovan police have wrested control of the parliament away from the students protesting last weekend’s election. FP‘s newest blogger Evgeny Morozov comments on the role Twitter played in the demonstrations.
Ireland unveiled an emergency budget including higher taxes and drastically reduced spending.
Aftershocks are complicating the rescue effort for Italy’s deadly earthquake.
Asia
President Hamid Karzai said he will change Afghanistan’s controversial new women’s rights law if it is found to be unconstitutional.
Poland has agreed to increase the number of troops it has in Afghanistan by 20 percent.
Pakistan’s foreign minister questioned whether the United States could be trusted in light of recent drone attacks.
Americas
Vermont became the second U.S. state in a week to legalize same-sex marriage.
Russian and Chinese cyberspies have reportedly penetrated the U.S. electrical grid.
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in jail for human rights violations during his presidency. Elizabeth Dickinson comments for Passport.
Africa
The government of Niger has reportedly signed a peace deal with its Tuareg rebels.
Four men accused of playing a role in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide have won the right to remain in Britain.
Human Rights Watch accused Uganda’s anti-terrorist forces of torturing detainess.
STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/Getty Images
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
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