Somali pirates hijack British-owned ship

Pirates seized a British-owned ship on Monday after taking three vessels over the weekend, marking a jump in the number of hijackings in the perilous waters off Somalia this year.
In the first three months of 2009, only eight ships had been hijacked in the busy Gulf of Aden linking Europe to Asia and the eastern Indian Ocean off the Somali coast, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
Last year, heavily armed gangs from the lawless Horn of Africa nation hijacked dozens of vessels, taking hundreds of sailors hostage and earnings millions of dollars in ransoms.
Foreign navies rushed warships to the area and reduced the number of successful attacks. But there are still near-daily attempts and the pirates have begun hunting further afield near the Seychelles archipelago.
"A 32,000-tonne bulker was seized early this morning. It is UK-owned but operated by Italians. The crew is mixed but we are not sure of their nationalities," said Andrew Mwangura of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme.
The British vessel was named as the Malaspina Castle.
"I hear they have also captured a Taiwanese fishing vessel near the Seychelles," he told Reuters.
Over the weekend, pirates seized a French yacht, a Yemeni tug and the Hansa Stavanger, a 20,000-tonne German container vessel, despite the presence of foreign warships that have been sent to the region to deter the pirates.
Mwangura said the German container ship was taken 400 nautical miles (740 km) off the southern Somali port of Kismayu, between the Seychelles and Kenya.
Germany's Foreign Ministry confirmed the hijack on Monday. Spokesman Jens Ploetner said there were several German citizens on board and a crisis centre had been set up at the ministry.
The pirates typically use speed boats launched from "mother ships", which means they can sometimes evade foreign navies patrolling the busy shipping lanes and strike far out to sea.
They then take captured vessels to remote coastal village bases in Somalia, where they have usually treated their hostages well in anticipation of a sizeable ransom payment.
Pirates stunned the shipping industry last year when they seized a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil. The Sirius Star and its 25 crew was freed in January after $3 million was parachuted onto its deck.
Last September, they also grabbed world headlines by seizing a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying 33 Soviet-era T-72 tanks. It was released in February, reportedly for a $3.2 million ransom.
Before the latest spate of hijackings, the IMB said 9 vessels with 153 crew were being held and that 59 pirates had been captured this year.

CBI arrests three more Satyam employees

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested three more Satyam Computer Services employees on Monday in connection with the multi-billion fraud committed by the IT major.
"We arrested three employees last night who designed the mechanism for the fraud. They were involved in preparing fake monthly bank statements and other documents," CBI Deputy Inspector General V. V. Lakshmi Narayana, said.
The arrested Satyam employees are: Vice-President (Finance) G. Ramakrishna, and two others working in the finance department- D. Venkatpati Raju and Srisailam.
Satyam's former Chief Financial Officer Vadlamani Srinivas on Sunday mentioned the name of G. Ramakrishna in front of a two-member high-powered team of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
Nine persons have been arrested so far in connection with the Satyam fraud case.

Italy quake damages old churches, Roman baths

The earthquake in central Italy on Monday has badly damaged several historic churches and other heritage sites, the Culture Ministry said.
At least four Romanesque and Renaissance churches and a 16th century castle were partially destroyed by the quake centred in the medieval city of L'Aquila, the ministry said.
Part of the nave of the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, one of the area's most famous churches, collapsed.
The church, with a pink-and-white facade combining Romanesque and Gothic architecture, hosted the crowning of Pope Celestine V in 1294 and attracts thousands of pilgrims every year.
To the north, the belltower of the lavish Renaissance Basilica of San Bernardino also crumbled.
The mountain city of L'Aquila has a history of powerful earthquakes, and was almost wiped out by one in 1703.
Monday's quake, which killed scores of people, was so powerful that its effects were felt in the capital Rome, 100 km to the west.
The city's superintendent for archaeology said the Baths of Caracalla -- the Roman public baths built between AD 212 and 216 and a popular tourist attraction -- had suffered some damage.

Prime minister condemns Assam blasts

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned Monday's serial blasts in Assam and said that his government was committed to thwarting the designs of the terrorists.
Manmohan Singh expressed profound grief and shock over the incidents and conveyed his condolences to the near and dear ones of those killed in the blasts.
'The government remains committed in its resolve to thwart the designs of terrorists and adequate measures will be undertaken to ensure peace and stability in the state,' he was quoted in a press release here.