"Pirates seized control of a French cruise ship Friday off the coast of Somalia, France's Foreign Ministry said."
"Wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have its own navy and a transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to assert control." 04-08
"Somali pirates recaptured an American captain who tried a daring escape from their lifeboat during the night and then threatened to kill him if the U.S. Navy attempts to rescue him." 04-09
"Maritime piracy, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, consists of any criminal acts of violence, detention, or depredation committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or aircraft that is directed on the high seas against another ship, aircraft, or against persons or property on board a ship or aircraft. Piracy can also be committed against a ship, aircraft, persons, or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state." 04-09
"Attacks in the first three months of this year [2009] were up 20 percent compared with the same period in 2007, analysts say. Last year saw more pirate attacks than the year before.""And although the motive is still money, today's pirates are a far cry from the eye-patched, peg-legged swashbucklers of Hollywood." 04-09
"The Gulf of Aden, which links the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, is one of the world's busiest and most vital shipping lanes, crossed by over 20,000 ships each year. It has been at the center of the world's fight against piracy."
"A flotilla of warships from nearly a dozen countries has patrolled the Gulf of Aden and nearby Indian Ocean waters for months. They have halted many attacks on ships this year, but say the area is so vast they can't stop all hijackings."
"Pirates have attacked 78 ships this year, hijacking 19 of them, and 17 ships with over 300 crew still remain in pirates' hands, according to Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur." 04-09
"Somali pirates vowed to hunt down American ships and kill their sailors and French forces detained 11 other brigands in a high-seas raid as tensions ratcheted up Wednesday off Africa's volatile eastern coast." 04-09
"The new .50 caliber gun and improved scope could employ 'fire and forget' technologies including 'fin-stabilized projectiles, spin-stabilized projectiles, internal and/or external aero-actuation control methods, projectile guidance technologies, tamper proofing, small stable power supplies, and advanced sighting, optical resolution and clarity technologies.' In other words, bullets that, once fired at a specific target, fly themselves into it by changing shape." 04-09
"Maritime security analysts say a combination of factors — both on sea and land — contributed to the pirates' near total defeat [in the Strait of Malacca]. Most significantly, the success in the strait shows how concerted and well-coordinated action by regional governments can prevent pirate attacks on commercial shipping." 04-09
"Captain Richard Phillips, the American cargo ship captain rescued by the American Navy from Somali pirates, will return to the United States on Wednesday with his crew after reuniting with them in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, his company said." 04-09
"Led by France and the U.K., Europe's fight against piracy off the East African coast has been a major priority, and considerable naval assets have been supplied. France, Britain and other European nations have co-authored U.N. resolutions authorizing force to combat Somali pirates. And France, Britain, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands have all contributed ships alongside the U.S. to the Combined Task Force 150, whose mission includes preventing piracy off the Horn of Africa." 04-09
"Somalia is not so much a failed state as a didn't-even-try one. It hasn't had a government since 1991, when warlords took over and embarked on a series of intractable clan wars that have produced one of the world's worst humanitarian crises: hundreds of thousands dead and 3 million people desperately in need of aid." 04-09
"Imagine a world where pirates run amok, blowing themselves up in European city centers; where wars are ignited over lack of drinking water; where a global face-off between Islam and Christianity makes World War II look like a water-balloon fight. According to economist and political scientist Jacques Attali, that is what the future has in store for us by 2025. In the belief that past experiences are indicative future events, Attali combs through the history of human kind, all the way back to Homo Habilis, separating the past into nine distinct periods to isolate 'what is possible, what changes and what is unvarying' and applies those trends to the coming century. Attali's predictions range from the future of journalism (completely paperless) to the end of the economic crisis (around 2011), offering a glimpse into the future that is both provocative and petrifying." 12-08