European naval force helps free ship seized by pirates
European naval force helps free ship seized by pirates/node/2590261/world
European naval force helps free ship seized by pirates
Armed Somali pirates carrying out preparations to a skiff in Hobyo, northeastern Somalia, ahead of new attacks on ships sailing in the Gulf of Aden. (AFP file photo)
European naval force helps free ship seized by pirates
Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011 when 237 attacks were reported
Updated 14 February 2025
AP
DUBAI: A European naval force in the Middle East helped free a Yemeni fishing boat seized by suspected Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa, authorities said.
The naval force, EUNAVFOR Atalanta, said late on Thursday that the incident remained under investigation. It said the 12 mariners on board were safe and uninjured.
It said the attack that began last week targeted a dhow, a traditional ship that plies the waters of the Mideast off the town of Eyl in Somalia.
“The immediate presence of Atalanta forces in the area, especially the helicopter, was decisive in the fishing vessel liberation,” EUNAVFOR said.
“The crew confirmed that the alleged pirates abandoned the vessel after stealing personal objects and two skiffs belonging to the dhow.”
Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011 when 237 attacks were reported.
Somali piracy in the region at the time cost the world’s economy some $7 billion — with $160 million paid out in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.
The threat was diminished by increased international naval patrols.
Australian bushfires raze homes, cut power to tens of thousands
Updated 3 sec ago
SYDNEY: Thousands of firefighters battled bushfires in Australia’s southeast on Saturday that have razed homes, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland. The blazes have torn through more than 300,000 hectares (741,316 acres) of bushland amid a heatwave in Victoria state since the middle of the week, authorities said on Saturday, and 10 major fires were still burning statewide. In neighboring New South Wales state, several fires close to the Victorian border were burning at emergency level, the highest danger rating, the Rural Fire Service said, as temperatures hit the mid-40s Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit). More than 130 structures, including homes, have been destroyed and around 38,000 homes and businesses were without power due to the fires in Victoria, authorities said. The fires were the worst to hit the state since the Black Summer blazes of 2019-2020 that destroyed an area the size of Turkiye and killed 33 people. “Where we can fires will be being brought under control,” Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan told reporters, adding thousands of firefighters were in the field. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation faced a day of “extreme and dangerous” fire weather, especially in Victoria, where much of the state has been declared a disaster zone. “My thoughts are with Australians in these regional communities at this very difficult time,” Albanese said in televised remarks from Canberra. One of the largest fires, near the town of Longwood, about 112 km (70 miles) north of Melbourne, has burned 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of bushland, destroying 30 structures, vineyards and agricultural land, authorities said. Dozens of communities near the fires have been evacuated and many of the state’s parks and campgrounds were closed. A heatwave warning on Saturday was in place for large parts of Victoria, while a fire weather warning was active for large areas of the country including New South Wales, the nation’s weather forecaster said. In New South Wales capital Sydney, the temperature climbed to 42.2 C, more than 17 degrees above the average maximum for January, according to data from the nation’s weather forecaster. It predicted conditions to ease over the weekend as a southerly change brought milder temperatures to the state.
