2008 Woodie Awards
Week in Review: Africa
Mary Kate Nevin '09 and Kieran Whelan '09
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: World
Egypt: 19 Hostages Freed, Kidnappers Killed
Eleven European tourists and eight Egyptians abducted in the Egyptian desert have been freed unharmed in a "rescue and recovery operation" in which some of their kidnappers were killed, Egyptian officials said on Monday, Sept. 29.
"They have all arrived safely. No ransom was paid from any of the hostage countries," Tourism Minister Zoheir Garrana told reporters.
Masked gunmen seized the five Germans, five Italians, one Romanian, and eight Egyptians on Friday, Sept. 19, from a desert safari near Egypt's borders with Sudan and Libya. The kidnappers then brought them into Sudan and demanded a multi-million-dollar ransom.
Somalia: Pirates Hijack Ukrainian Ship
Somali pirates seized a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 Soviet-made battle tanks on Friday, Sept. 26.
"We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard," the pirates' spokesman Sugule Ali told The New York Times. "We just saw a big ship. So we stopped it."
The Somali government says the pirates are now negotiating with the ship's owners.
The ship has been surrounded by United States warships that prevent the pirates from taking the weapons off the ship, and a Russian frigate was approaching the area on Wednesday, Oct. 1, to join the international blockade.
On Tuesday, Sept. 30, it was reported by several news agencies that the pirates had fired at each other over what to do with the vessel's cargo. The pirates denied this, however, and expressed optimism that a peaceful resolution could be reached.
Eleven European tourists and eight Egyptians abducted in the Egyptian desert have been freed unharmed in a "rescue and recovery operation" in which some of their kidnappers were killed, Egyptian officials said on Monday, Sept. 29.
"They have all arrived safely. No ransom was paid from any of the hostage countries," Tourism Minister Zoheir Garrana told reporters.
Masked gunmen seized the five Germans, five Italians, one Romanian, and eight Egyptians on Friday, Sept. 19, from a desert safari near Egypt's borders with Sudan and Libya. The kidnappers then brought them into Sudan and demanded a multi-million-dollar ransom.
Somalia: Pirates Hijack Ukrainian Ship
Somali pirates seized a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 Soviet-made battle tanks on Friday, Sept. 26.
"We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard," the pirates' spokesman Sugule Ali told The New York Times. "We just saw a big ship. So we stopped it."
The Somali government says the pirates are now negotiating with the ship's owners.
The ship has been surrounded by United States warships that prevent the pirates from taking the weapons off the ship, and a Russian frigate was approaching the area on Wednesday, Oct. 1, to join the international blockade.
On Tuesday, Sept. 30, it was reported by several news agencies that the pirates had fired at each other over what to do with the vessel's cargo. The pirates denied this, however, and expressed optimism that a peaceful resolution could be reached.
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