Pirates seize $20 million of oil
Somali marauders control U.S.-bound tanker, 28 crew
NAIROBI, Kenya — Somali pirates seized a tanker carrying more than $20 million of crude oil from Saudi Arabia to the United States in the increasingly dangerous waters off East Africa, an official said Monday, an attack that could pose a huge environmental or security threat.
The Greece-flagged Maran Centaurus was hijacked Sunday about 800 miles off the coast of Somalia, said Cmdr. John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU Naval Force. Harbour said it originated from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and was destined for the United States. The ship has 28 crew members on board, he said.
The shipping intelligence company Lloyd’s List said the Maran Centaurus is a “very large crude carrier, with a capacity of over 300,000 tons.”
Stavros Hadzigrigoris from the ship’s owners, Maran Tankers Management, said the tanker was carrying about 275,000 metric tons of crude. At about $75 a barrel, that’s worth more than $20 million. Hadzigrigoris declined to say who owned the oil.
Pirates have increased attacks on vessels off East Africa for the millions in ransom that can be had. Though pirates have successfully hijacked dozens of vessels the last several years, Sunday’s attack appears to be only the second ever on an oil tanker.
The hijacking of a tanker increases worries that the vessel could crash, be run aground or be involved in a firefight, said Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think tank Chatham House.
Pirates typically use guns and rocket-propelled grenades in their attacks, and some vessels now carry private security guards, but Middleton said oil tankers do not.
“You’re sitting on a huge ship filled with flammable liquid. You don’t want somebody with a gun on top of that,” Middleton said.
Venetians get their feet wet, again
VENICE, Italy — A woman crosses St. Mark’s Square on Monday as Venetians felt the effects of acqua alta, or high water. The meteorological phenomenon happens when high tides converge with a strong sirocco, the hot dusty wind that blows into southern Europe from North Africa, pushing water up the narrow Adriatic Sea. Over the last decade, engineers have spent billions of dollars to refurbish the city’s sea walls, jetties and shorelines.
WORLD
Iran holds 5 Britons after stopping yacht in gulf
Iran is holding five British sailors after stopping their racing yacht in the Persian Gulf, the British government said Monday. The move could heighten tensions between Iran and major world powers, including Britain, that are demanding a halt to its nuclear program.
The yacht, owned by Sail Bahrain, was stopped on its way from the tiny island country to the gulf city of Dubai on Wednesday when it “may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters,” Britain’s Foreign Office said.
Gay marriage in doubt
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — An Argentine judge put a hold Monday on another court’s decision to permit the first gay marriage in Latin America, but supporters of the couple said they would try to go ahead with the ceremony anyway.
The official court Web site said national judge Marta Gomez Alsina ordered the wedding blocked until the issue can be considered by the Supreme Court.
Jose Maria Di Bello and his partner, Alex Freyre, set plans to wed Tuesday based on an earlier ruling by a Buenos Aires judge.
Heir charged in 57 deaths
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine prosecutors filed murder charges against the heir of a powerful clan for the massacre of 57 people in a convoy, including journalists and the family and supporters of an election candidate.
Prosecutor Al Calica said Tuesday that authorities have at least 10 witnesses who will testify they saw Andal Ampatuan Jr. leading the gunmen, including police officers, when they stopped the convoy Nov. 23. Some victims were buried in mass graves. Ampatuan turned himself in last week and denied the charges.
NATION
Charges in Jackson death are not expected this year
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors and police investigators do not expect to file charges in connection with Michael Jackson’s death before 2010, law-enforcement officials told Tribune Newspapers.
The officials said there is much evidence to review — some of it complex medical data — and that they have sought the help of outside medical experts. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal physician, provided him with the anesthetic propofol, which coroner’s officials say killed the pop singer. Murray has been identified as a suspect in a manslaughter investigation in search warrants.
The doctor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Chelsea Clinton engaged
NEW YORK — Turns out those discredited rumors of a possible Chelsea Clinton wedding last summer were just premature: The 29-year old daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has become engaged to her longtime boyfriend, investment banker Marc Mezvinsky, 31.
The couple sent an e-mail to friends Friday announcing the news, saying they were looking at a wedding next summer. Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the former president, confirmed the engagement Monday.
Mezvinsky is a son of former Pennsylvania Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and former Iowa Rep. Ed Mezvinsky, longtime friends of the Clintons.
Bell ringer’s kettle swiped
MAUMEE, Ohio — A man who claimed to hate Christmas shoved a Salvation Army bell ringer to the ground and swiped one of the charity’s red kettles stuffed with hundreds of dollars, police said.
The bell ringer, an unemployed woman, tried to pull the kettle away from the man Saturday evening, but he pushed her down and said, “I can’t stand you and your bell-ringing. I hate Christmas,” police said. The bell ringer chased him into a store parking lot before he tossed the kettle into the back of a stolen pickup truck and sped away, police said.
An empty kettle was found a day later. Police arrested Shawn Krieger of Toledo on Monday and charged him with robbery. They had not recovered any money.
THE NUMBER: $7.1 billion
United Nations request for its humanitarian work around the world next year, with Sudan and its troubled Darfur region most in need and Afghanistan rising to second.
The money will go toward providing 48 million people in 25 countries with urgent aid such as tents, water and medicines, said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
