Global News

BY OMAR FARUK AP | POSTED BY TOE Somali pirates have seized an Iranian fishing vessel carrying 23 people, the Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean said, warning that the ship was approaching a commercial shipping lane and could become a floating base for further attacks. The Azini was hijacked Thursday between the coastal towns of Bandar Bayla and Hafun in northeastern Somalia, a maritime security officer with the Puntland Maritime Police Force said Sunday. The officer told The Associated Press that 12 pirates seized the vessel, which was carrying 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak with the media. The crew’s safety was unknown, the center said in an alert dated Saturday. In an updated warning, it said that pirates could use the vessel as a “mother ship” to support attacks on commercial vessels. The European Union’s naval Operation Atalanta wa...

By Sam Reeves AFP | Posted by TOE German police fired water cannon to disperse firework-hurling protesters Saturday and were also pelted with other projectiles, as tensions rose at the end of massive youth-led protests. In Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne and dozens of other cities, demonstrators turned out for the protests organised by the group “GenZ regelt!” (GenZ has got this), the latest by disillusioned youth in Europe. Thousands of police were deployed across the country and, after mostly peaceful demonstrations, tensions rose in the evening in some places. In the western city of Cologne, where one of the biggest demonstrations took place, police fired water cannon to disperse a crowd after saying protesters had targeted officers with fireworks. “We will not tolerate violence against emergency workers,” said a police statement. Earlier, a march through the city was halted after demonstrators started setting off fireworks. A march was als...