Sydney  - The motorcycle gang boss who was present when a rival was bludgeoned to death in the arrivals hall of Australia's busiest airport last month was charged Monday.

Comanchero boss Mahmoud Hawi, 28, is the sixth gang member arrested over the death of Hell's Angels member Anthony Zervas in front of horrified travelers.

The March 22 slaying sparked fears of an all-out war between motorcycle gangs over control of the illicit drug trade and protection rackets.

Berlin  - Germany was attempting Monday to obtain the release of a German container ship which was hijacked the previous day in the Indian Ocean, apparently by Somali pirates.

A newspaper in Hamburg identified the vessel as the Hansa Stavanger, owned by a city shipping company, Leonhardt & Blumberg.

The Hamburger Abendblatt said the vessel, built in 1997 at the Wenchong shipyard in Guangzhou, China, had had several other names and owners.

Berlin  - A German-flagged cargo ship was hijacked by pirates near the Somali coast, two German government ministries said Sunday in Berlin.

The Spiegel Online website in Germany quoted Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, as saying it was a 20,000-gross-ton vessel. He did not name the vessel but said it had a crew of 24.

Zamboanga City, Philippines - Three people were killed and seven wounded Monday when gunmen attacked a truck owned by a rubber plantation cooperative in the southern Philippines, police said.

The ambush occurred in Lantawan town in Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila, said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, provincial police commander.

Macapantar said four of the wounded were in critical condition and rushed to hospital in Isabela City.

He said police still have no suspects and were investigating the ambush.

Sana'a, Yemen - Somali pirates hijacked a Yemeni tugboat in the Indian Ocean and held its seven-member crew hostage on Sunday, Yemen's Interior Ministry reported.

Armed pirates took over the al-Ghaith boat with seven Yemeni sailors on board and took it to an unknown destination, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

No further details were immediately available.

Shipping routes off Somalia have become increasingly dangerous in recent months as Somalia descends further into chaos and unrest.

Sana'a, Yemen - A senior Yemeni local official began on Sunday a new round of negotiations with kidnappers of a Dutch couple after mediation led by tribal leaders foundered, a municipal official said.

"A new round of talks is under way after negotiations between tribal chieftains and the abductors broke down yesterday," said Jamil Shuraih, the secretary-general of the Bani-Dhabian district where the Dutch hostages are being held.