Sana'a, Yemen  - Somalia's former Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who resigned last month amid an internal power struggle, arrived in the Yemeni capital Sana'a Tuesday seeking political asylum, Yemeni officials and a Somali diplomat said.

Yemeni officials said Yusuf had expressed his wish to receive political asylum in Yemen until he decides a permanent residence.

A Somali diplomat said Yusuf was accompanied by his wife and 17 other family members and security guards upon his arrival in Sana'a.

Sana'a, Yemen  - Yemeni tribesmen freed a German oil expert and his Yemeni companions on Tuesday, two days after they kidnapped them in southern Yemen, Yemen's state news agency reported.

The agency quoted an Interior Ministry source as saying that the freed hostages were expected to arrive in the capital Sana'a late in the day.

A security source close to the negotiations with the kidnappers, however, told Deutsche Prsse-Agentur dpa that the hostages have not been handed over to the government.

Sana'a, Yemen - Yemeni authorities were continuing the search Monday for kidnapping gang that abducted a German engineer and two of his Yemeni colleagues, local security sources said.

The sources said authorities were waiting for tips from tribal chieftains on the hideout of the kidnappers, believed to be in a rugged mountainous area in the south-eastern province of Shabwa.

Armed tribesmen kidnapped the German expert and two Yemeni engineers on Sunday afternoon as they were heading to their work site near the Arabian Sea port of Balhaf in Shabwa, some 570 kilometres south east of Sana'a.

Sana'a, Yemen  - Around 170 passengers are still missing after a ship loaded with around 300 Somali and Ethiopian migrants capsized off the coast of Yemen Saturday, Yemeni coast guard officials said.

A coast guard official in Red Sea port of Houdieda said 130 people managed to swim ashore or were rescued by coast guard teams and local fishermen.

Three bodies have been recovered so far, the official, who asked not to be identified, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

He said the wooden ship hit a reef in a storm, tearing a hole in its hull.

Sana'a, Yemen  - At least 130 passengers managed to swim ashore after a ship loaded with around 300 Somali and Ethiopian migrants capsized off the coast of Yemen Saturday, Yemeni coast guard officials said.

A coast guard official in Red Sea port of Houdieda said 130 people managed to swim ashore or were rescued by coast guard teams and local fishermen.

Three bodies have been recovered so far, the official, who asked not to be identified, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

He said the wooden ship hit a reef in a storm, tearing a hole in its hull.