Hamburg - A United Nations tribunal has offered to hear cases involving Somali pirates, or to assist other courts in interpreting laws that apply on the high seas, a German newspaper reported Wednesday.
On its website, Die Welt quoted Jose Luis Jesus, president of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, saying his court in the German city of Hamburg was available to hear piracy cases.
"Piracy is dealt with in articles 100 to 107 of the UN Convention on Law of the Sea," he said. "That is why the tribunal is willing to try every case of piracy which the states desire it to hear."
Nairobi/Mogadishu - Two European aid workers employed by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) who were kidnapped in Somalia over a week ago have been released, reports said Tuesday. The pair - a Dutch nurse and a Belgian doctor - were taken nine days ago on the way to Hudur, the capital of the Bakol region in south-west Somalia. 
Nairobi/Mogadishu - At least seven persons were killed when armed militias attacked the Somalian parliament building on Saturday, the radio broadcaster Radion Garowe reported Sunday. At least three mortars struck the building in an attack coming shortly after deputies had met to debate the government's new budget proposals, the radio said.
Nairobi - A prominent Islamist opposition leader Friday called on African Union peacekeepers to leave Somalia before he would consider joining a coalition government.
Nairobi - A prominent Islamist opposition leader returned to Somalia on Thursday after two years in exile, raising hopes that the conflict-hit African nation's new government could succeed in restoring a semblance of order.
Brussels - Politicians and donors from around the world gathered in Brussels on Thursday for a conference aimed at raising funds to boost security in Somalia and crack down on the epidemic of piracy in the country's waters.
