Nairobi/Mogadishu - Pirates have hijacked a Malaysian tanker with over 20 crew members on board in the Gulf of Aden, the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre said Wednesday.

The body said that the ship, which is carrying crude palm oil, is thought to be heading into Somali coast waters.

A ransom demand is expected to be issued soon.

Piracy off Somalia's lawless coast has surged in the last three months. Prior to the latest attack, the IMB said that eight vessels had been attacked in the region and issued a fresh warning for the Gulf of Aden.

A general cargo ship was hijacked on August 12, and is currently being held for ransom along with its 28 crew, the IMB said.

Nairobi - Kenya's former anti-corruption chief John Githongo returned home to speak at a public forum Wednesday three years after fleeing the East African nation amid fears for his life.

Githongo said he received threats after his investigation found that state contracts worth over one billion dollars were being awarded to fake companies in an affair that became known as the Anglo Leasing scandal.

Several senior government members resigned as a consequence of the investigation.

Nairobi/Khartoum  - Sudan is holding hundreds of people without charge and trying them before "sham courts" for their alleged roles in a rebel attack on Khartoum in May, Amnesty International said Monday after eight people were sentenced to death.

Over 100 people are facing charges in Sudan's Anti-Terrorism Special Courts, which on Sunday sentenced eight alleged members of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to death.

Nairobi/N'Djame

Nairobi/Mogadishu  - Islamic insurgents attacked the Somali president's convoy as he prepared to fly out to Ethiopia for crisis talks aimed at healing a rift with the prime minister, reports said Friday.

The BBC reported that insurgents detonated two landmines near President Abdullahi Yusuf's convoy as he travelled to the airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Ethiopian troops opened fire after the attack and killed five civilians, the BBC said.

Nairobi, Mogadishu - Islamic insurgents attacked the Somali president's convoy as he prepared to fly out to Ethiopia for crisis talks aimed at healing a rift with the prime minister, reports said Friday.

The BBC reported that insurgents detonated two landmines near President Abdullahi Yusuf's convoy as he travelled to the airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Ethiopian troops opened fire after the attack and killed five civilians, the BBC said.