A dramatic increase in piracy off the coast of Somalia and a ten-fold increase in insurance premiums has sent the cost of sending ships through one of the world’s busiest transport routes, soaring, shipping experts said yesterday. More on Shipping insurance cost soars with piracy surge off Somalia

Somalia is rapidly becoming an economy without a state. After almost two decades of warlord-driven anarchy, a weak interim government cannot police its capital, much less the waters that fringe the Horn of Africa.

Pirates armed with AK47s and rocket-propelled grenades now rule the seas. Their trade is masterminded from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, which is sometimes offered as an example of stability in a lawless land. More on Somalia’s economy is being ravaged by a weak government

The Coalition for HR 2003 has learned that Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on African Affairs, introduced a bill entitled “Support for Democracy and Human Rights in Ethiopia Act of 2008”. We are grateful to Senator Feingold and his staff for introducing this legislation in the Senate. More on Senator Feingold introduces a bill similar to HR 2003

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