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| Somali pirates free Spanish boat | Somali pirates free Spanish boat |
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| Somali pirates have released a Spanish trawler and its 36 crew members after holding it for six weeks, Spain's prime minister has confirmed. | Somali pirates have released a Spanish trawler and its 36 crew members after holding it for six weeks, Spain's prime minister has confirmed. |
| Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that the pirates had abandoned the Alakrana and all 36 members of the tuna boat's crew were "safe and sound". | Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that the pirates had abandoned the Alakrana and all 36 members of the tuna boat's crew were "safe and sound". |
| The pirates earlier told reporters they were leaving the ship after being promised a ransom of $3.5m (£2.1m). | The pirates earlier told reporters they were leaving the ship after being promised a ransom of $3.5m (£2.1m). |
| There was no immediate government confirmation of money having been paid. | There was no immediate government confirmation of money having been paid. |
| "I can confirm that the Alakrana fishing trawler is sailing freely towards safer waters and that all of its crew members are safe and sound," a smiling Mr Zapatero told a news conference in Madrid. | |
| The Spanish prime minister did not comment on the ransom reports. | |
| The Alakrana was hijacked last month along with its crew of 36, including 16 Spaniards, eight Indonesians and others from Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Senegal and the Seychelles. | The Alakrana was hijacked last month along with its crew of 36, including 16 Spaniards, eight Indonesians and others from Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Senegal and the Seychelles. |
| The trawler, which is based in the Spanish Basque Country, was seized 400 nautical miles north-west of the Seychelles island of Mahe, according to coast guards. | The trawler, which is based in the Spanish Basque Country, was seized 400 nautical miles north-west of the Seychelles island of Mahe, according to coast guards. |
| Somali pirates, using "mother ships" to launch their small-boat attacks on vessels, have extended their range to an area off the Seychelles in recent months in order to evade the navies patrolling the Horn of Africa. | Somali pirates, using "mother ships" to launch their small-boat attacks on vessels, have extended their range to an area off the Seychelles in recent months in order to evade the navies patrolling the Horn of Africa. |
| More than 10 ships and 200 hostages are currently being held by pirates operating in waters off Somalia. | |
| Many of the pirates began as fishermen and say they are stopping illegal foreign fishing boats stealing Somali fish, BBC international development correspondent Mark Doyle reports. | |
| The upsurge in piracy in the region is a consequence of the failure to find a solution to Somalia's political disputes, our correspondent notes. | |
| The weak central government faces an Islamist insurgency and parts of the country have broken away to form autonomous regions. |