Somali Pirates Are Back, Using a Hijacked Cargo Tanker as a ‘Mothership’ to Attack Other Vessels off the Horn of Africa
July 27, 2026
Somali pirates – Montage by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky/US Navy/Wiki Commons
Piracy is back in force.
Maritime commerce has become increasingly more dangerous lately, with attacks on cargo ships in the Black Sea, the Red Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz, among others.
Now, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean off the Horn of Africa have returned to the list, as Somali pirates take full advantage of the instability caused by the Iran war to get back to their predatory ways.
Reports arise that the Horners are using a hijacked cargo ship as a springboard to capture other vessels in a resurgence of attacks.
JUST IN: Somali pirates have been using hijacked cargo ship as a “mothership” to capture other vessels.
“Two Iranian fishing boats were captured on July 16 by pirates operating from a 330ft cement carrier they had seized earlier this year.
At one point last week, six captured vessels were being held off the Puntland coast as the pirates demanded hefty ransoms. Two of the vessels were released on Saturday.”
The Iran conflict left naval patrols overstretched, so the Horners are again using captured cargo ships as pirate ‘motherships’: bases to raid vessels in the Indian Ocean, a tactic used during the height of Somali piracy 15 years ago.
“Their attacks were the scourge of maritime traffic in the Indian Ocean, leading to hundreds of millions of pounds in ransom payments and billions more in extra costs to international trade.
[…] Intelligence sources said pirates had begun using the MV Sward cargo ship as a mothership after capturing the vessel on April 26, along with its crew of 15 Syrians and two Indians. The vessel was hijacked after it departed the port of Suez in Egypt on its way to Mombasa in Kenya.”
Somali Pirate boat – Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky/US Navy/Wiki Commons
“A merchant ship hijacked in Yemeni waters in the Gulf of Aden last week is now being held by Somali pirates, two residents of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region told Reuters on Thursday.
The ship, the MT Asana, is a Tanzanian-flagged fuel and chemical tanker. One of the residents who spoke to Reuters described himself as a former pirate. He said there were 20 crew members on board the MT Asana, including eight from Germany and 10 from the Philippines.
Germany’s foreign ministry said it did not comment on abductions of German nationals overseas as a matter of principle.”
WATCH: “He’s Tormenting His Own Citizens” – Netanyahu Slams Mamdani in Response to Arrest Threats, Says He Will Attend UN General Assembly in New York
July 27, 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded on Sunday to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s threats to enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him when he lands in New York for the UN General Assembly.
The Prime Minister is traveling to the United States this week for an eighth sit-down with President Trump at the White House. He announced his departure on X this morning, writing, “In our meeting, we will discuss all the issues on the table, with Iran at the forefront. Our goal is clear: to safeguard Israel’s security, strengthen its power, and expand the circle of peace around us.” Netanyahu added, “During the visit, I will also pay my last respects to a true friend of mine and of the State of Israel, Senator Lindsey Graham—one of Israel’s greatest friends of all time.”
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Mamdani sat for an interview with the New York Times this month, where he upped the ante on a campaign promise to “arrest Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Mamdani said he’s engaged in an “active conversation” with his legal department to find out “what the prospects are” to arrest Netanyahu for war crimes when he lands in New York for the UN General Assembly in September.
“Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said, referencing Prison Scheveningen in The Hague, Netherlands, home of the United Nations Detention Unit (UNDU) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) Detention Center.
WATCH:
However, Mamdani later walked back the empty threat, saying, Netanyahu is “not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large” but still admitting he has no power to enforce the International Criminal Court warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest.
“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” the mayor said. “The federal government, however, does — and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant.”
During an interview on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Netanyahu said he is “not concerned” and still plans to attend the UN General Assembly in New York.
Netanyahu further decried the charges against him as politically motivated and slammed Mamdani for “trying to turn one group against the other” and “foisting hate and fear.” Netanyahu added, “I don’t think it’s accidental that after he made this hate speech against Israel and against me, the next day a Jew is stabbed coming out of a synagogue. I think, and with a cry of Allah is Akbar, Allah Akbar, and you know what that means.”
“What we’re doing is trying to fight this genocidal terrorist organization that embeds itself among civilians, prevents us from moving the civilians out of harm’s way; they use gunpoint. That’s where the real criminals are, but Mandani is aligning himself with the criminals, and with these murderers,” the Prime Minister continued. “But the worst thing is that he’s tormenting his own citizens, his own voters. No, that is wrong. And I, you know, I’ve been to New York so many times, Maria, over the years. I’ve met all the New York mayors. They all saw themselves as mayors of all New Yorkers, not pitting one part of the population against the other.”
Natalee Holloway Murderer’s Deadly Twist: Trump’s DOJ Releases Docs on FBI Decisions That May Have Cost a Life Under Eric Holder
July 27, 2026
Documents obtained by journalist and Newsmax host Greta Van Susteren reportedly show that the Obama administration had an opportunity to arrest convicted murderer Joran van der Sloot during a sting operation, only days before he committed a second murder.
The award-winning journalist intends to publish FBI documents she obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, as well as with the help of former Attorney General Pam Bondi, that show the FBI “bungled” the sting and then “kept it quiet” from the public.
Susteren also intends to release video footage of the sting itself.
She made the announcement on Facebook.
Released to her courtesy of President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, the new documents and video reportedly show that the Obama FBI “bungled” a sting operation by failing to arrest Van der Sloot in 2010 for the murder of Natalee Holloway.
Twenty days before Van der Sloot murdered Stephany Flores Ramírez on May 30, 2010, an intermediary working for the FBI paid van der Sloot an initial $25,000 out of $250,000 ($10,000 in cash, $15,000 wired) in exchange for information about Holloway’s remains, according to NPR. The information turned out to be false.
The Obama DOJ, then under the direction of Attorney General Eric Holder, subsequently waited until June 3, 2010 before charging Van der Sloot with extortion and wire fraud. By then, Ramírez was dead.
Critics have long maintained that the Obama FBI should have immediately arrested Van der Sloot when they had the chance.
It’s not yet clear what Susteren’s documents and video will show. She noted in her Facebook post that “some” of the FBI documents are “handwritten” and make mention of Holder “warning them not to screw it up.” Screw what up? Reportedly the “cover up.”
In a post published to the social media platform X, Susteren stressed that it’d taken her years to retrieve the documents.
It took YEARS to pry the evidence (FOIA etc) out of the FBI…I would have loved to have finished this project years ago https://t.co/BI7nkLezGD
Holloway was an 18-year-old Alabama high school graduate who went missing on May 30, 2005, while on a post-graduation trip in Aruba. She was last seen early that morning leaving a popular nightclub in the company of Van der Sloot, then 17, and two other young men, brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe.
Aruban authorities conducted an extensive investigation and detained Van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers based on the suspicion that they were involved in Holloway’s murder. However, they were released because investigators lacked enough evidence to bring formal charges.
In late 2007, Aruban prosecutors closed the close against the three without filing any cases. Holloway’s body has never been found. At her father’s request, an Alabama court issued a legal declaration of her death in early 2012, according to CNN.
Van der Sloot was eventually convicted of Ramírez’s murder in Peru in 2012 and sentenced to 28 years in Peruvian prison. In 2023, he received 18 additional years for trafficking drugs while incarcerated.
In 2023, he pleaded guilty in relation to the extortion and wire-fraud charges filed by the Obama administration years earlier. As part of the deal, he purported to tell the authorities what really happened with Holloway — that he’d bludgeoned her with a cinder block on an Aruba beach and disposed of her body in the ocean.
Susteren recently alleged that this admission from Van der Sloot was a lie:
This, among several other facts, shows Joran van der Sloot lied to the Federal Judge – no “huge cinder block” was ever found on the beach…and if this had happened this way (it did not), the cinder block would have been full of blood…that beach we searched right after Natalee… pic.twitter.com/eJtigkTFpm
The company, as part of an attempted $700 million rebrand, announced it was replacing its 47-year-old logo, which featured the restaurant’s name next to a man sitting in a chair and leaning on a barrel.
The new, woke rebrand removed the man and the barrel, leaving just the name. She also pushed for changing the eclectic interior, opting for something cold and sterile, and then claimed the public just loved the new logo and look.
Her decisions may have ultimately cost Masino her job.
The outrage was so widespread, even President Trump weighed in. He said, “Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They got a Billion Dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right. Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Have a major News Conference today.”
Lowe sat down with Newschannel5’s Carrie Sharp and had some harsh words for the woke CEO trying to destroy the business he founded.
“They’re trying to modernize to be like the competition – Cracker Barrel doesn’t have any competition. I heard she [Masino] was at Taco Bell. What’s Taco Bell know about Cracker Barrel and country food? They need to work on the food and service and leave the barrel – the logo alone,” Lowe said.
Although the company initially doubled down, it ultimately caved to public pressure and announced a return to the beloved “Old Timer” logo.
But not before doing damage to the company and, possibly, costing Masino her job.
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino is stepping down after the failure of her “woke” rebrand last year, which was rolled back following intense backlash from loyal customers, the company announced Monday.
David Deno, a restaurant exec who most recently served as CEO of Bloomin’ Brands, which owns Outback Steakhouse, will replace Masino on August 10, according to a Cracker Barrel press release.
Her departure comes after less than three years at the helm, during which diners revolted against the company’s attempts to modernize the Southern dining chain by axing its beloved mascot Uncle Herschel and revamping restaurants without its telltale tchotchkes.
Xi Jinping’s Bank Purges Could Have a Negative Impact on China’s Economy
July 27, 2026
Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption purges have swept through China’s financial sector, removing senior banking officials while increasing uncertainty for investors and exposing systemic weaknesses in state-directed lending. Photo courtesy of the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the U.N.
China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced on July 19 that Ouyang Weimin, former president and deputy party secretary of the China Development Bank (CDB), is under investigation for suspected serious violations of party discipline and the law. Typical of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) purges, no further information was given.
Ouyang joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1986 and spent much of his early career at the People’s Bank of China before serving as vice governor of Guangdong. He was appointed CDB president and deputy party secretary in 2019 and stepped down as president in 2023. CDB, founded in 1994, is a state-funded development finance institution overseen directly by the State Council.
In a separate action, a former CDB vice president was sentenced in 2024 to 12 years in prison and fined for accepting bribes. A second CDB official, Liang Qingkai, former party secretary and president of CDB’s Hunan branch, was placed under investigation the same day. This detail has only a single Chinese-language source and has not been independently confirmed.
Ouyang’s case fits into a broader pattern of purges across the China Development Bank (CDB) and other state-owned financial institutions. The CCP has punished or opened investigations into at least nine CDB executives for graft in a single year, with several accused of accepting bribes in exchange for approving loans.
Former CDB chairman Hu Huaibang helped CEFC China Energy and HNA Group obtain billions of dollars in credit. Both companies later collapsed into insolvency or restructuring. Former CDB vice president He Xingxiang was placed under investigation in September 2021, and former Yunnan branch president Hong Zhenghua was investigated the same year.
The South China Morning Post reported that more than 30 regulators and bankers were detained in a single year as part of the broader financial-sector crackdown. Analysts said investigators were targeting officials accused of approving loans in exchange for kickbacks, and more than a dozen senior executives at China’s largest financial institutions were investigated during the same period.
Taken together, the cases involving Hu Huaibang, He Xingxiang, Hong Zhenghua, Ouyang Weimin, and the unconfirmed investigation of Liang Qingkai suggest a recurring pattern in which CDB executives allegedly approved loans in exchange for bribes. In at least one documented case, the CEFC and HNA credit lines, the lending went to companies that later defaulted or entered restructuring.
Bad loans of this kind likely stem from a mix of factors: personal enrichment by officials approving the loans, poor planning, and pressure from the central government to inflate the overall scale of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) so that reported totals remain large.
Xi Jinping treats “financial security” as central to national security, and the financial sector crackdown reflects this view. Combined with broader state paranoia, it could further weaken business confidence among domestic and foreign investors.
The purge also raises the risks associated with senior banking positions in China. Despite that, opportunities for corruption will likely continue to attract some officials. For foreign investors, the crackdown adds another layer of uncertainty: loans may go unrecovered, or the officials who approved them may later be arrested.
China’s net investment position, measured by foreign direct investment into China versus outbound investment, turned negative about a year and a half before this writing. It remains very low. U.S. tariff policy under President Trump has further reduced China’s attractiveness to investors.
2026 growth projections run as low as 4.5% GDP, among the lowest on record outside the COVID period. Beijing is likely to report a figure closer to 5% regardless.
China’s official unemployment rate is about 5%. Youth unemployment is officially 16% to 18%. That figure excludes students, many of whom enrolled in school because they could not find jobs, and people absorbed into training programs for the same reason.
Real youth unemployment may be closer to 20%, consistent with the 21% to 23% peak recorded before Beijing stopped publishing the metric. It is likely higher today, given the tens of millions of university graduates entering the workforce without a matching rise in jobs.
An estimated 200 million to 400 million migrant workers remain registered as employed under the hukou system, some earning under $100 a month. Their work depended on a construction sector that has since slowed sharply. Construction accounts for at least 20% of the Chinese economy and depends directly on available financing.
Reduced investment limits factory construction, while U.S. tariffs restrict market access. The overall trajectory is continued economic slowdown rather than collapse.
CDB is one of China’s two principal financiers of overseas infrastructure and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, with estimated lending commitments of roughly $100 billion, the largest of any single Chinese institution.
Chinese banks’ balance sheets are burdened with doubtful loans, leaving little room for BRI-scale lending. New Chinese loan commitments have remained flat at about $7 billion annually since 2023, roughly one-quarter of the volumes seen during the initiative’s peak in the 2010s. It also found that China has shifted from a net provider of financing to developing countries to a net drain, with debt repayments now exceeding new disbursements.
With the United States positioned to gain control over Iran’s oil, that investment is unlikely to benefit China, compounding losses already tied to failed loans and corruption cases. Because no official BRI project list exists, Beijing can characterize any individual completed project as a success regardless of the initiative’s overall performance.
We use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. We do this to improve browsing experience and to show (non-) personalized ads. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Somali pirates have been using hijacked cargo ship as a “mothership” to capture other vessels.
