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U.N. maritime body launches anti-piracy drive

LONDON (Reuters) – The U.N.'s maritime agency called for a new drive against piracy Thursday as officials and ship-owners voiced fears that the growing scourge of Somali pirates was outpacing international efforts to deal with them.

The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) action plan, which calls for closer international coordination of military and civilian efforts against piracy, comes at a time of growing concern over the expanding reach, ambition and firepower of Somali-based pirates.

"Piracy seems to be outpacing the efforts of the international community to stem it," United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told delegates at the launch of the plan at the London headquarters of the IMO.

Ransom payments of hundreds of millions of dollars had created a "pirate economy" in some areas of Somalia and insurance premiums were on the rise, Ban said.

"The threat to international trade routes is clear," he said, calling for action to support alternative jobs to piracy for Somalis, including rehabilitating coastal fisheries.

The IMO's plan called for efforts to build up the capacity of states in pirate-infested regions to bring pirates to justice, but is short on specifics.

FRUSTRATION

Speakers at the launch reflected frustration in the shipping community at the growing threat the pirates pose to key shipping lanes and vital oil supply arteries in the Indian Ocean despite the deployment of international naval ships there.

"The situation has worsened during the past years with fiercer and increasing attacks on ships. The increased use of so-called 'mother' ships has enabled the pirates to operate at a vastly greater range," said Robert Lorenz-Meyer, president of BIMCO, the world's largest private ship-owners' association.

"Today there are more than 700 seafarers held hostage for ransom on 32 ships ... This does not speak well for the effectiveness of the measures taken by the international community," he said.

Separately, the owners of the "Beluga Nomination," a cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates on January 22, said this week Somali pirates had shot dead a crew member.

Lorenz-Meyer appealed to the U.N. Security Council to increase the naval presence in the Indian Ocean and to make it easier to prosecute detained pirates.

"Without robust and effective counter-measures, piracy will ... make the use of this important sea lane an unacceptable risk to ship owners," he said.

David Cockroft, general secretary of the International Transport Workers' Federation, a union grouping representing seafarers, said many crew members were at breaking point because of the stress of passing through the area frequented by pirates.

"If the risks cannot be eliminated, then seafarers will demand not to sail into the area at all and responsible ship owners will support them," he said.

There would never be enough navy ships to counter the pirates in the vast ocean, he said, calling for "robust political and military intervention" onshore in Somalia, led by the key states in the region.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

Will Smith, Jay-Z team to remake "Annie"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Overbrook Entertainment partners James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith are partnering with Jay-Z to release movies.

One of the first projects they're discussing is a remake of the Broadway classic "Annie," in which the Smiths' daughter, Willow, 9, would star.

Jay-Z sampled the tune "It's a Hard Knock Life," from the "Annie" musical, in his hit "Hard Knock Live (Ghetto Anthem)."

The film will be developed with Sony Pictures Entertainment and produced by Overbrook Entertainment and Jay-Z (real name: Shawn Carter).

Jada, Will, Lassiter and Jay-Z decided to form the partnership over a recent dinner. They also co-invested in beauty products line Carol's Daughter, and co-produced the Broadway production of "Fela!," which earned 11 Tony Award nominations in 2010.

Willow Smith signed onto Jay-Z's record label, Roc Nation, which produced her first single titled "Whip My Hair," which has been certified Platinum.

"The time is right to bring back 'Annie' to the big screen. Of course, we're true believers in Willow's talent and believe she will be perfect in this role," said Columbia Pictures President Doug Belgrad in a statement. "Combining Willow with the Overbrook team that reimagined 'Karate Kid' and the spectacular Jay-Z makes this a dream project."

Said Jay-Z in a statement, "The Overbrook Entertainment family and I have a unified vision. We've already produced a Tony Award winning play and we're developing a true superstar in Willow."

Overbrook Entertainment has generated more than $2.5 billion in revenue by producing some of Smith's films like "Ali," "Hitch," "Pursuit of Happyness," "I Am Legend" and "The Karate Kid."

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

W. Sahara-Morocco talks remain in deadlock

MANHASSET, New York (AFP) – UN-brokered talks between Morocco and Western Sahara rebels failed to break decades of deadlock on the future of the disputed North African territory, the UN envoy said.

"Each party continues to reject the proposal of the other as a sole basis for future negotiations," said UN special envoy Christopher Ross, who oversaw the third round of talks near New York in the past two months and the ninth since 2007.

The Polisario Front independence group demands a self-determination referendum in the north African territory that was annexed by Morocco after Spain withdrew in 1975. Morocco has only offered greater autonomy.

Polisario negotiator Khatri Addu told reporters "Morocco continues to avoid any real negotiation." He demanded an international commission of inquiry into "repression" in the territory.

Morocco's Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri said his country was ready "to find a solution to this regional difference on the basis of Morocco's legitimacy in its Sahara."

The two sides did agree to a new round of informal talks in March.

The UN envoy had asked both sides to bring "concrete proposals" to improve prospects for the negotiations which have been dragging on for years. Another round of talks is scheduled in March.

The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in the conflict in 1991. A Security Council-approved plan called for a referendum in Western Sahara on independence or integration with Morocco, but it has never occurred.

Ross said the weekend talks went ahead with "serious engagement, frankness, and mutual respect."

"The parties engaged in extensive discussions on innovative approaches to build a new dynamic for this process on the basis of regular meetings," the envoy added.

"In this regard, both parties presented and discussed in a preliminary manner concrete ideas that will be developed at the next round of informal talks" in March.

Delegations from neighboring Algeria, which supports the Polisario Front, and Mauritania were also at the talks.

Western Saharans living in Algerian refugee camps have been allowed to resume family visits and this was welcomed by all sides at the talks.

A meeting with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva is scheduled next month in a bid to step up the visits, Ross said.

13-year-old murder suspect faces US court appeal

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AFP) – A panel of US judges will this week consider whether a 13-year-old boy accused of slaying his father's fiance should be tried as an adult and therefore face a possible life sentence.

Pennsylvania's Superior Court is considering an appeal by defense lawyers, who want the teen, Jordan Brown, to be sent to a juvenile facility rather than face imprisonment without parole as an adult.

Emotions were high ahead of Tuesday's hearing, given the horrific nature of the crime and the broader legal implications that the three-judge panel must consider in the case.

Brown was just 11, a chubby schoolboy, when he allegedly shot Kenzie Houk, then eight months pregnant, in the back of the head in February 2009 in her rural home northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Prosecutors allege that the boy waited until his father left for work that Friday morning before entering Houk's bedroom and shooting her with a 20-gage shotgun.

After that, prosecutors say, he went to school, dropping the spent cartridge outside and leaving Houk's daughter, aged four, to discover the grisly scene.

Last year, a local judge ruled that Brown, by then 13, should stand trial as an adult for what is being considered the double murder of Houk and her near full-term baby son.

In the two years since the crime, Brown has been in custody and the case has drawn attention to on how children are handled in the American criminal justice system.

Amnesty International has been prominent in campaigning to overturn the judge's ruling, saying it is "deeply disturbed" by the fact that Brown would, if convicted, never be free again.

However, under Pennsylvania law, a serious crime like a homicide is initially filed in criminal court unless the defense can make a case for sending it to the juvenile system.

In criminal court, Brown would be tried as an adult, whereas in juvenile court he would be tried as a minor and win release at 21, supposedly after rehabilitation.

An initial attempt by Brown's attorney to convince the court that the boy has potential to be rehabilitated failed when county Judge Dominick Motto issued his ruling last year.

Both sides have already filed written briefs before Pennsylvania's highest court. On Tuesday, attorneys will make brief oral arguments, after which the court will rule -- although there is no deadline for that to happen.

The defense plans to argue that Brown is trapped, since in order to prove that he can be rehabilitated he must accept responsibility for his actions and show remorse, and that this would amount to an admission of guilt.

"In other words, he's maintained his innocence, and because he's maintained his innocence, the court sees that he's not accepted responsibility," said David Acker, a defense attorney for Brown.

The state calls this a "misreading."

"The 'Catch-22' that they claim to exist doesn't exist, because Judge Motto explicitly said that was not a requirement (to admit guilt)," Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office, said.

While Brown's legal team believes the case is about constitutional rights, the state is focusing on the narrower matter of whether Motto followed the law in his March ruling.

For Deborah Houk, mother of the murdered woman, the legal arguments mean only more pain.

"No matter what happens, nothing will bring back my daughter," she told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I'm devastated to think that someone would want to re-hear all this again."

Sarge Shriver's body arrives at Mass. cemetery

BARNSTABLE, Mass. – The family of R. Sargent Shriver has arrived at the cemetery where the Peace Corps pioneer is to be buried alongside his wife, Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

A busload of mourners arrived along with the lead hearse as darkness fell on Barnstable, Mass., Saturday evening.

Earlier in Maryland, Shriver was remembered at a funeral Mass for his charity work and optimism. Mourners from musician Bono to Vice President Joe Biden to former President Bill Clinton honored a man who dedicated his life to serving others. The celebration was filled with songs, laughter and fond memories.

Sargent Shriver died Tuesday at age 95. His wife died in 2009 at age 88.

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