Somalia

Somali pirates holding two Britons captive aboard a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation warned Britain not to try to rescue the couple. The pirates seized the vessel on Friday morning hundreds of miles out to sea near the Seychelles archipelago. They have taken it to the Somali coast with a view to demanding a ransom for their captives. "If warships surround us, we shall point our guns at the British tourists," said a pirate called Hassan in the coastal town of Haradheere. Paul and Rachel Chandler, both in their 50s, left the Seychelles aboard their 38-foot yacht, Lynn Rival, on October 22 and were believed to be sailing toward the east African coast. (Reuters)