In brief: Somali pirates strike near India

NAIROBI, Kenya – Pirates have captured a cargo vessel about 1,000 miles east of Somalia, the European Union’s anti-piracy force said Sunday.

The EU Naval Force said the attack took place only 550 miles from the coast of India.

Pirates fired small arms and rocket-propelled grenades at the MV Renuar, a Panama-flagged, Liberian-owned cargo vessel. The EU Naval Force said the condition of the 24 Filipino crew members is not known.

The EU Naval Force said on Friday pirates hijacked a U.S.-operated ship just east of the Tanzania-Mozambique border, making it one of the most southerly attacks Somali pirates have pulled off.

All 23 crew members on the MV Panama were from Myanmar. The EU Naval Force had no information about their condition.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, the owner of a Bangladesh-flagged ship hijacked a week ago by pirates said Sunday that all 25 crew members and the wife of a sailor were safe.

Shipping company owner Mohammad Shahjahan said the hijacked M.V. Jahan Moni was anchored off the Somali coast.

Ruling party leads Kosovo elections

PRISTINA, Kosovo – Incumbent Prime Minister Hashim Thaci claimed victory Sunday in Kosovo’s first general election since the province declared independence from Serbia, as an independent exit poll showed his Democratic Party of Kosovo 6 percentage points ahead of its rivals.

“This is a vote for a European Kosovo,” Thaci told the Associated Press. “It is a referendum for good governance.”

According to the exit poll, conducted by Kosovo-based Gani Bobi Center, Thaci won 31 percent of the vote, with former coalition partners Democratic League of Kosovo trailing at 25 percent. Official results are expected today.