Malaysian ship attacked, captain and crew kidnapped:

Malaysian ship attacked, captain and crew kidnapped:
The captain and two crew-members of a Malaysian-owned ship have
been kidnapped after the vessel was boarded by armed pirates in
Indonesian waters, marine police officials said on Wednesday.
The M.T. Penrider, which was carrying 1,000 tons of fuel oil from
Singapore to Penang in northern Malaysia, was attacked and robbed
on Sunday by unidentified gunmen in the Malacca Strait, marine
police spokesman Chief Inspector Fauzi Abdul Rauf said.

"A group of men in a boat, wearing military dress and armed
with AK47 and M16 rifles, fired several shots at the ship," he
said. The ship's captain, engineer and assistant engineer, who
are all Indonesian nationals, were taken as hostages, he said.
--AFP

Australian trains searched after package threat:
Hundreds of police searched trains in Australia's biggest city on
Wednesday after receiving a threat that four men might leave a
package on a Sydney train, police said. Police had received
unspecified information that four men described as being "of
Melanesian descent" could be traveling on Sydney's extensive rail
network and might attempt to leave a package on a train.
--Reuters

Two U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq: Two U.S. soldiers were killed
in roadside bombs targeting military convoys north of the Iraqi
capital, as the army said it snagged four wanted loyalists of
Saddam Hussein's toppled regime. "One 4th Infantry Division (4ID)
soldier was killed and one wounded when their M-113 armored
personnel carrier hit an (improvised) explosive device (IED) at
approximately 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, division spokesman Lt. Col.
Bill MacDonald said. Central Command later said another 4th
Infantry Division soldier was killed and two more were wounded
late Tuesday "when their convoy was attacked by an improvised
explosive device in the vicinity of Al-Taji". --AFP

UK says security threat in Saudi, BA halts flights: Britain said
on Wednesday it had credible evidence of a security threat to its
aviation interests in Saudi Arabia and British Airways suspended
all flights to the kingdom. The announcement followed two clashes
in three days in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, between police and
Islamic militants that began with a shootout on Sunday and
continued with a full-blown gunbattle on Tuesday. BA, which flies
to the capital Riyadh and Red Sea port of Jeddah, is the only
British carrier with scheduled flights to Saudi Arabia. Flights
to both were canceled on Wednesday. --Reuters