indonesian Sailors Free as Pirates' Ransom is Paid The crew of 20 Indonesian sailors aboard the Sinar Kudus cargo

ship were finally freed by Somali pirates on Sunday. We received the cash of $4.5 million early this morning. We have abandoned the ship and it is preparing to sail away, a pirate who gave his name as Geney told Reuters news agency In March, a large group of 30 to 50 Somali pirates seized the Indonesian flagged and owned ship about 320 nautical miles northeast of the Yemeni island of Socotra. The Sinar Kudus was on its way to the Netherlands from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi when it was hijacked. The ship is now on its way to the nearest secure port and is being heavily guarded by Indonesian warships, David Batubara, vice president of Samudra Indonesia told reporters late on Sunday.

Taufik Hidayat Quiting National Badminton Team After 13 years of service, which culminated in an Olympic gold medal, shuttler Taufik Hidayat announced Friday his resignation from the national training camp in Jakarta. My decision to resign is final. Its not an impulse or emotional decision. Ive been thinking about quitting the national team since 2004, after I won at the Athens Olympics, he said. However, people kept on encouraging me to stay in the national team, considering my potential and my youth. Therefore I stayed until 2008. In 2001, Taufik threatened to quit the training camp because of Mulyos exclusion. Mulyo is his mentor. He only rejoined the national team after the PBSI agreed to reinstate Mulyo. In 2004, Taufik made yet another threat to quit, and again backed down from it. Its time for younger players to take the baton. Im giving way to them. Its all about regeneration in Indonesian badminton, he said.

Indonesian Migrant Worker dies in Malaysia An Indonesian migrant worker Munti Binti Bani has died on Monday after being hospitalized for several days due to alleged torture by her employees in Selangor, Malaysia. Antara state news agency has reported that Munti had been treated at Tengku Ampuan Rahimah hospital since last Tuesday and died on Monday at 10 a.m, local time. Munti was found unconscious with her hands and feet were tied in a bathroom in Taman Sentosa housing complex last Tuesday. She was suffering from major wounds on her body and had apparently been beaten with iron. Munti's body will be sent tomorrow to her hometown in Pondok Jeruk Barat village of Jombang, East Java after undergoing autopsy at the hospital. We express our deep condolences as there is yet another worker who was tortured and passed away at the hospital, Indonesia's Ambassador for Malaysia, Da'i Bachtiar said in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. The Embassy will arrange for all

compensation, including insurance, she deserves to receive, Da'i said. He added that Munti's employees Vanitha and Murugan had been detained and were undergoing questioning at the local police office. We hope the police can uphold justice and punish them should they be proven to be involved in the case, he said.

Tombs with Mummy Found in Egypt CAIRO Archaeologists have unearthed 57 ancient Egyptian tombs, most of which hold an ornately painted wooden sarcophagus with a mummy inside, Egypts Supreme Council of Antiquities said Sunday. The oldest tombs date back to around 2750 B.C., during the period of Egypts first and second dynasties, the council said in a statement.Twelve of the tombs belong the 18th Dynasty, which ruled Egypt during the second millennium B.C. The 18th Dynasty includes such well-known pharaohs as Tutankhamun, Akhenaten and Queen Hatshepsut. The discovery throws new light on Egypts ancient religions, the council said.
ICELANDIC VOLCANO ERUPTION REYKJAVIK, Iceland - Iceland closed its main international airport and canceled domestic flights Sunday due to a powerful volcanic eruption. Airport and air traffic control operator ISAVIA said Keflavik airport, the country's main hub, was closed at 0830GMT (4:30 a.m. EDT), and would stay shut for the rest of the day. In April 2010, officials closed the continent's air space for five days,fearing the ash could harm jet engines.Some 10 million travelers were stranded. The Grimsvotn volcano, which lies under the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacierabout 120 miles (200 kilometers) east of the capital, Reykjavik, began erupting Saturday for the first time since 2004. Grimsvotn also erupted in 1998, 1996 and 1993. The eruptions have lasted between a day and several weeks. University of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson said this eruption, which began Saturday, was Grimsvotn's largest eruption for 100 years.