Egypt to build railway line as alternative to suez canal
..ransoms paid for ships and crews taken by the pirates are driving up insurance rates for all the vessels that pass through the Gulf of Aden, and adding to the cost of most of the goods that pass between Europe and Asia.
The money also is going to one of the poorest regions on earth, he says, where crime lords use it to consolidate their control and keep the region unstable.
Much of the piracy is believed to be centered in the northern Somali region of Puntland, right at the tip of the Horn of Africa.
According to the Reuters news agency, pirates are using their stolen wealth to buy expensive cars, build lavish houses and marry additional wives.