Firefighter Pilot Dies in Australian Wildfires; African Pirates Kidnap Two Americans
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Here are the stories making news around the world right now. Those massive wildfires burning across a thousand miles of Australia have claimed now another life. This time, a pilot died when his water-bombing plane crashed earlier today. He is one of more than 1,500 on the fire lines. His plane dropped water on the fires threatening Sydney, and fires, they've already destroyed more than 200 homes. Now, fire officials, they say they are simply trying to do their best.</s>SHANE FITZSIMMONS, RSF COMMISSIONER: On behalf of the firefighters, that are doing it so tough up there, we do apologize and regret that we weren't able to save everything. We very are acutely aware, because our teams are embedded in the local communities, particularly the likes of the lower Blue Mountains through Springwood and Winmalee, where there has been so much damage and destruction, and people have lost everything. They did their best, and they will continue to do their best.</s>MALVEAUX: The weather has cooled a little bit, and the winds that have gusted to 45-miles-an-hour, they're just a little bit calmer today. And we have now newly released video to show you. This is of a massive rescue effort of African migrants off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. Now, more than 200 people, they were pulled from the water almost two week ago. You see it there. At least 31 died. Now, the overcrowded boat was carrying migrants trying to escape the poverty of North Africa. There had been several recent sinkings in which hundreds have died. And now to Nigeria, this is where pirates have actually kidnapped two Americans from a U.S. oil supply vessel. This is in the Gulf of Guinea. Want to go straight to Vladimir Duthiers in Lagos, Nigeria. And, Vladimir, first what do we know about the attack, and who was taken?</s>VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN WEST AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne. Well, here's what we know. Sometime early morning on Wednesday, this U.S. vessel, which is owned by a Louisiana-based company, Edison Chouest, was attacked by pirates. We don't know how many. Details are still very, very sketchy. During the attack or sometime after the attack, the -- two American sailors, the captain and the chief engineer, were taken hostage. We have not heard about where they might be at this point. What's interesting where this attack took place. It took place, as you mentioned, in the open, in the Gulf of Guinea. Now, historically, piracy has been very, very common in east Africa, off the coast of Somalia, as you know. But increasingly in the last couple of years, we've started to see an uptick in piracy attacks in west Africa. And in the Gulf of Guinea, 30 percent of all attacks in African waters happen in that very gulf. The Nigerian navy has stepped up their efforts to patrol the coastline and to chase pirates where and when they do see them, but it's very, very difficult. This area's known as the Niger River Delta. This ship was taken off the coast of Brass, to the Niger River delta. Now for many, many years, militants attacked and kidnapped all sorts of, usually. oil executives, people that were affiliated with the oil industry. In 2009, the Nigerian government offered an amnesty to these militants in exchange for laying down their weapons, laying down their arms. They offered vocational training, as well as a monthly stipend. In the last couple of months, we've started to see violence increase in this part of Nigeria, which would spell trouble, because, as you know, the government's dealing with a very, very volatile mix of Islamic militantism up in the northeastern part of the country, Suzanne.</s>MALVEAUX: All right, Vladimir, thank you so much. We certainly hope they're safe, but we're going to be following that story as we -- as it develops throughout the afternoon. We're also learning more disturbing details about the high school teacher in Massachusetts allegedly killed by a student. We're going to have a live report, up next.