The Comoros could tame the feared Karthala, one of the world`s largest active volcanoes, and use its geothermal and tourism potential to boost the archipelago`s economy, experts said Wednesday.

Speaking at the opening of a three-day conference on the slopes of the Karthala, officials and experts argued that the volcano could be a goldmine for the Indian Ocean nation.

NAIROBI, Nov 18, 2007 (AFP) - Communication has been lost with a Comoran-flagged cargo ship captured by pirates off the Somali coast last month, raising fears of the crew safety, a maritime monitoring group said on Saturday.

The MV Al Marjan, with 22 mostly Asian crew members on board, was seized on October 19 as it sailed to Mogadishu port from the United Arab Emirates port of Dubai.

'We are worried that the ship has cut communication with the owner and the rest of the world,' said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan branch of the Seafarers' Assistance Programme.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - The African Union on Wednesday imposed sanctions on leaders of the rebellious Comoro island of Anjouan in a bid to coerce them into holding fresh elections.

The sanctions, imposed by the AU's Peace and Security Council, freeze the foreign accounts of Anjouan's leaders and restrict their travel, after they selected a president and government for their part of the Comoran archipelago.

CAPE TOWN, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - African Union (AU) ministers held talks in Cape Town on Tuesday as part of efforts to bring stability to the coup-plagued Comoros Islands.

South Africa's Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma chaired the meeting of a ministerial committee tasked with monitoring the Comoros situation -- also made up of Tanzania, Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya and Mozambique.

MORONI, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - Five people drowned in the Indian Ocean when a boat carrying illegal migrants from the Comoros to the French island of Mayotte capsized, officials said.

The boat capsized on Tuesday off the coast Bambao Mtsanga, a village on the eastern coast of the Comoros island of Anjouan.

'A shipwreck took place off Bambao Mstanga,' Anjouan transport minister Mohammed Abdu Mahdi told AFP.

MORONI, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - At least four people died and around 15 were missing Wednesday after a boat carrying illegal migrants capsized off the Comoros coast in the Indian ocean, officials said.

The boat capsized on Tuesday off the coast Bambao Mtsanga, a village on the eastern coast of the Comoros island of Anjouan.

'A shipwreck took place off Bambao Mstanga. Four bodies were recovered and buried but around 15 people are still missing,' Anjouan transport minister Mohammed Abdu Mahdi told AFP.

MORONI, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) - Anti-Christian arsonists petrol-bombed a dispensary run by the Roman Catholic relief agency Caritas in the north of Comoros' main island of Grande Comore, a local official said Tuesday.

The dispensary in the northeastern town of Mbeni was attacked late Sunday, mayor Mohammed Nassur said, adding that nobody was injured.

'We found remains of a Molotov cocktail on the site,' Nassur told AFP.

Nullam in massa. Morbi id metus et nulla elementum adipiscing. Nam pretium. Nullam eget pede. Vivamus adipiscing. Morbi eget nisl. Morbi id massa nec augue scelerisque viverra. In lobortis, leo quis lacinia ultricies, lectus turpis sagittis est, rhoncus rhoncus orci odio ut mauris. Donec et sapien varius ipsum porttitor gravida.

MORONI, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - The president of the Comoros island of Anjouan has formed a 'liberation' government, a statement said Thursday, the latest episode in the rebellious island's conflict with federal authorities.

'Our objective is the liberation of the island of Anjouan by all means,' said Arbabidine Mohamed, a spokesman for the new government, which is allied with the federal authorities.

Anjouan belongs to the Comoros Union, an Indian Ocean archipelago that also includes the islands of Grande Comore and Moheli.

MORONI, Aug 7, 2007 (AFP) - The former president of the Comoros island of Moheli received an 18-month suspended prison term and a fine for fraud during the archipelago's June elections of federal leaders, a judge said Tuesday.

Said Mohamed Fazul, who lost bid for Moheli's presidency, was sentenced Monday along with the isle's former governor Abdallah Said Sarouma.

They were found guilty of having presented fake election registration receipts of three million Comoran francs (8,350 dollars, 6,000 euros).