Washington  - Crew members retook control of a US-flagged cargo ship that was hijacked off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday, but the ship's captain was still being held hostage.

Captain Richard Phillips was being held by the pirates on the ship's 28-foot lifeboat and was alive, second mate Ken Quinn told broadcaster CNN.

Quinn confirmed that the crew was in control of the ship and was waiting for additional support from a US Naval destroyer, which was a few hours away.

Havana/Washington  - After meeting with US lawmakers, Cuba's retired leader Fidel Castro said Wednesday that while he believes US President Barack Obama's intentions towards Cuba are "sincere," they clash with the "objective reality" within the United States.

In an article published Wednesday in Cuban state media, Castro spoke of his two-hour meeting Tuesday with three members of the US Congressional Black Caucus.

The man who formally stepped down from power in Cuba in February 2008 after almost half-a-century was reacting to comments made by US Democratic Representative Laura Richardson.

Tehran - An Iranian-American reporter detained in Tehran for alleged illegal press activities has been charged with espionage, local media reported Wednesday.

Roxana Saberi, 31, a reporter for US-based National Public Radio (NPR), was initially detained for buying alcohol and has been held in Tehran's Evin prison since the end of January.

In March, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said Saberi was denied official press accreditation since 2006 and was working illegally.

Washington  - The captain of the US-operated cargo ship that was hijacked off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday has been taken hostage, a crew member confirmed.

Captain Joseph Murphy was being held by the pirates on the ship's lifeboat and was alive, second mate Ken Quinn told broadcaster CNN.

He also said that the crew was in control of the ship and was waiting for additional support from a US Naval destroyer, which was about three hours away.

San Francisco - Taipei-based company Elan Microelectronics has sued Apple for the alleged infringement of two of its touch screen patents in the iconic US technology company's iPhone and other devices.

The suit was filed Tuesday in the US District Court in San Francisco, close to Apple's Silicon Valley headquarters, court papers posted Wednesday showed.

Elan, which makes touchpads, claims it owns the patents covering the touch screen technology that has helped the iPhone, MacBook and other Apple products become huge hits.

Bonn, Germany  - German's main competition agency, the Federal Cartel Office, fined US software company Microsoft 9 million euros (12 million dollars) Wednesday for imposing a retail price for its Office Home & Student 2007 software.

Microsoft said it would pay the fine to avoid a lengthy legal dispute and was reviewing its internal processes in Germany to ensure they complied with German law in future.