Twelve Somali men tried for piracy were acquitted Thursday in Mauritius for lack of evidence, court officials said.

"The prosecution did not provide enough evidence to prove the guilt of the accused," magistrate Wendy Rangan said, ending a year-long trial that began in October 2013.

Sri Lanka's president urged his peers Friday not to pass judgment over his country's past as he hosted a Commonwealth summit that threatens to be upstaged by a visit to the war-torn north by Britain's David Cameron.

The summit was meant to be a chance for President Mahinda Rajapakse, a Sinhalese nationalist leader who oversaw the crushing of Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, to showcase the development of his country.

Mauritius and the Seychelles on Tuesday signed a pact to jointly manage a continental shelf in the Indian Ocean spanning 396,000 square kilometers in what was described as a path breaking accord.

The pact came after the two island nations obtained conjoint rights on the Mascarene Islands continental shelf in March last year. The treaty was signed during a visit by Seychelles President James Michel.