Somalia famine to kill thousands - Part 1

The UN in Somalia says tens of thousands of people will have died of starvation by the time the famine in the Horn of Africa ends. East Africa's drought is battering Somali children, with hundreds left for dead on the journey to the world's largest refugee camp.

A Somali woman from southern Somalia holds her malnourished child in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Wednesday, Aug, 17, 2011. The World Food Program said Saturday that it is expanding its food distribution efforts in famine-struck Somalia, where the U.N. estimates that only 20 percent of people needing aid are getting it.(AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A Somali girl from southern Somalia sit behind barbed wire in a line to receive food at a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Wednesday, Aug, 17, 2011. The World Food Program said Saturday that it is expanding its food distribution efforts in famine-struck Somalia, where the U.N. estimates that only 20 percent of people needing aid are getting it.(AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Hassan Abdulkadir Adan, left, and Moktar Hassan Garad, right, from southern Somalia carry their dead 7 and 5 year-old boys from a local hospital in Mogadishu, for burial Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011, The World Food Program said Saturday that it is expanding food distribution efforts in famine-ravaged Somalia, where the U.N. has estimated that only 20 percent of people needing aid are able to receive it because an al-Qaida-linked group controls large portions of the country. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Internally-displaced women queue for food rations at a feeding centre as thousands flee severe drought in southern Somalia, in 2011. Global food prices -- a major catalyst for social unrest in the Middle East and Africa -- will remain high in 2012, the head of a UN body said Tuesday as he warned there was no simple formula to beat hunger. (AFP Photo/Mohamed Abdiwahab)

An aid worker using an iPad films the rotting carcass of a cow in Wajir near the Kenya-Somalia border in this July 23, 2011 file photo. Since drought gripped the Horn of Africa, and especially since famine was declared in parts of Somalia, the international aid industry has swept in and out of refugee camps and remote hamlets in branded planes and snaking lines of white 4x4s. From floods that crippled countries, to mega cyclones, huge blizzards, killer tornadoes to famine-inducing droughts, 2011 has been another record-breaker for bad weather. While it is too early to predict what 2012 will be like, insurers and weather prediction agencies point to a clear trend: the world's weather is becoming more extreme and more costly. REUTERS/Barry Malone/Files (KENYA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT DISASTER SOCIETY BUSINESS)

Refugee Abshiro Isakbul sits at the Transit Centre in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia. Over 300,000 refugees have fled severe drought, conflict and famine in southern Somalia this year, according to the United Nations. Many have streamed into Ethiopia, which continues to receive hundreds of refugees every day as fighting rages between Al-Qaeada-linked Shebab insurgents, government troops and regional armies. (AFP Photo/William Davies)

A boy tries to collect water at the Transit Centre in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia. Over 300,000 refugees have fled severe drought, conflict and famine in southern Somalia this year, according to the United Nations. Many have streamed into Ethiopia, which continues to receive hundreds of refugees every day as fighting rages between Al-Qaeada-linked Shebab insurgents, government troops and regional armies. (AFP Photo/William Davies)

A woman and her children walk to the Transit Centre in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia. Over 300,000 refugees have fled severe drought, conflict and famine in southern Somalia this year, according to the United Nations. Many have streamed into Ethiopia, which continues to receive hundreds of refugees every day as fighting rages between Al-Qaeada-linked Shebab insurgents, government troops and regional armies. (AFP Photo/William Davies)

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - AUGUST 13: Aden Madow carries the body of Hamza Ali Faysal, 3, from a camp of displaced Somalis within the rubble of the Cathedral of Mogadishu on August 13, 2011 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The malnourished child died of sickness two weeks after fleeing with his family from famine and drought in far southern Somalia. The US government estimates that some 30,000 children have died in southern Somalia in the last 90 days. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - AUGUST 14: Halima Hassan holds her severely malnourished son Abdulrahman Abshir, 7 months, at the Banadir hospital on August 14, 2011 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The US government estimates that some 30,000 children have died in southern Somalia in the last 90 days due to famine and drought. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2011 - People roll and drag water containers in Wajir in this recently taken handout photo released on July 21, 2011. A wide swathe of east Africa, including Kenya and Ethiopia, has been hit by years of severe drought and the United Nations says two regions of southern Somalia are suffering the worst famine for 20 years, with 3.7 million people facing starvation. REUTERS/Jakob Dall/Danish Red

A Somali man from southern Mogadishu carries his dead child in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Sept. 20; 2011. The United Nations World Food Programme is bolstering its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa. WFP is also expanding its use of cash transfers to help drought-hit families get the food they need. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh

A Somali father from southern Somalia lowers the body of his dead child in the grave in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Sept. 20; 2011. The United Nations World Food Programme is bolstering its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa. WFP is also expanding its use of cash transfers to help drought-hit families get the food they need. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh

Severely malnourished child from southern Somalia is being held in a makeshift shelter in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011. The United Nations World Food Programme is bolstering its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa. WFP is also expanding its use of cash transfers to help drought-hit families get the food they need. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali men from southern Somalia offers funeral prayers next to a dead child in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Sept. 20; 2011. The United Nations World Food Programme is bolstering its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa. WFP is also expanding its use of cash transfers to help drought-hit families get the food they need. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh

Severely malnourished child from southern Somalia seen in a makeshift shelter in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011. The United Nations World Food Programme is bolstering its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa. WFP is also expanding its use of cash transfers to help drought-hit families get the food they need. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

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India's polio breakthrough

India marked a year since its last new case of polio, a major milestone in a country once considered the epicenter of the disease and one that gives hope of eradicating the scourge worldwide. The country had 150,000 polio cases in 1985, but a huge government campaign backed by donor money has led the number of infections to plummet -- into double figures in 2010 and finally zero in the last 12 months.

A young Indian girl is given her first polio vaccination at a health camp organized by the Rotary Club in conjunction with UNICEF and the WHO, in Moradabad, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. India will celebrate a full year since its last reported case of polio on Friday, a major victory in a global eradication effort that appeared to be stalled just a few years ago. If no previously undisclosed cases of the crippling disease are discovered across the country, India will no longer be considered to be polio endemic, leaving only Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria on that list. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

In this Sunday Jan. 23, 2011 photograph, Sanjana Shoba, a polio vaccinator, administers polio vaccine to a child in Tilkeshwar village, some 200 kilometers from Patna, India. India will celebrate a full year since its last reported case of polio on Friday Jan. 13, 2012, a major victory in a global eradication effort that appeared to be stalled just a few years ago. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A child is administered polio drops by a mobile unit during an anti-polio drive in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. India marked a full year since its last reported case of polio on Friday, Jan. 13. The milestone is seen as a major victory in the global effort to eradicate the crippling disease. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

A child is administered polio drops at his home by a mobile unit during an anti-polio drive in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. India marked a full year since its last reported case of polio on Friday, Jan. 13. The milestone is seen as a major victory in the global effort to eradicate the crippling disease. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

In this Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 photo, plastic supports used for making braces for polio affected patients lie at an orthopedic workshop run by non-government organization Delhi Council for Child Welfare in New Delhi, India. India will celebrate the one-year anniversary Friday since its last reported case of polio, a major victory in a global eradication effort that had appeared interminably stalled just a few years ago. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

In this Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 photo, polio affected Usman, right, is checked by Dr. Kishore Pratap Sanyal at an out patient department clinic run by non-government organization Delhi Council for Child Welfare in New Delhi, India. India will celebrate the one-year anniversary Friday since its last reported case of polio, a major victory in a global eradication effort that had appeared interminably stalled just a few years ago. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

A child is administered polio drops at his home by a mobile unit during an anti-polio drive in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. India marked a full year since its last reported case of polio on Friday, Jan. 13. The milestone is seen as a major victory in the global effort to eradicate the crippling disease. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

A polio affected man returns after taking a dip at the confluence of the Ganges river and the Bay of Bengal at Sagar Island, south of Kolkata, January 13, 2012. India is about to hit a milestone in its battle to eradicate the polio virus with no new cases reported in the past year, the country's health minister said on Thursday, a dramatic drop from being the country worst affected by the crippling disease. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

In this Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012 photo, Noor Mohammad, severely affected by polio in 2009, crawls outside his home at Ganeshpur in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. India is marking a full year since its last reported case of polio on Friday. The milestone is seen as a major victory in the global effort to eradicate the crippling disease. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

In this Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012 photo, an infant is given her first polio vaccination at a health camp organized by the Rotary Club in conjunction with UNICEF and the WHO, in Moradabad, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. India is marking a full year since its last reported case of polio on Friday. The milestone is seen as a major victory in the global effort to eradicate the crippling disease. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

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Magnesium-rich diet may lower stroke risk: study

Reuters

People who eat lots of magnesium-rich foods such as leafy green vegetables, nuts and beans have fewer strokes, according to an international analysis covering some 250,000 people. But the authors of the study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, stopped short of recommending people take a daily magnesium supplement because their analysis focused on magnesium in food -- and it may be another aspect of the food that is responsible for their finding. "Dietary magnesium intake is inversely associated with risk of stroke, specifically ischemic stroke," wrote lead author Susanna Larsson, a professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. The results suggest that people eat a healthy diet with "magnesium-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans and whole grains," she added.

Larsson and her colleagues combed through research databases spanning the last 45 years to find studies that tracked how much magnesium people took and how many of them had a stroke over time. In seven studies published in the past 14 years, about 250,000 people in the United States, Europe and Asia were followed for an average of 11.5 years. About 6,500 of them, or three percent, had a stroke in the time they were followed. For every extra 100 milligrams of magnesium a person ate per day, their risk of an ischemic stroke -- the most common kind, typically caused by a blood clot -- fell by nine percent. The median magnesium intake for U.S. citizens included in the analysis was 242 milligrams a day. The United States recommends that men and women over age 31 eat 420 and 320 milligrams of magnesium daily, respectively.

Most of the studies allowed the researchers to rule out other factors, such as family history.

But Larsson told Reuters Health in an email that she could not say whether other aspects of what the people ate partially or entirely explained the finding. More in-depth studies are needed before researchers can say that the magnesium was what actually reduced the stroke risk, she added. Other experts said the results were consistent with dietary recommendations. "It's a diet that's rich in fruits, vegetables and grains. Those are things that have low sodium, high potassium and high magnesium," said Larry Goldstein, director of the stroke center at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

"It's again the diet per se, not any one individual component of the diet." SOURCE: http://bit.ly/AhalBY

(Reporting from New York by Andrew Seaman at Reuters Health; Editing by Elaine Lies and Yoko Nishikawa)

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Ship aground off Italy; 3 bodies found, 69 missing

By FRANCES D'EMILIO and NICOLE WINFIELD | Associated Press

PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy (AP) — Divers searched the submerged part of a luxury cruise liner that went aground off Italy's coast in case any of 70 people unaccounted for might be trapped inside, a coast guard official said Saturday, as passengers described a delayed and terrifying evacuation. Three bodies were recovered from the sea after the Costa Concordia ran aground off the tiny island of Giglio near the coast of Tuscany late Friday, tearing a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in its hull and sending in a rush of water. One of the victims was a Peruvian crew member, a diplomat from the South American country said, adding that a Peruvian woman was also missing. The ANSA new agency identified the other two fatalities as French passengers, but didn't cite a source.

Passengers described a scene reminiscent of "Titanic", saying they escaped the ship by crawling along upended hallways, desperately trying to reach safety as the lights went out and plates and glasses crashed. Helicopters whisked some survivors to safety, others were rescued by private boats in the area, and witnesses said some people jumped from the ship into the dark, cold sea. The ship was lying virtually flat off Giglio's coast, its starboard side submerged in the water and the huge gash showing clearly on its upturned hull. Passengers complained the crew failed to give instructions on how to evacuate and once the emergency became clear, delayed lowering the lifeboats until the ship was listing too heavily for many of them to be released.

Carnival Corp., which owns the cruise line that the ship belongs to, didn't address the allegations in a statement it issued. "Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the grounding of the Costa Concordia and especially the loved ones of those who lost their lives. They will remain in our thoughts and prayers in the wake of this tragic event." Authorities have been checking names against the passenger list, but have had a hard time accounting for everyone. They still hadn't counted all the survivors by the time they reached the mainland 12 hours later.

An evacuation drill was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, even though some passengers had already been on board for several days. "It was so unorganized, our evacuation drill was scheduled for 5 p.m.," said Melissa Goduti, 28, of Wallingford, Connecticut, who had set out on the cruise of the Mediterranean hours earlier. "We had joked 'What if something had happened today?'" "Have you seen 'Titanic?' That's exactly what it was," said Valerie Ananias, 31, a schoolteacher from Los Angeles who was traveling with her sister and parents on the first of two cruises around the Mediterranean. They all bore dark red bruises on their knees from the desperate crawl they endured along nearly vertical hallways and stairwells, trying to reach rescue boats. "We were crawling up a hallway, in the dark, with only the light from the life vest strobe flashing," her mother, Georgia Ananias, 61 said. "We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls."

She choked up as she recounted the moment when an Argentine couple handed her their 3-year-old daughter, unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side and the family found themselves standing on a wall. "He said 'take my baby,'" Mrs. Ananias said, covering her mouth with her hand as she teared up. "I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down. I didn't want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn't hold her. "I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby," she said. "I wonder where they are," daughter Valerie whispered.

The family said they were some of the last off the ship, forced to shimmy along a rope down the exposed side of the ship to a waiting rescue vessel below. Survivor Christine Hammer, from Bonn, Germany, shivered near the harbor of Porto Santo Stefano, on the mainland, after stepping off a ferry from Giglio. She was wearing elegant dinner clothes — a gray cashmere sweater, a silk scarf — along with a large pair of hiking boots, which a kind islander gave her after she lost her shoes in the scramble to escape. Left behind in her cabin were her passport, credit cards and phone.

Hammer, 65, told The Associated Press she was eating her first course, an appetizer of cuttlefish, sauteed mushrooms and salad, on her first night aboard her first-ever cruise, which was a gift to her and her husband, Gert, from her local church where she volunteers. Suddenly, "we heard a crash. Glasses and plates fell down and we went out of the dining room and we were told it wasn't anything dangerous," she said. Several passengers concurred, saying crew members for a good 45 minutes told passengers there was a simple "technical problem" that had caused the lights to go off. Seasoned cruisers, however, knew better and went to get their life jackets from their cabins and report to their "muster stations," the emergency stations each passenger is assigned to, they said.

Once there, though, crew members delayed lowering the lifeboats even thought the ship was listing badly, they said. "We had to scream at the controllers to release the boats from the side," said Mike van Dijk, a 54-year-old from Pretoria, South Africa. "We were standing in the corridors and they weren't allowing us to get onto the boats. It was a scramble, an absolute scramble." Passengers Alan and Laurie Willits from Wingham, Ontario, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, said they were watching the magic show in the ship's main theater when they felt an initial lurch, as if from a severe steering maneuver, followed a few seconds later by a "shudder" that tipped trash cans over. The subsequent listing of the ship made the theater curtains seem like they were standing on their side. "And then the magician disappeared," Laurie Willits said, adding that the panicked audience members fled for their cabins as well.

Once at their life boat station, crew members directed passengers to go upstairs from the fourth floor deck; Alan Willits said he refused. "I said 'no this isn't right.' And I came out and I argued 'When you get this boat stabilized, I'll go up to the fifth floor then," he said. Eventually, his lifeboat was lowered down. But things didn't improve for passengers once aboard the lifeboats or on land. "No one counted us, neither in the life boats nor on land," said Ophelie Gondelle, 28, a French military officer from Marseille. She said there had been no evacuation drill since she boarded in Marseille, France on Jan. 8.

A top Costa executive, Gianni Onorato, said Saturday the Concordia's captain had the liner on its regular, weekly route when it struck a reef. "The ship was doing what it does 52 times a year, going along the route between Civitavecchia and Savona," a shaken-looking Onorato, who is Costa's director general, told reporters on Giglio, a popular vacation isle about 18 miles (25 kilometers) off Italy's central west coast. The captain is an 11-year Costa veteran, he said. He said Costa was cooperating with Italian investigators to find out what went wrong.

Costa Cruises said about 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, about 160 French and about 1,000 crew members. Some 30 people were reported injured, most of them suffering only bruises, but at least two people were reported to be in grave condition. Several passengers came off the ferries on stretchers, but it appeared more out of exhaustion and shock than serious injury. The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on Giglio. Those evacuated by helicopter were taken to the port of Porto Santo Stefano on the nearby mainland.

Passengers sat dazed in a middle school opened for them, wrapped in wool or aluminum blankets, with some wearing their life preservers and their shoeless feet covered with aluminum foil. Civil protection crews served them warm tea and bread, but confusion reigned supreme as passengers tried desperately to find the right bus to begin their journey home. Tanja Berto, from Ebenfurth, Austria, was shuttled from one line to another with her mother and 2-year-old son Bruno, trying to figure out how to get back to Savona, where they began their cruise a week ago. "It's his birthday today," she said of her son, rolling her eyes as she held Bruno and tended to her mother, who had grown faint and was lying on the ground. "Happy birthday, Bruno."

Survivors far outnumbered Giglio's 1,500 residents, and island Mayor Sergio Ortelli issued an appeal for islanders — "anyone with a roof" — to open their homes to shelter the evacuees. Coast Guard Cmdr. Francesco Paolillo said the exact circumstances of the accident were still unclear, but that the first alarm went off about 10:30 p.m., about three hours after the Concordia had begun its voyage from the port of Civitavecchia, en route to its first port of call, Savona, in northwestern Italy.

The coast guard official, speaking from the port captain's office in the Tuscan port of Livorno, said the vessel "hit an obstacle." The cruise liner's captain, Paolillo said, then tried to steer his ship toward shallow waters, near Giglio's small port, to make evacuation by lifeboat easier. But after the ship started listing badly, lifeboat evacuation was no longer feasible, Paolillo said. Five helicopters, from the coast guard, navy and air force, took turns airlifting survivors and ferrying them to safely. A coast guard member was airlifted aboard the vessel to help people get aboard a small basket so they could be hoisted up to the helicopter, said Capt. Cosimo Nicastro, another Coast Guard official.

Costa Cruises said the Costa Concordia was sailing on a cruise across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from Civitavecchia with scheduled calls to Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo. The Concordia had a previous accident in Italian waters, ANSA reported. In 2008, when strong winds buffeted Palermo, the cruise ship banged against the Sicilian port's dock, and sustained damage but no one was injured, ANSA said.

                                                                  

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PepsiCo says finds trace fungicide in orange juice

By P.J. Huffstutter | Reuters

CHICAGO (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc said company tests of its Tropicana orange juice showed low levels of a potentially dangerous fungicide, but levels were below federal safety concerns and did not pose a health risk. The company said in a statement on Saturday it was conducting additional tests after the Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily halt orange juice imports and remove any juice found to have dangerous amounts of the fungicide carbendazim.

The scare was triggered when soft-drink giant Coca-Cola Co, maker of Minute Maid orange juice, said it had discovered carbendazim in shipments from Brazil and alerted U.S. authorities about a potential industry-wide problem. Carbendazim is used in Brazil to combat blossom blight and black spot, a type of mold that grows on orange trees. But in the United States, its use is limited to non-food items such as paints, textiles and ornamental trees, although U.S. authorities allow trace amounts of carbendazim in 31 food types including grains, nuts and some non-citrus fruits.

The FDA said low levels of carbendazim are not dangerous and the agency had no plans for a recall. "The results we have to date confirm that the levels of fungicide in the imported Brazilian juice we tested are below the levels the agencies said raise safety concerns," PepsiCo said. "We will continue to test, as we take this matter seriously, and we're working aggressively to address any concerns." Orange juice futures prices hit record highs on the fungicide reports, then declined.

On Friday, U.S. health regulators cleared the way for the first shipments of imported orange juice to enter the country since January 4, when authorities began testing for the fungicide in juice products from Brazil. The FDA said final tests confirmed that three samples of Canadian orange juice were negative for the fungicide carbendazim. Test results have yet to be announced for 28 import samples from Brazil, Mexico and Canada.

(Additional reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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Survivors plucked from Italian shipwreck

By Gavin Jones and Antonio Denti | Reuters

GIGLIO, Italy (Reuters) - A South Korean honeymoon couple and an injured crewmember were plucked from a capsized Italian liner on Sunday, more than a day after it was wrecked, as rescue workers struggled to find any others still trapped on board. Teams were painstakingly checking thousands of cabins on the Costa Concordia for people still unaccounted for after the huge vessel foundered and keeled over with more than 4,000 on board, killing at least three people and injuring 70. The task is akin to searching a small town - but one tilted on its side, largely in darkness and partly submerged in freezing water. Scores of divers were taking part.

At about 1 p.m. rescue workers airlifted Manrico Gianpetroni, chief purser, hours after making voice contact with him several decks below. Gianpetroni, who had a broken leg, was lifted from the ship on a stretcher by a helicopter and taken directly to hospital. "I never lost hope of being saved. It was a 36-hour nightmare," he told reporters. After midnight, rescue workers had found the two South Koreans still alive in a cabin, after locating them from several decks above, and brought them ashore looking dazed but unharmed.

The captain of the luxury 114,500-tonne ship, Francesco Schettino, was under arrest and accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship, Italian police said. Passengers, comparing the disaster to the movie "Titanic," told of people leaping into the sea and fighting over lifejackets in panic when the ship hit a rock and ran aground near the island of Giglio, late on Friday. Two French tourists and a Peruvian crew member were known to have died. There was confusion about the number of people still unaccounted for. The president of the Tuscan region said the number stood at 17 but other estimates were as high as 34.

The vast hulk of the 290-metre-long cruise ship, resting half-submerged on its side, loomed over the little port of Giglio, a picturesque island in a maritime nature reserve off the Tuscan coast. A large gash was visible in its side. Rescue workers including specialist diving teams were working their way through more than 2,000 cabins on the ship, a floating resort that boasted a huge spa, seven restaurants, bars, cinemas and discotheques. As the search continued, there were demands for explanations of why the vessel had come so close to the shore and bitter complaints about how long it took to evacuate the terrified passengers after the ship ran aground late on Friday.

State prosecutor Francesco Verusio said investigations might go beyond the captain. "We are investigating the possible responsibility of other people who could be responsible for such a dangerous manoeuvre," he told SkyTG24 television. "The command systems did not function as they should have."

"UNMARKED" ROCK

Magistrates said Schettino, whose ship was carrying 4,229 passengers and crew, abandoned the vessel before all the passengers were taken off. The vessel's operator, Costa Crociere, a unit of Carnival Corp & Plc, the world's largest cruise company, said the Costa Concordia had been sailing on its regular course when it struck a submerged rock. In a television interview, Schettino said the rock was not marked on any maritime charts of the area. Costa Crociere president Gianni Ororato said the captain "performed a manoeuvre intended to protect both guests and crew" but it was "complicated by a sudden tilting of the ship." "We'll be able to say at the end of the investigation. It would be premature to speculate on this," said coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini.

After a night-time operation on Friday and Saturday involving helicopters, ships and lifeboats, many passengers had left the area with many taken to Rome airport for flights home. The ship was involved in an accident on November 22, 2008 when it hit a port wall and was damaged while docking. Local officials expressed concern the fuel on the ship, at full load as it had just begun the cruise, could spill into the pristine waters. However by early Sunday, there was no sign of any pollution damage.

DINNER TIME DISASTER

Passengers had just sat down to dinner, a few hours after leaving the port of Civitavecchia near Rome on a week-long cruise to Barcelona and Majorca, when a loud bang interrupted the piano player and the ship began to list. "We heard a loud rumble, the glasses and plates fell from the tables, the ship tilted and the lights went off," said passenger Luciano Castro. "What followed was scenes of panic, people screaming, running around the place. Close to us a five-month pregnant young woman was crying and panicking."

The ship was carrying mainly Italian passengers, but also British, Germans, French, Spanish, Americans and others. Many were elderly and some were in wheelchairs. It became more difficult to lower the lifeboats the more the ship listed. "It was complete panic. People were behaving like animals. We had to wait too long in the lifeboats," said Patrizia Perilli, 47. Passengers said they had been given little or no information in the immediate aftermath of the ship running aground. "After approximately 20 minutes a voice told us there was a problem with the electricity that they were trying to fix," said Castro.

"The ship continued to tilt further, after 15 minutes they said again it was a problem with the electricity, but no one believed it," he said. "Of course panic makes things worse and the crew members struggled in calming down the most active and worried passengers." The ship was built in 2004-2005 at a cost of 450 million euros at the Fincantieri Sestri shipyard in Italy.

(Additional reporting by Silvia Ognibene, Edward Taylor and Joern Poltz; Writing by Philip Pullella and James Mackenzie; Editing by Andrew Roche)

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Amazing Nano Dream: Small wonder or big blunder?

As Ratan Tata drove to the ramp what was perhaps the most-hyped four-wheeler of the year, excitement was palpable at the Auto Expo show in New Delhi. Christened Nano, and famously priced at Rs 1 lakh (about $2700), the car was unveiled on Wednesday to a thunderous applause. Designed for the mass market, the Nano has been hailed as the defining moment of the history of the Indian automobile industry and the one that will make possible a consumer revolution of sorts.

However, it has only a 624 cc petrol engine and can’t run effectively on the highways. Even the famed Rs 1-lakh tag is not really that. The car will cost the consumer close to Rs 1.2 lakh after all taxes have been levied. CNN-IBN show Face The Nation asked the question: Is Tata’s Rs 1-lakh car more of a marketing hype than real consumer value? On the panel to try and answer the question were Chairwoman VGC, Preeti Vyas Gianetti, Director CSE, Sunita Narian and editor, Autocar India, Hormazd Sorabjee.

Is Nano truly a people’s car?

Since the Nano is the next big thing and there has been huge media hype over the car, should an automobile be hyped in this way? Should it be given this much glamour given the costs of car in today’s times? Preeti Vyas Gianetti was of the opinion that if one had such story to tell then the punches shouldn’t be held back. She felt that the Tata Group had made an appropriate display of the kind of product they had come out with. “The hype matches with the promise made by the product and what is supposed to be serving in terms of consumer needs. The design of it is excellent and I would want to own a car, which looks so smart and sexy,” said Gianetti.

The critique is that the Nano and the new cars are imposing a huge social curb on society. The society is subsidising the car. The society is already paying for the cost so is another car not going to add to the coat of the car owner? Agreeing that the question asked was a valid one Gianetti however, said that the manufacturer was to be posed with the question or the government was to be asked the same question. “I think that it goes beyond a car and it is a much larger issue. We are facing that at every level of our interaction in the social world in India today. Since incomes are rising there is clearly a demand on the kinds of products and services each consumer wants for himself or herself,” said Gianetti.

Sunita Narain did acknowledge the fact that consumers couldn’t be stopped, but according to her, one couldn’t have “cheap and dirty motorisation either,” “The bigger point that we have been raising is the regulatory system and therefore my argument is not really with Mr Tata or with any other car manufacturer. My argument singularly is with the government. I think that the government has completely compromised with the regulations that should govern the car industry and have compromised them to such an extent that today it is creating trouble for the public,” said Narain.

Credit to : http://world-amazing-pictures-today.blogspot.com

10 Amazing Dangerous Toothpaste Ingredients

Toothpaste even though (in some form or another) has been around as long as the Ancient Greeks have, the formula (as we know it) did not become popular until World War I. As soon as companies began manufacturing toothpaste, people began to purchase the magical concoction - guaranteed to produce glistening teeth! White teeth were all the rage after World War I had ended, and toothpaste quickly became a product that most people simply couldn't live without.

Toothpaste is one item that nearly everyone uses today, but what makes this concoction so special? Whether you brush your teeth once per day or three times per day, chances are that you've never taken the time to read that ingredient list. Some believe that the ingredients contained in a standard package of toothpaste are essential - others believe that water may be just as effective. In the end, there's a good reason why most toothpaste packages warn: "Do Not Ingest!"

10. Formaldehyde

That same ingredient that coroners can't live without can be found inside of your toothpaste tube. Formaldehyde kills all of those small bacteria that climb onto your teeth after eating or sleeping. If a large amount of formaldehyde is accidentally ingested, the result could be fatal. Severe formaldehyde ingestion results in jaundice, kidney damage, liver damage, and death.

9. Detergent

Foam, suds, activation! What would toothpaste be without that satisfying soapy feeling? Manufacturers use regular detergent in order to appease the masses that prefer bubbly toothpaste. While bubbles may be fun, be careful if you accidentally ingest a large amount of this stuff - swallowing detergent can cause digestive tract burning.

8. Seaweed

Stretchy and slimy, seaweed holds that paste together. Without this green stuff, toothpaste would simply fall apart! The good news is that seaweed isn't toxic. Infact, seaweed has a number of nutritional benefits, though hitting the sushi bar is a better way of gaining those benefits.

7. Peppermint Oil

Minty, minty, minty! Fresh breath can only be kept fresh with the help of peppermint oil! While refreshing when brushing your teeth using toothpaste, peppermint oil can cause a slow pulse, heartburn, and muscle tremors if it is consumed.

6. Paraffin

As slick as the petroleum that it is derived from, paraffin creates a smooth paste that oozes onto your toothbrush using toothpaste. As you might imagine, paraffin wasn't meant to be eaten. If you happen to swallow this ingredient, you may end up with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and severe constipation.

5. Glycerin Glycol

Never heard of this ingredient before? Sure about that? Glycerin glycol is added to toothpaste in order to prevent the paste from becoming too dry – it's also found in antifreeze. Even though glycerin is not toxic, this additive may cause nausea if swallowed.

4. Chalk

That's right - chalk. Thanks to the fact that chalk is made from exoskeletons, it's hard enough to remove all of that caked on gunk from your pearly whites. Chalk dust may cause lung problems if inhaled via toothpaste, and swallowing a bit of chalk could cause bleeding.

3. Titanium Dioxide

This is another common toothpaste ingredient, though it's usually found in white paint. When added to toothpaste, titanium dioxide has the safe effect on your teeth as it does on walls - it keeps them nice and white (for a few hours, at least!). Ingesting titanium dioxide won't hurt you, but it isn't recommended either.

2. Saccharin

Something has to combat that terrible detergent taste! Saccharin is sweet, but not too sweet - just the way that most people like their toothpaste! Saccharin has been a hot topic of debate every since Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House. The USDA tried to ban the substance in 1972, though it is considered "safe" to ingest today.

1. Menthol

One last ingredient to add a minty note to your breath. Without menthol, toothpaste might taste like, well, chalk, glycerin, paraffin, detergent, titanium dioxide, and seaweed! Go ahead and ingest menthol if you like, but sipping some tea containing menthol is a far better idea than chewing on your tube of toothpaste.

Credit to : http://www.worldamazinginformation.com