Post Title. 02/13/2012

(CNN) -- One more time, Whitney Houston brought a crowd to its feet.

"I Will Always Love You" had earned record of the year at the 1994 Grammy festivities, with the accompanying "The Bodyguard" soundtrack taking home best album.

But for all the awards that Houston earned that night, it was her voice that resonated most -- as it did throughout her career.

The iconic songstress' range and power were on display once again Sunday night, echoing through the packed Staples Center moments after the music world's luminaries bowed their heads in prayer in honor of her death.

By the time a replay of her 1994 performance was complete, the audience's applause gave way to an emotional standing ovation.

A day earlier, Houston was pronounced dead in her fourth floor room at a Beverly Hills, California, hotel. The world may wait as many as eight weeks -- when results from toxicology and other tests should be in -- to learn what happened, with Assistant Chief Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County Coroner's office saying little Sunday besides "foul play is not suspected."

Headlines in recent years about Houston have tended to focus more on her battles with drug addiction and her relationship with her ex-husband, "New Edition" performer Bobby Brown, than her musical accomplishments.
Yet recollections of her enormous talent took center stage Sunday night in Los Angeles, as did the six-time Grammy winner's membership in the music world's "family." LL Cool J, host of the 54th annual Grammy Awards, spoke right away to Houston's personal and professional legacy, soon after taking the stage following an opening performance by Bruce Springsteen.

"Tonight, we ask ourselves: How do we speak to this time? To this day? There is no way around this. We've had a death in our family," he said.

The rapper and actor then offered his prayer, thanking God "for sharing our sister Whitney with us."

"And although she's gone too soon, we remain truly blessed to have been touched by her beautiful spirit and to have her lasting legacy of music to cherish and share forever," he said.

During the show, stars of past and present -- from Bruno Mars to Stevie Wonder -- celebrated the late singer.

The sentiments voiced Sunday night echoed those that have been offered ever since news broke of Houston's death from close friends, musical icons and everyday fans who never met the iconic performer but were moved by her music.

Then, after a memorial honoring other stars from Amy Winehouse to Clarence Clemons who also died this past year -- and nearly three hours after LL Cool J promised the Grammys "will remember you the best way we know how: with a song" -- Jennifer Hudson appeared under a bright, solitary spotlight.

Wearing a black sleeveless dress and anchored firmly in the middle of the stage, the Oscar and two-time Grammy winner offered her own rendition of "I Will Always Love You." Twice during the song, the crowd burst into applause.

Hudson offered one small embellishment, changing a lyric to sing: "Whitney, we will always love you."

Post Title. 01/18/2012

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Farewell to Denktaş with thunder of applause

NICOSIA – Hurriyet Daily News

Bidding farewell to its founding president Rauf Denktaş, who passed away Jan. 13 at the age of 88, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus lived a rather exceptional day Jan. 17.

Under a light drizzle, the entire Turkish Cypriot and mainland Turkish protocol, from the president to the speaker of Parliament, executives of opposition parties, an army of generals headed by the top general, the spiritual head of Turkish Jews, many diplomatic representatives and thousands of Turkish Cypriots attended first the official ceremony at the presidential office and later marched several kilometers to Selimiye Mosque for religious services. Everybody was there.

Colonels from the Turkish Armed Forces marched in full military uniforms with swords along the two sides of the gun carriage carrying the flag-draped coffin of Denktaş. As the funeral progressed through the streets of the Turkish quarter of Nicosia, the crowd and people on the balconies of their houses broke the silence and the extremely respectful procession with occasional thunders of applause.

“I was present at the funeral of Archbishop Makarios on Aug. 6, 1977. That was a rather traumatic funeral. For us Greek Cypriots, the day after Makarios was so unimaginable that, there was total panic as regards what we would do. For Turkish Cypriots the transition was done in 2005 when Mehmet Ali Talat replaced Denktaş as second president. Thus, Turkish Cypriots have no worry over tomorrow of their state,” said Yorgos Matsakis, a Greek Cypriot political analyst.

Indeed, that was the general feeling among Turkish Cypriots. “We have succeeded in a peaceful transition to post-Denktaş era in his lifetime. He was so great a leader that he wanted to oversee the transition,” Osman Ertuğ, the presidential spokesman and a long-time aide to Denktaş, stressed.
“Halal… Halal… Halal…” roared the huge crowd when the imam conducting the religious ceremony asked them according to religious rites whether they were willing to forgive whatever Denktaş might owe to them morally or materially.

“We owe a lot to Denktaş. He created a people from a mere community, a state from a group of people always on the brink,” Taner Erkin, the former presidential undersecretary, said. Vedat Çelik, a many-time minister in former Turkish Cypriot governments and a long-time friend of Denktaş, was in tears like most of the other former Turkish Cypriot Resistance Movement (TMT) members. “We have lost a hero, a friend, a brother, a true leader.”

Some people in the crowd chanted religious slogans and some preferred to elude to the “existential struggle of the Turkish Cypriot people” the 88-year-old leader dedicated his entire life to. “Father Denktaş, extend our warmest wishes of wellbeing to our martyr father fallen for our existence,” a young girl was crying.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül, who were condemning Denktaş just a few years ago of being the representative of the “anti-settlement lobby” and for being responsible of not finding a settlement over the past 40 years, were present and praying in full respect. After all, did not the Turkish government make recourse to the teachings and policies of the veteran leader of Turkish Cypriots? On his death bed, Denktaş expressed to this journalist how happy he was seeing the Turkish leaders and the government in northern Cyprus coming to his political line. Yet, he wanted to remain cautious. “Now let us see them in action!” he had said. They were all there yesterday.

As the body of Denktaş was lowered down into his grave by SerdarF Denktaş, his sole surviving son and leader of the Democrat Party (DP), other family members helped him place some personal items of the former leader in the grave. In the meantime an imam was reciting from the Quran. A huge crowd of all ages packed the Republic Park, where the founding president was buried and would soon be converted into a memorial.

The park, which also houses a monument for the TMT, which was founded by Denktaş (his name in the organization was Toros or Torous), will soon be converted into a mausoleum and a museum, Prime Minister İrsen Küçük told the Daily News.

He said the park was chosen as the burial site because of various reasons, including security. The remains of Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos were stolen in December 2009 and were found only months later.

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TOP NEWS OF THE DAY 01/18/2012

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*Ruling in Dink murder case stirs uproar
ISTANBUL-Friends of Dink’ hold a demonstration in fdont of the courthouse in protest. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL An Istanbul court issued the verdict in the case of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist murdered in 2007, sentencing suspect Yasin Hayal to aggravated life imprisonment and suspect Erhan Tuncel to more than 10 years in prison. Tuncel, who has been under arrest since 2007, was released later yesterday based on the time he served.

The court denied allegations of the existence of an organization behind the act in its final verdict. Hayal was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment on the charge of “instigating murder,” while Tuncel was acquitted from all charges pertaining to Dink’s assassination.

Tuncel was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison, however, for his involvement in the bombing of a McDonald’s restaurant in the Black Sea town of Trabzon in 2004. However he was released later yesterday based on the time he served.

“The son of Hrant, Arat Dink, said they were joking with us before, yet they kept the biggest joke for the end. The court said the murder was not an organized crime. I wasn’t expecting this. This decision shows the state’s tradition of bothering its own citizens and making them enemies continues,” said Fethiye Çetin, one of the Dink family lawyers.

“Perhaps this is better because the state showed its own official face,” Hrant Dink’s brother, Yervant Dink, told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Following the decision, tension rose in the courtroom with some opposing the decision and the audience was removed. Friends, supporters and family of Hrant Dink then together walked to daily Agos building, where the murder took place almost five years ago, on Jan 19, 2007.

25th hearing

During the 25th hearing of the case yesterday suspect Erhan Tuncel pleaded to the court quoting from Fyodor Dostoyevski and Mevlana Celaleddini Rumi, a 13th century mystic in Anatolia. He said it was Yasin Hayal, the other arrested suspect of the case, who planned and committed the murder.

Tuncel’s lawyer Erdoğan Soruklu also claimed his client was a “tailored culprit,” while his connection to the Great Union Party (BBP) was also custom-made. “This incident is an Ergenekon affair,” he said.

However, one of the Dink family’s lawyers, İsmail Cem Halavut, argued in court that Prosecutor Hikmet Usta had failed to see the big picture by focusing solely on Dink’s murder.

Halavut denounced the connection drawn by Usta between Dink’s murder and the Ergenekon organization, arguing instead that the assassination could be linked to the murders of Christian missionaries. Dink was threatened, turned into a pariah and finally murdered because of his critical stance regarding Turkey’s policies toward minorities, Halavut said, adding that the Turkish-Armenian journalist would have been spared had he chosen not to write about such matters.

Usta wrongly implicated an Ergenekon cell in the Black Sea province of Trabzon in the official opinion he presented to court, but the murder may have been committed by a more extensive organization, he said.

Ergenekon is an alleged ultranationalist, shadowy gang accused of planning to topple the government by staging a coup initially by spreading chaos and mayhem. It is also thought to be an extension of or a different name for the “deep state,” which is an alleged unofficial organization of bureaucracy and military operating behind the scenes of the official state structure.

Halavut also said they had repeatedly appealed to the court regarding public servants whose negligence played a role in the murder and called for them to be tried. The trial of the public servants could also lead to the gathering of more evidence, he added. HDN

* Turkey condemns U.S. candidate Perry`s criticism

Washington (ANTARA News/Reuters) - Turkey condemned as "unfounded and inappropriate" on Tuesday comments by U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry that the country is ruled by Islamic terrorists and questioning whether it should remain in the NATO alliance.

Perry, the governor of Texas, also said during a Republican debate in South Carolina on Monday that the United States should eliminate all aid to its long-time ally.

"Obviously when you have a country that is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists, when you start seeing that sort of activity against their own citizens, then yes - not only is it time for us to have a conversation about whether or not they belong in NATO, but it`s time for the United States, when we look at their foreign aid, to go to zero with it," Perry said at the debate.

Perry`s campaign said on Tuesday the candidate was responding to the Fox News questioner asking about issues such as violence against civilian women. A spokesman said there was a need to "send a message" to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan`s government.

Asked on Tuesday whether he had misspoke during the debate, Perry said on CNN he did not have a problem with what he said Monday night and criticized Turkey as a country that allows honor killings.

"From my perspective, Turkey hasn`t earned our trust when they`re doing that to their own citizens," Perry said.

"I think Turkey has got to decide whether they want to be a country that projects those Western values that America is all about," Perry added.

Turkey noted that it had joined NATO when Perry was just 2 years old, and cited its long history of fighting terrorism, including co-chairing the Global Counterterrorism Forum with the United States.

"We strongly condemn the unfounded and inappropriate allegations expressed yesterday evening about our country during a debate held in South Carolina by Texas Governor Rick Perry ...," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said in Ankara.

He noted that Perry trailed in the race for the Republican nomination to oppose President Barack Obama`s re-election and said, "This reflects the commonsense of the U.S. electorate."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the Obama administration fundamentally disagreed with the assertion that Turkey was run by Islamic terrorists.
Editor: Ella Syafputri
ANTARA NEWS

* Rocks from Mars are found in Morocco
By Seth Borenstein

Associated Press
Scientists have confirmed that 15 pounds of rock collected recently in Morocco fell to Earth from Mars during a meteorite shower in July.

It was only the fifth time that scientists chemically confirmed Martian meteorites that people had witnessed falling. The fireball was spotted in the sky six months ago, but the rocks were not discovered on the ground in North Africa until the end of December.

The find is an important opportunity for scientists trying to learn about Mars' potential for life. So far, no NASA or Russian spacecraft has returned bits of Mars, so the only samples scientists can examine that are not contaminated are those that come here in a meteorite shower.

Scientists and collectors are ecstatic, since the rocks are among the rarest things on Earth - rarer even than gold. The biggest rock weighs more than 2 pounds.

A committee of meteorite experts confirmed test results Tuesday that showed the rocks came from Mars, based on their age and chemical signature. Astronomers think that millions of years ago, something big smashed into Mars and sent rocks hurtling through the solar system. After a long journey through space, one of those rocks plunged through Earth's atmosphere, breaking into smaller pieces.

Most Martian meteorite samples sat around on Earth for millions of years - or at least decades - before being discovered, which makes them tainted with Earth materials. These new rocks, while still likely to be somewhat contaminated because they have been on Earth for months, are purer.

The last time a Martian meteorite fell and was found fresh was in 1962. All the known Martian rocks on Earth add up to less than 240 pounds.

The new samples were scooped up by dealers from those who found them. Even before the official certification, scientists at NASA, museums, and universities scrambled to buy or trade these meteorites. Meteorite dealer Darryl Pitt said he was charging $11,000 to $22,500 an ounce and had sold most of his supply.

One of the key findings Tuesday was to officially connect these rocks to the fiery plunge witnessed by people and captured on video last summer.

* LA mandates porn stars wear condoms
by Alex Dobuzinskis

Los Angeles - Pornography stars in Los Angeles will be required to wear condoms during film shoots after the city council voted on Tuesday to mandate their use, despite a threat by producers to leave town over the requirement.

The move comes amid persistent questions about how to enforce the health measure, which backers say will protect performers in the multibillion-dollar porn industry from contracting HIV and other diseases.

Producers complain the sight of a condom in a sex scene turns off consumers of their videos.

The Los Angeles City Council voted 9-1 on Tuesday to give final approval to the measure, proposed after the AIDS Healthcare Foundation qualified an initiative for a June ballot.

The council gave preliminary approval to the measure last week, and its passage made the city the first in the nation to impose such a requirement. Most of the US porn industry is based in Los Angeles.

California state already requires porn performers to wear barriers, such as condoms, when they are in contact with bodily fluids. But the rule is openly violated within the industry, said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare.

City officials were still wrestling with how to enforce the condom mandate, which is set to go into effect in 90 days.

Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A., a nonprofit hired by the city to oversee television and film productions, told city leaders he believes health workers would be best able to make sure adult film performers use condoms.

FilmL.A. hands out under 500 permits a year for adult movie shoots, Audley said. But some estimates put the number of adult films shot in the Los Angeles region at 50 000 a year, he said.

Not all productions need a permit - such as those taking place in a soundstage - and some shoots are done illegally.

Porn producers have been critical of the condom mandate.

Steven Hirsch, the co-chairman and founder of adult film company Vivid Entertainment, said his company has a “condom-optional” policy and leaves it up to performers.

“Consumers have said overwhelmingly that they would prefer to watch movies without condoms,” Hirsch said last week.

While over 80 percent of the US porn industry is based in Los Angeles, where performers are regularly tested for sexually transmitted diseases, productions could move to other states or countries due to the condom mandate, he said. - Reuters

IOL news.

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Post Title. 01/16/2012

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Clooney, Streep big winners at Golden Globes
Los Angeles (CNN) -- George Clooney and Meryl Streep appear to be main contenders in the 2012 Hollywood award season after Sunday night's Golden Globes. But the winners of the best film drama actor honors face competition from a silent film star and an actress who brought Marilyn Monroe back to life.

Clooney's "The Descendants" won for best drama film, while Clooney received the best actor in a drama film award.

"The Artist," a black and white silent movie, was chosen best comedy or musical film, while its lead Jean Dujardin won best actor in a comedy or musical movie. The movie's music also won for best original film score.

The Globes set the stage for a Meryl Streep versus Michelle Williams best actress showdown at the Academy Awards in six weeks by handing both women best actress honors.

Glitz, glam on the Golden Globes carpet Kelsey Grammer, wife expecting twins Streep won the drama film best actress Globe for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "Iron Lady," while Williams carried home the comedy or musical film Globe for playing movie legend Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn."

Since the Globes separates dramas from comedies -- unlike the Academy Awards -- Williams, Streep, Clooney and Dujardin were not competing against each other in the 69th annual Golden Globes award show.

"Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for putting in my hand the same award that Marilyn Monroe herself won over 50 years ago," Williams said in her acceptance speech.

Oscar nominations will be revealed later this month and the Academy Awards follows at the end of February.

Other films expected to be Oscar contenders also got a share of the Globes spotlight.

Woody Allen's "Midnight In Paris" lost out to "The Artist," but Allen did win for best film screenplay.

The 3-D family movie "Hugo" was also passed up, but Martin Scosese got the best director award for making the film.

Who ruled the red carpet?

The civil rights-era movie "The Help" claimed the best supporting actress award for Octavia Spencer.

Spencer, who played a maid in the movie, quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in her acceptance: "All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance."

Although the "Help" characters are fictional "they represent scores of real people," she said.

"The narrative itself is part of our fabric," Spencer said backstage. "It's important to keep the younger generation abreast of how far we've come, because this is really foreign to them."

Christopher Plummer won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a film for his role in "Beginners."

Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures Of Tintin" won the Golden Globe for best animated feature film.

The best foreign-language film honor was awarded to the Iranian film "A Separation."

Pop icon Madonna took home a Golden Globe for writing the best original song in a movie. Her "Masterpiece" was written for "W.E."

She offered fitness advice to reporters backstage. "The best thing for your bum is dancing," the Material Girl said.

Early in the broadcast, host Ricky Gervais took quick aim at the Hollywood Press Association, the group that hired him to perform hosting duties for a third year.

Gervais, in his opening monologue, compared the Golden Globes to the Oscars, "but without all that esteem."

The Globes are to the Oscars "what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton. A bit louder, a bit drunker and more easily bought," he joked.

The group of about 85 writers invited Gervais to host the telecast again this year despite -- or because of -- the controversy stirred last year by his take-no-prisoners jokes.

Unlike the Oscars, the Globes also honors television shows with 11 categories.

Showtime's "Homeland" was the only TV show to win two Globes. It won best drama series, while Claire Danes won the best actress in a drama series award.

Kelsey Grammer's Golden Globe may not be the biggest award given out Sunday night, but the actor may have been the happiest backstage where he revealed his wife is expecting twins.

Grammer won for best actor in a television drama series for his role as a corrupt Chicago mayor in the Starz series "Boss."

In the television comedy or musical series categories, ABC's "Modern Family" won best series, while Laura Dern won best actress for her work in HBO's "Enlightened" and Matt LeBlanc won best actor for Showtime's "Episodes."

PBS's "Downton Abbey" won for best made-for-TV movie or mini-series.

Kate Winslet won the Golden Globe for best actress in a made-for-TV movie or mini-series for her role in HBO's "Mildred Pierce." It was Winslet's third Globe. She won two in 2009, for "Revolutionary Road" and "The Reader."

Winslet was asked backstage her opinion of reports that Lindsay Lohan was in negotiations to portray the late Elizabeth Taylor in a film.

"I'm not going to go there, dude," Winslet said. "It's kind of a hot zone."

British actor Idris Elba won best actor in a made-for-TV movie or mini-series for "Luther." Backstage, he acknowledged that he's talked to producers about possibly becoming the next James Bond.

"Of course, I would be honored to play the part if it comes along," Elba said.

The TV best supporting actor and actress awards went to Peter Dinklage for HBO's "Game of Thrones" and Jessica Lange in "American Horror Story" on FX, respectively.

Sidney Poitier led a tribute to actor Morgan Freeman, who was presented the Golden Globe's "Cecil B. DeMille Award."

"You illuminate your presence, you infuse the characters you play with a real life three-dimensional aura," Poitier said. "You become the character, the character becomes you. So begins a process that captivates your audience."

Freeman, speaking backstage, said it was watching Poitier as a teenager that steered his path.

"Most of us need something to guide ourselves and Sidney has been my beacon, my guiding star," he said.

Thousands mourn veteran Turkish Cypriot leader

NICOSIA - Agence France-Presse

AA Photo

Thousands attended an official ceremony on Monday for Turkish Cypriot veteran leader Rauf Denktaş who died after a long illness.

Turkish Cypriots gathered early in the morning outside the hospital where the former leader died on Friday night at the age of 87, with his successor Mehmet Ali Talat and Turkish Cypriot premier among the crowd at the ceremony.

Denktash's coffin, wrapped in Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags, was later transferred from the hospital in northern Nicosia to the presidential palace where it will lie in state.

Turkey, the only country to recognise the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on the divided island, is expected to send a large delegation headed by President Abdullah Gul for Tuesday's funeral.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu are among those expected to attend.

Denktaş suffered a blood clot to the brain last May that left him partially paralysed. In July, he received treatment at a military hospital in Ankara but his condition failed to improve.

HDN

* Assad offers 'amnesty' for opposition
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has offered amnesty to anyone accused of alleged crimes in connection with the last 10 months of anti-government unrest and resulting violence.

Assad has made similar decrees on three previous occasions in May, June and November. Sunday's announcement was made on the official SANA news agency and broadcast on state television.

Since the outbreak of the uprising against Assad's rule in March, Assad has freed 3,952 prisoners, according to SANA. The opposition claims there are thousands more in Syrian prisons and said that 26 people had died on Sunday, including a policeman and soldier killed by security forces for refusing to fire on protesters.

The new amnesty decree was granted "for crimes committed in the context of the events taking place since March 15, 2011, till the date of issuing the decree", SANA reported.

It encompasses those who have peacefully demonstrated, evaded Syria's military draft or carried unlicensed weapons and ammunition. But the "fugitives" covered by the decree must turn themselves in to authorities by January 31, SANA said.

The United Nations estimates at least 5,000 people have been killed since initially peaceful protests against Assad's government were met by a brutal security crackdown, sparking an ongoing armed conflict in which both the military and the opposition, which includes army defectors, have conducted attacks.

Assad heading for 'dead end'

Meanwhile on Sunday, the secretary-general of the United Nations called on Assad to end the crackdown against anti-government protesters.

"Today, I say again to President Assad of Syria: Stop the violence. Stop killing your people. The path of repression is a dead end," Ban Ki-moon said in a keynote address at a conference on Arab world democracy in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Ban also said that the revolutions in the Arab world showed that people would no longer accept tyranny.

"The lessons of the past year are eloquent and clear. The winds of change will not cease to blow. The flame ignited in Tunisia will not be dimmed. Let us remember as well, none of these great changes began with a call for a regime change. First and foremost, people wanted dignity," he said.

Ban also discussed the crisis in Syria with Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, in the Lebanese capital on Saturday, a spokesman for Ban said.

"They discussed a range of regional matters, in particular the situation in Syria as well as Iran and Cyprus," said Martin Nesirky. "The secretary-general said the dangerous trajectory of the crisis in Syria was a source of grave concern."

Turkey shares a 910km border with Syria, its former ally, and has strongly condemned the Syrian government's crackdown on dissent.

Call for dialogue

The statements from Ban came as Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, called on the Syrian opposition to respond positively to President Bashar al-Assad's "reform plans" and urged dialogue to resolve the ongoing crisis.

Addressing a party rally in the town of Baalbek by video link, Nasrallah, who has been in hiding since 2006 for fear of assassination, said: "We call on the Syrian opposition inside and outside Syria to respond to the calls of the dialogue by President Assad and to co-operate with him in implementing the reforms he has announced, which are very important reforms.

"We can resolve Syria's problems and we call openly for the return of calm and stability and for arms to be laid down and for resolving issues through dialogue."

Nasrallah called on Arab countries, Turkey and Iran to participate in resolving the crisis in Syria.

"We call for the unification of efforts by the Arab countries and the Arab League and the influential Muslim countries in the region, Iran and Turkey, to help end the crisis in Syria and not drive people into corners and drive the situation towards an explosion," Nasrallah said.

He also dismissed a UN call for his staunchly anti-Western and anti-Israeli group to disarm, saying it was determined to maintain a military capacity to defend Lebanon.
ALJAZEERA

* Costa Concordia accident: So what DID cause the cruise ship to hit the rocks?

There's a scene in the disaster movie The Towering Inferno in which Steve McQueen’s fire chief rails against architects for building office blocks higher and higher with scant regard for public safety.

So what would he have made of the gigantic, floating hotels that pass for modern cruise liners? In the past decade, the size of the passenger ships cruising the world’s oceans has doubled.

The biggest of these monsters weigh more than 225,000 tons and carry more than 6,000 passengers.

Even the Costa Concordia is no minnow. As the 26th largest passenger ship in the world, its 13 passenger decks are stacked on a vessel nearly 1,000 ft long and 100ft high above the water. When it set sail from Italy on Friday, it resembled a floating office block, rather than a conventional ship.

For years, there have been concerns within the shipping industry that these ocean-going behemoths are too big, that their crews are poorly trained and that their officers are too reliant on electronic navigation aids.

Crucially experts have warned that the construction and safety standards in place for modern cruise ships were designed for vessels half their size.

So how did the Costa Concordia come to capsize within yards of the shore? Last night there were at least three conflicting theories about what happened.

What is certain is that, soon after the voyage began, passengers heard a bang and the ship was plunged into darkness.

The first theory is based on the captain’s account of events – that he hit an uncharted rock and reacted by bringing the vessel into safer shallow waters off the island of Giglio. There it was damaged again on rocks and rolled on to its side.

Under International Maritime Organisation rules, captains are supposed to use the ship itself as a ‘lifeboat’ and return to port for evacuation.

The second is that there was a massive electrical failure which affected the ship’s navigation equipment, or a computer failure that sent the navigation systems haywire causing it to go too close to shore where it hit the rocks.

A third theory is that it was old-fashioned human error – or even recklessness – that allowed the vessel to ground in shallow waters.

The investigation will look into every decision, order and event that led up to the sinking and will take months to come to a conclusion.

On paper, human error remains the prime suspect.

It is the main cause of 80 per cent of shipping accidents and the crew may simply have become distracted or lost concentration early on in the voyage, allowing the vessel to drift to the coast. ...

Daily Mail - UK
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Farewell to Denktaş with thunder of applause

Thousands mourn veteran Turkish Cypriot leader

* Costa Concordia accident: So what DID cause the cruise ship to hit the rocks?

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Farewell to Denktaş with thunder of applause

Thousands mourn veteran Turkish Cypriot leader

* Costa Concordia accident: So what DID cause the cruise ship to hit the rocks?

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