Saturday, January 21, 2012

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Teen sailor sets record, vows to never go home

Posted:

A Dutch teenager who is on the verge of becoming the youngest person to sail around the world single-handedly has vowed never to return to her homeland because she faces being taken into care.


Flagging off: Laura Dekker waves goodbye as she leaves the port in
Den Osse on August 4, 2010. She will become the youngest to solo-
circumnavigate the globe. File Pic/AFP

Laura Dekker has torn down the Dutch tricolour on her yacht, Guppy, to protest against the social workers who have tried to stop her solo voyage.

In her last blog posting as she crosses the Atlantic for her finish line on the Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Maarten yesterday, Laura complains of "intimidating, frightening and traumatic" treatment.

"From the moment my plans became public, youth care and other government organisations tried to stop me. They asked the judge to take me away from my father and to lock me up in a secure clinic!" the 16-year-old wrote.

The Dutch authorities, who tried to put Laura into care two years ago to stop her sailing solo, have claimed that the teenager is not doing enough school work.

Laura added, "I feel that the nightmares the Dutch government organisations put me through were totally unfair. I am seriously thinking about not returning to the Netherlands."

Laura announced her plans to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world single-handedly in 2009 when she was 13. Dutch social workers then intervened after a tip-off from the British police following her practice voyage across the North Sea.


Prince Harry to soak up the sun in Brazil

Posted:

Party-loving Prince Harry is to visit Rio as part of his first solo royal tour in March. The 27-year-old is also planning to stay on in Brazil for a three day holiday afterwards, giving him plenty of time admire the sights on Ipanema Beach.



The third-in-line-to-the-throne is undertaking the 10-day trip on behalf of the Queen as part of his grandmother's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

He will visit Belize from March 2 to 3, the Bahamas from March 3 to 5 and the Jamaica (including Kingston and Falmouth) March 5 to 8.

Afterwards he will fly onto Brazil, visiting Rio de Janeiro and the State of Sao Paolo, between March 9 to 11.
St James's Palace said the South American leg of his trip was being carried out 'at the request and in support of' the British Government.

Organised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, it is designed to 'enhance' the partnership between the United Kingdom and Brazil, which is regarded as a vital emerging market for British exports.

A spokesman for the prince said he also hoped to use the visit to further the interests of the charitable foundation he has set up with his brother, Prince William, which focuses on young people, conservation and the armed forces.

US prez serenades New York crowd

Posted:

Barack Obama took a brief and unexpected turn as an R&B vocalist at a fundraiser, belted out a line from Al Green's famous song Let's stay together

If US President Barack Obama does find himself out of a job later this year he could always try a new career -- singing.The US President proved he could hold a tune after crooning Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together' at a fundraiser in New York.


Crooner-in-Chief: People in the audience started clapping when US
President Barack Obama started singing the first line of the Al Green
classic. pic/AFP

He then joked that he hadn't been ushered offstage. It happened at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem late Thursday, when Obama stepped to the podium and veered from prepared remarks to thank Green for warming up the crowd.

Obama suddenly launched into 'Let's Stay Together,' warbling "I, I'm so in love with you" -- complete with vibrato. He stopped to laughter and applause, and remarked that his staff didn't believe he'd do it. Obama's crowd-pleasing performance came on a night when he talked up his administration's record on issues such as healthcare, job creation and the end of the Iraq war.

Thanking his campaign supporter, he warned against complacency in the 2012 election year. He said, "It shouldn't make you satisfied, because everything we did over the last three years is now at stake in this election."

"America is not going to win if we do the same things, he added. Obama reached New York late in the evening for the fund-raising event after a hectic day that took him from Washington to Florida to Disneyland.

While at Disneyland, he said his two daughters would envy him for being there. "It is great to be here. It is rare that I get to do something that Sasha and Malia envy me for," Obama said at the top of his remarks as he announced his new tourism policy yesterday.

Singing politicians
* Vladimir Putin
Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn and Sharon Stone were among the Hollywood stars in attendance as Putin took to the mic to sing -- and play a piano solo for -- the Fats Domino classic Blueberry Hill.

* Silvio Berlusconi
The former Italian PM has recorded two albums of Neapolitan song albums Meglio na canzone in 2003 and L'ultimo amore in 2006

* Bill Clinton
Singing Imagine with 16-year old Israeli phenomena Liel at Shimon Peres's 80th birthday, the former US President seemed unsure about all the words.

* Hugo Chavez
The Venezuelan president lent his voice to a couple of revolutionary tunes on a collection of songs and poems released by his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). In the past, he also sang a song about his tricky relationship with Hillary Clinton.


'Don't worry, go back to your cabins'

Posted:

That's what crew and passengers were told when Costa Concordia hit the rocks; cook claims Captain Francesco Schettino ordered dinner an hour after the disaster

Dramatic footage of a Costa Concordia crew member telling passengers to 'Go back to your cabins' has emerged. The plea came despite the luxury liner being fatally holed and underlines the chaotic situation in the moments after the ship struck rocks.


Relentless searches: Scuba divers and officials have searched large
swathes of the stricken ship over the six five days as hopes fade of
finding any more survivors. Pic/AFP

Holidaymakers wearing red life jackets can be seen milling on the deck of the Concordia in the mobile phone footage. Emergence of the footage came as a cook from the ship said Captain Francesco Schettino had ordered dinner at 10.30 pm -- nearly an hour after the liner struck rocks at 9.41 pm.

Questions have already been raised as to the slow response from captain Schettino in waiting more than an hour to abandon the stricken Concordia. And the footage confirms passenger accounts of how they were told to return to their cabins sending some of the victims to certain death.

The film also again underlines how Schettino and his crew were still insisting that the situation was all down to a 'electrical black out'. But by then he knew that the ship had suffered a gash in its hull after hitting a reef off the coast of the Italian island of Giglio.

A female crew member is seen telling passengers in Italian, "The situation is under control. Go back to your cabins. We ask you that you all return to your cabins. Once the electrical problem is sorted out everything will be back to normal shortly. Everything is under control. We are resolving the problem."

However, just 30 minutes after the video was shot Schettino eventually gave the order to abandon ship.
But by then it was too late as the ship had begun to list too far over for the lifeboats to be launched safely and passengers had to make their way down of the hull using rope ladders.

Ship shifts, rescue operations halted
The cruise ship grounded off Tuscany has again shifted on its rocky perch, forcing the supension of search and rescue operations for the 21 people still missing. It's not clear if the movements registered overnight by onboard sensors are just vibrations as the Costa Concordia settles on the rocks or if it's slipping off the rocks.

Woman survivor to sue cruise company
A British expat who was on the ship is launching legal action against the company that owns the liner. Sandra Rodgers was on board with her daughter and seven-year-old twin granddaughters when the ship capsized. Rodgers was not only separated from her daughter and grandchildren but also lost her late husband's ashes. Rodgers said, "The evacuation was completely chaotic. It was disgusting."


Posted by Harshad at 7:26 AM

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