Traditional IT vendors the opportunity to enter Automotive Where ...

In the April 23 start of the 11th Beijing Motor Show, Shenzhen Hang Sheng Electronic Co., Ltd, Huizhou Huayang Group, Nanjing Automobile Control System Co., Ltd., Fu veteran of the domestic automotive manufacturers have appeared in Beijing International Exhibition Centre. Huayang Group display the latest, advanced navigation and information system digital screen car navigation entertainment system, as well as car black box similar to the vehicle collision avoidance system. From the components, laser head, the movement has already started the Huayang Group, veteran automotive electronics business.

Although the show is still a professional gathering of automotive electronics manufacturers, but there are already some prophetic tradition of IT vendors to find in the automotive electronics market, then their chance Where?

Software as a breakthrough

4 23, the leader in the field of software outsourcing Neusoft Group announced the acquisition of six million euros to the global automotive navigation software provider, ISG R & D center in Hamburg, Germany. The R & D center for the European automobile manufacturers to provide navigation systems and mapping software outsourcing services.

Point in early April 8, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation and the Swedish government investment promotion agency based in the Investment Promotion Agency signed a strategic cooperation agreement, beginning with the Swedish automotive industry related businesses to fully cooperate. As a co-carrier, a subsidiary of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation Ltd Waterhouse infrastructure software will be set up in Sweden, Price Waterhouse Europe, with many of Sweden?s leading automotive electronics manufacturers based on the joint commitment to automotive electronics product development software and service.

These are good news. ?Domestic and foreign automotive electronics technology in the software than the hardware gap. Disparities, opportunities are also great.? Society of Automotive Engineers for years, said senior adviser to Chen, in view of the overall strength of IT companies stronger in the future, software will become the traditional IT manufacturers in the automotive electronics breakthrough. Neusoft and Price Waterhouse

two software companies that cut into the automotive electronics from a large number of software development can improve their automotive electronics R & D capabilities. In 2006, the acceptance of ?Computer World? interview, the chairman and CEO of Neusoft Group, said Liu Jiren, to enhance Neusoft?s navigation system and map software, technical strength. 4 years later, Liu Jiren honor its commitments, Neusoft in the field of navigation systems and mapping software has its own technical standards, which is its ability to lead the automotive important reason for outsourcing services.

Worth mentioning is that through this acquisition, Neusoft not only into the European automotive electronics market, but also to the 100% holding ISG of Harman International Industries Group and its subsidiaries provide navigation systems, audio systems and The offshore software engineering services, software development and technical support. In an interview, Liu Jiren pleased that this acquisition is in the automotive electronics outsourcing Neusoft another breakthrough. ?Starting today, we have basically completed the globalization of the automotive electronics layout.?

Cut in specific ways, the practice of foreign IT companies should learn from. In 2009, Intel and located in California, Volkswagen Electronics Research Laboratory jointly developed the IVI System (car infotainment system). Industry insiders believe that, with professional automotive electronics vendors, IT vendors to quickly understand both the automotive design process, but also quick test application compatibility in a variety of models, this is a way of saving time and labor.

Addition to software, the embedded chip, integrated solutions, such as automatic parking, unmanned and so on, local IT companies have the opportunity. In addition, Chen said many years, IT vendors to enter the industry chain, it should be from the body electronics, infotainment systems and other non-automotive safety products and gradually cut into, but at the core of automotive ECU (electronic control unit) must much more difficult, This also means that, IT firms from the mainstream automotive market still far, and professional automotive manufacturers same fate.

Pong vehicle and seeking cooperation

Traditional IT vendors to Denver in the automotive electronics field, we must cling to a tree, whether it is automobile manufacturers, or professional automotive electronics manufacturers. Neusoft in the automotive electronics field layout, the key is to cling to a foreign automotive manufacturers? From the date of creation, Neusoft on the world?s second largest automotive electronics manufacturers to provide software outsourcing services to Alpine. Today, there are already 19 years experience in cooperation with ISG?s parent company, Neusoft?? Harman entered the world?s top automotive club. ?Based on our experience and foreign customers, we only do the best in the software to be able to enter the international club automotive electronics.? Liu Jiren said.

Addition to automotive electronics through embedded software into the club, the local IT vendors can also directly with the vehicle manufacturers to enter the automotive industry chain, which is a direct and efficient way.

2008, the blind information as new models FAW Car parts suppliers. Two years later, set autonomous navigation, portable audio-visual entertainment in one-vehicle computer can be used in various models of FAW, and now, with FAW Qiming Information has already begun pre-loaded into the automotive electronics market.

Cooperation with FAW, so blind information This traditional IT vendors in the automotive marketplace. Today, the blind is not only a variety of information products, also account for a large share of the market: The vehicle has a blind information before the vehicle navigation system installed, installed after the huge market for the ?commander links? portable navigation device, ?handsome Link ?ST-VT100-vehicle mobile data terminal positioning,? handsome pass ?QM-AutoPC100 portable car computer,? handsome pass ?ST-VT100-L1 vehicle traveling data recorder and other own-brand car electronics.

Although the waterfront to quickly cut into the automotive vehicle, however, is able to cling to car manufacturers, ?thigh? and only a handful of IT companies. Domestic auto prices generally low, firms invest in the automotive electronic device is not much, IT vendors can hardly renowned for their real money. Now, the domestic auto ?high walk? has become the trend, industry insiders believe, IT companies into the automotive electronics industry chain is facing a good opportunity.

Earned by the 3G services

In the 11th Motor Show, Chang?an Automobile, Shanghai Automotive have announced co-operation with China Unicom. Roewe 350 Shanghai Automotive is the first launch of a new strategy for car, relying on the Roewe 350 platform, the Shanghai Automotive cooperation with Unicom?s 3G Internet, introduced Inkanet intelligent network traffic system. Through the 3G network, the system can provide users with information retrieval, stock

Source: http://www.riredistricting.org/traditional-it-vendors-the-opportunity-to-enter-automotive-where-it-automotive-electronics-automotive-electronics-industry-hc360-hc-network.html

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African Union fails to elect new commission head (AP)

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia ? An African Union official says African leaders gathered in Ethiopia have failed to elect a new chairman of the AU Commission.

An AU official said Monday that Gabon's Jean Ping, who was running for a second term as chairman, did not reach the required two-thirds majority to win another term. The official spoke on condition he was not identified because the voting results had not yet been made public.

Ping's main challenger ? Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, a former wife of South African President Jacob Zuma ? withdrew from the election after losing three rounds.

The AU Commission's deputy chair, Erastus Mwencha, will take over from Ping until the next AU summit in about six months, when African leaders will vote again.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_af/af_african_union

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EU leaders seek growth as Greece crisis looms (AP)

BRUSSELS ? With another recession looming, European leaders on Monday met in Brussels to discuss ways to stimulate growth and create badly needed jobs, even as they drew up tighter spending limits to avoid a repeat of the crippling debt crisis.

Europe's debt crisis has put the continent and its leaders in an almost impossible situation. While they have to slash their deficits to reassure investors reluctant to lend to them, the debt crisis has also hammered the so-called "real economy," sending unemployment soaring. Many think that only government spending can restart growth.

While the 27 EU leaders meeting in Brussels will focus on walking the fine line between reining in spending and stimulating growth, the elephant in room is Greece.

Greece and its bondholders have come closer to a deal to significantly reduce the country's debt and pave the way for it to receive a much-needed euro130 billion ($170 billion) bailout.

Negotiators for Greece's private creditors said Saturday that a debt-reduction deal could become final within the next week. If the agreement works as planned, it could help Greece avoid a catastrophic default, which would be a blow to Europe's already weak financial system.

But European officials are afraid that even that deal may not be enough to fix Greece's finances, with some blaming Athens for dithering in its austerity promises.

German officials over the weekend proposed that Athens temporarily cede control over tax and spending decisions to a powerful eurozone budget commissioner before it can secure further bailouts.

The idea proved immediately controversial ? both the European Commission and the Greek government refuted it ? to the point that German Chancellor Angela Merkel pulled back on the idea when she arrived in Brussels.

She said Europe had to support Greece in implementing promised austerity and reform measures, "but all that will only work if Greece and all other states discuss this together."

Luxembourg Prime Minister, and head of the group of eurozone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters as he entered the summit that Greece couldn't be singled out.

"I'm strongly against the idea of imposing the debt commissioner only to Greece, that's just not acceptable" neither for Greece nor the rest of Europe, Juncker said.

The negotiations in Greece are crucial because it is clear that Athens will never be able to pay off all of its debts, especially as austerity measures take their toll on its anemic economy. Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, cautioned against punishing Greece too severely.

"Greece needs an economic relaunch today and not in 2016," he told reporters on the sidelines of the summit. "So why not put together a stimulus package today instead of discussing another time a reduction in spending in a country that's in an economic depression?

He said that there are European funds for that kind of stimulus, but unlocking them has always posed a challenge.

The European Commission has proposed to summit leaders that euro82 billion in existing development funds be redirected toward countries in dire need of help to fix their labor markets.

Greece is not alone in facing slow growth and high unemployment. In Spain, for example, unemployment has soared to nearly 23 percent and closed in on 50 percent for those under age 25, leaving more than 5 million people ? or almost one out of every four ? out of work as the country slides toward recession.

Even countries in the so-called European "core" ? which are generally better off ? are suffering. The French government was forced Monday to revise down its growth forecast for the year from 1 percent to just 0.5 percent.

In fact, many now fear that Europe is on the verge of another recession, and leaders gathering Brussels said that spurring growth would be the focus of their talks Monday.

A draft of the summit conclusions, obtained by The Associated Press, proposes reducing barriers to do business across the EU's 27 states and giving better training to young people, who are particularly hard-hit by unemployment.

But it does not contain any new financial stimulus to boost growth, even though turning around Europe's economy would likely require more stimulus from governments, which are currently under pressure to cut ? rather than increase ? spending.

"We have to have balanced budgets and at the same time focus on growth and jobs," said Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt of Denmark, which holds the rotating presidency of European Council. "It is possible to both at the same time and it is important to understand that these are two sides of the same coin."

The 27 heads of state and government got a taste of the popular frustration with austerity and high unemployment on their way to Monday's summit in a city paralyzed by strikes. Leaders had to fly into the military airport of Beauvechain 20 miles (30 kilometers) outside of Brussels after the city's main airport was shutdown by a 24-hour strike.

Belgium's three main unions joined forces in the walkout to protest national budgetary measures that have in part been imposed on the country by the EU. If the country hadn't met cost-cutting targets, financial sanctions would have been imposed.

Monday's strike has been mirrored in many other member states. Overall, 23 million people are jobless across the EU, 10 percent of the active population.

"Europe has to offer jobs, social protection and perspective for the future. Otherwise it risks losing the support of its citizens," said the strike manifesto of the ACV union.

___

Associated Press writers Don Melvin, Robert Wielaard and Raf Casert contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis

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Freed Egypt activist says will not stay silent (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? An Egyptian activist who became a symbol of resistance to the army's trials of civilians said Saturday he would not be silenced and denounced the army for detaining and mistreating "prisoners of conscience."

Maikel Nabil has been jailed twice since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power last February on charges of defaming the army, but was pardoned by the head of the ruling army council earlier this month along with almost 2,000 others.

In his first public appearance since his release from military jail, the 25-year-old said the army had tortured him in prison but he remained defiant.

"We cannot be silent about any violation against us," said Nabil, whose staged a hunger strike during his imprisonment.

Nabil, a Coptic Christian by birth, was jailed after using his blog (www.maikelnabil.com) to accuse the army of attempting to quell the uprising against Mubarak. At the time, most Egyptians saw the army as a neutral force, admired for their role in defending the nation, in contrast to the hated police.

But many Egyptians have since been horrified by images of soldiers dragging, beating and firing tear gas at protesters who were demanding a swift end to military rule.

Nabil said that during his detention he was given drugs that blurred his mind and was also kept in a psychiatric hospital for some of the time, despite being mentally sound.

"This was a tactic to affect my psychological state, to create a kind of hysteria and panic," Nabil told a news conference in Cairo. "It is unthinkable that such tactics are used in 2011."

He said he was confined for some of the time in a cell one meter by one meter in which a lamp continually flickered.

Army sources could not be immediately reached to respond to Nabil's comments.

The rights group 'No To Military Trials' estimates 12,000 people have been referred to military courts since Mubarak's fall, many more than in the whole of Mubarak's 30-year rule when security courts were the favored venue for emergency trials.

When he appeared before a military court, Nabil said he was barred from calling witnesses. He said he had received messages of support from junior army officers who opposed the army's crackdown on dissent, but did not give details.

Nabil described seeing two prisoners being stripped naked and beaten. "It was the first torture incident I witnessed with my own eyes," he said.

It was not possible to independently confirm his account.

Generals who have ruled Egypt since Mubarak's fall have pledged to hand over to civilian rule by July. They routinely deny charges of abuses or of trying anyone because of their opinions.

International rights groups have accused the army of using heavy-handed tactics, reminiscent of techniques use during Mubarak's era, to stifle dissent.

(Editing by Edmund Blair)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_egypt_activist

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School-bus-sized asteroid to buzz Earth Friday, nearer than moon

While the near-Earth asteroid won't hit Earth, it may offer seasoned amateur astronomers a great show ? if they are in the right viewing location and have good equipment. ?

A small asteroid will make an extremely close pass by Earth Friday (Jan. 27), coming much nearer than the moon, but the space rock poses no danger of impacting our planet, NASA scientists say.

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The newfound?asteroid 2012 BX34, which is about the size of a city bus, will pass within 36,750 miles (59,044 kilometers) of Earth at about 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) Friday, astronomers with NASA's Asteroid Watch program announced via Twitter.

The space rock is about 36 feet (11 meters) wide, making it much too small to pose a threat to Earth.

"It wouldn't get through our atmosphere intact even if it dared to try," Asteroid Watch scientists tweeted today (Jan. 26). Asteroid Watch is based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Asteroid 2012 BX34 will zip by at a distance about 0.17 times that separating Earth and the moon. The moon orbits Earth at an average distance of about 240,000 miles (386,000 km). [Video and image of asteroid 2012 BX34's orbit]

While the?near-Earth asteroid?won't hit Earth, it may offer seasoned amateur astronomers a great show ? if they are in the right viewing location and have good equipment.

"Advanced amateur astronomers might be able to observe the flyby as the asteroid brightens to 14th magnitude just before closest approach on Friday," the website?Spaceweather.com reported?today.

In astronomers' classification system, higher magnitudes correspond to dimmer objects. The full moon, for example, has a magnitude around -12.75. A magnitude of +14 would put 2012 BX34 roughly on par with the maximum brightness of the distant dwarf planet Pluto.

NASA scientists and other astronomer teams regularly monitor the skies in search of asteroids that could pose a danger to Earth. Experts estimate that asteroids measuring about 460 feet (140 m) across can cause widespread destruction near their impact sites, but they'd need to be even larger to cause devastation on a global scale.

Last September, NASA announced that it had catalogued about 90 percent of the largest asteroids whose orbits bring them near Earth ? a major goal set by Congress in 1998. Using NASA's recent WISE asteroid-mapping mission as a guide, scientists estimate that there are about 981 near-Earth asteroids the size of a mountain or larger. About 911 of those space rocks have been spotted, WISE mission scientists said.

Finding and mapping the orbits of such potentially hazardous space rocks is a task crucial to the long-term survival of our species, many scientists say.

Throughout history, asteroids big enough to cause major damage and disruption to the global economy and society (were they to strike a populated area today) have hit Earth, on average, every 200 or 300 years, according to former astronaut Rusty Schweickart.

Schweickart chairs the B612 Foundation, a group dedicated to predicting and preventing cataclysmic asteroid impacts on Earth. The group's chief message is that humanity's survival will someday depend on our ability to?deflect a killer asteroid?away from Earth.

The dinosaurs possessed no such technology, of course, and a catastrophic impact wiped them out ? along with many other plant and animal species ? 65 million years ago.

You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter:?@michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcom?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/_WKdDuF_hxM/School-bus-sized-asteroid-to-buzz-Earth-Friday-nearer-than-moon

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'Bad losers' and?'animals'

Associated Press Sports

updated 12:11 p.m. ET Jan. 27, 2012

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has labeled Real Madrid's players bad losers and animals after his club won their latest ill-tempered matchup.

Barcelona eliminated cup holder Real Madrid from the Copa del Rey quarterfinals with Wednesday's 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou.

El Mundo newspaper's website released Barca TV footage on Friday of Xavi caught off camera speaking about the game.

"In the changing room, they were (complaining). They're unbelievable - they don't know how to lose," the Spain midfielder said.

Xavi's comments will do little to calm the tense rivalry as he also labeled Madrid players "animals" for their physical challenges, specifically Lassana Diarra after the Madrid midfielder escaped a second booking in the closing moments of the first half.

"I said to him, you just showed (Lionel) Messi a yellow card and now the second one, what happened to it? Send him off," Xavi said he told referee Fernando Teixeira, adding: "It's the player who is responsible, especially if you challenge like an animal."

Madrid ended the match with 10 men after Sergio Ramos was sent off in the 88th minute, and Madrid was vocal in its criticism of Teixeira.

Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka, speaking instead of coach Jose Mourinho as he often does, responded to Xavi's statements on Friday.

"Of course Real Madrid knows how to accept losing, but not in that manner," Karanka said.

Mourinho criticized Teixeira in the postgame news conference and reportedly waited for the referee after the game to voice his opinion.

"Teixeira, you'll go and smoke a cigar now and laugh without feeling any bit of shame," El Mundo Deportivo newspaper quoted Mourinho as saying to Texeira, publishing a photo of the coach in the Camp Nou car park.

Karanka offered a qualified defense of Mourinho.

"Everyone knows our coach has a certain way of being, and there are times when he is OK and others when he's not," Karanka said.

While Madrid played perhaps its best match against Barcelona since Mourinho's arrival in 2010, the team has lost nine times and won only once in the last 14matches against its fiercest rival.

Madrid leads the Spanish league by five points at the halfway point of the season, with three-time defending champion Barcelona in second spot.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsJavier Soriano / AFP - Getty Images

'Bad losers' and?'animals'

Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has labeled Real Madrid's players bad losers and animals after his club won their latest ill-tempered matchup.

Hope for Solo

Ailing U.S. goalie Hope Solo practices ahead of Friday's do-or-die game vs. Costa Rica.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46163353/ns/sports-soccer/

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NuSTAR spacecraft arrives in California

ScienceDaily (Jan. 27, 2012) ? NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, mission arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California this morning after a cross-country trip by truck from the Orbital Sciences Corporation's manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va. The mission is scheduled to launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean on March 14.

Once the observatory is offloaded at Vandenberg, it will be moved into a processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. Over the weekend, technicians will remove its shipping container so that checkout and other processing activities can begin next week. Once the observatory is integrated with the rocket in mid-February, technicians will encapsulate it in the vehicle fairing, which is also scheduled to arrive at Vandenberg today.

After processing is completed, the rocket and spacecraft will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March.

NuSTAR is a small-explorer mission managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington The spacecraft was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation. Its instrument was built by a consortium including the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; JPL; Columbia University, New York, N.Y.; NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; the Danish Technical University in Denmark; the University of California, Berkeley; and ATK, Goleta, Calif. NuSTAR will be operated by UC Berkeley, with the Italian Space Agency providing its equatorial ground station located at Malindi, Kenya. The mission's outreach program is based at Sonoma State University, Calif. NASA's Explorer Program is managed by Goddard. JPL is managed by Caltech for NASA.

For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar and http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/ .

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Local High School Sports Roundup: Three Trojans bag braces to stay hot in Butte View League

The Orland High boys soccer team controlled Harrison Stadium with ease in Thursday's win against Las Plumas, 8-0. Alberto Munoz, Ramon Aceves and Aldrick Rosas all scored two goals apiece for the Trojans (15-1-1, 9-0 Butte View League).

Devin James and Jose Parra completed the scoring with one goal each. Angel Melgarejo and Mauricio Ziranda brought in two assists each, and goalie Arturo Ornelas recorded his ninth shutout this season. Daniel Pena contributed strong defense to the shutout effort.

Hamilton 6, Mercy 3

Rigoberto Sanchez delivered three goals for the Braves (8-2-1, 4-1-1 Sacramento Valley League) against the visiting Warriors. Louis Garcia scored twice.

Willows 4, Pierce 2

Salvador Gonzalez buried three goals and assisted on another, leading the Honkers (13-1-2, 5-0-1 Sacramento Valley League 1) to a home league victory over the Bears.

David Gonzalez had a goal and an assist and Fernando Cervantes set up two of Salvador Gonzalez's strikes for Willows, which also got eight saves from Jose Barajas.

Oroville 2, Gridley 1

Aaron Bundy won the game by scoring both goals for the Tigers (5-7-1, 4-5 Butte View League). Goalie Cody Borene made seven saves.

PREP GIRLS SOCCER

Gridley 1, Oroville 0

The Bulldogs won at home on Meranda Torres' first-half goal, which was assisted by Wendy Palafox. Goalie Sonia Janda had five saves in the shutout for Gridley (5-9-1, 3-6 Butte View League). Valerie Cagnacci made six shots on the goal for

the Tigers (2-7-3, 2-6-1 BVL) but couldn't connect.

Orland 3, Las Plumas 0

Karla Valverde, Angelica Moralez and Yaneth Munoz scored a goal apiece for the Trojans (12-4-2, 7-1-1 Butte View League). The game was the seventh shutout for goalie Esme Esquivel.

PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL

Willows 55, Pierce 31

Ally Brunner's 20 points led the game for the Honkers (11-7, 4-1 Sacramento Valley League). She also pulled down 15 rebounds. Colleen Tade scored eight points while getting 12 rebounds, four blocks, two steals and two assists.

Oroville 47, Lassen 41

The Tigers (10-9, 2-5 Eastern Athletic League South ) were led by Britteny Jenkens, who scored 16 points.

Stay up-to-date with local sports coverage from the E-R sports staff, and share your thoughts too: Visit the Chico E-R Sports Facebook fan page.

Source: http://www.chicoer.com/sports/ci_19833490?source=rss

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OBAMA HULK SMASH GOP [Desired]

If Shepard Fairey's iconic HOPE poster featuring a somewhat cartoony interpretation of Barack Obama could sell like hotcakes during the last presidential election, then this Incredible Hulk/Obama action figure created by Ron English should be even more popular this year. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/CLB3G9JaA6k/obama-hulk-smash-gop

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THE TAINTED ARCHIVE: Pets of the rich and famous

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Obama praises special ops forces in hostage rescue

President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

Cabinet members, from left, Attorney General Eric Holder, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner listen to President Barack Obama's the State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

This undated photo taken at an unknown location and released by the Danish Refugee Council on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 shows American Jessica Buchanan from the Danish Refugee Council's de-mining unit. U.S. military forces helicoptered into Somalia in a nighttime raid Wednesday and freed two hostages, American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)

This undated photo taken at an unknown location and released by the Danish Refugee Council on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 shows Dane Poul Hagen Thisted from the Danish Refugee Council's de-mining unit. U.S. military forces helicoptered into Somalia in a nighttime raid Wednesday and freed two hostages, American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)

Map locates area around the town of Adado, Somalia, where two hostages were rescued during a helicopter raid.

WASHINGTON (AP) ? "Good job tonight," President Barack Obama told his Defense chief as he arrived for his annual State of the Union message.

Unknown to a global television audience watching the speech moments later, a bold hostage rescue operation had played out half a world away with an elite Navy SEAL team's rescue of two hostages in Somalia, one of them an American. It was the same SEAL unit that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, a U.S. official said Wednesday.

Publicly, Obama did not tip his hand during his speech, though microphones picked up his congratulation to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as he entered the House chamber Tuesday night. Obama pointed his index finger to Panetta and said, "Good job tonight. Good job." Panetta smiled broadly.

Unknown to those watching the speech, Obama had learned shortly before that the operation to rescue American aid worker Jessica Buchanan and another hostage had been successful. Immediately after the speech, Obama returned to the White House to inform Buchanan's father that she was safe and "on her way home," according to a White House statement.

It was a dramatic bookend to the pomp and ceremony of one of Washington's most elaborate rituals ? the State of the Union. The president did not mention the operation during his address to Congress and the nation, though he did refer to another successful military operation ? the May 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by Navy SEAL Team 6.

"One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with them on the mission to get bin Laden," Obama said in his speech.

Tuesday's hostage rescue in Somalia was carried out by the same SEAL unit that carried out the bin Laden operation, two U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation. The unit is the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, also known as SEAL Team 6. The members of the unit who carried out the rescue operation were not the same personnel as those who killed bin Laden, the U.S. officials said.

In a predawn White House statement, Obama praised U.S. Special Operations Forces who rescued Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, who had been kidnapped at gunpoint by Somali pirates in October.

"As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts," Obama said in a statement.

U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the top secret operation, said the SEAL team parachuted into the area and got to the rescue site on foot.

Panetta, in a separate statement, said Buchanan and Hagen Thisted "have been transported to a safe location where we will evaluate their health and make arrangements for them to return home." He said the two hostages were not harmed during the operation, and no U.S. troops were killed or injured.

"This was a team effort and required close coordination, especially between the Department of Defense and our colleagues in the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Panetta said.

On NBC's "Today," Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. decided to move after determining that Buchanan's health "was beginning to decline."

"We wanted to act," Biden said.

Obama approved the mission Monday. On Tuesday, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, gave the president half a dozen updates on the movement of forces and the progression of rescue operation.

About two hours before Obama was scheduled to begin delivering his State of the Union address, Brennan told him Buchanan and Thisted were safe and in U.S. hands.

After delivering his address, Obama called Buchanan's father. In his statement Wednesday, Obama said he told John Buchanan "that all Americans have Jessica in our thoughts and prayers, and give thanks that she will soon be reunited with her family."

"The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice," Obama said. "This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people."

Biden had high praise for the special forces. "It takes your breath away, their capacity and their bravery," he said on ABC's "Good Morning America." ''These guys and women are amazing."

___

Associated Press writers Julie Pace, Kimberly Dozier and Robert Burns contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-25-US-US-Somalia-Helicopter-Raid/id-0a3e5a03e8274f55bc87fe26d7e43a60

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Marine tells court he is sorry for Iraq killings (Reuters)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif (Reuters) ? A U.S. Marine sergeant accused of leading a 2005 massacre of 24 civilians in Iraq expressed sorrow for the killings as he returned to military court on Tuesday to face sentencing for his role in the deaths.

Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 31, pleaded guilty on Monday to a single count of dereliction of duty as part of a deal with military prosecutors in which more serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault were dismissed.

The plea deal, which sparked outrage in Iraq, cut short Wuterich's court-martial and ended the final prosecution over the killings in Haditha, which sparked public outrage and brought international condemnation of U.S. troops.

As part of his guilty plea, Wuterich accepted responsibility for providing negligent verbal instructions to the Marines under his command when he told them to "shoot first and ask questions later," which resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians.

Wuterich, in his pre-sentencing statement on Tuesday, added that when he gave that order, "the intent wasn't that they should shoot civilians. It was that they would not hesitate in the face of the enemy."

The squad leader, who was originally charged with murder in the case, said he realized that his name "will always be associated with a massacre, being a cold-blooded baby-killer, an 'out of control monster.'"

But he insisted that he and his fellow Marines behaved honorably under extreme circumstances, and he said he "never fired my weapon at any women or children that day."

In a final plea for leniency, his civilian defense lawyer, Neal Puckett, said his client "is not evil."

"He is decent and moral, and his integrity is unfaltering," Puckett said. "He knows that his Marine Corps career has come to an end."

FACES MAXIMUM THREE MONTH SENTENCE

Wuterich faces a maximum sentence of three months of confinement, forfeiture of two-thirds of his pay for three months and a reduction in rank when he is sentenced on Tuesday, a Camp Pendleton spokesman said. Any discharge process faced by Wuterich, a father of three girls, will be separate from his sentencing.

Word of the maximum sentence sparked outrage in Iraq, where Ali Badr, a Haditha resident and relative of one of the victims, called it "an insult to all Iraqis" and "solid proof that the Americans don't respect human rights."

Wuterich was accused of being the ringleader in a series of November 19, 2005, shootings and grenade attacks that left two dozen civilians dead in Haditha, a city west of Baghdad that was then an insurgent hotspot.

The killings were portrayed by Iraqi witnesses and military prosecutors as a massacre of unarmed civilians -- men, women and children -- carried out by Marines in anger after a member of their unit was killed by a roadside bomb.

Defense lawyers argued the deaths resulted from a fast-moving combat situation in which the Marines believed they were under enemy fire.

In his statement on Tuesday, Wuterich, directed an apology to family members of those killed in Iraq, he said, "words cannot express my sorrow for the loss of your loved ones." But he insisted civilians were not singled out for attack.

"The truth is, I don't believe anyone in my squad ... behaved in any way that was dishonorable or contrary to the highest ideals that we all live by as Marines," he said. "But even with the best intentions, sometimes combat actions can cause tragic results."

Called to the stand as a character witness on Tuesday, Jeffrey Dinsmore, an intelligence officer with Wuterich's battalion at the time of the killings, said "insurgent groups ... had complete control over the city (of Haditha) at the time" and the unit had received word that an ambush was likely.

He also said insurgents were known to commandeer homes as places to launch attacks and to deliberately use civilians as human shields.

Six out of the eight Marines originally accused in the case had their charges dismissed by military judges, and a seventh was cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

Wuterich enlisted in the Marines after his 1998 graduation from high school, where he was an athletic honor-roll student and played with the marching band.

He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq when the Haditha incident occurred.

(Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Greg McCune and Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/usmilitary/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/us_nm/us_marine_haditha

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Japan PM vows to tackle debt, calls for teamwork (AP)

TOKYO ? Japan's prime minister has pledged to push ahead with tax and social security reform and called on opposition politicians to cooperate to achieve "decisive politics."

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's speech kicks off what is expected to be a contentious parliamentary session dominated by debate over Noda's goal to raise the sales tax and reduce the country's fiscal deficit.

Noda has promised to submit a bill by end of March to double the 5 percent sales tax by 2015.

The plan has divided parliament and the ruling Democratic party.

Noda also pledged Tuesday to step up efforts to decontaminate the region around the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant from radioactive fallout, ensure health checks and compensation for those affected by the crisis.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_politics

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Tracy Morgan of '30 Rock' collapses at Sundance (AP)

PARK CITY, Utah ? Comedian and "30 Rock" cast member Tracy Morgan said he will be back at work Tuesday after being hospitalized while attending the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Morgan's publicist, Lewis Kay, said Monday that the actor suffered from exhaustion and altitude when he collapsed Sunday night in Park City, where the elevation is 7,000 feet.

Morgan posted a comment Monday on Twitter that the high altitude "shook up this kid from Brooklyn."

"Superman ran into a little kryptonite," he quipped.

He also said on Twitter that he would be back to work Tuesday on "30 Rock."

Ron Nyswaner, co-director of the Sundance film "Predisposed," in which the actor stars, said Morgan's collapse resulted from "altitude sickness combined with his diabetes. And he hadn't eaten. He hadn't had enough water."

Kay said hospital officials report no drugs or alcohol were found in Morgan's system.

Morgan had been attending an event for the Creative Coalition at which he had just received an award.

In "Predisposed," which stars Jesse Eisenberg and Melissa Leo, Morgan plays a drug dealer caught up in the push-and-pull between a piano prodigy and his troubled mother.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_en_mu/us_film_sundance_tracy_morgan

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A meeting of minds at the Secret Science Club

Becky Ferreira, contributor

(Image: David Gould/Photographer?s Choice/Getty)

"Holy [expletive]! I didn't know science was this cool!"

Well, that?s one way to open a lecture.

Astrophysicist David Hogg was referring to the hundreds of science enthusiasts gathered at the first Secret Science Club meeting of 2012.

In their introductory remarks, Margaret Mittelbach and Dorian Devins, the founders of the five-year-old monthly science lecture series, acknowledged that the "secret" appears to have been compromised. Even those relegated to standing room struggled for space in the cavernous Bell House in Brooklyn, New York. Hogg himself had been turned away from a past overcrowded show about Einstein's theory of relativity. He remembers thinking, "Hey, I'm a freaking physicist. Let me in!"

Of course, this time around, he not only made it in - he was the centre of the universe. Actually, we all are, he explained, referring to the expansion of our cosmos. While his talk was ostensibly about what happened before the big bang, it was filled with delightful and highly quotable comments on the multiverse ("If we lived in a universe with two space dimensions and two time dimensions, then the universe would be f*cked up"), the speed of light ("Forget about those neutrinos!"), and his geek cred ("You want to nerd out? I know people that will pwn you!").

We were given fair warning about the content. Hogg admitted early on he'd focus on the philosophical side of astrophysics because his actual day job is, according to him, "unacceptably boring". His life's work is measuring the position and velocity of every star in our galaxy, with the hope of getting perhaps a thirtieth of them pinned down before he dies.

Nobody in the audience accepted this as dull. On one of the many occasions when the audience burst into laughter, Hogg commented, "I love that everything is funny. Can you guys just hang out outside my apartment?" Someone in the audience cheerfully yelled back, "Where do you live?" When it came time for the Q & A, Hogg was overwhelmed with questions, all of them on point.

The audience provides half the fun of the series. The Secret Science Club has tapped into an information-hungry crowd of proud nerds who listen attentively even as they down the themed cocktails of the night - in?this case "the Red Shift". When Hogg mentioned that Lord Kelvin believed the sun to be 3 million years old, there was a roar of laughter at the tiny figure, though it wasn't intended as a joke. Mittelbach and Devins's attempts to diversify the evening with musical acts were deserted when they realised the crowd was more interested in the scientists' lectures themselves, and they've since decided to focus only on booking incredible speakers. In the past, they?ve hosted astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, neuroscientist Paul Glimcher and dinosaur hunter Stephen Brusatte, among many other distinguished researchers. Last month saw the return of the pair?s annual taxidermy contest Carnivorous Nights, which drew 30 entries.

The best part of all? The series is completely free. Nerds of NYC: these are your people.

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Steelers QB settles lawsuit alleging '08 rape (AP)

RENO, Nev. ? Lawyers for Ben Roethlisberger and a woman who accused him of raping her at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino in 2008 have reached a settlement that ends her civil lawsuit against the Steelers quarterback.

Cal Dunlap, the Reno lawyer representing the woman, confirmed the settlement on Friday but declined to discuss the terms of the agreement.

"The matter has been resolved and I have no further comment," he told The Associated Press.

The Reno Gazette-Journal first reported the settlement on its website. It also dismisses claims against Harrah's employees whom the woman had accused of covering up the alleged sexual assault in Roethlisberger's penthouse suite in July 2008.

Dunlap first told Washoe District Court Judge Brent Adams in papers filed last Nov. 30 that his client wanted to have a stay lifted so the case could be dismissed because a settlement was pending.

"All parties have reached a resolution of all claims and counterclaims," he wrote.

Adams formally dismissed the case Dec. 27 but neither side had publicized it until now.

David Cornwell, Roethlisberger's lawyer, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment on Friday. His agent, Ryan Tollner, said neither he nor Roethlisberger would have any comment.

The Nevada Supreme Court had ruled against the two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback's request in August to have the case moved from Reno to Carson City because it was closer to where the alleged incident had occurred at Harrah's in Stateline.

The woman was a VIP casino hostess at Harrah's when she said Roethlisberger allegedly lured her to his room under the pretense of fixing his television. Roethlisberger was in town at the time to play in a celebrity golf tournament.

Roethlisberger denied the allegations.

The original lawsuit filed in 2009 sought a minimum of $440,000 in damages from the quarterback, at least $50,000 in damages from the Harrah's officials and an unspecified amount in punitive damages.

The woman said she never filed a criminal complaint because she feared Harrah's would side with Roethlisberger and she would be fired.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_roethlisberger_lawsuit_settled

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Cruise ship threatens marine paradise off Italy

PORTO ERCOLE, Italy (AP) ? Stone fortresses and watchtowers that centuries ago stood guard against marauding pirates loom above pristine waters threatened by a modern peril: fuel trapped within the capsized Costa Concordia luxury liner.

A half-million gallons (2,400 tons) of heavy fuel oil is in danger of leaking out and polluting some of the Mediterranean's most unspoiled sea, where dolphins chase playfully after sailboats and fishermen's catches are so prized that wholesalers come from across Italy to scoop up cod, lobster, scampi, swordfish and other delicacies.

"Even the Caribbean has nothing on us," said Francesco Arpino, a scuba instructor in the chic port of Porto Ercole, noting how the sleek granite sea bottom helps keep visibility crystal clear even 135 feet (40 meters) down.

Divers in these transparent waters marvel at an underwater world of sea horses and red coral, while on the surface sperm whales cut through the sea.

But worry is clouding this paradise, which includes a stretch of Tuscan coastline that has been the holiday haunt of soccer and screen stars, politicians and European royals.

Rough seas hindering divers' search for bodies in the Concordia's submerged section have also delayed the start of a pumping operation expected to last weeks to remove the fuel from the ship. Floating barriers aimed at containing any spillage now surround the vessel.

According to the Dutch salvage firm Smit, which has been contracted to remove the fuel, there are about a half million gallons (2,400 tons) of heavy fuel oil on board, as well as some 200 tons of diesel oil and smaller amounts of lubricants and other environmentally hazardous materials.

The ship lies dangerously close to a drop-off point on the sea bottom. Should strong waves nudge the vessel from its precarious perch, it could plunge some 90 feet (30 meters), further complicating the pumping operation and possibly rupturing fuel tanks. Italy's environment minister has warned that if the tanks break, the thick black fuel would block sunlight vital for marine life in the seabed.

A week after the Concordia struck a reef off the island of Giglio, flipping on its side, its crippled 114,000-ton hull rests on seabed rich with an underwater prairie of sea grass vital to the ecosystem. Environmentalists warn the sheer weight of the wreckage has likely already damaged a variety of marine life, including endangered sea sponges, and crustaceans and mollusks, even before a drop of fuel leaks.

"The longer it stays there, the longer it impedes light from reaching the vegetation," said Francesco Cinelli, an ecology professor at the University of Pisa in Tuscany.

The seabed is a flourishing home to Poseidon sea grass native to the Mediterranean, Cinelli told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"Sea grass ... is to the sea what forests are to terra firma," Cinelli said. They produce oxygen and serve as a refuge for organisms to reproduce or hide from predators.

The Tuscan archipelago's seven islands are at the heart of Europe's largest marine park, extending over some 150,000 acres (60,000 hectares) of sea.

They include the islands of Elba, where Napoleon lived in exile, and Montecristo, a setting for Alexandre Dumas' novel "The Count of Monte Cristo," where rare Mediterranean monk seals have been spotted near the coast.

Montecristo has a two-year waiting list of people hoping to be among the 1,000 people annually escorted ashore by forest rangers to admire the uninhabited island. Navigation, bathing and fishing are strictly prohibited up to a half mile (one kilometer) from Montecristo's rocky, cove-dotted coast. A monastery established on the island in the 7th century was abandoned 900 years later after repeated pirate raids.

Come spring, Porto Ercole's slips will be full, with yachts dropping anchor just outside the port. A steep hill provides a panoramic view of a sprawling seaside villa, once a holiday retreat of Dutch royals, and of the crescent-shaped island of Giannutri, with its ancient Roman ruins.

Alberto Teodori, who said he has been hired as a skipper for the yachts of Rome's VIPs for 30 years, noted that the area thrives on tourism in the spring and summer and survives on fishing in the offseason.

If the Concordia's fuel should pollute the sea, "Giglio will be dead for 10, 15 years," Teodori fretted, as workers nearby shellacked the hull of an aging fishing boat.

The international ocean-advocacy group, Oceana, describes the national marine park as an "ecological diamond," favored by divers for its great variety of species.

"If the pollution gets into the water, we are ruined," said Raffaella Manno, who with her husband runs a portside counter selling fresh fish in Porto Santo Stefano, a nearby town where ferries and hydrofoils depart for Giglio.

She said fish from the archipelago's waters are prized throughout Italy for their quality and variety.

"The water is clean and the reefs are rich" for fish to feed, she said, as trucks carrying oil-removal equipment waited to board ferries to Giglio. "The priciest markets in Italy come here to buy, from Milan, Turin, even Naples."

Concordia's captain, initially jailed and then placed under house arrest in his hometown near Naples, is suspected of having deliberately deviated from the ship's route, to hug Giglio's reef-studded coastline in order to perform a kind of "salute" to amuse passengers and islanders.

The maneuver is apparently a common practice by cruise ships, environmentalists lament.

"These salutes are an established practice by the big cruise ships," said Francesco Emilio Borrelli, a Green party official from Naples. He said that the Greens have received reports of numerous such sightings by ships sailing by the Naples area islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida.

Even before the Concordia tragedy, environmentalists had railed against what they brand "sea monsters," ? massive cruise liners releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases ? sailing perilously close to the coast to thrill the passengers aboard.

"These virtual cities put at risk the richness of biodiversity, which we must never forget is at the foundation of our very survival on Earth," said Marevivo, an Italian environmental group.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-20-EU-Italy-Paradise-in-Peril/id-bc724a269f61487cb228f76a221050ee

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Woman's body found on stricken Italian cruise ship

Seemingly minute shifts in the position of the cruise ship that partially sank in an Italian port is hampering the underwater search for 21 passengers and crew missing for more than a week. NBC's Michelle Kosinki reports from Giglio, Italy.

By NBC News and msnbc.com news services

Updated at 11:10 a.m. ET: GIGLIO, Italy -- Italian Coast Guard divers on Saturday found a woman's body in a corridor of a submerged section of the capsized Costa Concordia, raising to at least 12 the number of dead in the cruise liner accident.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro told The Associated Press that the victim, who was wearing a life vest, was found during a particularly risky inspection of an evacuation staging point at the ship's rear.

"The corridor was very narrow, and the divers' lines risked snagging" on objects in the passageway, Nicastro said. To permit the coast guard divers to get into the area, Italian navy divers had preceded them, setting off charges to blast holes for easier entrance and exit, he said.

The woman's nationality and identity were not immediately known.

The body was brought to Giglio, the Tuscan island where the cruise liner hit a reef and ran aground on Jan. 14. Twenty people remain?missing.

DigitalGlobe

The Costa Concordia ran aground Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy, resulting in the evacuation of thousands of passengers as the ship began heavily listing.

Search and rescue efforts for survivors and bodies have meant that an operation to remove heavy fuel in the Concordia's tanks hasn't yet begun, although specialized equipment has been standing by for days.

On Saturday, light fuel, apparently from machinery aboard the capsized Costa Concordia, was detected near the ship.

But Nicastro said there was no indication that any of the nearly 500,000 gallons (2,200 metric tons) of heavy fuel oil has leaked from the ship's double-bottomed tanks. He said the leaked substance appears to be diesel, which is used to fuel rescue boats and dinghies and as a lubricant for ship machinery.

There are 185 tons of diesel and lubricants on board the crippled vessel, which is lying on its side just outside Giglio's port. Nicastro described the light fuel's presence in the sea as "very light, very superficial" and appearing to be under control.

---

NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

?Updated at 9:30 a.m. ET:? The captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia, which struck a rock and capsized off Italy, told magistrates he informed the ship's owners of the accident immediately, denying he had delayed raising the alarm, judicial sources said on Saturday.

Capt. Francesco Schettino has been blamed for causing the January 13 accident in which at least 11 people died. He is under house arrest, accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship before all passengers were evacuated.

His statements to prosecutors investigating the disaster, reported in the Italian press and confirmed by judicial sources, underline the growing battle between him and Costa Cruise Lines which operates the 114,500 ton vessel.?

Published at 5:40 a.m. ET: Divers resumed the search of the wreckage of the capsized Costa Concordia after data indicated the cruise ship had stabilized in the sea off Tuscany.

Italian coastguard spokesman Cosimo Nicastro told NBC News Saturday that the navy had punctured two holes in the carcass of the ship, which has been lying on its side near the port of Giglio island since shortly after it crashed into a reef on Jan. 13.

Divers were expected to search the area around bridge number four, an emergency meeting point near to where other bodies were found. They had been hoping to reach that area for days, NBC reported.

They are searching for bodies or survivors, although it is unlikely any of the 21 missing in the accident could still be alive. The search was suspended on Friday after the Concordia shifted, prompting fears the ship could roll off a rocky ledge of sea bed and plunge deeper into the sea.

There are also fears the Concordia's fuel could leak, polluting pristine waters.

On Friday, the Concordia owner's CEO said the captain did not relay correct information either to the company or the crew after the ship hit rocks.

Pierluigi Foschi told Italian state TV that the company spoke to the captain some 20 minutes after the ship ran aground, but could not offer proper assistance because the captain's description "did not correspond to the truth," Reuters reported.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/21/10204464-womans-body-found-aboard-stricken-italian-cruise-ship

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Battle for control of Asia's seas goes underwater (AP)

YOKOSUKA, Japan ? It's getting a bit more crowded under the sea in Asia, where Andrew Peterson commands one of the world's mightiest weapons: a $2 billion nuclear submarine with unrivaled stealth and missiles that can devastate targets hundreds of miles (kilometers) away.

Super high-tech submarines like Cmdr. Peterson's USS Oklahoma City have long been the envy of navies all over the globe ? and a key component of U.S. military strategy.

"We really have no peer," Peterson told The Associated Press during a recent port call in Japan.

But America's submarine dominance in the Pacific is facing its biggest challenge since the Cold War. Nearly every Asian country with a coastline is fortifying its submarine fleet amid territorial disputes stirred up by an increasingly assertive China and the promise of bountiful natural resources.

Submarines are difficult to find and hard to destroy. Even fairly crude submarine forces can attack surface ships or other targets with a great deal of stealth, making them perfect for countries with limited resources. The threat of such an attack is a powerful deterrent in Asia, where coastal defenses are vital.

"This is shaping up as an intense arms race," said Lyle Goldstein, an associate professor at the China Maritime Studies Institute of the U.S. Naval War College. "This arms race is not simply China versus the rest ? though that explains much of it ? because there are other rivalries here as well."

China is pouring money into enlarging and modernizing its fleet, and India is planning to get a nuclear-powered attack submarine ? the INS Chakra ? on a 10-year lease from Russia as early as this month.

Australia is debating its most-expensive defense project ever ? a submarine upgrade that could cost more than 36 billion dollars.

Japan is adding another eight to its 16-boat fleet. South Korea is selling them to Indonesia. Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and even Bangladesh either now have or are planning to acquire subs.

North Korea, which has a large fleet of mini-subs, allegedly put them to deadly use in 2010 ? killing 46 South Korean sailors in the worst clash since their war ended in 1953.

The trend has a momentum of its own ? once one country gets submarines, its neighbors are under pressure to follow suit, lest they give up a strategic advantage. But the rush to build up submarine forces also underscores a growing awareness of the region's potential riches.

Roughly half of the goods transported between continents by ship go through the South China Sea, accounting for $1.2 trillion in U.S. trade annually. The area has vast, largely untapped natural resources ? including oil reserves of seven billion barrels and an estimated 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

"The geostrategic significance of the South China Sea is difficult to overstate," said a report this month by the Center for a New American Security, a private think tank based in Washington DC. "To the extent that the world economy has a geographical center, it is in the South China Sea."

With the decline of Russia, the U.S. remains the top nation with a significant capability to operate submarines in the open seas ? a crucial advantage if Washington wants to maintain its role in keeping key sea lanes and chokepoints like the Malacca Strait, which connects the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific, free for commercial trade.

The U.S. Navy's blue water superiority is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Peterson, the Oklahoma City skipper, said the Navy's workhorse Los Angeles-class subs remain a cut above the rest. "The beauty is that they are still the state of the art."

But, closer to shore, China is challenging the status quo.

"China has put a major emphasis on submarines, with the result that the PLA Navy submarine force is now, along with the Chinese missile forces, one of the sharpest arrows in China's quiver of military capabilities," Goldstein said.

China now has more than 60 subs in its navy, including nine that are nuclear-powered, according to the Pentagon's annual overview last year.

Its mainstay boats are diesel-powered Song-class vessels, but it also is developing more advanced nuclear-powered attack and ballistic submarines, including the Jin class that would carry missiles with a range of 4,600 miles (7,400 kilometers). Nuclear-powered subs can operate longer submerged than their diesel counterparts.

China has a long way to go to match the U.S. Navy ? the advanced Jin subs, for example, would have to be well into the Japan Sea for the continental United States to be within their range ? and Goldstein said that Beijing's threat has been overblown.

To keep its edge, however, the United States now has more submarines in the Pacific than in the Atlantic. With the military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan wrapping up, the Obama administration has also announced a "pivot to the Pacific" strategy that will likely further boost U.S. naval resources in the region.

Even so, China is just one player in an increasingly complicated game.

"Everybody's buying subs, but not for the same reasons," said Owen Cote, associate director of MIT's Security Studies Program.

The Pacific is dotted by scores of disputed islands, and who controls what part of the seas is a potentially explosive question. Japan has rival claims with China, South Korea and Russia. A half dozen countries claim rights to the remote Spratly Islands.

"Vietnam and the other states abutting the South China Sea want to have the option to contest a Chinese decision to resolve the various boundary issues that divide them by force," Cote said. "The Chinese have an interest in using submarines in preventing U.S. surface ships from intervening on behalf of one of these neighbors in such a conflict."

As regional navies get stronger, so does the potential for armed clashes.

"It poses the prospect of changing the balance of power across the Asia-Pacific ? in fact it already has," said Hugh White, Australian National University's professor of strategic and defense studies. "This is a very maritime part of the world. Anyone with a submarine has a clear capability of disrupting commercial shipping."

White said the development of submarine forces by multiple Asian nations is already inhibiting the ability of China and the United States to project their naval power, and posing new issues for smaller navies caught in the middle.

"There are questions about whether the U.S. will continue to assume its security role," he said. "This is a big debate in Australia right now. Do we aim to be able to act independently of the U.S.? To what extent do we want to be able to operate against a major player like China, or more locally against Indonesia?"

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_as/as_asia_s_submarine_race

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Mondale: Time 'not on our side' for Vikings stadium this year (Star Tribune)

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Video: Cruise ship captain under house arrest

>> now let's turn to the cruise ship disaster off the coast of italy. rescue and recovery operations were suspended for a second time overnight after the ship shifted in the water. a costly delay in the search for two dozen people who are still missing. michelle kosinski is in giglio island with the details this morning. hey, michelle. good morning to you.

>> reporter: good morning, ann. divers today say they need to blast four more holes into the hull of the concordia. they have been focused on the rear where they found the bodies of five victims yesterday and they expect to find more today. there's also more scrutiny of the captain, the man who was ordered to get back on board while passengers scrambled to escape. prosecutors believe he never did. the man accused of causing the problem, manslaughter and abandoning ship is now back home. captain schettino is home under house arrest and the world's eyes are on him. while at the scene of the epic capsizing comes the task of identifying the bodies of four men and a woman found inside tuesday under water, all wearing life vests , believed to be passengers in their 50s and 60s. this video shot by divers tuesday, you see deep within that ship in the murky, silence. they go through the same spaces where friday night vacationers had just begun their mediterranean cruise. above water, a blast. no accident. just searchers using every means possible to break through the hull. as this was happening, captain schettino was in court. now we know more of what he said that night. in a recorded phone conversation with a furious port authority captain in hours after the accident. [ speaking in a foreign language ]

>> reporter: listen, schettino, there are people trapped. get on board and report to me how many people there are. is this clear? schettino says why he's staying near the shore -- coordinating. what are you coordinating? get on board the ship is and coordinate the rescue. are you refusing?

>> no, no, i am not refusing. you get on board. this is an order. get going. there are already corpses, schettino. at one point, it's dark. we can't see anything. and in reply, what do you want? to go back home, schettino? get on the ship and tell me how many people there are. but he stayed on land while desperate passengers struggled to find a way off themselves. the parent company carnival put out a statement saying they commend the tremendous efforts of the crew that night though they have been widely criticized by survivors. the captain claims he didn't abandon ship but said he was thrown overboard by the tilting of it. his attorney said he likely saved many lives beaching it here or it might have sunk in deeper water . ann?

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46037664/

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