PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – A major earthquake hit impoverished Haiti on Tuesday, toppling buildings in the capital Port-au-Prince, burying residents in rubble and causing many deaths and injuries, witnesses in the city said.
The magnitude 7.0 quake, whose epicenter was inland and only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince, sent panic-stricken people screaming into the streets of the city, as a cloud of dust and smoke from falling buildings rose into the sky.
As darkness fell amid scenes of chaos and anguished cries from victims, residents desperately tried to dig out survivors or searched for missing relatives in debris-strewn streets.
The presidential palace was among the buildings damaged, Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Raymond Alcide Joseph, told CNN.
"My country is facing a major catastrophe," he said.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and has a history of destructive natural disasters. Some 9,000 U.N. police and troops are stationed there to maintain order.
The major quake, followed by several aftershocks, prompted a tsunami watch for parts the Caribbean but this was later canceled.
"Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started collapsing ... it's total chaos," Reuters reporter Joseph Guyler Delva said in Port-au-Prince.
"I saw people under the rubble, and people killed," he added, saying he had witnessed dozens of casualties.
U.S. President Barack Obama said his "thoughts and prayers" were with the people of Haiti and pledged to come to their aid. The Obama administration said the State Department, USAID and U.S. military were working to coordinate assistance.
The United States "will be providing both civilian and military disaster relief and humanitarian assistance," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
A local employee for the charity Food for the Poor reported seeing a five-story building collapse in Port-au-Prince, spokeswoman Kathy Skipper told Reuters.
Another Food for the Poor employee said there were more houses destroyed than standing in Delmas Road, a major thoroughfare in the city.
"Within a minute of the quake ... soil, dust and smoke rose up over the city, a blanket that completely covered the city and obscured it for about 12 minutes until the atmospheric conditions dissipated the dust," Mike Godfrey, who works for USAID, told CNN from the city.
Experts said the quake's epicenter was very shallow at a depth of only 6.2 miles, which was likely to have magnified the destruction.
PEOPLE SCREAMED 'JESUS, JESUS'
Speaking to CNN from Port-au-Prince, Ian Rogers of the charity Save the Children said he could hear cries of anguish and mourning rising up from around the city in the darkness.
Homes and buildings built on hillsides had come crashing down along with earth and rubble.
"All the roads currently are blocked," Rogers said.
"People were screaming 'Jesus, Jesus' and running in all directions," Delva said.
The Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, where many foreigners stay, suffered at least some minor damage.
A group of 12 U.S. students from Lynn University in Florida were visiting Haiti with Food for the Poor and some were able to send text messages to say they were fine, Skipper said.
The powerful quake was felt in southeastern Cuba, about 160 miles from the epicenter. Cuban authorities evacuated coastal residents because of the initial tsunami threat.
"I was seated on the terrace and I thought my chair had slid out from under me but I realized it was an earthquake," said Eduardo Machin, a resident of the coastal city of Santiago de Cuba. "It was very strong."
Sailors at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in eastern Cuba felt the quake but there was no damage to the base or the detention camp where the United States holds 198 foreign terrorism suspects, said Chief Petty Officer Bill Mesta.
"It just shook a number of the buildings," Mesta said. "It felt like there was a strong gust of wind up against the building."
The base has stockpiles of blankets, tents and other relief supplies on hand for emergency use in case of mass disasters in the Caribbean. Personnel had begun checking the goods in anticipation that they will be asked to help in the relief effort, Mesta said. (Additional reporting by Alister Bull, Jane Sutton, Phil Barbara, Jeff Franks, Writing by Sandra Maler and Pascal Fletcher; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Taser adds mobile phone monitoring tool to its arsenal
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) -
Stun gun maker Taser wants to help parents, not with jolts of electricity but with a tool which allows parents to effectively take over a child's mobile phone and manage its use.
"Basically we're taking old fashioned parenting and bringing it into the mobile world," Taser chairman and co-founder Tom Smith said at the Consumer Electronics Show here, where the Arizona company unveiled the new product.
"Because when you give your child his mobile phone you don't know who they're talking to, what they're sending or texting, all of those things," Smith told AFP.
The phone application, called "Mobile Protector," allows a parent to screen a child's incoming and outgoing calls and messages, block particular numbers and even listen in on a conversation.
A dashboard on a parent's phone or a personal computer shows the mobiles being monitored and the permitted callers such as friends and family.
"You can start it out very restrictive and then as they get older you can relax those restrictions as that trust factor's gained," Smith said.
An alert is triggered when an unknown number calls a child's phone.
"I can click on this and it's going to say here's the person's who's calling," Smith said.
"I can either choose to block that call, allow that call or even answer that call and find out who it is before I release it through to my child.
"If it's Grandma, who I forgot to add, I can just click 'always allow' and I'll never see that alert again," he said.
Smith said that when listening in on a call "it's going to announce that to both parties." "We're not doing spyware. This is a collaboration effort," he said.
Smith said text messages, emails, photos and videos can be screened for inappropriate language or pornographic content. "You can see the image and decide whether you want to let it go through or not," he said.
Mobile Protector also allows a parent to disable a phone for a specified period.
"I see so many parents trying to wrestle with their kids to try to get them off the phone during dinner," he said. "You can punch this and say 'You know what, for the next hour your phone's not going to work during dinner.'
"Or, if they get in trouble you can say 'You know what, you're grounded, for 48 hours your phone doesn't work,'" he said.
GPS capability brings up a map showing where a child -- or at least their phone -- is at any given time. "In college I don't need to know where you currently are but for young kids I want to see where they are," he said.
Mobile Protector also has an "emergency feature" that could help locate a missing child, Smith said.
"I can call up 'records release' and it's going to take all of the data -- last known location, phone numbers, texts everything -- and that's going to go to the local authorities," he said.
Along with Mobile Protector, Taser is also releasing a tool known as "Driver Protector" designed to cut back on mobile phone use while behind the wheel. It requires special hardware in the vehicle and a Bluetooth connection.
"If it's a first time driver it's going to disable the phone so they can't text while driving or use the phone," Smith said. "As they get older, we can enable it so they have hands-free talking but still no texting while driving.
"Maybe it will alert me when they go over 90 miles an hour (145 kilometers an hour)," he said. "It's really going to be up to the parent how much they want to limit or not limit."
Smith said Mobile Protector and Driver Protector will be available this summer and will be a subscription service costing between 10 and 30 dollars a month depending on the selected options.
Smith noted that other companies have released similar tools but said "nobody's put the whole thing together" like Taser.
Stun gun maker Taser wants to help parents, not with jolts of electricity but with a tool which allows parents to effectively take over a child's mobile phone and manage its use.
"Basically we're taking old fashioned parenting and bringing it into the mobile world," Taser chairman and co-founder Tom Smith said at the Consumer Electronics Show here, where the Arizona company unveiled the new product.
"Because when you give your child his mobile phone you don't know who they're talking to, what they're sending or texting, all of those things," Smith told AFP.
The phone application, called "Mobile Protector," allows a parent to screen a child's incoming and outgoing calls and messages, block particular numbers and even listen in on a conversation.
A dashboard on a parent's phone or a personal computer shows the mobiles being monitored and the permitted callers such as friends and family.
"You can start it out very restrictive and then as they get older you can relax those restrictions as that trust factor's gained," Smith said.
An alert is triggered when an unknown number calls a child's phone.
"I can click on this and it's going to say here's the person's who's calling," Smith said.
"I can either choose to block that call, allow that call or even answer that call and find out who it is before I release it through to my child.
"If it's Grandma, who I forgot to add, I can just click 'always allow' and I'll never see that alert again," he said.
Smith said that when listening in on a call "it's going to announce that to both parties." "We're not doing spyware. This is a collaboration effort," he said.
Smith said text messages, emails, photos and videos can be screened for inappropriate language or pornographic content. "You can see the image and decide whether you want to let it go through or not," he said.
Mobile Protector also allows a parent to disable a phone for a specified period.
"I see so many parents trying to wrestle with their kids to try to get them off the phone during dinner," he said. "You can punch this and say 'You know what, for the next hour your phone's not going to work during dinner.'
"Or, if they get in trouble you can say 'You know what, you're grounded, for 48 hours your phone doesn't work,'" he said.
GPS capability brings up a map showing where a child -- or at least their phone -- is at any given time. "In college I don't need to know where you currently are but for young kids I want to see where they are," he said.
Mobile Protector also has an "emergency feature" that could help locate a missing child, Smith said.
"I can call up 'records release' and it's going to take all of the data -- last known location, phone numbers, texts everything -- and that's going to go to the local authorities," he said.
Along with Mobile Protector, Taser is also releasing a tool known as "Driver Protector" designed to cut back on mobile phone use while behind the wheel. It requires special hardware in the vehicle and a Bluetooth connection.
"If it's a first time driver it's going to disable the phone so they can't text while driving or use the phone," Smith said. "As they get older, we can enable it so they have hands-free talking but still no texting while driving.
"Maybe it will alert me when they go over 90 miles an hour (145 kilometers an hour)," he said. "It's really going to be up to the parent how much they want to limit or not limit."
Smith said Mobile Protector and Driver Protector will be available this summer and will be a subscription service costing between 10 and 30 dollars a month depending on the selected options.
Smith noted that other companies have released similar tools but said "nobody's put the whole thing together" like Taser.
Despedida romántica lo metió en líos
Amigos del joven que violó seguridad en aeropuerto de Newark dicen que lo hizo por amor
PISCATAWAY, Nueva Jersey — El hombre que transgredió la seguridad en el aeropuerto internacional Newark Liberty y provocó la suspensión de vuelos por varias horas, es un romántico que sólo deseaba despedirse de su novia.
Un amigo de Haisong Jiang habló el sábado cerca de su casa situada junto a la Universidad Rutgers, de Piscataway. Ning Huang dijo que conoce al joven de 28 años desde hace bastante tiempo. Agregó que Jiang “es una buena persona” que no midió el alcance de sus acciones el domingo pasado.
Otro amigo, Andy Riu, calificó a Jiang como “muy romántico”. Ambos amigos dijeron que Jiang ha estado saliendo con la joven desde hace un año, y que había viajado a California varias veces a visitarla.
Jiang, que es de nacionalidad china, estudia el doctorado en un programa de biociencias moleculares en Rutgers y vive en Estados Unidos desde el 2004. Su novia acaba de graduarse en Rutgers, vive en Los Angeles y le visitaba por las fiestas.
“Sólo deseaba despedirse de ella”, comentó el amigo de Jiang, que no ha hecho declaraciones públicas desde que fue arrestado el viernes en su casa.
Las autoridades dijeron que cuando Jiang transgredió el sistema de seguridad el 3 de enero, provocó el cierre del terminal aéreo, y consecuentemente, la congestión de los vuelos en todo el mundo.
El hombre podría ser acusado de transgresión y multado con 500 dólares, pero aún no estaba claro el sábado si tenía un abogado. Tendrá que comparecer ante un juez la próxima semana, pero aún no se había previsto fecha.
El senador de Nueva Jersey, Frank Lautenberg, dijo que las autoridades hallaron a Jiang mediante “un intenso trabajo policial”, pero expresó su indignación que el hombre será sancionado sólo con una “palmada en la muñeca”.
Lautenberg también dijo que presionará para que se imponga una pena más severa para este tipo de delitos.
Los tres terminales del aeropuerto de Newark fueron cerrados por seis horas el domingo, provocando el estancamiento de miles de pasajeros, y contribuyeron a largas demoras. El guardia de seguridad que dejó su puesto de vigilancia ha sido puesto en descanso administrativo desde el martes.
En una cámara de seguridad divulgada el jueves por la Agencia de Seguridad de Transporte y la Autoridad del Puerto, se ve a un guardia sentado vigilando una fila de salida y le pide a un hombre de chaqueta beige que se aleje. Un minuto después el guardia deja su puesto y desaparece.
Entonces una mujer de abrigo blanco se acerca al lugar y el hombre la ve, cruza la barrera por debajo de la soga y se van juntos del brazo.
Un hombre que presenció el hecho avisó a las autoridades.
PISCATAWAY, Nueva Jersey — El hombre que transgredió la seguridad en el aeropuerto internacional Newark Liberty y provocó la suspensión de vuelos por varias horas, es un romántico que sólo deseaba despedirse de su novia.
Un amigo de Haisong Jiang habló el sábado cerca de su casa situada junto a la Universidad Rutgers, de Piscataway. Ning Huang dijo que conoce al joven de 28 años desde hace bastante tiempo. Agregó que Jiang “es una buena persona” que no midió el alcance de sus acciones el domingo pasado.
Otro amigo, Andy Riu, calificó a Jiang como “muy romántico”. Ambos amigos dijeron que Jiang ha estado saliendo con la joven desde hace un año, y que había viajado a California varias veces a visitarla.
Jiang, que es de nacionalidad china, estudia el doctorado en un programa de biociencias moleculares en Rutgers y vive en Estados Unidos desde el 2004. Su novia acaba de graduarse en Rutgers, vive en Los Angeles y le visitaba por las fiestas.
“Sólo deseaba despedirse de ella”, comentó el amigo de Jiang, que no ha hecho declaraciones públicas desde que fue arrestado el viernes en su casa.
Las autoridades dijeron que cuando Jiang transgredió el sistema de seguridad el 3 de enero, provocó el cierre del terminal aéreo, y consecuentemente, la congestión de los vuelos en todo el mundo.
El hombre podría ser acusado de transgresión y multado con 500 dólares, pero aún no estaba claro el sábado si tenía un abogado. Tendrá que comparecer ante un juez la próxima semana, pero aún no se había previsto fecha.
El senador de Nueva Jersey, Frank Lautenberg, dijo que las autoridades hallaron a Jiang mediante “un intenso trabajo policial”, pero expresó su indignación que el hombre será sancionado sólo con una “palmada en la muñeca”.
Lautenberg también dijo que presionará para que se imponga una pena más severa para este tipo de delitos.
Los tres terminales del aeropuerto de Newark fueron cerrados por seis horas el domingo, provocando el estancamiento de miles de pasajeros, y contribuyeron a largas demoras. El guardia de seguridad que dejó su puesto de vigilancia ha sido puesto en descanso administrativo desde el martes.
En una cámara de seguridad divulgada el jueves por la Agencia de Seguridad de Transporte y la Autoridad del Puerto, se ve a un guardia sentado vigilando una fila de salida y le pide a un hombre de chaqueta beige que se aleje. Un minuto después el guardia deja su puesto y desaparece.
Entonces una mujer de abrigo blanco se acerca al lugar y el hombre la ve, cruza la barrera por debajo de la soga y se van juntos del brazo.
Un hombre que presenció el hecho avisó a las autoridades.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Army officer opens fire at Fort Hood,killing 12
FORT HOOD, Texas – An Army officer opened fire Thursday with two handguns at the Fort Hood military base in an attack that left 12 people dead and 31 wounded. Authorities killed the gunman and apprehended two other soldiers in what appears to be the worst mass shooting at a U.S. military base.
There was no immediate word on a motive. The shooting began around 1:30 p.m., said Lt. Gen. Bob Cone at Fort Hood. He said all the casualties took place at the base's Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening.
"It's a terrible tragedy. It's stunning," Cone said.
A law enforcement official identified the shooting suspect as Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan. The official said Hasan, believed to be in his late 30s, was killed after opening fire at the base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
A defense official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hasan was a mental health professional — an Army psychologist or psychiatrist. Officials say it was not clear what Hasan's religion was, but investigators are trying to determine if Hasan was his birth name or if he may have changed his name and converted to Islam at some point.
A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was going on nearby at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a Fort Hood spokeswoman.
Greg Schanepp, U.S. Rep. John Carter's regional director in Texas, was representing Carter at the graduation, said John Stone, a spokesman for Carter, whose district includes the Army post.
Schanepp was at the ceremony when a soldier who had been shot in the back came running toward him and alerted him of the shooting, Stone said. The soldier told Schanepp not to go in the direction of the shooter, he said.
The base was locked down after the shootings. The wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas, Cone said. Nine were taken to Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple. A hospital spokeswoman says all had been shot and are adults. A Fort Hood spokesman said he could not immediately confirm any identities of the injured.
Lisa Pfund of Random Lake, Wis., says her daughter, 19-year-old Amber Bahr, was shot in the stomach but was in stable condition. "We know nothing, just that she was shot in the belly," Pfund told The Associated Press. She couldn't provide more details and only spoke with emergency personnel.
"I ask that all of you keep these families and these individuals in your prayers today," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said.
The shootings on the Texas military base stirred memories of other recent mass shootings in the United States, including 13 dead at a New York immigrant center in March, 10 killed during a gunman's rampage across Alabama in March and 32 killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at Virginia Tech in 2007.
Around the country, some bases stepped up security precautions, but no others were locked down.
"The bottom line for us is that we are increasing security at our gates because the threat hasn't yet been defined, and we're reminding our Marines to be vigilant in their areas of responsibility," said Capt. Rob Dolan, public affairs officer for the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz.
In Washington, President Barack Obama called the shooting "a horrific outburst of violence." He said it's a tragedy to lose a soldier overseas and even more horrifying when they come under fire at an Army base on American soil.
"We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident," the commander in chief said. "We are going to stay on this."
Covering 339 square miles, Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored post in the United States. Home to about 52,000 troops as of earlier this year, the sprawling base is located halfway between Austin and Waco.
About a mile from Fort Hood's east gate, Cynthia Thomas, director of Under the Hood Cafe, a coffee house and outreach center, was calling soldiers and friends on the post to make sure they're OK.
"It's chaotic," Thomas said, as a SWAT team just drove by. "The phones are jammed. Everybody is calling family members and friends. Soldiers are running around with M-16s."
Fort Hood officially opened on Sept. 18, 1942, and was named in honor of Gen. John Bell Hood. It has been continuously used for armored training and is charged with maintaining readiness for combat missions.
There was no immediate word on a motive. The shooting began around 1:30 p.m., said Lt. Gen. Bob Cone at Fort Hood. He said all the casualties took place at the base's Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening.
"It's a terrible tragedy. It's stunning," Cone said.
A law enforcement official identified the shooting suspect as Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan. The official said Hasan, believed to be in his late 30s, was killed after opening fire at the base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
A defense official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hasan was a mental health professional — an Army psychologist or psychiatrist. Officials say it was not clear what Hasan's religion was, but investigators are trying to determine if Hasan was his birth name or if he may have changed his name and converted to Islam at some point.
A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was going on nearby at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a Fort Hood spokeswoman.
Greg Schanepp, U.S. Rep. John Carter's regional director in Texas, was representing Carter at the graduation, said John Stone, a spokesman for Carter, whose district includes the Army post.
Schanepp was at the ceremony when a soldier who had been shot in the back came running toward him and alerted him of the shooting, Stone said. The soldier told Schanepp not to go in the direction of the shooter, he said.
The base was locked down after the shootings. The wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas, Cone said. Nine were taken to Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple. A hospital spokeswoman says all had been shot and are adults. A Fort Hood spokesman said he could not immediately confirm any identities of the injured.
Lisa Pfund of Random Lake, Wis., says her daughter, 19-year-old Amber Bahr, was shot in the stomach but was in stable condition. "We know nothing, just that she was shot in the belly," Pfund told The Associated Press. She couldn't provide more details and only spoke with emergency personnel.
"I ask that all of you keep these families and these individuals in your prayers today," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said.
The shootings on the Texas military base stirred memories of other recent mass shootings in the United States, including 13 dead at a New York immigrant center in March, 10 killed during a gunman's rampage across Alabama in March and 32 killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at Virginia Tech in 2007.
Around the country, some bases stepped up security precautions, but no others were locked down.
"The bottom line for us is that we are increasing security at our gates because the threat hasn't yet been defined, and we're reminding our Marines to be vigilant in their areas of responsibility," said Capt. Rob Dolan, public affairs officer for the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz.
In Washington, President Barack Obama called the shooting "a horrific outburst of violence." He said it's a tragedy to lose a soldier overseas and even more horrifying when they come under fire at an Army base on American soil.
"We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident," the commander in chief said. "We are going to stay on this."
Covering 339 square miles, Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored post in the United States. Home to about 52,000 troops as of earlier this year, the sprawling base is located halfway between Austin and Waco.
About a mile from Fort Hood's east gate, Cynthia Thomas, director of Under the Hood Cafe, a coffee house and outreach center, was calling soldiers and friends on the post to make sure they're OK.
"It's chaotic," Thomas said, as a SWAT team just drove by. "The phones are jammed. Everybody is calling family members and friends. Soldiers are running around with M-16s."
Fort Hood officially opened on Sept. 18, 1942, and was named in honor of Gen. John Bell Hood. It has been continuously used for armored training and is charged with maintaining readiness for combat missions.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Largest cruise ship squeezes under Danish bridge
KORSOER, Denmark – The world's largest cruise ship cleared a crucial obstacle Sunday, lowering its smokestacks to squeeze under a bridge in Denmark.
The Oasis of the Seas — which rises about 20 stories high — passed below the Great Belt Fixed Link with a slim margin as it left the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage to Florida.
Bridge operators said that even after lowering its telescopic smokestacks the giant ship had less than a 2-foot (half-meter) gap.
Hundreds of people gathered on beaches at both ends of the bridge, waiting for hours to watch the brightly lit behemoth sail by shortly after midnight (2300GMT; 7 p.m. EDT).
"It was fantastic to see it glide under the bridge. Boy, it was big," said Kurt Hal, 56.
Company officials are banking that its novelty will help guarantee its success. Five times larger than the Titanic, the $1.5 billion ship has seven neighborhoods, an ice rink, a small golf course and a 750-seat outdoor amphitheater. It has 2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members.
Accommodations include loft cabins, with floor-to-ceiling windows, and 1,600-square-foot (487-meter) luxury suites with balconies overlooking the sea or promenades.
The liner also has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children.
Oasis of the Sea, nearly 40 percent larger than the industry's next-biggest ship, was conceived years before the economic downturn caused desperate cruise lines to slash prices to fill vacant berths.
It was built by STX Finland for Royal Caribbean International and left the shipyard in Finland on Friday. Officials hadn't expected any problems in passing the Great Belt bridge, but traffic was stopped for about 15 minutes as a precaution when the ship approached, Danish navy spokesman Joergen Brand said.
Aboard the Oasis of the Seas, project manager Toivo Ilvonen of STX Finland confirmed that the ship had passed under the bridge without any incidents.
"Nothing fell off," he said.
The enormous ship features various "neighborhoods" — parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of them will be a tropical environment, including palm trees and vines among the total 12,000 plants on board. They will be planted after the ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale.
In the stern, a 750-seat outdoor theater — modeled on an ancient Greek amphitheater — doubles as a swimming pool by day and an ocean front theater by night. The pool has a diving tower with spring boards and two 33-foot (10-meter) high-dive platforms. An indoor theater seats 1,300 guests.
One of the "neighborhoods," named Central Park, features a square with boutiques, restaurants and bars, including a bar that moves up and down three decks, allowing customers to get on and off at different levels.
Once home, the $1.5 billion floating extravaganza will have more, if less visible, obstacles to duck: a sagging U.S. economy, questions about the consumer appetite for luxury cruises and criticism that such sailing behemoths are damaging to the environment and diminish the experience of traveling.
It is due to make its U.S. debut on Nov. 20 at its home port, Port Everglades in Florida.
The Oasis of the Seas — which rises about 20 stories high — passed below the Great Belt Fixed Link with a slim margin as it left the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage to Florida.
Bridge operators said that even after lowering its telescopic smokestacks the giant ship had less than a 2-foot (half-meter) gap.
Hundreds of people gathered on beaches at both ends of the bridge, waiting for hours to watch the brightly lit behemoth sail by shortly after midnight (2300GMT; 7 p.m. EDT).
"It was fantastic to see it glide under the bridge. Boy, it was big," said Kurt Hal, 56.
Company officials are banking that its novelty will help guarantee its success. Five times larger than the Titanic, the $1.5 billion ship has seven neighborhoods, an ice rink, a small golf course and a 750-seat outdoor amphitheater. It has 2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members.
Accommodations include loft cabins, with floor-to-ceiling windows, and 1,600-square-foot (487-meter) luxury suites with balconies overlooking the sea or promenades.
The liner also has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children.
Oasis of the Sea, nearly 40 percent larger than the industry's next-biggest ship, was conceived years before the economic downturn caused desperate cruise lines to slash prices to fill vacant berths.
It was built by STX Finland for Royal Caribbean International and left the shipyard in Finland on Friday. Officials hadn't expected any problems in passing the Great Belt bridge, but traffic was stopped for about 15 minutes as a precaution when the ship approached, Danish navy spokesman Joergen Brand said.
Aboard the Oasis of the Seas, project manager Toivo Ilvonen of STX Finland confirmed that the ship had passed under the bridge without any incidents.
"Nothing fell off," he said.
The enormous ship features various "neighborhoods" — parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of them will be a tropical environment, including palm trees and vines among the total 12,000 plants on board. They will be planted after the ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale.
In the stern, a 750-seat outdoor theater — modeled on an ancient Greek amphitheater — doubles as a swimming pool by day and an ocean front theater by night. The pool has a diving tower with spring boards and two 33-foot (10-meter) high-dive platforms. An indoor theater seats 1,300 guests.
One of the "neighborhoods," named Central Park, features a square with boutiques, restaurants and bars, including a bar that moves up and down three decks, allowing customers to get on and off at different levels.
Once home, the $1.5 billion floating extravaganza will have more, if less visible, obstacles to duck: a sagging U.S. economy, questions about the consumer appetite for luxury cruises and criticism that such sailing behemoths are damaging to the environment and diminish the experience of traveling.
It is due to make its U.S. debut on Nov. 20 at its home port, Port Everglades in Florida.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Maine girl with ‘mermaid syndrome’ dies at 10
‘Tough little thing’ gained following on Internet, TV
PORTLAND, Maine - Shiloh Pepin, a girl who was born with fused legs, a rare condition often called "mermaid syndrome," and gained a wide following on the Internet and U.S. television, has died. She was 10.
Doctors had predicted she would at most only survive for days after her birth. The girl died at Maine Medical Center on Friday afternoon, hospital spokesman John Lamb said. She had been hospitalized in critical condition for nearly a week.
Being born with "mermaid syndrome," also known as sirenomelia, meant that the Kennebunkport girl had only one partially working kidney, no lower colon or genital organs and legs fused from the waist down.
Some children who have survived sirenomelia have had surgery to separate their legs, but Shiloh did not because blood vessels crossing from side to side in her circulatory system would have been severed. She had received two kidney transplants, the last one in 2007.
Her story was featured recently on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and other national television programs.
Earlier this month, her mother, Leslie Pepin, said her daughter came down with a cold that quickly turned to pneumonia. Shiloh was rushed to Maine Medical Center on Oct. 10 and was placed on antibiotics and a ventilator.
For a while, Leslie Pepin said, things were looking up. "She's a tough little thing," she said of her daughter earlier this week.
Shiloh was a fifth-grader at Kennebunkport Consolidated School. "She was such a shining personality in that building," said Maureen King, chairwoman of the board of the regional school district. Counselors will be available next week to talk to students.
Through the television shows, news articles, Facebook and other Web sites, Shiloh inspired many.
"I live in Iowa. I have cerebral palsy. I love your video," 12-year-old Lydia Dawley wrote to Shiloh on Facebook. "You have a great personality I wish you lived close so we could be friends and hang out. You opened my eyes because you are so brave."
PORTLAND, Maine - Shiloh Pepin, a girl who was born with fused legs, a rare condition often called "mermaid syndrome," and gained a wide following on the Internet and U.S. television, has died. She was 10.
Doctors had predicted she would at most only survive for days after her birth. The girl died at Maine Medical Center on Friday afternoon, hospital spokesman John Lamb said. She had been hospitalized in critical condition for nearly a week.
Being born with "mermaid syndrome," also known as sirenomelia, meant that the Kennebunkport girl had only one partially working kidney, no lower colon or genital organs and legs fused from the waist down.
Some children who have survived sirenomelia have had surgery to separate their legs, but Shiloh did not because blood vessels crossing from side to side in her circulatory system would have been severed. She had received two kidney transplants, the last one in 2007.
Her story was featured recently on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and other national television programs.
Earlier this month, her mother, Leslie Pepin, said her daughter came down with a cold that quickly turned to pneumonia. Shiloh was rushed to Maine Medical Center on Oct. 10 and was placed on antibiotics and a ventilator.
For a while, Leslie Pepin said, things were looking up. "She's a tough little thing," she said of her daughter earlier this week.
Shiloh was a fifth-grader at Kennebunkport Consolidated School. "She was such a shining personality in that building," said Maureen King, chairwoman of the board of the regional school district. Counselors will be available next week to talk to students.
Through the television shows, news articles, Facebook and other Web sites, Shiloh inspired many.
"I live in Iowa. I have cerebral palsy. I love your video," 12-year-old Lydia Dawley wrote to Shiloh on Facebook. "You have a great personality I wish you lived close so we could be friends and hang out. You opened my eyes because you are so brave."
Health fears calmed as Puerto Rico fuel tank blaze is controlled
Five tanks were still burning Saturday evening at a fuel storage complex in Puerto Rico, another 12 were still smoking but posed no danger and four had burned themselves out and collapsed, Gov. Luis Fortuno said.
Hundreds of firefighters have been battling the blaze at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. facility in the municipality of Bayamon, near San Juan, since shortly after midnight Friday. The initial explosion shook the ground with the force of a 2.8 magnitude earthquake.
"Our mission right now is to contain the fire and not have it affect the other tanks," Fortuno said at a news conference.
Firefighters will likely remain busy.
"It's quite an intense fire, and it's going to burn for quite a while," said Jeff Wanko, the lead investigator with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, an independent government agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents.
Eric Guzman, vice president of marketing for Caribbean Petroleum, said the company hired a firm that specializes in putting out fires, El Nuevo Dia newspaper reported. The private firefighters were expected to arrive Saturday night. Guzman added that he could not say how much fuel was in the tanks when the fire started, but the blaze could be extinguished by Monday afternoon.
The cause of the explosion remained unknown but officials were investigating. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the storage facility Saturday and "treating it as a crime scene," Wanko said.
The crime scene designation is routine, he said, and investigators rarely find criminal intent.
Federal agencies have jurisdiction over Puerto Rico because it is a territory of the United States.
Air quality remained good despite the fire's thick plume of black smoke, the governor said. The Environmental Protection Agency will continue to monitor the air, he said.
"We're not finding levels that would be of concern," said EPA spokesman Bonnie Bellow. "The fire is so intense that it is burning off chemicals that are part of the fuel."
The Caribbean Petroleum storage complex sits near San Juan's bay, but no water contamination had been found other than a small oil slick at a nearby channel that had been contained, Fortuno said.
A containment pool on the property has caught the runoff from the water used to fight the fires, Fortuno said. That water will be removed and treated, he said.
Officials had been concerned because a wind shift Saturday had put more residents at risk from smoke inhalation, but there were no reports of any problems.
Authorities also had been concerned that precipitation Saturday mixed with the smoke could lead to acid rain, but that also had not presented any reported problems.
The governor sought to allay any fears over gasoline supplies. Caribbean Petroleum, which owns 200 gas stations in Puerto Rico and several inland distribution facilities, supplies much of the island's fuel.
In the next 48 hours, Fortuno said, Puerto Rico will receive 3.6 million gallons of regular gasoline, more than 1 million gallons of premium gasoline and more than 1 million gallons of diesel fuel.
"There's no reason to worry in the least," he said.
Even though hundreds of nearby residents had been evacuated, Fortuno said "there is no need to move anyone else at this moment." More than 500 people spent Friday night in two shelters.
About 1,450 inmates were transferred from prisons near the fire and taken to other facilities throughout the island.
There were other disruptions: Boy band Jonas Brothers rescheduled until December a concert that was supposed to be held Saturday in San Juan.
Watch iReporter's account of the blast and fire Video
Many residents said this was the first time they had encountered anything like the fire, at least in person.
For Carlos Salgado, the massive clouds of black smoke reminded him of the horrifying TV images he'd seen after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Early Saturday morning, Salgado stood on the balcony of his San Juan home, about 10 miles from the blast site, and watched fireballs illuminate the night sky.
iReport.com: See, share, send images of the explosion
"I've never seen anything like this in Puerto Rico," said Salgado, the legal counsel for the emergency corps that manages ambulances on the Caribbean island.
He could hear explosions, and acrid air burned his nostrils as winds shifted westward, carrying the thick smoke over populated areas of the island. The wind had been blowing the smoke to the north Friday, over less populated areas and the Atlantic Ocean.
Fortuno said he declared a state of emergency for the area so Puerto Rico can get aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The fire, he said Saturday, had already cost the island $6.4 million. Money can be recovered, he said, from the oil company, FEMA and the EPA.
FBI Special Agent Harry Rodriguez confirmed Friday that the agency is investigating graffiti found on two San Juan tunnels that referred to a fire. A spray-painted message on the two tunnels, less than three miles apart, said: "Boom, fire, RIP, Gulf, Soul, ACNF."
Caribbean Petroleum owns the Gulf Oil brand in Puerto Rico.
Rodriguez said he did not know what or who ACNF is.
Investigators are not discounting any possibilities, said Orlando Felix, resident ATF agent in charge in Puerto Rico. The company has had violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the main law in the United States that deals with the disposal of solid and hazardous wastes, said Bellow, the EPA spokeswoman. Caribbean Petroleum, she said, is under a corrective-action plan.
Pedro Nieves, chairman of the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board, said Caribbean Petroleum has a history of spills. Fortuno, the governor, announced Saturday that some aspects of life on the island will soon get back to normal. All but one elementary school in Catano will be open Monday. Schools in Bayamon, San Juan, Toa Baja and Catano had been closed Friday.
Hundreds of firefighters have been battling the blaze at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. facility in the municipality of Bayamon, near San Juan, since shortly after midnight Friday. The initial explosion shook the ground with the force of a 2.8 magnitude earthquake.
"Our mission right now is to contain the fire and not have it affect the other tanks," Fortuno said at a news conference.
Firefighters will likely remain busy.
"It's quite an intense fire, and it's going to burn for quite a while," said Jeff Wanko, the lead investigator with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, an independent government agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents.
Eric Guzman, vice president of marketing for Caribbean Petroleum, said the company hired a firm that specializes in putting out fires, El Nuevo Dia newspaper reported. The private firefighters were expected to arrive Saturday night. Guzman added that he could not say how much fuel was in the tanks when the fire started, but the blaze could be extinguished by Monday afternoon.
The cause of the explosion remained unknown but officials were investigating. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the storage facility Saturday and "treating it as a crime scene," Wanko said.
The crime scene designation is routine, he said, and investigators rarely find criminal intent.
Federal agencies have jurisdiction over Puerto Rico because it is a territory of the United States.
Air quality remained good despite the fire's thick plume of black smoke, the governor said. The Environmental Protection Agency will continue to monitor the air, he said.
"We're not finding levels that would be of concern," said EPA spokesman Bonnie Bellow. "The fire is so intense that it is burning off chemicals that are part of the fuel."
The Caribbean Petroleum storage complex sits near San Juan's bay, but no water contamination had been found other than a small oil slick at a nearby channel that had been contained, Fortuno said.
A containment pool on the property has caught the runoff from the water used to fight the fires, Fortuno said. That water will be removed and treated, he said.
Officials had been concerned because a wind shift Saturday had put more residents at risk from smoke inhalation, but there were no reports of any problems.
Authorities also had been concerned that precipitation Saturday mixed with the smoke could lead to acid rain, but that also had not presented any reported problems.
The governor sought to allay any fears over gasoline supplies. Caribbean Petroleum, which owns 200 gas stations in Puerto Rico and several inland distribution facilities, supplies much of the island's fuel.
In the next 48 hours, Fortuno said, Puerto Rico will receive 3.6 million gallons of regular gasoline, more than 1 million gallons of premium gasoline and more than 1 million gallons of diesel fuel.
"There's no reason to worry in the least," he said.
Even though hundreds of nearby residents had been evacuated, Fortuno said "there is no need to move anyone else at this moment." More than 500 people spent Friday night in two shelters.
About 1,450 inmates were transferred from prisons near the fire and taken to other facilities throughout the island.
There were other disruptions: Boy band Jonas Brothers rescheduled until December a concert that was supposed to be held Saturday in San Juan.
Watch iReporter's account of the blast and fire Video
Many residents said this was the first time they had encountered anything like the fire, at least in person.
For Carlos Salgado, the massive clouds of black smoke reminded him of the horrifying TV images he'd seen after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Early Saturday morning, Salgado stood on the balcony of his San Juan home, about 10 miles from the blast site, and watched fireballs illuminate the night sky.
iReport.com: See, share, send images of the explosion
"I've never seen anything like this in Puerto Rico," said Salgado, the legal counsel for the emergency corps that manages ambulances on the Caribbean island.
He could hear explosions, and acrid air burned his nostrils as winds shifted westward, carrying the thick smoke over populated areas of the island. The wind had been blowing the smoke to the north Friday, over less populated areas and the Atlantic Ocean.
Fortuno said he declared a state of emergency for the area so Puerto Rico can get aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The fire, he said Saturday, had already cost the island $6.4 million. Money can be recovered, he said, from the oil company, FEMA and the EPA.
FBI Special Agent Harry Rodriguez confirmed Friday that the agency is investigating graffiti found on two San Juan tunnels that referred to a fire. A spray-painted message on the two tunnels, less than three miles apart, said: "Boom, fire, RIP, Gulf, Soul, ACNF."
Caribbean Petroleum owns the Gulf Oil brand in Puerto Rico.
Rodriguez said he did not know what or who ACNF is.
Investigators are not discounting any possibilities, said Orlando Felix, resident ATF agent in charge in Puerto Rico. The company has had violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the main law in the United States that deals with the disposal of solid and hazardous wastes, said Bellow, the EPA spokeswoman. Caribbean Petroleum, she said, is under a corrective-action plan.
Pedro Nieves, chairman of the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board, said Caribbean Petroleum has a history of spills. Fortuno, the governor, announced Saturday that some aspects of life on the island will soon get back to normal. All but one elementary school in Catano will be open Monday. Schools in Bayamon, San Juan, Toa Baja and Catano had been closed Friday.
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