Woman Could Hold Vital Clues To Cruise Crash

Nick Pisa, on the island of Giglio

A woman who says she was with the captain on the bridge of the Costa Concordia after it ran aground off an Italian island has emerged as a potential new witness.

Police are trying to track down the woman, who is believed to be Moldovan, saying she could hold the key to how the disaster happened.

Witnesses have said that the young blonde woman appeared to know Schettino and was even seen sitting in a reception room next to the bridge.

Italian media have reported that she was also seen dining with the captain at around 9pm - just under 30 minutes before the ship struck a reef near Giglio on the Tuscan coast.

Costa Cruises denied reports suggesting the woman was not on the official passenger manifest.

Domnica Cemortan says she was not in the bridge at the time of the crash

"Based on the pictures broadcast by the media, the woman... was certainly embarked on January 13 in Civitavecchia and duly registered," the company said in a statement.

"The company is ready to provide the authorities, when requested, with the identity of the person and the number of the ticket purchased."

:: Click here for our graphic sequence to find out how the cruise liner ended up on its side

The woman has not been officially identified but Italian media suggests it is Dominica Cemortan, 25, from Chisnau, Moldavia, who was working as a passenger representative for Costa Cruises.

It has been reported that Schettino may have been trying to impress her - on top of the allegations police are investigating that he took the ship off course to "make a salute".

Ms Cemortan is believed to have given a brief interview to the media after the tragedy where she defended Schettino, saying that his actions had helped save the lives of holidaymakers and crew.

Captain Francesco Schettino is under house arrest

As her name emerged, she reportedly changed her home town on her Facebook profile to Zanzibar in Tanzania.

Her mother has also been quoted in the media saying her daughter had worked on the ship but that her contract had expired, adding that her family had bought her a holiday on board for her birthday.

In an interview with a Moldovan newspaper, Ms Cemortan later confirmed she was on the ship but denied she was in the bridge at the time of the incident.

She said she was called there afterwards and asked by the captain to use her Russian-speaking skills to assist passengers.

The latest revelation comes as divers resumed the search of the 290m vessel for the 21 passengers and three crew who are still missing.

There are growing fears the ship may slip off the rocks it is perched on and sink to the bottom of the sea amid forecasts of bad weather.

Animation Details Cruise Liner's Final Route

Sky News has obtained a report and animated reconstruction of the Costa Concordia's final route based on shipping navigational data.

The animation shows the cruise liner hitting an "exposed rock" before continuing on.

The report - from professional sources - details the vessel's route, which is superimposed over shipping charts of the area.

One of the images depicts the liner, a "safety contour" outline around the island of Giglio and the heading "struck exposed rock with a speed of 15 knots".

The animation based on AIS navigation data shows the ship hitting an "exposed rock"

The report is based on information from the Automatic Identification System (AIS), an automatic tracking system used by vessel traffic services (VTS) to locate and identify ships.

It works by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships and AIS base stations.

Marine radar is the primary method of collision avoidance for water transport, supported by AIS information.

:: Click here for our graphic sequence to find out how the cruise liner ended up on its side.

The report comes a day after claims emerged that the cruise liner's captain has admitted to investigators he ordered the ship to turn too late.

The ship's captain Francesco Schettino is now under house arrest

According to a leaked transcript being quoted in the Italian media, Francesco Schettino - who has been put under house arrest - admitted making the mistake that led to the Costa Concordia hitting a rock.

"I was navigating by sight because I knew the depths well and I had done this manoeuvre three or four times," he reportedly said.

But this time I ordered the turn too late and I ended up in water that was too shallow. I don't know why it happened."

Schettino has appeared in court accused of causing the accident by coming too close to the shore so he could "make a salute" and also of abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete.

Meanwhile, divers and salvage teams are facing a race against time to recover bodies and siphon fuel from the stricken Costa Concordia.

Earlier, the bodies of four victims - two French, an Italian and a Peruvian - were identified. The bodies of Jeanne Gannard and Pierre Gregoire were pulled from the wreckage earlier this week.

Worsening weather conditions are threatening to shift the ship off the rocks and send it to the bottom of the sea, piling pressure on those carrying out the search for the people who are still missing.

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Frantic Final Moments Of Liner

Dramatic new pictures have emerged of the panicked, final moments of the Costa Concordia as a damning new audio recording reveals the crew initially refused offers of help.

A taped ship-to-shore call, which took place 30 minutes after the liner hit a rock, reveals how senior officers on board were slow to act and intially denied there was anything seriously wrong.

The crew member was recorded telling the coastguard that the ship had suffered a power outage and said there was no emergency on board.

The conversation began at 10.12pm local time.

By then, many of the 4,200 passengers and crew had called relatives on their mobile phones asking them to alert the police, who in turn asked the coastguard to check on the state of the ship.

When asked by the coastguard if there are problems on board, the crew member replies: "We've had a blackout, we are checking the conditions on board."

:: Click here for an animated reconstruction of the Costa Concordia's final route based on AIS shipping navigational data.

Rescue teams work to find passengers and crew identified as missing

Despite further questioning by the port official, the crew member repeats that there has been a blackout, promising to keep the coastguard informed.

Meanwhile, divers are continuing to search for victims on the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia in a race against time.

Forecasts of worsening weather are threatening to shift the ship off the rocks and send it to the bottom of the sea.

The head of the firefighters' diving team, Modesto Dilda, warned earlier of a "12 to 24-hour window to complete operations" but the chief firefighters spokesman, Luca Cari, has insisted there is no deadline set for completing the search.

Four more of those who lost their lives in the disaster have been identified.

Two bodies pulled from the wreckage earlier this week have been named as missing passengers Jeanne Gannard and Pierre Gregoire, both French nationals.

An Italian and a Peruvian have also been identified as emergency teams continue to look for the other 21 people still missing.

A satellite image of the Costa Concordia (Pic: Digital Globe)

Plans to remove oil from the capsized Costa Concordia have been delayed after the ship shifted precariously on a rocky ledge off the Tuscan coast.

Hopes of finding anyone alive have evaporated and salvage experts are keen to begin pumping 2,300 tonnes of fuel from the vessel's tanks.

Weather conditions had been favourable since the disaster struck - leaving at least 11 dead and 21 missing - but the search was suspended all day on Wednesday when the ship slipped by around 5ft (1.5m).

The search has resumed but with forecasters predicting the sea will get rougher over coming days, those carrying out the search and salvage teams are under mounting pressure.

Environment Minister Corrado Clini told parliament there was a risk the ship could slip down 164ft to 295ft (50m to 90m) from the reef it is resting on, sparking major pollution fears.

He said ship operator Costa Cruises had been instructed to ensure steps are "rapidly completed" to limit the damage if the ship's fuel tanks rupture, including putting in place some 3,280ft (1,000m) of pollution barriers.

:: Click here for our graphic sequence to find out how the cruise liner ended up on its side

Captain Francesco Schettino has been put under house arrest

Mr Clini added that fuel extraction would take at least two weeks - but could not begin until the search for survivors and bodies had been completed.

It comes as authorities named one of the ship's musicians as being among the dead. Hungarian Sandor Feher, 38, was found inside the ship on Wednesday.

The violinist was reportedly seen on the deck helping crying children put on their lifejackets when he decided to return to his cabin to pack his violin.

It follows the ship's captain Francesco Schettino - who has been put under house arrest - appearing before an Italian judge on Tuesday.

He has been accused of causing the accident by coming too close to the shore so he could "make a salute" and also of abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete.

According to a leaked transcript being quoted in Italian media, Schettino has admitted to investigators he made a mistake that caused the ship to hit the reef.

"I was navigating by sight because I knew the depths well and I had done this manoeuvre three or four times," he reportedly said.

"But this time I ordered the turn too late and I ended up in water that was too shallow. I don't know why it happened."

Meanwhile, in a statement Costa Cruises said that it would refund all passengers who were onboard - and that it would also cover all expenses incurred by holidaymakers in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

It added: "Costa Cruises confirms both the constant commitment and care it devotes every day to safety and its dedication to relations with the guests who represent the company's most important asset, as they have done for more than 60 years.

"Costa Cruises would like once again to express its great sadness over the victims and its support for their families."

The statement came as it emerged 35 Russian passengers were planning to sue the company for damages.

Monitors In Syria 'Want To Extend Mission'

Lisa Holland, foreign affairs correspondent

Arab League monitors are likely to recommend extending their mission in Syria and believe they have succeeded in taking heavy weapons off the streets to protect civilians, Sky News has learned.

The chief monitor is expected to publish the report later today or on Friday.

And Sky sources suggest it will say the Syrian authorities have broadly co-operated but that the violence has continued.

The mission has been hit by controversy, with the opposition claiming it serves as a cover for the regime to continue its brutal crackdown against protesters.

Syrian government tanks and armoured vehicles pulled back from the embattled mountain town of Zabadani near the capital Damascus, activists and witnesses said.

But at least nine people were reportedly killed by security forces elsewhere as the month-long fact-finding mission expired.

 

 

Opposition figures claim up to 25 people a day are being killed in the uprising - a figure which is up since the start of the observer mission.

Arab League foreign ministers will consider extending the mission at two meetings in Cairo, Egypt, over the weekend.

The monitors will remain in 17 different places around Syria until the organisation makes a final decision, says Adnan al Khudeir, head of Cairo operations room that handles reports by the monitors.

The monitors have been operating inside Syria since the end of December.

They are likely to highlight some areas where the Syrians have co-operated but the reality is the violence has continued.

They also claim they are breaking down fear amongst protesters about going onto the streets to demonstrate.

The uprising has hit Syria's economy hard, with tourism almost collapsing and trade down too.

Before the protests early last year, it is claimed the hotels were nearly all full but the numbers have fallen dramatically.

Crac des Chevaliers has seen visitor numbers fall since the uprising

At the world-famous Crac des Chevaliers, a 12th-century Crusader castle, there are now only about 10 visitors a day, and fewer than 10 European tourists a month.

It is also claimed some truck drivers are afraid to use trade routes from Turkey. They say the roads are dangerous to use at night due to terrorists.

And at the Mediterranean city of Tartus, the port is quiet.

With trade reduced, this may do more harm to the regime than protests and condemnation from foreign powers.

President Bashar al Assad is continuing to stand firm, despite growing international pressure over the violence in the country.

Tartus is the main Mediterranean port used by the Russian Navy, and Syria still has support from Moscow and China at the UN Security Council.

Russia says it will block any attempts by Western military to intervene in Syria.
And Lebanon and Iraq - Arab League members that both border Syria - still also back it.

See pictures below taken by the Sky News team in Syria.

Leap second decision is postponed

A decision on whether to abolish the leap second - the occasional, extra second added to the world's time - has been deferred.

Experts at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) were unable to reach a consensus, so moved the matter to a meeting in 2015.

The US argued at the meeting that leap seconds were causing problems for communication and navigation systems.

But the UK said that the long-term consequences of losing it were great.

An ITU spokesman said that Canada, Japan, Italy, Mexico and France all supported the United States' stance on losing the leap second, while Germany, like the UK, wanted the extra second to stay.

More countries though, including Nigeria, Russia and Turkey, wanted further study.

As a result, the ITU decided that more research was needed to consider the broader social implications of losing the leap second before a decision could be taken.

The ITU suggested that a study group should investigate the issue, before presenting any proposals at the next World Radio Conference in 2015.

It means that for now, the world's time will continue to be linked to the Earth's rotation.

The next leap second is due to be added on 30 June 2012.

Out of time

The leap second was introduced in 1972.

It was added to keep our modern timekeepers - atomic clocks, which rely on the vibrations in atoms to provide a very accurate measurement of time - in line with our slightly less reliable timekeeper, the Earth.

Because our planet wobbles a little on its axis as it spins, it means some days end up being a few milliseconds longer or shorter than others.

This means that over time, the time based on atomic clocks, and the time based on the Earth's rotation drift further and further apart.

When this difference is deemed by the International Earth Rotation Service, which monitors the Earth's activity, to be approximately 0.9 seconds, a leap second is added to pull the two back into sync.

Sometimes a leap second can be added every year, sometimes not for several, with six-months' notice provided before action needs to be taken.

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What is a leap second? The BBC's Rebecca Morelle went to Greenwich's Royal Observatory to find out

Those who wanted to lose the leap second said that the one-second increments were becoming increasingly problematic for a vast range of modern navigational and communication systems, such as sat-nav, financial services, air traffic control and the internet.

These all rely on having a continuous and stable timescale, so adding a somewhat unpredictable, one-second increment can be disruptive.

The UK, though, says any problems are exaggerated - and that losing the leap second could cause long-term problems, as the time based on the atomic clocks and the time based on the Earth's rotation would move ever further apart.

Over decades, this would amount to a minute's difference, but over 500 years this could be an hour, and over thousands of years, the Sun could be setting when atomic clocks claim it is morning.

Peter Whibberley, senior research scientist at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, UK, who is leading the UK's delegation, said: "This result achieves the UK's aims of securing much broader debate and understanding of the consequences of ending the link between UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) and solar time before a final decision is taken."

More on This Story

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• Experts mull leap second's future 19 JANUARY 2012, SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT
• Time to change the world's time? 04 NOVEMBER 2011, SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT
• The bizarre world of time zones 24 MARCH 2011, WORLD
• Extra second to keep UK on time 31 DECEMBER 2008, SCI/TECH
• At the centre of time 20 OCTOBER 2009, MAGAZINE
• UK atomic clock is most accurate 26 AUGUST 2011, SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

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• World Radiocommunication Conference 2012
• National Physical Laboratory

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Olympic anti-doping lab unveiled as most high-tech ever

A laboratory hailed as the most high-tech in the history of the Olympics has been unveiled.

The lab is the centrepiece of the fight against doping at London 2012.

Organisers said the new Essex-based facility, estimated to be the size of seven tennis courts, will carry out more tests than at any prior Olympics.

The lab will operate 24 hours a day during the games, ensuring that every medallist and more than half of all competitors will be tested.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has donated and equipped the lab, which the company says is the major part of its £20m contribution to the games.

Continue reading the main story

London 2012 - One extraordinary year

• The BBC's home of 2012: Latest Olympic news, sport, culture, torch relay, video and audio

More than 1,000 people - mostly volunteers - will be involved in all aspects of collecting and processing samples.

The key work of analysing and determining if a sample is drug-positive or negative will be carried out by a team of more than 150 anti-doping scientists, flown in from all over the world.

They will be led by Prof David Cowan from King's College London.

He promised "super-fast and super-sensitive technologies to be able to detect the use of prohibited substances".

Speaking at the unveiling, UK Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson promised there would be no place to hide for cheats.

"We cannot absolutely guarantee that these will be a drug-free games," he said.

Despite its distance from the Olympic Park, the lab will return results for some tests within 24 hours

"But we can guarantee that we have got the very best system possible to try and catch anybody who even thinks of cheating."

Even though the laboratory is based near Harlow in Essex, the organisers are promising that all negative results will be turned round within 24 hours.

Positives will be returned in 48 hours, with the exception of the endurance boosting drug erythropoietin (EPO), which will take 72 hours.

Prof Cowan believes that athletes who use the courts to challenge the process of testing will be wasting their time.

"When people try to challenge, they won't be successful," he said. "We are going to be fast, sensitive and efficient, and we are going to be right."

This will be the first time that a pharmaceutical company has sponsored an Olympic anti-doping lab - but according to GlaxoSmithKline chief executive Sir Andrew Witty, there is no conflict of interest.

"Our involvement is the support and delivery of the facility; we have no role in the testing process," he said.

"We're not involved. You can be 1,000% reassured that there's no overlap, no conflict."

Not only is GlaxoSmithKline paying for the new lab, it has also entered into an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to share information on all their drugs, including products under development.

Sir Andrew now wants other firms to follow suit.

"If we could get that done on a broader basis, it would really close the net on people's potential to come up with molecules that WADA just weren't familiar with," he said.

Pakistan kidnap: Two foreigners seized in Multan

Two foreigners have been kidnapped from the city of Multan in Pakistan's Punjab province, local police say.

The Italian foreign ministry said that one of the two is Italian and that it is in contact with the victim's family.

The two are believed to be foreign NGO workers, with the other victim thought to be German.

The two were working for a development agency helping victims of the 2010 floods, reports say.

"Three armed men entered the house and kidnapped two foreign nationals. One of them is an Italian national and the other we believe to be German," local police spokesman Amir Zulfiqar told Reuters.

"So far we have not established a motive but it is too early to say. We are continuing investigations," he added.