Italy cruise ship Costa Concordia: Search for missing

The Independent’s travel editor Simon Calder: ”It is unbelievable … that this should happen to a 21st Century ship”

Emergency teams in Italy are racing to rescue those missing after a cruise ship ran aground off the country’s west coast with about 4,000 people on board. 

70TH BIRTHDAY FOR ALI In this file photo, Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie shakes hands with guests after a welcoming ceremony for the Ryder Cup golf tournament in Louisville, Ky. The three-time heavyweight boxing champion will celebrate a milestone birthday Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, when he turns 70.  Ali will be surrounded by friends who are gathering Saturday evening, Jan. 14, 2012, for a birthday party at the Muhammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville. 

Guantanamo Bay Taliban Detainees To Be Released

ARAB COUNCIL SAYS TANKS WITHDRAW FROM SYRIA

REPORTING FROM BEIRUT AND CAIRO — Syria’s government has taken steps to comply with a regional initiative to end months of bloodshed, including pulling tanks out of cities and releasing nearly 3,500 detainees, the head of the Arab League said Monday. 

But he said gunfire continued and called for a halt to the hostilities. 

POPE IGNORES MEXICO CITY IN UPCOMING TRIP TO LATIN AMERICAN TRIP

REPORTING FROM MEXICO CITY — Pope Benedict XVI will not include a stop in Mexico City on his trip to Latin America this spring, a tour that includes Mexico and Cuba.  The reason, church officials say, is not fear about his security but rather concern for the 84-year-old pontiff’s health.  The sprawling capital sits at more than 7,000 feet, an altitude that can cause sickness in some people. 

British police investigate discovery of body on queen’s estate

REPORTING FROM LONDON — There were all the elements of a mystery novel Britons love so well: a wooded area on the queen’s country estate, a neighbor out walking a dog through the trees during the winter holidays, a body discovered. 

A corner of Queen Elizabeth II’s country estate of Sandringham, where the British royal family traditionally spends the Christmas and New Year holidays, became a homicide crime scene Tuesday. 

Police in nearby King’s Lynn, about 100 miles northeast of London, launched a murder inquiry after the discovery of the body of a woman in the woods close to Anmer, a village on the 20,000-acre area of farmland and woods owned by the royal family. 

Norfolk Constabulary statements Monday and Tuesday reported that the remains were found on New Year’s Day on the royal estate’s 600 acres, which are open to the public year round and used by local hikers. 

Police gave no suggestion as to a possible cause or time of death and provided few details.  Detective Chief Inspector Jes Fry of Norfolk police said at an on-scene news conference that the inquiry could be “complex.” 

“The body has been in situ for some time,” he said. “ The circumstances suggest this is a murder case.” 

Sculptor works to reshape the Iraqi art world

Abdul Hameed returned from exile and found his old art institute in deplorable condition.  He’s now focused on restoring it, and is inspiring his young students. 

A statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad stands headless in 2003 after having been vandalized.  During the Hussein years, only statues for — and of — Hussein were encouraged, Iraqi sculptor Abdul Hameed remembers.  Even if the Hussein era brought him pain, Hameed objects to moves by the Baghdad provincial council to remove all statues related to the dictator. ( Carolyn Cole, Los Angeles Times / April 12, 2003)

Russia: Nuclear Submarine Fire Extinguished

A grab from images released by Russia Today shows fire crew trying to extinguish a fire on board the Russian nuclear submarine Yekaterinburg docked in Murmansk on December 29, 2011. 

Jamaica Election Results: Labor Party Thrown Out By Opposition

Portia Simpson Miller, leader of the People’s National Party, pumps her fist to supporters during the victory rally of the parliamentary elections in Kingston, Jamaica,

Syria Protests: Death Toll Increases During Clashes

IN this image from amateur video made available by the Ugarit News group and shot on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, protesters gather at an anti-Bashar Assad rally in Hama, Syria.  Hundreds of thousands of Syrians poured into the streets across the nation Friday in the largest protests in months, shouting for the downfall of the regime in a defiant display invigorated by the presence of Arab observers, activists said. 

Rescuers continue the search for survivors after floods killed hundreds of people and left many missing in the southern Philippines. 

More than 1,000 people gathered at Stonehenge, Wiltshire, to mark the winter solstice.  During the winter solstice, the sun is closer to the horizon than at any other time in the year, meaning shorter days and longer nights

One image in particular from the five days of clashes that ended this week has stoked their fury: that of soldiers dragging a woman lying on the street so that her bra and torso were exposed, while clubbing and stamping on her. 

Egyptians rally against army over beatings of protesters

Thousands of Egyptians rallied in Cairo and other cities on Friday to demand the military give up power and vent their anger after 17 people were killed in protests where troops beat and clubbed women and men even as they lay on the ground. 

Following the death of the Czech Republic’s first President, Vaclav Havel, the country is observing a week of mourning and hundreds of candles have been lit in Wenceslas Square – once the focal point of the Velvet Revolution that overthrew the country’s communist regime. 

Quarter of Europe Has Never Used the Internet

China’s First Aircraft Carrier as Seen From Space

Al-Aqsa mosque ramp reopens amid controversy

Israel reopened a controversial access ramp to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Wednesday, just 48 hours after it was closed amid safety concerns, prompting angry reactions among Muslims.  No work has yet been done to reinforce the ramp. 

Pope Benedict XVI arrives for a Mass celebrating the 200th anniversary of the independence of Latin American countries at St Peter’s Basilica.  Pope Benedict announced in his homily that he would make a trip to Mexico and Cuba early next year, before Easter. 

A exhibition currently on display at the University of Cambridge in England about Captain Scott’s polar expedition entitled ‘These rough notes: Captain Scott’s last expedition,’ with photographs taken sometime between 1910 and 1913. 

The remains of a figure of a devil are seen after being burned during the traditional Quema del Diablo (Burning of the Devil) celebration in Guatemala City. 

Militants in Pakistan launched a rocket-propelled grenade at lorries loaded with fuel and other supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan.  Many loaded vehicles remain parked across Pakistan since the country stopped supplies following a Nato air strike that killed 24 Pakistan soldiers. 

Euro Survives For Now

UK PM David Cameron (right) has effectively vetoed an EU-wide treaty change to tackle the eurozone crisis, saying it was not in the UK’s interests.  Instead a new “accord” setting out tougher budget rules will now be drawn up for the eurozone and at least six other EU states which want to sign up.  European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he regretted that unanimity on treaty change had not been possible. 

Protesting Putin

Russians take to the street to protest the recent parliamentary elections. 

Dangcheng, China — A bust of the Chinese philosopher Confucius lies on the ground in an abandoned stone-carving workshop in a town about 155 miles southwest of Beijing.  The small town in Hebei province has a history of stone carving dating back more than 2,000 years

Out Of Iraq

CIA ‘secret prison’ found in Romania – media reports

Former CIA operatives said the building was used to interrogate terrorism suspects, including Khaled Sheikh Mohammed

The CIA operated a secret prison in the Romanian capital Bucharest where terrorism suspects were interrogated, an investigation by the Associated Press and German media has found. 

Former CIA operatives identified the building where, they said, detainees were held and tortured. 

The building belongs to a Romanian agency, Orniss, which stores classified information from the EU and Nato. 

Orniss has denied hosting a CIA prison and the CIA has refused to comment. 

The investigation, by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and the German TV network ARD, said those held in the secret prison included Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who has admitted organising the 9/11 attacks. 

He was seized in Pakistan in March 2003 under the US programme known as “extraordinary rendition” – the extra-judicial detention and transfer of terrorism suspects. 

He has been in the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay since 2006, where he is awaiting trial. 

Police and Protesters Clash in Cairo

Lourdes Jeannette documents the daily life of a group based in Tampa, Florida. 

Camp Pendleton | A decade of service in Afghanistan and Iraq

A nice alternative to fighting the crowds at the mall this weekend, would be a photo excursion to the Los Angeles Convention Center for the Auto Show which runs until this Sunday.  There are dazzling cars to photograph, from Kia to Roll Royce, along with everything in between. 

Thai flood victim rests under a mosquito net at a relief center in Bangkok as a health worker fumigates a flooded neighborhood on the outskirts of the city.  Since July, more than a fifth of the country’s population of 64 million have been affected by the worst flooding in more than half a century.  A transport train carrying nuclear waste treated in France. 

As the sun came up Monday morning, many Occupy L.A. protesters were in a good mood, pleased simply to still be camped in front of City Hall hours after it became officially illegal to do so. 

A man with his face painted as a skull attends a protest against violence in Mexico City.  More than 40,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon deployed soldiers and federal police to take on organised crime. 

Egyptians are voting in the opening stage of the first elections since former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February.  Queues formed early in many places but there are also reports of polling stations opening late because of administrative problems. 

People hold candles during a vigil for those killed in a fire earlier in the week, as they participate in the fourth Delhi Pride March.  India’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community marched through the streets of Delhi and gathered to protest against harassment, violence and discrimination.