The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Italy cruise ship disaster crew win seafaring award Posted: 27 Sep 2012 07:49 AM PDT  The Costa Concordia is pictured surrounded by cranes, near the harbour of Giglio Porto, August 28, 2012. — Reuters pic The citation for the award said the crew provided "true examples of courage and professionalism" during the dangerous night evacuation of the ship after it was fatally holed by a rock off the Tuscan island of Giglio. The ship's captain Francesco Schettino has been blamed for the disaster and faces charges of multiple manslaughter, causing the accident and abandoning his ship before the evacuation was complete. "The 'Seafarer of the Year' award recognises the competence, heroism and professionalism displayed by the sailors every day," Costa said in a statement. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, some passengers reported acts of bravery and heroism by crew members during the evacuation, while others complained that staff appeared ill-prepared, with many unable to speak Italian. Experts appointed by Italian judges to help an investigation into the accident also criticised a lack of preparation among crew members. The 114,500 tonne Costa Concordia sank off the island of Giglio on Jan 13 after it came within metres of the shoreline and struck a rock which cut open its hull and caused it to capsize. — Reuters |
| WHO issues guidance on new virus, gears up for haj Posted: 27 Sep 2012 05:37 AM PDT  A Kashmiris Haj pilgrim hugs a relative as other pilgrims rest inside Haj House before departing for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, in Srinagar September 17, 2012. — Reuters pic Saudi Arabia said it had taken precautions to prevent disease spreading next month, when it expects over 2 million Muslims to flock to the annual haj pilgrimage, than return home. WHO put out a global alert on Sunday saying a new virus had infected a 49-year-old Qatari who had recently travelled to Saudi Arabia, where another man with an almost identical virus had died. The Qatari remained critically ill in hospital in Britain as of Tuesday, but the WHO said yesterday no new case of the new virus had been reported. "We've got things in place should things change, should the behaviour of the virus change," spokesman Gregory Hartl said. Tests showed that six people with respiratory infections in two hospitals in Denmark did not have the new coronavirus, and at least five of them had flu, Danish health officials said. The new virus shares some of the symptoms of SARS, another coronavirus, which emerged in China in 2002 and killed around a tenth of 8,000 people it infected worldwide. So far, scientists do not know how contagious the new virus is, or whether or not it spreads by contact between people. WHO's clinical guidance to its 194 member states said health workers should be alert to anyone with acute respiratory syndrome and requiring hospitalisation who had been in the area where the virus was found or in contact with a suspected or confirmed case within the previous 10 days. WHO has not recommended any travel restrictions in connection with the new virus, but said it was working closely with Saudi authorities on health measures for the haj. WHO said it was identifying a network of laboratories that could provide countries with expertise on coronaviruses. "Though it is a very different virus from SARS, given the severity of the two confirmed cases so far, WHO is engaged in further characterising the novel coronavirus," it said. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in Stockholm said that, based on the available information, "ECDC assesses the current risk as low". — Reuters |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Features To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan