US lawsuits target Carnival in Italy cruise crash

By CURT ANDERSON, APFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Despite legal obstacles that might force them to sue in Italy, hundreds of Costa Concordia passengers and up to 1,000 businesses on the island where the capsized cruise ship ran aground are pressing ahead with U.S. lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages from Miami-based Carnival Corp.

The lawsuits filed in both federal and state courts contend that Carnival is the corporate parent of the Costa brand, which operated the vessel, and is ultimately responsible for any safety violations, negligence or recklessness that may have led to the Jan. 13 accident that claimed 32 lives. Investigators say the ship rammed a reef while passing too close to Giglio Island, off Italy's Tuscan coast.

"Costa Cruise Lines is the alter ego of Carnival," said Edward Ricci, whose lawsuit seeks to represent Giglio Island tourist-related businesses that claim the disaster deterred visitors, polluted environmentally sensitive local waters and depressed property values.

Even though the Costa Crociere subsidiary is based in Genoa, Italy, and the Concordia itself never sailed to a U.S. port, Ricci contends that it and Carnival's other brands all answer to its Miami headquarters. Carnival, he noted, announced a company-wide audit of safety practices after the disaster that is being overseen by Miami-based executives.

"It is from this headquarters that the tragic crash of the Costa Concordia could have been prevented by insisting on better training of officers, safer operation and navigation of ships, and elimination of the reckless practice of `sail-by salutes,'" Ricci said in court papers, referring to evidence that the Concordia's captain sailed too close to the island on purpose for publicity and to impress passengers.

Similar claims are made in at least four other lawsuits, one of them filed last week that represents 155 passengers from 14 countries, including some U.S. citizens. All together the lawsuits seek tens of millions of dollars in damages from Carnival, which is the world's largest cruise line.

A Carnival spokeswoman said the company would not comment on pending litigation beyond the court filings.

In those court documents, Carnival contends that the Italian Costa line is a separate corporate entity and that any lawsuits should be filed in Italy. Lawyers for Carnival say the company does not own the Concordia and does not manage Costa's day-to-day activities.

"This is an Italian dispute and should be tried in an Italian court," said Thad Dameris, representing Carnival in the case involving Giglio Island businesses. "This case has no real connection to the United States."

Still, the companies are closely intertwined. Costa Crociere is a subsidiary of London-based Carnival plc, which appears on the surface to be separate from the Miami-based Carnival. Yet they share the same top executives and board of directors and "operate as a single economic enterprise," according to Carnival's court filings. And Costa Cruise Lines Inc. is based in Hollywood, Fla., and issued statements after the accident.

Attorneys suing Carnival claim Italian courts often take years longer than their U.S. counterparts to deal with similar lawsuits and that there is no method of bringing a class action in Italy, as the Giglio Island businesses want.

Gabrielle D'Alemberte, who represents five U.S. citizens suing over the Costa Concordia accident, said Italy also does not allow attorneys to work on a contingency fee basis in which the lawyer's fee comes out of any settlement or verdict. She also said damages for pain and suffering and emotional distress are harder to collect.

"This was traumatizing at every level," she said. "That's a cause of action in this country. It's not in Italy."

Carnival, however, contends that everything to do with Costa Crociere, the Concordia disaster and subsequent investigations is much more readily available in Italy, including witnesses, documents and other evidence.

None of the lawsuits is close to going to trial. U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenbaum, a recent appointee of President Barack Obama, will soon decide whether or not to dismiss the Giglio Island businesses lawsuit based on Carnival's claim that it belongs in Italy.

The passenger lawsuits have to deal with one more complication: tickets for the Concordia cruise include what's called a "forum clause," in which the passenger agrees by making the purchase that any legal action would be filed in Italy. The key for their lawyers targeting Carnival in the U.S. would be convincing a judge that Carnival and Costa are identical, and that enforcement of the clause is unreasonable or unfair.

Meanwhile, the ship itself remains lying on its side just off the Italian island. Italian officials say they expect it to be upright and floating again by spring of 2013. A Florida company, Titan Salvage of Pompano Beach, won the bid to handle the work.

In addition, an Italian court on Oct. 15 is scheduled to hold a preliminary hearing on potential charges against those responsible for the shipwreck. Capt. Francesco Schettino has said he was distracted by a cellphone call and that his decision to move the ship into shallower waters likely saved lives.

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Iraq opens controversial refugee camp to diplomats

By LARA JAKES, APBAGHDAD — Iraq offered foreign diplomats on Tuesday a rare glimpse at a camp that is the new temporary home of an Iranian exile opposition group that has a long-running feud with Baghdad, winning from the envoys cautious praise of the conditions there.

The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq opposed the move to Camp Liberty, a former U.S. base on the outskirts of Baghdad, from another camp in Iraq. They say it is an intolerable prison. Iraq says that it is up to international standards.

The back-and-forth bickering feeds into a wider, decade-long dispute between the MEK and Iraq over the fate of the former guerrilla movement. Iraq considers the MEK to be terrorists and wants them to leave the country. The MEK, also called the People's Mujahedeen of Iran, wants to move back to their old home at Camp Ashraf northeast of the capital.

Foreign diplomats who visited the dusty complex of former U.S housing containers described the conditions as acceptable. Some said the conditions there looked good compared to other refugee camps.

"I wouldn't choose to live here, but when we talk about refugees ... and what their living conditions are all over the world, this should be considered exceptional," said Ramon Molina, the Spanish Embassy's deputy chief of mission.

"It is not very good, but it is not bad also, said Pakistani diplomat Saif Khwaja. "The people who are living here are not from Iraq, and the Iraqi government is bearing the burden of these people."

The MEK complains they are not allowed to leave and they live without reliable electricity, air condition or water supplies.

"This is not a place to live in. This is not a camp. This is only a prison," said Liberty resident Homa Roboby, 28. "They are trying to make a life here that is intolerable."

The MEK is an opposition group to Tehran's clerical regime. Several thousand of its members were given sanctuary in Iraq by dictator Saddam Hussein. But the Shiite-led government in Baghdad, which is bolstering its ties with Iran, says its members are living in Iraq illegally.

The group is also designated as a terrorist organization by the United States but Washington is currently weighing whether to take them off the list — a decision that will be made in upcoming weeks.

Camp Liberty was designed as a compromise way-station for the U.N. to speed the exiles out of Iraq peacefully. Iraqi security forces have launched two deadly raids since 2009 on the MEK's longtime home at Camp Ashraf, an inclusive mini-city that the exiles never wanted to leave.

At Liberty, the exiles live in cramped portable housing units left behind by the U.S. military, which occupied the base until it withdrew its troops from Iraq last December. They receive medical attention in a former first aid station. And they eat in a former U.S. dining hall complete with flat-screen TVs that looks very much like how the military left it — with the addition of fresh flowers on tables.

A small patch of yellow sunflowers was planted outside the dining hall, and twinkly lights were strung around posts and from the ceilings in an attempt to brighten up an area that has been dingy if sufficient for inhabitants long before the MEK arrived.

Most of the exiles wore loose clothes in khaki and other muted solid colors, and swarmed the visitors with their grievances. "Message fully understood," one British diplomat said repeatedly.

The Associated Press and Iraq's state-run TV were also on the tour in the first time the government has allowed journalists inside Liberty since the MEK began moving there earlier this year.

The exiles' local leader, Abbas Davari, called the camp "dilapidated" and complained that the Iraqi government has delayed the MEK from moving generators to Liberty from Ashraf, and stymied construction of a new water treatment system.

Gorges Bakoos, who is overseeing the issue for the government, said officials are trying to solve both problems. In the meantime, he said, each exile receives at least 200 liters of water every day, above the U.N. standard of 120 daily liters per refugee. And he said residents already get electricity around the clock — unlike most Iraqis who only get a few hours each day.

The exiles denied that. "In front of you, they say one thing, but once you go — no way," said Youssef Mahoozi, 51, who lived at Ashraf for 25 years before moving to Liberty six months ago.

The next group of exiles will move within days from Ashraf to Liberty, where U.N. will process their refugee applications and try to find counties to accept them. After that, an estimated 200 will remain at Ashraf for a few more weeks as they try to sell property left behind to traders.

The U.N. has interviewed about 90 Liberty residents but has yet to find any countries that will take them. "We are in dire need of countries coming forward to offer their help," Gyorgy Busztin, deputy U.N. envoy to Iraq, told the diplomats.

Sri Lankan diamond saga: Swallowed gem was fake

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHCHI, APCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's diamond-swallowing saga took an unexpected turn Tuesday when police revealed the stone swallowed by a visitor at a gem exhibition was a fake and they are searching for the real stone valued at $13,000.

Police arrested Chou Wan, 32, after a gem owner complained a man had swallowed his 1.5 carat diamond at a jewelry show in Colombo last week. An X-ray taken at a hospital showed the diamond and Chou was given a laxative so the gem could be recovered. The National Gem and Jewelry Authority, which regulates the gem industry, then was asked to inspect the diamond concerned.

Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said the authority informed police the diamond Chou swallowed was fake and had no financial value. He said investigators suspect another Chinese man seen with Chou may have the real diamond worth 1.8 million Sri Lankan rupees ($13,636).

Exhibitor Suresh Wijekoon said two Chinese men were behaving suspiciously at his stalls and he suspected they were trying to switch fake stones to steal the real diamonds. He said one man swallowed a diamond before he alerted the police while the other ran away.

Sri Lanka does not mine diamonds but is renowned for other highly treasured gems. Facets Sri Lanka 2012 is the island nation's annual largest gem and jewelry exhibition and it attracts a large number of local and foreign buyers.

Dying Salton Sea possible source of LA stink

GILLIAN FLACCUS, APSANTA ANA, Calif. — The saltwater lake that could be to blame for a rotten-egg stench that seeped through Southern California has bigger problems than its public image.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District is waiting Tuesday for test results that could help pin the foul odor on the Salton Sea.

Residents living more than 100 miles from the lake complained of the aroma on Monday.

The vast body of water 150 miles southeast of Los Angeles is a dying lake and is plagued with increasing salinity, receding shorelines and periodic fish die-offs triggered by low oxygen levels.

A storm late Sunday could have churned up the lake and released stinky bacteria into the air from a recent fish die-off.

The smell was abating Tuesday as breezes picked up.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

The saltwater lake that could be to blame for a rotten-egg stench that seeped through greater Los Angeles on Monday has bigger problems than its public image.

The massive body of water 150 miles southeast of the City of Angels is a dying lake, plagued by increasing salinity, receding shorelines and periodic fish die-offs caused by plummeting oxygen levels in its briny waters.

Regional air quality officials were awaiting test results Tuesday to determine if the stench came from the lake, but many experts believed the Salton Sea was the culprit. A massive thunderstorm packing wind gusts of up to 60 mph late Sunday could have churned up the sea's bottom, releasing odorous bacteria from a recent fish die-off there, said Andrew Schlange, general manager of the Salton Sea Authority, the agency tasked with saving the sea.

Winds carried the stench more than 100 miles, through Riverside and San Bernardino counties through Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley and all the way to Ventura County on California's Central Coast in an event those familiar with the Salton Sea called unprecedented.

"The problem I'm having is the magnitude of the area that was covered by the odor itself. But I guess it can happen under the right conditions, and we had those conditions, apparently, the other night," Schlange said. "What happened gives us an opportunity to let people know that the Salton Sea is dying and that we need to fix it."

The South Coast Air Quality Management District was awaiting the results of tests on air samples taken close to the Salton Sea and the nearby Coachella Valley, as well as on samples taken from nearly a dozen other cities across the region.

Strengthening breezes in the area Tuesday dissipated the smell, much to the relief of residents.

Julie Hutchinson, battalion chief at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in Riverside, said the air was clear and her agency hadn't received any calls.

"We're not getting anything. I don't notice much of anything right now," said Hutchinson, who lives and works in Riverside County, home to the Salton Sea. "It seems to have diminished throughout the region."

At the peak of the stench Monday, residents from Riverside County to the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles lit up switchboards and social media to make a stink about the stink. The district was flooded with more than 200 complaints from across much of its 10,000 square miles.

Created in 1905 when floodwaters broke through a Colorado River irrigation canal, the 376-square-mile Salton Sea is bigger than Lake Tahoe but is only 51 feet deep at its deepest spot and has no outlet to the ocean. Ninety percent of its water comes from agricultural runoff from the nearby Imperial, Coachella and Mexicali valleys — a fact that gives the lake its unique soup, but also causes its many problems.

The lake, which is 235 feet below sea level, is currently 50 percent saltier than the ocean and salinity levels are expected to increase even more as it shrinks.

The salinity makes the water extremely fast for boating and the lake is a popular recreational destination for boaters, bird watchers, campers and anglers who fish for species introduced there.

The rising salt level, however, has meant the demise in the past decade of several big game marine fish species. The only species remaining are tilapia, which have gradually adapted to the saltwater, and the desert pupfish, said Timothy Krantz, an environmental studies professor at the University of Redlands.

Even those species are now struggling, and there have been fish die-offs every summer in recent years when the water heats up and oxygen levels drop, said Krantz, who has also served as the Salton Sea program's database director for 15 years. Summer temperatures can soar to 120 degrees or more.

More than 400 species of migratory birds have been recorded at the Salton Sea, making it host to the highest biodiversity for bird species in the U.S.

The birds, however, will eventually be threatened by the lake's rising salinity as fish die-offs remove their main food source.

The lake's depth has dropped in recent years, creating exposed lake bed that generates dust. By 2018, the depth is expected to drop another 15 to 20 feet, exposing 140 square miles of lake bottom and its dust, Krantz said.

"That's yet another huge problem that's impending," he said. "There is hope, but something absolutely has to be done. It's not just about birds and wildlife anymore. It's about human health issues and averting a potential air pollution disaster."

The Salton Sea Authority has a plan to save the sea, but has struggled for years to get funding and political muscle behind it. In 2006, various estimates put the cost between $3 billion and $9 billion, said Andrew Schlange, the authority's general manager.

The plan involves stabilizing the sea level by cutting the body of water in half and allowing part of it to dry up, he said. The dried lakebed could host extensive geothermal and solar fields that would mitigate the restoration cost and provide power for millions of homes.

Officials would then work to reduce the salinity in the remaining lake.

"It's exciting to think about trying to fix it, and it can be fixed," Schlange said. "What we need is for the public to understand ... that this is likely to happen more often as time goes on, and we need their support to find a way to finance and pay for this thing."

Magic store owner gets 2 yrs; made cash disappear

BOSTON — The owner of a Massachusetts magic store has been sentenced to two years in prison for making more than $560,000 disappear from a longtime customer's credit card account.

Harry Levy of Lexington was also sentenced in federal court in Boston on Thursday to two years of probation and was ordered to pay full restitution.

Prosecutors say the 61-year-old Levy tried to cover up the fraud by lying to federal investigators and submitting false records to the grand jury.

Levy, who owns Hank Lee's Magic Factory, pleaded guilty in April to charges of credit card fraud and making false statements.

Authorities say Levy made 134 unauthorized charges on the wealthy customer's card, forcing the victim to put his house on the market and complicating his efforts to finance a new business

Egyptian protesters scale US Embassy wall in Cairo

(ah the religion of peace once again having a calm, sane and rational reaction to a movie. Honestly I don’t get their beef, ultraconservative Christians and Islamics have much more in common than they have differences. They both believe in an invisible all powerful male sky god, they both believe that anyone who does not follow the strictest tenets of their faith are worthy only of scorn, they both hold true that religious law should supersede secular law, they both believe woman should be seen and not heard ,the list goes on and on and yet all this fighting, all this strife, when they could be united mutually hating Jews. And before I start getting the hate mail, I am not an anti-Semite, a large part of much of the comedy and occult practices I enjoy are Jewish, where would we be without Mel Brooks, Danny Kay and the Kabala? Bored! Bored out of our tiny minds! Normally I would aim the other religions of the book at scientology but frankly it lacks the stones to take that kind of heat.)

By SARAH EL DEEB and MAGGIE MICHAEL, APCAIRO — Mainly ultraconservative protesters climbed the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Egypt's capital Tuesday and brought down the American flag, replacing it with a black Islamist flag to protest a U.S.-produced film attacking the Prophet Muhammad. Hours later, armed men in eastern Libya also stormed the US consulate there and set it on fire as anger spread.

It was the first time ever that the U.S. Embassy in Cairo has been breached and comes as Egypt is struggling to overcome months of unrest following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak's autocratic regime. U.S. officials said no Americans were reported harmed in the assaults in Cairo or the eastern city of Benghazi.

The unrest in Cairo began when hundreds of protesters marched to the downtown embassy, gathering outside its walls and chanting against the movie and the U.S.

"Say it, don't fear: Their ambassador must leave," the crowd chanted.

Dozens of protesters then scaled the embassy walls, and several went into the courtyard and took down the flag from a pole. They brought it back to the crowd outside, which tried to burn it, but failing that tore it apart. The protesters on the wall then raised on the flagpole a black flag with a Muslim declaration of faith, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet." The flag, similar to the banner used by al-Qaida, is commonly used by ultraconservatives around the region.

The crowd grew throughout the evening with thousands standing outside the embassy, chanting "Islamic, Islamic. The right of our prophet will not die." A group of women in black veils and robes that left only their eyes exposed chanted, "Worshippers of the Cross, leave the Prophet Muhammad alone."

Dozens of riot police lined up along the embassy walls but did not stop protesters from climbing the wall. But it appeared protesters were no longer going into the embassy compound. The U.S. Embassy said on its Twitter account says that there will be no visa services on Wednesday because of the protests.

The protest was sparked by outrage over a video being promoted by an extreme anti-Muslim Egyptian Christian campaigner in the U.S., clips of which are available on the social website YouTube and dubbed in Egyptian Arabic. The video depicts Muhammad as a fraud, showing him having sex and calling for massacres.

Muslims find it offensive to depict Muhammad in any fashion, much less in an insulting way. The 2005 publication of 12 caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper triggered riots in many Muslim countries.

In a sign of growing anger over the film, Libyans set fire to the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi and fired in the air after a protest against the film. Witnesses said much of the consulate was burned.

The Cairo embassy is located in a diplomatic area in Garden city, where the British and Italian embassies are located, only a few blocks away from Tahrir Square, the center of last year's uprising that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. The U.S. Embassy is built like a fortress, with a wall several meters (yards) high. But security has been scaled back in recent months, with several roadblocks leading to the facility removed after legal court cases by residents complaining their access to nearby streets was blocked.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry promised in a statement to provide the necessary security for diplomatic missions and embassies on its territory and warned that "such incidents will negatively impact the image of stability in Egypt, which will have consequences on the life of its citizens."

One protester Hossam Ahmed said he was among those who entered the embassy compound and replaced the American flag with the black one. He said the group has now removed the black flag from the pole and laid it instead on a ladder on top of the wall.

A young bearded man, Abdel-Hamid Ibrahim said, "This is a very simple reaction to harming our prophet."

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. was working with Egyptian authorities to try to restore order.

Only a few staff members were still inside, as embassy security had sent most staff home early after learning of the upcoming protest, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Sam Bacile, an American citizen who said he produced, directed and wrote the two-hour film said he had not anticipated such a furious reaction.

Speaking from a telephone with a California number, he said the film was produced in English and he doesn't know who dubbed it in Arabic.

"The main problem is I am the first one to put on the screen someone who is (portraying) Muhammad. It makes them mad," he said in an interview in a telephone number in California. "But we have to open the door. After 9/11 everybody should be in front of the judge, even Jesus, even Muhammad."

He said many of the film's cast quit half way through the production, which he started "three or four" years ago, because they were afraid of Muslims.

He said the film also addresses the persecution of Copts in Egypt and blames the U.S. and its allies for fighting Muslims. "The U.S. should fight the ideology, not the people."

Morris Sadek, an Egyptian-born Christian in the U.S. known for his anti-Islam views, told The Associated Press from Washington that he was promoting the video on his website and on certain TV stations, which he did not identify.

He said the video "explains the problems of the Copts who suffer from Muslims," which he blamed on the Quran itself.

For several days, Egyptian media have been reporting on the video, playing some excerpts from it and blaming Sadek for it, with ultraconservative clerics going on air to denounce it.

Medhat Klada, a representative of Coptic Christian organizations in Europe, said Sadek's views are not representative of expatriate Copts.

"He is an extremist ... We don't go down this road. He has incited the people (in Egypt) against Copts," he said, speaking from Switzerland. "We refuse any attacks on religions because of a moral position."

But he said he was concerned about the backlash from angry Islamists. "They don't know dialogue and they think that Islam will be offended from a movie."

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Associated Press writer Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report