Kanye West unleashed his anger as his unfinished video for new single Black Skinhead was leaked online.
Kanye West, 36, posted six increasingly angry tweets insisting websites remove the rough draft of the video.
“Allow me and Nick [Knight] to give the world what we’ve been losing sleep over,” the singer tweeted.
Kanye West explained that he and video director Nick Knight had been working on the video for five months and “for creatives it’s heartbreaking when something like this happens”.
His last tweet on the subject was directed at the source of the illicit video and was not quite as polite.
“And to who ever leaked the video.. F*** You!”
Kanye West was furious after his unfinished video for new single Black Skinhead was leaked online
The three-and-a-half minute clip showed Kanye West with CGI effects and dancing around to the track with his shirt off in computer-animated black-and-white imagery.
The video was shot by British photographer Nick Knight who recently photographed the controversial rapper in an artsy spread for W magazine.
Nick Knight in 2001 directed his first video for Björk for her song Pagan Poetry and in 2011 directed the video for Lady Gaga’s single Born This Way.
Kanye West released his sixth studio album Yeezus last month and Black Skinhead was released as the album’s first single last week.
The album has received positive reviews and marked Kanye West’s sixth consecutive number one debut.
Brian May has announced he plans to “find out” why the Freddie Mercury estate complained about Go Go Gorilla on a Norwich conservation art trail.
The sculpture, painted as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, was removed on Monday after a copyright complaint.
Jake Humphrey, television presenter and patron of Break, the charity that organized the Go Go Gorilla event, said the estate needed to “think again”.
Queen guitarist Brian May “thanked” twitter users for bringing the matter to his attention.
Wild in Art, the company that supplied the 5ft glass fibre gorilla canvases for the trail, was contacted by Queen’s manager Jim Beach on behalf of the Freddie Mercury estate.
The estate claimed the suit “worn” by the gorilla, painted by Norfolk artist Mik Richardson, breached copyright.
If the Mercury homage, which was outside The Forum, in Norwich, is not returned to the 53-stop trail it will be replaced by another design.
Jake Humphrey, who grew up in Norfolk, said the gorillas were “only there as a source of good”.
Brian May has announced he plans to “find out” why the Freddie Mercury estate complained about Go Go Gorilla on a Norwich conservation art trail
“I am a huge fan of Queen and Freddie Mercury,” he said.
“When I first heard we had a tribute gorilla I thought how fantastic the love of Freddie lives on in such a way that is still able to help good causes across Norfolk and provide such joy for so many people.
“I’d like the people who’ve made this decision to really think again.”
A spokeswoman for Brandbank, the gorilla’s sponsor, said: “We, like everyone else, have been taken aback by the passionate responses to the request by the Freddie Mercury estate that Radio Go Go [the gorilla] be removed due to a suggestion of possible breach of copyright.
“We have spoken to one of the executives of the estate and are endeavoring to see if we can resolve this so that there’s a positive outcome for all the charities involved.
“Our priority is that the event is a success for the charities involved, while respecting the wishes of copyright owners and fans of Freddie Mercury.”
The Go Go Gorilla trail, featuring 53 adult and 67 baby gorillas, runs until 7 September. Other conservation-based trails are taking place in Colchester, Southampton and Exeter.
Michelle Knight has reportedly rejected all attempts by her mother for an emotional reunion after 11 years in captivity in the Cleveland horror house.
More than two months after she was rescued from Ariel Castro’s house, Michelle Knight, 32, has not yet spoken to her mother, according to Mail Online.
Michelle Knight has not replied to a single card or letter sent by her mother Barbara Knight and has even refused to see her 10-year-old sister, a family friend told the website.
Such is the gulf between mother and daughter that Barbara Knight had no idea Michelle had made a video for her first public appearance and statement about her ordeal.
Michelle Knight’s mother, who lives in South Florida, only found out when a family friend told her about the short video in which Michelle talks about going to “hell and back”.
The family friend said Barbara Knight is “very hurt” that her daughter has refused to see her – or even speak with her on the phone.
“Barbara is hurt. She is very hurt. All she wants to do is see and speak to her daughter. She wants her youngest daughter Katie to meet Michelle,” said the friend.
“She has sent lots of letters and cards. Presumably they are being given to Michelle but she has not had a single word from her. She has tried repeatedly to make contact, but has heard nothing back. It is very sad.
“It is hurting her. She is her mother and never gave up hope that she was alive.”
Michelle Knight, who went missing in 2002, is believed to have suffered most at the hands of her alleged kidnapper, 52-year-old Ariel Castro.
She was 21 when she was taken off the street in August 2002 and little was made of her disappearance.
Michelle Knight has rejected all attempts by her mother for an emotional reunion after 11 years in captivity in Ariel Castro’s house
Her family told police that she had run away after her young son was taken from her by the Ohio Department of Family Services.
As the oldest of the three girls held captive at Castro’s home in Cleveland, Ohio, for over a decade, Michelle Knight was repeatedly raped, according to authorities.
Court documents have revealed she fell pregnant several times but miscarried after being beaten and starved.
Michelle Knight was also forced to deliver Ariel Castro’s daughter by Amanda Berry – who also went missing in 2003 aged 17 on her way home from a part time job at a Burger King restaurant.
While Amanda Berry, now 27, and Gina DeJesus, now 23, had emotional reunions with their family in the days after being freed, Michelle Knight said she did not want to see her mother.
Barbara Knight flew from her home in Naples, Florida, to Cleveland in the hope of being reunited with her daughter, even going to the hospital where she was being cared for.
However, Michelle Knight refused to see her mother and told authorities to send her away.
“Barbara was very hurt. She had taken her 10-year-old daughter Katie to Cleveland so that she could meet her sister. After a week she had to send Katie back to Naples so she could go back to school,” the family friend said.
“All Barbara wants is to see Michelle. Yes, there were things that went on in the past but she wants to move on and move forward.”
The family friend said Barbara Knight had also been hurt by accusations made by other family members that she was a bad mother.
She came in for public criticism after she revealed in May that she did not have a photo of her daughter Michelle.
“Barbara knows the truth and as a friend for over nine years I know she is not a bad mother.”
“When Michelle went missing she was upset about having her child taken into care. Barbara doesn’t talk about that and what went on, but I can tell you she is a great mother,” the friend said.
The friend also revealed that Barbara Knight had turned down several big money offers from TV networks to talk about her daughter.
“Barbara is not interested in money. All she wants is to be reunited with her daughter. When she is ready to talk it will be on her terms,” the friend said.
Michelle Knight spoke in a halting voice in the video released by a Cleveland-based public relations firm primarily so they could thanks family and supporters.
She said in the video that she is building a “brand new life”.
“I may have been through hell and back, but I am strong enough to walk through hell with a smile on my face and my head held high,” Michelle Knight said, reading from a prepared statement.
“I will not let the situation define who I am. I will define the situation. I don’t want to be consumed by hatred.”
Kathy Joseph, Michelle Knight’s attorney, said in a statement that the three women wanted to “say thank you to people from Cleveland and across the world, now that two months have passed”.
Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus could come face to face with their alleged captor next month when he stands trial on 139 counts of rape, 177 counts of kidnapping, seven counts of gross s***al imposition, three counts of felonious assault and one count of possession of criminal tools, to which Ariel Castro has pleaded not guilty.
After Kate Middleton gives birth to the royal baby, Prince William’s first call will be to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, on an encrypted phone.
At the same time, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s private secretary, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton will inform PM David Cameron and a small number of other highly placed individuals, including the Archbishop of Canterbury.
After Kate Middleton gives birth to the royal baby, Prince William’s first call will be to the Queen on an encrypted phone
Back at Buckingham Palace, officials will notify the head of each of the 54 Commonwealth countries and the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
For the public, an official notice announcing the birth will be placed in a glass-fronted easel and attached to the gates of the Palace.
Within minutes, depending on the time of day, a 41-gun salute will ring out in Hyde Park. Visitors will then begin turning up at St Mary’s Hospital.
The Middletons are likely to take centre-stage along with Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry.
Friends and other relatives will be encouraged to wait to see the baby when it gets home.
A source said the Queen will wait for the “baby to be brought to her”.
And although he or she will one day wear the crown, the baby will start out life wearing just a humble name tag inscribed with the name “Baby Cambridge”.
With five days to go until Kate Middleton is due to give birth to their first child, Prince William has borrowed a helicopter once used to circumnavigate the globe in record time.
Prince William, 31, who is on duty this week as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot, can cover the 288 miles between his base in North Wales and St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, West London, in just 90 minutes.
With five days to go until Kate Middleton is due to give birth to their first child, Prince William has borrowed a helicopter once used to circumnavigate the globe in record time
The distinctive orange McDonnell Douglas four-seater helicopter appears to be on permanent standby in the garden of his rented farmhouse on the island of Anglesey in case it is needed to whisk him off.
It was parked there Sunday night. When the time comes, however, it is not believed that Prince William would fly the helicopter himself.
Meanwhile Kate Middleton, 31, is dividing her time between their London apartment in the grounds of Kensington Palace and her parents’ home in Berkshire, so she can be closer to the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, where she will give birth.
The helicopter is owned by Prince William’s friend, fellow pilot Simon Oliphant-Hope, who was Pierce Brosnan’s stunt double in the James Bond film Die Another Day.
Pope Francis is visiting the tiny island of Lampedusa, where instead of tooling around in the popemobile, he’s making his rounds in a borrowed 20-year-old Fiat Campagnola.
The pontiff also has let it be known how he feels about priests and nuns who drive fancy cars: It pains him. That has to be a kick in the pants for Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, who just last week personally handed the pope the keys to a new Mercedes popemobile.
Pope Francis is visiting the tiny island of Lampedusa, where instead of tooling around in the popemobile, he’s making his rounds in a borrowed 20-year-old Fiat Campagnola
Last Saturday, Pope Francis told a group of priests and nuns that cars “are necessary. But take a more humble one.” The pontiff said it “hurts” him when he sees a priest or nun in the “latest model car; you can’t do this.” He told his audience to drive a cheaper car and pass the savings on to feed starving children.
Mercedes has provided a number of popemobiles over the years, starting in 1930 with a Nurburg 460 pullman saloon for Pope Pius XI, according to the carmaker.
In a news release following his visit with Pope Francis, Dieter Zetsche said that “by providing the popemobile, we will continue to accompany” Pope Francis on “his travels in the future,” adding that the tradition was “a huge source of pride to us.”
Mercedes also provided for Pope Benedict XVI a popemobile in 2011 that had a built-in oxygen supply behind the bullet-proof plexiglas, a white leather seat with gold trim that was raised into place by a hydraulic lift and armor-plated side panels and undercarriage to withstand bomb blasts. According to the Telegraph, the cost was about $450,000.
But Pope Francis has deliberately shunned high-cost living in a Vatican guest house rather than the papal palace, for instance. Now, after his auto-buying advice for priests and nuns, he’s riding around in an old, borrowed Fiat for his first overseas mission as pontiff.
Kris Jenner revealed that when it came time for Kim Kardashian and partner Kanye West to name their baby daughter, the momager “stayed out of that” decision.
While appearing on the Huffington Post Live, Kris Jenner insisted that her granddaughter North West’s name was a “joint decision” between daughter Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
“They did it together,” Kris Jenner told host Marc Lamont Hill on Monday.
Kris Jenner insisted that her granddaughter North West’s name was a joint decision between Kim Kardashian and Kanye West
“I stayed out of that one. I did the same thing with Kourtney when she named Mason and Penelope.”
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West welcomed the blessed child three weeks early on June 15.
“Kim sort of explained it to me,” Kris Jenner said of the curious moniker.
“North is the highest power. And their baby North, their little girl, is the highest point and power between the two of them. So I thought that was really cool.
“When a baby’s born and you give it a name and you’re really sure about it…that’s just going to be that baby’s energy. So I’m excited.”
Kris Jenner has been slowly revealing details about little “Nori” while promoting her upcoming Fox talk show Kris, which premieres next Monday.
Mariah Carey tweeted a photo from her hospital bed on Tuesday after dislocating her shoulder over the weekend following an accident on the set of her new music video clip.
In the photo, Mariah Carey, 43, appears to be sighing with disappointment over the ordeal, but her spirits later appeared raised by her new fashionable accessory – a silky sling.
“…dislocated my shoulder on the remix video with Jeezy, sporting a very fashionable sling for the next couple of weeks,” Mariah Carey informed her fans.
Mariah Carey posing in her hospital bed after dislocating her shoulder following an accident on the set of her new music video clip
While the singer wore a simple tank top in her set-up snap, despite being injured she still managed to find time to put on some giant chandelier earrings and apply a full face of make-up.
Her golden locks were also expertly coiffed into bouncy curls.
Surrounded by various different pieces of hospital equipment, Mariah Carey also appeared as though she had been treated with IV fluid, sporting a bandage in the crook of her arm.
Mariah Carey was hospitalized on Sunday night after she dislocated her shoulder on the set of her new music video.
The singer was rushed to New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery after she took a tumble while filming the video for the remix of her song #Beautiful.
“She was taken to hospital late last night, where doctors reset her shoulder,” Mariah Carey’s spokesperson told the New York Post at the time of the accident.
“She is fine and is recovering at home.”
Mariah Carey was shooting the video – directed by her husband Nick Cannon – at Avenue nightclub in Chelsea in downtown Manhattan.
According to a Russian politician, Edward Snowden has accepted an offer of political asylum from Venezuela.
Unofficial spokesman for the Kremlin Alexei Pushkov tweeted today that Edward Snowden, believed to be in Russia and wanted by the US authorities for leaking security secrets, is keen to take up the offer, AP reported.
The tweet was removed a few minutes after it was posted.
Soon after the tweet’s disappearance he sent another message saying his claim was based on a report from the state all-news television channel Vesti.
However, no such information could be found on Vesti’s website and no Russian news agency reported that Vesti had ever said it.
The TV channel could not immediately be reached for comment and the Kremlin declined comment on today’s developments.
Edward Snowden, 30, who revealed details of a US intelligence program to monitor internet activity, went to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on June 23 and was believed to be headed for Cuba.
But he did not board that flight is believed to have been stranded in the airport’s transit lounge ever since.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had already offered asylum to Edward Snowden while Bolivia and Nicaragua said they too would grant asylum to the American fugitive.
Ecuador said it will consider any asylum request.
Nicolas Maduro said it is perhaps the world’s “first collective humanitarian asylum” with various countries saying: “Come here!”
But the United States has cancelled Edward Snowden’s passport and it is unclear if he has travel documents he would need to leave Moscow.
Edward Snowden has accepted an offer of political asylum from Venezuela
Nicolas Maduro said Edward Snowden “will have to decide when he flies here, if he finally wants to travel here”.
On Friday he said: “As head of state, the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela decided to offer humanitarian asylum to the young American Edward Snowden so that he can live (without) … persecution from the empire.”
Nicolas Maduro made the offer during a speech marking the anniversary of Venezuela’s independence. It was not immediately clear if there were any conditions to Venezuela’s offer.
“In the name of America’s dignity … I have decided to offer humanitarian asylum to Edward Snowden,” Nicolas Maduro proclaimed during a military parade marking the country’s Independence Day.
“He is a young man who has told the truth, in the spirit of rebellion, about the United States spying on the whole world,” Nicolas Maduro said.
But the Obama administration said yesterday that U.S. diplomats are working behind the scenes to make it difficult for Edward Snowden to find safe harbor in any of the nations that have offered him asylum.
Edward Snowden has received a temporary travel document to fly to Caracas, Venezuela, and both Bolivia and Nicaragua have also offered him political asylum, but White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters during his regular briefing that the United States will do what it can to stop him.
“The United States has been in touch via diplomatic and law enforcement channels with countries through which Mr. Snowden might transit or which might serve as final destinations for Mr. Snowden,” Jay Carney said.
U.S. diplomats, he added, have “made very clear that he has been charged with a felony, or with felonies, and, as such, he should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel other than travel that would result in him returning to the United States”.
It’s not clear whether the Obama administration is hoping a Latin American nation will double-cross Snowden and offer him up to Washington after he arrives from Russia.
But the U.S., Jay Carney said, is still working to persuade Moscow to short-circuit the process and turn the fugitive over before he can leave Moscow’s Sheremetyevo-2 airport.
Sources say Edward Snowden will not be allowed to board the only Aeroflot plane that offers direct connections to Caracas, a regular service to Cuban capital Havana.
The routing overflies both the EU and the US and there are fears the plane will be denied rights to Western airspace, and forced to land, leading to Edward Snowden’s arrest.
The direct distance from Moscow to Caracas is 6,175 miles but it appeared too far for Edward Snowden.
The escape route for Edward Snowden is fraught with problems.
With Russia getting publicly impatient with Edward Snowden’s presence in its transit zone, his escape route is a logistical nightmare.
“Instead of going west to Venezuela, his obvious option is east to Vladivostok and then across the Pacific to Caracas,” said one source.
It would mean Russia allowing him to formally enter its territory, which so far it has refused to do, unwilling to upset the US.
This would also involve a 14,200 mile detour and a routing that would bring him close to the US state of Hawaii posing a risk to any private plane willing to take him on a route where there are no scheduled services.
One option for the fugitive is to charter a private plane.
Former CIA analyst Allen Thomson said: “A private plane certainly looks like the best bet to me.” “It has the advantage of simplicity and minimum involvement by the Russian government,”Mother Jones reported.
As Allen Thomson told Foreign Policy, Edward Snowden could avoid US-influenced airspace by flying north to the Barents Sea, through the Denmark Strait, head soutwhile avoiding Canada’s Newfoundland, until getting to the east of the Windward Islands, then squeezing through between islands.
Plus-size model Robyn Lawley has defied ideals of “thinness equals beauty” to star on the world’s most covetable magazine covers and ad campaigns, and now she is taking on the plus-size swimwear market.
Sydney native Robyn Lawley, 24, has teamed up with Bond-Eye Australia to launch a collection of bikinis and one pieces available in U.S. sizes 8 to 18, designed specifically for fashionable women with curves.
“I swim almost daily, and I found most swimwear that came in my size to be boring and unflattering with no real fashion elements,” she told Refinery 29.
“I also couldn’t find any bikinis that supported my bust in the surf, or had a high enough rise in the stomach section to be flattering, so the idea was born from my own necessity and grew from there.”
Robyn Lawley, who was the first plus-size model to star in a Ralph Lauren campaign and in the pages of Vogue Australia, hopes that Robyn Lawley Swimwear, which ranges in price from $140 to $200, will be “the go-to brand for swimwear for all women”.
Robyn Lawley Swimwear
“For this first collection, I decided to start in a size range that 80% of women live between,” she explained.
“We will add sizing according to the feedback we receive and we are really hoping the demand is there.”
With plenty of swimwear experience under her belt (most recently her curves modeled H&M’s plus-size swim collection), Robyn Lawley said that the collection’s sizing is “true” for every swimsuit.
“Regular swimwear brands tend to be very small fit, and you often find yourself going up one or two sizes to be comfortable. This is not the case with my line,” she explained.
With a touch of retro, glamour and “urban edge”, the flattering collection is peppered with Robyn Lawley’s own personality.
“My dragon fruit one-piece was inspired by my love of food,” she said, referring to her well-documented infatuation with cooking.
When she is not gracing magazine covers, the six-foot-two-inch model writes a food blog, Robyn Lawley Eats – a side hobby that has been praised by the fashion industry as leading the way for a more positive body image.
Despite the fact that 50% of women wear a U.S. size 14 or larger, designers routinely cater to sizes 14 or smaller, and Robyn Lawlely hopes to be the catalyst to change that.
Robyn Lawley told Good Morning America last year: “I genuinely want companies to take notice and start being more realistic about who their customer really is. I hope to keep breaking down those barriers.”
Amanda Bynes displayed another bizarre look for a court appearance, sporting a turquoise wig and an outfit more suited for a trip to the gym than to face a judge.
Amanda Bynes, 27, was pictured outside the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, where she is attending a hearing into allegations she tossed a mar***ana b**g from the window of her 36th floor apartment.
The troubled actress is charged with reckless endangerment and attempted tampering with physical evidence.
Amanda Bynes displayed another bizarre look for a court appearance
Amanda Bynes previously attended a court hearing in May, shortly after her arrest, wearing a long blonde wig.
She was arrested after building officials at her Manhattan apartment called police to complain she was rolling a j**nt and smoking p*t in the lobby.
Amanda Bynes was virtually silent during Tuesday’s hearing, according to TMZ, and the judge continued the case to August 26.
At her arraignment hearing in May, Amanda Bynes’ attorney Andrew Friedman told the court: “My client completely denies illegally throwing anything out of her window.”
And he claimed she was illegally followed into her apartment by police.
Amanda Bynes also made a series of allegations on Twitter in the wake of her May arrest, claiming she was assaulted by the arresting officer.
Bulgarian Metropolitan Kiril of Varna and Pereslavl has been found on the Black Sea beach near Varna, the national radio reported today.
A medical examiner has already established Metropolitan Kiril’s identity.
An investigation is under way and the version of a violent death is not excluded.
Bulgaria’s Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that it was investigating the “cause and circumstances of death”, but had no reasons to believe foul play was involved.
The body was found at about 8 a.m. and was reported to the 112 emergency hotline; the deceased was later identified as Kiril, the prosecution statement said. An autopsy was ordered to establish the cause of death, prosecutors said.
News agency Focus reported, quoting the Varna district prosecutor’s office, that the cause of death was ruled to be drowning.
Bulgarian Metropolitan Kiril of Varna and Pereslavl has been found on the Black Sea beach near Varna
Kiril was wearing a diving mask and a snorkel. According to Bulgarian National Television, which quoted local residents, he was a good swimmer and was often seen swimming on the beach were his body was found.
Bulgaria’s Holy Synod is expected to meet on July 10 to name an interim metropolitan of Varna, while Bulgarian Orthodox Church Patriarch Neofit cancelled a scheduled trip to Rousse, Bulgarian media reported.
Metropolitan Kiril was born on 8 June, 1954. He was named metropolitan in 1989. Since the death of Patriarch Maxim in 2012, Kirill has been the acting chairperson of the Patriarchal Throne.
The death of Kiril would have a significant implication for the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, because it would create another vacancy on the Holy Synod.
Pro tem, Neofit has held on to the diocese of Rousse but a Metropolitan would have to be elected in his place. In June 2013, the Holy Synod accepted the resignation of Simeon, Metropolitan of Western and Central Europe, on the grounds of serious ill-health.
A third vacancy in the church’s governing body creates wider possibilities for changes in the balance of the power in the running of the church. Census results and surveys indicate that a majority of Bulgarians declare themselves to be adherents of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
The trial of Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground off Italy last year, has opened and been adjourned until next week.
Francesco Schettino, 52, faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship.
Thirty-two people died when the ship hit rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012 and then tipped onto its side.
Tuesday’s hearing was adjourned because of a nationwide lawyers’ strike.
Francesco Schettino has been accused of steering the luxury liner too fast and too close to the shore, and of leaving the ship before all of the 4,229 passengers and crew were taken off.
He was allegedly performing a risky night-time sail-past salute to people on the tiny island of Giglio.
Captain Francesco Schettino faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning he Costa Concordia cruise ship
The Costa Concordia ship was holed by rocks on the left-hand side causing it to list, as passengers dined on the first night of the cruise.
A chaotic and disorganized evacuation ensued. By the time the order to evacuate came, the Costa Concordia was listing so far to one side that many lifeboats could not be used.
The liner is still lying on its side, half-submerged, off Giglio. Two people are still listed as missing.
Captain Francesco Schettino denies the charges, and his defense is expected to argue that no single person was to blame for the accident.
He claims his maneuvering of the ship closer to shore saved lives.
The trial is being heard in Grosseto, a city 90 miles north-west of Rome which is nearest to the site of the wreck. It is taking place in the city’s theatre, rather than its small courthouse.
In addition to the hundreds of survivors seeking compensation, the local authorities in Giglio are hoping for at least 80 million euros ($105 million) to make up for alleged lost revenue and the eyesore that has been on its shoreline.
Up to 430 witnesses and 250 plaintiffs could be called during Francesco Schettino’s trial, AFP news agency reports.
Francesco Schettino’s lawyers say he faces a maximum 20 years in jail if found guilty.
The Costa Concordia still lies partially submerged off the coast of Giglio while salvage crews work to refloat it.
Elton John has decided to postpone a series of summer festival dates after being diagnosed with appendicitis.
According to his website, Elton John called in doctors after falling ill during his current European tour.
The statement added he was on a course of “intensive antibiotics” and was expected to undergo surgery “in the coming weeks”.
Elton John was due to play a festival in Italy on Tuesday, as well as shows in Germany and London this week.
Elton John has decided to postpone a series of summer festival dates after being diagnosed with appendicitis
The statement said the diagnosis was made “following a number of exploratory scans and blood tests with his medical team in the UK”.
A spokesman confirmed Elton John would not return to touring until he had fully recovered from both the planned surgery and any damage caused by the appendix abscess.
“Elton is incredibly disappointed to postpone these tour dates,” he said.
“To know that he made such super-human efforts and continued to perform to thousands through his illness only confirms his dedication to his European fans.
“He is eager to be back on top form and return to play the remaining shows starting in early September 2013.”
Elton John had been due to perform at the Collisioni festival in Italy on Tuesday, with further shows in Germany on Thursday and a headline gig at London’s Hyde Park on Friday.
British Summer Time festival organizers AEG Live said the Hyde Park show would still go ahead with Elvis Costello and former Kinks frontman Ray Davies on the bill, with existing ticket holders receiving a full refund.
Other July dates now scrapped include festivals in Spain, France and Monaco.
Elton John is due back in the UK in September, performing at the First Direct Arena in Leeds and at Bestival before heading back to Las Vegas for a month-long residency at The Colosseum.
British researchers have made a device that can “smell” bladder cancer in urine samples.
The device uses a sensor to detect gaseous chemicals that are given off if cancer cells are present.
Early trials show the tests gives accurate results more than nine times in 10, its inventors told PLoS One journal.
However, experts say more studies are needed to perfect the test before it can become widely available.
British researchers have made a device that can “smell” bladder cancer in urine samples
Doctors have been searching for ways to spot this cancer at an earlier stage when it is more treatable.
And many have been interested in odors in urine, since past work suggests dogs can be trained to recognize the scent of cancer.
Prof. Chris Probert, from Liverpool University, and Prof. Norman Ratcliffe, of the University of the West of England, say their new device can read cancer smells.
“It reads the gases that chemicals in the urine can give off when the sample is heated,” said Prof. Norman Ratcliffe.
To test their device, they used 98 samples of urine – 24 from men known to have bladder cancer and 74 from men with bladder-related problems but no cancer.
Prof. Chris Probert said the results were very encouraging but added: “We now need to look at larger samples of patients to test the device further before it can be used in hospitals.”
Spanish newspaper El Mundo has published what it alleges are documents showing PM Mariano Rajoy and other top politicians received illicit payments.
El Mundo said it had original ledger entries handwritten by the former treasurer of the governing Popular Party (PP), Luis Barcenas.
It said it had delivered the documents to the High Court.
Mariano Rajoy and other PP members have repeatedly denied that they received illegal payments.
Another Spanish paper, El Pais, published similar documents earlier this year.
It is claimed that Luis Barcenas ran a PP slush fund that took donations from construction magnates and distributed them to party leaders in cash.
Luis Barcenas is in custody facing trial for corruption and tax fraud. He denies the allegations.
El Mundo has published what it alleges are documents showing PM Mariano Rajoy and other top politicians received illicit payments
However, in an interview published in El Mundo on Sunday, Luis Barcenas for the first time admitted that the handwriting in the ledger was his.
Luis Barcenas added that the photocopies originally published by El Pais were a fraction of the documents he had in his possession.
El Mundo said the documents it had seen showed that Mariano Rajoy received payments in 1997, 1998 and 1999 when he was a minister in the government of Jose Maria Aznar.
They included, it said, two payments to Mariano Rajoy of 2.1 million pesetas (12,600 euros; $16,000) in 1998.
The alleged payments are said to have been undeclared and untaxed.
Spanish opposition leader Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba in February called on Mariano Rajoy to resign over the allegations.
“The Luis Barcenas originals published by El Mundo today pulverize the alibi used until now by the PP to deny the authenticity of its ex-treasurer’s papers,” the newspaper wrote.
The PP responded with a statement saying: “The Popular Party reiterates that it does not know of the notes nor their content, and it does not in any way recognize them as the accounts of this political organization.”
The allegations have caused anger among Spaniards already suffering a deep and long recession and biting austerity cuts.
Colleen S. Burns, who was thought to be brain-dead, opened her eyes just in time as doctors at St. Joseph’s hospital in Central New York were in the process of starting surgery to harvest her organs.
That massive mistake has now cost the hospital $6,000 after a federal inquiry in addition to another fine of $16,000 after another patient fell and injured her head when she was left unattended in 2011, according to reporting in the Syracuse Post-Standard.
Colleen S. Burns of North Syracuse, New York, 41, had been admitted to the hospital in October 2009 for a drug overdose.
Because of a series of mistakes in evaluation, doctors believed that the woman was dead and started the organ donation process.
The state Health Department investigation of the incident found that when Colleen Burns was first admitted, they skipped a recommended treatment that would prevent the drugs she had taken – Xanax, Benadryl and a muscle relaxant – from being absorbed by her stomach and intestines.
They also didn’t do enough testing to see if she was free of drugs or perform enough brain scans.
Because they didn’t perform enough of these scans, doctors believed that Colleen Burns was brain dead, when in reality the over dose had put her in a coma.
After doctors said she was essentially brain dead, her family agreed to take her off life support and her organs donated.
But the day before the organs were to be removed, a nurse performed a reflex test and found that Colleen S. Burns was still reacting.
She scraped her finger on the bottom of one of her feet and her toes curled downward, a sign that she was still alive.
Colleen S. Burns, who was thought to be brain-dead, opened her eyes when doctors at St. Joseph’s hospital were in the process of starting to harvest her organs
And that wasn’t the only sign of life. As she was being wheeled to the operating room, Colleen Burns’ nostrils flared and it seemed she was breathing independently from the respirator. Her lips and tongue were moving as well.
But doctors ignored the nurse’s observations which indicated Colleen S. Burns was still alive, and proceeded with the surgery anyway.
Before the procedure, Colleen Burns was given an injection of the sedative Ativan, but neither the sedative or the observations of life were recorded in the doctor’s notes for the procedure.
Dr. David Mayer, a general vascular surgeon and associate professor of clinical surgery a New York Medical College, said the application of a sedative is quite strange.
“It would sedate her to the point that she could be non-reactive,” Dr. David Mayer told the Post-Standard.
“If you have to sedate them or give them pain medication, they’re not brain dead and you shouldn’t be harvesting their organs.”
It wasn’t until Colleen S. Burns opened her eyes in the OR that the procedure was called off.
Neither Colleen S. Burns nor her family sued the hospital for malpractice. Sixteen months later, a determined she successfully committed suicide.
Her mother, Lucille Kuss said her daughter wasn’t upset about the incident.
“She was so depressed that it really didn’t make any difference to her,” Lucille Kuss said.
It did, however, make a difference for the state Health Department and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Both investigated the incident and found St. Joe’s procedures lacking.
The hospital didn’t even report the incident, nor conduct an investigation of their own.
It wasn’t until after the Post-Standard started their investigation that the hospital put out any sort of explanation for what happened.
“The hospital did not undertake an intensive and critical review of the near catastrophic event in this case,” the federal report said.
The officials at the hospital did not “identify the inadequate physician evaluations of [Colleen S. Burns] that occurred when nursing staff questioned possible signs of improving neurological function”.
Overall, the federal report found that the patient did not meet criteria for withdrawal of care.
The spokesman for the hospital said that they’ve learned from the experience and “have modified our policies to include the type of unusual circumstance presented in this case”.
In addition to the total $22,000 fine, the hospital was ordered to hire a consultant to review the hospital’s quality assurance program, implement the consultants recommendations and hire a consulting neurologist to teach staff how to accurately diagnose brain death.
Lauryn Hill has begun a three-month prison sentence in Connecticut for tax evasion.
Former Fugees singer Lauryn Hill, 38, was sentenced in May for failing to pay tax on $1.8 million of her earnings between 2005 and 2007.
A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons said Lauryn Hill had reported to a minimum security prison in Danbury.
After release, Lauryn Hill will be under parole supervision for a year, with the first three months to be spent confined to her home.
Lauryn Hill has begun a three-month prison sentence in Connecticut for tax evasion
Lauryn Hill will be housed with the general population at the Federal Correctional Institution of Danbury, where prisoners live in open dormitory-style living quarters and are expected to work in jobs such as maintenance, food service or landscaping.
After pleading guilty last year, the singer’s lawyer had sought probation for her, arguing her charitable works, family circumstances and the fact that she later paid back the taxes she owed, should merit consideration.
During her sentencing, Lauryn Hill said she had intended to pay the taxes but could not after withdrawing from public life and ending her music career to raise her children.
Lauryn Hill began singing with hip-hop group The Fugees as a teenager before releasing her acclaimed solo debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, in 1998.
It went on to win five Grammy awards and sold more than 19 million copies worldwide.
Troubled actress Amanda Bynes has moved on from judging her fellow celebrities to insulting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Amanda Bynes, 27, took to Twitter on Monday with a post slamming Barack and Michelle Obama as “ugly”.
The new tweet comes after three months of erratic and often offensive behavior on the social media site.
Amanda Bynes has moved on from judging her fellow celebrities to insulting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama
Amanda Bynes wrote, in what appeared to be a plea for attention: “Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are ugly!”
The verbal jab is consistent with her erratic insults, often directed at some of Hollywood’s most attractive stars.
The Obamas are widely regarded to be the most attractive first family in American history with Michelle Obama gracing the covers of some of the nation’s most glamorous magazines.
Amanda Bynes did also declare herself less than perfect on Monday once again tweeting she needed more plastic surgery.
But the insult is par for the course for the Hollywood actress, who has self-destructed in the last three months.
Previously, Amanda Bynes has taken to Twitter to criticize celebrities including Drake, Rihanna and even her own mother and sister Jillian.
Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter Zara Phillips insists she will carry on competing in top class horse trials despite her pregnancy.
Zara Phillips, 32, who was part of the Olympic medal-winning British eventing team last summer, is expecting her first baby with husband Mike Tindall in the New Year, Buckingham Palace announced yesterday.
Although the NHS advises pregnant women not to continue with “inherently risky” sports such as horse riding, former world champion Zara Phillips was competing at the Barbury International Horse Trials at the weekend.
Miss Zara Phillips, who is believed to be three months pregnant, came off her horse at one point, but was later described as “fine”.
Yesterday a spokesman for Miss Zara Phillips, as she is still known professionally, said she would carry on competing for several weeks at least. She is currently entered into three events later this month, with rides on six horses.
The spokesman said: “She will definitely be back in the saddle soon. It’s business as usual at the moment.
“She is entered into several events, but as with any rider, they treat each event on a case-by-case basis and if she pulls out of an event it will be because the horse isn’t ready, rather than her.”
But she later cautioned: “As you can imagine she is following all medical advice from her doctors. She is being sensible about this and is listening to what the doctors are telling her.
“She couldn’t be happier about the baby and would never put her pregnancy in jeopardy.”
Zara Phillips insists she will carry on competing in top class horse trials despite her pregnancy
Zara Phillips is well aware of the dangers of riding. She broke her collarbone in 2008 after she came off her horse at an event in France.
The animal, Tsunami II, broke its neck and was killed in the fall.
Two years previously her close friend, world-class rider Sherelle Duke, died when her horse fell on top of her during a competition.
The news that another royal baby is on the way was announced formally in a statement by Buckingham Palace yesterday.
The statement said: “Mr. and Mrs. Mike Tindall are very pleased to announce that Zara Tindall is expecting a baby in the New Year.
“The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips, Mr. Phillip and Mrs. Linda Tindall, and members of both families are delighted with the news.
“This baby will be the first child for Mike and Zara and the third grandchild for The Princess Royal.”
Zara Phillips’ baby is believed to be due in January.
The Queen was said to be “delighted” about another addition to her family, as were the parents of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall.
A spokesman for PM David Cameron said he would “send his very, very best wishes to the happy couple”.
Later Mike Tindall, a former England rugby captain, joked on Twitter: “Thanks for all the kind messages, we are very excited and I agree with you all that hopefully he/she won’t have my nose.”
Mike Tindall has long been the butt of jokes for his misshapen nose, the result of several breaks during his international rugby career.
The baby will be 16th in line to the throne following the birth of Kate Middleton and Prince William’s first baby later this month.
It is believed Zara Phillips’s mother, Princess Anne, rode until she was 34 weeks pregnant.
And eventer Mary King, who rode for Britain at six consecutive Olympics, competed until she was five and a half months pregnant.
Mary King said: “The team doctor said that the baby was perfectly safe inside you, if you’re happy with what you’re doing just crack on.”
Mariah Carey was rushed hospital on Sunday night after she dislocated her shoulder on the set of her new music video directed by her husband Nick Cannon.
Mariah Carey, 43, was taken to New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery after she took a tumble while filming the video for the remix of her song #Beautiful.
“She was taken to hospital late last night, where doctors reset her shoulder,” Mariah Carey’s rep told the New York Post.
“She is fine and is recovering at home.”
Mariah Carey was shooting the video at Avenue nightclub in Chelsea in downtown Manhattan.
Mariah Carey was rushed hospital after she dislocated her shoulder on the set of her new music video directed by Nick Cannon
She may have tripped and fallen in her high heels, a source told the New York Post.
The accident was kept quiet and an ambulance wasn’t called, an FDNY source told the NY Daily News, confirming that no ambulances were dispatched Sunday to 116 10th Ave., where the club is located.
Mariah Carey is said to have had her private medical personnel on hand in case of any incidents.
Nick Cannon was “very loving” toward his wife, and stayed by her side while a doctor looked at her, according to the NY Daily News.
Despite her injury, Mariah Carey is still expected to perform at a free concert on July 13 with Major League Baseball in Central Park to benefit Hurrican Sandy Relief.
“She will perform, but it is likely she will have her arm in a sling,” another source told The Post.
Mariah Carey, who was filming the video with Young Jeezy, has kept quiet about the accident.
“At a certain age when you’re over 40, any kind of injury is like saying rigor mortis has set in,” a source close to the singer told the NY Daily News.
“Mariah wants to always be young and fabulous and fit. She doesn’t want you saying she eats Activia [yoghurt].”
The release of Mariah Carey’s new album The Art Of Letting Go, which was scheduled for July, has been delayed “in order to have more time on it”, according to her website.
Cleveland kidnap victim Michelle Knight has broken her public silence to bravely face the cameras for the first time since her rescue from the house of horrors in May in a recent video released on YouTube.
Michelle Knight’s captor Ariel Castro is accused of starved and punching her until she miscarried during her decade-long ordeal.
But Michelle Knight, now 32, sought to reassure the public saying: “I want everyone to know I’m doing just fine.”
She admitted in the video released onto YouTube on Monday that she had been “through hell and back, but I am strong enough to walk through hell with a smile on my face”.
A smiling Michelle Knight spoke directly into the camera said: “I will not let the situation define who I am. I will define the situation.”
It was not even known that Michelle Knight had been kidnapped until she was found in Ariel Castro’s home on Seymour Avenue on May 6.
“I don’t want to be consumed by hatred. With that being said, we need to take a leap of faith and know that God is in control.”
Appearing alongside Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, who Michelle Knight refers to her as “her best friends”, the three women each appeared separately in the three-minute, 33-second clip, as they thanked those who helped them and to request their privacy be respected.
All three women appear healthy and flashed their warm smiles to the camera.
The set-up interviews, were recorded on July 2 and filmed at the law offices of Jones Day in Cleveland, Ohio and put together pro bono by PR firm Hennes Paynter Communications.
Frequently referring to her faith during her brief statement, Michelle Knight expressed her dearest wish to now help others who have been through similar horrific ordeals of captivity.
“To know that there is someone out there to lean on and to talk to,” she said.
“Thank you for all your prayers. I’m looking forward to my brand new life.”
Michelle Knight has broken her public silence to bravely face the cameras for the first time since her rescue from the house of horrors in May
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight broke their combined public silence in the video posted late on Monday evening, saying the encouragement of family, friends and the public has enabled them to restart their lives.
The captor, former bus driver Ariel Castro, 52, has pleaded not guilty to a 329-count indictment that includes charges of kidnapping and rape – alleging he kidnapped the women off the streets between 2002 and 2004 and held them captive in his two-story home.
Ariel Castro fathered a 6-year-old daughter with Amanda Berry and is accused of starving and punching Michelle Knight, causing her to miscarry – for which is facing the charge of aggravated murder of a fetus – which could carry the death penalty.
He was arrested on May 6th, shortly after Amanda Berry broke through a door at the home and yelled to neighbors for help.
Amanda Berry was 16 when she disappeared on April 21st, 2003. Gina DeJesus was 14 when she went missing in 2004.
Michelle Knight was the first to vanish in 2002 at age 20.
Kathy Joseph, an attorney for Michelle Knight, said in a statement that the three women wanted to “say thank you to people from Cleveland and across the world, now that two months have passed”.
She said they’re being recognized in public, “so they decided to put voices and faces to their heartfelt messages”.
James Wooley, attorney for Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, also issued a statement saying Michelle Knight and his clients thank people for the privacy they’ve been given and do not want to discuss their case with the news media or anyone else.
Released from hospital five days after Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight has by all accounts been staying with DeJesus’ family because of her fractious relationship with her own.
When Michelle Knight finally left hospital in mid-May, she thanked the public for their support and the fund created to aid the victims.
A hospital statement said: “Michelle Knight is in good spirits and would like the community to know that she is extremely grateful for the outpouring of flowers and gifts.
“She is especially thankful for the Cleveland Courage Fund. She asks that everyone please continue to respect her privacy at this time.”
It was revealed Michelle Knight is reportedly suffering hearing loss and facial bone damage after years of vicious beatings to her head.
Michelle Knight was 20 when she was taken off the street in 2002 and little was made of her disappearance.
Her family told police that she had run away after her young child was taken from her by the Ohio Department of Family Services.
Action News19 reported in May that Michelle Knight’s mother, Barbara returned to Cleveland after she moved to Naples, Florida, but that Michelle refused to allow her mother to see her.
“I just wish that my daughter would reach out and let me know that she’s there… She’s probably angry at the world because she thought she would never be found but thank God that somebody did,” said Michelle Knight’s mother.
“I don’t want her to think that I forgot about her… Hopefully whatever happened between us, if something did – I hope it heals because I really want to take her back to Florida with me.”
It is still not clear if mother and daughter have reunited.
It has been claimed that Michelle Knight requires facial reconstruction surgery to repair the damage of repeated beatings.
Michelle Knight was the first of the three victims to be abducted. She was last seen at a cousin’s house near West 106th Street and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland in 2002.
But her disappearance did not receive much publicity as she was classed as a runaway and her name was taken off the missing person’s database just 15 months later.
In the aftermath of her rescue it also emerged that Michelle Knight was gang-raped and impregnated in junior high – a year before she suffered more than ten years of abuse under a kidnapper.
Michelle Knight’s mother also said at the time of her rescue that she was looking forward to being reunited with her son, now 13, after she left hospital.
If you want to help Amanda Berry, Gina Dejesus and Michelle Knight to recover, you can donate to help the victims at the Cleveland Courage Fund.
Cleveland kidnap victims Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight appear healthy and happy as they recover from a decade in sickening captivity in a heartwarming video that has been released on YouTube.
This is the first on-camera appearance of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight since they were freed from the clutches of Ariel Castro – who allegedly beat and raped them and held them locked inside his house under unimaginable conditions.
The footage also marks the first public appearance of Michelle Knight since 2002. It was not even know that she had been kidnapped until she was found in Ariel Castro’s home on Seymour Avenue on May 6.
The video, which is three and a half minutes long, was posted on YouTube late Monday by Hennes Paynter Communications, the public relations firm that the three young women and their families hired after they were freed from captivity.
In it, all three women thank the supporters who rallied to their cause after they were sensationally freed on May 6. The story captivated the nation and united the hard-scrabble city of Cleveland.
“First and foremost, I want everyone to understand how happy I am to be home with my family and my friends. It’s been unbelievable,” Amanda Berry says.
She adds: “I’m getting stronger each day and having my privacy has helped immensely. I ask that everyone continues to respect our privacy and give us to time have a normal life.”
The video offers a hopeful portrait of the girls, who have gone into hiding among the furor of media coverage that descended on Cleveland after they were sensationally found alive after nearly everyone had given up searching for them.
Kathy Joseph, an attorney for Michelle Knight, said in a statement that the three women wanted to “say thank you to people from Cleveland and across the world, now that two months have passed”.
She said they’re being recognized in public, “so they decided to put voices and faces to their heartfelt messages”.
James Wooley, attorney for Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, also issued a statement saying Michelle Knight and his clients thank people for the privacy they’ve been given and do not want to discuss their case with the news media or anyone else.
Michelle Knight, who was Ariel Castro’s first alleged victim – said to be taken off a west-side street in 2002, put a brave face on her new world.
“Thank you everyone for your love support and donations, which helped me build a brand new life. I want everyone to know I’m doing just fine,” she said.
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight appear healthy and happy as they recover from a decade in sickening captivity
Michelle knight’s family said that she has developmental disabilities and bore the brunt of the brutal beatings and torture that Ariel Castro allegedly doled out.
Her aunt told reports that she was beaten so badly she required reconstruction surgery to repair the damage to her face.
Michelle Knight appears undaunted in the video.
“I may have been through hell and back, but I am strong enough to walk through hell with a smile on my face and with my head held high and with my feet firmly on the ground,” she says.
She speaks about her faith in God and how she is leaning on her faith to get her through the difficult recovery.
“God has a plan for all of us. The plan that he gave me is for me to help others that have been in the same situations I have been in – to know that there is someone out there to lean on and to talk to,” Michelle Knight says.
“I am in control of my own destiny with the guidance of God.”
Gina DeJesus appears briefly to thank all of the donors who contributed to the Cleveland Courage fund to help the three girls.
More than 9,200 donors have amassed a little more than $1million for the girls’ recovery.
All three women smile broadly as the speak. They are well-dressed and wearing tastefully-applied makeup in the heavily-produced video shot in downtown Cleveland.
However, the video also contains reminders of the horror that the young women experienced.
Michelle Knight appears to display the effects of the severe beatings she endured for 11 years.
Gina DeJesus speaks only one line in the video. When asked by a man behind the camera what she would like to say to the people who contributed to the Cleveland Courage fund, she responds: “I would say thank you for the support.”
Instead, Gina’s family speaks for her.
Her parents Felix DeJesus and Nancy Ruiz never gave up hope and never stopped searching for their daughter.
“I would like to thank everyone who has donated to the courage fund for these girls. I’d also like to thank the family for having so much passion and the strength to go along with us,” Felix DeJesus says.
Nancy Ruiz offered a word of encouragement to parents who are going through the trauma of missing a child.
She said: “To parents that does have a loved one missing. Please do me one big favor, count on your neighbors. Don’t be afraid to ask for their help because help is available.”
Ariel Castro, 52, faces 329 charges of kidnapping, rape, aggravated murder and other charges as a result of the statements the three women gave to police. The aggravated murder charge stems from a pregnancy that Ariel Castro alleged terminated by beating one of the women so severely she had a miscarriage.
Last week, a Cleveland judge ruled Ariel Castro mentally fit to stand trial.
The judge also denied his request to visit Jocelyn, the 6-year-old daughter he fathered with Amanda Berry while she was in captivity in his Cleveland house.
Psychologists say that Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight have many long years of intensive therapy and rehabilitation ahead of them to begin to undo the damage left by the horrific abuse that they suffered.
Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground off Italy last year, is set to go on trial.
Francesco Schettino, 52, faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship.
Thirty-two people died when the ship hit a rock off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012 and then tipped onto its side.
A nationwide strike by Italian lawyers is expected to affect the start of the trial, due later on Tuesday.
Francesco Schettino has been accused of steering the luxury liner too fast and too close to the shore, and of leaving the ship before all of the 4,229 passengers were taken off.
He was allegedly performing a risky night-time sail-past salute to people on the tiny island of Giglio.
The ship was holed by rocks on the left-hand side causing it to list, as passengers dined on the first night of the cruise.
Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground off Italy last year, is set to go on trial
A chaotic and disorganized evacuation ensued. By the time the order to evacuate came, the Costa Concordia was listing so far to one side that many lifeboats could not be used.
The liner is still lying on its side, half-submerged, off Giglio. Two people are still listed as missing.
Captain Francesco Schettino denies the charges, and his defense is expected to argue that no single person was to blame for the accident.
He claims his manoeuvring of the ship closer to shore saved lives.
Francesco Schettino is expected in court in Grosseto, a city 90 miles north-west of Rome which is nearest to the site of the wreck.
However, the trial could be delayed by a week if his lawyers observe the strike, scheduled to start on Tuesday.
In addition to the hundreds of survivors seeking compensation, the local authorities in Giglio are hoping for at least 80 million euros ($105 million) to make up for alleged lost revenue and the eyesore that has been on its shoreline.
Up to 430 witnesses and 250 plaintiffs could be called during Francesco Schettino’s trial, AFP news agency reports.
Francesco Schettino’s lawyers say he faces a maximum 20 years in jail if found guilty.
The Costa Concordia still lies partially submerged off the coast of Giglio while salvage crews work to refloat it.
