Italian court upholds house arrest for Costa Concordia captainFebruary 7, 2012 - 23:29 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - An Italian court refused Tuesday, Feb 7, to lift an order of house arrest for Francesco Schettino, the captain of Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground off a Tuscan island last month, AP reported. The court in Florence rejected two requests: one from prosecutors to jail Schettino and another from Schettino to be freed. Schettino commanded the ship with 4,200 people that ran aground off the island of Giglio on Jan 13, killing 17 people and leaving 15 missing. He is being investigated for suspected manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the vessel before all its passengers were evacuated. The ship remains partly submerged off Giglio. Officials plan to remove about 500,000 gallons (2,400 tons) of heavy fuel from it, but that has been delayed by rough seas and bad weather. Once the fuel is withdrawn, the massive ship will be broken into pieces and taken away - a process that could take many months. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets. Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty. Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran. Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |