Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/14/2012

Last night a cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 passengers was sailing near a small island off the western shore of Italy, and struck an unexpected underwater obstacle — possibly a rock — tearing a large gash in the side of its hull. Within the space off an hour or so, enough water had poured into the ship to tip it on its side and partially sink it. Three people were killed and about forty are still missing. The captain of the ship has been detained by the Italian police on suspicion of manslaughter and leaving his post before everyone else aboard had escaped.

In other news, British Foreign Minister William Hague celebrated the great democratic opportunity afforded by the “Arab Spring” even as his boss, Prime Minister David Cameron, paid an official state visit to the despots who rule Saudi Arabia.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to AC, JP, Kitman, Takuan Seiyo, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.