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Colleen Barry

Oil recovery experts work on a wave control buoy to be used near the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. Residents of Giglio are growing increasingly worried about threats to the environment and the future of the Italian island following the temporary suspension of the recovery operation of the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

It could take 10 months to remove capsized cruise ship

Colleen Barry, Fulvio Paolocci The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - 1:31pm

GIGLIO, Italy -- The cruise ship that capsized off Italy's coast will take up to 10 months to remove, officials said Sunday, as rough seas off the Tuscan coast forced the suspension of recovery operations.

Officials called off both the start of operations to remove of 500,000 gallons of fuel and the search for people still missing after determining the Costa Concordia had moved four centimeters (an inch and a half) over six hours, coupled with waves of more than one meter (three feet).

Cruise ship, Cruise ship sinking, Ship aground, International Read more Comments

Italian Coast Guard scuba divers carry away the recovered bodies of two victims of the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Italian officials say Monday two more bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of a cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan coast, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 15. The national civil protection agency official in charge of the search said Monday that divers recovered the bodies of two women from the ship's internet cafe. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

2 more cruise bodies found, oil pumping to begin

Colleen Barry, Frances D'Emilio The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, January 23, 2012 - 3:19pm

ROME -- Experts can begin pumping fuel from a capsized cruise ship as early as Tuesday to avert a possible environmental catastrophe and the ship is stable enough to let search efforts go on for those still missing, Italian officials said.

Costa Concordia, Cruise ship, Cruise ship sinking, Sinking, International Read more Comments

The cruise ship Costa Concordia lays on its side after running aground Friday evening on the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. Five more bodies were found Tuesday in the crippled cruise ship off Tuscany, and a shocking audio recording emerged in which the ship's captain was heard making excuses as the Italian coast guard repeatedly ordered him to return on board to oversee the ship's evacuation. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Search for cruise ship survivors called off; 22 still missing

Colleen Barry, Nicole Winfield The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 1:01pm

ROME -- Italian rescue workers suspended operations Wednesday after a stricken cruise ship shifted slightly on the rocks near the Tuscan coast, creating deep concerns about the safety of divers and firefighters searching for the 22 people still missing.

Costa Concordia, Cruise ship, Ocean, Search, Sinking, International Read more Comments

Francesco Schettino the captain of the luxury cruiser Costa Concordia , which ran aground off Italy's Tuscan coast speaks during a TV interview in Porto Santo Stefano Italy Saturday Jan. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/MediaSat, via APTN )

Cruise ship captain pleaded not to reboard ship

Colleen Barry, Nicole Winfield The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 11:42am

ROME -- Five more bodies were pulled Tuesday out of the crippled cruise ship off Tuscany, and a shocking audio emerged in which the ship's captain was heard making excuses as the Italian coast guard repeatedly ordered him to return and oversee the ship's evacuation.

Prosecutors have accused Capt. Francesco Schettino of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship before all passengers were evacuated during the grounding of the Costa Concordia cruise ship Friday night.

Audiotape, Costa Concordia, Cruise ship, Sinking, International Read more Comments

Metalworkers march through downtown Turin, Italy, Monday, Dec. 12, 2011. Union leaders in Italy are calling on workers to stage a three-hour strike to protest austerity measures that Premier Mario Monti hopes will save the country from financial ruin. The union leaders say the measures hit too hard at pensioners and workers and not hard enough at the wealthy (AP Photo/Fabio Ferrari, Lapresse)

Italian markets nervous as unions strike over cuts

Colleen Barry, Frances D’emilio The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, December 12, 2011 - 8:52am

ROME — Italian financial market jitters worsened on Monday, as workers angry about government austerity reforms went on strike and held nationwide rallies while investors turned skeptical about an EU pact to save the euro.

Business, Economy, Euro, Protest, Stock Market, Strike, European Union, International Read more Comments

(ROBERTO MONALDO/The Associated Press) Italian Premier Silvio Berlusoni waves to journalists as he leaves the Quirinale, Presidential palace, after meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, in Rome, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011. Berlusconi says his decision to resign after parliament passed economic reforms is for the good of the country, and to settle financial markets that have lost confidence in Italy’s ability to rein in debt and spur growth.

Markets punish Italy to make sure Berlusconi goes

Colleen Barry, Nicole Winfield The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - 9:01am

ROME — Financial markets pounded Italy on Wednesday, sending a clear message that they want Premier Silvio Berlusconi out immediately despite his plan to stick around a little longer.

Business, Economy, Global Economy, Italy, Resignation, Silvio Berlusconi, Stock Market, International Read more Comments

(ANDREW MEDICHINI/The Associated Press) In this Friday, July 15, 2011 file photo, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi votes over a crucial euro70 billion ($99 billion) austerity package aimed at convincing investors that the eurozone’s third-largest economy won’t be swept into the debt crisis, at the lower house of parliament, in Rome. Pressure mounted on Premier Silvio Berlusconi to resign so a new government could pass the economic reforms Italy needs to avoid financial disaster, as the country’s borrowing rates spiked Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, and talk of early elections intensified.

Key Berlusconi ally urges him to step aside

Colleen Barry, Frances D’emilio The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 8:17am

ROME — Silvio Berlusconi’s main coalition ally urged the Italian premier to step aside Tuesday as political uncertainty in the eurozone’s third-largest economy rocked financial markets for yet another day.

Debt Crisis, Economy, Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, Europe, International Read more Comments

(The Associated Press) Amanda Knox cries following the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roomate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, Italy, Monday Oct. 3, 2011. An Italian appeals court has thrown out Amanda Knox’s murder conviction and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate. Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict was read out Monday. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007.

Knox leaves Italy to head home to US

Colleen Barry, Alessandra Rizzo The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - 7:26am

PERUGIA, Italy — Amanda Knox headed home to the United States a free woman Tuesday, after an Italian appeals court dramatically overturned the American student’s conviction of sexually assaulting and brutally slaying her British roommate.

Murder, Amanda Knox, Court, International, Rape Read more Comments

Kercher family perplexed by verdict freeing Knox

Colleen Barry, Alessandra Rizzo The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - 7:18am

PERUGIA, Italy — One family’s judicial triumph has left another stunned and wondering who exactly murdered a daughter and sister who had only just arrived in Italy for a study abroad program.

Murder, Amanda Knox, Court, Italy, International, Rape Read more Comments

Amanda Knox breaks in tears after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy, Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. Italian appeals court threw out Amanda Knox's murder conviction Monday and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict overturning her 2009 conviction was read out. Her co-defendant, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Italy appeals court clears Amanda Knox of murder

Colleen Barry, Alessandra Rizzo The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, October 3, 2011 - 3:45pm

PERUGIA, Italy — An Italian appeals court threw out Amanda Knox’s murder conviction Monday and ordered the young American freed, a stunning reversal four years after she was jailed for the death of her British roommate.

Murder, Amanda Knox, Courts, Italy, International Read more Comments

Amanda Knox, accompanied by her lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova, arrives for an appeal hearing at the Perugia court, central Italy, Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. A tearful Amanda Knox has told an appeals court in Italy that accusations that she killed her British roommate are unfair and groundless. Knox fought back tears as she addressed the court Monday, minutes before the jury went into deliberations to decide whether to uphold her murder conviction. A verdict is expected later in the day. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Amanda Knox pleads with Italian court to free her

Alessandra Rizz, Colleen Barry The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, October 3, 2011 - 10:09am

PERUGIA, Italy -- Amanda Knox tearfully told an Italian appeals court Monday she did not kill her British roommate, pleading for the court to free her so she can return to the United States after four years behind bars. Moments later, the court began deliberations.

Murder, Amanda Knox, Courts, Italy, Prison, International Read more Comments

European football clubs face financial woes

Colleen Barry, Graham Dunbar The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, August 26, 2011 - 5:54pm

MONACO -- It's not just European governments that are mired in debt. Financial problems are increasingly affecting the most beloved institutions on the continent -- football clubs.

Work stoppages, club bankruptcies and spiraling debts are all adding up in football's current debt column, even to the point of seriously affecting play on the field.

In Spain and Italy, football superpowers that won the last two World Cups, season-opening matches have been lost because players refused to play due to contract disputes.

Sports, Soccer Read more Comments

Franco-German efforts fail to satisfy markets

Colleen Barry The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - 7:04am

MILAN — Global stocks fell Wednesday in a downbeat appraisal of a Franco-German summit that failed to persuade investors that a convincing fix to the eurozone's spiraling debt crisis was imminent.