NST Online Top Stories - Google News

Royal Caribbean Ship to Return Early for Sick Passengers - Bloomberg

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 06:29 AM PST

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) said one of its ships will return home from the Caribbean two days early after hundreds of passengers and crew became sick.

Almost 19 percent of passengers on board the Explorer of the Seas -- 577 out of 3,050 -- had gastrointestinal illnesses such as diarrhea, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website. Forty-nine of the 1,165 crew members also were sick, said the CDC, who sent officials on the ship yesterday in the Virgin Islands to assess the situation.

The outbreak "appears to be" the norovirus, Adam Goldstein, chief executive officer of the Royal Caribbean International line, said today on a conference call, referring to the contagious stomach bug. "This has been a difficult situation."

The ship left Cape Liberty, New Jersey, on Jan. 21 for a 10-day cruise in the Caribbean and now will return Jan. 29. Royal Caribbean said the ship, once home, will undergo a complete sanitization, its third since the outbreak began.

"The right thing to do is to bring our guests home early, and use the extra time to sanitize the ship even more thoroughly," the Miami-based company said yesterday in a statement. "Our doctors tell us symptoms are consistent with that of norovirus, but that they are awaiting the results of tests to confirm that diagnosis."

Photographer: Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Ship Outbreaks

Bernadette Burden, a CDC spokeswoman, said agency personnel were meeting with the ship's crew and medical staff in St. Thomas to get an updated case count, as well as review and validate the initial reports of sickness.

"This isn't an unusual occurrence," Burden said in a telephone interview. "We often meet up with cruise ships in mid-voyage."

Last year, at least nine vessels -- including ships operated by Royal Caribbean's Celebrity Cruise line and Carnival Corp.'s (CCL) Princess Cruises -- were struck by illness outbreaks, according to the CDC. Seven were caused by the norovirus.

The norovirus can be spread from an infected person to food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces. It causes the stomach or intestines, or both, to become inflamed, leading to pain, nausea and diarrhea, according to the CDC. The seven outbreaks of the virus reported to the CDC in 2013 affected 1,238 passengers, according to the Cruise Lines International Association.

Passenger Compensation

Passengers on the Explorer of the Seas will be compensated, Goldstein said on today's call, without providing further details. The incident won't affect the company's first-quarter results, he said.

Separately, Royal Caribbean today reported fourth-quarter profit that exceeded analysts' estimates and boosted its full-year forecast. Adjusted earnings per share for 2014 will be $3.20 to $3.40, up from a prior projection of $3.06, the company said in a statement, without mentioning the Explorer. The average of analysts estimates compiled by Bloomberg was $3.19.

Fourth-quarter profit excluding restructuring and other charges totaled 23 cents a share. Analysts projected 19 cents.

The stock rose 0.7 percent to $47.45 at 11:44 a.m. in early trading and had increased 39 percent last year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Dan Hart in Washington at dahart@bloomberg.net; Kevin Miller in Chicago at kmiller@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrea Snyder at asnyder5@bloomberg.net

Bach defines when athletes can protest in Sochi - Times of India

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 09:19 AM PST

LAUSANNE: International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said on Monday athletes could make political statements if they so wished at press conferences during the forthcoming Sochi Winter Olympic Games but not during the events themselves.

The run up to the first Winter Games in Russia -- which get underway in the Black Sea resort on February 7 -- have been mired in controversy amid corruption allegations, terror threats, and a Russian law banning gay propaganda among minors.

However, the 60-year-old German, who was elected as Jacques Rogge's successor in Buenos Aires last September, said that as with every Games, athletes could be punished if they made political statements or gestures during competition or at a medals ceremony, but they were free to say whatever they wished at the press conferences.

"It is very clear, the Games cannot be used as a stage for political demonstrations however good the cause may be," Bach told the press in a conference call on Monday.

"The IOC will take, if necessary, individual decisions based on individual cases.

"It is also clear, on the other hand, the athletes enjoy the freedom of speech so if in a press conference they wanted to make a political statement then they are absolutely free to do so."

Bach, who won Olympic gold in fencing in 1976, said in reply to a suggestion that he was advising athletes to make their point at news conferences rather than the medals podium: "If you are drawing this conclusion I would not say anything against it."

However, Bach said that as was usual with all Olympic Games, the concerns and dramas before it started would dissipate once the event got underway.

"When the athletes will be in Sochi, it will become clearer and clearer that the Olympic Games are first of all about the athletes and about sport.

"You will see this in the opening ceremony, and even more then when the sport competitions are starting, it will become evident for everybody.

"There are always before the Games political discussions, we have concerns but I think the people around the world know this is first of all about sport and therefore I am really confident that we will have, in this respect, a very good atmosphere."

Bach, who will be overseeing his first Games as Olympic boss in Sochi, said he was confident the Games would go well.

"I am looking forward to these first Winter Games under my presidency and I am very, very confident that they are going to be successful."

Bach, a lawyer by profession, said that the huge security operation being put in place by the Russian Government was necessary, but he was confident it would not impinge on the spectators' enjoyment of the sporting spectacle.

"We have full confidence in the Russian authorities. "You need high security and we know this situation. "If you look back at Salt Lake City, just a couple of months after 9/11, we also had thousands of security officers around the place and the people appreciate (it) and think that the security is being taken care of.

"I think the Russian security forces will manage this in a way that it does not affect the Olympic atmosphere like for instance, the security officers in Salt Lake City managed."

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Isnin, 27 Januari 2014