GIGLIO, Italy

Fuel recovery process begins on grounded cruise ship

A barge carrying a crane and other equipment hitched itself to the toppled Costa Concordia on Tuesday, signaling the start of preliminary operations to remove a half-million gallons of fuel from the grounded cruise ship before it leaks into the pristine Tuscan sea.

Actual pumping of the oil isn’t expected to begin until Saturday, but teams from the Dutch shipwreck salvage firm Smit were working on the bow of the Concordia on Tuesday.

They were at work on the now-hitched Meloria barge as divers who blasted through a submerged section of the third-floor deck located another body from the wreckage, bringing the death toll to 16.

BEIRUT

Syrian regime vows to handle its problems itself

With Arab pressure mounting to end 10 months of bloodshed, the Syrian regime vowed Tuesday to solve its own problems even if “half the universe” is conspiring against it.

The remarks signaled that Arab League efforts to stem the violence are collapsing – something that could pave the way for the U.N. Security Council to step in, even though Russia is firmly opposed to punitive measures against its longtime ally.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem brushed off the threat of referring the issue to the Security Council – a move that could lead to tougher sanctions – rather than trying to resolve it regionally. .

MEXICO CITY

Transplant successful for recipient of dropped heart

A heart that was dropped on the ground while being transported to a hospital has been successfully transplanted into a 28-year-old hair stylist.

Dr. Jaime Saldivar says Erika Hernandez doesn’t yet know that her new heart made national news when a medic stumbled and the plastic-wrapped heart tumbled out of a cooler onto the street two weeks ago.

Saldivar says it will be up to the family to tell her.

A rosy-cheeked Hernandez spoke briefly with reporters on Tuesday.

— From news service reports