The Costa Concordia disaster is one of the biggest maritime disasters since the Titanic, and the captain of the luxury cruise ship was at the centre of the tragedy
Costa Concordia’s captain Francesco Schettino was handed 16 years behind bars(Image: Getty)
Everything you need to know about Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino
More than 4,000 passengers and crew were plunged into their worst nightmare as the vessel took on water and began to tilt. Captain Francesco Schettino delayed over an hour before ordering passengers to abandon ship and failed to provide authorities with accurate information.
The media branded him “Captain Coward” after footage emerged showing he had abandoned the bridge and boarded a lifeboat himself. Schettino told the court he had ordered the ship off course to please the vessel’s head waiter, whose family hailed from Giglio. Prosecutors alleged he steered too close to the island to show off to a dancer accompanying him at the helm.
Schettino was ultimately convicted of manslaughter and abandoning ship, and was sentenced in February 2015 to 16 years behind bars. He began serving his term in 2017 at Rome’s Rebibbia prison.
The term consisted of ten years for manslaughter, five years for causing the shipwreck, and one year for abandoning passengers, to be served consecutively. Having exhausted every avenue of appeal and with his conviction upheld, he began his sentence in 2017.
Schettino is not due for full release until 2033, according to Maritime Executive.
Yvonne Moynihan, Managing Director at Wizz Air UK, said: “Spain has always been one of the UK’s favourite holiday destinations, and we’re excited to be expanding our Spanish network with three more fantastic routes from London Luton Airport.”
Simon Harley, Interim Aviation Director at London Luton Airport, added: “The addition of Málaga, Granada and Asturias to our departure boards means even more choice for passengers and follows the hugely successful launch of Wizz services to Bilbao, Barcelona and Seville earlier this year.”
The Wizz Air flights launch from October 2026Credit: AlamyDestinations include Grenada are on the listCredit: Alamy
The Sun’s Assistant Consumer Editor Lana Clements recently visited, and said: “Even if you’re not one for lying in the sun, a few days can easily be spent exploring the city’s excellent shopping scene or its old town with Roman ruins and Renaissance architecture flanking the streets.”
Granada is known for its amazing tapas culture, as well as its Moorish architecture due to its proximity to Morocco.
Otherwise Asturias is often overlooked as a destination by Brits, but is often nicknamed Costa Verde for its huge green natural landscapes.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel said the delay to their World Cup warm-up game with Costa Rica gave them a “little taste of what can happen” – but will that prove to be an understatement?
The match was due to start at 21:00 BST in Orlando, Florida, but heavy rain and thunderstorms pushed it back an hour to 22:00 BST.
Weather delays have been a major talking point in the build-up to this year’s World Cup, with several matches in last year’s Fifa Club World Cup in the United States impacted by thunderstorms.
This was not the first tournament warm-up game to suffer delays caused by storms either – and many fans are concerned it could become a theme throughout the World Cup.
“We were aware of that before – now we experience it,” Tuchel told ITV before the game. “It’s no problem.
“It should not be an excuse to lose our mood or patience or to lose our hunger to play the game.
“No problem at all. We realised it when we were still at the hotel so it was easy. We just said half an hour later in the bus and let’s go.”
Fans who had already arrived at Inter&Co Stadium were told to evacuate from the stands and retreat to a safe position on the concourses to avoid lightning strikes.
Thunderstorms in the US are not uncommon, but when it comes to them impacting matches, Fifa has no power to make its own rules and must adhere to the advice of local authorities.
Recommendations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are used and they say if any lightning strike is detected within eight miles of a stadium, the game has to be stopped.
A mandatory 30-minute countdown begins and each time there is a lightning strike inside the distance, the countdown clock resets to 30 minutes.
If a full 30 minutes has elapsed, the supporters can go back to their seats and players will have a short warm-up.
A HISTORIC lido with stunning sea views is reopening today, just in time for the good weather.
Located on the edge of a scenic area dubbed the UK’s Costa del Sol, this pool is the perfect place to cool off in the summer sun.
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Brightlingsea lido will be open until Monday, August 31Credit: Google mapsThe outdoor pool was opened in 1932 as a saltwater lido before it was eventually converted to freshwaterCredit: Alamy
Dating back to the 1930s, Brightlingsea in Essex is one of the last remaining lidos in the area.
The site boasts an Olympic-size outdoor pool, along with a heated toddler pool as well as sun loungers, changing rooms, and a cafe.
Summer sessions will run from 7am until 5pm, with the first three hours allotted for relaxed lane swimming.
Aquacise and “little dipper” sessions for younger swimmers are also available.
Brightlingsea is located in an area often dubbed the UK’s Costa del SolCredit: AlamyIt is also called the Sunshine Coast for having some of the UK’s driest weatherCredit: Alamy
The lido first opened in 1932 as a tidal salt pool, eventually converting to freshwater in the 1970s.
Nowadays, the popular site is run by volunteers who saved it from closure in 2017.
General entry costs £7.50 for adults and £5.50 for children aged two to 18 and seniors over 65.
Toddlers under the age of two can enter for free.
Cheaper rates are available for lane swimming, quiet sessions, and aquacise, with more information available on the lido’s website.
The site will be open from 7.30am until 7.15pm until Monday, August 31.
Brightlingsea is much quieter than its neighbouring towns such as Clacton but is still known for its shingle beach.
The area is perhaps most recognisable for its line of colourful beach huts on the promenade.
One visitor described the area as “very unspoilt, family oriented, beautiful beach. Traditional town back in the 50’s.”
Brightlingsea is on the UK’s Sunshine Coast, which one person said is like “going back in time to seaside holiday of the past.”
Another visitor told The Sun: “I was on the Sunshine Coast of Essex, which is often compared to Spain thanks to it being one of the sunniest, driest spots in the country.
“What I really loved about exploring the Essex seaside is the sheer variety of experiences on one relatively small stretch of coast, bookended by Brightlingsea in the south and Harwich in the north.”
Whether Mira Costa has the best high school volleyball team in America is open to debate, but the Mustangs left little doubt they are No. 1 in the Southern Section on Friday night, sweeping Loyola 25-21, 25-22, 25-22 at Cerritos College to repeat as Division 1 champions.
UCLA-bound Mateo Fuerbringer was ready from the start, ending Loyola’s first three rallies with thunderous kills and the fourth with an emphatic stuff block. Ten points into the match, the 6-foot-4 junior hitter already had five kills and he ended the first set with his 12th as Mira Costa was ahead from start to finish.
“He’s always had the IQ, now you add the power on top of that?” Mira Costa coach Greg Snyder said of his star. “There are no answers. It’s a deadly combination. Mateo has no weaknesses.”
The teams traded leads throughout the second set until the Mustangs created separation late on the serving of Fuerbringer and Enzo Barker before Loyola’s Pax Stetson served into the twine to put Mira Costa up two sets to none.
The third-seeded Cubs took a 17-11 lead in the third set, but Mira Costa got in front 20-19 on Barker’s ace and Fuerbringer sent the green-and-white clad fans into delirium with his right-side smash on match point. He finished with 27 kills while Barker and UC Santa Barbara commit Wyatt Davis each added six. Mater Dei transfer Jake Newman had 38 assists and Dane Del Riego had 15 digs.
Loyola’s Brendan Maffel flings the ball past Mira Costa blocker Miles Crotty during the Southern Section Division 1 boys’ volleyball championship on Friday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“I always try to set the tone and Jake gave me great sets,” Fuerbringer said. “They were bombing serves in that third set and got up on us, but we stuck with it and closed it strong. We didn’t want to give them any momentum.”
Mira Costa won its 10th section title and improved to 10-8 in finals. It also won back-to-back titles for the second time in school history, the first coming in Division 2 in 2001 and 2002. Mira Costa is 2-3 in finals against Loyola, having fallen to the Cubs in four sets in 2005 and 2010, prevailing in five sets in 2012 and getting swept in 2024.
Mira Costa has won 10 straight matches (dropping only three sets) since its five-set defeat at Bay League rival Redondo Union on March 26. It avenged that loss in four sets April 20 to earn the top seed.
The teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country when they faced off in a nonleague match March 21 in Manhattan Beach, where the Mustangs rallied from a two-set deficit to win 15-11 in the fifth in a two-and-a-half-hour marathon. That time, Fuerbringer had 37 kills.
“The first time we didn’t come out as strong,” he said. “This time we were ready to play and came out hot.”
In the semifinals six days earlier, Loyola upset No. 2 Redondo Union in five sets, avenging a close loss in the Redondo Varsity Classic final on April 18. Mira Costa swept No. 4 Huntington Beach — its third victory over the Oilers this season.
Mira Costa won the inaugural Division I state championship last spring and will begin its quest for a repeat Tuesday night (regional seedings will be released Sunday afternoon). If it runs the table, Mira Costa would equal its 37-2 record in 2025.
Pepperdine commit JP Wardy had 13 kills and Rafa Milchan added 12 for the Cubs (23-4), but senior captain Blake Fahlbusch, who is headed to USC, was held to nine. Libero Matt Kelly, a Loyola Chicago commit, had 12 digs.
“We know where everyone wants to swing and we know Blake’s their catalyst,” Snyder said. “When they need a kill they usually go to him.”
The teams did not meet in the postseason last year. Mira Costa defeated Huntington Beach to win the section and regional crowns while Loyola fell to the Oilers in the section semifinals and did not play in regionals.
Snyder has guided the Mustangs into the finals in each of his three seasons, winning the last two. He was with the program for 12 years prior, seven as a varsity assistant under Avery Drost.
Loyola’s JP Wardy gets blocked by Mira Costa’s Miles Crotty and Colby Graham during the Mustangs’ win Friday night.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Loyola, making its 19th appearance in a section final, dropped to 13-6 all-time and 7-6 in 28 seasons under 1984 Cubs alum Michael Boehle.
In the preceding Division 4 final, Sunny Hills beat Royal, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23 for its second title since coach Albert Soliguen started the program in 2020.
Owen Filadelfia had 18 kills and eight digs, Christian Lee added 17 kills and 11 digs, Jacob Sueki had 16 digs and Parker Mesnik dished out 47 assists for the Lancers (21-14), who swept Carpinteria in the Division 5 final in 2022 at Long Beach City College.
Grant Herzer had 19 kills, Donald Fleming had 18 and each added nine digs for the Highlanders (16-11), who were seeking their sixth section title in their 11th trip to the finals, having won Division 2-A in 1989 and 1990, 3-A in 1992, Division II in 1994 and Division 3 in 2022.
It nearly closed in 2017, only to remain open thanks to a group of volunteers who still run it now.
One previous visitor wrote: “The atmosphere at the Lido has to be mentioned it felt like you were on holiday, everyone chatting and smiling.”
It is also called the Sunshine Coast for having some of the UK’s driest weatherCredit: AlamyThe pool will be open until August 31Credit: Google maps
During the summertime, Brightlingsea is much quieter than its neighbours such as Clacton.
However, it’s shingle beach is recognisable thanks to its line of colourful beach huts on the promenade.
One said: “Very unspoilt, family oriented, beautiful beach. Traditional town back in the 50’s.”
Brightlingsea is on the Sunshine Coast, which one mum said is like “going back in time to seaside holidays of the past.”
Mum Catherine Lofthouse told The Sun: “Because I was on the Sunshine Coast of Essex, which is often compared to Spain thanks to it being one of the sunniest, driest spots in the country.
“What I really loved about exploring the Essex seaside is the sheer variety of experiences on one relatively small stretch of coast, bookended by Brightlingsea in the south and Harwich in the north.”
Fernandez enters office with her right-wing party holding absolute majority in the country’s legislature.
Published On 8 May 20268 May 2026
Laura Fernandez has been sworn in as Costa Rica’s new president and has vowed to fight rising crime in the Central American country, as well as maintain close ties with the United States.
Fernandez defeated a crowded field in the February 1 vote to replace outgoing president Rodrigo Chaves, who has remained a close ally of US President Donald Trump.
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In an unorthodox move, Chaves is set to remain in the government as dual minister of the presidency and finance, assuring outsized influence in the incoming administration.
Further underscoring plans to maintain close ties with the US, Fernandez has appointed her second vice president, Douglas Soto, as ambassador to Washington.
Kristi Noem, the US special envoy spearheading the Trump administration’s militaristic approach to Latin America, dubbed “Shield of the Americas”, was at Friday’s inauguration.
So too was Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as part of efforts to boost ties with the region during the political fallout from the genocide in Gaza.
The 39-year-old Fernandez has vowed sweeping reforms to Costa Rica’s judiciary and security laws, as well as a broad crackdown on crime.
Last week, as she introduced her new security minister, Gerald Campos, Fernandez vowed “a war without quarter, a heavy-handed war against organised crime”.
Costa Rica has long been considered one of the most stable countries in Central America, but crime has surged in recent years as it has increasingly become a transit route for smuggling drugs to the US.
Costa Rica is building a maximum security prison modelled on El Salvador’s anti-terrorism CECOT centre, where hundreds of Venezuelans were held without trial after deportation from the US early last year.
Like El Salvador, Costa Rica has also agreed to accept non-citizens deported from the US per an agreement signed in March.
Rights groups have condemned the so-called “third-country agreements” for stranding deportees in countries in which they have no ties and could be subject to inhumane conditions.
Fernandez’s right-wing Sovereign People’s Party (PPSO) won 31 of 57 seats in the single-chamber legislature.
That gives her party an absolute majority as she takes office.
Costa Rica inaugurated right-wing president Laura Fernandez on Friday as supporters gathered in the national stadium. Fernandez promised to confront ‘organised crime’ while in office.
Ruby Cochrane and Olga Nikolaeva epitomized the mindset Mira Costa brought to Saturday afternoon’s Southern Section Division 1 girls’ beach volleyball championship match at Long Beach City College.
Trailing 13-9 in the deciding third set of their match against JSerra’s top duo of Sara Moynihan and Emma Champagne, the Stanford-bound seniors rallied to win the last six points and complete the Mustangs’ 5-0 sweep to reclaim the title they lost 3-2 to league rival Redondo Union last spring.
“We wanted to end our senior year with a bang and not be the only pair to lose,” Cochrane said.
Upon receiving the championship plaque, players formed a circle and took turns kissing it as they passed it around.
Mira Costa captured its third title in four tries since the CIF sanctioned the sport in 2023 and when you add the eight Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League titles the Mustangs won prior to that they deserve to be called queens of the beach.
Our coach was like, ‘you’re capable of coming back,’ so we had to do it,” Nikolaeva added. “Ruby is one of my best friends and we have a great bond.”
The Mustangs’ other four tandems each won in straight sets — Allyn Hilt and Lily Sprague at No. 2; Lily Vandeweghe and Lucy Matuszak at No. 3; Sofia Sala and Samantha Nammack at No. 4 and Lily Enfield and Lerin Rosenthal at the No. 5 spot.
Mira Costa (24-1) is 75-3 in four seasons of CIF Southern Section competition, including 67-0 against every team other than Redondo Union, against which it holds an 8-3 advantage. The Mustangs improved to 5-0 against the Lions (17-3), who upset Redondo Union in the semifinals.
The Mustangs have won 14 of 15 sets in their three Division 1 finals victories.
DIVISION 2
Bishop Montgomery, making its first finals appearance, prevailed 3-2 over Edison thanks to the heroics of sophomore twins Hailey and Alyssa Waters, who clinched the championship with a 13-21, 21-17, 15-12 victory over the Chargers’ tandem of Sydney Kershaw and Emery Oakes.
“Being twins causes fighting but we’ve always played together and our connection makes us stronger,” Alyssa said.
“Before that last set we took a minute to talk to each other,” Hailey added. “We knew what we were doing.”
The Knights’ No. 1 duo of sisters Stacy and Stephanie Balestrieri and the No. 4 duo of Kendall McKechnie and Carli Duda both won in straight sets.
DIVISION 3
Freshmen Hannah Martin and Lucy Morris earned the decisive point with a 21-16, 22-20 win on Court 5 in Long Beach Millikan’s 4-1 triumph over Windward.
“We didn’t know the score or what was going on in the other matches,” Martin said. “:Lucy and I were just focusing on ours. We’re really close friends but this is our first time playing together in CIF. We both play indoor too but in beach you have to have more trust because it’s only two of you.”
Madison Jones and Johanna Swerdloff won 21-17, 16-21, 15-8 at No. 2, Bella Bonales and Estale Lopez won 21-15, 21-18 at No. 3 and Olivia Vits and Samantha Guman won 21-12, 21-15 at No. 4 for the Rams (14-7), who lost to Long Beach Wilson in the Division 2 final last year.
Millikan is the third Moore League school to win a Southern Section title in the brief history of the sport, joining Wilson and Long Beach Poly, who won Divisions 2 and 3 last year. The Bay League is only other with multiple champions (Mira Costa and Redondo Union).
DiVISION 4
In the first finals appearance for both programs, Oak Park swept the last four courts to claim the inaugural Division 4 crown against Campbell Hall, a Division 3 semifinalist last season. Seniors Athena Trewyn and Kaela Raquel won 19-21, 21-19, 15-12 on Court 3 to notch the clinching point for the Eagles (11-5).
“We’ve never made it past the quarterfinals and we didn’t even make the playoffs last year,” said second-year coach Josh Giron, whose team practices at North Ranch Playfield in Thousand Oaks, a 30-minute drive from campus. “We have one court for 20 girls and sometimes we have to cancel practice because another team’s using it.”
It’s time for Mira Costa to try to wipe away the disappointing memory from last season’s Southern Section Division 1 girls’ beach volleyball final, where the Mustangs lost to Redondo Union 3-2.
Mira Costa faces JSerra at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Long Beach City College in this season’s championship game.
Key returnees for Mira Costa are Lily Vandeweghe, Lily Enfield, Harper Terry and Izzy Elston.
JSerra has succeeded in breaking up the Mira Costa-Redondo Union beach volleyball domination. Those teams had met in the final for the previous three years.
The Mustangs swept San Marcos 5-0 in the semifinals on Thursday. JSerra eliminated No. 2-seeded Redondo Union 3-2.
Venice won the City Section title over Taft on Friday.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com
