Gov's Handling of Sandusky Case Under Investigation

The newly-elected attorney general of Pennsylvania is going after the state's governor, Tom Corbett, who was attorney general when child sex allegations against Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky were first brought forward.

Kathleen Kane, a Democrat who was sworn in as attorney general on Jan. 15, said that she will name a special prosecutor in the coming days to investigate Corbett's handling of the Sandusky case. Corbett is a Republican.

The investigation will look specifically at why it took the attorney general's office three years to bring criminal charges against Sandusky while he continued to have access to children.

"Attorney General Kane will appoint a special prosecutor to lead the office's internal investigation into how the Sandusky child abuse investigation was handled by the Office of the Attorney General," Kane's office said in a statement released today.

Corbett's attorney general's office was first notified of the allegations against Sandusky in 2008 when a high school student told his mother and school that Sandusky had molested him. The local district attorney passed the allegation on to the attorney general, then Corbett. Corbett convened a grand jury.

Mario Tama; Patrick Smith/Getty Images

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It wasn't until 2011 that sex abuse charges were filed against Sandusky while Corbett had since become governor. Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of sex abuse in June 2012.

The charges sent shockwaves throughout Pennsylvania, as Penn State's president, two top officials, and legendary coach Joe Paterno all lost their jobs over the scandal.

"Why did it take 33 months to get Sandusky off the streets? Was the use of a grand jury the right decision? Why were there so few resources dedicated to the investigation? Were the best practices implemented?" the statement from Kane's office read.

"At the end of this investigation, we will know the answers to these questions and be able to tell the people of Pennsylvania the facts and give them answers that they deserve," the statement said.

Describing an interview Kane gave the New York Times, the Times said Kane suggested that Corbett did not want to upset voters or donors in the Penn State community before his gubernatorial run in 2009.

Corbett has denied those suggestions. His office did not immediately return calls for comment.

Kane's office preemptively fought back against the idea that the investigation is politically motivated. Kane, a Democrat, defeated the incumbent attorney general, Linda Kelly, a Republican in November 2011. Corbett is a Republican.

"The speculation that this is about politics is insane," a staff member in Kane's office told ABC News today. "You go anywhere in Pennsylvania and anywhere across the country and you'll find individuals asking, 'why did it take three years? Why was there a grand jury? Why make these kids talk to 30 different people about what happened?"

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Reality check needed on immigration?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Howard Kurtz: The mainstream media are rooting for immigration policy changes


• Kurtz: Is enthusiasm causing the media to overestimate the prospects for reform?


• He says the Republican House has been a graveyard for numerous Obama reforms


• Kurtz: Illegal immigration still arouses visceral opposition among some Americans

Editor's note: Howard Kurtz is the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and is Newsweek's Washington bureau chief. He is also a contributor to the website Daily Download.

(CNN) -- The mainstream media -- you know who you are -- are rooting for immigration reform.

They like the idea of doing something to accommodate the country's 11 million undocumented immigrants, who, despite conservative rhetoric to the contrary, were never going to be banished.

They swoon over the kind of bipartisanship that brings together John McCain and Marco Rubio on the one hand and Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer on the other.

Howard Kurtz

They believe the Republican Party needs to moderate its harsh rhetoric about immigrants -- if only to salvage its political future -- and are welcoming the GOP's new realism.

But is that enthusiasm causing media organizations to overestimate the prospects for reform?

Watch: Steve Kroft Plays Defense Over Hillary/Obama Lovefest on '60 Minutes'

Any bill still must pass the Republican House, which has been a graveyard for numerous Obama reforms. The Senate has always been a place where top lawmakers reach across the aisle more easily than in the polarized House, as was evident during the fiscal cliff debacle. And there are conservative groups determined to derail any path toward citizenship, which they view as amnesty.

It's not that journalists are acting as cheerleaders for the emerging plan. But when the media have qualms about an issue, they couch it as being "controversial" and "risky" (say, George W. Bush's plan to privatize Social Security).

Opinion: Immigrant - Can we trust Obama?

By contrast, look at the way the president's immigration speech in Las Vegas was covered:

The New York Times: "Seizing on a groundswell of support for rewriting the nation's immigration laws ..."

The Washington Post: "Obama added to momentum on Capitol Hill in favor of an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws ..."

We saw the same supportive approach when the Pentagon lifted a ban on women serving in front-line combat positions, which, despite some conservative opposition, was greeted with favorable features that largely depicted the move as long overdue.

Watch: Should N.Y. Times Have Censored Company Name Over the S-Word?

As with many perpetual Beltway disputes, the contours of a common-sense compromise on immigration have been clear for some time. The right wants tougher border enforcement and employer verification procedures. The left wants undocumented immigrants taken out of the "shadows," as Obama put it, and given a chance to become openly productive members of society.

The key are the tradeoffs. How long would a path to citizenship take? Are fines and back taxes required? How do we ensure that those who broke the law don't get an unfair advantage over legal applicants?

I don't argue with the standard political analysis that the moment may be ripe for immigration reform.

Watch: Media Seize on Emotional Moment of Gabby Giffords' Testimony

Mitt Romney, who talked about wanting immigrants to "self-deport," got clobbered among Hispanic voters. The GOP has lost the popular vote in five of the past six presidential elections. Sean Hannity, the Fox News commentator, says he has "evolved" on the issue, and he's not alone.

The conservative media may be a bellwether here. After Obama's Tuesday speech, Hannity's leadoff guest was Karl Rove, the former Bush lieutenant who favors the Senate compromise. And when Rubio, the Florida senator and son of Cuban immigrants, called in to Rush Limbaugh's show, the host -- while criticizing Obama -- told him, "What you are doing is admirable and noteworthy. You are recognizing reality."

Watch: BlackBerry 10: Is It a Hit or All Thumbs?

But illegal immigration remains a divisive subject that still arouses visceral opposition among some Americans. Capitol Hill is a place where partisan maneuvering can push the government to the brink of default. And as George W. Bush learned in his second term, hammering out a compromise on such a volatile issue is maddeningly elusive.

Perhaps the election changed the landscape and both parties will find a way to compromise. In the meantime, it might be wise to take the upbeat media coverage with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Howard Kurtz.

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US says Australia "critical pillar" in Asia pivot

TOKYO: Australia is a "critical pillar" in the US pivot to Asia and the rebalancing of its military strategy, the region's most senior American commander told reporters on Friday.

Chief of US Pacific Command (PACOM) Samuel Locklear speaking in a teleconference from Hawaii, said the key US ally was vital in the world order that is emerging for the 21st Century.

Locklear said the challenges the US faced included climate change, maritime security, disaster relief and cyber security.

"All those things I view from the PACOM headquarters here, Australia is a critical pillar of the strategy we have here," Locklear said.

"When... I go down to Canberra and I sit and I look at the world map from Australia being in the centre of it, I get a very different view than I get from Hawaii or from Washington DC.

"And I start to have a sense of the things of the security environment that concerned people of Australia as well as people in Indonesia, in India and other countries."

Locklear said seen from this perspective, the Indian Ocean is a vital strategic region that cannot be thought of separately from the Asia-Pacific.

"When we look at our relationship with Australia, number one, a very good close ally, historically has been alongside with the US many times in the past, and I think will hopefully continue in the future," he said.

The US military is to station a powerful radar and a space telescope in Australia as part of a refocusing of priorities, the two countries announced in November.

The two sides also conferred on increasing the number of US Marines deploying to Darwin.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta described it as "major leap forward in bilateral space cooperation and an important new frontier in the United States' rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region".

In his first term as US President, Barack Obama said he wanted to refocus foreign policy on Asia, in a move that has been much trailed as a "pivot".

- AFP/de

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At least 25 killed in Mexico office blast, dozens injured

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: 25 people were killed and more than 100 are injured, interior minister says


• The explosion collapsed two floors of an office building, paramedics say


• Rescuers have pulled a survivor from the rubble, Mexico's president says


• Crews are searching for people trapped in the building

Lea este artículo en español/Read this article in Spanish

Mexico City (CNN) -- An explosion rocked the offices of Mexico's state oil company Thursday, killing at least 25 people and injuring 101, Mexico's interior minister said.

Dozens of people were trapped in the building after the explosion, Foro TV reported. It was unclear how many of them had been pulled to safety, or whether anyone remained stuck inside late Thursday, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong told reporters.

More than five hours after the blast, rescuers had pulled at least one survivor from the rubble, Mexico's president said in a Twitter post.

Crews were still searching Thursday night for people who could be trapped in the Pemex office complex, which includes one of the city's tallest skyscrapers.

Explosion hits Mexican state oil company Pemex

HIDE CAPTION

The explosion occurred in a basement and collapsed two floors of a building adjacent to the well-known tower, said Carlos Javier Rodriguez Jurado, one of the first paramedics to arrive at the scene.

The explosion tore through the building "from the inside out," he said, and rescuers found many people trapped. Six hours after the explosion, Rodriguez said people were likely still stuck in the rubble.

It was unclear what caused the blast, and Mexico's attorney general's office is investigating, Pemex said in a statement.

A large plume of smoke rose near the building after the explosion around 4 p.m. Thursday, and emergency crews swarmed the scene.

"People were screaming. ... You could see pieces of the wall falling to the ground," said Joaquin Borrell Valenzuela, an attorney for the Pemex comptroller's office, who was in a courtyard outside the building at the time of the blast.

Paramedics quickly arrived and started pulling bodies from the rubble.

"Entering the building, we smelled a strong odor of gas," said Christopher Rangel, a paramedic and firefighter.

Outside the building, frantic family members searched for loved ones, and shaken witnesses described the explosion.

Mario Guzman said he was on the 10th floor of the tower when he felt "a very strong blow."

"We felt like the whole building was going to collapse," he told CNNMexico.

Images from the scene showed emergency rescue teams carrying people on stretchers. Authorities said helicopters carried some of the wounded to hospitals.

At least 14 people were hospitalized with injuries, and two of them were in serious condition, the state-run Notimex news agency reported.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto surveyed the damage Thursday night, along with Osorio Chong and Mexico City's mayor.

Pena Nieto cautioned against speculating over what caused the blast, and said authorities would be closely investigating.

Thousands of people work at the Pemex headquarters, which includes a 54-story building that is nearly 700 feet tall.

The explosion occurred in an annex building just to the east of the tower, Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade said.

Officials evacuated the complex and operations will cease there until further notice, the company said.

The state oil company's director, who was on a business trip in South Korea this week, said in a Twitter post that he would return to Mexico immediately.

"We will get to the bottom of the causes in close coordination with the authorities," Pemex Director General Emilio Lozoya Austin said. "At this time, attending to the injured is the priority."

Federal troops and rescue dogs were aiding in search efforts late Thursday night.

As they combed through the rubble, a Pemex executive's cell phone rang, Rangel said.

A man on the other end of the line said he was still trapped, and started to describe his location to rescuers.

"Unfortunately, we lost communication with him," Rangel said.

When they called back, his phone didn't ring.

CNN en Español's Krupskaia Alis reported from Mexico City. CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet reported from Atlanta. CNN's Rafael Romo, Edwin Mesa, Christine Theodorou, Rey Rodriguez, Rene Hernandez and CNNMexico's Arturo Ascencion and Javier Rodriguez contributed to this report.

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Negotiators talking to Alabama captor through pipe

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. More than three days after he allegedly shot a school bus driver dead, grabbed a kindergartner and slipped into an underground bunker, Jimmy Lee Dykes was showing no signs of turning himself over to police.

Speaking into a 4-inch-wide ventilation pipe leading to the bunker, hostage negotiators tried again Thursday to talk the 65-year-old retired truck driver into freeing the 5-year-old boy. One local official said the child had been crying for his parents.

Dykes is accused of pulling the boy from a school bus Tuesday and killing the driver, who tried to protect the 21 youngsters aboard. The gunman and the boy were holed up in a small room on his property that authorities likened to a tornado shelter, something common to this area of the South.

"The three past days have not been easy on anybody," Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said at a news briefing late Thursday. He said authorities were communicating with the suspect, and their primary goal was to get the boy home safely.

"There's no reason to believe the child has been harmed," he added.

There were signs that the standoff could continue for some time.

James Arrington, police chief of the neighboring town of Pinckard, said the shelter was about 4 feet underground, with about 6-by-8 feet of floor space and a PVC pipe that negotiators were speaking through.

A state legislator said the shelter has electricity, food and TV. The police chief said the captor has been sleeping and told negotiators that he has spent long periods in the shelter before.

"He will have to give up sooner or later because (authorities) are not leaving," Arrington said. "It's pretty small, but he's been known to stay in there eight days."

Midland City Mayor Virgil Skipper said he has been briefed by law enforcement agents and has visited with the boy's parents.

"He's crying for his parents," he said. "They are holding up good. They are praying and asking all of us to pray with them."

Republican Rep. Steve Clouse, who represents the Midland City area, said he visited the boy's mother Thursday and that she is "hanging on by a thread."

"Everybody is praying with her for the boy," he said.

Clouse said the mother told him that the boy has Asperger's syndrome, an autism-like disorder, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Police have been delivering medication to him through the pipe, he added.

The normally quiet red clay road leading to the bunker was teeming Friday with more than a dozen police cars and trucks, a fire truck, a helicopter, officers from multiple agencies and news media near Midland City, population 2,300.

Police vehicles have come and gone steadily for hours from the command post.

The latest group, a team in military-style uniforms toting weapons, got out of a big van in the pre-dawn chill Friday and moved into a staging area as a light flickered on and off. One of them appeared to be a dog handler.

During the night, temperatures dipped into the low 40s, and police and other emergency workers wore heavy coats outside a small church being used as a command post. Neighbors said Dykes had a small heater in the bunker.

Overhead, a small aircraft with blinking lights flew wide circles high above the man's property Friday. An ambulance remained parked alongside the dirt road.

Dykes was known around the neighborhood as a menacing figure who neighbors said once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a firearm.

The chief confirmed that Dykes held anti-government views, as described by multiple neighbors: "He's against the government -- starting with Obama on down."

"He doesn't like law enforcement or the government telling him what to do," he said. "He's just a loner."

Authorities say the gunman boarded a stopped school bus Tuesday afternoon and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. When the driver tried to block his way, the gunman shot him several times and took the 5-year-old boy off the bus.

The bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was hailed by locals as a hero who gave his life to protect the pupils on his bus.

No motive has been discussed by investigators, but the police chief said the FBI had evidence suggesting it could be considered a hate crime. Federal authorities have not released any details about the standoff or the investigation. The mayor said he hasn't seen anything tying together Dykes' anti-government views and the allegations against him.

Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump. Neighbor Claudia Davis said he yelled and fired shots at her, her son and her baby grandson over damage Dykes claimed their pickup truck did to a makeshift speed bump in the dirt road. No one was hurt.

The son, James Davis Jr., believes Tuesday's shooting was connected to the court date. "I believe he thought I was going to be in court and he was going to get more charges than the menacing, which he deserved, and he had a bunch of stuff to hide and that's why he did it."

Neighbors described a number of other run-ins with Dykes in the time since he moved to this small rural town near the Georgia and Florida borders, a region known for peanut farming.

A neighbor directly across the street, Brock Parrish, said Dykes usually wore overalls and glasses and his posture was hunched-over. He said Dykes usually drove a run-down "creeper" van with some of the windows covered in aluminum foil.

Parrish often saw him digging in his yard, as if he was preparing a spot to lay down a driveway or a building foundation. He lived in a small camping trailer on the site. He patrolled his lawn at night, walking from corner to corner with a flashlight and an assault rifle.

Court records showed Dykes was arrested in Florida in 1995 for improper exhibition of a weapon, but the misdemeanor was dismissed. The circumstances of the arrest were not detailed in his criminal record. He was also arrested for marijuana possession in 2000.

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Arias' Lawyer Shows Ex-Boyfriend's Lewd Photos

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was kept away from the Mormon friends of her lover Travis Alexander and their torrid sex affair was kept secret by Alexander, even as he sent lewd photos of himself to her online, according to court testimony today.

The testimony in Arias' trial for killing Alexander in 2008 was intended to bolster the defense's argument that she killed him in self defense, that Alexander was a sexual deviant who treated Arias as his "dirty little secret."

Arias' attorneys introduced as evidence photos that Alexander took of his penis and sent to Arias, part of a string of graphic messages and sexual phone calls the two engaged in while Alexander, an elder in the Mormon church, was supposed to be chaste.

Today's witness was the latest in a string called by the defense, including Alexander's former girlfriend Lisa Daidone, who told the court that Alexander had professed to be a virgin.

Daniel Freeman continued his testimony today, describing how he was a friend of both Arias and Alexander but that Alexander kept Arias distanced from his Mormon pals.

"Travis had made more friends at (the Mormon) ward, and had (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fight nights at his house many times, and Jodi was in town, but she wasn't there," Freeman said.

"There was that group of friends, them and Jodi, two different groups, and so Lisa [Daidone] and friends from church were there, but Jodi wasn't there," Freeman said.

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Former Boyfriend Takes Stand Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense's First Day of Witnesses Watch Video

Alexander's behavior, the defense hopes to prove, shows that he mistreated Arias.

Arias, 32, is on trial for murdering Alexander, whom she dated for a year and continued to have a sexual relationship for a year after that. Her attorneys claim that Alexander was abusive and controlling toward Arias, and that she was forced to kill him.

Freeman described how he took a trip with his sister, Alexander, and Arias, and how Alexander had asked him to come along so that he and Arias "would not get physical."

"I don't know that I can say he didn't want to be alone with her, but he liked that when I was there, and my sister was there. They weren't as physical," Freeman said.

Freeman admitted that he had no idea Alexander and Arias had been having a sexual relationship the entire time they were together. He said Alexander never mentioned that to his friends.

In fact, Freeman noted that Alexander was considered to be a church elder when he baptized Arias into the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Both a church elder and a convert were expected to abide by the church's strict law of chastity, which banned any sexual relations outside of marriage.

"One thing people give up in this baptism process was sex," prosecutor Juan Martinez said. "Did you know she was having oral sex with Mr. Alexander at the time of her baptism? Would that be an insincere baptism?"

"She would not be ready to be baptized in that case," Freeman said.

"You were asked about Miss Arias, whether she was worthy of baptism if she was performing oral sex, but what about the elder receiving oral sex?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi said.

"They would not be worthy of performing that ordinance at that time until they had gone through repentance," Freeman said. "They would go to a discipline council and could face excommunication or a probation period or have their priesthood removed."

Freeman said that Alexander never confessed to having a sexual relationship with Arias.

Freeman's testimony came on the third day of the defense's attempt to paint Alexander as a controlling, sex-obsessed liar who was cruel to Arias. Other witnesses have said that Alexander cheated on other women he dated with Arias, and lied to his friends and family about their relationship.

The defense also had Freeman point out that Alexander was strong and fit. They are expected to conclude that Alexander was physically threatening Arias when she killed him.

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BlackBerry must remember strengths

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• BlackBerry sales have slumped in the U.S. but is still strong in emerging markets


• New models launched should remember why they are popular in developing world


• In places like Brazil and South Africa, the 10 is the update to their current phone


• in Sub-Saharan Africa there is expected to be 175 million new customers in the next 3 years

Watch Jim Clancy on CNN International's "The Brief" at 4p.m. ET GMT Friday.

(CNN) -- BlackBerry's loss of market share in the U.S. is the stuff of legends. Last fall, it was estimated only about 2% of American phone users were still carrying their BlackBerry mobile with its iconic keypad.

But consider this: sub-Saharan Africa is expected to add 175 million new mobile users in just the coming 3 years. That's according to the GSMA, which represents the world's mobile operators.

"Mobile has already revolutionized African society and yet demand still continues to grow by almost 50 percent a year," said Tom Phillips, Chief Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer, GSMA.

That could be good news indeed for BlackBerry. Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, estimates it holds a 70% market share in countries like South Africa.

The company's new phones, announced this week, are not the ones some of its best customers in emerging markets would like to buy. They're too expensive. But Research in Motion -- which also this week changed its company name to BlackBerry -- is pledging some of its six new models will address that.

While millions in China, Europe and the U.S. have adopted Android or iOS smartphones with a vengeance, millions more users in emerging markets are enthused about what's in store for the new BlackBerry 10. It's the update for what many of them are already using.

They live in countries like Brazil, Malaysia, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. They have embraced the BlackBerry for a combination of factors that all point to the different way mobile devices are used.

Unlike their counterparts in Europe and America, the mobile in their pocket is more likely to be their primary link to the internet.

BlackBerry Messenger is the connection that allows these users unlimited conversations without paying charges for SMS data. While young, brand-conscious Chinese may be willing to part with several months' salary to buy the latest iPhone, African users are looking for more practical (and cheaper) connections.

What separates developed countries from their developing counterparts at street level can be summed up in a single word: infrastructure.

Isobel Coleman, senior fellow and Director of the Civil Society, Markets and Democracy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations, says mobile technology has proved it can bridge the gap where infrastructure is lacking.

"It's a culture, it's an economy, it's innovation, education, healthcare, it's all of these things," says Coleman.

You can take that to the bank. For many Africans, their cell phone account is the first bank account they've ever owned.

In emerging markets, mobile phone banking is growing because of the lack of infrastructure. Fewer bank branches often mean long distances to travel and long lines once you've arrived.

Africans are expected to transfer more than $200 billion per year or 18% of the continent's GDP by 2015.

Oh, and that keyboard. No matter where you are in the world, there will always be a demand for a keyboard that clicks. The company appears to understand that as BlackBerry 10 models come with both soft keypads and the traditional BlackBerry buttons.

I asked some of my Twitter followers to weigh in on the BlackBerry 10 roll out. While some said Android or Apple's iOS were in their future plans, many others expressed continued enthusiasm for the BlackBerry.

Soji, a pianist and teacher in Nigeria tweeted back "I'm falling in love with this BB. Cheaper to own."

From Kuala Lumpur, Amir wrote "I need a physical keyboard to type while also having a touch-screen for photos etc. Security factor also important."

Hans-Eric from South Africa reinforced the sentiments of many mobile users in emerging markets: "The cost of data is simply too high without it (BlackBerry.)"

The voices from emerging markets couldn't have been clearer. What they expect from BlackBerry 10 is a stronger, longer lasting battery, durability and continued low cost connectivity.

CFR's Coleman agrees that BlackBerry (and anyone else) trying to win and hold this mobile device sector has to understand how these devices are being used and give the customers what they want.

"Cheap. Rugged. Not too many bells and whistles. Practical."

There is little doubt smartphones are changing the way people use the internet, how they bank, shop and interact socially.

But it's worth keeping in perspective that in a world where there are now an estimated 1 billion smartphones, there are 5 billion feature phone users. That's a lot of upside growth potential for BlackBerry and all the other players out there.

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Malaysian conglomerate confident of turning loss-making Lotus around

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian conglomerate DRB HICOM is confident it can turn around loss-making sports car manufacturer Lotus in two to three years.

The company recently dispelled rumours it's selling off the British motoring legend by setting up its first regional showroom in Asia.

Spanning over 10,000 square metres, the Lotus flagship showroom located along Kuala Lumpur's Penchala Link is a haven for its fans.

On display are Lotus' latest sports car models, including its Formula One race car.

It also features the widest selection of Lotus accessories and merchandise, as well as a service centre, a club house, and a gallery documenting the iconic British brand's 60-year history.

The message is clear from its parent company DRB HICOM that Lotus is not for sale.

In fact, it has invested US$2.5 million to set up a regional flagship showroom and service centre, and set ambitious sales targets, as it officially launched two new models.

They are the Exige S and the Elise S, with a price range of between US$110,000 and US$150,000.

There's also the Evora, which offers a manual and an auto version.

Lotus, which is owned by Malaysia's national car manufacturer Proton, aims to sell up to 3,500 of these cars this year, especially in North America, China, Japan and Middle East markets.

It has so far received 600 orders.

The Chairman of Lotus Group International is a car enthusiast, and he is determined to nurse the heavily-indebted legendary sports car manufacturer back to health.

Mr Mohd Khamil Jamil, Chairman of Lotus Group International, said: "No doubt that the damage or whatever the situation at Lotus was quite severe, but nothing is short of repair. We reckon that with the expertise we have at Lotus and the expertise that we have in Proton, we can work together and synergize and make Lotus into a profitable company which is commercially driven.

"Unfortunately, during the 15 or 16 years or so that Proton had gotten Lotus within their wings, they have not explored as much as possible to make use of whatever benefits they could derive from Lotus."

On how much time needed to turn around the company and to stop Lotus from bleeding, Mr Mohd Khamil said certain culture and practices entrenched in Lotus needs to be changed.

"Right now, I think we have reduced quite substantially in terms of overheads alone. We have reduced by more than one million pounds a month. And I believe with the astute management by the team now, we can reduce it even further. At the end of the day, I reckon that we may take about two to three years for us to ensure that Lotus can be sustainable," he said.

With a new management at the helm, Lotus aims to slash its costs by 25 per cent, and rev up its marketing campaigns to improve its visibility and sales worldwide.

- CNA/de

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Ship stranded on reef to be cut

USS Guardian grounded on Philippine reef

USS Guardian grounded on Philippine reef

USS Guardian grounded on Philippine reef

USS Guardian grounded on Philippine reef

USS Guardian grounded on Philippine reef

USS Guardian grounded on Philippine reef

USS Guardian grounded on Philippine reef

USS Guardian grounded on Philippine reef

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• U.S. minesweeper has been stuck off Philippines since January 17


• Attempts to float the ship at high tide failed


• Crews are removing fuel, hazardous materials, salvageable things


• Fragile reef hosts 500 fish species, 350 coral species

(CNN) -- A 224-foot-long U.S. warship will have to be cut into smaller pieces to get it off a Philippine reef where it grounded two weeks ago, Navy officials said Wednesday.

They said that's the only way to prevent further damage to the Tubbataha Reef, a Philippine national park and UNESCO World Heritage site, where the USS Guardian, an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship, ran aground on January 17.

Survivors mark anniversary of cruise ship grounding

Lt. Anthony Falvo, a U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet spokesman in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, told CNN on Wednesday that Navy salvage experts are still formulating the details of how they'll cut up the 1,312-ton minesweeper.

Crews are now working to remove any hazardous materials from the vessel and will look to save anything that could still prove useful to the Navy. The ship's 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel were removed last week.

"We will strip it out beforehand. We'll work to salvage any parts that can be salvaged," Falvo said. Then the cutting will begin.

Illegal weapons seized from ship

Heavy-lift cranes are expected at the site of the grounding, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) east-southeast of Palawan Island in the Sulu Sea, in the next few days, Falvo said. The cranes will lift the pieces of the Guardian onto barges or other ships to be taken away.

Last week, the Navy said it hoped to lift the ship off the reef in its entirety. But Falvo said Wednesday that after reviewing all the alternatives, it was decided it would have to be cut up.

After it struck the reef, initial efforts to free the Guardian at high tide were unsuccessful. Its crew of 79 was evacuated to other vessels, and the ship was battered by waves that pushed it farther onto the reef, causing leaks in its wood-and-fiberglass hull.

"The ship cannot move on its own, and it is not operational," Rear Adm. Tom Carney said last week.

Stripping, cutting up and removing the Guardian from the reef could take more than a month, Falvo said Wednesday.

This isn't the first time the Navy has had to undertake such an operation, but it hasn't happened in more than 40 years. In August 1971, the supply ship USS Regulus grounded in Hong Kong harbor during Typhoon Rose, Falvo said. It took more than a month to cut that vessel up and remove it, he said. A similar operation was also conducted in 1916, he said.

As for what the loss of the Guardian, one of 14 Avenger class mine countermeasures ships in the Navy, means for the service, Falvo said it was too early to speculate. He pointed out that the vessel was in the 23rd year of its expected 30-year lifespan.

The ship cost about $61 million to build, Lt. Cmdr. James Stockman, a Navy spokesman, said last week.

As for other costs, Philippine officials said last week that the Philippines would seek compensation for damage to the reef. About 1,000 square meters (about 10,760 square feet) of it have been damaged.

"It's a damage to a world heritage site. It's a damage to our natural resources. It's a damage to an important site. We cannot but put emphasis on the importance of this reef as a heritage site," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

Navy commander apologizes for grounding

The reef is home to a vast array of sea, air and land creatures, as well as sizable lagoons and two coral islands. About 500 species of fish and 350 species of coral can be found there, as can whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles and breeding seabirds, according to UNESCO.

The salvage operation must ensure that the reef sustains no further damage, Lacierda said.

Navy officials are still trying to determine how the Guardian ended up on the reef.

Stockman, the Navy spokesman, said last week that the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which prepares the digital navigation charts used by the Navy, has reported the location of the reef was misplaced on a chart by nine miles.

"The U.S. Navy investigation will review what charts Guardian was using. While this erroneous navigation chart data is important information, no one should jump to conclusions," Stockman said. "It is critical that the U.S. Navy conduct a comprehensive investigation that assesses all the facts and circumstances surrounding the Guardian grounding."

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Standoff with Ala. school bus shooting suspect in third day

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. The man suspected of shooting a school bus driver to death and taking a five-year-old boy hostage Tuesday moved to a rural Alabama neighborhood on a rutted red clay road more than a year ago. It didn't take long before he had developed a frightening reputation as a volatile man with anti-government views who threatened his neighbors at gunpoint and was viciously violent to wandering pets.

Multiple neighbors said the man was a 65-year-old retired truck driver. He was at the center of a standoff that entered its third day Thursday.

The neighborhood near Midland City, population 2,300, remained under siege after the shooting, with the suspect and child holed up in a bunker-type shelter on the man's property that was equipped with electricity, food and TV.

Early Thursday, dozens of police cars and rental cars that had brought FBI agents to the site were gathered on the state highway at the clay road's entrance. Some police officers milled about, guns holstered.

Homes on the road had been evacuated after authorities found what they believed to be a bomb on the property. SWAT teams earlier had taken up positions around the alleged gunman's property and police negotiators tried to win the kindergartener's safe release.

The situation remained unchanged for hours as negotiators continued talking to the suspect, Alabama State Trooper Charles Dysart told a news conference late Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Sheriff Wally Olson said that authorities had "no reason to believe that the child has been harmed."

CBS affiliate WTVY-TV in the nearby town of Dothan reports that contact has been made with the unidentified boy and he is safe. Police communicated with the boy through a PVC pipe in the bunker.

Authorities gave no details of the standoff, and it was unclear if the suspect made any demands from the bunker, which resembled a tornado shelter.

State Rep. Steve Clouse, who met with authorities and visited the boy's family, said the bunker had food and electricity, and the youngster was watching TV.

At one point, authorities lowered medicine into the bunker for the boy after his captor agreed to it, Clouse said.

The standoff began after school Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff Wally Olson said the man shot the bus driver several times when he refused to hand over the child. The gunman then took the boy away.

"As far as we know, there is no relation at all. He just wanted a child for a hostage situation," said Michael Senn, a pastor who helped comfort other traumatized children after the attack.

The bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was hailed by locals as a hero who gave his life to protect the 21 students aboard the bus.

Authorities say most of the students scrambled to the back of the bus when the gunman boarded and said he wanted two boys 6 to 8 years old.

But when the gunman went down the aisle, authorities said, Poland put his arm out to grab a pole near the front steps of the vehicle, trying to block the suspect. Authorities say that's when the driver was shot four times before the gunman grabbed one child and fled.

Asked about the suspect, neighbors said he was a man who once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a shotgun.

He had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump.

Mike and Patricia Smith, who live across the street from the man and whose two children were on the bus, said their youngsters had a run-in with him about 10 months ago.

"My bulldogs got loose and went over there," Patricia Smith said. "The children went to get them. He threatened to shoot them if they came back."

"He's very paranoid," her husband said. "He goes around in his yard at night with a flashlight and shotgun."

Another neighbor, Ronda Wilbur, said the man beat her 120-pound dog with a lead pipe for coming onto his side of the dirt road. The dog died a week later.

"He said his only regret was he didn't beat him to death all the way," Wilbur said. "If a man can kill a dog, and beat it with a lead pipe and brag about it, it's nothing until it's going to be people."

The suspect had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to face a charge of menacing some neighbors as they drove by his house weeks ago. Claudia Davis said he yelled and fired shots at her, her son and her baby grandson over damage the man claimed their pickup truck did to a makeshift speed bump in the dirt road. No one was hurt.

"Before this happened, I would see him at several places and he would just stare a hole through me," Davis said. "On Monday I saw him at a laundromat and he seen me when I was getting in my truck, and he just stared and stared and stared at me."

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