Bomb kills 64 in Pakistan's Quetta

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Sixty-four people including school children died on Saturday in a bomb attack carried out by extremists from Pakistan's Sunni Muslim majority, police said.

A spokesman for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni group, claimed responsibility for the bomb in Quetta, which caused casualties in the town's main bazaar, a school and a computer center. Police said most of the victims were Shi'ites.

Burned school bags and books were strewn around.

"The explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device fitted to a motorcycle," said Wazir Khan Nasir, deputy inspector general of police in Quetta.

"This is a continuation of terrorism against Shi'ites."

"I saw many bodies of women and children," said an eyewitness at a hospital. "At least a dozen people were burned to death by the blast."

Most Western intelligence agencies have regarded the Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda as the gravest threat to nuclear-armed Pakistan, a strategic U.S. ally.

But Pakistani law enforcement officials say Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has become a formidable force.

TENSIONS

Last month the group said it carried out a bombing in Quetta that killed nearly 100 people, one of Pakistan's worst sectarian attacks. Thousands of Shi'ites protested in several cities after that attack.

Pakistani intelligence officials say extremist groups, led by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, have escalated their bombings and shootings of Shi'ites to trigger violence that would pave the way for a Sunni theocracy in U.S.-allied Pakistan.

More than 400 Shi'ites were killed in Pakistan last year, many by hitmen or bombs, and the perpetrators are almost never caught. Some hardline Shi'ite groups have hit back by killing Sunni clerics.

The growing sectarian violence has hurt the credibility of the government, which has already faced criticism ahead of elections due in May for its inability to tackle corruption and economic stagnation.

The schism between Sunnis and Shi'ites developed after the Prophet Muhammad died in 632 when his followers could not agree on a successor.

Emotions over the issue are highly potent even today, pushing some countries, including Iraq five years ago, to the brink of civil war.

Pakistan is nowhere near that stage but officials worry that Sunni extremist groups have succeeded in dramatically ratcheting up tensions and provoking revenge attacks in their bid to destabilize the country.

(Reporting by Jibran Ahmed; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Stephen Powell)

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"Argo", "Lincoln" vie for Oscars crown in open race

LOS ANGELES - Steven Spielberg goes into next weekend's Oscars with the most nominations for his presidential "Lincoln" but the momentum is all with Ben Affleck's thriller "Argo" in the Academy Awards home straight.

And while the Hollywood veteran and the young pretender vie for the Oscars best picture crown, several other frontrunners remain hard on their heels, in one of the least predictable Oscar races in recent memory.

Taiwan-born Lee Ang's 3D spectacular "Life of Pi," Osama bin Laden manhunt movie "Zero Dark Thirty" and romcom "Silver Linings Playbook" could all be in with a chance at the Oscars, the climax of Tinseltown's annual awards season.

Spielberg and Lee are frontrunners for best director, while "Lincoln" star Daniel Day-Lewis is widely seen as a shoo-in for best actor. For best actress the hot money is on Jessica Chastain for her part in "Zero Dark Thirty" or "Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence.

But Affleck's Iran hostage drama, despite only winning seven nominations -- against 12 for "Lincoln," 11 for "Life of Pi" and eight each for "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Les Miserables" -- has a clear edge for best picture.

It has swept up top prizes at a string of key awards shows, including the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Producers Guild of America (PGA), the Directors Guild of America (DGA), and Britain's BAFTA last weekend.

Affleck has gotten used to making acceptance speeches over the last two months -- but he has been tightlipped on his prospects for the all-important 85th Academy Awards, to be held at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre next Sunday.

"I just feel so incredibly honoured to be nominated as a producer for this movie. To be here at the big party," he said at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon, the annual gathering of those in the race, held in Beverly Hills on February 4.

Indeed, his best picture nomination is as a co-producer of the film -- along with George Clooney and Grant Heslov -- rather than as a director, a category in which he was not nominated, in a perceived snub.

Snub or no snub, he will be among presenters at the show, along with a Who's Who of A-listers including Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L Jackson, and Meryl Streep.

"Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane will be hosting, a move organizers hope will attract younger viewers among the hundreds of millions watching live around the world.

Other nominees presenting include Chastain -- best actress frontrunner for playing a relentless CIA agent on the hunt for Osama, in Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow's controversial "Zero Dark Thirty".

But Lawrence, star of the "Hunger Games" blockbuster franchise, could also win the category for her portrayal of mixed-up Tiffany to Bradley Cooper's bipolar ex-teacher in "Silver Linings Playbook".

Cooper is up for best actor, along with Hugh Jackman for "Les Miserables", Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master" and Denzel Washington for "Flight" -- but Day-Lewis is widely forecast for a record third Oscar for his "Lincoln" turn.

For best director, 66-year-old Spielberg will be hoping for his first Oscar since "Saving Private Ryan" in 1999.

But he is up against Lee -- whose "Brokeback Mountain" won best picture in 2006 -- as well as Michael Haneke for his Cannes-winning "Amour", David O Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook" and Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild".

Best supporting actor nominees are Alan Arkin for "Argo", Robert De Niro for "Silver Linings Playbook", Philip Seymour Hoffman for "The Master", Tommy Lee Jones for "Lincoln" and Christoph Waltz for "Django Unchained".

For supporting actress Anne Hathaway is tipped to win for performance in "Les Miserables" -- including her heart-wrenching close-up rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" -- against Amy Adams for "The Master", Sally Field in "Lincoln", Helen Hunt in "The Sessions" and Jacki Weaver in "Silver Linings Playbook".

The Oscars have a musical theme this year, including a performance by Britain's Adele singing the Oscar-nominated 007 theme tune "Skyfall" as well as by Shirley Bassey and Norah Jones, and Barbra Streisand, in her first Oscars turn since 1977.

- AFP/ir

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Malik aimed to boost his relevance at home, Pak?

NEW DELHI: The Indian security agencies suspect that JKLF chief Yasin Malik may have secretly met 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed during his stay in Pakistan, apart from sharing the dais with him at a protest in Islamabad. Even as his alleged one-on-one meeting with the LeT boss is kept carefully under wraps, Malik, intelligence officials say, ensured a photo opportunity alongside Saeed to "score" over moderate Hurriyat's "secret" meeting with him last December.

Till now sidelined in Kashmir's separatist politics and desperate to win over the support of Pakistani agencies, Malik possibly saw his appearance with Saeed as a last-ditch bid to boost his relevance at home and across the border.

The intelligence agencies have already rejected Malik's defence that his sharing the stage with Saeed was co-incidental. "I was on a hunger strike for 24 hours near Islamabad Press Club. Thousands of people came there including Hafiz Saeed, who came there for 15 minutes...where did the meeting take place?" the JKLF leader had argued after his public appearance with Saeed sparked an outrage here.

Agencies, however, feel Malik's photo-opportunity with the LeT boss was intentional. "It is virtually impossible for Malik to not have known the list of big leaders who he would be sharing the stage with, particularly those with a profile as daunting as Saeed's," an official pointed out.

"Considering the interest generated by moderate Hurriyat leaders' 'secret' meeting with Saeed in December, Malik possibly thought that a public appearance with the LeT founder in Islamabad would help him score over them. His real meeting with Saeed, however, may have happened away from the public eye to ensure deniability," the official added.

Saeed's active interest in Kashmir is public knowledge. In fact, at a recent rally in Lahore to mark the Kashmir solidarity day, the LeT founder and Jamaat ud Dawah boss urged India to "leave Kashmir", warning that Indian Army would be defeated and Kashmir would get independence. He pledged support to all Kashmiri leaders and hoped for their unity.

According to an intelligence assessment, Malik, who has lately been overshadowed by Kashmiri separatist leaders of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat like hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the moderate Hurriyat under Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, may have sensed an opportunity to bounce back to the centrestage just by being seen with Saeed. His fast in Islamabad against the hanging of Afzal Guru provided him the right setting to pull off the photo-opportunity.

Intelligence officials point out that just like leaders of the two Hurriyat factions, which are dependent on ideological and logistical support from Pakistan to further their campaign in the Valley, the JKLF leader too has shed his hardened pro-azaadi stand and is looking for support from across the border.

Though Malik may be questioned upon his return from Pakistan on his "encounter" with Saeed, the agencies believe there the Centre can do little beyond either revoking his passport or denying its extension beyond March 31, when it is due to expire anyway. "Arresting him will only help him play the victim," an official has warned.

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UN warns risk of hepatitis E in S. Sudan grows

GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations says an outbreak of hepatitis E has killed 111 refugees in camps in South Sudan since July, and has become endemic in the region.

U.N. refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards says the influx of people to the camps from neighboring Sudan is believed to be one of the factors in the rapid spread of the contagious, life-threatening inflammatory viral disease of the liver.

Edwards said Friday that the camps have been hit by 6,017 cases of hepatitis E, which is spread through contaminated food and water.

He says the largest number of cases and suspected cases is in the Yusuf Batil camp in Upper Nile state, which houses 37,229 refugees fleeing fighting between rebels and the Sudanese government.

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Meteor Blast 'Something We Only Saw in Movies'

A day after a massive meteor exploded over this city in central Russia, a monumental cleanup effort is under way.

Authorities have deployed around 24,000 troops and emergencies responders to help in the effort.

Officials say more than a million square feet of windows -- the size of about 20 football fields -- were shattered by the shockwave from the meteor's blast. Around 4,000 buildings in the area were damaged.

The injury toll climbed steadily on Friday. Authorities said today it now stands at more than 1,200. Most of those injuries were from broken glass, and only a few hundred required hospitalization.

According to NASA, this was the biggest meteor to hit Earth in more than a century. Preliminary figures suggest it was 50 feet wide and weighed more than the Eiffel Tower.

SEE PHOTOS: Meteorite Crashes in Russia

NASA scientists have also estimated the force of the blast that occurred when the meteor fractured upon entering Earth's atmosphere was approximately 470 kilotons -- the equivalent of about 30 Hiroshima bombs.

Residents said today they still can't believe it happened here.

"It was something we only saw in the movies," one university student said. "We never thought we would see it ourselves."

Throughout the city, the streets are littered with broken glass. Local officials have announced an ambitious pledge to replace all the broken windows within a week. In the early morning hours, however, workers could still be heard drilling new windows into place.

Authorities have sent divers into a frozen lake outside the city, where a large chunk of the meteor is believed to have landed, creating a large hole in the ice. By the end of the day they had not found anything.

They are not the only ones looking for it.

Meteor hunters from around the world are salivating at what some are calling the opportunity of a lifetime. A small piece of the meteor could fetch thousands of dollars and larger chunks could bring in even hundreds of thousands.

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Exclusive: North Korea tells China of preparations for fresh nuclear test - source

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea has told its key ally, China, that it is prepared to stage one or even two more nuclear tests this year in an effort to force the United States into diplomatic talks, said a source with direct knowledge of the message.

Further tests could also be accompanied this year by another rocket launch, said the source, who has direct access to the top levels of government in both Beijing and Pyongyang.

North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday, drawing global condemnation and a stern warning from the United States that it was a threat and a provocation.

"It's all ready. A fourth and fifth nuclear test and a rocket launch could be conducted soon, possibly this year," the source said, adding that the fourth nuclear test would be much larger than the third, at an equivalent of 10 kilotons of TNT.

The tests will be undertaken, the source said, unless Washington holds talks with North Korea and abandons its policy of what Pyongyang sees as attempts at regime change.

North Korea also reiterated its long-standing desire for the United States to sign a final peace agreement with it and establish diplomatic relations, he said. North Korea remains technically at war with both the United States and South Korea after the Korean war ended in 1953 with a truce.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland urged North Korea to "refrain from additional provocative actions that would violate its international obligations" under three different sets of U.N. Security Council resolutions that prohibit nuclear and missile tests.

North Korea "is not going to achieve anything in terms of the health, welfare, safety, future of its own people by these kinds of continued provocative actions. It's just going to lead to more isolation," Nuland told reporters.

The Pentagon also weighed in, calling North Korea's missile and nuclear programs "a threat to U.S. national security and to international peace and security."

"The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and steadfast in our defense commitments to allies in the region," said Pentagon spokeswoman Major Catherine Wilkinson.

Initial estimates of this week's test from South Korea's military put its yield at the equivalent of 6-7 kilotons, although a final assessment of yield and what material was used in the explosion may be weeks away.

North Korea's latest test, its third since 2006, prompted warnings from Washington and others that more sanctions would be imposed on the isolated state. The U.N. Security Council has only just tightened sanctions on Pyongyang after it launched a long-range rocket in December.

Pyongyang is banned under U.N. sanctions from developing missile or nuclear technology after its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests.

North Korea worked to ready its nuclear test site, about 100 km (60 miles) from its border with China, throughout last year, according to commercially available satellite imagery. The images show that it may have already prepared for at least one more test, beyond Tuesday's subterranean explosion.

"Based on satellite imagery that showed there were the same activities in two tunnels, they have one tunnel left after the latest test," said Kune Y. Suh, a nuclear engineering professor at Seoul National University in South Korea.

Analysis of satellite imagery released on Friday by specialist North Korea website 38North showed activity at a rocket site that appeared to indicate it was being prepared for a launch (http://38north.org/2013/02/tonghae021413/).

NORTH 'NOT AFRAID' OF SANCTIONS

President Barack Obama pledged after this week's nuclear test "to lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats" and diplomats at the U.N. Security Council have already started discussing potential new sanctions.

North Korea has said the test was a reaction to "U.S. hostility" following its December rocket launch. Critics say the rocket launch was aimed at developing technology for an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"(North) Korea is not afraid of (further) sanctions," the source said. "It is confident agricultural and economic reforms will boost grain harvests this year, reducing its food reliance on China."

North Korea's isolated and small economy has few links with the outside world apart from China, its major trading partner and sole influential diplomatic ally.

China signed up for international sanctions against North Korea after the 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests and for a U.N. Security Council resolution passed in January to condemn the latest rocket launch. However, Beijing has stopped short of abandoning all support for Pyongyang.

Sanctions have so far not discouraged North Korea from pursuing its nuclear ambitions.

"It is like watching the same movie over and over again," said Lee Woo-young, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies. "The idea that stronger sanctions make North Korea stop developing nuclear programs isn't effective in my view."

The source with ties to Beijing and Pyongyang said China would again support U.N. sanctions. He declined to comment on what level of sanctions Beijing would be willing to endorse.

"When China supported U.N. sanctions ... (North) Korea angrily called China a puppet of the United States," he said. "There will be new sanctions which will be harsh. China is likely to agree to it," he said, without elaborating.

He said however that Beijing would not cut food and fuel supplies to North Korea, a measure it reportedly took after a previous nuclear test.

He said North Korea's actions were a distraction for China's leadership, which was concerned that the escalations could inflame public opinion in China and hasten military build-ups in the region.

The source said he saw little room for compromise under North Korea's youthful new leader, Kim Jong-un. The third Kim to rule North Korea is just 30 years old and took over from his father in December 2011.

He appears to have followed his father, Kim Jong-il, in the "military first" strategy that has pushed North Korea ever closer to a workable nuclear missile at the expense of economic development.

"He is much tougher than his father," the source said.

(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Phillip Stewart in WASHINGTON; Writing by David Chance; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, David Brunnstrom and Jackie Frank)

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Alleged cop killer died from single shot to head

LOS ANGELES: Alleged US cop killer Christopher Dorner died from a single gunshot wound to the head that appeared to be self-inflicted, a coroner said.

The doctor who examined the body concluded that "the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head," said San Bernardino County coroner Kevin Lacy, giving details from the results of a six-hour autopsy.

"We are not yet able to speak about the manner of death and tell you whether or not it was the result of a self-inflicted wound or another round," he told a press conference.

But he said, "while we are still assembling the reports and putting it together, the implication seems to be that the wound that took Christopher Dorner's life was self-inflicted."

The ex-Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) cop went on the run last week after allegedly killing a couple and a policeman, and wounding three people. Another officer was killed and one wounded before the cabin in which Dorner was holed up burned in a fire.

Dorner had posted online a chilling manifesto in which he threatened to kill policemen and their families, and blamed the LAPD for treating him unfairly in his sacking in 2008.

The manhunt came to a climax Tuesday in a cabin near a snow-covered ski resort, after Dorner was spotted in a stolen vehicle and then fled on foot after crashing one vehicle and carjacking another.

San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said that there was a prolonged firefight with the 33-year-old, who barricaded himself in the cabin after a six-day manhunt.

When they had exhausted other means, SWAT officers used a tractor-type device to open up the windows and walls of the cabin, and inserted a pyrotechnic chemical, to try to force Dorner to surrender.

A blaze erupted, starting at one corner of the cabin. As the flames took hold, after a period of no firing, "We heard a distinct single gunshot coming from inside the house," said McMahon.

The sound of it "indicated to me (that) a different kind of weapon had been fired," he added.

- AFP/ck

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Vintage steam engine back on Shimla-Kalka heritage track

SHIMLA: The British era steam engine, KC-520, chugged on the Shimla-Kalka heritage track on Friday, after a gap of four years. The only narrow gauge steam engine, which dates back to 1903, KC-520 towed four chartered coaches, carrying around 25 passengers, mainly foreigners, successfully between Shimla and Kathlighat.

Railway officials at the Shimla railway station cordoned off the track when the engine set off on its journey around 11.40am. A member of the group from UK travelling in one of the coaches, Viam, told TOI, "It is wonderful to travel in the steam engine. It is certainly a momentous journey and weaving a magnificent image of steam spewing up while traversing through the verdant vales."

Sources said the steam engine was plying following a chartered booking by the UK group. The engine was sent to Amritsar in 2008 for repair works and brought back to Shimla on November 20. It ran a successful trial run on December 5, 2012. Information procured from the Baba Bhalku rail museum in Shimla reveals that the steam engine has been declared a heritage property by UNESCO and that it is the only one being run on the Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge. Technically, the engine's specialty is that it runs on a gradient of 1 in 33 around 3%, which is quite steep and a very difficult gradient compared to other hill tracks like that of Darjeeling.

This steam engine has been quite a hit with tourists, especially foreigners. This particular engine was run for the first time in 1905 and as compared to the diesel locos it requires repeated refilling of water. Before December 2012 it was last run on trial basis in November 2008 from Summer Hill to Shimla and thereafter taken to Amritsar. This engine was brought out of retirement from Saharanpur.

As per records, the KC-520 engine is said to be built by North British Locomotive Company for Rs 30,000 and was put out of service in 1971 after the advent of diesel locomotives. The KC-520 was again put into use in 2001 for small trips between Shimla and Kathlighat for foreign tourists, as well as high end tourists, besides persons of corporate sector and at a cost of around Rs 1.08 lakh for a short trip for 25 people, it became a popular attraction.

Aaron Kelly, a British tourist who travelled on the train, said: "The journey on this narrow-gauge rail line is always exhilarating, especially when a steam locomotive is used to draw the coaches."

Another tourist, Daniel Hall said travelling on a wheeled vehicle consisting of a coal-propelled engine "reminds me of the Raj heritage".

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States' choices set up national health experiment

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is unfolding as a national experiment with American consumers as the guinea pigs: Who will do a better job getting uninsured people covered, the states or the feds?

The nation is about evenly split between states that decided by Friday's deadline they want a say in running new insurance markets and states that are defaulting to federal control because they don't want to participate in "Obamacare." That choice was left to state governments under the law: Establish the market or Washington will.

With some exceptions, states led by Democrats opted to set up their own markets, called exchanges, and Republican-led states declined.

Only months from the official launch, exchanges are supposed to make the mind-boggling task of buying health insurance more like shopping on Amazon.com or Travelocity. Millions of people who don't have employer coverage will flock to the new markets. Middle-class consumers will be able to buy private insurance, with government help to pay the premiums in most cases. Low-income people will be steered to safety net programs like Medicaid.

"It's an experiment between the feds and the states, and among the states themselves," said Robert Krughoff, president of Consumers' Checkbook, a nonprofit ratings group that has devised an online tool used by many federal workers to pick their health plans. Krughoff is skeptical that either the feds or the states have solved the technological challenge of making the purchase of health insurance as easy as selecting a travel-and-hotel package.

Whether or not the bugs get worked out, consumers will be able to start signing up Oct. 1 for coverage that takes effect Jan. 1. That's also when two other major provisions of the law kick in: the mandate that almost all Americans carry health insurance, and the rule that says insurers can no longer turn away people in poor health.

Barring last-minute switches that may not be revealed until next week, 23 states plus Washington, D.C., have opted to run their own markets or partner with the Obama administration to do so.

Twenty-six states are defaulting to the feds. But in several of those, Republican governors are trying to carve out some kind of role by negotiating with federal Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Utah's status is unclear. It received initial federal approval to run its own market, but appears to be reconsidering.

"It's healthy for the states to have various choices," said Ben Nelson, CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. "And there's no barrier to taking somebody else's ideas and making them work in your situation." A former U.S. senator from Nebraska, Nelson was one of several conservative Democrats who provided crucial votes to pass the overhaul.

States setting up their own exchanges are already taking different paths. Some will operate their markets much like major employers run their health plans, as "active purchasers" offering a limited choice of insurance carriers to drive better bargains. Others will open their markets to all insurers that meet basic standards, and let consumers decide.

Obama's Affordable Care Act remains politically divisive, but state insurance exchanges enjoy broad public support. Setting up a new market was central to former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's health care overhaul as governor of Massachusetts. There, it's known as the Health Connector.

A recent AP poll found that Americans prefer to have states run the new markets by 63 percent to 32 percent. Among conservatives the margin was nearly 4-1 in favor of state control. But with some exceptions, including Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico, Republican-led states are maintaining a hands-off posture, meaning the federal government will step in.

"There is a sense of irony that it's the more conservative states" yielding to federal control, said Sandy Praeger, the Republican insurance commissioner in Kansas, a state declining to run its own exchange. First, she said, the law's opponents "put their money on the Supreme Court, then on the election. Now that it's a reality, we may see some movement."

They're not budging in Austin. "Texas is not interested in being a subcontractor to Obamacare," said Lucy Nashed, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry, who remains opposed to mandates in the law.

In Kansas, Praeger supported a state-run exchange, but lost the political struggle to Gov. Sam Brownback. She says Kansans will be closely watching what happens in neighboring Colorado, where the state will run the market. She doubts that consumers in her state would relish dealing with a call center on the other side of the country. The federal exchange may have some local window-dressing but it's expected to function as a national program.

Christine Ferguson, director of the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange, says she expects to see a big shift to state control in the next few years. "Many of the states have just run out of time for a variety of reasons," said Ferguson. "I'd be surprised if in the longer run every state didn't want to have its own approach."

In some ways, the federal government has a head start on the states. It already operates the Medicare Plan Finder for health insurance and prescription plans that serve seniors, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Both have many of the features of the new insurance markets.

Administration officials are keeping mum about what the new federal exchange will look like, except that it will open on time and people in all 50 states will have the coverage they're entitled to by law.

Joel Ario, who oversaw planning for the health exchanges in the Obama administration, says "there's a rich dialogue going on" as to what the online shopping experience should look like. "To create a website like Amazon is a very complicated exercise," said Ario, now a consultant with Manatt Health Solutions.

He thinks consumers should be able to get one dollar figure for each plan that totals up all their expected costs for the year, including premiums, deductibles and copayments. Otherwise, scrolling through pages of insurance jargon online will be a sure turn-off.

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Carnival Cruise Ship Hit With First Lawsuit

The first lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines has been filed and it is expected to be the beginning of a wave of lawsuits against the ship's owners.

Cassie Terry, 25, of Brazoria County, Texas, filed a lawsuit today in Miami federal court, calling the disabled Triumph cruise ship "a floating hell."

"Plaintiff was forced to endure unbearable and horrendous odors on the filthy and disabled vessel, and wade through human feces in order to reach food lines where the wait was counted in hours, only to receive rations of spoiled food," according to the lawsuit, obtained by ABCNews.com. "Plaintiff was forced to subsist for days in a floating toilet, a floating Petri dish, a floating hell."

Click Here for Photos of the Stranded Ship at Sea

The filing also said that during the "horrifying and excruciating tow back to the United States," the ship tilted several times "causing human waste to spill out of non-functioning toilets, flood across the vessel's floors and halls, and drip down the vessel's walls."

Terry's attorney Brent Allison told ABCNews.com that Terry knew she wanted to sue before she even got off the boat. When she was able to reach her husband, she told her husband and he contacted the attorneys.

Allison said Terry is thankful to be home with her husband, but is not feeling well and is going to a doctor.

Carnival's Triumph Passengers: 'We Were Homeless' Watch Video

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Carnival Cruise Ship Passengers Line Up for Food Watch Video

"She's nauseated and actually has a fever," Allison said.

Terry is suing for breach of maritime contract, negligence, negligent misrepresentation and fraud as a result of the "unseaworthy, unsafe, unsanitary, and generally despicable conditions" on the crippled cruise ship.

"Plaintiff feared for her life and safety, under constant threat of contracting serious illness by the raw sewage filling the vessel, and suffering actual or some bodily injury," the lawsuit says.

Despite having their feet back on solid ground and making their way home, many passengers from the cruise ship are still fuming over their five days of squalor on the stricken ship and the cruise ship company is likely to be hit with a wave of lawsuits.

"I think people are going to file suits and rightly so," maritime trial attorney John Hickey told ABCNews.com. "I think, frankly, that the conduct of Carnival has been outrageous from the get-go."

Hickey, a Miami-based attorney, said his firm has already received "quite a few" inquiries from passengers who just got off the ship early this morning.

"What you have here is a) negligence on the part of Carnival and b) you have them, the passengers, being exposed to the risk of actual physical injury," Hickey said.

The attorney said that whether passengers can recover monetary compensation will depend on maritime law and the 15-pages of legal "gobbledygook," as Hickey described it, that passengers signed before boarding, but "nobody really agrees to."

One of the ticket conditions is that class action lawsuits are not allowed, but Hickey said there is a possibility that could be voided when all the conditions of the situation are taken into account.

One of the passengers already thinking about legal action is Tammy Hilley, a mother of two, who was on a girl's getaway with her two friends when a fire in the ship's engine room disabled the vessel's propulsion system and knocked out most of its power.

"I think that's a direction that our families will talk about, consider and see what's right for us," Hilley told "Good Morning America" when asked if she would be seeking legal action.

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