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U.S. gold heist fugitive caught
5/8/2014 9:32:47 AM
- Over 100 pounds of gold was taken, worth $2.6 million
- He was allegedly wearing an ankle monitor
- Belize authorities found him crawling through bushes on the border with Guatemala
(CNN) -- When immigration agents in Belize spotted a man crawling through the bushes near its border with Guatemala, they not only stopped someone trying to illegally enter their country -- they also captured an international fugitive suspected of pulling off the biggest gold heist in Florida history.
Raonel Valdez-Valhuerdis was wanted for a bold heist where he allegedly held up a man who was carrying two suitcases full of more than 100 pounds of gold flakes.
Why would a man have suitcases filled with gold flakes?
That's just one aspect that makes this tale so bizarre.
Another is that Valdez allegedly committed the crime while wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor from a previous arrest.
The heist
The heist took place in October 2012 when the victim, George Villegas, was coming out of his Coral Gables apartment with the suitcases.
Villegas' family owns and operates Quri Wasi, a Bolivian-based export company that purchases gold, melts it down and then sells it.
He was on his way to work when Valdez and two other men accosted him, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
"We are only here for the gold," Valdez allegedly told the man.
Villegas said he tried to wrestle the men down, but let them go.
"Nothing is worth it," he told WTVJ shortly after the attack. "Not even $2.6 million."
Several weeks later, Coral Gables police nabbed Valdez. His ankle monitor led them to him.
The ankle monitor
Valdez's legal troubles began five months prior to the heist. Police said he apparently put a knife to his ex-girlfriend's neck and demanded her purse.
He was convicted of battery, and a judge mandated that he wear an ankle monitor.
After receiving a tip that Valdez was the leader of the heist, police searched his name and learned about the device.
Taking a look at the GPS data, they placed Valdez at the crime scene exactly when the robbery occurred. Police said the GPS data also showed he conducted surveillance of the apartment for several weeks before the robbery.
Once positively identified in a lineup, the detectives arrested Valdez.
But at a December 2012 hearing, the judge released him on a $75,000 bond.
Valdez didn't appear at his next hearing -- and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
He was officially on the run.
The capture
Fast forward to February 2014.
Belize immigration officials found him in the bushes at the border. He had a Cuban passport, but it didn't have an immigration stamp documenting his entry into Belize.
A quick background check revealed a surprise: This wasn't an ordinary border crosser. They had stumbled upon an international fugitive.
Back in America
On Wednesday, Valdez was back in the hands of U.S. authorities.
He's charged with armed robbery with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, grand theft of more than $100,000 and altering/tampering with an electronic monitor. The heist, the Marshals Service said, was the biggest gold robbery in Florida's history.
And let's not forget the probation violation.
The gold, however, is yet to be found.
Could century-old theft explain mystery of gold coins?
Notable diamond heists
CNN's Dave Alsup contributed to this report
Syrian rebels bomb regime hotel
5/8/2014 12:48:05 PM
- The Islamic Front rebel alliance claims responsibility for the attack
- The group says it killed at least 50 regime soldiers
- State-run TV says the Syrian army killed scores of terrorists
- Well over 100,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war
(CNN) -- Syrian rebels bombed a hotel used as a base for government forces, the latest massive attack in the seesaw battle for the country's largest city.
The Islamic Front, Syria's most powerful rebel alliance, claimed responsibility for the blast on Twitter. The group said it targeted the Carlton Citadel Hotel and several other buildings in the old city of Aleppo.
According to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 14 people were killed and dozens were injured.
The blast took place near historical ruins in Aleppo.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency described an "enormous attack on Aleppo old city antiquities launched by terrorists ... blowing up tunnels they dug under archeological buildings."
Syrian state-run TV said the army confronted "terrorist mercenaries as they tried to clash with the army after they dug a tunnel and detonated their bomb."
A military source said the Syrian army managed to control the area and "killed scores of these terrorists," the network said.
State-run TV reporter Chadi Hilwe said Thursday is also the third day Aleppo is facing a water shortage because terrorists targeted a water treatment plant.
Government forces and rebels have been battling for control of Aleppo throughout Syria's 3-year-old civil war.
The uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime began in 2011, with dissidents seeking democratic reforms and greater freedoms. Al-Assad's family has ruled Syria for 43 years.
After a fierce government crackdown, the peaceful protests spiraled into an armed rebellion, with rebels demanding al-Assad's ouster.
The Syrian regime has consistently said it is battling "terrorists."
As the battles rage on, foreign fighters -- including radical militants -- have joined both sides of the civil war.
Well over 100,000 people, including many civilians, have been killed in the past three years.
Evacuation truce in Homs goes into effect
What does the Homs truce mean for Syria?
Putin hails 'all-conquering patriotism' on Victory Day
5/9/2014 6:41:17 AM
- NEW: Report: Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Crimea for Victory Day events
- Spectators cheer as rockets, tanks and missiles are paraded through the heart of Moscow
- Putin hails his nation's "all-conquering patriotism" in remarks in Moscow
- Tensions high in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian activists plan a vote on autonomy
Sevastopol, Crimea (CNN) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Crimea on Friday to take part in Victory Day celebrations, Russian state media reported, in what would be his first visit to the disputed territory since Russia annexed it from Ukraine.
The military parades, held each year to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany, come amid soaring tensions in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists are planning a weekend referendum on autonomy.
Clashes between separatists and government forces were reported in Ukraine's southeastern city of Mariupol, the latest indication of the region's volatility.
Big crowds have turned out in the Crimean city of Sevastopol for the military parades, their numbers probably boosted by rumors that Putin might attend.
A big display is planned for the afternoon involving Russian warships in the Black Sea. Sevastopol hosts a key Russian naval base.
State news agency RIA Novosti said Putin had arrived in Crimea to celebrate the 69th anniversary of Victory Day, but the Kremlin press service has so far declined to confirm his arrival.
Crowds earlier packed the streets of Moscow, where the annual display of nationalistic fervor has been heightened by Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Tanks, rocket launchers and even intercontinental ballistic missiles were paraded through the capital's Red Square in a Soviet-style display of military might, as tens of thousands of people watched and cheered, waving Russian flags.
In televised remarks there, Putin hailed his nation's "all-conquering patriotism."
Chaotic transition
A large majority in Sevastopol, as well as across the Crimean peninsula, voted in favor of seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia in a controversial referendum in March. Moscow's annexation of the Black Sea territory, which was part of Russia until 1954 and has a majority ethnic Russian population, followed swiftly on.
Sevastopol residents told a CNN team that they were proud and happy to be part of Russia again.
Their enthusiasm comes despite a messy, sometimes chaotic, process of transition and the continued presence on the streets of local "self-defense" units, or militias, known as the "men in green."
Not everyone is delighted by Russia's annexation of Crimea, however. The indigenous ethnic minority Tatar population opposed the move.
One local Tatar leader, Abduraman Egiz, told CNN he was beaten up by a group of "men in green" after they demanded to see his identification documents.
"We as the community, we cannot guarantee the security of our people," he said.
Authorities in Ukraine have scaled back Victory Day events in the capital, Kiev, and elsewhere, anxious to avoid any big celebrations or demonstrations of support for Russia that could spark violence.
Odessa and Kharkiv have canceled all big public events, while Luhansk has asked groups to avoid gathering in the city. The city of Donetsk, however, is pushing ahead with an official program of events, and an unofficial march and rally are planned.
In Kiev, the events will be limited to the laying of flowers by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and acting President Oleksandr Turchynov, a small veterans' rally and concert.
Gunfire, smoke in Mariupol streets
Meanwhile, a live video stream from the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Friday showed a tense situation with gunfire and black smoke in the streets.
A pro-Russian activist reported that government troops were clashing with separatists there.
The media office of the Interior Ministry told CNN that there is fighting in Mariupol and that the national guard has entered the city.
As of now, they are not providing any information to the media because the "situation changes every minute," officials said. They could not provide any information on injuries.
One member of parliament posted on his Facebook account that separatists had blockaded themselves inside the police headquarters, surrounded by Ukrainian forces. Three "casualties" were reported among the separatists, and some Ukrainian officers were hurt, lawmaker Oleg Lyashko said.
CNN cannot independently verify that account at this time. But live video streamed from Mariupol showed what appeared to be bloody footprints and blood splatters at several scenes in the city center, while people were taking cover at the sound of what appeared to be bursts of gunfire.
Irina Voropaeva, who is one of the leaders of the pro-Russian camp in Mariupol, told CNN there are two hotspots in the city at the moment.
She said it was unclear what was unfolding at the main police station. But, she said, the Ukrainian military is in the city center and she has been told that the city hall building is on fire. She added that she could see smoke and hear explosions.
Mariupol has become a flashpoint in the standoff between Ukrainian forces and the separatists. Five pro-Russian activists were killed overnight Wednesday when Ukrainian forces attacked barricades on the outskirts of Mariupol, a spokeswoman for the pro-Russian camp said.
Referendum postponement call
Less than two months after Crimea was wrested from Ukraine's grasp, there are fears that other parts of the country could go the same way.
Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine said Thursday that they had decided to go ahead with a Sunday referendum on greater local powers, defying a call by Putin to postpone the vote.
Putin had urged the pro-Russian sympathizers to delay the referendum to give dialogue "the conditions it needs to have a chance."
But representatives from the council of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic and separatists from Luhansk told reporters they had voted to press ahead to ask eastern Ukrainians there if they want sovereignty from Kiev.
The West has strongly opposed the move.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Friday that his country has condemned the pro-Russian separatists for holding "illegal referendums."
Fabius, who spoke by phone with Yatsenyuk, reiterated France's determination to find a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine.
The immediate priority is de-escalation, to engage in a national dialogue and to prepare for the upcoming May 25 elections, Fabius said in a statement.
"On the local 'referenda,' we strongly emphasize that they should not take place -- neither on 11 May nor at any later date," said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the European Union's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton.
"Such unauthorized local 'referenda' have no democratic legitimacy and can only lead to further escalation."
Diplomatic maneuvers
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone with both Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yatsenyuk on Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
In his conversation with Lavrov, Kerry focused on the importance of de-escalation, disarming separatists and taking steps to evacuate seized public buildings, Psaki said.
Kerry also talked about the international community's support for dialogue within Ukraine and the presidential elections planned for this month, she said.
An international pact reached among Russia, Ukraine and its Western allies in Geneva, Switzerland, last month that called for the rebels to disarm and vacate buildings seized in the volatile eastern region has not yet materialized.
READ: A week in eastern Ukraine
READ: Opinion: Putin's empire building is not a new Cold War
CNN's Phil Black reported from Sevastopol and Matthew Chance from Moscow, while Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London. CNN's Arkady Irshenko, Kellie Morgan, Pierre Meilhan, Brian Walker and Laura Koran contributed to this report, as did journalists Victoria Butenko in Kiev and Lena Kashkarova in Donetsk.
Amnesty: 'Nigeria warned of raiding party'
5/9/2014 5:02:35 PM
- NEW: Jonathan believes the girls are still in the Nigeria, despite U.S. assessment
- "The soldiers were not there," says the father of two of the girls who were taken
- Nigerian forces had warning of Boko Haram attack on school, Amnesty says
- U.S. and British teams arrived to help Nigeria plan the fight against Boko Haram
Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) -- What did the Nigerian government know about the mass abduction of schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants, and when did it know it?
Those are the tough questions being asked after an explosive report made public Friday accused Nigerian military commanders of knowing the terror group was on its way to raid a boarding school in the town of Chibok at least four hours before 276 girls were abducted.
The findings by human rights group Amnesty International echo accounts of a number of the parents and villagers, who have described to CNN an ineffective military response in the days and weeks after the girls were abducted.
The allegations are being vehemently denied by President Goodluck Jonathan's government, which has repeatedly defended its response and questioned the motive behind the accounts.
"This is really outrageous, unbelievable," Minister of Information Labaran Maku told CNN.
The moment the Nigerian government heard of the abduction, "we went in to action," Maku said. "...We shouldn't turn this into a trial of the Nigerian government."
Even as he vowed an investigation in the claims, Maku said it was "inconceivable" that soldiers on duty would not respond to a potential attack on a school.
Nigeria's defense ministry dismissed the report's findings as "unfortunate and untrue."
'No reinforcements'
Scrutiny of the government's response has escalated amid international outrage over the mass abduction, with many asking why Nigeria did not mount a larger response or ask for international help.
The Amnesty International report alleges that after Nigerian commanders were informed of the pending attack, they were unable to raise enough troops to respond.
The commanders left a contingent of between 15 and 17 soldiers and a handful of police officers in Chibok to fend off the militants, the group reported.
"When it was clear these girls had been abducted, no reinforcements were sent to the town," Makmid Kamara, a researcher with Amnesty International, told CNN.
The report was based on the reports of more than a dozen people, including two senior Nigerian military officials, who gave varying, but consistent accounts, Kamara said.
But Nigeria's defense ministry disputed the findings, saying the first word received was of an ongoing attack at Chibok.
The troops "did not receive four hours forewarning about the attacks," according to a statement released by Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, a ministry spokesman. "Rather, they received information of an ongoing attack on Chibok from troops on patrol" who saw the attack and took on the militants.
Borno state Sen. Ahmed Zannah said Friday that the military sent reinforcements, but not until the militants were already in Chibok.
'The soldiers were not there'
As many as 200 Boko Haram fighters carried out the Chibok school raid, Amnesty reported, herding the girls out of bed under the cover of darkness after a firefight with the handful of security forces in the town.
The Nigerian government has claimed it responded, with troops, helicopters and airplanes in the immediate aftermath of the mass abduction.
But the father of two of the girls taken told CNN there has been little sign of military help.
He said first learned of the attack in a telephone call from a friend in Chibok, who told him the town was under attack by Boko Haram.
"Pray for us," the friend told the father, whose identity is being withheld out of a fear of possible reprisal by Boko Haram and the government.
The next day, the father learned his daughters and three nieces had been snatched.
He and his family sought out the help of the military in the area. But, he says, "the soldiers were not there."
Days later, a meeting was called by the elders of Chibok. "They said the army will be there and a civilian detail will be there -- to accompany us into the bush" to search for the girls, he said.
But no military or government officials showed up, he said.
"Nothing. Nothing. Up to 21 days, nothing has been done," he said.
Nigerian officials have frequently been criticized for failing to prevent Boko Haram's deadly attacks, particularly in the terror group's stronghold of northeastern Nigeria.
At least 2,000 people have died in violence in northern Nigeria this year alone, Amnesty said. The most recent Boko Haram attack killed at least 310 people in a town that had been used as a staging ground for troops searching for the missing girls.
U.S. and British officials have arrived in Abuja to supplement a U.S. team already on the ground there, according to officials.
They will help Nigeria's government look for the missing girls, plan rescue missions and advise on ways to subdue Boko Haram. But U.S. officials, at least, say they are unlikely to commit troops to combat operations.
'Many soldiers are afraid'
According to Amnesty, civilian officials in a nearby town and leaders of an armed vigilante group organized by the military informed nearby military posts that armed militants had passed through on their way to Chibok hours before the April 14 assault on the boarding school.
The human rights group said an official in the village of Gagilam told its investigators that residents had spoken of strangers who passed through on motorcycles, saying they were on their way to Chibok. The group cited another official as saying the men had asked herders for directions to the school.
The group also cited unnamed senior Nigerian commanders as saying they were aware of the attack even before the calls from the civilian leaders and vigilante groups. But they weren't able to muster enough troops to respond, Amnesty cited the commanders as saying.
"There's a lot of frustration, exhaustion and fatigue among officers and (troops) based in the hotspots," Amnesty quoted one of the unnamed commanders as saying. "Many soldiers are afraid to go to the battle fronts."
Where are the girls?
Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, took credit for the mass kidnappings in a video that surfaced this week. He said he planned to sell the girls into slavery.
A few escapees shared harrowing tales of escaping into a nearby forest.
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, who serves as Pentagon press secretary, said officials believe the girls "have been broken up into smaller groups" but declined to detail how they came to the conclusion. His sentiment has been echoed by others.
"The search must be in Niger, Cameroon and Chad, to see if we can find information," said Gordon Brown, a former UK prime minister and the U.N.'s special envoy for global education.
But Jonathan believes the girls are still in Nigeria, somewhere in the Sambisa forest.
"If they move that number of girls into Cameroon, people will see. So I believe they are still in Nigeria," he said.
International outrage has escalated over the nation's largely ineffective effort to subdue Boko Haram.
Amnesty is not the first to accuse Nigeria of failing to take enough action to stop the Chibok raid or other attacks, or to stage a forceful enough response in the aftermath.
Jonathan waited three weeks before speaking to the nation on the matter. He said that rescue efforts were under way at the time but that they could not be disclosed publicly.
"In a hostage situation, time is of the essence," Kirby said. "We lost some time."
International response
The international effort to buttress that fight ratcheted up Friday with the arrival of U.S. and British advisers.
Six U.S. military advisers arrived Friday, a U.S. official told CNN. They will join a team of U.S. and British officials already in Nigeria, helping find the girls, planning rescue efforts and devising strategies to help subdue Boko Haram.
A British team drawn from the country's Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence also arrived in Abuja on Friday, the British foreign office said.
France also said it is sending a team but didn't provide specifics on what expertise it will bring.
British satellites and advanced tracking capabilities also will be used, and China has promised to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network, Nigeria said.
There are no plans to send U.S. combat troops, Kirby said.
CNN's Vladimir Duthiers reported from Abuja, and Chelsea J. Carter reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Faith Karimi, Elise Labott and Michael Pearson also contributed to this report.
Minister: Nigeria isn't on trial
5/9/2014 5:28:45 PM
Isha Sesay talks to Nigeria's Minister of Information about the reported slow government response to the kidnapping.
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Real Madrid top football rich list
5/9/2014 12:30:31 PM
- Forbes names Real Madrid the world's most valuable football team
- Real valued at $3.44 billion, with Barcelona second on the list on $3.2 billion
- European Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid rated 17th
- Manchester United ($2.81 billion) ranked third, ahead of Bayern Munich ($1.85 billion)
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(CNN) -- Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will go head-to-head later this month to decide which football club is the finest in Europe but, when it comes to the bottom line, there is only one winner.
The city rivals will battle it out in the Champions League final on May 24 in Lisbon, but Atletico look to have their work cut out given the financial disparity between the two clubs.
Nine-time champions of Europe Real top a Forbes list of the world's most valuable football teams, with Los Blancos reportedly worth $3.44 billion.
The Santiago Bernabeu stadium team, which boasts the talents of FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, posted a revenue of $675 million for 2012-13, with an operating income of $172m.
In contrast, Atletico is way down the the financial pecking order, with Forbes ranking Atletico 17th, valuing Los Rojiblancos at $328m.
Read: Ronaldo injured as Real falter
Even so Atletico are punching above their weight in the Spanish league title and with two matches two go, Diego Simeone's Atletico team is top of the table -- three points ahead of second-placed Barcelona and four points clear of Real in third.
Atletico have surprised many with an impressive run to the final of Europe's premier club competition -- the first time the club has reached this stage of the competition in 40 years.
Barcelona are ranked second by Forbes, valued at $3.28 billion, with Manchester United worth an estimated $2.81 billion in third spot.
Current European and German champions Bayern Munich are next on the lists with a valuation of $1.85 billion, with London club Arsenal ($1.33 billion) completing the top five.
Forbes Most Valuable Football Teams 2014:
1. Real Madrid ($3.44 billion)
2. Barcelona ($3.2bn)
3. Manchester United ($2.81bn)
4. Bayern Munich ($1.85bn)
5. Arsenal ($1.33bn)
6. Chelsea ($868 million)
7. Manchester City ($863m)
8. AC Milan ($856m)
9. Juventus ($850m)
10. Liverpool ($691m)
Read: Man City closes in on EPL title
Read: Paris Saint-Germain crowned French champions
Football failing in racism strategy
5/9/2014 12:34:25 PM
- John Barnes says football must change its approach to tackling racism
- The former Liverpool great had a banana thrown at him during a match in 1987
- Barcelona's Dani Alves was subjected to similar abuse recently against Villarreal
- Barnes says football must focus on education rather than sanctions
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(CNN) -- "You can be as racist as you want, as long as you keep your mouth shut," says John Barnes.
The former Liverpool great should know.
The Jamaican-born England international was subjected to racist abuse including an infamous incident 27 years ago when a fan threw a banana at him during a Merseyside derby between Liverpool and rivals Everton.
Barnes kicked the piece of fruit away. Fast forward to 2014 and Barcelona's Dani Alves was similarly taunted, though the Brazilian picked up and ate the banana that had been hurled at him by a Villarreal supporter.
According to Barnes, the fact that bananas are still been throwing at games shows football's approach to tackling discrimination is befuddled.
"The way we're trying to deal with it, in terms of getting rid of it, is wrong," Barnes, who played for England between 1983 and 1995, told CNN at a promotional event for YO! Sushi aimed at encouraging fans to back Japan at the 2014 World Cup.
"Only through education and making people know why it's wrong to do it.
"Just by saying to people 'You're not allowed to do it' without telling them why, explaining to them why... Or fining them when they do it, so they just keep their mouth shut is not getting rid of it.
"Do we want to get rid of racism? Or do we want just not to hear it? What football is saying, by fining and banning people, is 'You can be as racist as you want, but as long as you keep your mouth shut it's fine.'
"That's not what I'm interested in."
Read: Is racism endemic in Spanish football?
One week after Alves was abused, Levante's Senegalese player Papakouli Diop claimed he heard monkey chants from Atletico Madrid supporters.
His response was to dance in front of his alleged abusers but, while he fully support Alves' actions, Barnes questioned Diop's reaction.
"I think Alves showed disdain, he showed disregard," he added. "He showed that if you're being bullied and the bullies aren't effecting you, they will stop bullying you.
"If you react to it, they will continue to do it. From a playing perspective, I think that's the right way to respond."
While praising Villarreal for acting swiftly to ban the fan who threw the banana at Alves, Barnes warned that football might be fighting a losing battle in trying to eradicate racist abuse.
"These aren't football's problems. Until we get rid of it in society, we won't get rid of it in football," added Barnes, who memorably scored a remarkable solo goal in the Maracana stadium against Brazil in a 1-0 friendly win for England in June 1984.
"From an institutional perspective, yes you ban the fan, as the club did, if you've got to close stadiums, fine players or take points off clubs, that's what you do."
Football's world governing body FIFA introduced a series of punishments after a number of high-profile racism cases in 2013.
The punishments for a first offense is a warning, fine or the club in question being forced to play games in empty stadiums.
A second offense, or one deemed "serious," could result in demotion, a deduction of points or expulsion from a tournament.
Read: Dani Alves winning racism fight
Read: Pele expects "fantastic" World Cup
Meet the 'King' of rugby seven
5/9/2014 12:31:22 PM
- Fijian rugby idol Waisale Serevi is known as the "King of Sevens"
- He played at three Rugby World Cups, but forged his reputation in sevens
- During his 17-year career, he won the Hong Kong Sevens on seven occasions
- He also led Fiji to two World Cup Sevens triumphs
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(CNN) -- As a young child in Fiji, rugby star Waisale Serevi strained to hear tales of his heroes through the crackles of an old transistor radio.
Those radio waves carried stories of his idols across the seas into the ears of an enraptured Serevi.
It was the 1970s, before television arrived on the shores of the tiny island nation cast 1,700 miles off the east coast of Australia in the Pacific Ocean.
Although it has a population of just 870,000, Fiji's obsession with the oval ball has helped it stand shoulder-to-shoulder with global superpowers.
In Serevi, Fiji gave rugby a player blessed with such flare, flamboyance and outrageous natural talent, that on many an occasion David was able to stun Goliath.
"I started to get interested in rugby in 1977," Serevi, who played 36 times for the Fiji's Rugby Union team, told CNN.
"I was in my school uniform in Fiji, and then people were all happy and shouting and I asked my mum, 'why are these people happy?'
"They said, 'Oh Fiji has just beaten the British Lions, and rugby makes people in Fiji happy.'
"So, I thought, if I have an opportunity to play for Fiji, I'll try and make people happy."
Fiji's famous win over the Lions came in the 15-a-side version of the sport but, while Serevi went on to become a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Hall of Fame and played at three Rugby World Cups, it was in the seven-a-side game that he excelled.
Sevens is a scaled-down, fast-pace version of rugby union that requires quickness of mind and body and bucket loads of stamina.
At his peak, Serevi possessed all three in spades, so much so that he was dubbed the "King of Sevens."
If Serevi was the king, his royal residence was the Hong Kong Sevens -- the most famous date on the HSBC Sevens World Series calendar and a tournament followed religiously in Fiji.
"It's a big burden for the players," said Serevi. "When they come to the Hong Kong Sevens, they have to win to make their name back home in Fiji.
See the thrills and spills from @OfficialHK7s on CNN's Rugby Sevens Worldwide, which airs Thursday #CNNRugby7s https://t.co/PYisRc4DIT
— CNN World Sport (@WorldSportCNN) April 23, 2014 "When Fiji wins the Hong Kong Sevens it's a good 12 months for us until the next Hong Kong Sevens.
"But, when we lose the Hong Kong Sevens, it's the worst 12 months. It's always like 'Oh no we have to wait for another year!'"
Gallery: New Zealand triumph in Hong Kong
Luckily for Serevi, he enjoyed a plethora of successes during his 17-year career, including seven triumphs in Hong Kong.
In two of those glorious years, 1997 and 2005, the tournament doubled up as the World Cup Sevens and it's those wins which Serevi remembers most fondly.
"When we won the World Cup Sevens in 1997, the whole people of Fiji, in Fiji and all over the world were so excited," he explained.
"In 2005, I was so happy that my little boy was here, he was aged three or four and I carried him and took the cup with him home.
"They even closed the airport because the people were coming in and they wanted to meet the plane coming down from the sky."
At his final Hong Kong Sevens as a player, Serevi illustrated why he is so revered.
In the semifinal match against New Zealand in 2007, he received the ball inside Fiji's 22-yard line, proceeding to effortlessly slalom his way through three attempted tackles before off-loading the ball to his teammate on the halfway line.
"I saw the two New Zealand guys were like coming and I went straight to their eyes and I could see they were arriving but their eyes told me that they were gone.
That's why I stepped two of them ... they were both tired ... I was running slowly because I didn't have any more energy too and the defenders were coming close.
"I dummied my way and they all went and I went through the middle straight in, and I passed to one of our guys."
Serevi summoned the energy for one last-gasp burst, receiving a final pass before striding to the try line with the ball raised above his head in jubilation.
"I ran nearly 150 meters," he recalls. "I was about to die when I scored the try." Not bad for a 38-year-old.
With his boots now firmly zipped up in his kitbag, the 45-year-old Serevi is focused on finding the next generation of sevens talent.
Serevi Rugby was set up in 2010 by the now retired star and three Seattle-based partners. It aims to encourage children into the sport all over the world, with a specific focus on growing rugby in North America.
The organization has teamed up with USA Rugby in a bid to find more players like Carlin Isles, a former collegiate track prospect who resisted overtures from the NFL to sign with Scottish rugby team Glasgow Warriors.
The aim is for Serevi and USA Rugby to establish a network of training camps from which the country will draw its squads for the Sevens World Series and Olympic competitions, with the sport set to make its Games debut in 2016.
"Rugby has given me a lot," reflected Serevi. "Twenty one years of rugby. I want to give back to rugby so that I can help rugby kids.
We started in Seattle and now it's beginning in a lot of other states in the U.S. ... We are going into schools in the U.S., they are getting us to go into elementary schools and take their physical education classes so that we teach the kids how to play."
If Serevi can't inspire a breakthrough generation of American rugby stars, then nobody can.
Read: Jonah Lomu -- The return of a rugby giant
Read: How to survive Hong Kong Sevens
The world's most traveled horse
5/9/2014 12:32:41 PM
- The world's top horses fly in the region of 80,000 kilometers a year in relative luxury
- Surprisingly, show jumpers rather than racing horses clock up the most equine miles
- There are always those that misbehave, "like drunks on a plane" says one expert
- Jakkalberry arguably the most traveled race horse before his retirement last month
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(CNN) -- The air miles don't accrue, there's no free holiday to aspire to at the end of it, and the flights are seemingly never ending.
It is the world of equine travel and, with its ever-expanding global appeal, be it equestrianism or horse racing, events are increasingly dotted over all pockets of the world, meaning more and more miles for the most accomplished and sought-after steeds.
Is it possible to ascertain the world's most traveled horse? To pinpoint it to one specific creature may be something of a mission impossible but in equine transport, it is the show-jumping horses that would be the holders of the gold card, the three-day events the silver, and somewhat surprisingly horse racing horses, relatively under-traveled in comparison, the bronze.
American showjumper Beezie Madden is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and today generally regarded as one of the world's best riders. Her leading mounts are Simon and Cortes C and, as such, there are few if any horses on the planet that are currently better traveled.
"Sadly there's no air miles for horses," she says with a rueful laugh. "Although I'd like that. It would help. But seriously, I think you'd struggle to find better traveled horses than those two."
Their current remit is such that they are relatively sedentary at the moment, Madden having flown them to Florida for a few months for both training and competition.
But from there, the journeys begin in earnest -- they will fly to Calgary, Canada, for a $1m grand prix before returning to Florida for a $1.5m GP before jetting off to Europe to compete in the second week of April for the World Cup final in Lyon, France.
From there it's back to New York before a flight to Calgary in May and then a second seasonal sojourn in Europe for the World Equestrian Games in Normandy. After that, it's back to Calgary once more for a $1.5 million GP before a return to Europe for the Nations Cup final in Barcelona, Spain.
"And that's not all of it," explains Madden. "That's just the flying. They'll probably travel by road across the country at least three times this year. As for how many miles that would equate to, I really have no idea but it's running into thousands."
Even at a relatively conservative estimate, it is comfortably 80,000 kilometers for each horse. Luckily, the cost of the travel is met by a wealthy benefactor Abigail Wexner, who owns Madden's horses, particularly considering the manner in which her horses travel, and the fact a top-notch flight from America to Europe can cost as much as $25,000 a horse.
Like human air travel, there is very much a hierarchy of luxury. Each 'stable' on a plane can take up to three horses, the equivalent of which is economy class. Some of the wealthy race horses, like Australian champion Black Caviar, will travel in these stables alone (first class).
Madden's mounts are usually in between that in business where two horses tend to share one allocated space.
Despite the number of miles mounting up each year, Madden remains obsessed with her horses' welfare. "I always make sure I get a call whenever the horses land to know they're safe," she says. "I say 'I don't mind, I want to know even if it's the middle of the night'."
To date, none of her horses have had major problems traveling, and the last resort of tranquilizers has not had to be resorted to. The big concern, though, is that the lungs can fill up with fluid leading to cases of bronchitis despite the stable lads on hand.
While show jumpers may be king, the sport of kings, horse racing, has produced its own well-traveled nags. Arguably the most worldly wise was Jakkalberry, an Australian owned horse trained by Marco Botti and based in Newmarket in England.
Stick a pin in a map and the chances are that Jakkalberry, whose last five races were in the UAE, Japan, Australia, the United States and England, has raced there.
"He is absolutely one of the most traveled horses out there," explains Botti. "He's traveled around the world and he's done so well in so many different countries. You don't find many horses that travel that well. He's so consistent at so many different tracks.
"He just loves to travel, I can't explain it. Some horses enjoy it more than others. He relaxes when he travels, he likes to be in different places. He's a horse that just loved it, that was very versatile and adaptable."
Jakkalberry retired last month with an injury although nothing to do with a tough traveling schedule, Botti, but due to a freak incident of being kicked in the stalls by another horse at a race in Dubai.
There is a sense of irony that such a glittering career, that has earned him $2 million for his owners, should end with a victory in the slightly less glamorous surroundings of Wolverhampton in the English midlands, just a mere 100 miles away from his home.
His next step is to go to stud but, for now, Botti admits he is struggling to keep him entertained. "He gets very fresh, I think he misses the travel but he deserves his retirement," he says. "We've had some very good times with him, and he's done very well for us."
Flying horses all over the world, whether involved in equestrianism or horse racing, is big business. Peden Bloodstock Ltd are world leaders for equestrian air transport and have been responsible for the equine freight to the Olympics and World Championships in recent years.
Read: Transporting horses from cattle to first class
Henry Bullen is in charge of the day-to-day shipping in the UK office and argues that the showjumpers are comfortably the lead in global traveling in the equine world.
"I'd easily say it's the showjumpers number one, then the dressage and three-day eventing horses second, with the horse-racing ones third," he explains.
"The thing is the majority of their racing will be in the UK where the others travel all over the world at any given time. They're traveling a hell of a lot."
Peden sends horses off with trained grooms, equine air stewards and stewardesses if you like, to ensure the safety and smooth travel of these horses, many of whom have high price tags.
Bullen explains they travel in luxury -- "they usually travel exceptionally well" and that most travel calmly. But he points out that even the best traveled can go awry. "You always get a rogue," he adds. "I liken it to a drunk on a plane. And it doesn't matter how much they've traveled, they can have their moments".
The idea of a horse with air rage at 30,000 feet doesn't bear thinking about, and there are times when things have gone wrong although usually more to do with logistics, out of Peden and Bullen's hands, than a fired-up stallion.
Bullen would not hazard a guess how many miles the most traveled nags will go in a given year. But it would put even the most ardent business traveler to shame.
Amnesty: 'Nigeria knew of raid and failed to act'
5/9/2014 11:37:44 AM
- NEW: "It's clear the Nigerian forces are struggling in this fight," U.S. lawmaker says
- Nigerian forces had warning of Boko Haram attack on school, Amnesty says
- Failure to respond amounts to "gross dereliction of Nigeria's duty," Amnesty official says
- U.S. and British teams arrived to help Nigeria plan the fight against Boko Haram
Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) -- Nigerian military commanders knew that Boko Haram militants were on their way to raid a boarding school at least four hours before 276 girls were abducted last month, human rights group Amnesty International reported Friday.
But commanders weren't able to raise enough troops to respond and so left a contingent of 17 soldiers and a handful of police officers based in the town of Chibok to fend off the militants, the group reported, citing senior Nigerian military officials and "multiple interviews with credible sources."
Borno state Sen. Ahmed Zannah said Friday that the military sent reinforcements, but not until the militants were already in Chibok.
CNN was not able to confirm Amnesty's claims with Nigerian officials, who have frequently been criticized for failing to prevent Boko Haram's deadly attacks, particularly in northern Nigeria.
At least 2,000 people have died in violence in northern Nigeria this year alone, Amnesty said. The most recent Boko Haram attack killed at least 310 people in a town that had been used as a staging group for troops searching for the missing girls.
"The fact that Nigerian security forces knew about Boko Haram's impending raid, but failed to take the immediate action needed to stop it, will only amplify the national and international outcry at this horrific crime," Amnesty International's Africa director for research and advocacy, Netsanet Belay, said in a statement on the group's website.
"It amounts to a gross dereliction of Nigeria's duty to protect civilians, who remain sitting ducks for such attacks. The Nigerian leadership must now use all lawful means at their disposal to secure the girls' safe release and ensure nothing like this can happen again."
U.S. and British officials have arrived in Abuja to supplement a U.S. team already on the ground there, according to officials.
They will help Nigeria's government look for the missing girls, plan rescue missions and advise on ways to subdue Boko Haram. But U.S. officials, at least, say they are unlikely to commit troops to combat operations.
"Our interagency team is hitting the ground in Nigeria now, and they are going to be working ... with President Goodluck Jonathan's government to do everything that we possibly can to return these girls," Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday.
'Many soldiers are afraid'
According to Amnesty, civilian officials in a nearby town and leaders of an armed vigilante group organized by the military informed nearby military posts that armed militants had passed through on their way to Chibok hours before the April 14 assault on the boarding school.
The human rights group said an official in the village of Gagilam told its investigators that residents had spoken of strangers who passed through on motorcycles, saying they were on their way to Chibok. The group cited another official as saying the men had asked herders for directions to the school.
The group also cited unnamed senior Nigerian commanders as saying they were aware of the attack even before the calls from the civilian leaders and vigilante groups. But they weren't able to muster enough troops to respond, Amnesty cited the commanders as saying.
"There's a lot of frustration, exhaustion and fatigue among officers and (troops) based in the hotspots," Amnesty quoted one of the unnamed commanders as saying. "Many soldiers are afraid to go to the battle fronts."
Where are the girls?
As many as 200 Boko Haram fighters carried out the Chibok school raid, Amnesty reported, herding the girls out of bed under the cover of darkness after a firefight with the handful of security forces in the town.
Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, took credit for the mass kidnappings in a video that surfaced this week. He said he planned to sell the girls into slavery.
A few escapees shared harrowing tales of escaping into a nearby forest.
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, who serves as Pentagon press secretary, said officials believe the girls "have been broken up into smaller groups" but declined to detail how they came to the conclusion. His sentiment has been echoed by others.
"The search must be in Niger, Cameroon and Chad, to see if we can find information," said Gordon Brown, a former UK prime minister and the U.N.'s special envoy for global education.
International outrage has escalated over the nation's largely ineffective effort to subdue Boko Haram.
Amnesty is not the first to accuse Nigeria of failing to take enough action to stop the Chibok raid or other attacks, or to stage a forceful enough response in the aftermath.
Jonathan waited three weeks before speaking to the nation on the matter. He said that rescue efforts were under way at the time but that they could not be disclosed publicly.
"In a hostage situation, time is of the essence," Kirby said. "We lost some time."
On Thursday, Jonathan predicted that the abductions would be Boko Haram's undoing.
"By God's grace, we will conquer the terrorists. I believe the kidnap of these girls will be the beginning of the end for terror in Nigeria," Jonathan said at the World Economic Forum meeting.
International response
The international effort to buttress that fight ratcheted up Friday with the arrival of U.S. and British advisers.
Six U.S. military advisers arrived Friday, a U.S. official told CNN. They will join a team of U.S. and British officials already in Nigeria, helping find the girls, planning rescue efforts and devising strategies to help subdue Boko Haram.
A British team drawn from the country's Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence also arrived in Abuja on Friday, the British foreign office said.
About 60 U.S. officials have been on the ground since before the kidnappings as part of counterterrorism efforts with Nigeria, a senior U.S. administration official told CNN. They have been holding meetings, getting resources into the country and making assessments with local authorities.
Their tasks include establishing a coordination cell to provide intelligence, investigations and hostage negotiation expertise.
France also said it is sending a team but didn't provide specifics on what expertise it will bring.
British satellites and advanced tracking capabilities also will be used, and China has promised to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network, Nigeria said.
There are no plans to send U.S. combat troops, Kirby said.
U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the assistance is crucial.
"It's clear the Nigerian forces are struggling in this fight," he said Friday. "Direct U.S. security assistance intelligence and advisers in the field can make a big difference in rescuing these girls and combating this threat."
House Speaker John Boehner said President Barack Obama is doing the right thing.
"Clearly, there is danger whenever we send troops almost any place in the world," he said.
"But I do think the President is taking the right step here to work with our allies to try to do everything we can to get these girls back to their families in a safe way," Boehner said.
Kerry said the U.S. would "do everything possible to counter the menace of Boko Haram" and called for world action to help.
"The entire world should not only be condemning this outrage but should be doing everything possible to help Nigeria in the days ahead," he said.
CNN's Vladimir Duthiers reported from Abuja, and Michael Pearson reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Faith Karimi, Elise Labott and Chelsea Carter also contributed to this report.
Escaped girls describe trauma
5/9/2014 11:24:36 AM
Pledges of help are doing little to comfort the parents of nearly 300 Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram.
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'Every parent's nightmare'
5/9/2014 10:52:08 AM
U.N. Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown says security for Nigerian schools educating girls must be improved.
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Gates: Group imperils Nigeria's future
5/8/2014 7:24:08 PM
- Melinda Gates: Kidnapped girls in Nigeria reflect long use of women misused in conflicts
- She says Boko Haram justifies actions as Islamic; this insult denounced by Muslim leaders
- She says group thinks women are merely property; these ideas affect Nigeria's prosperity
- Gates: Outcry over girls shows many know empowered women are key to a nation's fortunes
Editor's note: Melinda Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
(CNN) -- I think of myself as an "impatient optimist." There are times, however, when it's harder to muster the optimism, and the impatience takes over. That's how I felt when I read about the hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the extremist group Boko Haram to be married off or sold into slavery.
It's difficult to pinpoint the worst aspect of this atrocity. And it's pitiful that this is nothing new. Treating women as spoils or weapons of war has been a common practice for thousands of years.
Boko Haram has sought to justify its actions as consistent with Islamic teachings, and this is an insult. Many influential voices in the Muslim world have rebuked the group's actions. (To cite just one example, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb of the Cairo-based Al-Azhar, one of Sunni Islam's most prestigious theological institutions, said the kidnappings "completely contradict Islam and its principles of tolerance.")
It's frustrating that the Nigerian government, despite an intensifying effort to find the girls, has been unable to locate them. And it's horrifying that hundreds of girls, their parents and thousands of their relatives are living each passing moment in escalating fear -- with no idea whether they'll ever see each other again. My heart breaks for these mothers and fathers.
But perhaps the most awful part of the story is that Boko Haram stands against a better future for ordinary Nigerians.
Boko Haram is committed to the idea that women are the property of husbands and mere instruments of reproduction. They are particularly opposed to the idea that girls ought to be educated, which is why they target schools.
In fact, when girls are educated and free to pursue their passions, they contribute more to a thriving society. When women have a voice, they raise it to demand a life that is greater than what they've been told they have a right to expect. And these demands change the future for everyone.
Nigeria has a population of 170 million. Its economy is the largest on the African continent. The future holds nearly boundless promise, as represented, in part, by the fact that the World Economic Forum is meeting in Abuja right now. But if the country's 85 million women and girls don't have the opportunity to seize their potential, then neither will Nigeria.
There are countless examples of places around the world where women and girls are gaining power and autonomy, where the future looks brighter because women and girls are slowly wiping away the old gender norms.
The impressive outpouring of support for the girls -- both within Nigerian communities and around the world -- is an encouraging sign that most people want the version of the future that empowered women and girls will create, not the version that Boko Haram is trying to impose.
It doesn't help the Nigerian schoolgirls now, but thinking about the women and girls everywhere who are strong and getting stronger is one way to maintain some of the optimism that must go along with our collective impatience.
Let's #BringBackOurGirls
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Clashes in flashpoint city
5/9/2014 2:28:50 PM
- NEW: Health officials say at least seven people killed and 39 more injured in clashes in Mariupol
- Ukraine's acting interior minister says about 20 militants killed, 4 detained in Mariupol
- "We will overcome all the difficulties," says Russian President Vladimir Putin
- Putin watches as warships and military aircraft take part in displays in Sevastopol, Crimea
Sevastopol, Crimea (CNN) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Crimea on Friday to take part in Victory Day celebrations in Sevastopol, in what is his first visit to the disputed territory since Russia annexed it from Ukraine.
The President arrived in the port of Sevastopol by sea, in an event televised by Russian state TV, and watched while flanked by senior officers as Russian warships took part in a naval display in the Black Sea.
The military parades, held each year to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany, come amid soaring tensions in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists are planning a weekend referendum on autonomy.
At least seven people were killed and 39 others were injured in clashes between separatists and Ukrainian government forces in the flashpoint southeastern city of Mariupol, the Donetsk regional health department said Friday.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov put the toll higher in a post on his official Facebook page, saying about 20 militants had been killed and four captured, while one member of the armed forces was dead and five injured.
In Washington, the White House took notice of Putin's visit and reiterated its rejection of Crimea's annexation.
"Such a visit will only serve to fuel tensions," National Security Council spokeswoman Laura Lucas Magnuson said.
In Sevastopol, which hosts a key Russian naval base, crowds packed the shores to witness the show of Russia's military might. Besides the warships that took part in the sea, dozens of military aircraft roared overhead.
Putin paid tribute to Sevastopol's long military record as he addressed servicemen in the harbor, and he said he was sure that 2014 would become known in history as the year Crimea's people decided to return to Russia and the memory of their ancestors.
"There is a lot of work to be done, but we will overcome all the difficulties because we are together. This means we have become even stronger, and I congratulate you on the great victory," he said.
Putin shook hands with servicemen after his remarks, before walking to barriers where he was greeted by screaming crowds.
An earlier military parade by land vehicles through the city also attracted big numbers, with the turnout probably boosted by rumors that Putin might attend.
The Russian President's first Victory Day appearance was in Moscow, where the annual display of nationalistic fervor was heightened by Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Tanks, rocket launchers and even intercontinental ballistic missiles were paraded through the capital's Red Square in a Soviet-style show of military might, as tens of thousands of people watched and cheered, waving Russian flags.
In televised remarks there, Putin hailed his nation's "all-conquering patriotism."
Gunfire, smoke in Mariupol streets
Meanwhile, a live video stream from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol showed a tense situation with gunfire and black smoke in the streets.
Avakov, on his Facebook page, said about 60 "terrorists," armed with automatic weapons, had launched an attack on Mariupol's police department.
This turned into a "full-scale military clash" inside the building, he said, with army, national guard and special forces units involved.
As a result, he said, "a significant part of the terrorist group has been destroyed." Others had abandoned their weapons and disappeared into residential areas, he said.
The municipal building is in flames, he added.
Earlier, a member of parliament posted on his Facebook account that separatists had blockaded themselves inside the police headquarters, surrounded by Ukrainian forces. Three "casualties" were reported among the separatists, and some Ukrainian officers were hurt, lawmaker Oleg Lyashko said.
CNN is not able independently to verify either account at this time.
Live video from Mariupol showed what appeared to be bloody footprints and blood splatters at several scenes in the city center, while people were taking cover at the sound of what appeared to be bursts of gunfire.
Irina Voropaeva, who is one of the leaders of the pro-Russian camp in Mariupol, told CNN there were two hotspots in the city.
She said it was unclear what was unfolding at the main police station. But, she said, the Ukrainian military is in the city center and she had been told that the city hall building is on fire. She added that she could see smoke and hear explosions.
Mariupol has become a flashpoint in the standoff between Ukrainian forces and the separatists. Five pro-Russian activists were killed overnight Wednesday when Ukrainian forces attacked barricades on the outskirts of Mariupol, a spokeswoman for the pro-Russian camp said.
Ukrainian forces also continue to surround the town of Slovyansk, a stronghold for pro-Russian militants.
Chaotic transition
A large majority in Sevastopol, as well as across the Crimean Peninsula, voted in favor of seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia in a controversial referendum in March. Moscow's annexation of the Black Sea territory, which was part of Russia until 1954 and has a majority ethnic Russian population, soon followed.
Sevastopol residents told a CNN team early Friday that they were proud and happy to be part of Russia again.
Their enthusiasm comes despite a messy, sometimes chaotic, process of transition and the continued presence on the streets of local "self-defense" units, or militias, known as the "men in green."
Not everyone is delighted by Russia's annexation of Crimea, however. The indigenous ethnic minority Tatar population opposed the move.
One local Tatar leader, Abduraman Egiz, told CNN he was beaten up by a group of "men in green" after they demanded to see his identification documents.
"We as the community, we cannot guarantee the security of our people," he said.
Authorities in Ukraine scaled back Victory Day events in the capital, Kiev, and elsewhere, anxious to avoid any big celebrations or demonstrations of support for Russia that could spark violence.
Odessa and Kharkiv canceled all big public events, while Luhansk asked groups to avoid gathering in the city. The city of Donetsk, however, was pushing ahead with events.
Referendum postponement call
Less than two months after Crimea was wrested from Ukraine's grasp, there are fears that other parts of the country could go the same way.
Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine said Thursday that they had decided to go ahead with a Sunday referendum on greater local powers, defying a call by Putin to postpone the vote.
Putin had urged the pro-Russian sympathizers to delay the referendum to give dialogue "the conditions it needs to have a chance."
But representatives from the council of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic and separatists from Luhansk told reporters they had voted to press ahead with the vote.
The West has strongly opposed the move.
In a statement Friday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius condemned the pro-Russian separatists for holding "illegal referendums."
Fabius, who spoke by phone with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, also reiterated France's determination to find a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine.
The immediate priority is to de-escalate the situation, engage in a national dialogue and prepare for the May 25 elections, Fabius said.
"On the local 'referenda,' we strongly emphasize that they should not take place -- neither on 11 May nor at any later date," said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the European Union's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton. "Such unauthorized local 'referenda' have no democratic legitimacy and can only lead to further escalation."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone with both Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yatsenyuk on Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
READ: A week in eastern Ukraine
READ: Opinion: Putin's empire building is not a new Cold War
CNN's Phil Black reported from Sevastopol and Matthew Chance from Moscow, while Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, Jim Acosta, Arkady Irshenko, Kellie Morgan, Pierre Meilhan and Laura Koran contributed to this report, as did journalists Victoria Butenko in Kiev and Lena Kashkarova in Donetsk.
Battle for police station
5/9/2014 2:11:55 PM
Nick Paton Walsh reports on deadly clashes between pro-Russian militants and government forces in Mariupol, Ukraine.
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Encircled pro-Russians plot
5/9/2014 2:58:30 AM
Despite Putin's wishes, pro-Russian militants say they'll continue with their referendum vote. Nick Paton Walsh reports.
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U.S. needs to help return girls
5/9/2014 8:20:55 PM
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar argues that the U.S. must help lead the effort to rescue the kidnapped Nigerian girls
- More than 200 girls were abducted earlier this month, many have reportedly been sold
- The militant group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility
Editor's note: Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, has been in office since 2007. You can follow her on Twitter @amyklobuchar. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- Three weeks ago, 276 girls awoke to a nightmare.
On the night of April 14, a gang of heavily armed militants attacked their dormitory at the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, a town in Nigeria's Borno state. They shot the guards, loaded the girls into trucks and drove them away into the forest.
It has been reported that the girls are being married off or even sold for as little as $12 to be wives to Boko Haram militants.
Since then, there has been disturbingly little action to find these girls. Local police say that around 53 of the girls have escaped, but that still leaves at least 223 held hostage in the hands of Boko Haram. That's almost as many people as were aboard Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 -- a horrible tragedy that has been the subject of intense media coverage and a massive international search.
In Nigeria, no one seems to know where these girls are, and until this past weekend, no one seemed inclined to do much about it. The most determined pursuit of the kidnappers had come not from the Nigerian military but from the families of the abducted girls. Some of the family members, armed only with bows and arrows to fight terrorists armed with assault rifles, rode into the forest on motorcycles to try to find their girls.
Fortunately, after this past week, the world is finally paying attention. With the families reaching out through social media, using the Twitter hashtag '#BringBackOurGirls,' protests have spread across the world calling for the Nigerian government to take stronger action and for the international community to help.
The United States should help lead this international effort, and we have to take some immediate actions to help marshal a global response to this heinous crime.
First, the United States should seek a resolution from the U.N. Security Council condemning this attack. It should also call for member countries to extend all appropriate assistance to Nigeria and neighboring countries to help locate the victims of Boko Haram's abductions and bring them home. I've joined with 20 women senators to call on the U.N. to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist group -- as the United States has already done -- which would trigger additional international sanctions on the group.
Second, we should move as quickly as we can to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to contribute to the search for the missing girls. The countries of the region have limited resources, and American support with aerial and satellite surveillance, similar to what we have provided to the hunt for Joseph Kony and his so-called Lord's Resistance Army in central Africa, could make a significant difference in their ability to liberate Boko Haram hostages. I'm encouraged by the administration's announcement that a team from the military, the FBI and other agencies is traveling to Nigeria to advise and assist the government with intelligence, hostage negotiations and other counterterrorism expertise.
Finally, we must work to strengthen the capabilities of local authorities in Nigeria and other countries in the region to protect children, particularly girls, and combat human trafficking through civilian law enforcement.
Our current security sector assistance programs for these countries remain weighted towards their armed forces rather than building the capacity of civilian law enforcement to protect citizens where they live. We should use the expertise of the Department of State, Department of Justice, and U.S. Agency for International Development to help design and implement robust programs that bolster anti-trafficking efforts in these countries over the long term.
Make no mistake, how we respond to the abduction of the girls of Nigeria will be a moral test of our nation's commitment to the fight against modern-day slavery. Human trafficking is a stain on the conscience of the world and is now the world's third-largest criminal enterprise, behind only drug- and gun-trafficking.
I recently led a delegation to Mexico to talk about how we can coordinate with other countries to fight sex trafficking around the world. The U.S. can work with local officials to help them crack down on traffickers and support victims.
But this isn't only a problem in countries half a world away -- it's happening in our own backyards. In fact, 83% of the victims in the United States are U.S. citizens. I've introduced a bipartisan bill with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to fight sex trafficking in America by making sure minors sold for sex aren't prosecuted as criminals but are instead treated as victims. The bill also allows victims of sex trafficking to participate in the Job Corps program to help them get back on their feet, and would create a National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking to encourage cooperation among all the federal, state, and local agencies that work on this problem.
We cannot close our eyes to these horrific acts in our own country and across the globe, including the clear evidence of barbarity unfolding before us in Nigeria. Our action or inaction will be felt not only by those schoolgirls being held captive and their families waiting in agony, but by victims and perpetrators of trafficking around the world.
Now is the time to act.
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It's time to televise executions
5/9/2014 3:55:03 PM
- Richard Gabriel: Recent failed execution makes the case against death penalty
- The last public execution in the United States was in 1936, witnessed by 20,000 people
- Gabriel says he believes there is no humane way to kill another person
- We should be willing, he says, to live with the byproducts of our retribution
Editor's note: Richard Gabriel is a Los Angeles-based trial consultant and author of the upcoming book "Acquittal: An Insider Reveals the Stories and Strategies Behind Today's Most Infamous Verdicts." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- Last week in McAlester, Oklahoma, the blinds were raised in a small, white, antiseptic room, and two small groups of people watched as Clayton Lockett was strapped to a gurney.
A doctor examined Lockett's body for usable veins and then oversaw the administration of an untested drug cocktail that was supposed to dispatch the convicted murderer quickly and quietly. Instead, the blinds were lowered as the execution turned into more than 40 minutes of grimacing, writhing, teeth grinding and frantic phone calls. Then Lockett's heart finally seized, stopped beating, and his breath left his body.
This is how we kill our most serious criminals in the 21st century. Or at least try to. So if this is justice, let's make it real. Let's make it open to the highest form of public transparency and scrutiny: Live TV. Here's why.
In the Middle Ages, the preferred method of executing prisoners was to draw and quarter, burn, boil alive and separate body parts of the condemned, exacting a measure of slow and painful torture before death. At some point in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, society decided that executing prisoners more quickly would be more "humane."
The French invented the guillotine, the Shah of Persia introduced throat cutting, or would tie a prisoner to a cannon and blow him apart, and the British developed the "long drop" method of hanging to snap the neck and sever the spine of the executed.
In 1936, the last public execution in the United States was held in Owensboro, Kentucky. It was witnessed by more than 20,000 people, including hundreds of reporters. From that point forward, states decided that executions needed to be private affairs, held in small rooms and witnessed only by agents of the state, lawyers, family members of the victim and a handful of journalists.
In the years since Owensboro, the states -- with the approval of the U.S. Supreme Court -- have refined their definition of humane executions by utilizing firing squads, electric chairs and gas chambers. The states further sanitized the execution process by developing the lethal injection method, turning it into a medical procedure complete with operating table, intravenous injections and considerable ethical questions for doctors and pharmaceutical companies who have sworn to "do no harm."
None of these refinements in execution technology has anything to do with "humane" methods. There is no real measurement for how painful a death prisoners suffer when they are being hanged, shot, gassed or electrocuted, no matter how quickly they die. Lethal injection simply gives us greater psychological distance from killing another human being, making it feel more like a doctor-prescribed procedure than an execution.
Michael Wilson, another death row inmate in Oklahoma, was killed in January in the same chamber, uttering his final words, "I feel my whole body burning." And while many have used the word "botched" to describe Lockett's execution, it wasn't botched at all. That's just how messy, complicated and disturbing it is to kill another human being.
What is missing from the death penalty debate is that there is no humane way to kill another person. We consider taking a victim's life during a crime to be cruel and unusual, yet we neatly sidestep this same Eighth Amendment standard with prisoners by attempting to conduct a quick and "painless" execution.
President Barack Obama has called for a Department of Justice investigation into the death penalty following Lockett's execution. "In the application of the death penalty in this country, we have seen significant problems -- racial bias, uneven application of the death penalty, you know, situations in which there were individuals on death row who later on were discovered to have been innocent because of exculpatory evidence," Obama said. "And all these, I think, do raise significant questions about how the death penalty is being applied."
But while I applaud the President's actions, the question is not how the death penalty is applied, but whether it should be applied at all.
It is natural to be both horrified and angered at the senseless and brutal killings committed by a convicted murderer. It is natural to want revenge -- to visit the pain we imagine the victim suffered onto his or her perpetrator. But there is a difference between punishment and revenge, no matter how we dress it up with legislation and legal procedures. We have built a system of laws to raise us above those we judge.
In this system we have built, we must be honest and ask ourselves, "Is vengeance justice?" If we want truly to codify revenge, let's not pretend. Let's admit that we are willing to live with the byproducts of our retribution. Let's admit that we are willing to kill a number of innocent people. Let's admit that it is fine to execute a disproportionate number of minorities. And let's admit that we want condemned murderers to suffer like they made their victims suffer. Let's not dress the execution up as a medical procedure.
And by all means, let's televise it. Let's watch them pump the drugs into a condemned man or woman, strapped to a gurney. Let's hear their last words. Let's watch them writhe and twitch, or listen as they groan and their last breath quietly leaves their body. Let's watch them die. Let us see what we are really choosing when we vote to implement the death penalty in our state.
Many Americans support the death penalty in principle. But, as a juror in a capital case, it is different when you look across that courtroom and stare into the eyes of the accused. At that point it is real, and not just a principle. You will decide whether that person dies.
Let's make the death penalty real. Let's open the blinds and stare into the eyes of those we condemn to death. Let's be honest about what the death penalty really is. And then we can choose what kind of society we really want to be.
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Amnesty: Nigeria warned of raid, failed to act
5/9/2014 10:41:26 PM
- "We must investigate" the claims, Nigeria's minister of state for defense says
- Jonathan believes the girls are still in the Nigeria, despite U.S. assessment
- Nigerian forces had warning of Boko Haram attack on school, Amnesty says
- U.S. and British teams arrived to help Nigeria plan the fight against Boko Haram
Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) -- What did the Nigerian government know about the mass abduction of schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants, and when did it know it?
Those are the tough questions being asked after an explosive report made public Friday accused Nigerian military commanders of knowing the terror group was on its way to raid a boarding school in the town of Chibok at least four hours before 276 girls were abducted.
The findings by human rights group Amnesty International echo accounts of a number of the parents and villagers, who have described to CNN an ineffective military response in the days and weeks after the girls were abducted.
President Goodluck Jonathan's government vowed to investigate the allegations even as it defended its military response and questioned the motive behind the accounts.
"This is really outrageous, unbelievable," Minister of Information Labaran Maku told CNN.
The moment the Nigerian government heard of the abduction, "we went in to action," Maku said. "...We shouldn't turn this into a trial of the Nigerian government."
Even as he vowed an investigation into the claims, Maku said it was "inconceivable" that soldiers on duty would not respond to a potential attack on a school.
Hours after Nigeria's defense ministry dismissed the report's findings as "unfortunate and untrue," the country's minister of state for defense vowed to get to the bottom of the allegation.
"We must investigate and ensure we get to the root of it," Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro told CNN. "And any necessary actions will be taken to ensure such a thing doesn't reoccur."
'No reinforcements'
Scrutiny of the government's response has escalated amid international outrage over the mass abduction, with many asking why Nigeria did not mount a larger response or ask for international help.
The Amnesty International report alleges that after Nigerian commanders were informed of the pending attack, they were unable to raise enough troops to respond.
The commanders left a contingent of between 15 and 17 soldiers and a handful of police officers in Chibok to fend off the militants, the group reported.
"When it was clear these girls had been abducted, no reinforcements were sent to the town," Makmid Kamara, a researcher with Amnesty International, told CNN.
The report was based on the reports of more than a dozen people, including two senior Nigerian military officials, who gave varying, but consistent accounts, Kamara said.
But Nigeria's defense ministry disputed the findings, saying the first word received was of an ongoing attack at Chibok.
The troops "did not receive four hours forewarning about the attacks," according to a statement released by Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, a ministry spokesman. "Rather, they received information of an ongoing attack on Chibok from troops on patrol" who saw the attack and took on the militants.
Borno state Sen. Ahmed Zannah said Friday that the military sent reinforcements, but not until the militants were already in Chibok.
'The soldiers were not there'
As many as 200 Boko Haram fighters carried out the Chibok school raid, Amnesty reported, herding the girls out of bed under the cover of darkness after a firefight with the handful of security forces in the town.
The Nigerian government has claimed it responded, with troops, helicopters and airplanes in the immediate aftermath of the mass abduction.
But the father of two of the girls taken told CNN there has been little sign of military help.
He said first learned of the attack in a telephone call from a friend in Chibok, who told him the town was under attack by Boko Haram.
"Pray for us," the friend told the father, whose identity is being withheld out of a fear of possible reprisal by Boko Haram and the government.
The next day, the father learned his daughters and three nieces had been snatched.
He and his family sought out the help of the military in the area. But, he says, "the soldiers were not there."
Days later, a meeting was called by the elders of Chibok. "They said the army will be there and a civilian detail will be there -- to accompany us into the bush" to search for the girls, he said.
But no military or government officials showed up, he said.
"Nothing. Nothing. Up to 21 days, nothing has been done," he said.
'Unfair' criticism
Nigerian officials have frequently been criticized for failing to prevent Boko Haram's deadly attacks, particularly in the terror group's stronghold of northeastern Nigeria.
Obanikoro, the minister of state for defense, called the criticism "grossly unfair."
At least 2,000 people have died in violence in northern Nigeria this year alone, Amnesty said. The most recent Boko Haram attack killed at least 310 people in a town that had been used as a staging ground for troops searching for the missing girls.
U.S. and British officials have arrived in Abuja to supplement a U.S. team already on the ground there, according to officials.
They will help Nigeria's government look for the missing girls, plan rescue missions and advise on ways to subdue Boko Haram.
"This isn't time for a blame game. We are happy help is coming," Obanikoro said.
U.S. officials, at least, say they are unlikely to commit troops to combat operations.
And it's unclear if Nigeria would allow U.S. or U.K. troops on the ground. "We know the experiences the two nations are bringing to the table, and we intend to ensure that that wealth of experience is" used to bring about an end to the situation, Obanikoro said.
'Many soldiers are afraid'
According to Amnesty, civilian officials in a nearby town and leaders of an armed vigilante group organized by the military informed nearby military posts that armed militants had passed through on their way to Chibok hours before the April 14 assault on the boarding school.
The human rights group said an official in the village of Gagilam told its investigators that residents had spoken of strangers who passed through on motorcycles, saying they were on their way to Chibok. The group cited another official as saying the men had asked herders for directions to the school.
The group also cited unnamed senior Nigerian commanders as saying they were aware of the attack even before the calls from the civilian leaders and vigilante groups. But they weren't able to muster enough troops to respond, Amnesty cited the commanders as saying.
"There's a lot of frustration, exhaustion and fatigue among officers and (troops) based in the hotspots," Amnesty quoted one of the unnamed commanders as saying. "Many soldiers are afraid to go to the battle fronts."
Where are the girls?
Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, took credit for the mass kidnappings in a video that surfaced this week. He said he planned to sell the girls into slavery.
A few escapees shared harrowing tales of escaping into a nearby forest.
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, who serves as Pentagon press secretary, said officials believe the girls "have been broken up into smaller groups" but declined to detail how they came to the conclusion. His sentiment has been echoed by others.
"The search must be in Niger, Cameroon and Chad, to see if we can find information," said Gordon Brown, a former UK prime minister and the U.N.'s special envoy for global education.
But Jonathan believes the girls are still in Nigeria, somewhere in the Sambisa forest.
"If they move that number of girls into Cameroon, people will see. So I believe they are still in Nigeria," he said.
International outrage has escalated over the nation's largely ineffective effort to subdue Boko Haram.
Amnesty is not the first to accuse Nigeria of failing to take enough action to stop the Chibok raid or other attacks, or to stage a forceful enough response in the aftermath.
Jonathan waited three weeks before speaking to the nation on the matter. He said that rescue efforts were under way at the time but that they could not be disclosed publicly.
"In a hostage situation, time is of the essence," Kirby said. "We lost some time."
International response
The international effort to buttress that fight ratcheted up Friday with the arrival of U.S. and British advisers.
Six U.S. military advisers arrived Friday, a U.S. official told CNN. They will join a team of U.S. and British officials already in Nigeria, helping find the girls, planning rescue efforts and devising strategies to help subdue Boko Haram.
A British team drawn from the country's Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence also arrived in Abuja on Friday, the British foreign office said.
France also said it is sending a team but didn't provide specifics on what expertise it will bring.
British satellites and advanced tracking capabilities also will be used, and China has promised to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network, Nigeria said.
There are no plans to send U.S. combat troops, Kirby said.
CNN's Isha Sesay and Vladimir Duthiers reported from Abuja, and Chelsea J. Carter reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Erin Burnett, Wolf Blitzer, Faith Karimi, Elise Labott and Michael Pearson also contributed to this report.
Minister: Nigeria isn't on trial
5/9/2014 9:26:15 PM
Isha Sesay talks to Nigeria's Minister of Information about the reported slow government response to the kidnapping.
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Meet the 'king' of rugby sevens
5/9/2014 8:57:43 PM
- Fijian rugby idol Waisale Serevi is known as the "King of Sevens"
- He played at three Rugby World Cups, but forged his reputation in sevens
- During his 17-year career, he won the Hong Kong Sevens on seven occasions
- He also led Fiji to two World Cup Sevens triumphs
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(CNN) -- As a young child in Fiji, rugby star Waisale Serevi strained to hear tales of his heroes through the crackles of an old transistor radio.
Those radio waves carried stories of his idols across the seas into the ears of an enraptured Serevi.
It was the 1970s, before television arrived on the shores of the tiny island nation cast 1,700 miles off the east coast of Australia in the Pacific Ocean.
Although it has a population of just 870,000, Fiji's obsession with the oval ball has helped it stand shoulder-to-shoulder with global superpowers.
In Serevi, Fiji gave rugby a player blessed with such flare, flamboyance and outrageous natural talent, that on many an occasion David was able to stun Goliath.
"I started to get interested in rugby in 1977," Serevi, who played 36 times for the Fiji's Rugby Union team, told CNN.
"I was in my school uniform in Fiji, and then people were all happy and shouting and I asked my mum, 'why are these people happy?'
"They said, 'Oh Fiji has just beaten the British Lions, and rugby makes people in Fiji happy.'
"So, I thought, if I have an opportunity to play for Fiji, I'll try and make people happy."
Fiji's famous win over the Lions came in the 15-a-side version of the sport but, while Serevi went on to become a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Hall of Fame and played at three Rugby World Cups, it was in the seven-a-side game that he excelled.
Sevens is a scaled-down, fast-pace version of rugby union that requires quickness of mind and body and bucket loads of stamina.
At his peak, Serevi possessed all three in spades, so much so that he was dubbed the "King of Sevens."
If Serevi was the king, his royal residence was the Hong Kong Sevens -- the most famous date on the HSBC Sevens World Series calendar and a tournament followed religiously in Fiji.
"It's a big burden for the players," said Serevi. "When they come to the Hong Kong Sevens, they have to win to make their name back home in Fiji.
See the thrills and spills from @OfficialHK7s on CNN's Rugby Sevens Worldwide, which airs Thursday #CNNRugby7s https://t.co/PYisRc4DIT
— CNN World Sport (@WorldSportCNN) April 23, 2014 "When Fiji wins the Hong Kong Sevens it's a good 12 months for us until the next Hong Kong Sevens.
"But, when we lose the Hong Kong Sevens, it's the worst 12 months. It's always like 'Oh no we have to wait for another year!'"
Gallery: New Zealand triumph in Hong Kong
Luckily for Serevi, he enjoyed a plethora of successes during his 17-year career, including seven triumphs in Hong Kong.
In two of those glorious years, 1997 and 2005, the tournament doubled up as the World Cup Sevens and it's those wins which Serevi remembers most fondly.
"When we won the World Cup Sevens in 1997, the whole people of Fiji, in Fiji and all over the world were so excited," he explained.
"In 2005, I was so happy that my little boy was here, he was aged three or four and I carried him and took the cup with him home.
"They even closed the airport because the people were coming in and they wanted to meet the plane coming down from the sky."
At his final Hong Kong Sevens as a player, Serevi illustrated why he is so revered.
In the semifinal match against New Zealand in 2007, he received the ball inside Fiji's 22-yard line, proceeding to effortlessly slalom his way through three attempted tackles before off-loading the ball to his teammate on the halfway line.
"I saw the two New Zealand guys were like coming and I went straight to their eyes and I could see they were arriving but their eyes told me that they were gone.
That's why I stepped two of them ... they were both tired ... I was running slowly because I didn't have any more energy too and the defenders were coming close.
"I dummied my way and they all went and I went through the middle straight in, and I passed to one of our guys."
Serevi summoned the energy for one last-gasp burst, receiving a final pass before striding to the try line with the ball raised above his head in jubilation.
"I ran nearly 150 meters," he recalls. "I was about to die when I scored the try." Not bad for a 38-year-old.
With his boots now firmly zipped up in his kitbag, the 45-year-old Serevi is focused on finding the next generation of sevens talent.
Serevi Rugby was set up in 2010 by the now retired star and three Seattle-based partners. It aims to encourage children into the sport all over the world, with a specific focus on growing rugby in North America.
The organization has teamed up with USA Rugby in a bid to find more players like Carlin Isles, a former collegiate track prospect who resisted overtures from the NFL to sign with Scottish rugby team Glasgow Warriors.
The aim is for Serevi and USA Rugby to establish a network of training camps from which the country will draw its squads for the Sevens World Series and Olympic competitions, with the sport set to make its Games debut in 2016.
"Rugby has given me a lot," reflected Serevi. "Twenty one years of rugby. I want to give back to rugby so that I can help rugby kids.
We started in Seattle and now it's beginning in a lot of other states in the U.S. ... We are going into schools in the U.S., they are getting us to go into elementary schools and take their physical education classes so that we teach the kids how to play."
If Serevi can't inspire a breakthrough generation of American rugby stars, then nobody can.
Read: Jonah Lomu -- The return of a rugby giant
Read: How to survive Hong Kong Sevens
S. Sudan rivals sign cease-fire after months of mass killings
5/10/2014 1:13:51 AM
- Thousands of people have been killed since clashes erupted in December
- "The hard journey on a long road begins now and the work must continue," John Kerry says
(CNN) -- South Sudan's President has reached a cease-fire deal with a rebel leader following five months of violence in the world's youngest nation.
The deal signed Friday in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa comes a week after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with President Salva Kiir.
During the meeting, he pushed for Kiir to hold face-to-face talks with rebel leader Riek Machar.
"I saw with my own eyes last week the stakes and the struggles in a new nation we helped courageous people create," Kerry said after the deal.
"The people of South Sudan have suffered too much for far too long. In this most recent crisis alone, over one million people have been displaced, even more now face the prospect of famine ... there have been human rights abuses on a massive scale committed by both sides."
Thousands of people have been killed and more than 1.3 million displaced since clashes erupted in December between forces loyal to the two rivals. The parties signed an initial peace deal in January, but it fell apart days later.
Kerry welcomed the new peace agreement, saying it "could mark a breakthrough for the future" of the young nation.
"The hard journey on a long road begins now and the work must continue," he said.
The violence started late last year after Kiir accused Machar of trying to oust him through a coup, a charge he denied.
Since the attempted coup, violence spread rapidly, with reports of their forces conducting mass killings nationwide. The violence ran down ethnic lines --- the Nuer tribe backs the rebel leader while the President hails from the Dinka tribe.
In April, militia seized the strategic oil town of Bentiu, separated terrified residents by ethnicity and slaughtered at least 400, the United Nations said.
South Sudan celebrated its independence from Sudan three years ago after an internationally brokered referendum.
CNN's Radina Gigova contributed to this report
Drone, jetliner in near miss in U.S.
5/9/2014 9:57:45 PM
- NEW: FAA: The unmanned aircraft looked like a miniature F-4 Phantom jet, pilot said
- FAA: A jetliner's pilot reported a near collision with a drone over Florida
- Drones getting sucked into jet engines could be "catastrophic," he adds
- The official makes the case for regulation of small unmanned aircraft
(CNN) -- A Federal Aviation Administration official warned this week about the dangers of even small unmanned aircraft, pointing specifically to a recent close call involving a drone and a commercial airliner that could have had "catastrophic" results.
Jim Williams, the head of the FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) office, discussed various potential perils during a presentation Thursday to those attending the Small Unmanned Systems Business Expo. A video of his talk in San Francisco, and those of others, to those who operate, create or otherwise are involved or interested in such unmanned aircraft was posted to YouTube.
After saying "the FAA has got to be responsive to the entire industry," Williams referred to a pair of incidents in which drones caused injuries to people on the ground. One came at an event at Virginia Motor Speedway in which an "unauthorized, unmanned aircraft" crashed into the stands, and in the other a female triathlete in Australia had to get stitches after being struck by a small drone.
Then, Williams segued to a pilot's recent report of "a near midair collision" with a drone near the airport in Tallahassee, Florida. The pilot said that it appeared to be small, camouflaged, "remotely piloted" and about 2,300 feet up in the air at the time of the incident.
"The pilot said that the UAS was so close to his jet that he was sure he had collided with it," Williams said. "Thankfully, inspection to the airliner after landing found no damage. But this may not always be the case."
According to the FAA, the incident took place on March 22 and involved as U.S. Airways Flight 4650 going from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Tallahassee.
The pilot claimed to pass "an unreported and apparently remotely controlled aircraft ... five miles northeast of the Tallahassee airport, according to the federal agency.
Such close calls are rare, the FAA notes.
The pilot reported that the small unmanned aircraft involved looked similar to an F-4 Phantom jet, and not like a helicopter that might hold a camera that many associate more closely with drones. Such planes have gas turbine engines and can fly higher than an average drone, according to the FAA. Neither the drone in this case, nor its pilot, have been identified.
In its own statement, US Airways said that it was aware of this reported "incident with one of our express flights, and we are investigating."
Explaining why this event is significant, Williams referenced to the so-called "Miracle on the Hudson" from 2009, when US Airways Flight 1549 safely crash-landed in New York's Hudson River after striking at least one bird upon takeoff from LaGuardia Airport.
Airplane crash-lands into Hudson River
Such bird strikes are dangerous enough; a drone, even a small one, getting sucked into a jetliner's engine could be even worse, Williams said.
"Imagine a metal and plastic object -- especially with (a) big lithium battery -- going into a high-speed engine," he added. "The results could be catastrophic."
All these incidents speak to "why it is incredibly important for detect-and-avoid standards (for small unmanned aircraft) to be developed and right-of-way rules to be obeyed," Williams said. He added that such standards are in the works.
His agency reiterated this sentiment in its statement Friday.
"The FAA has the exclusive authority to regulate the airspace from the ground up, and a mandate to protect the safety of the American people in the air and on the ground," the agency said. "...Our challenge is to integrate unmanned aircraft into the busiest, most complex airspace in the world. Introduction of unmanned aircraft into America's airspace must take place incrementally and with the interest of safety first."
As to current regulations, Williams noted the FAA has appealed a federal judge's decision in a case involving businessman Raphael Pirker.
Pirker used a remotely operated, 56-inch foam glider to take aerial video for an advertisement for the University of Virginia Medical Center. The FAA then fined him $10,000 for operating the aircraft in a "careless and reckless manner."
A judge on March 6 agreed with Pirker that the FAA overreached by applying regulations for aircraft to model aircraft, and said no FAA rule prohibited Pirker's radio-controlled flight.
Pilot wins case against FAA over commercial drone flight
But on Thursday, Williams said that another judge had stayed this ruling pending the FAA's appeal.
"Nothing has changed from a legal standpoint," he said, "and the FAA continues to enforce the airspace rules."
CNN's Rene Marsh, Bill Mears, Carma Hassan and Chandler Friedman contributed to this report.
Education: A life and death decision
5/8/2014 4:01:07 PM
- Zain Asher: Girls in Nigeria "now have to decide between staying alive and getting an education"
- Kidnappings are common throughout Nigeria, from which her parents fled during the Biafra War
- Her uncle was kidnapped three years ago
Editor's note: Zain Asher, who was born and raised in England but spent some of her childhood in Enugu in southeastern Nigeria, is a business and personal finance correspondent for CNN.
(CNN) -- As a Nigerian, and as somebody who has been blessed with a top-tier education, the idea that teenage girls could be snatched from their school in northeastern Nigeria is particularly chilling.
I was born and raised in England but spent some of my childhood in Enugu, in the southeastern part of Nigeria. I studied at Oxford University and Columbia University, and my thirst for knowledge made journalism a natural choice. I wouldn't be working as a CNN reporter today if it wasn't for the fact that my parents fled Nigeria during the Biafra War and my mother, despite losing my father in a car accident, sacrificed everything to send me to good schools in England.
Girls in Chibok, Nigeria, now have to decide between staying alive and getting an education. Aside from the nearly 300 school girls who were kidnapped in April, 56 boys at a boarding school were also recently killed. This is particularly heart-wrenching because I've always believed education is freedom, especially for children in northeastern Nigeria whose education will be the only chance they have at eventually escaping poverty like my parents did.
However, the unyielding presence of Boko Haram has meant that education has become a choice between life and death. And parents, who are naturally more concerned about their children living to see another day than anything else, have stopped sending their children to school.
Kidnappings are not just limited to Boko Haram's antics in the northern part of Nigeria but are widespread throughout the country. Every Christmas, Nigerians who live in the Western world often travel back to Nigeria for the holidays. The sheer presence of so many foreigners often means an sharp uptick in the number of ransom kidnappings. Whenever I return to Nigeria, I follow sharp instructions from my mother not to tell too many people I'm coming back, not to announce my arrival ahead of time, and not too stay in one place for too long. We've become even more cautious after my uncle was kidnapped three years ago.
He was living between London and Dublin at the time and returned to Nigeria to visit family. One evening, as he was pulling into my grandmother's compound, kidnappers sneaked in behind him on foot. They knocked on the window to his car, and as soon as he rolled down the windows, they hit him over the head, took over his vehicle and drove him five hours through the night. It was by miracle that the car they used broke down. The kidnappers -- and my uncle -- were were stranded. They panicked and let him go. For a very long time, he was afraid to ever go back to Nigeria.
When my uncle shares that story, people aren't necessarily as shocked as you might expect. The first thing people ask him is not, "Oh my goodness, you were kidnapped?" but rather "Who did you tell you were coming back to Nigeria?" This is a country where no one is immune from the rife practice of hostage taking and if you travel to Nigeria, the onus is on you to stay safe. If the Nigerian President's cousin can be kidnapped and the finance minister's mother can be held hostage, then anyone else can be, too.
For that reason, I've always tried to avoid traveling back to Nigeria alone, especially during Christmas. I simply won't do it. And when I am there, the idea of going out after dusk alone is inconceivable. Every time my mother tells me, "You need to go to Nigeria this year," I often look for any excuse to get out of it. It pains me to admit that because I cherish my memories of going to school in Nigeria and the chances of anything happening to me -- though possible -- I hope are unlikely.
Although I'm not in Nigeria physically right now, the story about these girls has haunted me from day one. Whenever I read headlines about the missing schoolgirls, there's always this feeling of guilt that hovers over me. It's hugely unfair that I live comfortably in a first world country, in a nation that affords me the freedoms and luxuries that I can't imagine living without and those girls, whose only wish is to get an education, have to live in a constant state of fear. That's their life every single day, and had my parents not made the sacrifices they did, that could easily have been my life too. My heart bleeds for them.
READ: Opinion: Can U.S. apply lessons learned from War on Terror in Nigeria?
READ: Nigeria abducted girls: Why hasn't the rescue effort produced results?
READ: Nigerian missing girls: Families sleep in the bushes, fearing more attacks
Serena forced to withdraw in Madrid
5/10/2014 2:27:12 AM
- A thigh injury has forced Serena Williams to withdraw from the Madrid Open
- The world No.1 hopes to be fit for Rome Italian Open next weekend
- Rafael Nadal cruises into men's semifinal in Madrid
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(CNN) -- Serena Williams was forced to pull out of the Madrid Open with a thigh injury ahead of her quarter final tie with Petra Kvitova Friday.
The withdrawal will come as a blow to the world No. 1's preparations for the French Open with the year's second major beginning in two weeks' time.
Williams had been playing with heavy strapping all week, although confirmed she hopes to be able to take part in the Italian Open in Rome next week.
"I have a left thigh injury and, unfortunately, have to withdraw from this year's Madrid Open," Williams told the WTA website.
"It happened during my first round match. It started to get better, but most importantly right now, I just need some time to rest and recover.
"I am planning to play in Rome. Fortunately, I have a bye next week so will have an extra day of rest."
Williams has won the title in Madrid for the last two years and used the event as a springboard to take the French Open crown at Roland Garros last May.
She added: "It's beyond words. It's so frustrating. We couldn't ask for a better tournament and I love it here in Madrid. I love being a champion here."
Elsewhere in the women's draw, Maria Sharapova overcame world No. 2 Li Na 2-6, 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 to reach the semifinals where she will face Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska who defeated surprise package Caroline Garcia 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Williams' withdrawal means the second semifinal will pit Kvitova against No.4 seed Simona Halep who trumped the in-form Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-2.
Rafa Marches on
In the men's quarterfinals, Rafael Nadal defeated Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2.
A tense opening set saw Nadal take the first break in the seventh game with the scores tied at 3-3. From there the Spaniard never looked back.
Nadal broke Berdych again early in the second set and once more with the scores at 4-2 before serving the match out.
The home favorite and three-time time Madrid Open champion will now face fellow countryman Roberto Bautista on Saturday after the the world No. 45 beat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.
The remaining men's semifinal will see another Spaniard, David Ferrer, take on Japan's Kei Nishikori after Ferrer defeated Ernests Gulbis 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 and Nishikori eased past Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4.
Read: Novak Djokovic pulls out of Madrid Masters
Read: "Swiss Miss" finds that mom knows best
Kaymer holds lead at Sawgrass
5/10/2014 2:28:15 AM
- Martin Kaymer builds upon record breaking score at TPC at Sawgrass
- The German leads Jordan Spieth by a shot going into the weekend
- Six players tied for fourth place at six-under-par
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(CNN) -- Martin Kaymer built upon his record equaling opening round of 63 at Sawgrass Friday to head the Players Championship at the halfway stage.
The German carded a three-under-par second round of 69 to take his overall tournament score to 12-under-par.
Kaymer, an early starter on Friday, leads the way from Jordan Spieth in second place at 11-under-par and Russell Henley three shots further back at 8-under par.
Jim Furyk, Lee Westwood, Gary Woodland, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia are all tied for fourth place at six-under-par.
"It was very difficult today, a little bit tougher (than yesterday)," Kaymer told Sky Sports after reaching the clubhouse. "When you shoot such a low round your expectations are very."
Kaymer, a former world No. 1, has not won a tournament since November 2011 and struggled throughout 2013.
Yet he become only the fourth player in TPC history to shoot a 63 -- the others being Greg Norman, Fred Couples and Roberto Castro.
The 29-year-old never come close to replicating this thrilling form on Friday but remained content with a steady showing that featured five birdies and two bogeys.
"69 was a very good score but it was a little bit more tough (today). The pins were in some corners and it was a little bit more windy so I'm pleased."
Kaymer started the day two shots ahead of Henley but will be looking over his shoulder from the start on Saturday after a barnstorming second round from Spieth.
The 20-year-old Texan has yet to card a bogey in 36 holes at the famous Sawgrass course and produced a near majestic display again Friday, holing six birdies to secure a second round score of 66.
Any of the group at six-under-par, meanwhile, will fancy their chances if they can put an run of form together over the weekend.
Elsewhere on the course, former U.S. Masters PGA Championship winner Rory McIlroy just made the cut after a birdie on the last secured a round of 74.
The Northern Irishman had been five-under-par after just 11 holes on the opening day before fading badly.
One man not so lucky at the 18th, however, was Phil Mickelson. The five-time major champion missed a birdie putt that would have seen him make the cut but will now be forced to take the early flight home instead.
Read: JB Holmes completes comeback win
Read: Leader of golf's new young breed
Read: FootGolf: A hole new ball game
What Beats by Apple would mean
5/10/2014 2:28:49 AM
- Apple is reportedly close to buying headphone maker Beats Electronics
- The tech giant could incorporate Beats research into "smart headphones"
- Analysts predict Beats brand, popular with young buyers, won't go away
- The deal would also boost Apple's music streaming potential
(CNN) -- It's an odd pairing, really, the gadget-obsessed tech giant from Silicon Valley teaming up with hip-hop super producer Dr. Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine.
But late Thursday, reports surfaced that a $3.2 billion deal was in the works for Apple to scoop up Beats Electronics, the world's most popular maker of headphones and, more recently, the company behind a highly regarded music-streaming service.
Neither side has confirmed the deal, though Dre came dangerously close in a new video in which he declared himself "the first billionaire in hip-hop."
For fans of Apple, Beats, or both, the main question here is obvious: If the reports are true, what will it mean for me, the consumer?
Here are some educated guesses.
Deal ... or no deal?
First of all, analyst James McQuivey, who follows Apple and other tech companies for Forrester Research, isn't convinced that the deal will really go down.
"Given Apple's historical tight-fistedness with the contents of its huge treasure chest, it wouldn't be surprising if the company backed away," he said in a blog post.
But if it does happen, he speculates that it won't be simply about bringing the successful Beats under the Apple umbrella. Instead, Apple fans may get some new product no one is envisioning yet.
"I'd like to believe that (Apple) would team up with Beats to do something totally amazing and world-changing," he said. "Because we need some world changing much more than we need Apple to return its hard-earned cash to investors in the form of more dividends.
"So even if Apple doesn't buy Beats after all, the fact that the company is shopping encourages some of us to anticipate what it could spend its hard-earned money on next."
Among projects McQuivey envisions are Beats being part of an Apple-created health-and-fitness monitor (considered likely after Nike essentially punted the future of its FuelBand) or providing the audio on a headset to compete with Google Glass.
'Smart' headphones
For audiophiles, the marriage would, in some ways, be an ironic one. Apple, whose iconic earbuds have been knocked for delivering subpar sound, could be joined by Beats headphones, which have received similar criticisms.
"It is a fair assessment, and I lay the blame squarely on executive management," said Tyll Hertsens, editor at audio website Inner Fidelity, referring to Beats. "Their headphones had just way too much bass, as a general rule, and some models were particularly poor performers -- Solo and Solo HD. Build quality has gotten much better though; they're fairly well built headphones."
How Beats headphones changed the audio world
Apple has worked to address quality issues with its earbuds, which had begun going straight into the garbage, or at least storage, at the hands of many new iPod and iPhone customers.
When their new-generation EarPods rolled out in 2012, Engadget reviewer Joe Pollicino may not have been damning them, but he certainly offered faint praise.
"The EarPods are possibly the best-sounding set of $29 earbuds you'll be able to find, but at the end of the day, that's not saying much," he wrote.
Hertsens sees some things changing and something staying the same at an Apple-owned Beats.
The well-established brand would remain intact to keep the "young and/or impressionable" buyers who are already fans. Meanwhile, Apple could tap into Beats' existing research and development and manufacturing knowhow to develop new products under the Apple name.
He pointed to patents Apple has filed for things like biometric and spacial sensors in headsets, saying "smart headphones" from Apple could be on the way.
"In other words, Apple has a bunch of cool new ideas about putting sensors in headphones," Hertsens said. "Beats gives them an instantaneous headphone development and manufacturing capability to kickstart the appearance of these new products."
HD downloads
But for all the talk about headphones -- Beats' flagship product and an accessory used with every Apple mobile device -- another potential product may have caught the eye of folks in Cupertino.
Beats Music launched in January, riding a wave of music-streaming websites and apps that have begun changing the way millions of people consume music.
Pay-by-the-song digital music services like iTunes have been ceding market share to streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, which offer access to millions of songs, often for free.
Why everybody is building a Web music service
Revenues for subscription streaming services were up 51% in 2013, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). Meanwhile digital downloads from services like iTunes fell 2.1%, the industry group said in its annual report.
Apple's entry into the market, iTunes Radio, has failed to make much of a dent in the Unites States, where Pandora remains the dominant streaming service. The mobile-oriented Beats Music is just a few months old, but it's gotten high marks for its robust suggestion engine that considers factors as detailed as which songs make the user crank up the volume.
Michael Lavorgna, of AudioStream.com, said a major push into streaming could coincide with Apple also offering higher-quality, 24-bit downloads. Direct sales from iTunes could become a more specialized market, wherein users would get the same sound quality they're used to getting by streaming.
"How many people will continue to pay for lossy (low-quality) downloads when they can stream millions of choices in the same quality for the cost of about one album download per month?" Lavorgna asked rhetorically.
"This potential deal between Apple and Beats could very well spur Apple's move to HD downloads. If this deal happens, its safe to say we'll see a sea change in the market and a move away from lossy downloads. I say it's about damn time."
Hillary Clinton's Boko Haram problem
5/9/2014 7:13:38 PM
- Newt Gingrich: Hillary Clinton could be questioned on Boko Haram as on Benghazi
- He says State Dept. under her leadership rejected requests to designate group as terrorists
- Justice Dept., FBI, CIA, and military officials asked for terrorism designation, Daily Beast reported
- Gingrich: Was Hillary Clinton aware of the requests? If not, should she have known?
Editor's note: Newt Gingrich is a co-host of CNN's "Crossfire," which airs at 6:30 p.m. ET weekdays, and author of a new book, "Breakout: Pioneers of the Future, Prison Guards of the Past, and the Epic Battle That Will Decide America's Fate." A former speaker of the U.S. House, he was a candidate in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- Hillary Clinton's leadership as secretary of state regarding the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram could become at least as serious an issue as her decisions surrounding the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
Much of the attention Thursday was on the announcement that the House will create a select committee to investigate Benghazi, but the same day, Daily Beast reporter Josh Rogin revealed details about her time as secretary of state that raise significant questions about her broader record on issues of terrorism.
Rogin reported that from 2011 through early 2013, the Clinton State Department repeatedly rejected efforts to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization. In recent weeks, the group has exploded onto the world stage by kidnapping more than 250 girls at a Nigerian boarding school.
It is so clearly and vividly a terrorist organization that it seems indefensible that the State Department would have refused to designate it as such. A thorough investigation of the decision process that protected Boko Haram from 2011 until late 2013 could be devastating.
Now that Boko Haram has attracted worldwide attention for its vicious assault on young girls, political leaders, including the former secretary of state, are rushing to issue emotionally powerful but practically meaningless statements.
Hillary Clinton tweeted: "Access to education is a basic right & an unconscionable reason to target innocent girls. We must stand up to terrorism. #BringBackOurGirls"
Clinton's tweet contrasts vividly with her failure to stand up to terrorism in 2011 by calling Boko Haram what it was.
The requests to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization were serious and came from very responsible authorities.
As Josh Rogin reported:
"What Clinton didn't mention was that her own State Department refused to place Boko Haram on the list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2011, after the group bombed the UN headquarters in Abuja. The refusal came despite the urging of the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA, and over a dozen Senators and Congressmen.
"'The one thing she could have done, the one tool she had at her disposal, she didn't use. And nobody can say she wasn't urged to do it. It's gross hypocrisy,' said a former senior U.S. official who was involved in the debate. 'The FBI, the CIA, and the Justice Department really wanted Boko Haram designated, they wanted the authorities that would provide to go after them, and they voiced that repeatedly to elected officials.'
"In May 2012, then-Justice Department official Lisa Monaco (now at the White House) wrote to the State Department to urge Clinton to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization. The following month, Gen. Carter Ham, the chief of U.S. Africa Command, said that Boko Haram provided a 'safe haven' for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and was likely sharing explosives and funds with the group. And yet, Hillary Clinton's State Department still declined to place Boko Haram on its official terrorist roster."
The protection of Boko Haram from designation as a terrorist organization is even more unbelievable when you read the description of the group's activities in the American Foreign Policy Council's World Almanac of Islamism.
Consider the following highlights:
-- Boko Haram means "Western education is sinful."
-- The initial Boko Haram organization grew to an estimated 280,000 followers. In 2009 there was a huge fight with the Nigerian Army and over 1,000 followers and the founder were killed.
-- A revitalized Boko Haram launched an attack on Bauchi prison on September 7, 2010.
-- Since then they have carried out over 600 attacks, killing more than 3,800 people.
-- Boko Haram's orientation can be discerned in its support for Taliban-like, extremist Sharia law and its designation of its original encampment in northern Nigeria as "Afghanistan."
-- The Nigerian terrorists have allied with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and a number of transnational terrorist groups.
-- On Christmas Day in 2011, Boko Haram staged church bombings.
-- Boko Haram has deep ties with extremists in Saudi Arabia. Supposedly dozens have been trained in Afghanistan.
Given these facts, it is amazing that Clinton's State Department refused to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization, since clearly it was engaged in terrorist activities. Why would the department she led not call a terrorist group a terrorist group when it was in her power to do so, and, as Rogin reports, the FBI, CIA, Justice Department, and many members of both the House and Senate were urging her to do just that?
Rogin reports that some U.S. officials, and possibly the Nigerian government, opposed the listing because, among other reasons, they thought it might give the group more publicity. But this is a fairly weak rationale. For one thing, Boko Haram seems to have managed the publicity part on its own. And despite designating three individuals associated with Boko Haram as terrorists in June 2012, by refusing to list the organization, the State Department was denying the FBI, CIA, and Justice Department the tools they were seeking to use against the group as a whole and anyone linked to it.
It is a potentially devastating addition to a record as secretary of state that included a number of decisions favoring the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (after abandoning a longtime U.S. ally there), as well as appeasing a virulently anti-American regime in Iran -- moves that have not turned out so well, to say the least.
Now the Boko Haram decision raises a whole new set of questions.
How could the Clinton State Department reject naming Boko Haram as a terrorist group?
Who was involved in blocking Boko Haram's terrorist designation?
Are any of the so-called experts who were totally wrong still at the State Department?
Did Clinton have anything to do with refusing to designate Boko Haram?
If not, was she even aware of the controversy? Shouldn't she certainly have been aware, considering the number of federal agencies and members of Congress that were asking her to designate the organization?
These questions about Clinton's record are potentially even more serious than the questions about Benghazi. As Congressman Patrick Meehan, who chairs the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, told Rogin, by failing to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization in 2011, "We lost two years of increased scrutiny. The kind of support that is taking place now would have been in place two years ago."
In light of the recent events in Nigeria, former Secretary Clinton and other key State Department officials owe the American people some answers about their decisions.
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Nigeria rejects 'outrageous' claims it knew about raid
5/10/2014 4:31:59 AM
- "We must investigate" the claims, Nigeria's minister of state for defense says
- Jonathan believes the girls are still in the Nigeria, despite U.S. assessment
- Nigerian forces had warning of Boko Haram attack on school, Amnesty says
- U.S. and British teams arrived to help Nigeria plan the fight against Boko Haram
Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) -- What did the Nigerian government know about the mass abduction of schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants, and when did it know it?
Those are the tough questions being asked after an explosive report made public Friday accused Nigerian military commanders of knowing the terror group was on its way to raid a boarding school in the town of Chibok at least four hours before 276 girls were abducted.
The findings by human rights group Amnesty International echo accounts of a number of the parents and villagers, who have described to CNN an ineffective military response in the days and weeks after the girls were abducted.
President Goodluck Jonathan's government vowed to investigate the allegations even as it defended its military response and questioned the motive behind the accounts.
"This is really outrageous, unbelievable," Minister of Information Labaran Maku told CNN.
The moment the Nigerian government heard of the abduction, "we went in to action," Maku said. "...We shouldn't turn this into a trial of the Nigerian government."
Even as he vowed an investigation into the claims, Maku said it was "inconceivable" that soldiers on duty would not respond to a potential attack on a school.
Hours after Nigeria's defense ministry dismissed the report's findings as "unfortunate and untrue," the country's minister of state for defense vowed to get to the bottom of the allegation.
"We must investigate and ensure we get to the root of it," Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro told CNN. "And any necessary actions will be taken to ensure such a thing doesn't reoccur."
'No reinforcements'
Scrutiny of the government's response has escalated amid international outrage over the mass abduction, with many asking why Nigeria did not mount a larger response or ask for international help.
The Amnesty International report alleges that after Nigerian commanders were informed of the pending attack, they were unable to raise enough troops to respond.
The commanders left a contingent of between 15 and 17 soldiers and a handful of police officers in Chibok to fend off the militants, the group reported.
"When it was clear these girls had been abducted, no reinforcements were sent to the town," Makmid Kamara, a researcher with Amnesty International, told CNN.
The report was based on the reports of more than a dozen people, including two senior Nigerian military officials, who gave varying, but consistent accounts, Kamara said.
But Nigeria's defense ministry disputed the findings, saying the first word received was of an ongoing attack at Chibok.
The troops "did not receive four hours forewarning about the attacks," according to a statement released by Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, a ministry spokesman. "Rather, they received information of an ongoing attack on Chibok from troops on patrol" who saw the attack and took on the militants.
Borno state Sen. Ahmed Zannah said Friday that the military sent reinforcements, but not until the militants were already in Chibok.
'The soldiers were not there'
As many as 200 Boko Haram fighters carried out the Chibok school raid, Amnesty reported, herding the girls out of bed under the cover of darkness after a firefight with the handful of security forces in the town.
The Nigerian government has claimed it responded, with troops, helicopters and airplanes in the immediate aftermath of the mass abduction.
But the father of two of the girls taken told CNN there has been little sign of military help.
He said first learned of the attack in a telephone call from a friend in Chibok, who told him the town was under attack by Boko Haram.
"Pray for us," the friend told the father, whose identity is being withheld out of a fear of possible reprisal by Boko Haram and the government.
The next day, the father learned his daughters and three nieces had been snatched.
He and his family sought out the help of the military in the area. But, he says, "the soldiers were not there."
Days later, a meeting was called by the elders of Chibok. "They said the army will be there and a civilian detail will be there -- to accompany us into the bush" to search for the girls, he said.
But no military or government officials showed up, he said.
"Nothing. Nothing. Up to 21 days, nothing has been done," he said.
'Unfair' criticism
Nigerian officials have frequently been criticized for failing to prevent Boko Haram's deadly attacks, particularly in the terror group's stronghold of northeastern Nigeria.
Obanikoro, the minister of state for defense, called the criticism "grossly unfair."
At least 2,000 people have died in violence in northern Nigeria this year alone, Amnesty said. The most recent Boko Haram attack killed at least 310 people in a town that had been used as a staging ground for troops searching for the missing girls.
U.S. and British officials have arrived in Abuja to supplement a U.S. team already on the ground there, according to officials.
They will help Nigeria's government look for the missing girls, plan rescue missions and advise on ways to subdue Boko Haram.
"This isn't time for a blame game. We are happy help is coming," Obanikoro said.
U.S. officials, at least, say they are unlikely to commit troops to combat operations.
And it's unclear if Nigeria would allow U.S. or U.K. troops on the ground. "We know the experiences the two nations are bringing to the table, and we intend to ensure that that wealth of experience is" used to bring about an end to the situation, Obanikoro said.
'Many soldiers are afraid'
According to Amnesty, civilian officials in a nearby town and leaders of an armed vigilante group organized by the military informed nearby military posts that armed militants had passed through on their way to Chibok hours before the April 14 assault on the boarding school.
The human rights group said an official in the village of Gagilam told its investigators that residents had spoken of strangers who passed through on motorcycles, saying they were on their way to Chibok. The group cited another official as saying the men had asked herders for directions to the school.
The group also cited unnamed senior Nigerian commanders as saying they were aware of the attack even before the calls from the civilian leaders and vigilante groups. But they weren't able to muster enough troops to respond, Amnesty cited the commanders as saying.
"There's a lot of frustration, exhaustion and fatigue among officers and (troops) based in the hotspots," Amnesty quoted one of the unnamed commanders as saying. "Many soldiers are afraid to go to the battle fronts."
Where are the girls?
Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, took credit for the mass kidnappings in a video that surfaced this week. He said he planned to sell the girls into slavery.
A few escapees shared harrowing tales of escaping into a nearby forest.
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, who serves as Pentagon press secretary, said officials believe the girls "have been broken up into smaller groups" but declined to detail how they came to the conclusion. His sentiment has been echoed by others.
"The search must be in Niger, Cameroon and Chad, to see if we can find information," said Gordon Brown, a former UK prime minister and the U.N.'s special envoy for global education.
But Jonathan believes the girls are still in Nigeria, somewhere in the Sambisa forest.
"If they move that number of girls into Cameroon, people will see. So I believe they are still in Nigeria," he said.
International outrage has escalated over the nation's largely ineffective effort to subdue Boko Haram.
Amnesty is not the first to accuse Nigeria of failing to take enough action to stop the Chibok raid or other attacks, or to stage a forceful enough response in the aftermath.
Jonathan waited three weeks before speaking to the nation on the matter. He said that rescue efforts were under way at the time but that they could not be disclosed publicly.
"In a hostage situation, time is of the essence," Kirby said. "We lost some time."
International response
The international effort to buttress that fight ratcheted up Friday with the arrival of U.S. and British advisers.
Six U.S. military advisers arrived Friday, a U.S. official told CNN. They will join a team of U.S. and British officials already in Nigeria, helping find the girls, planning rescue efforts and devising strategies to help subdue Boko Haram.
A British team drawn from the country's Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence also arrived in Abuja on Friday, the British foreign office said.
France also said it is sending a team but didn't provide specifics on what expertise it will bring.
British satellites and advanced tracking capabilities also will be used, and China has promised to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network, Nigeria said.
There are no plans to send U.S. combat troops, Kirby said.
CNN's Isha Sesay and Vladimir Duthiers reported from Abuja, and Chelsea J. Carter reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Erin Burnett, Wolf Blitzer, Faith Karimi, Elise Labott and Michael Pearson also contributed to this report.
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