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Austrian drag queen wins Eurovision
5/11/2014 6:57:01 AM
- Austria's Conchita Wurst wins Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen
- Russia and Ukraine made it through to final
- Tensions between the country have been high since Moscow's annexation of Crimea
(CNN) -- Russia and Ukraine faced off again Saturday, far from their volatile border region, on the glitzy stage of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Tensions between the neighbors gave an added piquancy to the competition's grand final in Copenhagen, Denmark, in which both nations were fielding entries. Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea region in March and eastern Ukraine is currently roiled by pro-Russian separatist protests.
On the night, however, it was a much talked about 25-year-old from Austria who stole the show. Conchita Wurst, the onstage drag persona of Thomas Neuwirth, was the runaway winner for a performance of the ballad "Rise Like A Phoenix."
Wurst also refers to himself as "the bearded lady," he says on his website. In his private life, he calls himself "Tom" and refers to himself as "he."
In the role of Conchita Wurst, who Neuwirth calls an "art figure," the artist refers to "herself" as "she."
Neuwirth created Wurst -- which in German means sausage but can also mean 'who cares?' -- in his teen years to cope with feeling discriminated against.
Performing in a skintight dress with long hair and a full beard, Wurst scored 290 points to become Austria's first Eurovision winner since 1966.
"For me, my dream came true," Wurst told reporters after the contest. "But for society it showed me that people want to move on, to look to the future. We said something, we made a statement."
Wurst's presence in the competition had proved controversial in some countries. In Armenia, Belarus and Russia -- where a law against "gay propaganda" was passed last year -- petitions were circulated calling for the singer to be removed from the competition or edited out of the broadcast.
In Russia, Wurst's win drew boos in some places where audiences had gathered to watch the contest.
Wurst's manager, Rene Berto, described the win as a victory for tolerance, one of the main themes emphasized by the contest's organizers.
"Let's change the world and make it a little bit better," Berto said. "Conchita always says: 'Wish for the moon and you'll reach at least the stars,' but now we just landed on the moon. Let's change our way of thinking -- Conchita is just a woman with a beard."
Non-political event?
Created in the aftermath of World War II to encourage good relations between neighbors, Eurovision has been held every year since 1956, and today draws a television audience of about 180 million people in 45 countries.
Contestants are often eccentric, colorful, unusual -- on the fringes of mainstream music in their home countries.
The organizers describe the event -- known for its combination of over-the-top costumes, kitsch pop songs and sometimes questionable talent -- as non-political.
But in reality, politics inevitably colors both the voting and the performances.
This was demonstrated to an unusual degree Tuesday, when Russia's entrants -- 17-year-old twins Anastasia and Maria Tolmachevy -- were booed by the audience during their semi-final performance.
William Lee Adams, a Eurovision expert and the editor-in-chief of Wiwibloggs.com, the popular Eurovision website, told CNN that the contest is about national identity as well as music.
"Months of frustration over Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and Putin's anti-LGBT laws have left Europeans angry," Adams said.
"The booing was a release, a statement of solidarity with Ukraine and Russia's sexual minorities."
It doesn't help that Russia's love song features lyrics that some see as hinting at a border incursion. It goes, "...living on the edge, closer to the crime, cross the line, one step at a time ... maybe there's a day you'll be mine."
Ukrainian singer Mariya Yaremchuk, who performed a song titled "Tick-Tock," said Tuesday that she was proud to be representing her country.
"Actually, my main position is that I'm proud that I'm Ukrainian and everything I do here is for the Ukrainian people," the 21-year-old said.
"I'm not standing alone on the stage, there are 46 million Ukrainians behind me on the stage."
The countries involved in the contest award a set of points from one to eight, then 10 and finally 12 for their favorite songs. They can't vote for themselves and they must announce the score in both English and French.
Television viewers can cast votes in their respective countries through telephone hotlines, which count for half the final tally. The remainder of the vote is cast by national expert juries.
The country with the highest points total wins -- and has the rather expensive honor of hosting the following year's event.
In the end, Ukraine's Yaremchuk scored slightly higher than her Russian rivals, finishing in sixth place with 113 points, while Russia's Tolmachevy twins took 89 points to finish seventh.
A duo from the Netherlands finished in second place, with a Swedish entry coming in third.
CNN's Tara Kelly and Jim Stenman contributed to this report.
First openly gay NFL player drafted
5/11/2014 3:01:25 PM
- Obama also congratulated the NFL
- Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the 7th round
- Sam played defensive end for the University of Missouri
- He came out in February, telling ESPN: "I'm an openly proud gay man''
(CNN) -- President Barack Obama congratulated Michael Sam on Saturday for being the first openly gay football player taken in the National Football League draft, the White House said in a statement.
"From the playing field to the corporate boardroom, LGBT Americans prove everyday that you should be judged by what you do and not who you are," Obama said. He also congratulated the NFL and the St. Louis Rams, the team that drafted Sam.
Sam, an All-American defensive end who played for the University of Missouri, made history when he was picked by the Rams in the seventh and final round. He was the 249th of 256 players selected.
The 24-year-old got the news by telephone from Rams' coach Jeff Fisher, who told Sam: "You are a Ram. The wait is finally over."
Sam, who was filmed by ESPN as he got the call, broke down in tears and kissed his boyfriend. "Thank you," he could be heard saying to Fisher.
Later, Sam took to Twitter to post a picture of himself, smiling. "Thank you to the St. Louis Rams and the whole city of St. Louis," he said in the post. "I'm using every (ounce) of this to achieve greatness!!"
See Sam's reaction
St. Louis is only a two-hour drive from Columbia, home of the University of Missouri, where Sam starred.
Besides being a first-team All-American, the 6-foot-2, 260-pounder was named the co-defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference, widely considered college football's best league. His fellow Tigers named him the team's most valuable player.
With those credentials, Sam was expected to be selected, but as the three-day draft wore on, there were questions whether he would.
Fisher told ESPN that Sam was a player who was rated by the team as going much higher in the draft.
"We weren't going to miss the opportunity to add an outstanding player to our roster," he said.
In February, Sam came out in interviews with ESPN and The New York Times, a decision that raised questions about whether he had damaged his chances to play in the NFL.
"I came to tell the world I'm an openly proud gay man," he said in an interview with ESPN.
Sam said he told his Missouri teammates in August and suffered no repercussions. He said he was surprised to discover many people in the media already knew he was gay.
"I understand how big this is," Sam said in the ESPN interview. "It's a big deal. No one has done this before. And it's kind of a nervous process, but I know what I want to be ... I want to be a football player in the NFL."
Sam also spoke about his sexual orientation to The New York Times, saying: "I just want to make sure I could tell my story the way I want to tell it. I just want to own my truth."
At the start of the draft on Thursday, it appeared it was also on Sam's mind.
"No matter what happen(s) these next few days, I will always cherish moments like this!!!," he said in a post on Twitter.
Sam's draft was viewed as a barometer of whether the NFL was ready to accept an openly gay player. His selection is viewed as a bright spot for a league that has faced a host of criticism in recent months, from questions about the lack of minorities promoted to the number of players arrested for bad behavior.
"I think this is a good day, against the backdrop of what has happened in the NBA recently," Margaret Hoover, a political commentator and gay rights activist, told CNN.
The NFL Players Association also weighed in on Sam's good news.
"We wish him the best of luck as we do all of the 2014 NFL Draft class," said George Atallah, the association's assistant executive director of external affairs.
Other athletes have come out as gay, but they didn't have Sam's profile. Among them are the NBA's Jason Collins, the WNBA's Brittney Griner, WWE's Darren Young, UFC's Liz Carmouche, MMA's Fallon Fox and Major League Soccer's Robbie Rogers.
Of those athletes, Collins made the biggest media splash.
"I think it's great. I'm looking forward to seeing him play," Collins, who plays for the Brooklyn Nets, told ESPN after the draft pick was announced.
The road to football stardom was not an easy one for Sam, who graduated from Missouri in December.
One of eight children, he grew up in Hitchcock, Texas, where he was raised primarily by his mother. At one point, he has said, he lived out of his mother's car and briefly stayed with another family.
Three of Sam's siblings have died, including an older brother he saw die from a gunshot wound. Two of his brothers are serving prison sentences.
Complete coverage: Rams pick Michael Sam
NFL draft winners and losers
CNN's Azadeh Ansari and Phil Gast contributed to this report.
CNN poll: Ukraine favors Europe not Russia
5/12/2014 6:10:29 PM
- Even in the east, a minority backs an alliance with Russia
- Two-thirds of Ukrainians back sanctions against Russia, CNN poll finds
- Ukrainians tend to see Putin as dangerous and strong, and Obama as friendly
- More than half of Ukrainians say the country should ally with Europe
(CNN) -- Ukrainians are a lot less pro-Russian than separatists there would like the world to believe, even in regions along the border with Russia which are supposedly voting overwhelmingly to declare independence from Ukraine, a new poll for CNN suggests.
The people of Ukraine feel much more loyal to Europe than to Russia, and a clear majority back economic sanctions against Russia, according to the poll of 1,000 people across the country conducted in the past week.
Two out of three (67%) people in Ukraine approve of economic sanctions against Russia, while one out of three (29%) disapproves, the poll by ComRes for CNN found.
Ukrainians tend to see Russian President Vladimir Putin as dangerous and a strong leader, while they consider U.S. President Barack Obama friendly.
More than half (56%) said they felt a stronger sense of loyalty to Europe than to Russia, while 19% said they felt more loyal to Russia and 22% said neither. Three percent said they didn't know.
The results come a day after pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country said people there had voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine, in a referendum denounced by the United States and its European allies.
Eastern promise?
The CNN poll found that even in eastern Ukraine, a minority of people back an alliance with Russia.
Just over a third (37%) of Ukrainians in three eastern regions favor an alliance with Russia, while 14% of the region backs an alliance with the European Union and about half (49%) say Ukraine would be better off if it did not ally with either, the poll found.
"Eastern Ukraine" includes the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv, which are generally seen as among the most pro-Russian areas in the country.
Donetsk and Luhansk held referendums on independence on Sunday, with an election official in Donetsk saying Monday the region had voted 90% in favor.
Nationwide, a slight majority (54%) said it would be good for Ukraine to join the EU. More than eight out of 10 (82%) said it would be bad for the country to have Russian troops in Ukraine.
And despite the crisis that has pitted Russia against the United States and European Union over the fate of the second-largest country in Europe, Ukrainians are optimistic about the future.
Two out of three people said they were optimistic about the political future of the country (65%) and the same proportion (67%) said they were optimistic about its economic future.
Putin vs. Obama
Nearly half (44%) of respondents to the CNN poll said Putin was a strong leader, compared to 27% who saw Obama that way. About a quarter (23%) said neither and six percent said they didn't know.
Two-thirds (67%) described Putin as "dangerous," while only 15% saw Obama that way.
But Obama came out well ahead of Putin as "friendly," with 47% applying the description to the U.S. President and only 14% saying it of Putin. About a third (34%) said neither was friendly, and five percent said they didn't know.
Neither leader came across as especially reliable, with 32% choosing Obama, 19% choosing Putin and 45% saying neither.
The findings, by the London-based agency ComRes for CNN, come from a nationally representative telephone poll of 1,000 Ukrainians conducted by telephone in Russian and Ukrainian from May 7-11. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
U.S. confirms second MERS case
5/13/2014 12:53:14 AM
- The patient traveled from Saudi Arabia to Florida on May 1
- The first patient was released from an Indiana hospital Friday
- Health officials say the virus poses a low risk to the general public
(CNN) -- There is a second confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome imported into the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday.
Officials from the CDC and the Florida Department of Health are investigating.
The first U.S. case was reported this month in Indiana. That patient was released from a hospital Friday into home isolation, according to state health officials.
The Indiana patient was an American health care provider who had been working in Saudi Arabia and was on a planned visit to Indiana to see his family.
The Florida patient is also a health care provider who lives and works in Saudi Arabia, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general with the U.S. Public Health Service and director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
However, the Florida case is not linked to the Indiana case, she said.
The "risk to the general public remains very low," Schuchat said. In some countries, the virus has spread from person to person, but only in close contact, such as a person who was caring for an ill person.
"This virus has not shown the ability to spread easily from person to person in community settings," she said.
The 44-year-old Florida patient traveled on May 1 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to London, then from London to Boston; Boston to Atlanta; and Atlanta to Orlando.
MERS: 5 things to know
The man began feeling unwell on the flight from Jeddah, and continued feeling ill on subsequent flights, with symptoms including "fever, chills and a slight cough," Schuchat said.
On May 8, the man went to the emergency department of Orlando's Dr. P. Phillips Hospital.
The hospital said the man is "in good condition and continuing to improve."
Dr. Antonio Crespo, an infectious disease specialist at the hospital, said officials "believe the risk of transmission from this patient is very low since his symptoms were mild and he was not coughing when he arrived at the hospital."
The man was visiting family and did not visit any theme parks in the Orlando area, said Dr. John Armstrong, Florida's state surgeon general and secretary of health.
As in the Indiana case, officials were attempting to contact people -- in this case, more than 500 -- who may have come in contact with the person during travel, both in the United States and abroad.
In addition, 16 staff members at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital have been notified of possible exposure and are being tested for the virus.
Testing of people who have come in contact with the Indiana patient continues, and no additional cases have been seen, said Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC director.
The CDC has dispatched a team to Saudi Arabia in conjunction with the WHO, Frieden said.
MERS first emerged in 2011, with the first cases being diagnosed in the Arabian Peninsula in 2012. As of Friday, there have been 538 cases in 17 countries, including 145 deaths, according to the WHO, said Schuchat.
The virus is also known as MERS-CoV, since it is a coronavirus, the same group of viruses as the common cold. It attacks the respiratory system, according to the CDC. Symptoms can lead to pneumonia or kidney failure.
Testing for MERS involves looking for the virus's molecular structure in a patient's nose or blood. While the patient in Indiana was the first MERS case on U.S. soil, the CDC has been preparing for such a scenario and had been conducting an awareness campaign with hospitals and doctors since MERS emerged.
There are no travel restrictions to the Arabian Peninsula; however, the CDC suggests that people who visit there monitor their health and watch for any flu-like symptoms. If you do feel unwell after such a trip, be sure to tell your doctor about your travel.
There is no vaccine or special treatment for MERS. Doctors say they believe the Indiana patient's quick diagnosis and care dramatically increased his chances for getting better.
MERS mystery: Virus found in camels
No one knows exactly how this virus originated, but evidence implicating camels is emerging. In a recently published study in mBio, researchers said they isolated live MERS virus from two single-humped camels, known as dromedaries. They found multiple substrains in the camel viruses, including one that perfectly matches a substrain isolated from a human patient.
The same group of researchers reported in February that nearly three-quarters of camels in Saudi Arabia tested positive for past exposure to the MERS coronavirus.
CNN's Miriam Falco, Elizabeth Cohen, Elizabeth Landau and Jen Christensen contributed to this report.
Ex-Israeli PM Ehud Olmert gets six years in prison
5/13/2014 3:02:50 AM
- A judge says Ehud Olmert took bribes from a developer while he was mayor of Jerusalem
- The developer had been previously convicted of bribing Olmert and other officials
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for taking bribes while mayor of Jerusalem.
Olmert was also fined 1 million shekels (about $289,000), Israeli state radio IB reported.
Olmert was convicted in March of receiving about $161,000 in bribes related to a controversial Jerusalem housing project called Holyland. The judge acquitted Olmert on a third count of bribery.
The developer of Holyland, Hillel Cherney, had been previously convicted of bribing Olmert and other high-level officials in exchange for Holyland approvals.
Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003.
Olmert, an attorney who in 1973 became the youngest person ever elected to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009.
He announced his resignation shortly after police recommended corruption charges against him.
In August 2012, he was convicted of breach of trust and acquitted on two corruption-related charges after a trial that lasted nearly three years. He was given a 3-month suspended jail sentenced and fined about $19,000 in that case.
The allegations stemmed from Olmert's time as mayor as well as prime minister. Prosecutors accused him of double-billing government agencies for travel, taking cash from an American businessman in exchange for official favors and acting on behalf of his former law partner's clients.
READ: 2012: Ex-Israeli prime minister accused of corruption gets mixed verdict
READ: Former Israeli Prime Minister's exclusive interview with Christiane Amanpour
Dozens drown off Libya
5/12/2014 4:28:24 PM
- A boat sank off the coast of Tripoli Sunday killing at least 40 people
- 50 others were rescued and an unspecified number remains missing
- The boat was carrying illegal migrants trying to reach Europe
- Libya has asked Europe for help dealing with the "serious problem" of illegal migration
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- A boat carrying illegal migrants sank off the coast of Tripoli on Sunday, killing at least 40 people, the spokesman for Libya's Interior Ministry told CNN.
Some 50 others were rescued, and an unspecified number remain missing, Rami Kaal said.
Kaal did not have information on the specific nationalities of the migrants on the vessel but said Libya is suffering greatly from the "huge number" of illegal migrants in his country.
According to the spokesman, most have come from sub-Saharan Africa, neighboring countries like Egypt and Tunisia and, more recently, more have come from Syria.
The migrants arrive to board boats headed to European shores, particularly Italy and Malta.
Kaal feels that the European countries have an obligation to help Libya deal with this "serious problem" but said, so far, they have done little.
According to Kaal, the flow of illegal migrants has contributed to the rise in crimes such as killings and armed robberies in Libya.
He referred CNN to the statements made by acting Interior Minister Salah Mazeq on Saturday. The minister threatened to "facilitate" the passage of migrants and "flood Europe" with them unless the countries stepped up and helped Libya.
"I warn the world, especially the European Union, unless they assume their responsibility ... we warn that Libya could facilitate the passage of this flood (of illegal migrants) and fast," Mazeq said. He went on to say Libya has paid the price; now it's the EU's turn to pay the price of combating the problem.
Libya's porous southern borders have been a favorite launch pad for illegal migrants trying to reach Europe due to its proximity to countries like Malta and Italy. Since Libya's revolution in 2011, the country has been struggling to deal with this growing phenomenon.
To give scope to the problem, Kaal told CNN last week more than 400 migrants were caught in one day as they tried to board vessels to Europe.
Asked how Europe can offer assistance, he offered the example of the delivery of boats for Libya's coastguard from an unnamed European country that has been stalled for more than 18 months.
Following the Interior Minister's comments, the Libyan Interim Government released a statement, saying in part:
"The government also reaffirms it is continuing to cooperate with all concerned countries, especially Italy, in monitoring the borders to stem the flow of migrants. The Government renews its call to all countries to create development projects in the countries of origin in an effort to cut down on this phenomenon."
Migrants die as two boats capsize off Greek island
Italian navy rescues over 1,000 migrants from overcrowded boats in a day
After the siege, despair and optimism
5/12/2014 3:14:20 PM
- A truce was declared between rebels and the Syrian government
- Homs residents who escaped the fighting returned to their homes
- Some neighborhoods were untouched; stores, cafes operate as if there was no war
Editor's note: CNN International Correspondent Fredrik Pleitgen has reported from inside Syria numerous times during the conflict, last visiting Homs in June 2013.
(CNN) -- As a tenuous peace holds in the Syrian city of Homs, many of its residents are returning home for the first time in years to see what war spared them.
The neighborhood known as Old Town on Monday looked entirely dusty and gray. Many of its buildings, many thousands of years old, are heaps of rubble after non-stop of shelling.
Hassan Deshash sweated in the midday sun, cleaning up his trashed shoe store. He came back to Homs to take inventory, he told CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, who met him there. Deshash escaped Homs two years ago and has been living in Damascus, where he managed to open another shoe store.
Remembering the time he was forced from his home, he simply said, "It was awful."
Less than a mile from where Deshash picked up rebar and threw it into a pile, some parts of Homs look untouched by war. Sports stores are open, selling Adidas and Nike. Lines are moving briskly in clean and stocked grocery stores. People pass time at busy cafes.
But that's the reality of the place -- some parts were hit, others were not.
Homs was, though, the center of the first large demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011. Now it is one of the areas of the country where stability may hold.
Rebels withdrew from Homs last week. A truce was declared after rebels agreed to a prisoner release involving 70 Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, 20 Iranian officers captured by the Islamic Front in Aleppo and a female Iranian agent who was captured at the end of March. Hezbollah and Iran have backed al-Assad's government in the war.
In Old Town, it would be understandable if Syrians felt bitter, angry or pessimistic. There is no water or electricity in many areas. Attempts at peace coordinated by international diplomats have fallen through in the past. Nearly everyone has a story of loss. At least 2,500 people were trapped in Homs, and it was incredibly difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to the city. The war has taken, by most estimates, at least 100,000 lives and has displaced millions.
As if the situation could get any more brutal, looters showed up in Old Town to swipe whatever was left in the ruins, Syrians told Pleitgen.
And yet many Syrians seemed optimistic. Most were friendly, though some politely told the correspondent they didn't want to talk on camera. They explained that they just wanted to focus on seeing what possessions they could reclaim. Some heaved mattresses and refrigerators and shoved them onto truck beds. They thought the truce would stick.
Travel was once a life-risking endeavor in Homs. But on Monday drivers rolled through checkpoints staffed by Syrian government soldiers. Even they were unusually friendly, telling Pleitgen they thought that Western media has misrepresented them as the bad guys in the civil war.
One soldier told Pleitgen that he supports the truce between the rebels and the government.
"I think this was the best thing," said the soldier who did not give his name. "It gives the people the chance to come back and start rebuilding their lives."
Syria war fast facts - revisit the history of the conflict
The roots of the war in Syria began in March 2011 after a group of teenagers and children were arrested for writing political graffiti that disparaged al-Assad, who has controlled the country since July 2000. His father, Hafez al-Assad, ruled Syria from 1970 to 2000.
When protests stirred over the arrests, the Syrian government violently cracked down, and violence followed, metastasizing throughout the country. Over time the civil war grew more complicated and involved various fighters, some of whom were Syrian, some of whom were from other countries.
By March 2012, after one year of fighting, the United Nations reported that more than 8,000 people had died. Activists fighting to oust al-Assad from office estimated the death toll to be much higher with more than 10,000 dead. Most of them were civilians, activists contended.
By February 2013, the U.N. Security Council estimated that the number of civilians killed in the two-year civil war was approaching 70,000.
In a January 2014 report, Human Rights Watch slammed international powers for failing to stop "the unchecked slaughter of civilians in Syria."
The bloodshed, Human Rights Watch said, "elicited global horror and outrage but not enough to convince world leaders to exert the pressure needed to stop it."
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reported from Homs, Syria. Ashley Fantz wrote this story in Atlanta.
Soccer racism: Bananas thrown again
5/12/2014 9:21:21 AM
- AC Milan duo subjected to racist abuse during Milan's game at Atalanta
- Kevin Constant and Nigel de Jong angered by banana throwing
- AC Milan players sarcastically applauded Atalanta fans
- Italian Football Association set to examine incident
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(CNN) -- The incidence of soccer supporters hurling bananas as a way of racially abusing top black footballers playing in Europe's major leagues shows no sign of abating.
AC Milan defender Kevin Constant and midfielder Nigel de Jong were left raging by the abuse during a Serie A match against Atalanta in northern Italy Sunday, while fellow teammates applauded in a sarcastic manner.
Neither Milan or Atalanta were immediately available for comment, while Liga Calcio, which runs Serie A, is expected to make a statement later on Monday.
The FIGC, the Italian Football Federation, have opened an investigation and will issue a statement later this week.
Sunday's incident came just two weeks after Barcelona's Dani Alves captured the world's attention by eating a banana which had been thrown at him from the crowd during a league game at Villarreal in Spain's top league.
The Brazilian's quick thinking was widely acclaimed by anti-racism campaigners and he gained worldwide support through social media.
The fan was banned for life by Villarreal after throwing the banana which landed at Alves' feet as he prepared to take a corner.
One week after Alves was abused, Levante's Senegalese player Papakouli Diop claimed he had heard monkey chants from Atletico Madrid supporters.
His response was to dance in front of his alleged abusers.
It's not the first team Constant has been racially taunted. The French-born Guinean player was racially abused during a preseason friendly game against Sassuolo in July.
Constant smashed the ball into the stands and walked off the pitch after becoming enraged by racist chanting emanating from a section of supporters.
"Keep smiling, there are worst things in life than racial abuse. People are just 2 ignorant these days" #No2Racism pic.twitter.com/is4LUEI9Va
— Nigel de Jong (@NDJ_Official) May 11, 2014 In January 2013, Constant's teammate Kevin Prince Boateng walked off the field of play after being racially abused by a number of fans during a friendly game against Pro Patria with six people hit with two-month prison sentences.
In the past the FIGC has been accused of not taking a tough enough stance against racism.
In May 2013, the organization was heavily criticized by FIFA president Sepp Blatter after it fined Roma $65,000 following the racial abuse of Milan's Mario Balotelli by the club's fans.
"What is $65,000 for such an incident? I'm not happy and I will call the Italian Federation," Blatter told the world governing body's website at the time. "That's not a way to deal with such matters."
In April 2013, Inter Milan were fined nearly $60,000 by European governing body UEFA after its fans were found guilty of "improper conduct" in chants directed towards Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
Two months earlier, Lazio received its fourth charge of racist behavior this season -- with Roma's city rivals having been fined nearly $300,000 after repeated fan transgressions.
In May last year, FIFA adopted tougher penalties for racist behavior during its congress in Mauritius.
Punishments for first offenses bring a warning, fine or clubs 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.
How West's inaction led to fall of Homs
5/12/2014 10:26:24 PM
- The Homs truce is a consequence of failing Western support to the opposition, writes Nadim Shehadi
- Russia provides economic and military assistance to the Syrian regime, he says
- Shehadi : The situation is similar to that in Iraq in 1991 when an uprising was encouraged by Washington
Editor's note: Nadim Shehadi is an associate fellow at Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa Programme and former director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies at Oxford University. Follow @Confusezeus on Twitter. The views expressed in this commentary are solely the author's.
(CNN) -- In the same week that witnessed the fall of Homs in the hands of the Assad regime both the U.S. and the UK announced a resumption of non-lethal aid to the Syrian rebels. While this is a highly symbolic move towards an opposition desperate for any kind of support, it is also symbolic in that it is unlikely to affect the balance of power on the ground.
The U.S. and UK contribution is dwarfed into insignificance when compared to military, economic, logistic and diplomatic support that the regime gets from its allies, mainly Iran and Russia. The truce in Homs is a clear consequence of failing Western support to the opposition and the full support that the regime gets from its allies.
A balance sheet that compares aid to the regime against that given to the opposition demonstrates clearly the imbalance in favor of the Assad regime.
This goes some way in explaining two phenomena: one is the disappointment towards the Obama administration felt by many of its Arab allies and by the Syrian opposition who feel let down by the U.S.; two is the way in which Russia and Iran see military engagement and support to the regime in Syria as an integral part of their political and diplomatic strategy, while the U.S. and the UK seem to consider them as two separate processes: you either provide military support to the opposition or push for a diplomatic solution and cannot do both.
U.S. aid of up to $27 million and UK aid of £1 million ($1.69 million) both in non-lethal aid like communications, medical equipment and food rations are being resumed after they had been suspended in December in the run-up to the Geneva II talks and only came up again after the failure of the diplomatic solution in Geneva II.
Russian and Iranian aid to the regime has been continuous and much more substantial. Western policy in Syria projects weakness, hesitation and lack of strategy while Russia and Iran have shown strength, resolve and their policy is part of a wider strategy in confrontation with the U.S. The U.S. was also pressuring its own regional allies like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to restrain their support for the opposition mainly on the grounds that a military solution was impossible.
Iranian and Russian assistance
It is difficult to accurately estimate the Iranian and Russian contributions. The European Council on Foreign Relations report on Syria's war economy mentions financial help of up to $5.8 billion in the form of cash and oil supplies in mid 2011 and two credit facilities in 2013 worth a combined $4.3 billion.
Burhan Ghalioun, the former head of the Syrian National Council recently claimed that Iranian assistance to the regime is well over $14 billion so far. The figures would shoot up if military assistance could be estimated.
What we know is that the Quds force, the foreign arm of the IRGC has hundreds of commanders involved in Syria. Iran also arms and trains Hezbollah in Lebanon and several Iraqi militias that are fighting in Syria and sends arms and munitions.
The strain on the Iranian economy is unsustainable and there are already Iranian dissident voices blaming involvement in Syria for a large part of the country's economic problems.
Russia also provides economic and military assistance to the regime, propping up the currency and circumventing the sanctions. Syrian currency is now printed in Russia and military assistance is both technical and hardware.
The balance sheet also includes billions of dollars of Western humanitarian aid that goes through the U.N. and other international organizations. The bulk of it goes to dealing with the symptoms of the war-like refugees and the rest largely goes through the regime and the regime uses it to its benefit in its surrender or starve strategy in sieges like that of Homs.
The scenario is simple: the regime cuts off water, electricity, food, fuel and access; it then proceeds to bomb the city into submission using artillery, air raids and barrel bombs. and then the UN and other international organizations who are also Western funded, help the regime and its allies to negotiate surrenders that are euphemistically called "local ceasefires" as we have seen in Homs and in other areas recently.
Difference in strategy
The difference in strategy is flagrant: Iran and Russia boost military assistance to strengthen Assad's hand in the negotiations; while the US and the UK all but freeze support to the opposition which amounts to pressuring them to compromise in negotiations. Aaron David Miller even argues in a Foreign Policy piece that the main reason for President Barack Obama's hesitation to assist the rebels in Syria is so as not to jeopardize his engagement with Iran under the logic that you cannot talk and shoot at the same time.
There may also be different perceptions of the importance of the conflict in Syria. The White House may perceive it as marginal at a time when it is shifting its interest away from the Middle East to Asia. It is thus a local conflict where you could stand aside and wait to see which side would win. Iran and Russia are playing to win and see it as a more strategic battle with objectives beyond Syria possibly against the U.S. and its global power.
It may also be argued that perceived U.S. weakness cannot be confined to its position in Syria. While it has disappointed its allies who feel let down; it has at the same time emboldened its enemies who feel they can take advantage of it.
Russia can thus think it can get away with bold moves in Ukraine and Iran thinks it can play the classic trick of good-cop/bad-cop where good-cop is President Rouhani with a smile and a tweet, willing to negotiate but only on the nuclear deal; and the bad cop is General Qassem Suleimani the commander of the IRGC and has a free hand to fight against U.S. interests in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan and other areas the Quds Force is active in.
If anything, this is a situation similar to that in Iraq in 1991 when an uprising was encouraged by Washington, and then the U.S. and its allies stood by watching Saddam Hussein's helicopters crush it, killing in two months as much as Bashar al-Assad has in the last three years.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Nadim Shehadi.
Dozens drown off Libya
5/12/2014 9:44:31 AM
- A boat sank off the coast of Tripoli Sunday killing at least 40 people
- 50 others were rescued and an unspecified number remains missing
- The boat was carrying illegal migrants trying to reach Europe
- Libya has asked Europe for help dealing with the "serious problem" of illegal migration
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- A boat carrying illegal migrants sank off the coast of Tripoli on Sunday, killing at least 40 people, the spokesman for Libya's Interior Ministry told CNN.
Some 50 others were rescued, and an unspecified number remain missing, Rami Kaal said.
Kaal did not have information on the specific nationalities of the migrants on the vessel but said Libya is suffering greatly from the "huge number" of illegal migrants in his country.
According to the spokesman, most have come from sub-Saharan Africa, neighboring countries like Egypt and Tunisia and, more recently, more have come from Syria.
The migrants arrive to board boats headed to European shores, particularly Italy and Malta.
Kaal feels that the European countries have an obligation to help Libya deal with this "serious problem" but said, so far, they have done little.
According to Kaal, the flow of illegal migrants has contributed to the rise in crimes such as killings and armed robberies in Libya.
He referred CNN to the statements made by acting Interior Minister Salah Mazeq on Saturday. The minister threatened to "facilitate" the passage of migrants and "flood Europe" with them unless the countries stepped up and helped Libya.
"I warn the world, especially the European Union, unless they assume their responsibility ... we warn that Libya could facilitate the passage of this flood (of illegal migrants) and fast," Mazeq said. He went on to say Libya has paid the price; now it's the EU's turn to pay the price of combating the problem.
Libya's porous southern borders have been a favorite launch pad for illegal migrants trying to reach Europe due to its proximity to countries like Malta and Italy. Since Libya's revolution in 2011, the country has been struggling to deal with this growing phenomenon.
To give scope to the problem, Kaal told CNN last week more than 400 migrants were caught in one day as they tried to board vessels to Europe.
Asked how Europe can offer assistance, he offered the example of the delivery of boats for Libya's coastguard from an unnamed European country that has been stalled for more than 18 months.
Following the Interior Minister's comments, the Libyan Interim Government released a statement, saying in part:
"The government also reaffirms it is continuing to cooperate with all concerned countries, especially Italy, in monitoring the borders to stem the flow of migrants. The Government renews its call to all countries to create development projects in the countries of origin in an effort to cut down on this phenomenon."
Migrants die as two boats capsize off Greek island
Italian navy rescues over 1,000 migrants from overcrowded boats in a day
3 dead in hot air balloon crash
5/11/2014 6:50:28 PM
- NEW: Pilot's father says "ballooning was the love of his life"
- Event spokesman: FAA inspected balloons; all safety records were up to date
- Authorities found the remains of the balloon's third occupant
- Passenger posted online about anxiety before flight
(CNN) -- Authorities have found the remains of the third occupant of the hot air balloon that burst into flames at a Virginia festival, police said Sunday.
Now investigators are trying to determine what made the balloon drift into power lines, catch fire and crash, killing the pilot and two passengers.
Donald Kirk told CNN on Sunday that his son, Daniel Kirk, was on the balloon when it crashed. The 66-year-old Army veteran had been piloting balloons for more than 30 years, lived for flying and never flew if the weather conditions weren't right, his father said.
"He was a very good pilot," Donald Kirk said. "Something happened, I just don't know what happened."
Two members of the University of Richmond women's basketball program were among those aboard, the university said.
Witnesses captured photographs of the balloon after it burst into flames Friday night and crashed into the countryside at the Mid-Atlantic Balloon Festival about 25 miles north of Richmond. Some reported seeing two people either jump or fall from the basket at a dizzying height.
Investigators found the remains of two occupants on Saturday. They located the remains of the third occupant on Sunday morning, Virginia State Police said.
The remains were found about 100 yards north of where one of the occupant's remains were found on Saturday, Corinne Geller of the Virginia State Police said.
Police and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
Norm Hyde, spokesman for festival host Meadow Event Park, said Federal Aviation Administration inspectors were on site Friday, checking balloons and safety records before the balloons took off.
All the balloons' safety records were up to date, he said.
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said she couldn't confirm whether FAA inspectors were at the Virginia festival, but she said they "routinely conduct surveillance at air shows, balloon festivals and other aviation events."
Before flight, anxiety
Ginny Doyle, associate head basketball coach at the University of Richmond, and Natalie Lewis, director of basketball operations, were on the balloon, the school said in a statement.
"Words cannot begin to express our sorrow," said Keith Gill, the university's director of athletics. "We are all stunned by the tragic news. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their loved ones."
Doyle was a former star player for the school who played a key role in recruiting, according to her biography on the university's website.
She posted on social media about her plans to fly in the balloon on Friday, sharing several pictures of the festival.
"Getting ready to go up in a hot air balloon today," she wrote on Instagram. "Tried it at 6:30am but was too foggy. Will go up this evening #anxiety."
Father: 'He was a very safe pilot'
The website for Daniel Kirk's company, Starship Adventures, boasts scenic rides over Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
"Our flight path will take you over luscious rolling countryside, small towns, and the highways and byways of the community below. We will fly at various altitudes, from just above the surface to 3000 feet, limited only by your willingness to fly," the website says.
Donald Kirk said he'd flown many times with his son, describing him as "a very safe pilot."
"Ballooning was the love of his life," he told WBOC.
Balloon hit power line as it descended
Weather conditions are one of the elements investigators are looking at, NTSB air safety investigator Heidi Moats said.
There was no inclement weather at the time and, so far, officials don't believe those conditions played a role in the crash, Geller said Saturday.
Thirteen hot air balloons had been soaring on the eve of the Mid-Atlantic Balloon Festival in Doswell, and three were landing close to each other. Two landed safely, Geller said, but as the third balloon descended, it hit a power line, sparking a fire that spread quickly.
The pilot began doing his safety maneuvers and "took every step to manage the situation," Geller said. But then there was an explosion, and the basket and balloon separated.
Those aboard the balloon pleaded for their lives, witness Carrie Hager-Bradley told CNN affiliate WWBT.
"They were just screaming for anybody to help them. 'Help me, help me, sweet Jesus, help, I'm going to die. Oh, my God, I'm going to die,' " she said.
Organizers canceled the festival after the accident.
How safe is hot air ballooning?
CNN's Mariano Castillo, Ben Brumfield, Joe Sutton, Mandy Lawrence, Melissa Gray, Kristina Sgueglia and AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report.
CNN poll: Ukraine favors Europe not Russia
5/12/2014 2:10:43 PM
- Even in the east, a minority backs an alliance with Russia
- Two-thirds of Ukrainians back sanctions against Russia, CNN poll finds
- Ukrainians tend to see Putin as dangerous and strong, and Obama as friendly
- More than half of Ukrainians say the country should ally with Europe
(CNN) -- Ukrainians are a lot less pro-Russian than separatists there would like the world to believe, even in regions along the border with Russia which are supposedly voting overwhelmingly to declare independence from Ukraine, a new poll for CNN suggests.
The people of Ukraine feel much more loyal to Europe than to Russia, and a clear majority back economic sanctions against Russia, according to the poll of 1,000 people across the country conducted in the past week.
Two out of three (67%) people in Ukraine approve of economic sanctions against Russia, while one out of three (29%) disapproves, the poll by ComRes for CNN found.
Ukrainians tend to see Russian President Vladimir Putin as dangerous and a strong leader, while they consider U.S. President Barack Obama friendly.
More than half (56%) said they felt a stronger sense of loyalty to Europe than to Russia, while 19% said they felt more loyal to Russia and 22% said neither. Three percent said they didn't know.
The results come a day after pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country said people there had voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine, in a referendum denounced by the United States and its European allies.
Eastern promise?
The CNN poll found that even in eastern Ukraine, a minority of people back an alliance with Russia.
Just over a third (37%) of Ukrainians in three eastern regions favor an alliance with Russia, while 14% of the region backs an alliance with the European Union and about half (49%) say Ukraine would be better off if it did not ally with either, the poll found.
"Eastern Ukraine" includes the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv, which are generally seen as among the most pro-Russian areas in the country.
Donetsk and Luhansk held referendums on independence on Sunday, with an election official in Donetsk saying Monday the region had voted 90% in favor.
Nationwide, a slight majority (54%) said it would be good for Ukraine to join the EU. More than eight out of 10 (82%) said it would be bad for the country to have Russian troops in Ukraine.
And despite the crisis that has pitted Russia against the United States and European Union over the fate of the second-largest country in Europe, Ukrainians are optimistic about the future.
Two out of three people said they were optimistic about the political future of the country (65%) and the same proportion (67%) said they were optimistic about its economic future.
Putin vs. Obama
Nearly half (44%) of respondents to the CNN poll said Putin was a strong leader, compared to 27% who saw Obama that way. About a quarter (23%) said neither and six percent said they didn't know.
Two-thirds (67%) described Putin as "dangerous," while only 15% saw Obama that way.
But Obama came out well ahead of Putin as "friendly," with 47% applying the description to the U.S. President and only 14% saying it of Putin. About a third (34%) said neither was friendly, and five percent said they didn't know.
Neither leader came across as especially reliable, with 32% choosing Obama, 19% choosing Putin and 45% saying neither.
The findings, by the London-based agency ComRes for CNN, come from a nationally representative telephone poll of 1,000 Ukrainians conducted by telephone in Russian and Ukrainian from May 7-11. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
6.4-magnitude quake hits Mexico
5/11/2014 3:00:11 AM
- Two days earlier, a 6.4-magnitude quake rattled the same region
- The earthquake hit southern Mexico
(CNN) -- A 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook southern Mexico early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The quake comes two days after a 6.4-magnitude quake rattled the same region.
The epicenter of Saturday's quake was 294 kilometers (183 miles) southwest of Mexico City.
Flight diverted to Ireland as crew fall ill
5/10/2014 10:17:33 PM
- US Airways flight makes forced landing at Dublin Airport
- Crew members experienced illness while en route from Italy to the United States
- They were evaluated for "nausea, running eyes and dizziness" and released
(CNN) -- A US Airways flight en route from Italy to the United States was diverted to Ireland after nine flight attendants became ill, officials said Saturday.
Responding to the medical complaints, the pilots switched gears over the Atlantic Ocean, making an emergency landing Saturday afternoon at Dublin Airport.
The nine flight attendants aboard US Airways Flight 715 complained of "nausea, running eyes and dizziness, while traveling from Venice to Philadelphia," Irish health officials said.
The flight attendants were evaluated, released and then returned to Philadelphia, according to US Airways spokeswoman Michelle Mohr.
A total of 185 passengers were on the flight.
There were no reports of illness from pilots or passengers, and they were put on other flights to Philadelphia, Mohr said.
According to flightaware.com, the plane is an Airbus A330-200.
Journalist Peter Taggart contributed to this report from Ireland.
Captive girls chant on video: 'Praise be to Allah'
5/12/2014 11:42:05 AM
- NEW: U.S. intelligence experts "combing over every detail of the video," official says
- In it, purported Boko Haram leader says he'll exchange the schoolgirls for prisoners
- The video shows girls in Muslim headdresses
- "Praise be to Allah, the lord of the world," the girls chant in video
(CNN) -- The girls sit quietly on the ground, dressed in traditional Islamic garb, barely moving, clearly scared.
"Praise be to Allah, the lord of the world," they chant.
The video, released by French news agency Agence France-Presse, purports to show about 100 of the 276 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram fighters nearly a month ago. It's the first time they've been seen since their abduction April 14.
In separate shots included in the 27-minute video, the group's leader says he would release the girls only after imprisoned members of Boko Haram are freed, according to AFP. But Nigerian officials insisted Monday that the man in the video can't be Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.
He's dead, they said, although experts doubt the claim and videos going back to last year show the same man calling himself Shekau.
Whoever he is, Nigeria's Interior Minister said the country isn't interested in negotiating a swap, anyway, AFP reported.
Experts reviewing video
If authentic, the video released Monday is the first glimpse of the girls since Boko Haram fighters snatched them from a boarding school in the northern Nigerian town of Chibok.
A senior administration official told CNN that U.S. officials have no reason to question its authenticity.
"Our intelligence experts are combing over every detail of the video for clues that might help in the ongoing efforts (to) secure the release of the girls," the official said.
The abductions have resulted in worldwide outrage directed at the terror group, and an influx of Western counterterrorism and law enforcement experts to help Nigeria fight it.
Filmed in a nondescript clearing surrounded by scrub and trees, the girls appear dressed in gray or black veils. Many look nervous or under duress. In one shot, a girl almost whispers a line from the Quran.
In separate shots filmed against a green backdrop, the man who claims to be Shekau says the girls -- who come from a Christian stronghold -- have converted to Islam.
Although the man appeared to open a window to the possibility of negotiating a swap -- the girls for Boko Haram prisoners held by Nigeria -- he also said he still plans to sell them into slavery.
Who's the man on the tape?
Government officials on Monday disputed that the man in the tape is Shekau.
Security forces have confirmed and are sure Shekau is dead, Marilyn Ogar, deputy director of State Security Services in Nigeria, told CNN. "So, whoever is speaking as Abubakar Shekau is not Abubakar Shekau."
The same man appears in Boko Haram videos claiming to be Shekau at least as far back as August. And at least one expert doubted Ogar's claim.
Jacob Zenn, an expert on Boko Haram at the Jamestown Foundation, a policy center based in Washington, said he is skeptical of the Nigerian claim unless it can be backed up with hard evidence.
He said Nigerian authorities have said Shekau was dead several times, only for him to resurface and for the Nigerian military subsequently to acknowledge he was alive.
"The two recent videos after the abduction of the girls look similar to most of the images, voice and mannerisms of Shekau in almost all Boko Haram videos, including videos when he was a local imam in northeastern Nigeria before 2010," Zenn said.
If the government's assertion turns out to be untrue, it wouldn't be the first time it has been wrong about the terror group since the girls' abductions. Early in their disappearance, government officials said many of the girls had been recovered -- news that, sadly, turned out to be incorrect.
A reason for optimism?
Some observers took the video as encouraging.
Not only would it prove that at least some girls are alive and unharmed, said retired U.S. Maj. Gen. James "Spider" Marks, a CNN military analyst, it also gives intelligence analysts something with which to work.
Nigerian government officials also took notice. The governor of the state where Chibok is located, Borno, ordered officials to distribute the video to parents to help identify the girls.
Gov. Kashim Shettima "views the development as encouraging especially given the fact that some of the girls said they were not harmed," his office said in a statement. "The Governor hopes that the girls did not speak under duress."
Despite the optimism, Marks said it will still be painfully difficult to find and rescue the girls after a month in the terror group's custody.
"We have to lower our expectations, sadly, as to what we think this result and outcome is going to look like," he told CNN's "New Day."
A daring escape
The girls have been missing since Boko Haram militants took them from their school in Chibok.
A CNN team made the dangerous journey to Chibok to gather firsthand accounts of the abductions.
Before the gun-wielding Islamist militants rode into town, residents said they got cell phone calls that the feared extremist group was on the way. Family and friends from surrounding villages told them of a convoy of cargo trucks, pickups and motorcycles.
Residents said they passed along warnings to local authorities that night. Police called for reinforcements, but none came. Everyone, including police, fled into the bush. But the girls remained asleep in their dorms.
CNN's Nima Elbagir toured the school, gutted by militants as they fled, and spoke with one of the girls who managed to escape Boko Haram fighters that night.
The girl told Elbagir how she made a dash for freedom after militants loaded them into trucks and drove them into the nearby Sambisa Forest.
"We ran into the bush," she said of her escape with two others. "We ran and we ran." Lost and terrified, she said, they later ran toward flames they presumed were rising from a building set ablaze by the militants in their hometown.
The escapees were lucky. The missing girls probably have been separated and taken out of the country by now, officials said.
"The search must be in Niger, Cameroon and Chad, to see if we can find information," said Gordon Brown, the former UK prime minister and a U.N. special envoy for global education.
But Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said he believes the girls are still in the forest where the militants disappeared shortly after their capture.
Global search effort
The international effort to find them is gaining steam.
U.S. and British officials are in the capital of Abuja to help look for the girls, plan rescue missions and advise on ways to quash the terror group.
China and France are also helping in the search. In addition, Israel plans to send a team of counterterrorism experts to help, Jonathan's office said Sunday.
The United States has said it has no plans to send combat troops.
The U.S. team is working to help the Nigerian military plan operations and boost its capacity, providing investigation and intelligence support, advising on hostage negotiations and other issues, a senior State Department official told CNN's Elise Labott.
Why did help arrive so late?
The United States offered assistance immediately after the mass abductions, but Nigeria turned it down until it became apparent that the situation needed a greater response, senior U.S. State Department officials told CNN.
They echo comments made last week by Secretary of State John Kerry, who said that the United States has been engaged since Day One.
An explosive report Friday accused military commanders of knowing the terror group was headed to the school at least four hours in advance. However, the report said, they were unable to raise enough troops to respond.
The findings by human rights group Amnesty International mirror accounts by parents and villagers, who described to CNN an ineffective military response in the days and weeks after the abductions.
Nigeria's information and defense ministries disputed the report.
The moment the Nigerian government heard of the kidnappings, "we went in to action," Information Minister Labaran Maku said.
"We shouldn't turn this into a trial of the Nigerian government."
CNN Exclusive: Nigerian girl who escaped Boko Haram says she still feels afraid
Read: Playing dead allowed him to survive massacre
Opinion: What gives Boko Haram its strength?
Journalist Aminu Abubakar reported from Kano, Nigeria, and CNN's Faith Karimi and Michael Pearson reported from Atlanta. CNN's Lillian Leposo, Vladimir Duthiers and Paul Cruikshank also contributed to this report.
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