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Cameroon: 'We're here to declare war on Boko Haram'
5/17/2014 10:35:19 AM
- NEW: Boko Haram acts as an al Qaeda operation in central Africa, Nigeria says
- NEW: Boko Haram is a terror threat beyond Africa, French president says
- "We're here to declare war on Boko Haram, Cameroon leader says
- Nigeria military defends its response
Full coverage of CNN international correspondent Nima Elbagir's Chibok journey will screen on CNN International on Saturday 17 May at 2100 CET, Sunday 18 May at 0030 CET, 0400 CET and 1200 CET and Monday 19 May at 0730 CET.
(CNN) -- Participants in a security summit in Paris about Nigeria and Boko Haram agreed Saturday on "a plan of action" for countries to share intelligence and surveillance "in order to find those young girls," said French President François Hollande.
He was referring to Boko Haram's kidnapping of nearly 300 girls in Nigeria.
The summit prompted partnering countries "to take stronger measures to eradicate" the extremist Islamist group, Cameroon President Paul Biya said.
"We're here to declare war on Boko Haram," Biya said.
Boko Haram is a now bigger terror threat than first portrayed -- beyond Nigeria and even Africa -- Hollande said.
"Boko Haram is an organization that is linked to terrorism in Africa and whose will is to destabilize the north of Nigeria, certainly, and all the neighboring countries of Nigeria and beyond that region," Hollande said.
Nigeria now has 20,000 troops, plus aircraft and intelligence sources, in parts of the country where Boko Haram is active, said Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
"Boko Haram is no longer a local terror group," Jonathan said. "It is clearly operating as an al Qaeada operation" in central Africa, he said.
The summit
The Nigerian President joined Saturday's summit of African presidents and Western representatives on the growing threat from Boko Haram as U.S. officials expressed concerns about his military's ability to rescue hundreds of schoolgirls abducted last month.
The terror group abducted nearly 300 girls on April 14 from a boarding school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria.
Dozens escaped, but more than 200 girls are still missing. Nigerians have accused their government of not acting swiftly or efficiently enough to protect the girls seized in the dead of night.
And the criticism shows no signs of abating, even from allies who've pledged to help in the rescue mission. The United States, China and Britain are among a handful of nations providing advice.
The United States is using drones and manned surveillance aircraft in the search, but has said Nigeria is reluctant to use the information provided.
"The division in the north that mainly is engaging with Boko Haram, the 7th Division, has recently shown signs of real fear," said Alice Friend, African Affairs director for the Department of Defense. "They do not have the capabilities, the training or the equipment that Boko Haram does, and Boko Haram is exceptionally brutal and indiscriminate in their attacks."
"I would say an even greater concern is the incapacity of the Nigerian military and the Nigerian government's failure to provide leadership to the military," Friend said Thursday at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
For now, the United States is not sharing raw intelligence from its surveillance aircraft with Nigeria's armed forces because the countries have not established the intelligence-sharing protocols and safeguards needed for such an agreement, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said Wednesday.
There's also concern about how the information will be used by a military that's been accused of human rights violations itself.
"We have sought assurances from them... that they will use any information that we pass to them from this (intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance) support in a manner consistent with international humanitarian and human rights law," Friend explained.
Nigeria has been accused of not doing enough to protect the girls abducted from a militant hotbed that was already under a state of emergency.
But a spokesman for the military defended the nation's response.
"Borno State is under a state of emergency, over 90,000 square kilometers," said Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade. "Are you saying we should deploy ... soldiers in over 90,000 kilometers -- one soldier per kilometer? You can imagine that expense for one of the states under a state of emergency."
As the search for the girls continues, regional leaders met in Paris to discuss the militant group's escalating threat to the region. Hollande hosted the security summit at Elysée Palace.
In addition to Nigerian President Jonathan, the leaders of Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger addressed regional security issues. The United States, the European Union and Britain were expected to send representatives.
CNN's Mariano Castillo contributed to this report.
Atletico crowned La Liga champions
5/17/2014 3:05:52 PM
- Atletico Madrid crowned champions of Spain following 1-1 draw against Barcelona
- Diego Godin's second-half goal at Camp Nou seals a first league title in 18 years
- Atletico will go for a historic double in Champions League final next weekend
- Diego Simeone's side face city rivals Real Madrid in Lisbon
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Barcelona, Spain (CNN) -- Atletico Madrid won the Spanish league title in extraordinary circumstances Saturday courtesy of a draw at Barcelona that denied the Catalan club the crown.
In a breathless end to a compelling La Liga season, the 1-1 draw meant Atletico won their first championship since 1995/96 and in doing so they broke the hearts of the majority of the 98,000 fans present at the Camp Nou.
It was the Uruguayan defender Diego Godin who wrote his name into Los Rojiblancos' folklore, the 28-year-old rising high to plant a header into the Barca net just after halftime and stun the home side who were hoping to win their fourth title in only five seasons.
But after Godin had canceled out Alexis Sanchez's fabulous first-half strike for Barca, the defending champions could find no way back against a team which has defied the odds for most of the season.
Now Atleti will turn their attentions to the unlikeliest of doubles as they face city rivals Real Madrid in a mouthwatering Champions League final in Libson next Saturday.
As a result they will not have long to celebrate this triumph, but it is nevertheless one of huge significance as it has broken the stranglehold Barcelona and Real Madrid have enjoyed over the rest of La Liga for a decade.
The last time neither of the biggest two teams finished top of the pile was in 2003/04, when Valencia beat Barca to the title.
Barca, in truth, looked a shadow of the side that has dominated Spanish football for half a decade. After a season of turmoil on and off the pitch, Gerardo Martino's side simply did not have the tactical nous or energy with which to overpower an Atletico team who refused to bow to their more illustrious opponents.
It has been a chastening few months for Barcelona. President Sando Rosell resigned in January after allegations surrounding the acquisition of Brazilian forward Neymar last summer, former coach Tito Vilanova tragically passed away in April and club lynchpins Carles Puyol and Victor Valdes have said their goodbyes as they leave the Camp Nou for pastures new.
All the while Barca have struggled on the pitch after a superb start to the season, exiting the Champions League at the hands of Atletico and losing the Spanish Cup final to Real Madrid in April, in the meantime letting the title slip out of their grasp when it was theirs to lose after a 4-3 win at Real in March.
Down to the wire
It was the league no-one could win as Barca, Real and Atleti all threw away points in the final few weeks of the season; the underdogs from Madrid blowing their first chance to win the title outright when they were held 1-1 at home by Malaga last weekend while Barca were drawing 0-0 in Elche.
But when it came down to Saturday's once-in-a-lifetime showdown at one of the great cathedrals in world sport, Atletico did not fluff their lines, instead producing a performance that owed more to glorious guts and determination than the glamorous 'tiki-taka' style with which Barca have won trophies and hearts aplenty in recent years.
And in a league that swung from Barcelona to Real Madrid to Atletico and back all season long, it was no surprise that the once-in-a-lifetime final day showdown saved some of its best twists and turns for the dramatic denouement.
Going into the Camp Nou contest Atleti were three points ahead of Barca and knew a draw would be enough; Barca needed to win and they would take the title by virtue of a better head-to-head record, which is how the final standings in Spain are determined.
In glorious sunshine Barca began brighter and Atleti were soon rocked by injuries to two of their most decisive players, as first talismanic striker Diego Costa -- reportedly on his way to Chelsea in the summer -- and then classy midfielder Arda Turan limped off in tears at the prospect of their seasons being curtailed so cruelly.
When Alexis seized on a Lionel Messi chest pass in the Atleti box after 33 minutes and rifled a ferocious right-foot shot into the roof of the net from an audacious angle, suddenly Barca were the ones in the driving seat.
But they were also suddenly the ones with everything to lose, and Atletico had clearly not come so far to be denied.
It was the first time Barca had led Atleti in a match since February 2012, seven meetings ago, and they looked uncomfortable doing so as the visitors took the game to them with renewed gusto.
Heading into history books
At the start of the second half they came out like a train, and after David Villa -- who won the title with Barca last year -- struck the base of the post, Godin rose majestically to score the goal his career and this most remarkable of seasons will be remembered for.
If Atletico looked like they had thrown it away before they were not going to make the same mistake again.
Neymar entered the fray for Barca and he gave them a much greater attacking potency, but Simeone has his team playing in his own image and they blocked and tackled and leaped and chased as if their very lives depended on it.
Messi had a goal rightly ruled out for offside and Dani Alves' 25-yarder stung the palms of Thibaut Courtois in the Atlei goal but they allowed Barca no closer and as the minutes ticked down, the illogical turned into the inevitable.
The 480-strong band of Atleti fans -- parked right up in the gods at the imposing Camp Nou -- sung their hearts out, and when the final whistle came and their coaching staff raced on to the pitch to celebrate, the players collapsed as one to the turf in collective disbelief at what they had just done.
In the face of such heartbreak, the reaction from the Barca fans was magical -- they stood to a man to applaud the team that had just deposed them as Spanish champions and even sang "Atleti, Atleti" as the players rose to their feet to acknowledge what was happening around them.
If winning the league with a playing budget one-fifth the size of Barca's and Real's is a modern day fairy tale in a sport where money increasingly talks, then this finale was pure Hans Christian Andersen.
In Lisbon next Saturday, the brilliant Simeone will hope to cause yet another mighty upset and write one final, captivating chapter in the remarkable story of Atletico Madrid's season.
Arsenal end trophy drought
5/17/2014 4:36:24 PM
- Arsenal's nine-year wait for a trophy is over following FA Cup triumph against Hull City
- Arsene Wenger's side fightback from two goals down to win 3-2 in extra time
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(CNN) -- Arsenal overturned a two-goal deficit to beat Hull City 3-2 after extra time in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Aaron Ramsey's strike in the 109th-minute sealed an 11th victory in England's premier cup competition and a first trophy in nine years for Arsene Wenger's side.
Unfancied Hull, who were playing in their first FA Cup final, raced into a 2-0 lead in a frantic opening to the match.
In the fourth minute, James Chester redirected a Tom Huddlestone volley shot past Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabiański.
Five minutes later Curtis Davies found the back of the net again, side-footing home after the Polish keeper had deflected Alex Bruce's header onto the post.
Santi Cazorla halved the deficit with a superbly taken free-kick in the 17th minute, but Wenger's side remained second best for the remainder of the half as Hull successfully disrupted the north Londoner's usually fluent passing game.
Steve Bruce's men continued to frustrate Arsenal who were becoming more potent in open play, but it was another set piece that ended up unlocking Hull's defense -- Laurent Koscielny turning the ball in from a corner kick in the 71st minute.
Deadlock ensued for the remainder of normal time but as the game moved into the first extra period, it was Arsenal who grew in stature as Hull's players wilted.
Aaron Ramsey finally delivered the killer blow, firing a low shot past goalkeeper Allan McGregor to send Arsenal ahead for the first time in the match.
As the clock ticked down Hull searched gamely for an equalizer and nearly got one when Fabianski rushed out from his area, but substitute Sone Aluko's shot from a tight angle rolled agonizingly across the face of goal.
"I'm very happy for the players," Arsene Wenger told ITV Sport after the game. "I think it is a turning point in the lifespan of this team -- to know that they can win in that way was very important today."
"I have praised many times the spirit of this team and I'm very proud of them today," the 64-year-old added.
"Congratulations to Hull, they played fantastic for the whole game today. We won it in the end but they played very well."
Cameroon: 'We're here to declare war on Boko Haram'
5/17/2014 2:43:26 PM
- NEW: France will not intervene militarily in Nigeria, president says
- Cameroon soldier killed, 10 Chinese missing, one injured after Boko Haram attack
- Boko Haram acts as an al Qaeda operation in central Africa, Nigeria says
- "We're here to declare war on Boko Haram," Cameroon leader says at summit
Full coverage of CNN international correspondent Nima Elbagir's Chibok journey will screen on CNN International on Saturday 17 May at 2100 CET, Sunday 18 May at 0030 CET, 0400 CET and 1200 CET and Monday 19 May at 0730 CET.
(CNN) -- Nigeria and four neighboring countries will share intelligence and border surveillance in the hunt for more than 200 Nigerian girls still held by Boko Haram, and Western nations will provide technical expertise and training to the new regional African effort against the extreme Islamists.
The plan was announced Saturday at the conclusion of a security summit in Paris hosted by French President François Hollande.
Hollande described Boko Haram as now a bigger terror threat than first portrayed -- beyond Nigeria and even Africa.
"Boko Haram is an organization that is linked to terrorism in Africa and whose will is to destabilize the north of Nigeria, certainly, and all the neighboring countries of Nigeria and beyond that region," he said.
Cameroon President Paul Biya was more forceful in describing how partnering countries will "take stronger measures to eradicate" the extremist Islamist group.
"We're here to declare war on Boko Haram," Biya said.
As the summit took place Saturday, reports emerged about the latest apparent Boko Haram attack, this one in Cameroon.
Hollande said one Cameroonian soldier was killed in the Friday night attack against Chinese nationals in northern Cameroon, which is known as a stronghold for the Islamic extremists.
Ten Chinese nationals are missing after the attack, a Chinese official said Saturday. One injured person was being treated by a Chinese medical team in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena, said Lu Quinjiang, first counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon's capital.
Nigerian military
France "will not intervene" militarily in Nigeria because Nigeria "has military forces that are available and efficient," Hollande said during an interview with France 24 that aired late Saturday.
The Nigerian military suffered an embarrassing setback in April when it retracted a report that nearly all the kidnapped girls were released. In fact, the girls, taken from a boarding school in Chibok, were still missing.
Nigeria now has 20,000 troops, plus aircraft and intelligence sources, in parts of its nation where Boko Haram is active, said President Goodluck Jonathan.
"Boko Haram is no longer a local terror group," Jonathan said. "It is clearly operating as an al Qaeda operation" in central Africa, he said.
"The major challenge that we have faced in our search and rescue operation so far has been the deluge of misinformation about the whereabouts of the girls and the circumstances of their disappearance," the President added.
Boko Haram's guerrilla campaign has claimed 12,000 lives, with 8,000 people injured or maimed since 2009, Jonathan said.
Nigeria will coordinate patrols, pool intelligence and exchange weapons and human trafficking information with Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, according to the agreement reached at the summit.
France, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union "will coordinate their support for this regional cooperation" through technical expertise, training programs and support for border-area management programs, a summit statement said.
The participants agreed that the United Kingdom will host a follow-up meeting next month to review the action plan.
In the meantime, participants committed to accelerating international sanctions against Boko Haram and its leaders through the United Nations.
Boko Haram translates as "Western education is a sin" in the Hausa language. The militant group says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south. Boko Haram's attacks have intensified in recent years.
The summit
The Nigerian President joined Saturday's summit of African presidents and U.S., UK and EU representatives on the growing threat from Boko Haram as American officials expressed concerns about his military's ability to rescue hundreds of schoolgirls abducted last month.
The terror group abducted an estimated 276 girls on April 14 from a boarding school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria.
Dozens escaped, but more than 200 girls are still missing. Nigerians have accused their government of not acting swiftly or efficiently enough to protect the girls seized in the dead of night.
And the criticism shows no signs of abating, even from allies who've pledged to help in the rescue mission. The United States, China and Britain are among a handful of nations providing advice.
The United States is using drones and manned surveillance aircraft in the search, but has said Nigeria is reluctant to use the information provided.
"The division in the north that mainly is engaging with Boko Haram, the 7th Division, has recently shown signs of real fear," said Alice Friend, African Affairs director for the Department of Defense. "They do not have the capabilities, the training or the equipment that Boko Haram does, and Boko Haram is exceptionally brutal and indiscriminate in their attacks."
"I would say an even greater concern is the incapacity of the Nigerian military and the Nigerian government's failure to provide leadership to the military," Friend said Thursday at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
For now, the United States is not sharing raw intelligence from its surveillance aircraft with Nigeria's armed forces because the countries have not established the intelligence-sharing protocols and safeguards needed for such an agreement, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said Wednesday.
There's also concern about how the information will be used by a military that's been accused of human rights violations itself.
"We have sought assurances from them... that they will use any information that we pass to them from this (intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance) support in a manner consistent with international humanitarian and human rights law," Friend explained.
Nigeria has been accused of not doing enough to protect the girls abducted from a militant hotbed that was already under a state of emergency.
But a spokesman for the military defended the nation's response.
"Borno State is under a state of emergency, over 90,000 square kilometers," said Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade. "Are you saying we should deploy ... soldiers in over 90,000 kilometers -- one soldier per kilometer? You can imagine that expense for one of the states under a state of emergency."
CNN's Mariano Castillo, Nana Karikari-apau and Christabelle Fombu contributed to this report.
California Chrome wins Preakness
5/18/2014 1:55:19 AM
- Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome moves a step closer to Triple Crown
- California Chrome held off Ride On Curlin in the 10-horse field
- Jockey Victor Espinoza will get his second shot at the Triple Crown
- Espinoza rode War Emblem to Derby, Preakness wins in 2002, but didn't win Belmont
(CNN) -- Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome won the 139th running of the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore on Saturday with a burst at the homestretch -- moving a step closer to the illustrious and elusive Triple Crown.
California Chrome was heavily favored in the 10-horse field.
With Victor Espinoza riding, the colt held off a hard-charging Ride On Curlin to take the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Social Inclusion finished third.
Now, with the Kentucky Derby and Preakness victories, if California Chrome wins the Belmont Stakes next month in New York, he'll be the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to achieve the ultimate feat in thoroughbred racing.
A former bus driver in his native Mexico City, Espinoza, 41, has ridden in the Preakness six times, including on War Emblem in 2002. After winning both the Derby and Preakness that year, War Emblem finished eighth in the Belmont Stakes.
"It is an awesome feeling to be able to have a horse like California Chrome," Espinoza told NBC Sports after the race. "It was just a crazy race ... I got more tired mentally than physically riding him. But it worked out well, and he's just an amazing horse."
Art Sherman describes California Chrome in no uncertain terms: "Pure and simple, he's a rock star." The 77-year-old trainer says the horse loves posing for pictures, loves the buzz of the track.
After the race, Sherman had tears rolling under his dark sunglasses.
"I knew we had to run harder this race," he told NBC. "He's a real racehorse and I'm hoping that the mile and half [in Belmont] is up his alley, too... It's a dream for any trainer to do this."
Of the 38 horses that won both the Derby and Preakness, only 11 went on to victory in the Belmont Stakes, which covers a greater distance than either of the preceding Triple Crown races.
The winning colt even has his own official Twitter handle: @calchrome. After the race came this tweet: "Start spreading the news #Chromies we are going to New York!"
California Chrome was delivered by a mare named Love the Chase that Steve Coburn and co-owner Perry Martin bought for $8,000 with a view to breeding. She was bred to the stallion Lucky Pulpit for a reduced fee of $2,000, the first breeding the novice pair had ever undertaken. Their offspring had earned Coburn and Perry more than $2.3 million in prize money before the Preakness, also chalking up wins at the Santa Anita Derby, San Felipe Stakes and California Cup Derby.
California Chrome is being compared by some to Seabiscuit, the beloved, undersized bay who -- though he never competed in a Triple Crown race -- outran Triple Crown winner War Admiral in a match race at Pimlico in 1938 and became a symbol of hope and determination.
"I do believe he's that, like Seabiscuit," Coburn said. "He became the people's horse in the Depression because he was the little guy kicking the big guy. We're doing that in the same kind of way. No one ever gave it any credence, and we shouldn't be where we are now."
California Chrome will try to win that final jewel at Belmont Park in Hempstead, New York, on June 7.
"You know what?" Espinoza said, "we'll get it done."
Matt Majendie contributed to this report.
China evacuates more than 3,000 citizens from Vietnam
5/18/2014 1:45:17 AM
- China has evacuated more than 3,000 citizens from Vietnam, Xinhua reports
- Anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam descended into deadly violence last week
- The unrest was provoked by Chinese oil drilling in disputed waters
- Vietnamese authorities have arrested hundreds and are calling for protests to stop
Hong Kong (CNN) -- China has evacuated more than 3,000 of its citizens from Vietnam and is sending ships to retrieve more of them after deadly anti-Chinese violence erupted last week over a territorial dispute between the two countries.
Five Chinese ships will travel to Vietnam to help with the evacuation, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported Sunday, citing the Ministry of Transport. One of the ships has already set off from the southern island province of Hainan, the ministry said.
Sixteen critically injured Chinese citizens were flown out of Vietnam on Sunday morning on a chartered medical plane organized by Chinese authorities, Xinhua said.
Two Chinese workers were killed and more than 100 others were injured in the violence that hit parts of Vietnam last week, according to the news agency. Some of the worst violence appeared to have taken place in the central coastal province of Ha Tinh.
Foreign factories, particularly those run by companies from China and Taiwan, were burned and looted by rioters outraged over Beijing's decision to send an oil rig into waters of the South China Sea that both countries claim as sovereign territory.
Protests spin out of control
Vietnamese authorities initially allowed protests, which are usually forbidden in the country, to take place over the Chinese move. But after the unrest spiraled lethally out of control, the government tried to rein in its angry citizens.
On Saturday, the government sent out a series of text messages to cell-phone users saying Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung was urging people "not to participate in illegal protests that cause public disorder and harm social safety."
Chinese officials have repeatedly called on Vietnam to take action over the riots, protect Chinese citizens and help victims.
Vietnamese authorities have arrested hundreds of suspects and started legal proceedings against several of them, Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA reported Saturday, citing Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang.
He described the attacks as regrettable, saying dozens of police officers were injured as they tried to bring the situation under control.
Ships clash at sea
But out in the South China Sea, neither side appears to be showing any sign of backing down over the territorial dispute that sparked the violence.
VNA on Saturday accused China of continuing to show "its aggressiveness by sending more military ships" to the area around the oil rig. Vietnam has demanded that China immediately withdraw the rig from the disputed waters.
The news agency cited Nguyen Van Trung, an official at the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department, as saying that China had 119 ships in the area on Saturday morning, including warships, coast guard vessels and fishing boats.
Some of the ships were provoking the Vietnamese vessels by ramming them and firing water cannons at them, he said.
'We are not afraid of trouble'
China, for its part, has continued to accuse Vietnamese ships of similar acts, saying they are trying to disrupt the oil rig's drilling operation. It has declared a three-mile exclusion zone around the rig, which is operated by the state-owned oil and gas company CNOOC.
"We do not make trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble," Gen. Fang Fenghui, the chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, said Thursday during a visit to the United States.
"In matters of territory, our attitude is firm. We won't give an inch," Fang said after meeting U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey.
Relations between China and Vietnam soured earlier this month, when the Chinese platform began drilling for oil near the Paracel Islands, which are claimed by both countries.
Beijing has laid claim to most of the South China Sea, putting it at odds with several of its neighbors in the region.
CNN's Samira Said and David McKenzie contributed to this report.
California Chrome wins Preakness
5/17/2014 7:27:09 PM
- Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome moves a step closer to Triple Crown
- California Chrome held off Ride On Curlin in the 10-horse field
- Jockey Victor Espinoza will get his second shot at the Triple Crown
- Espinoza rode War Emblem to Derby, Preakness wins in 2002, but didn't win Belmont
(CNN) -- Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome won the 139th running of the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore on Saturday with a burst at the homestretch -- moving a step closer to the illustrious and elusive Triple Crown.
California Chrome was heavily favored in the 10-horse field.
With Victor Espinoza riding, the colt held off a hard-charging Ride On Curlin to take the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Social Inclusion finished third.
Now, with the Kentucky Derby and Preakness victories, if California Chrome wins the Belmont Stakes next month in New York, he'll be the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to achieve the ultimate feat in thoroughbred racing.
A former bus driver in his native Mexico City, Espinoza, 41, has ridden in the Preakness six times, including on War Emblem in 2002. After winning both the Derby and Preakness that year, War Emblem finished eighth in the Belmont Stakes.
"It is an awesome feeling to be able to have a horse like California Chrome," Espinoza told NBC Sports after the race. "It was just a crazy race ... I got more tired mentally than physically riding him. But it worked out well, and he's just an amazing horse."
Art Sherman describes California Chrome in no uncertain terms: "Pure and simple, he's a rock star." The 77-year-old trainer says the horse loves posing for pictures, loves the buzz of the track.
After the race, Sherman had tears rolling under his dark sunglasses.
"I knew we had to run harder this race," he told NBC. "He's a real racehorse and I'm hoping that the mile and half [in Belmont] is up his alley, too... It's a dream for any trainer to do this."
Of the 38 horses that won both the Derby and Preakness, only 11 went on to victory in the Belmont Stakes, which covers a greater distance than either of the preceding Triple Crown races.
The winning colt even has his own official Twitter handle: @calchrome. After the race came this tweet: "Start spreading the news #Chromies we are going to New York!"
California Chrome was delivered by a mare named Love the Chase that Steve Coburn and co-owner Perry Martin bought for $8,000 with a view to breeding. She was bred to the stallion Lucky Pulpit for a reduced fee of $2,000, the first breeding the novice pair had ever undertaken. Their offspring had earned Coburn and Perry more than $2.3 million in prize money before the Preakness, also chalking up wins at the Santa Anita Derby, San Felipe Stakes and California Cup Derby.
California Chrome is being compared by some to Seabiscuit, the beloved, undersized bay who -- though he never competed in a Triple Crown race -- outran Triple Crown winner War Admiral in a match race at Pimlico in 1938 and became a symbol of hope and determination.
"I do believe he's that, like Seabiscuit," Coburn said. "He became the people's horse in the Depression because he was the little guy kicking the big guy. We're doing that in the same kind of way. No one ever gave it any credence, and we shouldn't be where we are now."
California Chrome will try to win that final jewel at Belmont Park in Hempstead, New York, on June 7.
"You know what?" Espinoza said, "we'll get it done."
Matt Majendie contributed to this report.
Nadal and Djokovic reach Rome final
5/17/2014 5:55:59 PM
- Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic take alternative routes to Rome final
- Spaniard a straight sets winner over Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov
- Djokovic slugs it out over three sets with Milos Raonic
- Serena Williams to play home favorite Sara Errani in women's final
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(CNN) -- Defending champion Rafael Nadal is through to the final of the Rome Masters after comfortably seeing off Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals.
The world No. 1, who battled past Andy Murray in three sets on Friday, made lighter work of his Bulgarian opponent on Saturday winning through in straight sets 6-2 6-2 in just over an hour and 20 minutes.
"I played a solid match and was very good with my backhand," Nadal said, ATPWorldTour.com reported.
"Yesterday I played a great match and today was a good confirmation that I play better, that the forehand starts to fly again, the top spins as well. A lot of positive things."
The Spaniard, who will be going for an eighth crown in the Italian capital, will be fresher than his Serb adversary who navigated a slightly more circuitous route to a fifth final in Rome.
The world No. 2 was out on court nearly three hours against Canada's Milos Raonic but eventually prevailed in three sets 6-7 (7/5) 7-6 (7/4) 6-3.
"It was a big win," said Djokovic, ATPWorldTour.com reported. "Because it gives me a lot of strength and belief that I hope I can carry into tomorrow's final and the rest of the season.
"He played at a high level, especially on his serve, and I cannot recall the last time when I felt so helpless in the return games. I couldn't really read his serve."
Over in the women's draw, Italy's Sara Errani is through to Sunday's final.
The world No. 11 saw off Serbia's Jelena Jankovic 6-3 7-5 and now has a shot at becoming the first Italian winner since Raffaella Reggi triumphed in 1985.
Standing in her way is world No. 1 Serena Williams who needed three sets (6-1 3-6 6-1) to see off another Serb, Ana Ivanovic.
The American has a 6-0 record against Errani with only one of those matches -- a second round tie on the hard courts in Dubai -- going to three sets. But Williams, who is looking to clinch a third title in Rome, isn't underestimating her opponent.
"I think she's improved immensely, even in the just the last two weeks," Williams said of Errani, WTATennis.com reported.
"She's taken her game to another level and has a lot of confidence having beaten two really good Top 10 players (Li Na and Jankovic). I have a lot of work to do to beat her and she also has nothing to lose."
Read more: Nadal sees off Murray
Opinion: Disaster exposes Turkey
5/16/2014 9:22:23 PM
- Karabekir Akkoyunlu: Disaster exposes Turkey as 21st-century Dickensian dystopia
- Those in power have displayed a brazen lack of humility and sense of responsibility, he says
- Akkoyunlu: Erdogan views such "accidents" as unfortunate but unavoidable side effects
- Erdogan cannot sustain his popularity through nationalist propaganda, he writes
Editor's note: Karabekir Akkoyunlu is researcher at the London School of Economics where he focuses on socio-political change in Turkey and Iran. Follow him on Twitter. The views expressed in this commentary are solely the author's.
(CNN) -- The Soma mining disaster is already the deadliest industrial catastrophe in Turkey's history. Yet Turks are unable to grieve for the appalling loss of human life. Utter shock and fury are the overriding public sentiments against the brazen lack of humility and sense of responsibility displayed by those in positions of power, both in the government and private sector.
But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's scandalous attempt to justify the death of more than 280 miners by pointing to mining disasters that occurred in France, Britain and the United States more than a century ago reveals more than the worldview of a ruthless politician with a skewed sense of chronology.
It also exposes Turkey for what it has become: a grim 21st-century Dickensian dystopia, where a new class of political and business elite grows rich and powerful on the back of cheap labor and expendable lives.
The comparison with 19th century Europe is hardly superfluous: worker's rights have been systematically weakened and are routinely violated in Turkey since the 1980s, to the extent that the country was "blacklisted" by the International Labor Organisation (ILO) in 2008. Trade unions, once powerful and influential, have been emasculated and seen their ranks dwindle. Over a million subcontracted workers in the public and private sector are without job security, deprived of their right to join unions and participate in collective bargaining.
Cheap labor and weak regulation make Turkey an attractive destination for industrial production and fuel the country's construction sector, which has been driving growth over the past decade. Yet they also come with a terrible price tag: the ILO ranked Turkey first in Europe and third in the world for fatal work accidents in 2012. Coal mining is among the deadliest of professions. According to a 2010 report by the Turkish think tank TEPAV, the ratio of deaths to production capacity in Turkey was five times the figure for China and 361 times the figure for the U.S., two of the world's leading coal producers.
An overwhelming majority of the work related deaths are caused by poor working conditions, inadequate training and a general lack of job security, and are thus preventable. Erdogan seems to disagree. "Dying," he declared following an explosion that killed 30 workers at a Zonguldak mine in 2010, "is the fate of the miner." In Soma, he casually suggested that accidents were in the nature of this work; they were "usual things."
As he spoke, his normally animated face remained calm and expressionless, devoid of any visible sign of remorse or empathy. He accepted no responsibility, including for his party's rejection of a parliamentary proposal by the opposition CHP only three weeks ago to investigate a string of past accidents and deaths at the very mining facility in Soma.
It would appear that Erdogan views such "accidents" as unfortunate but unavoidable side effects of Turkey's rise as a regional power under his leadership. After all, no empire is built without the blood and sacrifice of the nation, whose "will" he claims to embody and grandeur he seeks to restore.
As in Britain and France at the turn of the last century, tales of imperial glory constitute a central part of the ruling AKP's populist discourse. And in a country that is deeply divided along identity issues, especially along the secular versus religious fault line, such discourse has powerful appeal.
But even Erdogan cannot sustain his tremendous popularity through nationalist propaganda and perpetuated feelings of social resentment, if he and his aides continue to dismiss the plight of "his people" and respond to their ultimate sacrifice with kicks and punches.
In this regard, the Soma disaster may turn out to be a watershed moment. Numerous times in recent years, the government's security apparatus harassed those who were experiencing unspeakable agony for having lost loved ones, some at the state's own hands. The families of those killed in an airstrike near the Kurdish village of Roboski in December 2011, in the terror attack in Reyhanli in May 2013, or during the anti-government protests across the country since last June have been deprived of their right to grieve and forced into a continuous state shock and outrage.
But these were mostly poor Kurds, Alevis or secular Turks, who are unlikely to support Erdogan's party. In Soma, on the other hand, the AKP is popular. It carried the town comfortably both in the general election in 2011 and the municipal election held in March this year. And it is here that the AKP's headquarters have been ransacked, and the prime minister hackled and called on to resign by furious residents.
In Huxley's Brave New World, "soma" was the hallucinogenic substance used by the state to induce a feeling of contentment and happiness among citizens. It remains to be seen whether in Erdogan's Brave New Turkey, Soma will have the opposite effect.
READ: Image of PM's aide kicking protester stokes anger over Turkey mine fire
READ: Despair, anger, dwindling hope after Turkey coal mine fire
Who is Modi?
5/17/2014 1:13:00 AM
- India's Prime Minister-in-waiting Narendra Modi is a polarizing figure
- Critics say the pro-business Hindu nationalist is a threat to secular, liberal traditions
- He led the state of Gujarat through a period of strong economic growth
- But his relationship with the country's huge Muslim minority has come under scrutiny
(CNN) -- What will Narendra Modi's India look like?
The country's prime minister-in-waiting -- a staunch Hindu nationalist and the Chief Minister of the western state of Gujarat since 2001 -- is a deeply polarizing figure and an unproven commodity on the international stage.
Analysts predict his arrival in the country's top office will bring a marked change in direction for the world's most populous democracy, a nation whose modern character has been defined by the inclusive, secular and liberal approach of the Congress Party, which has governed for most of the post-independence era.
The only question, they say, is how great a departure Modi's premiership will be from what has come before.
"There will be a big change," analyst and journalist Arati Jerath told CNN ahead of the announcement of his Bharatiya Janata Party's (Indian People's Party) sweep at the polls.
"The desire for change very clearly (is there)... I think people are looking for another kind of government.
"His vision for India is not the kind of inclusive, secularist vision that we have been used to -- it is a much more right-wing, pro-Hindu vision," she said.
"I ... see an increase in social tension with groups that are not included in his vision."
Administrator-in-chief
The 63-year-old former tea seller's immense popularity -- a Pew survey ahead of the elections found nearly 80% of respondents held a positive view of him -- stems in large part from his reputation as a tough, "can-do" administrator, the man with the medicine to kickstart India's stuttering economy.
Analyst and journalist Arati Jerath
"Modi is a good administrator," said Ramesh Menon, author of an unauthorized biography of the politician. "He is very strict, gets things done. There is a fear element."
His popularity comes in spite of a lack of strong personal charisma. Seen as hardworking and conservative, Modi had failed to establish an "emotional connect" with voters during campaigning, said Jerath.
Instead, his claim to the nation's top office has largely rested on his track record since 2001 in charge of Gujarat, a state of some 60 million people whose China-like rates of growth in recent years have been eyed enviously by the rest of the country.
'The Gujarat model'
The so-called "Gujarat model" of development means a focus on infrastructure, urbanization and eradicating red tape -- seen as a much-needed tonic for a country ranked 179th in the world by the World Bank in terms of ease of starting a business.
A sharp contrast to the traditional approach of the outgoing Congress Party -- which has focused on promoting inclusive growth involving a raft of welfare schemes -- it's proven highly attractive to business. India stocks have risen almost 18% this year at the prospect of a Modi-led government.
India's largest conglomerate, the Tata Group, relocated a car plant into the state four years ago, a move the company's former chairman Ratan Tata credits in part to Modi's involvement.
"In effect, (Modi) delivered in three days what other states which were also trying to woo us could only offer their best endeavors to do," he told CNN's Fareed Zakaria. "No side deals, no quid pro quos."
Ramesh Menon, Modi biographer
The promise of economic development is just as enticing to the public, and resonates particularly with the aspirations of the 100 million young voters who were eligible to cast their ballots for the first time in 2014, said Dilip Dutta, director of the South Asian Studies Group at the University of Sydney.
"These young voters are exposed through electronic media to the whole world, and have a dream of moving forward -- not lagging behind as their fathers and grandfathers have for decades."
Greater inequality?
But not everyone is convinced about Modi's economic prescription.
Mohan Guruswamy, a political analyst at Delhi's Center for Policy Alternatives, told CNN that Modi's record in Gujarat has been overhyped.
"There is no 'Gujarat model,' and there are other states with faster economic growth," he said during an interview in the build-up to the election.
Moreover, many feel that economic development in the state has been unequally distributed, and not matched with corresponding gains in human development.
"It really is a model that favors people who already have access to things like education and business possibilities," said Jerath. "He offers very little to the poor, to the weaker section and I think that this is a major weakness."
While she believed Modi's leadership would see an increase in foreign and domestic investment, his corporate agenda would also likely lead to conflict with India's vocal civil society groups.
Analyst and journalist Arati Jerath
"I see a rise in social tension because people have become much more conscious and they don't want to to give up their land so easily just because Modi wants to clear the way forward for business," she said.
"There will be tension over forest land, there will be tension over agricultural land... It will be a very interesting thing to see how he manages the challenges."
Too autocratic?
Modi's hard-nosed, occasionally abrasive leadership style will also present a marked departure for a country accustomed to a more consensus-driven approach, analysts believe.
"I see Modi as an extraordinarily ambitious man, quite ruthless in the pursuit of his ambition," said Jerath.
Guruswamy, who knows Modi personally, likens his vision of a "right-wing, authoritarian corporate state" as closer to the model in China, and questions whether his divisive, autocratic tendencies will translate well in a country as boisterously democratic as India.
"It's not a place where you can press buttons -- you have to work with people," he said. "The prime minister of India has to be the supreme conciliator, reconciling the aspirations and demands of thousands of groups. It's not like China where you can turn off Weibo one day -- you can't be autocratic or they'll cut you out."
Mohan Guruswamy, analyst
Journalist and blogger Sunny Hundal also sees Modi as a challenge to the country's established liberal, secular order, writing in a CNN opinion piece that the signs were there that his government would "be much less tolerant of criticism, hostile towards press freedom, and further polarize the country along religious lines."
OPINION: Does Modi threaten secular and liberal India?
Modi and Muslims
The greatest concerns about a Modi premiership revolve around his ability, as a hardline Hindu nationalist, to lead a country as culturally and religiously diverse as India.
Since he was a boy -- the third of six children born to a family of grocers in the city of Vadnagar -- Modi has been a supporter of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing pro-Hindu social movement.
His track record with India's 180 million-strong Muslim community, the country's second largest religious group, has come under intense scrutiny.
Less than a year after Modi assumed office in Gujarat in late 2001, the state was wracked with anti-Muslim violence, in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
Modi was criticized for not doing enough to halt the violence, but a Supreme Court-ordered investigation absolved him of blame last year. Modi subsequently expressed regret over the riots but was criticized for not apologizing.
The U.S. State Department denied Modi a visa in 2005 over the issue, and has since not said how it will handle a future visa application from him.
The tensions are not merely a relic of the past. As recently as September last year, more than 60 people were killed and tens of thousands displaced in religious riots in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh state. Most of the affected were Muslims.
Mohan Guruswamy, analyst
Hundal notes that during the election campaign, Modi appeared alongside associates including a Gujarati politician who made inflammatory speeches speaking of "revenge" for the 2002 riots and called on voters to reject parties with Muslim candidates.
Amid what many see as a rising tide of intolerance drummed up by Hindu nationalist groups, some Muslims fear what a Modi-led government means for their community.
"We all remember what he did in Gujarat," one unnamed Muslim man told CNN. "For Muslims, Modi represents death."
Jerath said she saw religious tensions becoming more inflamed under Modi's leadership. "I see these Hindu groups getting much more active; I think there will be renewed agitation to build the temple at Ayodhya."
Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, is the site of plot of land that has been the subject of a longstanding dispute between Hindus and Muslims. Hindu hardliners destroyed an historic mosque on the site during a political rally in 1992, triggering riots across the country in which more than 2,000 people were killed.
Noisy neighborhood
Modi's nationalist outlook -- informed by "a sense of victimhood, that we've been victimized by foreigners" -- would also likely be reflected in India's foreign policy, Guruswamy told CNN.
"Internationally, he would be a little more hardline on everything -- Pakistan, China, America. Indian interests would be aggressively asserted," he said.
Jerath said Modi's foreign policy focus would be on India's neighborhood, which had been "in a lot of turmoil." It's politically quite unstable and a lot of India's internal terrorist problems stem from the fact that our borders are so porous," she said.
"That has to be the primary challenge for anybody who comes to power."
READ MORE: What India can learn from China
CNN's Mallika Kapur contributed to this report.
Chinese firm attacked by Boko Haram; 10 missing
5/17/2014 8:42:18 PM
- NEW: Boko Haram is behind the attack in Cameroon, a U.S. official says
- French President François Hollande says a Cameroonian soldier was killed
- One hurt, 10 missing after an attack against employees of a Chinese firm in Cameroon
- Attack took place in a northern Cameroon town regarded as a Boko Haram stronghold
Full coverage of CNN international correspondent Nima Elbagir's Chibok journey will screen on CNN International on Saturday 17 May at 2100 CET, Sunday 18 May at 0030 CET, 0400 CET and 1200 CET and Monday 19 May at 0730 CET.
(CNN) -- A Cameroonian soldier was killed and 10 Chinese nationals went missing after a Boko Haram attack in northern Cameroon, officials from China, the United States and France said Saturday.
No further details were immediately available on the circumstances of their disappearance, said Lu Quinjiang, first counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon's capital.
One Chinese national was injured in Friday night's attack and was being treated by a Chinese medical team in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena, Lu said.
French President François Hollande mentioned the incident Saturday while hosting a security summit in Paris about the growing threat from Boko Haram, the Nigeria-based terror group.
Later, U.S. Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman specified Boko Haram as being behind Friday's attack in a region of Cameroon known to be a stronghold for the group.
"Cameroon just suffered its own Boko Haram attack at a Chinese company last night," Sherman said, noting also that Boko Haram is to blame for the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria.
Several African and Western nations stepped up their search for the girls under a new plan announced at the security summit.
Boko Haram translates as "Western education is a sin" in the Hausa language that's the lingua franca in West and Central Africa. The militant group says its aim is to impose stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south. Boko Haram's attacks have intensified in recent years.
Cameroon attack
Friday's attack targeted employees of a Chinese company in the northern Cameroonian town of Waza, a few miles away from the Nigerian border.
U.S. questions Nigeria's rescue ability; France hosts summit
The Chinese embassy is working with Cameroon's government to locate the missing workers, Lu said, and has asked for tighter security to protect Chinese nationals in the northern part of the country.
The Chinese company, Sinohydro, is an engineering firm that builds large scale hydropower projects.
It has been involved in the construction of the Memve'ele dam in southern Cameroon as part of the country's effort to boost electricity production, according to the company's website.
Last year, a group of Boko Haram fighters crossed into northern Cameroon and abducted a French family of four children, their parents and an uncle from Waza National Park.
The family was eventually released, reportedly in exchange for a $3 million ransom and the release of 16 Boko Haram prisoners held in Cameroon.
Erdogan: 'If you boo country's PM you get slapped'
5/17/2014 7:11:31 AM
- NEW: The confirmed death toll is 299, and authorities believe there are two more bodies to be found
- "If you boo the country's prime minister, you get slapped," Turkey's PM says in video
- Mine owner says the Soma site met the standards required by Turkish law
- Ruling party spokesman says PM's aide kicked a protester after he was attacked by him
Soma, Turkey (CNN) -- As more bodies were pulled out of the Turkish coal mine where a deadly fire erupted four days ago, a storm of controversy over Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's response to the tragedy refused to blow over.
The confirmed death toll following the mine fire in Soma stands at 299, and authorities believe there are two more bodies to be found. This comes a day after police in the western city used tear gas, plastic pellets and a water cannon on protesters angry over the government's actions.
Public anger has risen since the mine fire broke out Tuesday, fueled in part by Erdogan's own missteps while visiting the scene a day later.
Erdogan's comments to relatives of dead and injured miners, in which he described the disaster as par for the course in a dangerous business, were seen as highly insensitive and drew scathing criticism.
The video taken on the same day in Soma showed Erdogan telling another man "don't be nasty," according to the footage aired Friday by Turkish broadcaster DHA. The remarks initially reported and translated by DHA were confirmed by a CNN native Turkish speaker.
"What happened, happened. It is from God... If you boo the country's prime minister, you get slapped," Erdogan can be heard saying.
That was after another video clip emerged showing a crowd outside a grocery store angrily booing Erdogan. As the Prime Minister entered the crowded store, he appeared to put his arm around the neck of a man who was later identified as a miner.
After the confrontation, the video captured what appeared to be Erdogan's security guards beating the same man to the floor. The miner said later that Erdogan slapped him, possibly by mistake. He wants an apology for the way he was treated by the Prime Minister's staff.
In addition, a photograph surfaced of an aide to Erdogan kicking a protester, an image that quickly became a symbol of the anger felt by many against the government, and amid mounting questions over safety practices at the mine.
Huseyin Celik, a spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, dismissed the grocery store incident and said the image of the aide, Yusuf Yerkel, kicking the protester was misleading.
Yerkel was quoted by Turkey's semiofficial Anadolu news agency Thursday as saying that he had been deeply saddened by the previous day's events. "I am sad that I could not keep my calm in the face of all the provocation, insults and attacks that I was subjected to that day," he reportedly said.
Popular anger continues to run high.
On Friday, a throng of protesters chanting "Don't sleep, Soma, remember your dead!" coursed through city streets a few miles from the disaster site, trying to reach a statue honoring miners, before the police responded with tear gas.
Questions over safety chambers
The mine complex exploded into fire for unknown reasons Tuesday -- trapping many miners deep underground.
Among other issues, mine officials indicated Friday that workers may not have had access to an emergency refuge where they could have sheltered from the flames and choking fumes.
Site manager Akin Celik told reporters that the mine had closed one emergency refuge when excavation work moved to a lower area. Miners were building, but had not finished, a new safety chamber at the lower level, he said.
The owner of the company, Alp Gurman, said the mine met the highest standards laid out by the law in Turkey. The company, he said, had no legal obligation to build safety chambers.
Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, speaking to journalists on Saturday, said the confirmed death toll was now 299, with two more miners thought to be below ground.
Fifteen bodies were recovered overnight, he said, and the remains of 286 miners have now been returned to their families. DNA testing is being carried out on the remains of 13 people.
Varying estimates have emerged in recent days of the number of miners trapped below ground. Rescue workers haven't found anyone alive since Wednesday.
Fumes from a new fire, a few hundred yards from the one that broke out Tuesday, were hindering search and recovery efforts Saturday, Yildiz said.
Initial reports said the fire was sparked by a transformer explosion, but Celik told reporters Friday that the cause of the fire was still unknown.
Asked what had happened, he said, "We don't know either. Never seen anything like this before. We are trying to find out."
Political bonfire
Hundreds have also taken to the streets this week in anti-government protests in Istanbul and Ankara, with police answering, in some cases, with water cannon and tear gas.
As Erdogan took a stroll through the city, onlookers showered him with deafening jeers as well as chants of "Resign, Prime Minister!"
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu defended Erdogan in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Thursday.
"He was feeling all these pains in his heart," he said. "Everybody knows that our Prime Minister is always with the people, and always feels the pain of the people. Otherwise, he wouldn't get such a high support in eight elections in (the) last 10 years."
But the disaster opened up an old political wound.
Opposition politician Ozgur Ozel from the Manisa region, which includes Soma, filed a proposal in late April to investigate Turkish mines after repeated deadly accidents.
Erdogan's government rejected the proposal. It claimed that the mine, owned by SOMA Komur Isletmeleri A.S., had passed recent inspections.
A Turkish engineers' association criticized mine ventilation and safety equipment this week as being "insufficient and old."
A lack of safety inspections has caused 100 coal mines to be closed in the last three years, according to Turkey's Energy Ministry.
President Abdullah Gul, speaking as he visited Soma on Thursday, said he was sure the investigation already begun would "shed light" on what regulations are needed. "Whatever is necessary will be done," he said.
Despair, anger, dwindling hope after Turkey coal mine fire
Diana Magnay, Gul Tuysuz and Ivan Watson reported from western Turkey, and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported from London. CNN's Ben Brumfield and Talia Kayali contributed to this report.
China evacuates more than 3,000 citizens from Vietnam
5/18/2014 2:33:54 AM
- China has evacuated more than 3,000 citizens from Vietnam, Xinhua reports
- Anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam descended into deadly violence last week
- The unrest was provoked by Chinese oil drilling in disputed waters
- Vietnamese authorities have arrested hundreds and are calling for protests to stop
Hong Kong (CNN) -- China has evacuated more than 3,000 of its citizens from Vietnam and is sending ships to retrieve more of them after deadly anti-Chinese violence erupted last week over a territorial dispute between the two countries.
Five Chinese ships will travel to Vietnam to help with the evacuation, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported Sunday, citing the Ministry of Transport. One of the ships has already set off from the southern island province of Hainan, the ministry said.
Sixteen critically injured Chinese citizens were flown out of Vietnam on Sunday morning on a chartered medical plane organized by Chinese authorities, Xinhua said.
Two Chinese workers were killed and more than 100 others were injured in the violence that hit parts of Vietnam last week, according to the news agency. Some of the worst violence appeared to have taken place in the central coastal province of Ha Tinh.
Foreign factories, particularly those run by companies from China and Taiwan, were burned and looted by rioters outraged over Beijing's decision to send an oil rig into waters of the South China Sea that both countries claim as sovereign territory.
Protests spin out of control
Vietnamese authorities initially allowed protests, which are usually forbidden in the country, to take place over the Chinese move. But after the unrest spiraled lethally out of control, the government tried to rein in its angry citizens.
On Saturday, the government sent out a series of text messages to cell-phone users saying Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung was urging people "not to participate in illegal protests that cause public disorder and harm social safety."
Chinese officials have repeatedly called on Vietnam to take action over the riots, protect Chinese citizens and help victims.
Vietnamese authorities have arrested hundreds of suspects and started legal proceedings against several of them, Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA reported Saturday, citing Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang.
He described the attacks as regrettable, saying dozens of police officers were injured as they tried to bring the situation under control.
Ships clash at sea
But out in the South China Sea, neither side appears to be showing any sign of backing down over the territorial dispute that sparked the violence.
VNA on Saturday accused China of continuing to show "its aggressiveness by sending more military ships" to the area around the oil rig. Vietnam has demanded that China immediately withdraw the rig from the disputed waters.
The news agency cited Nguyen Van Trung, an official at the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department, as saying that China had 119 ships in the area on Saturday morning, including warships, coast guard vessels and fishing boats.
Some of the ships were provoking the Vietnamese vessels by ramming them and firing water cannons at them, he said.
'We are not afraid of trouble'
China, for its part, has continued to accuse Vietnamese ships of similar acts, saying they are trying to disrupt the oil rig's drilling operation. It has declared a three-mile exclusion zone around the rig, which is operated by the state-owned oil and gas company CNOOC.
"We do not make trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble," Gen. Fang Fenghui, the chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, said Thursday during a visit to the United States.
"In matters of territory, our attitude is firm. We won't give an inch," Fang said after meeting U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey.
Relations between China and Vietnam soured earlier this month, when the Chinese platform began drilling for oil near the Paracel Islands, which are claimed by both countries.
Beijing has laid claim to most of the South China Sea, putting it at odds with several of its neighbors in the region.
CNN's Samira Said and David McKenzie contributed to this report.
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