Money bags Monaco splash out $90 million on Porto pair

Joao Moutinho (left) and James Rodriguez hold the Portuguese league title after Porto's 2013 triumph.

(CNN) -- AS Monaco signaled their intention to use their financial muscle in the summer transfer window with an audacious double swoop Friday for Porto pair Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez,

Monaco, backed by Russian billionaire owner Dimitri Rybolovkev, will return to France's Ligue 1 next season after wrapping up the second-flight title, and other high profile signings are expected.

Portuguese champions Porto said the deal was worth 70 million euros ($90.6 million) with 21-year-old Colombian international striker Rodriguez valued at 45 million euros and midfielder Moutinho worth 25 million euros.

A statement on their website described the deal as the "biggest in Portuguese football history" and the club has made a profit of over 50 million euros from the original fees they paid for the players in 2010.

Monaco confirmed that both had signed five-year deals.

The 21-year-old Rodriguez, who has helped Porto to three straight domestic titles, was reportedly a target for English Premier League champions Manchester United, while Moutinho nearly join their EPL counterparts Tottenham Hotspur last season.

Monaco, coached by Italian Claudio Ranieri, have also been linked with Atletico Madrid's Colombian striker Radamel Falcoa, who carries a 60 million euros price tag and is wanted by a clutch of Europe's elite clubs.

Watch: What makes Ibrahimovic tick?

With money apparently no object, the team from the principality, will look to rival the new French champions Paris-Saint Germain, who have Qatari backing, enabling to sign such names as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the now-retired David Beckham.

Monaco were regular participants in European club competition, reaching the final of the Champions League in 2004.

But a steady decline set in, culminating in their relegation to Ligue 2 in 2011.

Rybolovkev took over at the end of that year and has pumped in money to help the return quickly to the top flight under the stewardship of former Chelsea coach Ranieri.

Platini warns players over racism walk offs

Platini: Bundesliga raises the bar

(CNN) -- The head of European football has told players not to walk off the pitch if they are racially abused, saying any decision to stop a match should be left to the referee.

UEFA president Michel Platini's comments come just one week after AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli, who was subjected to "monkey chants" in a recent match against Roma, told CNN he would leave the pitch if he was abused in future.

Read: Balotelli makes racism vow

Balotelli's teammate Kevin-Prince Boateng walked off the field during an exhibition match against a fourth division team in January and while Platini support's Boateng's decision, it is a situation he is keen not to see repeated.

"It's not a matter for the player to regulate the game and to stop the game; it's a matter for the referee," Platini, who has been president of European football's governing body since 2007, told CNN in an exclusive interview.

 

 

"It's not normal that people in 2013 are being insulted about their color, about the difference of color. It's not normal. It's very tough for the player on the field."

Read: UEFA steps up racism fight

But Platini fears that if a team is "not happy" and is losing a match its players could decide to leave the field for reasons that might having nothing to do with racist abuse.

On Thursday, UEFA announced a raft of new racism regulations -- part closures of stadiums, match abandonments and full stadium closures in the event of discriminatory chanting.

Clubs would be handed a fine of $65,000, a figure which has drawn criticism as being too meager for football teams which are multi-million dollar businesses.

But Platini defended the severity of that financial sanction.

"It's not a question of money," explained the Frenchman, who said clubs are often left in a difficult position when trying to deal with fans who attend games armed with political agendas.

In the past Platini has also faced criticism for his stance on goal-line technology (GLT), with the Frenchman often portrayed as a "luddite" for opposing the use of a system which FIFA has embraced.

GLT debuted at last year's Club World Cup and is set for another run out in June's FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.

But the 57-year-old Platini defended his position, insisting money should be spent on developing the game at grassroots level rather than GLT.

"It will cost me $67 million to have GLT," continued Platini, who was crowned European Footballer of the Year in 1984.

"I have to put it in all the games in the Champions League and all the games in the Europa League. I have to put it in Kazakhstan, in Manchester and in Turkey.

"It costs me $67 million, for one goal, two goals a year? I prefer to invest that for the use football in the grassroots."

Championed as a possible successor to FIFA president Sepp Blatter at the next election in 2015, Platini would not be drawn on whether he has ambitions to succeed the 77-year-old Swiss.

"He will be 79," said Platini. referring to how old Blatter will be at FIFA's next presidential elections. "If he thinks it's time to stop, it's up to him."

Read: How Germany became uber cool

If Platini does succeed Blatter as head of football's global governing body, one item on his agenda will be the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, particularly with regard to what time of the year that tournament should be staged.

Fears have been raised over playing the tournament in its usual June-July slot, which would see players compete in high temperatures.

Platini has long been an advocate of playing the tournament in the European winter, a proposal which has been met with staunch opposition as it would disrupt the traditional season for Europe's major leagues.

"If I am president of FIFA or not president of FIFA," declared Platini, "I will always support we have to play in winter."

Wieners to Wunderbar: How Germany became uber-cool

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp has won plaudits for his intelligent musings on football. "You can speak about spirit -- or you can live it," he told the Guardian newspaper this week.

The Germans are coming -- and this time London cannot wait.

Germany suddenly finds itself in the unusual position of being uber cool, and that is in no small part thanks to the first all-German European Champions League final on Saturday, when Bayern Munich takes on Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium, the home of English soccer.

From triple world champion Sebastian Vettel revving up as the poster boy of Formula One, to Oscar-winning actor Christoph Waltz, -- who is the son of a German father and Austrian mother -- starring on the big screen, Germany has a newfound confidence about itself.

And yet, some stereotypes just won't disappear.

Within minutes of Dortmund's semifinal victory over Real Madrid, the first "jokes" began to emerge with the UK's tabloid papers jesting that "fans had their towels on the seats already" -- a reference to German holidaymakers' apparent habit of claiming sun loungers at beach resorts.

Traditionally the British have had a particularly testing relationship with Germany, and it has much to do with the two World Wars of the 20th Century.

 

 

As recently as a decade ago, stereotypical images of Germans decked out in Lederhosen, socks and sandals goosestepping to the beat of the Oompah Band armed with a Bratwurst and quaffing a Weissbier were not uncommon in British red-top tabloids.

On the terraces, England fans would taunt their German opponents with songs about World War II and the infamous "Ten German Bombers song" where the victory of the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain is recounted.

Peep Show, one of the most popular British TV sitcoms of recent years, is one of the more contemporary programs to reference the "Sausage-munching Bosch" and "Fritz, the Bratwurst Guzzler."

But former tennis star Boris Becker believes his country's successful hosting of the World Cup in 2006 has helped transformed Germany's image.

"I think we have shown the world how diverse and multicultural Germany has become," says the six-time grand slam champion, who has been hugely popular in Britain since winning Wimbledon at the age of 17 in 1985.

"We did a great job with the visiting fans," he told CNN. "And whoever was there seven years ago has seen a different side of Germany and have realized that the new Germans are much 'cooler.'

"I wouldn't say that the English are falling in love with Germany, but I think they have respect for what Germany has achieved in the sporting world.

"There is a new multicultural wave coming from Germany, which is very international and very cosmopolitan."

Swashbuckling style

Britain, too, has come a long way in its perception of Germany since John Cleese famously goosestepped his way around Fawlty Towers as hotel owner Basil Fawlty in one of the country's most beloved TV comedies during the 1970s.

It's not just the swashbuckling style personified by Bayern and Dortmund that has helped reinvent attitudes to Germany -- it's also been reinforced by the nation's football team under the guidance of ultra-cool Joachim Low.

Comprised of players from the German, Polish, Turkish, Tunisian and African communities, Low's squad produced the kind of exhilarating and vibrant football which helped the team reach the final of the 2008 European Championships, as well as the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euros.

Behind the scenes, the Bundesliga, with its low ticket prices, safe standing areas and stylish infrastructure, has eclipsed the English Premier League and Spain's La Liga as the hipsters' choice.

These days fans from all over Europe flock to stand on Dortmund's famous Sudtribune terrace, to catch a glimpse of Bayern or venture further to the likes of St. Pauli in Hamburg, a favorite with many foreign supporters.

"The weather is good and the beer is better," quipped the Bundesliga's chief executive Christian Seifert after being asked why German football attracts so many tourists.

"But I think it's more to do with safe standing, the relatively low ticket prices in relation to very attractive games and a good atmosphere at the stadium," he told CNN.

"In 2006, more English tourists were in Germany than ever before and in those four weeks we had great marketing and great weather. It was the best summer I can remember.

"After the World Cup, a lot of investment was made in stadium infrastructure, so it was really easy to get there.

"We have a relatively low amount of season tickets, so it's possible to get a ticket in the 'free' sale at a fair price. If then, somebody says they want to see a Bundesliga game, then that's great."

Football fans are also attracted to the Oktoberfest, a 16-day celebration of beer held in Munich each year, with its clubs and bars making it a popular destination for bachelor parties and weekends away.

Jingoistic stereotypes

Matthias Krug, an author and journalist, says he heard and witnessed anti-German chants and rhetoric when he lived in England between 2004 and 2007.

The nations' footballing rivalry stems back to the 1966 World Cup final, when England controversially beat West Germany in extra time at Wembley as Geoff Hurst scored a goal that is still debated to this day.

West Germany got revenge in Mexico four years later, while the English have since suffered heartbreak against "Die Mannschaft" in several high-profile tournaments since -- though 2001's 5-1 triumph in a World Cup qualifier in Munich provided some respite.

"I once traveled on a train in northern England which was completely packed and then people suddenly began singing a vivid song about one English victory in football and two in wars," says Krug, who lived in Nottingham between 2004 and 2007, but now works in Qatar.

"I think fighter pilots from the RAF were also mentioned. It must have been my looks which sparked them. I don't remember having said a word, either pre- or post-singing," he told CNN.

"Obviously stereotypes related to Germany, both positive and negative, that have been very strong as a result of history and also our sporting history.

"They also vary greatly; others in England showed a strong sense of respect for the achievements and consistency of German football."

In 1996, before England hosted a semifinal clash with Germany at the European Championships, the tabloid Daily Mirror published a front page with the words, "Achtung, surrender, for you Fritz, ze Euro 96 Championship is over."

Ten years later, The Sun newspaper provoked fury from German Chancellor Angela Merkel after publishing an unflattering photo of her from behind while she changed into a swimming costume with a headline of: "I'm bigger than the Bumdestag."

That incident provoked fury in Germany and no shortage of embarrassment in the UK.

Bayern vs. Dortmund in numbers

Man City and Yankees partner in MLS expansion side New York City FC

David Beckham through the years

Photos: Oktoberfest 2012 beer festival

But it's not just in Britain, where this deep-rooted hostility towards Germany is alive and kicking.

Most recently, Merkel has suffered from having her economic policies compared to those of the Nazis by the Hungarian Prime Minister, while the the German leader has also been lampooned by the Greek press.

Media perception

According to the 2011 UK census, there are 274,000 Germans living on British shores.

"At the moment it is really cool to read all the very well-informed and positive articles about German football in the British press," says Karl Pfeiffer, the director of educational links at London's Goethe-Institut.

"Since the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the media perception of German football and Germany in general has dramatically changed," added Pfeiffer, who has lived in England since 1986.

"Personally I never encountered stereotypical comments or remarks, but parts of the press here before 2006 were a different matter.

"In my job I work on a German football project with Arsenal, which has two great and popular German players, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker.

"The project is for school children and it is great to see how interested they are in in German football, too."

Dortmund's success in reaching the final has particularly struck a chord with neutral fans given the club almost went out of business eight years ago.

Under the guidance of charismatic coach Jurgen Klopp, whose popularity has seen a pop song written about him, Dortmund's run to the final has left even the most hard-hearted of seasoned aficionados willing on the men in yellow and black.

"It is really nice to see how well Dortmund and Klopp are liked all over Europe," Sandra Goldschmidt, a devoted follower of the club, told CNN.

"Everyone loves a little fairytale story like ours from nearly having to go into administration to being in a Champions League final, and that is really all thanks to Klopp.

"I guess that people in England also really admire it that we have done this without making big-money signings but by finding talents."

So as Bayern and Dortmund fans walk down Wembley Way, originally constructed by German prisoners of war in the 1940s, it will provoke a timely reminder of how the world has moved on.

And it is Krug's hope that Saturday's showpiece will galvanize further change in attitudes towards Germans.

"This year's Champions League final may well prove to be a temporary culmination of changing perceptions towards Germany," he said.

"Football has the power to change worldwide stereotypes and perceptions. It's done so in the past and it will do so again."

Who is Michael Adebolajo?

Friend of attack suspect speaks to CNN

(CNN) -- British police have arrested four people in relation to the brutal killing of British soldier Lee Rigby in southeast London on Wednesday.

The two men suspected of hitting the 25-year-old machine gunner with a car and then hacking him to death in broad daylight were later shot by police and are being treated for gunshot wounds at separate hospitals.

Another man is being held on "suspicion of conspiracy to murder."

But much of the world's attention has been focused on the suspect who approached a camera brandishing a bloody meat cleaver after the attack and declared: "This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Friends, acquaintances and British media identified him as 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo, a British national of Nigerian descent.

According to British media reports, Adebolajo was born in Lambeth, London, and grew up in Romford, in the nearby county of Essex.

Capture of London terror suspects

UK PM seeks answers on London attack

London hacking victim named

Family of Woolwich victim speaks

The Guardian newspaper reported that he had attended Marshalls Park School, Havering Sixth Form College and then Greenwich University.

Adebolajo is understood to have converted to Islam in about 2003.

His friend of some seven years, Abu Barra said Adebolajo became passionate about his new faith.

The friends shared an extremist philosophy fueled by perceived injustice in Iraq and Afghanistan, Barra told CNN's Dan Rivers.

Barra described his friend as a "very caring" man who "just wanted to help everybody." He was also "very vocal" about his feelings that Muslims were being oppressed -- injustices he pinned, in part, on the British government.

"I wasn't surprised that it happened," Barra said of Wednesday's attack. "... Britain is only responsible, the government. And I believe all of us, as a public, we are responsible. We should condemn ourselves, why we did not do enough to stop these wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan."

British Muslim radical leader Anjem Choudary told CNN that he also knew Adebolajo, who he said had attended demonstrations and a few lectures organized by his group Al-Muhajiroun.

An ITN video from April 2007 shows Adebolajo standing behind Choudary at a rally protesting the arrest of men who allegedly made inflammatory speeches inside a mosque.

Al-Muhajiroun's founder Omar Bakri Mohammed told CNN in an interview from Lebanon that he had also been acquainted with Adebolajo, knowing him by his Muslim name "Muhahid." Bakri said that although they did not have many interactions, Adebolajo stood out because he was a new convert to the religion.

Adebolajo had attended several talks and rallies in London between 2003 and 2004, Bakri said, and had asked several questions about Islam.

"It was on why we don't sit with non-Muslims and how to perform prayer and so on," Bakri told CNN. He said Adebolajo had also raised questions relating to the purpose of life and appeared to feel Islam provided "fundamental answers."

As a Nigerian convert, Adebolajo had been particularly impressed that Islam was a brotherhood between all races "whites, black and Arabs," Bakri said.

He described Adebolajo as "quiet and shy" and highly respectful of him.

All young men in the meetings were angered by the Iraq war and that would have included Adebolajo, Bakri said. He said his view was that Adebolajo's method of attack showed "he really believed he was attacking a military target."

However, a former girlfriend told the Independent Adebolajo had been "really friendly and really polite and there was never anything to suggest he would be caught up with anything like this."

CNN understands spies at the British security service MI5 were aware of Adebolajo and his alleged accomplice while investigating other terrorist plots, but that there was nothing to indicate either men were about to strike.

Who is Michael Adebolajo?

Friend of attack suspect speaks to CNN

(CNN) -- British police have arrested four people in relation to the brutal killing of British soldier Lee Rigby in southeast London on Wednesday.

The two men suspected of hitting the 25-year-old machine gunner with a car and then hacking him to death in broad daylight were later shot by police and are being treated for gunshot wounds at separate hospitals.

Another man is being held on "suspicion of conspiracy to murder."

But much of the world's attention has been focused on the suspect who approached a camera brandishing a bloody meat cleaver after the attack and declared: "This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Friends, acquaintances and British media identified him as 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo, a British national of Nigerian descent.

According to British media reports, Adebolajo was born in Lambeth, London, and grew up in Romford, in the nearby county of Essex.

Capture of London terror suspects

UK PM seeks answers on London attack

London hacking victim named

Family of Woolwich victim speaks

The Guardian newspaper reported that he had attended Marshalls Park School, Havering Sixth Form College and then Greenwich University.

Adebolajo is understood to have converted to Islam in about 2003.

His friend of some seven years, Abu Barra said Adebolajo became passionate about his new faith.

The friends shared an extremist philosophy fueled by perceived injustice in Iraq and Afghanistan, Barra told CNN's Dan Rivers.

Barra described his friend as a "very caring" man who "just wanted to help everybody." He was also "very vocal" about his feelings that Muslims were being oppressed -- injustices he pinned, in part, on the British government.

"I wasn't surprised that it happened," Barra said of Wednesday's attack. "... Britain is only responsible, the government. And I believe all of us, as a public, we are responsible. We should condemn ourselves, why we did not do enough to stop these wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan."

British Muslim radical leader Anjem Choudary told CNN that he also knew Adebolajo, who he said had attended demonstrations and a few lectures organized by his group Al-Muhajiroun.

An ITN video from April 2007 shows Adebolajo standing behind Choudary at a rally protesting the arrest of men who allegedly made inflammatory speeches inside a mosque.

Al-Muhajiroun's founder Omar Bakri Mohammed told CNN in an interview from Lebanon that he had also been acquainted with Adebolajo, knowing him by his Muslim name "Muhahid." Bakri said that although they did not have many interactions, Adebolajo stood out because he was a new convert to the religion.

Adebolajo had attended several talks and rallies in London between 2003 and 2004, Bakri said, and had asked several questions about Islam.

"It was on why we don't sit with non-Muslims and how to perform prayer and so on," Bakri told CNN. He said Adebolajo had also raised questions relating to the purpose of life and appeared to feel Islam provided "fundamental answers."

As a Nigerian convert, Adebolajo had been particularly impressed that Islam was a brotherhood between all races "whites, black and Arabs," Bakri said.

He described Adebolajo as "quiet and shy" and highly respectful of him.

All young men in the meetings were angered by the Iraq war and that would have included Adebolajo, Bakri said. He said his view was that Adebolajo's method of attack showed "he really believed he was attacking a military target."

However, a former girlfriend told the Independent Adebolajo had been "really friendly and really polite and there was never anything to suggest he would be caught up with anything like this."

CNN understands spies at the British security service MI5 were aware of Adebolajo and his alleged accomplice while investigating other terrorist plots, but that there was nothing to indicate either men were about to strike.

Who is Michael Adebolajo?

By CNN.com staff

May 24, 2013 -- Updated 1706 GMT (0106 HKT)

Friend of attack suspect speaks to CNN

(CNN) -- British police have arrested four people in relation to the brutal killing of British soldier Lee Rigby in southeast London on Wednesday.

The two men suspected of hitting the 25-year-old machine gunner with a car and then hacking him to death in broad daylight were later shot by police and are being treated for gunshot wounds at separate hospitals.

Another man is being held on "suspicion of conspiracy to murder."

But much of the world's attention has been focused on the suspect who approached a camera brandishing a bloody meat cleaver after the attack and declared: "This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Friends, acquaintances and British media identified him as 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo, a British national of Nigerian descent.

According to British media reports, Adebolajo was born in Lambeth, London, and grew up in Romford, in the nearby county of Essex.

Capture of London terror suspects

UK PM seeks answers on London attack

London hacking victim named

Family of Woolwich victim speaks

The Guardian newspaper reported that he had attended Marshalls Park School, Havering Sixth Form College and then Greenwich University.

Adebolajo is understood to have converted to Islam in about 2003.

His friend of some seven years, Abu Barra said Adebolajo became passionate about his new faith.

The friends shared an extremist philosophy fueled by perceived injustice in Iraq and Afghanistan, Barra told CNN's Dan Rivers.

Barra described his friend as a "very caring" man who "just wanted to help everybody." He was also "very vocal" about his feelings that Muslims were being oppressed -- injustices he pinned, in part, on the British government.

"I wasn't surprised that it happened," Barra said of Wednesday's attack. "... Britain is only responsible, the government. And I believe all of us, as a public, we are responsible. We should condemn ourselves, why we did not do enough to stop these wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan."

British Muslim radical leader Anjem Choudary told CNN that he also knew Adebolajo, who he said had attended demonstrations and a few lectures organized by his group Al-Muhajiroun.

An ITN video from April 2007 shows Adebolajo standing behind Choudary at a rally protesting the arrest of men who allegedly made inflammatory speeches inside a mosque.

Al-Muhajiroun's founder Omar Bakri Mohammed told CNN in an interview from Lebanon that he had also been acquainted with Adebolajo, knowing him by his Muslim name "Muhahid." Bakri said that although they did not have many interactions, Adebolajo stood out because he was a new convert to the religion.

Adebolajo had attended several talks and rallies in London between 2003 and 2004, Bakri said, and had asked several questions about Islam.

"It was on why we don't sit with non-Muslims and how to perform prayer and so on," Bakri told CNN. He said Adebolajo had also raised questions relating to the purpose of life and appeared to feel Islam provided "fundamental answers."

As a Nigerian convert, Adebolajo had been particularly impressed that Islam was a brotherhood between all races "whites, black and Arabs," Bakri said.

He described Adebolajo as "quiet and shy" and highly respectful of him.

All young men in the meetings were angered by the Iraq war and that would have included Adebolajo, Bakri said. He said his view was that Adebolajo's method of attack showed "he really believed he was attacking a military target."

However, a former girlfriend told the Independent Adebolajo had been "really friendly and really polite and there was never anything to suggest he would be caught up with anything like this."

CNN understands spies at the British security service MI5 were aware of Adebolajo and his alleged accomplice while investigating other terrorist plots, but that there was nothing to indicate either men were about to strike.

Who is Michael Adebolajo?

By CNN.com staff

May 24, 2013 -- Updated 1706 GMT (0106 HKT)

Friend of attack suspect speaks to CNN

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Two men ran down a serving UK soldier before hacking him to death in London on May 22
• One of the suspects addressed a camera after the incident, brandishing a cleaver
• Friends, acquaintances and UK media identified him as Michael Adebolajo, 28
• One friend told CNN Adebolajo was a Muslim convert with an extremist philosophy

(CNN) -- British police have arrested four people in relation to the brutal killing of British soldier Lee Rigby in southeast London on Wednesday.

The two men suspected of hitting the 25-year-old machine gunner with a car and then hacking him to death in broad daylight were later shot by police and are being treated for gunshot wounds at separate hospitals.

Another man is being held on "suspicion of conspiracy to murder."

But much of the world's attention has been focused on the suspect who approached a camera brandishing a bloody meat cleaver after the attack and declared: "This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Friends, acquaintances and British media identified him as 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo, a British national of Nigerian descent.

According to British media reports, Adebolajo was born in Lambeth, London, and grew up in Romford, in the nearby county of Essex.

Capture of London terror suspects

UK PM seeks answers on London attack

London hacking victim named

Family of Woolwich victim speaks

The Guardian newspaper reported that he had attended Marshalls Park School, Havering Sixth Form College and then Greenwich University.

Adebolajo is understood to have converted to Islam in about 2003.

His friend of some seven years, Abu Barra said Adebolajo became passionate about his new faith.

The friends shared an extremist philosophy fueled by perceived injustice in Iraq and Afghanistan, Barra told CNN's Dan Rivers.

Barra described his friend as a "very caring" man who "just wanted to help everybody." He was also "very vocal" about his feelings that Muslims were being oppressed -- injustices he pinned, in part, on the British government.

"I wasn't surprised that it happened," Barra said of Wednesday's attack. "... Britain is only responsible, the government. And I believe all of us, as a public, we are responsible. We should condemn ourselves, why we did not do enough to stop these wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan."

British Muslim radical leader Anjem Choudary told CNN that he also knew Adebolajo, who he said had attended demonstrations and a few lectures organized by his group Al-Muhajiroun.

An ITN video from April 2007 shows Adebolajo standing behind Choudary at a rally protesting the arrest of men who allegedly made inflammatory speeches inside a mosque.

Al-Muhajiroun's founder Omar Bakri Mohammed told CNN in an interview from Lebanon that he had also been acquainted with Adebolajo, knowing him by his Muslim name "Muhahid." Bakri said that although they did not have many interactions, Adebolajo stood out because he was a new convert to the religion.

Adebolajo had attended several talks and rallies in London between 2003 and 2004, Bakri said, and had asked several questions about Islam.

"It was on why we don't sit with non-Muslims and how to perform prayer and so on," Bakri told CNN. He said Adebolajo had also raised questions relating to the purpose of life and appeared to feel Islam provided "fundamental answers."

As a Nigerian convert, Adebolajo had been particularly impressed that Islam was a brotherhood between all races "whites, black and Arabs," Bakri said.

He described Adebolajo as "quiet and shy" and highly respectful of him.

All young men in the meetings were angered by the Iraq war and that would have included Adebolajo, Bakri said. He said his view was that Adebolajo's method of attack showed "he really believed he was attacking a military target."

However, a former girlfriend told the Independent Adebolajo had been "really friendly and really polite and there was never anything to suggest he would be caught up with anything like this."

CNN understands spies at the British security service MI5 were aware of Adebolajo and his alleged accomplice while investigating other terrorist plots, but that there was nothing to indicate either men were about to strike.

2 men arrested after flight from Pakistan diverted in UK airspace

Airline: Unruly passenger diverts plane

London (CNN) -- Police arrested two men Friday on suspicion of endangering an aircraft after a flight from Pakistan to the United Kingdom was diverted to Stansted Airport, outside of London.

A UK fighter jet was scrambled to escort Pakistan International Airlines Flight PK709 from Lahore as it was diverted from northwestern England's Manchester Airport to Stansted.

Essex Police, who cover the area near Stansted airport, said officers had arrested the men and removed them from the plane, which had 297 passengers aboard.

Police said the incident is being treated as a criminal offense, and did not mention a terrorism angle.

Wajid Hasan, Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, told CNN that the two passengers "got into an altercation with air stewardesses and threatened to blow up the plane."

The air stewardesses contacted the pilot, who contacted UK air traffic control authorities, who then scrambled the fighter jets, he said.

Why was Pakistani airliner diverted?

"So far nothing has been found," he said. "All the passengers are off the aircraft and are being screened, as would be normal, by immigration authorities," he said, and the cargo is also being searched.

The process is expected to take about four hours, he said, after which the passengers will fly on to Manchester.

The commission has sent officials to Stansted Airport to provide consular assistance to passengers who need it, a written statement said.

Pakistan International Airlines spokesman Mashood Tajwar said the aircraft would then fly from Manchester to Lahore, Pakistan.

Passengers arriving at Stansted told CNN they were delayed by what several called a "terrorist scare."

'Unruly passenger'

A top official with Pakistan International Airlines earlier said the diversion was prompted by an unruly passenger.

"The passenger was simply causing a disturbance on the plane and threatening passengers and staff. This is a lesson to angry passengers," the official said.

Tajwar told CNN that the plane was 20 minutes away from Manchester Airport and preparing to land when air traffic controllers there received reports of a "terror threat."

British police had not yet been in touch with the airline to confirm if this was actually a terror threat related to passengers on board the PIA flight, Tajwar said.

"This information may be a bomb threat but we are not sure yet, it could be a fake threat," Tajwar told CNN.

A security source in London told CNN that early indications suggested the diversion of the flight to Stansted Airport was not a terror-related incident.

A representative for Stansted Airport said the plane was on an isolated stand away from the normal airport and police were handling the situation.

Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby to investigate the incident, the UK Defense Ministry said.

The Boeing 777 landed at 2:10 p.m. (9:10 a.m. ET).

2 men arrested after flight from Pakistan diverted in UK airspace

By Laura Smith-Spark. Shaan Khan and Nic Robertson, CNN

May 24, 2013 -- Updated 1710 GMT (0110 HKT)

Airline: Unruly passenger diverts plane

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Police are treating the incident as a criminal offense
• Two passengers "threatened to blow up the plane," Pakistan's High Commissioner says
• Two men were arrested and removed from the diverted aircraft, Essex Police say
• The Pakistan International Airlines flight to Manchester was diverted to Stansted

Editor's note: Are you there? Share your photos and videos.

London (CNN) -- Police arrested two men Friday on suspicion of endangering an aircraft after a flight from Pakistan to the United Kingdom was diverted to Stansted Airport, outside of London.

A UK fighter jet was scrambled to escort Pakistan International Airlines Flight PK709 from Lahore as it was diverted from northwestern England's Manchester Airport to Stansted.

Essex Police, who cover the area near Stansted airport, said officers had arrested the men and removed them from the plane, which had 297 passengers aboard.

Police said the incident is being treated as a criminal offense, and did not mention a terrorism angle.

Wajid Hasan, Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, told CNN that the two passengers "got into an altercation with air stewardesses and threatened to blow up the plane."

The air stewardesses contacted the pilot, who contacted UK air traffic control authorities, who then scrambled the fighter jets, he said.

Why was Pakistani airliner diverted?

"So far nothing has been found," he said. "All the passengers are off the aircraft and are being screened, as would be normal, by immigration authorities," he said, and the cargo is also being searched.

The process is expected to take about four hours, he said, after which the passengers will fly on to Manchester.

The commission has sent officials to Stansted Airport to provide consular assistance to passengers who need it, a written statement said.

Pakistan International Airlines spokesman Mashood Tajwar said the aircraft would then fly from Manchester to Lahore, Pakistan.

Passengers arriving at Stansted told CNN they were delayed by what several called a "terrorist scare."

'Unruly passenger'

A top official with Pakistan International Airlines earlier said the diversion was prompted by an unruly passenger.

"The passenger was simply causing a disturbance on the plane and threatening passengers and staff. This is a lesson to angry passengers," the official said.

Tajwar told CNN that the plane was 20 minutes away from Manchester Airport and preparing to land when air traffic controllers there received reports of a "terror threat."

British police had not yet been in touch with the airline to confirm if this was actually a terror threat related to passengers on board the PIA flight, Tajwar said.

"This information may be a bomb threat but we are not sure yet, it could be a fake threat," Tajwar told CNN.

A security source in London told CNN that early indications suggested the diversion of the flight to Stansted Airport was not a terror-related incident.

A representative for Stansted Airport said the plane was on an isolated stand away from the normal airport and police were handling the situation.

Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby to investigate the incident, the UK Defense Ministry said.

The Boeing 777 landed at 2:10 p.m. (9:10 a.m. ET).

2 men arrested after flight from Pakistan diverted in UK airspace

By Laura Smith-Spark. Shaan Khan and Nic Robertson, CNN

May 24, 2013 -- Updated 1710 GMT (0110 HKT)

Airline: Unruly passenger diverts plane

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Police are treating the incident as a criminal offense
• Two passengers "threatened to blow up the plane," Pakistan's High Commissioner says
• Two men were arrested and removed from the diverted aircraft, Essex Police say
• The Pakistan International Airlines flight to Manchester was diverted to Stansted

Editor's note: Are you there? Share your photos and videos.

London (CNN) -- Police arrested two men Friday on suspicion of endangering an aircraft after a flight from Pakistan to the United Kingdom was diverted to Stansted Airport, outside of London.

A UK fighter jet was scrambled to escort Pakistan International Airlines Flight PK709 from Lahore as it was diverted from northwestern England's Manchester Airport to Stansted.

Essex Police, who cover the area near Stansted airport, said officers had arrested the men and removed them from the plane, which had 297 passengers aboard.

Police said the incident is being treated as a criminal offense, and did not mention a terrorism angle.

Wajid Hasan, Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, told CNN that the two passengers "got into an altercation with air stewardesses and threatened to blow up the plane."

The air stewardesses contacted the pilot, who contacted UK air traffic control authorities, who then scrambled the fighter jets, he said.

Why was Pakistani airliner diverted?

"So far nothing has been found," he said. "All the passengers are off the aircraft and are being screened, as would be normal, by immigration authorities," he said, and the cargo is also being searched.

The process is expected to take about four hours, he said, after which the passengers will fly on to Manchester.

The commission has sent officials to Stansted Airport to provide consular assistance to passengers who need it, a written statement said.

Pakistan International Airlines spokesman Mashood Tajwar said the aircraft would then fly from Manchester to Lahore, Pakistan.

Passengers arriving at Stansted told CNN they were delayed by what several called a "terrorist scare."

'Unruly passenger'

A top official with Pakistan International Airlines earlier said the diversion was prompted by an unruly passenger.

"The passenger was simply causing a disturbance on the plane and threatening passengers and staff. This is a lesson to angry passengers," the official said.

Tajwar told CNN that the plane was 20 minutes away from Manchester Airport and preparing to land when air traffic controllers there received reports of a "terror threat."

British police had not yet been in touch with the airline to confirm if this was actually a terror threat related to passengers on board the PIA flight, Tajwar said.

"This information may be a bomb threat but we are not sure yet, it could be a fake threat," Tajwar told CNN.

A security source in London told CNN that early indications suggested the diversion of the flight to Stansted Airport was not a terror-related incident.

A representative for Stansted Airport said the plane was on an isolated stand away from the normal airport and police were handling the situation.

Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby to investigate the incident, the UK Defense Ministry said.

The Boeing 777 landed at 2:10 p.m. (9:10 a.m. ET).

Mom dies, gives birth, then is revived -- and they're both fine

Clinically dead mom gives birth

Three-month-old Elayna Nigrelli has redefined what it means to be a miracle baby. She was born while her mother was technically dead.

In February, Erica Nigrelli was teaching at a high school in Missouri City, Texas, when she walked into a co-worker's classroom.

Nigrelli said she felt faint, placed her hands on a table to steady herself and then passed out.

Three teachers immediately grabbed a defibrillator and also began performing CPR. Kids in the classroom ran out, yelling for help.

Nigrelli's husband, Nathan, also a teacher, was just two doors down. He rushed into the room.

"Erica was lying on the floor, she was foaming and making gurgling sounds and just staring up," he told CNN affiliate KPRC.

He called 911.

"My wife is pregnant," he said, his breath heavy with panic. "She's having a seizure! The baby's due in three weeks!"

"Oh my God!" the 911 operator exclaimed.

By the time paramedics rushed the 32-year-old to the hospital, doctors could not find a pulse. Her heart had stopped.

Doctors delivered the baby by emergency cesarean section.

Technically, it was a postmortem delivery because Erica's heart was not beating.

But then something remarkable happened. The doctors turned to Erica, and soon her heart started beating again.

3-D printer helps save dying baby

Over the next five days, she remained in a medically induced coma, she told CNN, and doctors diagnosed her with a heart defect she didn't know she had -- hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The condition causes the heart muscle to thicken. The thickening can make it more difficult for blood to leave the heart, forcing it to work harder to pump blood.

Baby Elayna was in the intensive care unit for two weeks.

On Friday, the couple appeared with her on CNN's "Early Start," with Elayna on Mom's lap, sucking on a purple pacifier. She weighs 8 pounds and is healthy.

"We feel great," Nathan Nigrelli said. "We have a wonderful baby. My wife is back to 100%.

The baby hasn't shown any signs of trouble but is still on oxygen. The child will undergo therapy soon, but by all accounts her recovery looks to be on track and she'll be fine.

Erica Nigrelli believes that God was protecting her. She told CNN that she has a memory of being in the ambulance. "I remember being bounced up," she said. And she remembers seeing sunlight.

When she came to in the hospital, she remembers the doctors telling her, "You have your baby. She is in the hospital."

She saw Elayna three weeks after she was born.

The two joked that if Elayna ever gets out of line, all her parents have to do is remind their daughter what they went through to bring her into the world.

"I have got, like, the best ammunition for the rest of her life," Erica Nigrelli laughed. "She can never do anything wrong."

A Burj eye view of Dubai: Heart-stopping 360-degree interactive image taken from top of the world's tallest building

• Image was captured from the top of the spire of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa
• Made up of 70 different high resolution images stitched together
• Recreates the view Tom Cruise had while filming for Mission Impossible Four

It is an astonishing image of a unique city.
This incredible panoramic image was taken 828 metres above sea level, from the top of the tallest building on earth, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.
Composed of over 70 individual photos, it recreates the view Tom Cruise made famous as he sat at the tower’s peak during the filming of Mission Impossible Four, ‘Ghost Protocol’.

Navigate around the interactive image below (may not work on all mobile devices)

 

THE BURJ KHALIFA

The top of the Burj Khalifa, developed by global property developer Emaar Properties, is over 200 metres above the highest point reached by the building’s elevators, which reach the 160th floor at speeds of some 10 metres per second.

The tower’s public observation deck is on the 124th floor.

The journey to the pinnacle involves a steep ladder climb within the 200-meter spire that crowns the building.

It takes in Dubai’s many landmarks, including the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel, the world’s biggest mall, the Dubai Mall and the Meydan Racecourse and shows the remarkable growth of a city still on a fast track to developing as a business hub and tourist destination.
Dubai based photographer Gerald Donovan created the shot using a mechanised panoramic tripod head to take a series of 48 panoramic images, each shot at a resolution of 80 megapixels.
Mr Donovan was given access to the  top of the Burj Khalifa, developed by global property developer Emaar Properties.

 

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It is over 200 metres above the highest point reached by the building’s elevators, which reach the 160th floor at speeds of some 10 metres per second.
The tower’s celebrated public observation deck, at the top, Burj Khalifa is on the 124th floor. 
The journey to the pinnacle involves a steep ladder climb within the 200-meter spire that crowns the building.
These were then stitched together with manually shot images to ‘fill-in’ gaps caused by equipment installed at the top of the tower such as the lightning conductor and aircraft beacons.
The result is an image that can be zoomed, tilted and rotated, giving viewers a sense of how it must feel  to sit on top the world’s highest building.

Enlarge  

One of the astonishing 360 images from the top of the 828 metre high Burj Khalifa in Dubai

The image has been released to celebrate the second Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Photography Award (HIPA), which will take place in Dubai in March.
The award, the world’s richest photography award, will see prizes totalling $389,000 and attracts entrants from 99 countries, with a grand prize of $120,000.
'This is an extraordinary image taken from an extraordinary location,' said His Excellency Ali bin Thalith, the General Secretary of the award.
'It reflects the goals of HIPA, to extend the boundaries of photography and celebrate images of unusual beauty and quality that are truly outstanding,'

HOW THEY DID IT

Photographer Gerald Donovan climbing to the top of the tower to set up his equipment

Dubai based photographer Gerald Donovan said he has wanted to take the photographs for several years.

'I've always wanted to – ever since seeing the first designs of the building,' he told MailOnline.

'The Burj Khalifa is a perfect building for shooting a 360 degree pano from the top of, because its 'roof' is only 1.5 meters across.

'This means that you can shoot from a single location and capture the entire view, without the building itself getting in the way (aircraft beacons and lightning conductors excluded!).

'I shot a 45 gigapixel panorama of the Dubai skyline in April 2010 – at the time, the world’s largest ever digital panorama, and thought that a panorama from the pinnacle of the Burj Khalifa would be a great way to top that.

'As long as it was big enough to make it interesting to zoom around in, it didn’t need to be 10’s or 100’s of gigapixels.

'It’s all about the view. Nothing can top that view – it is a unique place.

'Since the time of the Great Pyramids, remarkably few buildings have held the title of 'World’s tallest structure on land'.

'The Burj Khalifa is only the 15th in over 4,500 years of human history.

'It’s a very, very special building, and hopefully people will appreciate it even more now that they can see the view from the top.

'It’s all about being able to take people up there “virtually” and share what I experienced for real, and I hope people enjoy it!'

Tom Cruise is one of the few to have see the incredible view from the top of the towers, when he performed a stunt for Mission Impossible 4.

Tom Cruise performing another hair-raising stunt, perched barefoot at the very top of the Burj Khalifa on November 19, 2010 in Dubai. The new interactive image lets others see his point of view for the first time

The view from the top: The Burj Khalifa Pinnacle Panorama reveals what Dubai looks like from the spire at the top of the building

Photographer Gerald Donovan was given unique access to the top of the the Burj Tower to take the images, which is accessed through a skylight (right) at the tower's peak. The team also have to deal with local wildlife during the shoot - including pigeons in front of the camera (left)

Tom Cruise climbing the building in the latest Mission Impossible film

The Burj Khalifa, which stands 2,717 feet tall

How high? The Burj Khalifa comapred to other tall buildings around the globe

The Burj Khalifa Pinnacle Panorama image lets people look around Dubai

Eminem Sues Facebook

The popular social networking site Facebook has been hit with a lawsuit from Eminem and his publishing company Eight Mile Style LLC due to what is believed to be the unlawful use of the Detroit rapper and D12’s collaboration “Under The Influence.”

According to AllHipHop.com, the lawsuit states that Facebook posted a Wieden + Kennedy ad, which promoted their new Facebook Home app and in the ad the music used is believed to be “Under The Influence.” An altered version of the ad was then released, but according to the lawsuit the edit was then taken as Facebook’s acknowledgement of the unapproved use of Eminem and D12’s song.

“The alteration of the Airplane advertisement was an admission that Facebook knew it had infringed on the Eminem/D12 Composition,” states the lawsuit.

Ironically, Eminem’s lawsuit states that Facebook and Wieden + Kennedy’s response to the cease and desist order, which was initially placed, called out Dr. Dre although the mega-producer did not produce or have any involvement with “Under The Influence.”

“Counsel falsely and wrongfully alleged that Andre Young, professionally known as Dr. Dre, composed ‘Under the Influence,’” read the lawsuit. “Yet, a simple Internet search of the Eminem/D12 Composition would have revealed that ‘Under the Influence’ was composed by Marshall Mathers, III, and members of D12, including Denaun Porter, Von Carlisle, Ondre Moore, R. Arthur Johnson, and DeShaun Holton. Dr. Dre likewise did not produce ‘Under the Influence.’”

At this time, Eminem and Eight Mile Style LLC are suing Facebook and the company that created the ad for $150,000 per infringement.

Naijarant.com

US highway bridge collapses into river

No deaths reported in incident on Interstate 5 in Washington state, which threw vehicles and people into Skagit River.

A 2013 infrastructure report card gave the bridge over Skagit River a D-plus overrall grade [AFP]

Part of a four-lane freeway bridge over a river in a rural area north of Seattle has collapsed, sending vehicles and people into the frigid water below, authorities say. The collapse on Thursday on Interstate 5 over the Skagit River happened at about 7pm local time between the towns of Mount Vernon and Burlington, 90km north of Seattle in Washington state, Mark Francis, a patrol spokesman trooper, said. At least three people were fished out but there were no reports of serious injuries or fatalities in the incident, which may have been caused by a high-sided lorry hitting a bridge span, a spokesman said. Pictures showed a large mangled section of the bridge collapsed into the water, with traffic and crowds of people visible on the end nearest land. The bridge was built in 1955, according to the website for the privately run National Bridge Inventory Database. The American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card gave the country a dismal grade of D-plus overall. "We are looking at a potential overheight load," Travis Phelps, a spokesman for the state's transportation department, told Kiro 7 television. Interstate 5 and the bridge over the Skagit River are the main corridor for car traffic between Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. Residents cautioned The Skagit County Sheriff's Office, in a statement on its Facebook page, asked people to avoid the area to make room for emergency responders. "Please try to stay off land and cellphones as the volume of calls has overloaded the system and first responders are not able to make needed calls due to line overload," the statement advised residents. The collapse comes nearly six years after another bridge fell in Minnesota and raised concerns about faulty infrastructure in the US. In August 2007, about 305 metres of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River during the evening rush hour. Vehicles plummeted into the water, killing 13 people and injuring another 145. In a subsequent investigation of the fatal collapse, the US National Transportation Safety Board found more than a dozen steel support plates suspected of causing the disaster were deficient in size, and a routine inspection would not have uncovered the problem. Thursday's bridge collapse will raise questions about the nation's infrastructure, which has been a popular issue with President Barack Obama, who earlier this year warned against "raggedy" roads and wants to focus more money on rebuilding to improve the economy.

Source: Agencies