Nigeria, Boko Haram reach ceasefire deal, kidnapped girls to go free, official says

(CNN) -- Nigeria has reached a ceasefire agreement with the Islamist terror group Boko Haram that includes the release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls, Nigerian officials said Friday.

The deal came Thursday night after a month of negotiations with representatives of the group, said Hassan Tukur, principal secretary to President Goodluck Jonathan.

"We have agreed on the release of the Chibok schoolgirls, and we expect to conclude on that at our next meeting with the group's representative next week in Chad," Tukur said.

Officials provided few details about the release.

Doyin Okupe, a government spokesman, did not specify when the girls would be freed. He said not all would be let go at once, but a "significant number" would be released soon.

"A batch of them will be released shortly, and this will be followed by further actions from Boko Haram," he said. "It is a process. ... It is not a question of hours and days."

The Nigerian government consented to some demands by Boko Haram, but Okupe declined to provide details.

The government, he said, "is looking beyond the girls. We want to end the insurgency in this country."

"On the war front," he added, "we can say there is peace now."

The agreement was first reported by Agence France-Presse.

What is Boko Haram?

The terrorist group abducted an estimated 276 girls in April from a boarding school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria. Dozens escaped, but more than 200 are still missing.

Nigerian officials met with Boko Haram in Chad twice during talks mediated by Chadian President Idriss Deby, according to Tukur.

"The group has shown willingness to abide by the agreement which ‎it demonstrated with the release of the Chinese and Cameroonian hostages few days ago," Tukur said.

In cross-border attacks by Boko Haram this week, eight Cameroonian soldiers and 107 group members were killed in heavy fighting that lasted two days in northern Cameroon, the country's defense ministry said Friday, according to state broadcaster CRTV.

The militants led an incursion near Limani, close to the border with Nigeria, on Wednesday, equipped with heavy weapons, including at least one tank, CRTV said, citing information from the defense ministry.

The fighting lasted two hours and resumed on Thursday, when Cameroonian soldiers forced the militants back across the border into Nigeria. Seven Cameroonian soldiers were injured. A Boko Haram tank and other vehicles were destroyed and weapons and ammunition were seized by Cameroonian forces, according to CRTV.

A source involved in talks with the militants told CNN last month that Nigerian government officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross had discussions with Boko Haram about swapping imprisoned members of the group for the more than 200 schoolgirls. It is unclear, however, whether the deal includes a prisoner swap.

Pro-democracy demonstrators recapture part of bustling district in Hong Kong

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Pro-democracy demonstrators seized back part of Hong Kong's bustling Mong Kok district Saturday after a night of scuffles.

Spurred on by police attempts to reopen part of the district to traffic, the protesters' numbers increased overnight, swelling to around 9,000, according to Hong Kong police.

By Saturday morning, the demonstrators had reclaimed the territory that they had ceded less than a day earlier.

Amid the tussling, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, the government negotiator, announced Saturday that talks with pro-democracy protesters will take place Tuesday, with Lingnan University President Leonard Cheng as moderator.

"The meeting is expected to take place for about two hours," she said, adding that it will be broadcast live but not open to the public.

The reaction from Yvonne Leung, spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Federation of Students, was lukewarm at best. She said in statement that the protest group didn't "have much opinion" about the details of the meeting.

On the streets, meanwhile, the situation remains highly volatile, with the protests continuing through the weekend.

Protesters crossed police lines, authorities said, clashing with officers as the situation turned violent.

Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok Saturday called protesters in Mong Kok overnight "radical," saying they were not protesting peacefully but instead carrying out violent acts and violating the public order.

"This caused chaos and dangers and had caused serious threats to public safety," he said.

 

At least 240 people were injured over the past 24 hours, according to the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, which manages all public hospitals in the city.

Eighteen police officers were injured, Hong Kong police said.

At least 33 people were arrested and faced various charges, including property damage, disorderly conduct, weapons possession and resisting arrest, police said.

Violence erupted after police conducted a dawn raid Friday on a student protest camp in the commercial and residential area of Kowloon.

Authorities moved to clear a major intersection occupied by the pro-democracy protesters for almost three weeks, tearing down tents and dismantling barricades.

Around 500 to 600 police carrying wire cutters and riot shields stormed the Mong Kok site, a smaller offshoot of the main downtown protest area, catching the 100 to 200 protesters by surprise.

Police also used a crane to tear down makeshift structures.

University student Adrian Lui, who had been at the protest camp for three days, said he was sleeping when the police moved in.

"They were running towards us with shields and at that moment we were nervous," he said. "Lots of people got spooked and ran down side streets."

Obama's credit card declined at fancy restaurant

(CNN) -- Ever had your credit card turned down at a fancy restaurant?

President Obama can commiserate.

Speaking to workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington on Friday, he recalled a moment last month when, at the end of a dinner out in New York City, his plastic was declined.

"I guess I don't use it enough, so they thought there was some fraud going on," he said. "Luckily, Michelle had hers. I was trying to explain to the waitress that I've really been paying my bills."

The President and first lady dined at Estela in downtown Manhattan during Obama's stay in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly session in September.

Based on a photo of their kitchen order that the restaurant posted online, we know the Obamas dined on burrata with salsa verde and charred bread, and an endive salad with walnuts and anchovies.

The restaurant is run by a former staffer at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a farm-to-table mecca in the Hudson Valley where the Obama family attended the wedding of their personal chef this summer.

Obama was at the financial agency Friday to sign an executive order bolstering security measures for government credit cards.

Protest numbers swell as police move to clear Hong Kong barricades

 Hong Kong (CNN) -- Pro-democracy demonstrations heated up again in Hong Kong early Saturday as thousands of protesters converged on the city's busy Mong Kok commercial and residential district. The numbers increased overnight, swelling to 9,000 protesters, Hong Kong police said.

Protesters crossed police lines, authorities said, clashing with officers as the situation turned violent.

At least 240 people were injured over the past 24 hours, according to the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, which manages all public hospitals in the city.

Fifteen police officers were injured, the Hong Kong Police public relations branch said.

More than two dozen people were arrested. Authorities said 26 protesters, ranging in age from 21 to 52, were taken into custody. They faced charges that ranged from property damage and disorderly conduct to obstructing police, weapons possession and resisting arrest, police said.

Violence erupted after police conducted a dawn raid Friday on a student protest camp in the commercial and residential area of Kowloon.

Authorities moved to clear a major intersection occupied by the pro-democracy protesters for almost three weeks, tearing down tents and dismantling barricades.

Around 500 to 600 police carrying wire cutters and riot shields stormed the Mong Kok site, a smaller offshoot of the main downtown protest area, catching the 100 to 200 protesters by surprise.

Police also used a crane to tear down makeshift structures.

A CNN team at the scene said most protesters did not put up any resistance. Police later said they arrested one 48-year-old man for common assault.

Photos: Hong Kong unrest

 

University student Adrian Lui, who had been at the protest camp for three days, said he was sleeping when the police moved in.

"They were running towards us with shields and at that moment we were nervous. Lots of people got spooked and ran down side streets."

Lui said he would stay at the site in the hope that back-up protesters would arrive.

Pictures from CNN affiliate iCable Friday afternoon showed a small number of protesters sitting on the street in Mong Kok, preventing traffic from flowing southbound along Nathan Road, a main thoroughfare in Kowloon.

In a statement, police said that they had designated an area for protesters on the sidewalk and called for them to disperse.

Black Keys drummer: U2 release 'devalued their music'

(CNN) -- First the Black Keys' Patrick Carney lit into Justin Bieber. Now he's taking on U2.

The outspoken drummer, who said a few months ago that Bieber "should be grateful that he has a f****** career in music," did not mince words when talking about the release of U2's latest, "Songs of Innocence," as a free download from iTunes.

The album's distribution "devalued their music completely," Carney told The Seattle Times. It "sends a huge mixed message to bands ... that are just struggling to get by. I think that they were thinking it's super generous of them to do something like that."

The U2 album was automatically downloaded into more than 500 million iTunes folders upon release September 9 -- pleasing some fans but angering others who didn't want the album in the first place. Bono later apologized for the inconvenience.

"I'm sorry about that," Bono said in a question-and-answer video posted this week on the band's Facebook page. "I had this beautiful idea, but (we) got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing. A drop of megalomania, a touch of generosity, a dash of self-promotion and deep fear that these songs, that we poured our life into over the last few years, mightn't be heard."

Bono apologizes for free iTunes album

Apple observed that the album had been fully downloaded 26 million times and that 81 million people had listened to at least one song.

Carney also defended the Keys' choice not to put their last two albums on Spotify. Artists aren't being fairly compensated, he said. (Cracker's David Lowery has made the same point about Pandora.)

"My whole thing about music is: If somebody's making money then the artist should be getting a fair cut of it," Carney said.

Presumably referring to Spotify co-founder Sean Parker, he added, "The owner of Spotify is worth something like 3 billion dollars ... he's richer than Paul McCartney and he's 30 and he's never written a song."

9 peacekeepers killed in Mali, U.N. says

(CNN) -- Nine U.N. peacekeepers were killed in an ambush Friday in Mali, a U.N. spokesman said.

Their convoy was attacked near Menaka, in the country's eastern Gao region, by heavily armed men on motorcycles, said Olivier Salgado, a spokesman for the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Mali.

The nine dead were from Niger. The United Nations does not know who is responsible, Salgado said.

The attack was the deadliest yet of several against the forces in the country, the U.N. mission said on its Facebook page.

Air assets were immediately deployed with the aim of making the area safe and helping the peacekeepers, the statement said.

Arnauld Akodjenou, deputy special representative of the secretary-general in the U.N. mission, called for an end to violence.

He said he was horrified by "this cowardly and hateful act of terrorism" and the loss of more lives in pursuit of peace in Mali, adding that these crimes must not go unpunished.

In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said such attacks constitute a violation of international law, and called on armed groups operating in the area of promises they have made to cooperate with the United Nations.

The latest attack comes a little more than two weeks after five U.N. peacekeepers from Chad were killed and three others injured when a U.N. vehicle struck a homemade bomb in northern Mali.

The September 18 attack took place on a road between Aguelhok and Tessalit, the U.N. mission said.

Other attacks have also killed or injured U.N. peacekeepers in the Kidal region.

The U.N. mission is there to guard against militant Islamists who in early 2013 threatened to move on the West African nation's capital, Bamako.

More than 8,000 military personnel and nearly 1,000 police were deployed under the peacekeeping mission as of the end of August. It was set up in April 2013 following a U.N. Security Council resolution.

Vice President Joe Biden apologizes to Turkey; UAE mad, too

(CNN) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has apologized to Turkey for comments he made last week that Middle Eastern allies are partly to blame for the strengthening of ISIS.

The United Arab Emirates have also asked Biden for a "clarification" of his remarks.

The problem appears to have originated during an appearance last week at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University when Biden spoke about Turkey, the UAE, other Middle Eastern allies, and the threat posed by the so-called Islamic State terror group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Biden told attendees that the militant Islamist group had been inadvertently strengthened by actions allies took to help opposition groups fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad. Except that the people who were being supplied were al-Nusra and al-Qaeda and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world," Biden told students.

"We could not convince our colleagues to stop supplying them," he said.

On Turkey's alleged role, Biden said, "President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan told me, he's an old friend, said, 'You were right. We let too many people (including foreign fighters) through.' Now they are trying to seal their border," he said, according to transcripts.

Denial and consternation

Erdogan vehemently denied ever saying such a thing.

Biden extended a mea culpa on Saturday to the Turkish President.

The apology came hours after Erdogan expressed his anger over the comments to reporters in Istanbul, saying "Biden has to apologize for his statements."

Otherwise, he said, Biden will become "history to me," according to published reports by the semi-official Anadolu news agency. 

The United Arab Emirates' foreign ministry hit Biden with a sharply formulated statement Saturday, expressing its "astonishment" at the Vice President's remarks.

They were "far from the truth, especially with relation to the UAE's role in confronting extremism and terrorism and its clear and advanced position in recognizing the dangers, including the danger of financing terrorism and terrorist groups," said Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargash.

The apology

"The Vice President apologized for any implication that Turkey or other Allies and partners in the region had intentionally supplied or facilitated the growth of ISIL or other violent extremists in Syria," Biden spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said.

"The Vice President made clear that the United States greatly values the commitments and sacrifices made by our Allies and partners from around the world to combat the scourge of ISIL, including Turkey."

During their telephone conversation, Biden and Erdogan reaffirmed the two countries' commitment to fight the terror group, Barkoff said.

Erdogan's office and the Turkish Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment regarding Biden's apology.

The issue has arisen at a sensitive time, with Turkey's government authorizing the use of military force against terrorist organizations, including ISIS, as the militant group's fighters laid siege to towns just south of the Turkish border.

The government also agreed to allow foreign troops to launch operations against ISIS from Turkey.

Until now, Turkey has offered only tacit support to the coalition.

While Biden is known for making blunt statements that sometimes embarrass the administration, Turkey is particularly sensitive to allegations of allowing terrorists to cross its border into Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused Turkey of looking the other way and, in some cases, providing support to rebels embroiled in the country's civil war.

Turkey, in turn, has accused Syria of fomenting the unrest that has led to ISIS taking hold in the region.

F1 driver Jules Bianchi rushed to hospital after late crash at Japanese GP

 
(CNN) -- Lewis Hamilton extended his lead in the Formula One title race by winning the Japanese Grand Prix Sunday but the victory was overshadowed by a serious accident involving Jules Bianchi of France.

The race, which had been run off in treacherous wet conditions, was under a late red flag after Adrian Sutil of Sauber crashed at turn eight of the Suzuka circuit.

Soon afterwards, Bianchi's Marussia careered off at the same place, reportedly crashing into the digger being used to remove Sutil's car.

The second red flag brought the race to a premature finish after 44 of 53 laps with Hamilton declared the winner ahead of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

His third straight victory stretched his advantage over Rosberg in the championship to 10 points with four rounds remaining.

Departing Sebastian Vettel got the better of Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo in their own private battle for the final place on the podium.

But at the presentations all the drivers' thoughts were with Bianchi and the traditional champagne-spraying celebration did not take place.

FIA media delegate Matteo Bonciani gave an update on his condition to gathered reporters.

"The driver is unconscious," Bonciani said. "He has been sent to hospital by ambulance because the helicopter cannot go in conditions. Further updates will follow. For the moment, we cannot say anything," the UK's Press Association reported.

Typhoon Phanfone, which is sweeping across Japan, had led to fears the race might have to be abandoned and it started in heavy rain and behind the safety car.

After just two laps it was suspended after drivers complained of the severely restricted visibility.

When it restarted, it developed into a duel between pole sitter Rosberg and Hamilton.

On lap 29, a bold overtaking move by Hamilton saw him take a lead he never relinquished.

Dallas Ebola patient is in critical condition, hospital says

Dallas (CNN) -- Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States, is now in critical condition, a Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital spokeswoman said Saturday.

The Liberian man had previously been listed as being in serious condition. Hospital spokeswoman Candace White offered no new details other than his condition.

Earlier, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Duncan was in intensive care.

About 10 people are at "higher risk" of catching Ebola after coming into contact with Duncan but have shown no symptoms, health officials said Saturday.

The group is among 50 people being monitored daily, but the other 40 are considered "low risk," said Dr. David Lakey, the commissioner of Texas department of state health services.

The nine people who had definite contact with the Ebola patient -- including family members and health care professionals -- have been monitored and show no symptoms or fevers, Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Saturday.

"We have already gotten well over 100 inquiries of possible patients," Frieden told reporters. "We've assessed every one of those ... and just this one patient has tested positive ... We expect that we will see more rumors or concerns or possibilities of cases, until there is a positive laboratory test, that is what they are."

Health officials did not provide details on the location of those being monitored or where they interacted with Duncan.

Monitoring includes a visit from a public health expert and temperature checks twice a day. None of them has had symptoms of Ebola so far, according to Lakey.

The latest figure is a drastic reduction of a number that started at 100 after initial talks with Duncan and hospital officials.

Duncan landed in Dallas on September 20, and started feeling sick days later. He made his initial visit to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on September 25.

He was released with antibiotics but went back three days later and was quickly isolated. A blood test Tuesday confirmed he had Ebola, the first case of the deadly virus diagnosed on American soil.

A vanishing world caught on camera

An extraordinary exhibit, "Before They Pass," offers a fleeting glimpse at the world's last surviving indigenous tribes -- from South American to Siberia. It is the work of photographer Jimmy Nelson, and is currently on display at the Atlas Gallery in London.

Mexico nabs top drug lord Hector Beltran Leyva

(CNN) -- Troops closed in on one of Mexico's most wanted drug lords Wednesday, nabbing him at a seafood restaurant in a popular tourist destination.

Members of the Mexican Army didn't fire a single shot when they captured Hector Beltran Leyva in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, officials said.

His arrest came after 11 months of investigation as intelligence officials traced his path, Tomas Zeron de Lucio, the director of criminal investigation for Mexico's Attorney General's Office, told reporters.

Mexican authorities were offering a reward of more than $2 million for information leading to his capture. And the U.S. State Department's Narcotics Rewards Program had been offering a reward of up to $5 million.

Beltran Leyva, who led a cartel by the same name, had been living a discreet, low-profile life in Mexico's Queretaro state, ditching fancy cars and other trappings of luxury to appear as a simple businessman, Zeron said.

But in reality, Zeron said, Beltran Leyva was "one of the main leaders of drug trafficking in Mexico" and headed "a large network of corruption and money laundering."

He rose to power after Mexican marines killed his brother in a 2009 raid that the head of the DEA described as a "crippling blow to one of the most violent cartels in the world."

More on the Mexican drug war

Nicknames for the kingpin included "The Engineer" and "The H."

According to security experts, the cartel had regrouped after the dramatic 2009 operation and developed alliances with the Zetas and the Juarez Cartel.

The State Department has said the cartel was responsible for transporting weapons and ammunition to Mexico from the United States, and trafficking in cocaine, marijuana, heroine and methamphetamine.

Iran postpones execution of woman who killed her alleged rapist

(CNN) -- The hanging of an Iranian woman, convicted of murder in a killing that human rights groups called self-defense against her rapist, has been delayed for 10 days, according to Amnesty International.

Reyhaneh Jabbari, 26, was sentenced to death for the 2007 killing of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former employee of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

The United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights says that the killing was an act of self-defense against a rapist and that Jabbari never received a fair trial.

On Wednesday, Amnesty International said in a statement that Jabbari had been transferred to a prison where, according to a message from her mother on Facebook, she was set to be executed on September 30.

But at the last minute, the execution was delayed for 10 days, the rights group said, "possibly in response to the public outcry after her mother's post about her scheduled execution." In the post, Jabbari's mother wrote that she could "collect the body" after the execution.

Amnesty International said Jabbari was convicted of murder after "a flawed investigation and unfair trial." The United Nations and international human rights groups have taken up Jabbari's cause.

A Facebook page dedicated to saving Jabbari from execution has been created, with more than 14,000 likes.

The U.N. has said Sarbandi hired Jabbari -- then a 19-year-old interior designer -- to work on his office. Jabbari stabbed Sarbandi after he sexually assaulted her, the U.N. has said.

Jabbari was held in solitary confinement without access to her lawyer and family for two months, Amnesty International said in a statement. She was tortured during that time.

"Amnesty International understands that, at the outset of the investigation, Reyhaneh Jabbari admitted to stabbing the man once in the back, but claimed she had done so after he had tried to sexually abuse her," the rights group said. "She also maintained that a third person in the house had been involved in the killing. These claims, if proven, could exonerate her but are believed never to have been properly investigated, raising many questions about the circumstances of the killing."

The family of Sarbandi could forgive his killer and agree to stay the execution, an option available under Iran's Islamic penal code.

Iranian Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi has joined scores of Iranian artists and musicians calling for a halt to the execution. In an open letter, Farhadi asked the victim's family to pardon Jabbari.

Rights groups have criticized the Islamic Republic of Iran for a surge in executions under Hassan Rouhani, in his first year as President.

According to the United Nations, Iran has executed at least 170 people this year. In 2013, Iran executed more people than any other country with the exception of China, the world's most populous nation.

Iraq car bomb kills 14, leaves dozens injured

(CNN) -- A car bomb detonated on a busy street in southeastern Baghdad on Wednesday night, killing 14 people and wounding 51 others, authorities said.

Several shops and vehicles nearby were damaged in the explosion in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood known as New Baghdad.

In a separate incident Wednesday night, three mortar rounds landed inside the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, Iraq's interior ministry said.

It's unclear whether there were any casualties.

The Green Zone houses Iraqi government offices, as well as the U.S. and British embassies.

U.S. Ebola case: Searching for contacts

Dallas (CNN) -- Health officials are reaching out to as many as 100 people who may have had contact with the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S., a spokeswoman with the Texas Department of State Health Services said Thursday.

These are people who are still being questioned because they may have crossed paths with the patient either at the hospital, at his apartment complex or in the community.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we're starting with this very wide net, including people who have had even brief encounters with the patient or the patient's home," spokeswoman Carrie Williams said. "The number will drop as we focus in on those whose contact may represent a potential risk of infection."

The number of direct contacts who have been identified and are being monitored right now is "more than 12," a federal official told CNN on Thursday.

"By the end of the day, we should have a pretty good idea of how many contacts there are," the official said.

This contradicts what Dallas County Health and Human Services spokeswoman Erikka Neroes said earlier Thursday. Neroes said 80 people -- the patient's contacts, plus people with whom they had contact -- were being monitored for Ebola in the Dallas area.

Being "monitored" means a public health worker visits twice a day to take the contact's temperature and ask them if they are experiencing any symptoms.

None of the people being monitored has so far shown symptoms, Neroes said, but all are being given educational materials about the deadly virus. Most are not being quarantined, though Dallas County health officials have ordered four close relatives of the patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, to stay home and not have any visitors until at least October 19.

"The family was having some challenges following the directions to stay home, so we're taking every precaution," Texas Department of Health spokeswoman Carrie Williams said about why the state had issued a legal order. "Food and other needs of the family are being worked out logistically today. Those needs will be specifically covered to allow them to stay in the house."

While Duncan remains in serious but stable condition at a Dallas hospital, two things are still spreading: fear and frustration. Some parents are scared to take their kids to the schools that his girlfriend's children attended.

Others are upset at the hospital where Duncan first sought care, which sent him home and raised the possibility he could infect others for at least two additional days.

Michel Platini breaks silence over Garcia investigation

(CNN) -- Michel Platini has broken his silence over FIFA's refusal to publish the long-awaited report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

"As long as the regulations of the FIFA code of ethics regarding the actual investigation are respected, I support the publishing of the Garcia Report," the Frenchman told CNN Thursday.

"I have no issue with the findings and recommendations of the report being made available to the public."

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has stated that the report -- compiled by Michael Garcia, head of the world governing body's investigative chamber of the ethics committee -- will not be published because of fears over witness confidentiality.

Hans-Joachim Eckert, head of FIFA's adjudicatory chamber of the ethics committee, is expected to reveal his decision on sanctions next year.

American lawyer Garcia is among those who have urged FIFA to publish the report but Platini's statement of intent is the most significant yet -- he is the highest profile member of the football world to oppose Blatter's position.

"The president has been very calm about the whole issue, whether it's the investigation or process which led to the investigation," UEFA Chief of Press Pedro Pinto told CNN.

"After he met with Mr. Garcia earlier this year, the President said he liked speaking with him and that his team was objective, concrete and straight.

"He likes dealing with people who are like that."

Platini, who openly revealed he voted for Qatar to be awarded the 2022 World Cup, believes FIFA must become more transparent in their dealings. He did rule out challenging Blatter for the presidency next year.

The 59-year-old made clear his feelings about FIFA during a speech in Monaco last August where he spoke of the need for the organization to be open and accountable.

"We all want a FIFA that functions better, that is more transparent, that shows more solidarity, and that football fans hold in higher esteem," he said.

"I will do everything I can, at my level, to contribute to this."

Platini's public support for the publication of the report follows views expressed by a number of Executive Committee members, who believe FIFA should disclose not just the results but also the findings.

Sunil Gulati, the president of U.S. Soccer, has urged FIFA to publish the findings and recommendations of the report, as have FIFA vice-presidents Jim Boyce of Northern Ireland and Prince Ali bin al-Hussein from Jordan.

Prince Ali, FIFA's Asian vice-president, took to Twitter last week to give his views on the matter, urging for more transparency.

"In the interest of full transparency, I believe it is important that the much-anticipated report on the ethics investigation that is crucial to ensuring good governance at Fifa is fully disclosed and open to the public," he wrote on Twitter.

"This will only help the football community move ahead in reforming our institutions in the best interest of the sport.

"The entire football family as well as its sponsors and those who follow the game worldwide have a full right to know the contents of the report in the spirit of complete openness."

Blatter's position has been boosted by FIFA's legal director Marco Villiger, who said that witness confidentiality could prove difficult to sustain if the report was published.

"The code of ethics is based on certain principles, one of which is confidentiality," Villiger told reporters.

"Cooperation between witnesses and the ethics committee is based on confidentiality, if not perhaps certain witnesses, whistleblowers or other parties might not cooperate to such an extent," he said, adding that 75 witnesses had been heard during Garcia's investigation.

William and Catherine warn paparazzi to back off Prince George

London (CNN) -- Lawyers for Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, have sent letters to two photographers asking them to stop following the couple's son, Prince George, and his nanny around public parks, Buckingham Palace said Thursday.

The two individuals have essentially been stalking Prince George, who is 14 months old, said a palace spokesman.

William and Kate want their son, who is third in line to the British throne, to have "as normal a childhood as possible," the spokesman said.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are grateful to the British press for refraining from publishing the paparazzi photos, he added.

The letters were delivered "earlier this week," the spokesman said. There has not yet been a response.

Buckingham Palace spokesmen traditionally are not quoted by name.

Catherine is expecting the couple's second child, royal officials confirmed last month, and as a result has canceled some public engagements.

As during her first pregnancy, she is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, or acute morning sickness. The condition involves nausea and vomiting more severe than the typical morning sickness many women suffer during early pregnancy.