Germany's Rock am Ring music festival halted over terror threat

Crowds at one of Germany's biggest music festivals have been evacuated because of "concrete leads" of a possible terror threat.

The Rock am Ring festival at the Nurburgring race track near the western town of Nurburg was suspended on the first night of the three-day event.

Security had been stepped up at the festival in the wake of the Manchester bomb attack.

Checks included body searches and a ban on rucksacks and bags, while around 1,200 police officers were on duty.

Image:Festival-goers left the site calmly singing You'll Never Walk Alone

Koblenz police said the event had been suspended due to "concrete leads, which do not allow us to eliminate a possible terror threat".

It added: "We are currently conducting a very intense investigation."

Journalists were told of concerns about a person, who had been involved in the festival preparations, including erecting the security fences.

The festival was expected to welcome up to 90,000 visitors, with German hard rock giants Rammstein set to perform on Friday night, before the security alert led to the evacuation.

British singer-songwriter Rag'n'Bone Man had been on stage earlier in the day.

Image:Police say they are conducting 'a very intense investigation'

The organisers used loudspeakers to inform concert-goers about the possible threat.

"We hope it will continue tomorrow. Please head to the exits," they said.

Leaving the site calmly, people sang You'll Never Walk Alone.

Festival organiser Marek Lieberberg said the grounds were clear by 9.30pm, about a half hour after people were told that they were going to have to leave.

"The public reacted fantastically," he added.

He hoped the annual festival would be able to restart on Saturday, but this has not yet been confirmed.

Some 85 bands were scheduled to play on four stages over the weekend, with Germany's Toten Hosen headlining Saturday's bill and California's System of a Down due to perform on Sunday.

Germany has been on alert after a series of violent attacks last year, including when a lorry ploughed into a Christmas market in Berlin killing 12 people.

Briefsfromshittu: CIA's 'Dark Prince' tapped to lead charge against ...

Briefsfromshittu: CIA's 'Dark Prince' tapped to lead charge against ...: Michael D'Andrea ran covert programmes to hunt and kill 'terrorist' suspects with drones around the world [Larry Downing/Reuters...

CIA's 'Dark Prince' tapped to lead charge against Iran

Michael D'Andrea ran covert programmes to hunt and kill 'terrorist' suspects with drones around the world [Larry Downing/Reuters]


The CIA has appointed a senior counterterrorism officer with a strong background in the Middle East to lead the US administration's handling of Iran, signaling a new hardline approach to Tehran, sources tell Al Jazeera.

Known as the "Dark Prince", "Ayatollah Mike", and the "Undertaker" within the halls of the CIA, Michael D'Andrea ran the CIA's Counterterrorism Center between 2006 and 2015. He also oversaw its covert programmes to hunt and kill "terrorist" suspects with drones around the world, particularly in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

One former Central Intelligence Agency official, who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to talk to the press, said the appointment of D'Andrea is the first signal that the Trump administration is mapping out an aggressive strategy to deal with Iran.

OPINION: Nuclear deal promises a bright future for Iranians

Former CIA case officer Robert Baer, who said he knows D'Andrea by reputation, was more blunt. "All I can say is that war with Iran is in the cards [after D'Andrea's appointment]," Baer said.

Has Rouhani succeeded in reforming Iran? - UpFront

According to former CIA officials, the agency has never officially confirmed D'Andrea's identity, despite his naming in a New York Times story in 2015.

The former CIA officer, who has worked with D'Andrea, told Al Jazeera his appointment shows the Trump administration is going to be "very aggressive with Iran".

D'Andrea is a convert to Islam and is married to a Muslim woman whom he met during his work in the Middle East. He is reportedly in his late 50s or early 60s and has worked undercover in Iraq, Egypt, and other countries, officials said.

D'Andrea joined the CIA in 1979 and was deployed to Africa immediately after he left the CIA training facility in Virginia known as "the Farm".

He was the most senior CIA officer in Baghdad during the Iraq war in 2003. In 2006, he was called back to CIA headquarters to lead the Counterterrorism Center, succeeding its outgoing chief Robert Grenier.

He is known within the CIA as "abrasive" and a "workaholic", sources said. Jordanian intelligence officials described D'Andrea as "highly professional" but "ruthless".

A CIA spokesman declined to comment on this report.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump and his Saudi hosts pledged to forge ahead with a strategic partnership against armed groups in the region. Trump also signaled a hardline policy towards Iran.

Saudi Arabia views Iran as the biggest threat to its national security and regional stability. During Trump's visit, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described Tehran's influence in the Middle East as "malign", adding Iran posed "threats" on all sides of Saudi Arabia's borders.

The US and Saudi Arabia announced last may the signing of memorandum of understanding establishing a Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which will be headquartered in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The centre will target threats coming from organisations such as al-Qaeda, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and Hezbollah, which is linked to Iran and other armed groups.

READ MORE: Trump passes up chance to 'rip up' Iran nuclear deal

D'Andrea was in charge of the Counterterrorism Center in 2009 when a Jordanian double-agent doctor, Humam al-Balawi, blew himself up at a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan - killing seven CIA officers and a Jordanian intelligence official who was his handler.

Balawi was recruited by Jordanian intelligence, the Mukhabarat, and was presented to the CIA as having direct connections to al-Qaeda's top leadership.

D'Andrea - who spent decades hunting down Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders - believed he finally was able to plant a high-level source inside al-Qaeda's inner circle, sources told Al Jazeera, but that proved deadly wrong.

Snapchat firm launches Spectacles camera glasses in Europe

Snap Inc, the maker of Snapchat, is doubling down on its camera-enabled sunglasses, making them available across Europe.

The hardware, called Spectacles, will be available online and also in location-hopping vending machines, including at the London Eye.

But this isn't (just) a publicity stunt: technology companies are locked in a fierce battle to own your camera.

Facebook has said it wants an augmented-reality future based on people's cameras.

Google recently unveiled Lens, a technology that turns your camera into a search engine, giving you information about anything you point it at - from buildings and flowers to people.

Pinterest's chief executive has said that "a lot of the future of search is going to be about pictures instead of keywords".

And Apple is said to be developing its own smart glasses.

Snap led the charge here. In its initial public offering filing in February, it said: "Snap Inc is a camera company."

It had already launched Spectacles in September 2016.

Since then, though, the company has had a tough time.

Facebook has been busy copying Snapchat's features into its own apps, including Instagram and Messenger as well as the main Facebook app.

Snap's first earnings report in May was disappointing, posting a $2.2 billion loss for the first quarter; its shares are still trading at less than their IPO price.

In that context, it could have pulled back from Spectacles.

Evan Spiegel, the company's chief executive, has described it as an "experiment"; the company loses money on each pair it sells, according to its IPO filing.

So rolling Spectacles out across Europe is certainly interesting.

There are a couple of things at play.

First, Spectacles encourage you to use Snapchat a lot more.

I've only played with them for a day but (encouraged by the London sun) I've taken way more snaps than usual.

They're actually quite fun and the camera quality is decent.

It's also a lot easier to just hit a button on the side of your glasses to record a video, rather than get your phone out, decide which photo-sharing app you want to use and take a pic.

And that's an important point: Spectacles encourage you to use Snapchat and nothing else.

They are a way of locking in users.

Second, they play to the strengths of Snapchat, which has always been a fun, conversational medium - not one for polished photography.

Image:Spectacles will be available online and in location-hopping vending machines, including at the London Eye

As Spiegel has said: "Pictures are being used for talking.

"So when you see your children taking a zillion photos of things that you would never take a picture of, it's because they're using photographs to talk."

That said, Spectacles cost £129.99.

They aren't aimed at teens - anyway, Snap already has that market cornered.

Spectacles are about broadening its appeal to an older, more affluent demographic.

And that price will come down over time.

But remember, Spectacles are mainly an experiment.

After the valiant disaster that was Google Glass, augmented reality is making a slow comeback.

Spectacles are lower tech than Google Glass, but people might actually wear them.

After that, Snap can start adding more and more features - and gain a beachhead in the Great Camera War.

France, Germany and Italy to President Trump: Paris Climate Agreement Can't Be Renegotiated

The leaders of France, Germany and Italy say the Paris climate accord cannot be renegotiated as President Donald Trump has demanded.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni said in a joint statement Thursday that they take note "with regret" the U.S. decision to pull out of the 2015 agreement.

The three leaders say they regard the accord as "a cornerstone in the cooperation between our countries, for effectively and timely tackling climate change."

They added that the course charted by the accord is "irreversible and we firmly believe that the Paris Agreement cannot be renegotiated."

Macron, Merkel and Gentiloni say they remain committed to the deal and will "step up efforts" to support the poorest and most threatened nations.

Lionel Messi-themed amusement park to be built in China

A consortium of Chinese firms are set to take on Disneyland by opening an amusement park themed on Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

The Messi Experience Park will have more than 20 attractions spread out over a site of more than 80,000 sq meters in Nanjing, eastern China.

The park, which is set to open in early 2019, will use virtual and augmented reality technologies to offer football training clinics, entertainment activities and displays of Messi's career highlights.

Launching the theme park during a four-day trip to China, Messi said he hoped the attraction would increase the amount of children taking up football.

Image:The star said he hoped the park would create an 'experience they never had before'

He said: "I hope to provide them the experience they never had before and to inspire them to pick up the sport early on.

"Hopefully, they will feel that I am around when visiting the park."

Spanish firm Mediapro, which will run the attraction with Chinese broadcaster Phoenix Group, said the Messi Experience Park would be "a unique global experience".

In all, it will feature 46,000 sq meters of indoor facilities, alongside 12,000 sq metres of "garden game areas" and 25,000 sq metres of public space.

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi, 29, was the second-highest paid sportsman in the world last year, according to Forbes.

Despite being played in a deeper position, the Argentinian international finished with 54 goals in 52 games last season.

Asked about the arrival of new Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde, Messi admitted he does not "have much knowledge of him".

He said: "Of course we know his past experiences, but we have never had direct exchanges and talks.

"When I get to know the coach better and his working style, our goal is always the same which is to have more achievements and to win more titles."

Fresh CCTV images of Manchester bomber released in bid to track movements

Detectives investigating the Manchester Arena bomber have released more CCTV images of him as they piece together his movements after returning to the UK from Libya.

Salman Abedi left Britain on 15 April and returned on 18 May, four days before carrying out his suicide attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert. Some 22 people were killed in the bombing.

Many of Abedi's movements and actions in the four days after he returned were carried out alone, but detectives have not ruled out that he may have been part of a "wider network".

The newly-released images of him include some with a blue suitcase that is yet to be located.

Police are appealing for anyone who saw Abedi in the Rusholme area of Manchester between 18 and 22 May to come forward.

Image:The 22-year-old bought parts of the bomb in the days before the attack

Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson, head of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "We know that Abedi left the country on 15 April and arrived back on the 18 May and we now know from our enquiries that he purchased parts for the bomb after arriving back.

"What we still need to understand is if he had any of the bomb parts in his possession before he went out of the country, this is why we are tracking his movements so carefully.

:: Manchester victim's mum 'aware' of her death

Image:Abedi travelled to the Rusholme area of Manchester days before the attack

"We have made a lot of progress in this with the use of CCTV and have received some really helpful calls from the public. This has led us to the Banff Road area in Rusholme.

"We have had police officers conducting house to house enquiries but we are still not satisfied why Abedi went there and its vital we understand exactly where he went there and who he spoke to in these final days before the attack.

"We need the public's help in this. If you have previously called and have information, I would urge you to call again. We need your help as we piece together what happened in the lead up to the attack and if Abedi was helped by anyone.

"Did you see Abedi in the Rusholme area between 18th and 22nd May? Do you have any information about his movements on these dates?

Image:Abedi carried out his attack four days after returning from Libya

Greater Manchester Police has confirmed that 10 men, aged between 18 and 44, remain in custody on suspicion of offences contrary to the Terrorism Act.

:: 10,000 made false ticket claims for benefit gig

Image:Abedi walking with the blue suitcase

Six people - including a 15-year-old boy - have been released without charge after being arrested by officers investigating the attack.

Abedi, 22, bought most of the key component parts of the bomb in the days before the attack.

Image:Twenty two people were killed in the Manchester attack

:: Anyone with information should call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789321. If you have images or footage, you can upload them to Ukpoliceappeal.co.uk.