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France has declared a national state of emergency and has closed its borders after at least 40 people were killed in multiple shootings in Paris.
At least 15 people were killed near the Bataclan arts centre, where up to 60 people are being held hostage. Explosions and gunfire are reported.
Three people were killed in an attack near the Stade de France, with some reports suggesting a suicide blast.
Paris authorities have urged people to stay indoors.
Military personnel are being deployed across Paris.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/13/455943961/violence-reported-in-paris
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/13/world/paris-shooting/index.html
Update #1 [BBC updates]:
Scores of people have been killed in multiple gun and bomb attacks in Paris
At least 100 people are reported to have died inside the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris
Others died in attacks near the Stade de France, where France were playing Germany, and at restaurants
France has declared a national state of emergency and has closed its borders
Paris residents have been asked to stay indoors and military personnel are being deployed across the city
[...] Reuters. quoting an un-named official at Paris City Hall, says the current death toll in Paris is around 140.
According to the Paris prosecutor, of the four assailants who died during the sidge at the Bataclan, three committed suicide by detonating explosive vests. The prosecutor has warned that some of their accomplices may "still be on the loose".
[...] Here is what French president François Hollande told reporters outside the Bataclan concert hall just now: "To all those who have seen these awful things, I want to say we are going to lead a war which will be pitiless. Because when terrorists are capable of committing such atrocities they must be certain that they are facing a determined France, a united France, a France that is together and does not let itself be moved, even if today we express infinite sorrow."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 14 2015, @01:47AM
It's going to take some pathetic contortionist to bend this around to make an anti-US comment. It's got to be driving you all absolutely crazy.
Quick! Queue up some sort of NSA-related story, STAT! I don't care if it's a dupe - go! go! go!
(Score: 5, Insightful) by shortscreen on Saturday November 14 2015, @06:25AM
This is way too easy. Where do I begin? Well, let's see... what we have here is violence caused by Islamic extremists. It's generally agreed in the West that violent religious extremism is a bad thing. But there is one country, masters of hypocracy that they are, whose actions never match up with their words when it comes to dealing with this problem.
The US had no problem arming and training the Mujahideen to annoy (ie. wage war against) Russia.
The US had no problem helping the Islamic extremists in Chechnya cause more trouble for Russia. In fact, both the Boston Marathon bombers and one of the 9/11 hijackers who the FBI had been warned about, had connections to Chechen extremist groups. There has been speculation that the reason US intelligence did not act on these warnings was because of a policy of not giving a shit about Chechen terrorists. ("They're Russia's problem!")
The US had no problem selling chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein to be used in the Iran-Iraq war. Of course, when Saddam's antics no longer amused them, they bombed the place. And then later, invaded and destroyed the country, justified by nothing but lies.
The US had no problem helping Muslim rebel groups overthrow the government in Libya to get rid of a guy they didn't like.
The US had no problem committing assasinations and acts of sabotage against Iran, while wagging their finger at Iran for "sponsoring terror."
The US had no problem shipping people off to be tortured at "black sites" or Guantanamo Bay.
The US claims that Saudi Arabia, the theocracy, human rights abuser, and state sponsor of terror, is their "ally." The US sells them billions of dollars worth of weapons, which they are currently using to murder people in Yemen.
And here comes the good part! The US exploited political unrest in Syria caused by a drought to foment rebellion by training and arming Islamic extremists who wanted to replace Assad's secular government with a theocracy like the one in Saudi Arabia. Then ISIS appears on the scene with a bunch of US weapons captured from Iraq, committing all sorts of atrocities. The US claims they only support "moderate" rebel groups, and keeps sending weapons. The war continues, and millions of refugees leave the country. And this is where we are today.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 14 2015, @05:58PM
> Then ISIS appears on the scene with a bunch of US weapons captured from Iraq, committing all sorts of atrocities.
You left out that ISIS was created when the US disbanded the Iraqi military so that there was mass unemployment and discontent among people with lots of military training and then put many of them in the same damn prisons they put captured al qaeda. They found common cause in opposing the new Iraqi government which deliberately went out of its way to exclude them from the political system.