Pope says Church doors must stay open despite terror fears

Pope Francis said Wednesday that the doors of Catholic churches around the world must remain open, despite increased security fears in the aftermath of the Paris attacks.

"Please, no armored doors in the Church, everything open," the 78-year-old pontiff told pilgrims in St Peter's square, Italy's AGI news agency reported.

"There are places in the world where doors should not be locked with a key. There are still some but there are also many where armored doors have become the norm.

"We must not surrender to the idea that we must apply this way of thinking to every aspect of our lives," Francis said.

"To do so to the Church would be terrible."

The pope did not explicitly refer to last week's attacks on Paris, which he has condemned as "inhuman."

His comments came in the context of intense discussion in Italy about the security of the Vatican and Rome, which are seen as potential targets for Islamist militants.

Francis's comments also had a spiritual significance -- he has urged the Church to keep its doors open to lapsed believers who are considering returning and to the hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving in Europe from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

Italy announced this week that it would close airspace over Rome to drones for the duration of the upcoming Catholic jubilee year, which is expected to bring more than a million extra visitors to the Italian capital.

The move reflects fears a remote-controlled aircraft could be used by Islamic State or other militant groups to stage a potentially spectacular attack on the home of the Catholic church.

Security has also been stepped up at airports and train stations and some 700 extra troops deployed in public spaces in Rome.

Individuals purporting to be Islamic State militants have made a number of threats against Rome on social media and in the group's propaganda outlets.

Italian officials say they take such statements seriously but that they have never received evidence of a credible, specific plot to bomb Rome, the Vatican or the Pope. —Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Supposed ISIS video threatens attack on Washington, other countries

CAIRO - A video supposedly from Islamic State warned on Monday that countries taking part in air strikes against Syria would suffer the same fate as France, and threatened to attack in Washington.

The video, which appeared on a site used by Islamic State to post its messages, begins with news footage of the aftermath of Friday's Paris shootings in which at least 129 people were killed.

The message to countries involved in what it called the "crusader campaign" was delivered by a man dressed in fatigues and a turban, and identified in subtitles as Al Ghareeb the Algerian.

"We say to the states that take part in the crusader campaign that, by God, you will have a day, God willing, like France's and by God, as we struck France in the center of its abode in Paris, then we swear that we will strike America at its center in Washington," the man said.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the video, which purports to be the work of Islamic State fighters in the Iraqi province of Salahuddine, north of Baghdad.

The French government has called the Paris attacks an act of war and said it would not end its air strikes against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

French fighter jets launched their biggest raids in Syria to date on Sunday targeting the Islamic State's stronghold in the city of Raqqa. The operation was carried out in coordination with US forces.

Police raided homes of suspected Islamist militants across France overnight following the Paris attacks.

"Al Ghareeb the Algerian" also warned Europe in the video that more attacks were coming.

"I say to the European countries that we are coming, coming with booby traps and explosives, coming with explosive belts and [gun] silencers and you will be unable to stop us because today we are much stronger than before," he said.

Apparently referring to international talks to end the Syrian war, another man identified in the video as Al Karrar the Iraqi tells French President Francois Hollande "we have decided to negotiate with you in the trenches and not in the hotels." — Reuters

Prince cancels European tour after terror attacks in Paris

Prince has become the latest act to cancel his European concert tour following the Paris attacks, his French production company confirmed on Monday.

The tour—entitled "Prince Spotlight: Piano and a Microphone"—would have begun on November 24 in Vienna, Austria, and would have included dates in Britain and Sweden.

The 57-year-old American was expected to be in Paris on December 11 to play two shows at the historic Palais Garnier opera house.

"In light of the tragic events in Paris, the organisers decided to cancel the European tour," said Interconcerts, a ticket company.

A similar message was posted on the site of Vienna's concert hall.

The tour was believed to be the first since Prince's rise to stardom in which he would have performed with such stripped-down instrumentation.

A number of rock bands have also cancelled tour dates in France since the attacks, including U2, who cancelled some of their concerts.

Bono and the rest of the band members paid their respects in person at a makeshift memorial set up near the 1,500-seat Bataclan concert hall where 89 people were killed.

The California rock group Eagles of Death Metal was performing at the venue when gunmen burst in. Members of the band escaped unharmed and have returned to the United States.

Other acts who have cancelled tour dates in Paris are the American rock band Foo Fighters, who were due to perform in Paris today at the 20,000-capacity AccorHotels Arena.

Veteran English rock band Motorhead were also scheduled to perform in Paris on Sunday and have cancelled. -Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Israel gives France intelligence on Paris attackers – media

JERUSALEM - Israel's spy services are helping France investigate the Paris gun and bomb attacks, Israeli media said, with one radio station suggesting the assistance drew on surveillance of militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

Israel had no advance warning of Friday's rampage that killed at least 129 people, but within hours of it happening gave France information about some of the Islamic State militants who claimed to have carried it out, the top-rated television station Channel Two said, quoting an unnamed senior Israeli official.

Without providing details, Channel Two said Israeli intelligence saw a "clear operational link" between the attack in the French capital, Thursday's Beirut suicide bombings and the Oct. 31 downing of a Russian airliner in the Egyptian Sinai.

Israeli spy services are monitoring Syria and Iraq—where Islamic State insurgents have conquered swathes of territory—which may have yielded intelligence on the organisation of the Paris attacks, Israel's Army Radio said.

Israeli officials contacted by Reuters had no comment, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Saturday: "I've instructed Israel's security and intelligence services to assist their French counterparts and counterparts from other European countries in any way possible."

A Western diplomat said last year that Israel was providing the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State with information gleaned from international travel databases about Western citizens suspected of joining the insurgents. — Reuters

Solidarity messages over deadly Paris attacks set social media ablaze

The multiple attacks across Paris Friday night (Saturday morning in the Philippines) that killed over a hundred people have shocked the world, and social media have been ablaze with millions of solidarity messages from all corners of the world.

#PrayForParis immediately became trending topic on Twitter in the Philippines and worldwide, with more than 4 million tweets about it as of posting time.

World leaders, as well as international and local celebrities expressed their sadness and solidarity for Parisians on Twitter.

source: gmanetwork.com

Gunmen in Paris attacks killed

A total of eight militants were killed, including seven by their suicide belts, during Friday's attacks in Paris that left at least 120 dead, a source close to the investigation said.

Four of the attackers were killed in the Bataclan concert hall, three by activating their suicide vests and one shot by police, a report from agence France-Presse said.

Three more died near the national stadium and a fourth was killed in a street in eastern Paris.
"The terrorists who were not far from here were killed," Hollande said on television after visiting a security command centre near the Bataclan concert hall where the gunmen held people hostage before an assault by security forces.

Three of the attackers activated explosive belts while the fourth was hit by police fire, AFP added.

At least 100 people were killed in the concert hall. —with reports from Agence-France Presse and Reuters