Belgium identifies Brussels bomb suspect, suicide bombers

#TERRORISME A rechercher - Najim LAACHRAOUI https://t.co/8WCyCZdJP9 pic.twitter.com/S4UZnG3XYf

— Avis de recherche (@police_temoin) March 21, 2016

BRUSSELS - Belgian police have identified a prime suspect in Tuesday's Brussels blasts and two suspected suicide bombers, linking them directly to Islamic State militants behind last November's Paris attacks, Belgian media reported on Wednesday.

Najim Laachraoui, 25, is believed to be the man seen on CCTV pushing a baggage trolley alongside the bombers and then running out of the Brussels airport terminal.

Earlier some media reported that he had been captured in the Brussels borough of Anderlecht, but they later said the person detained was not Laachraoui.

Police and prosecutors refused immediate comment but the federal prosecutor was due to hold a news conference at 1200 GMT.

The death toll in the attacks on the Belgian capital, home to the European Union and NATO, rose to at least 31 with some 260 wounded, Health Minister Maggie De Block said on VRT television. It could rise further because some of the bomb victims at Maelbeek metro station were blown to pieces and victims are hard to identify.

One of the suspects seen on CCTV pushing baggage trolleys at Brussels airport just before the explosions was identified as Brahim El Bakraoui, public broadcaster RTBF reported. It said his brother, Khalid, blew himself up on the metro train.

Both had criminal records for armed robbery but had not previously been linked by investigators to Islamist militants.

Laachraoui is wanted in connection with the Paris attacks. His DNA was found on at least two explosives belts used in those attacks and at a Brussels hideout used last week by prime Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested last Friday after a shoot-out with police.

RTBF said Khalid El Bakraoui had rented under a false name the apartment in the city's Forest borough, where police hunting Abdeslam killed a gunman in a raid last week. He is also believed to have rented a safe house in the southern Belgian city of Charleroi used to mount last November's Paris attacks.

The Syrian-based Islamist group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attacks, four days after Abdeslam's arrest in Brussels, warning of "black days" for those fighting it in Syria and Iraq. Belgian warplanes have joined the coalition in the Middle East, but Brussels has long been a centre of Islamist militancy.

SECURITY REVIEW

The attacks sent shockwaves across Europe and around the world, with authorities racing to review security at airports and on public transport, and rekindled debate about European security cooperation and police methods.

Prime Minister Charles Michel cancelled a trip to China and convened his inner cabinet to discuss security. Belgium observed a nationwide minute's silence at noon (1100 GMT). King Philippe, the premier and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attended a memorial event at Commission headquarters.

More than 1,000 people gathered around an improvised shrine with candles and street paintings outside the Brussels bourse.

The Brussels blasts fuelled political debate across the globe about how to combat militants.

"We can and we will defeat those who threaten the safety and security of people all around the world," said U.S. President Barack Obama.

Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination to succeed Obama in November's U.S. election, suggested suspects could be tortured to avert such attacks.

Police searched an apartment in the northern Brussels borough of Schaerbeek late into the night, finding another bomb, an Islamic State flag and bomb-making chemicals.

Local media said authorities had followed a tip from a taxi driver who may have driven the bombers to the airport.

An unused explosive device was later found at the airport and a man wearing a light-coloured jacket and a hat, believed to be Laachraoui, was seen running away from the terminal after the explosions.

CLOSING IN

Security experts believed the blasts, which killed about 20 people on a metro train running through the area that houses EU institutions, were probably in preparation before Friday's arrest of locally based French national Abdeslam, 26, whom prosecutors accuse of a key role in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks.

He was caught and has been speaking to investigators after a shootout at an apartment in the south of the city a week ago, after which another Islamic State flag and explosives were found. It was unclear whether he had knowledge of the new attack or whether accomplices may have feared police were closing in.

Islamic State said in a statement that "caliphate soldiers, strapped with suicide vests and carrying explosive devices and machineguns" struck Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station.

It was not clear, however, that the attackers used vests. The suspects were photographed pushing bags on trolleys, and witnesses said many of the airport dead and wounded were hit mostly in the legs, possibly indicating blasts at floor level.

The two men in dark clothes wore gloves on their left hands only. One security expert speculated they might have concealed detonators. The man in the hat was not wearing gloves.

About 300 Belgians are estimated to have fought with Islamists in Syria, making the country of 11 million the leading European exporter of foreign fighters and a focus of concern in France and other neighbours over its security capabilities.

Reviving arguments over Belgian policies following the Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed in an operation apparently organised from Brussels, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin spoke of "naiveté" on the part of "certain leaders" in holding back from security crackdowns on Muslim communities.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders retorted that each country should look to its own social problems, saying France too had rough high-rise suburbs in which militants had become radicalised.

Life began to return to normal in Brussels on Wednesday, with some public transport working and cars returning to the European district, but the metro system remained closed and the airport was still shut to travellers.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Protesters push leaders to avert climate catastrophe

PARIS, France - Masses of people joined a worldwide wave of marches on Saturday demanding leaders craft a pact to avert a climate catastrophe when they gather in a still-shaken Paris.

From Australia to New Zealand, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Japan, people rallied at the start of a weekend of popular protests pleading for world powers to overcome the logjams when the UN climate summit officially opens in the French capital Monday.

"Protect our common home," declared placards held aloft as thousands gathered in Melbourne, with those sentiments echoed also on the streets of Johannesburg and Edinburgh.

Some 150 leaders, including US President Barack Obama, China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, will attend the start of the Paris conference, which is tasked with reaching the first truly universal climate pact.

The goal is to limit average global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), perhaps less, over pre-Industrial Revolution levels by curbing fossil fuel emissions blamed for climate change.

If they fail, scientists warn of a world that will be increasingly inhospitable to human life, with superstorms, drought and rising sea levels that swamp vast areas of land.

On the eve of Saturday's protests, French President Francois Hollande warned of the obstacles ahead for the 195 nations following more than two decades of bickering.

"Man is the worst enemy of man. We can see it with terrorism," said Hollande, who spoke after leading ceremonies in Paris to mourn the victims of the deadly November 13 bombing and shooting attacks that sowed terror in the French capital.

"But we can say the same when it comes to climate. Human beings are destroying nature, damaging the environment. It is therefore for human beings to face up to their responsibilities for the good of future generations."

- Compromise call -

Potential stumbling blocks in Paris abound, ranging from financing for climate-vulnerable countries to scrutiny of commitments to curb greenhouse gases and even the legal status of the accord.

The last attempt to forge a global deal -- the ill-tempered 2009 Copenhagen summit -- foundered upon divisions between rich and poor countries.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he was optimistic of success in the talks, which are due to end on December 11, but emphasised all sides must be prepared to compromise.

"I am urging the world leaders that they must agree on the middle ground, there is no such perfect agreement in this world," Ban told France 24 television on Saturday.

Briefing reporters at the summit venue, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius highlighted four key issues still dividing nations but also voiced optimism about success.

He pointed out the number of nations that had submitted plans on how they intended to fight climate change -- a key part of the planned Paris agreement -- had risen to 183 and covered 95 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

"This is extremely good news," he told reporters.

Speaking alongside Fabius, UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said the voluntary carbon-curbing pledges would still put Earth on track for warming of between 2.7 and 3.5 C.

While emphasising this was not nearly enough, Figueres said the pledges had moved the world away from warming of up to six degrees.

"That is fundamental progress," she said, adding the Paris agreement could "chart the path" for continued improvement in the years ahead to keep warming to between 1.5 and 2 degrees C.

The diverse group of 53 Commonwealth nations, which represents a third of the world's population, also pledged Saturday to work for an ambitious and legally binding Paris agreement.

Commonwealth leaders issued the statement after holding their biennial summit in Malta, where they also agreed to set up a billion-dollar "Green Finance Facility" for environmental projects.

- Human chain after Paris attacks -
Protest organisers say they expect hundreds of thousands to take to the streets globally this weekend, with rallies planned for Sunday in Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Kiev and Mexico City.

In Paris, French authorities cancelled two demonstrations following the onslaught by gunmen and suicide bombers which killed 130 people at restaurant terraces, a concert hall and the national stadium on November 13.

People rallying this weekend have declared their solidarity with activists unable to rally in Paris with a social media campaign tagged #march4me.

Activists still plan to create a two-kilometre (1.2-mile) human chain along the original march route on Sunday.

They will break the chain as they pass the Bataclan concert hall, where the worst violence claimed 90 lives, as a mark of respect to the victims.

Protesters also plan to leave scores of shoes on Place de la Republique square to symbolise the thousands left frustrated in their plans to march.

In a sign of the urgency of the talks, the start of the climate negotiations themselves, conducted by bureaucrats, were brought forward to Sunday on the eve of the official opening.

The Paris conference will gather some 40,000 people, including 10,000 delegates from 195 countries.

About 2,800 police and soldiers will secure the conference site, and 6,300 others will deploy in Paris.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama says US is safe as millions set off on Thanksgiving travel

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - President Barack Obama sought to reassure Americans they were safe as millions of travelers set off for the long Thanksgiving weekend on Wednesday and authorities stepped up security at airports in response to the attacks in Paris two weeks ago.

In New York City, record-breaking crowds were expected on Thursday for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and Police Commissioner William Bratton said the city was deploying more officers at the annual event than ever before.

"Right now, we know of no specific and credible intelligence indicating a plot on the homeland," Obama told reporters at the White House, two weeks after suspected Islamist militants killed 130 people in a series of coordinated attacks in the French capital.

"We are taking every possible step to keep our homeland safe," he said, flanked by his FBI director and other top security officials on the day before Thanksgiving, when many Americans travel to be with their extended families for a traditional turkey dinner.

Nearly 46.9 million Americans will travel over the long Thanksgiving weekend - the busiest U.S. travel holiday of the year - with 3.6 million going by plane, according to the AAA, a motorist advocacy group.

Most U.S. airports reported flights delays of less than 15 minutes, according to tracking websites. Passengers at airports from Washington to New York said they saw heavier than normal security, but that travel was flowing smoothly.

Americans have become more concerned about threats since the Paris attacks and now identify terrorism as the most important problem facing the nation, Reuters-Ipsos polling shows.

"We have to live our lives right? We're having a good time. We did a cruise and now we're doing New York City," said Karen Damaschino, 47, of San Francisco after landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport to spend the holiday in New York.

The U.S. response to Islamic State has become a top issue in the race to succeed Obama in the November 2016 presidential election. In his statement, Obama tried to allay Americans' concerns.

"I know that families have discussed their fears about the threat of terrorism around the dinner table, many for the first time since September 11th," he said, referring to the 2001 attacks by al Qaeda on New York and Washington.

But he told Americans they should "go about their usual Thanksgiving weekend activities" while remaining vigilant to any suspicious activities.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio echoed that sentiment at a news conference on Manhattan's Upper West Side, where crews were inflating the giant balloons that highlight the Macy's parade, the traditional start to the holiday shopping season.

"One thing I always say, there are some people trying to intimidate New Yorkers. Well, New Yorkers don't get intimidated," he said. "They'll be out tomorrow in droves."

STAY VIGILANT

To underscore Obama's message, his Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson held a photo op at Washington's Union Station just before boarding an Amtrak train to Newark, N.J., on the heavily traveled Northeast corridor, en route home for the holiday

"It should be obvious to the public that there is a heightened presence" of law enforcement officers at train stations, airports and other public places, Johnson said. "We are working overtime to protect the homeland."

Some travel analysts expected airport delays as a result of heightened security.

But at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, one of the country's busiest, Kirsten Bohling, 27, said she was pleasantly surprised by how painless her check-in went.

"Lines are way shorter than I thought they would be and moving 10 times faster than I thought," she said. "I think they were really really prepared."

The FBI sent a bulletin earlier this week to police departments across the country warning of possible copycat incidents after the Nov. 13 Paris attacks and sharing intelligence on how the attacks were carried out.

The U.S. State Department also issued a worldwide travel alert on Monday warning American travelers to remain vigilant, particularly when visiting foreign countries.

As many as 3.5 million people were expected to line the 2.5-mile (4 km) route of the Macy's parade in New York, according to organizers. City officials have made numerous public appearances in recent days seeking to reassure New Yorkers and tourists.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Suspected explosive belt found south of Paris

PARIS - An object believed to be an explosive belt was found on Monday in a town south of Paris, near where a phone used by suspected assailant Salah Abdeslam was detected on the night of the attacks, a source close to the investigation said.

Abdeslam, whose brother blew himself up in the Paris attacks, has been on the run since the assault that killed 130 people in the French capital on Nov. 13 and is the focus of a massive manhunt.

French investigators initially believed Abdeslam had been in a black Seat Leon car that was used in the shootings at restaurants and cafes in the 10th and 11th districts of the capital.

A source close to the investigation said, however, that Abdeslam's mobile phone was detected after the attacks in the northern 18th district of Paris, near an abandoned Renault Clio car that Abdeslam had rented.

The source said there was now a "strong suspicion" he had been driving the Clio rather than being in the Seat.

Furthermore, when Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, it said it had targeted the Stade de France soccer stadium, the Bataclan concert hall, the 10th and 11th districts - as well as the 18th district.

Since there were no explosions or shootings in the 18th, investigators are now wondering whether there was a failed, or aborted, attack, the source said.

Abdeslam's phone was detected later on Nov. 13 by a mobile phone mast in Chatillon in the south of Paris, near Montrouge where the suspected explosive belt was dumped.

But the source said it was too soon to say whether the object had been in contact with Abdeslam.

"The thesis that he abandoned (the attack) is just coming from people who brought him back (to Belgium). But we don't know why. Maybe he had a technical problem with his explosive belt, for example," said a police source.

(Reporting by Chine Labbé and Gerard Bon; writing by David Clarke; editing by Giles Elgood)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Brussels stays at top security alert over fears of Paris-style attack

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Brussels will remain at the highest possible alert level Monday, with schools, universities and metros closed over a "serious and imminent" threat of attacks similar to those that struck Paris, the Belgian prime minister said.

Belgian police said several operations were under way late Sunday as security forces continued to hunt for Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in last week's atrocities in the French capital.

Armed officers and troops have been patrolling the near deserted streets of the tense Belgian capital all weekend after the government raised the terror alert to the highest level of four in the city of more than a million that is also home to the NATO and European Union headquarters.

Premier Charles Michel said the metro system would remain shut and schools and universities would be closed over concerns that jihadists were planning a repeat of the Paris gun and suicide bombing attacks that claimed 130 lives on November 13.

"What we fear are similar attacks, with several individuals in several places," he told reporters.

"The threat is considered serious and imminent," he said, adding that the rest of the country would remain on security alert level three, meaning an attack is considered possible and the threat credible.

Officials will review the situation again on Monday.

The historic Grand Place in central Brussels, usually bustling, was virtually empty at the weekend, with business badly hit in the run-up to Christmas as anxious residents heeded warnings to stay home.

With a massive manhunt on for several suspects linked to the carnage in Paris, Belgian police urged the media not to show live footage of the police operations taking place Sunday evening.

The public prosecutor will hold a news conference "when it is all over", a spokesman told AFP.

Interior Minister Jan Jambon earlier said the authorities were looking for "several suspects" and not just for Abdeslam, who is thought to have slipped past French security forces after taking part in the Paris attacks, which were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

French police meanwhile released a photo of the third of three men who blew themselves up outside France's national stadium during the rampage, which also targeted the Bataclan concert hall as well as a string of bars and restaurants.

The man in the picture passed through Greece with one of the other suicide bombers, carrying a Syrian passport in the name of Mohammad al-Mahmod, a source close to the investigation said.

- Obama: 'We're not afraid' -With the world on edge over the jihadist threat, US President Barack Obama said the most powerful tool in the fight against IS was to say "that we're not afraid".

He added that he would go ahead with a December visit to Paris for UN climate talks and called on other countries to show similar resolve.

French President Francois Hollande will embark on a diplomatic offensive in the coming days in a bid to forge a broad anti-IS coalition.

He will host Britain's David Cameron Monday before meeting Obama in Washington on Tuesday, holding talks with Germany's Angela Merkel in Paris Wednesday and Russia's Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday.

The UN Security Council on Friday authorised "all necessary measures" to fight jihadist violence after a wave of deadly attacks, including the downing of a Russian aircraft in Egypt with the loss of 224 lives and the storming of a luxury hotel in Mali that left 19 dead.

- Hollande 'shocked but focused' -German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was at the stadium along with Hollande attending a France-Germany football friendly when the bombers blew themselves up outside, told the daily Bild he had thought the first blast was fireworks, but soon realised it was a terror attack.

Hollande "was shocked, but at the same time very focused and determined," he added.

The French leader was evacuated, but Steinmeier and his team were asked to stay in the hope of avoiding panic among the some 80,000 fans, he said.

Meanwhile, Eagles of Death Metal, the Californian band that was playing at the Bataclan where 89 people were massacred, spoke for the first time since the attacks, with singer Jesse Hughes saying that many fans died tyring to protect their friends.

"So many people put themselves in front of people," he said in an excerpt of an interview with Vice.com.

- The Belgian connection -The suspected ringleader of the November 13 attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, died in a massive police raid in Paris on Wednesday.

He was a notorious Belgian jihadist thought to be fighting in Syria, and his presence in Europe has raised troubling questions about a Europe-wide breakdown in intelligence and border security.

Questions remain too over the role played by Belgian-born Abdeslam -- who used to run a bar with his brother Brahim in Brussels.

Brahim blew himself up outside a Paris bar on November 13.

A third brother, Mohamed Abdeslam, told Belgian TV he believed Salah had at the last moment decided not go through with the attack.

He said the family wanted him to give himself up.

"That way he can give us the answers we seek, our family and the families of the victims," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

US offers $5 mn reward for IS foreign fighter smuggler

UNITED STATES - The United States issued a $5 million reward Wednesday for information leading to the capture of a Saudi-born jihadist accused of smuggling foreign fighters into Syria.

The State Department said that Tirad al-Jarba, known under the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Shimali, is a senior member of the Islamic State extremist group.

He had already been designated a terrorist by the United States and the UN Security Council, which has imposed a travel ban on him and ordered his assets frozen.

According to his UN sanctions listing he is 35 years old, and will turn 36 on Friday. He is said to be from Saudi Arabia and to have been a former Al-Qaeda member.

The State Department wanted notice issued on Wednesday describes him as the IS leader in the Syrian border town of Jarablus, opposite the Turkish town of Gaziantep.

From there he is said to arrange passage for foreign IS fighters from Australia, Europe and the broader Middle East, while managing a recruitment center in Azaz.

Jarba's name was added to the "Rewards for Justice" program as Turkey and the United States were preparing a major operation to secure the border near Jarablus.

And it comes as the French aircraft carrier De Gaulle steams towards the region to step up strikes against IS in wake of last week's foreign fighter attacks in Paris.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Gunfire erupts in Paris as police hunt suspected attack leader

* Alleged mastermind of Paris attacks targeted in police raid

* Two militants die in raid, woman detonates suicide bomb

* Suspects holed up in apartment after shooting in St Denis area

* Two Air France flights from U.S. diverted due to security alerts

 

 SAINT DENIS, France - Gunfire and explosions shook the Paris suburb of St Denis early on Wednesday as French police surrounded a building where a Belgian Islamist militant suspected of masterminding last week's attacks in the French capital was believed to be holed up.

Two assailants were killed, including a woman who detonated a suicide bomb, a source close to the case said, adding that the police operation was continuing to flush out two other suspects.

The target of the raid, which filled the streets of St Denis with heavily armed police and soldiers, was Islamic State militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was initially thought to have orchestrated the Paris attacks from Syria, police and justice sources said.

A judicial source said police had originally been hunting other suspects in St Denis, but now believed he was one of those barricaded in the building.

Shooting began at about 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) and police special forces of the RAID unit were still involved in exchanges of fire three hours later, witnesses said.

"The operation is still under way. It's not over," local member of parliament Mathieu Hanotin said on France Inter radio. "Everyone must stay indoors. There are still gunmen holed up in the apartment."

Three police officers and a passerby were injured in the assault.

A police source said three suspects had been arrested so far with security forces still trying to "neutralize" two more at the scene close to the Stade de France stadium which was one of the targets of last Friday's attacks.

The coordinated series of bombings and shootings killed 129 people, the worst atrocity in France since World War Two. Investigators soon linked the attacks to a militant cell in Belgium which was in contact with Islamic State in Syria.

The group claimed responsibility for killings, saying they were in retaliation for French air raids in Syria and Iraq over the past year. France has called for a global coalition to defeat the radicals and has launched three large airstrikes on Raqqa -- the de-facto Islamic State capital in northern Syria.

"LET'S GO"

French prosecutors have identified five of the seven dead assailants from Friday - four Frenchmen and a man who was fingerprinted in Greece among refugees last month.

But they now believe two men directly involved in the assault subsequently escaped.

Wednesday's operation came after a source with knowledge of the investigation said a cell phone had been found with a map of the music venue targeted in one of the attacks and a text message saying "let's go".

The source said the phone was found in a dustbin near the Bataclan concert hall where 89 people died.

Late on Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said two Paris-bound Air France flights were diverted following anonymous bomb threats, and hundreds of passengers and crew were safely removed.

Authorities in the United States and Canada, where the planes landed, later said both aircraft had been searched and were safe.

On Tuesday night, bomb fears had prompted German police to call off a soccer match between Germany and the Netherlands in Hanover two hours before kick-off. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been due to attend.

No arrests were made and no explosives were found.

Russia has also intensified its attacks on Islamic State targets in Syria after confirming that a bomb had downed a passenger airliner over Sinai last month, killing 224. The militants had previously claimed responsibility.

Paris and Moscow are not coordinating their operations, but French President Francois Hollande is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Nov. 26 to discuss how their countries' militaries might work together.

Hollande is due to meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Nov. 24 also to push for a concerted drive against Islamic State, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq.

Obama said in Manila on Wednesday he wanted Moscow to shift its focus from propping up Syria's government to fighting Islamic State and would discuss that with Putin.

Russia is allied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The West says he must go if there is to be a political solution to Syria's prolonged civil war.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Callus, David Brunnstrom, Matthias Blsamont, Marine Pennetier, Emmanuel Jarry, Marie-Louise Gumuchian, Jean-Baptiste Vey, Chine Labbé, Svebor Kranjc, John Irish in Paris, Alastair Macdonald and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels, and Matt Spetalnick in Manila, Victoria Cavaliere and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Amran Abocar in Toronto and Dan Wallis in Denver; Writing by Alex Richardson and Crispian Balmer; Editing by Andrew Callus)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How ticket mistake saved these Pinoys in Paris

FRANCE – Two Filipinos based in Paris are thankful that the rock concert tickets they bought online were for another date and not last Friday when terrorists carried out the bloody attack that killed at least 80 people.

Paris-based worker Harold Encina shared what seems to be a twist of fate that nearly cost his life and his Filipino friend, Chester Sampang.

Encina said they could have been included in the list of fatalities when suicide bombers stormed the Bataclan concert hall with massive gunfire before detonating their bomb belts.

Both Encina and Sampang were ready to watch a rock band concert Friday night, only to find out barely 48 hours before the event that they had the wrong date.

They bought the tickets online almost two months ago.

Had they not discovered the actual concert date, Encina believes they could have proceeded and watched that fateful day the concert of Eagles of Death Metal.

Encina has been an OFW in Paris for nearly 13 years. He is a member of a Filipino music band, playing bass guitar.

His friend Sampang is also a band mate.

Encina had watched many concerts at Bataclan and it could have been a first time for Sampang.

After the tragic incidents, Encina and many Filipinos in Paris are now taking precautionary measures and staying away from public places.

Encina joined the one minute prayer at the historic Plaza de Republique, known as the center for all forms of protest movements within France.

He also lighted a candle to honor the dead.

The solemn high noon prayer held simultaneously in other key cities all over the world manifested the solidarity among nations in the fight against terrorism. It culminated in a thunderous applause later.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to France Teresa Lazaro urged Filipinos to remain vigilant.

"Stay vigilant until the end of the month dahil nga dito sa Cup 21 where France is expecting 120 heads of state," she said.

At least 2,000 Filipinos are based in Paris.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

CIA chief warns Islamic State may have other attacks ready

WASHINGTON - CIA Director John Brennan warned on Monday that the attacks in Paris claimed by the extremist Islamic State movement were not a “one-off event” and that the militants may have similar operations ready to launch.

Foiling those plots, however, could prove difficult because Europe's intelligence and security resources are severely stretched trying to keep track of the hundreds of European extremists who have returned home from fighting in Syria and Iraq.

"A lot of our partners right now in Europe are facing a lot of challenges in terms of the numbers of individuals who have traveled to Syria and Iraq and back again, and so their ability to monitor and survey these individuals is under strain,” Brennan said.

Brennan’s comment at a Washington policy institute came as France, Belgium and other countries intensified a manhunt for suspects in Friday’s attacks on a concert hall, sports stadium, restaurants and bars in Paris that killed 129 people.

U.S. intelligence still hasn’t confirmed that the Islamic State was responsible, said Brennan. But, he added, the Paris attacks and the suspected bombing of a Russian airliner in Egypt on Oct. 31 that killed all 224 passengers and crew aboard “bear the hallmarks” of the Islamist group.

The Islamic State, which threatened in a new video on Monday to attack in Washington, appears to have formed an external operations branch that may have readied follow-up strikes to the Paris attacks, he said.

“I would anticipate that this is not the only operation that ISIL has in the pipeline,” Brennan said, using an acronym for the Islamic State. “And security intelligence services right now in Europe and other places are working feverishly to see what else they can do in terms of uncovering it.”

Careful planning for the Paris strikes is believed to have taken place over several months “in terms of making sure they had the operatives, the weapons, the explosives, the suicide belts,” Brennan said.

The attacks did not surprise the U.S. intelligence community, which had “strategic warning” that ISIL was planning to strike somewhere outside of the Middle East and was “looking at Europe in particular,” Brennan said.

“I certainly wouldn’t consider it (the Paris attacks) a one-off event,” he said.

One major problem is the huge burden that tracking extremists who’ve returned from Syria has imposed on resource-short European intelligence agencies, he said.

European officials estimate that as many as 5,000 Europeans have gone to fight in Syria since 2011. That number includes an estimated 1,400 French nationals, of whom some 900 have returned to France.

Moreover, between 10,000 and 20,000 individuals have been flagged by French authorities as potential security threats under a procedure known as an “S Notice,” said Roland Jacquard, a French counter-terrorism expert.

“We're in a situation where the services are overrun. They expect something to happen, but don't know where and you have to see how much stress they are under,” said Nathalie Goulet, the head of a French Senate investigation into jihadi networks.

Belgium, where investigators believe the Paris attacks were plotted, has been striving to keep track of more than 70 returnees from Syria. Officials estimate that 350 Belgium nationals have gone there to fight.

U.S. and European officials say that as many as two dozen to three dozen officers must work around the clock to keep a single suspect under full-time surveillance.

At least two men identified by French investigators as having carried out the Paris attacks were known to European and U.S. intelligence agencies before the carnage.

A Belgian man suspected of masterminding the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was identified in the New York Times in January as a prime suspect in a foiled plot to strike targets in Brussels. He also was known to U.S. spy agencies, said a U.S. government source.

Another problem confronting intelligence services is that militant groups have intensified their security measures as a result of “unauthorized disclosures,” said Brennan.

While he did not elaborate, Brennan may have been referring to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations of the agency’s massive communications monitoring operations and leaks of classified documents by Wikileaks.

(Reporting by Jonathan S. Landay; Editing by Alistair Bell and Stuart Grudgings)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Harvard University sounds all clear, no bombs found after threat

BOSTON - Harvard University said on Monday that a search of four campus buildings targeted by an "unconfirmed" bomb threat had turned up no explosives and that the buildings had reopened for normal business.

"Nothing to substantiate the emailed threat has been found and the investigation regarding the source is ongoing," the Ivy League school, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, said on its website.

Three classroom buildings - The Science Center, Sever and Emerson Halls - and one dormitory, Thayer Hall, were affected, Harvard said.

The threat comes three days after coordinated attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers killed 129 people in Paris.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

France, England to unite in song and solidarity

LONDON -- A communal rendition of the French national anthem will provide the emotional centre-point as France play England at Wembley on Tuesday four days on from the devastating Paris attacks.

The stadium's bars will shut five minutes before kick-off to encourage fans to observe tributes that will include a minute's silence, the laying of flowers by team captains Wayne Rooney and Hugo Lloris and the singing of 'La Marseillaise', which England's fans have been urged to join in with.

Breaking with convention, the French anthem will be played second, with the hymn's lyrics shown on the stadium's big screens, in order to create a stand-alone moment of solidarity during which the 129 people who died in the carnage that struck the French capital last Friday will be remembered.

"We will sing that together and share in that moment," said France goalkeeper Lloris, who plays for London club Tottenham Hotspur.

"It will be sung by a great number of English people as well, which will make it stronger.

"This game is a good opportunity to represent the French nation. The French nation is more important than French football tomorrow (Tuesday)."

While British authorities have received no specific intelligence about any planned attacks, armed police will be deployed around the stadium to reassure an expected crowd of around 80,000 that will include Prince William as well as 1,400 travelling supporters.

Fans have been urged to arrive early as security checks are expected to take longer than usual, with the bags of every single person in attendance due to be searched.

Paris's Stade de France was targeted by suicide bombers during Friday's attacks, leaving four people dead including three attackers, but the Football Association said that tickets for Tuesday's game had sold at a healthy rate in the days since. Only around 100 tickets have been returned.

The FA has confirmed that the giant arch over Wembley will continue to be lit in the red, white and blue of the French Tricolor, while France's motto -- 'Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite' -- will be shown on screens outside the ground.

The match itself promises to be a curious spectacle, with players on both sides having admitted that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to focus on football so soon after Friday's horrors, which also left over 350 people injured.

- 'Night of togetherness' -
But all are mindful that the event will serve as a powerful show of unity, echoing FA chief executive Martin Glenn's declaration that "the eyes of the world" will be on Wembley.

"I'm happy the game's on," said Rooney, who is due to return to England's starting XI after starting Friday's 2-0 loss to Spain on the bench.

"It shows France wants to show these terrorists they're standing strong against them, and we have to support that.

"Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be a great night of togetherness for everyone to see, for the terrorists to see the world will go on and stand against them."

Friday's attacks claimed by Islamic State touched the France squad particularly closely. The cousin of France midfielder Lassana Diarra, Asta Diakite, was among those killed, while the sister of forward Antoine Griezmann escaped unhurt from the assault on the Bataclan concert hall.

France coach Didier Deschamps praised Diarra's decision to remain with the squad despite the fact the Marseille midfielder was "hurting to the bone".

"We can't forget," an emotional Deschamps told his pre-game press conference.

"We've had two days to get over this immense sadness. Today we're here and our energy has to be focused on preparing for this match with as much dignity and solemnity as possible."

Rooney added: "Sometimes, when bad things happen, football is the place where you feel more comfortable. Their players might take that into consideration."

Euro 2016 hosts France are seeking to record a sixth successive win, following their impressive 2-0 defeat of world champions Germany, while Roy Hodgson's England are hoping to return to winning ways after their 15-game unbeaten run was ended by Spain in Alicante.

Michael Carrick, Fabian Delph and Jamie Vardy have withdrawn from England's squad due to injury, with Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Ryan Mason and uncapped Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard drafted in.

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Fingerprints from Paris bomber match man registered in Greece - prosecutor

PARIS - Fingerprints from one of the suicide bombers behind the attacks at the Stade de France in Paris matched the prints of a man registered in Greece in October, a French prosecutor said on Monday.

"At this stage, while the authenticity of a passport in the name of Ahmad al Mohammad, born Sept. 10 1990 in Idlib, Syria needs to be verified, there are similarities between the fingerprints of the suicide bomber and those taken during a control in Greece in October," the Paris prosecutor said in a statement.

The prosecutor also said a second bomber at the Bataclan concert hall had now been identified. The prosecutor named him as 28-year old Samy Ammour from Drancy, north of Paris and said he was known to counter-terrorism units after being placed under investigation and judicial control for attempting to go to Yemen.

He disappeared in the autumn of 2013 and an international arrest warrant was issued for him.

"Five of the terrorists killed have now been identified," prosecutor added.

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SE Asia stocks fall after Paris attacks; PH shares near 3-mth low

BANGKOK - Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Monday as weakness in global markets after Friday's attacks in Paris prompted early sell-offs across exchanges, sending the Philippine index to a near three-month low and the Indonesian benchmark to the lowest in more than a month.

The Philippine composite index dropped 2.5 percent to the lowest since Aug. 25, with the 30 stocks measured by the gauge all down. Among the top losers, Energy Development Corp. and SM Prime Holdings Inc. both shed about five percent.

The Jakarta composite index declined about 1 percent to the lowest since Oct. 6, led lower by shares of Astra International and Bank Mandiri amid selling led by foreign investors, Thomson Reuters data showed.

In Bangkok, the key SET index eased 0.5 percent, recovering some early losses. Domestic funds appeared to be collecting battered stocks, brokers said.

"External pressure may lead Thai stocks to trade on the downside today," said broker Phillip Securities, forecasting support for the SET index at 1,360.

"But we believe any market dips could possibly trigger long-term equity fund and retirement mutual fund purchases to take advantage of personal income tax deductions by year end," it said.

The Paris attacks also put downward pressure on shares related to the tourism sector which expected to see potential falls in foreign tourists, brokers said.

Shares of hotelier Central Plaza Hotel Pcl were down 1.2 percent and airline firm Thai Airways International down 0.5 percent.

Data released early on Monday showed Thailand's economy expanded 2.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, better than expected, with tourism revenues among key drivers.

Indexes in Singapore and Malaysia both slipped to lows hit in early October while Vietnam pulled lower after two successive days of gains.

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French fighter bombers pound IS stronghold in Syria: ministry

PARIS - French warplanes pounded the Islamic State (IS) group's de facto Syrian capital Raqa on Sunday, destroying a command post and a training camp, the defence ministry said.

In its first air strike against IS since the string of deadly Paris attacks claimed by the jihadist group, 12 warplanes, including 10 fighter bombers, dropped 20 bombs on the targets.

"The first target destroyed was used by Daesh (another Arabic acronym for IS) as a command post, jihadist recruitment centre and arms and munitions depot. The second held a terrorist training camp," a ministry statement said.

The planes left from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates and was conducted in coordination with American forces, the ministry said.

French President Francois Hollande on Saturday blamed the Islamic State group for the gun and suicide attacks that left at least 129 dead in Paris on Friday, calling them an "act of war".

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Belgium seen central to Paris attack plans, France launches manhunt

PARIS/BRUSSELS - Police investigating a wave of attacks in Paris launched an international hunt on Sunday for a man they believe might have helped organize the deadly assaults with two of his brothers in Belgium.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday's coordinated suicide bombings and shootings, which have re-ignited a row over Europe's refugee crisis and drawn calls for a halt to the ongoing influx of Muslim asylum-seekers.

France said the death toll had risen to 132 from a previous total of 129, with 349 people injured, of whom around 42 were still in intensive care.

Two of the attackers who brought carnage to Paris were French nationals living in neighboring Belgium, officials said on Sunday. One of them blew himself up in the assault, while the other was arrested on Saturday as he tried to cross the border.

Police said they were seeking a Belgian-born man, Abdeslam Salah, in connection with the attack, describing him as "dangerous". The judicial source said he was a brother of the other two men, who have not been named.

"The abject attacks that hit us on Friday were prepared abroad and mobilized a team in Belgium that benefited ... from help in France," French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters after meeting his Belgian counterpart in Paris.

Stunned by the carnage, thousands of people thronged to makeshift memorials at four of the sites where the attacks took place, laying flowers and lighting candles to remember the dead.

"We are living a nightmare," said Caroline Pallut, whose 37-year-old cousin Maud Serrault died when the Islamist gunmen attacked Paris's Bataclan concert hall, killing 89 people -- the bloodiest single incident on Friday night.

"It is all so senseless. She had only just got married."

Belgian officials said they had arrested seven people in Brussels after two Belgian-registered cars were discovered in Paris, both suspected of being used by attackers.

"I do not want any preachers of hatred on Belgian soil! There is no place for them in Belgium," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Twitter.

A judicial source said Salah, a 26-year-old French national, had rented out one of the two cars, a Volkswagen Polo, that was found not far from the Bataclan hall.

In a sign that at least one gunman might have escaped, a source close to the investigation said a Seat car believed to have been used by the attackers had been found in the eastern Paris suburb of Montreuil with three Kalashnikov rifles inside.

Only one of the attackers has been named -- Ismael Omar Mostefai, a 29-year-old who lived in the city of Chartres, southwest of Paris. He was identified by the print from one of his fingers that was severed when his suicide vest exploded.

PANIC IN PARIS
France has said it is in a state of war and has vowed to defeat the Islamic State in its bases in Iraq and Syria, which French warplanes have been targeting for months as part of a U.S.-led campaign against the self-declared caliphate.

Museums and theaters remained closed in Paris for a second day on Sunday, with soldiers patrolling the streets and metro stations alongside police after French President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency.

Hundreds of people attending a spontaneous rally in the central Place de la Republique on Sunday night fled the square in a moment of raw panic, with some reporting hearing shots. Police said it was a false alarm.

French authorities found the bodies of seven killers on Friday, six of whom blew themselves up while one was shot by police. Islamic State said there were eight attackers.

Police said they found a Syrian passport near one of the dead men. Greece said the passport holder crossed from Turkey to the Greek Islands last month and then sought asylum in Serbia before heading north -- following the route taken by hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers fleeing war in the Middle East.

The news revived a furious a row within the European Union on how to handle the flood of refugees. Top Polish and Slovak officials poured cold water on an EU plan to relocate asylum seekers across the bloc, saying the violence underlined their concerns about taking in Muslim refugees.

Bavarian allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a reversal of her "open-door" refugee policy, saying the attacks underlined the need for tougher controls.

"The days of uncontrolled immigration and illegal entry can't continue just like that. Paris changes everything," Bavarian finance minister Markus Soeder told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

The only gunman named to date, Mostefai, was French-born and of Algerian descent. Police said he had a security file for Islamist radicalization and a criminal record but had never been in jail. His father, brother and five others believed to be close to him were held for questioning, a judicial source said.

He lived in Luce, a quiet residential area of Chartres, for several years until about 2012. "No-one knew him here. There is no trace of him," Karim Benayed, a senior member of the local mosque, told Reuters.

Many of the victims were young people out enjoying themselves on a Friday night. The dead came from around the world, including one U.S. citizen, a Swede, Briton, German, Italian, two Belgians, two Romanians and two Mexicans.

Speaking in Vienna, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said his country's intelligence services had shared information they had which indicated that France, the United States and Iran were among countries being targeted for attack.

At a G20 summit in Turkey, U.S. President Barack Obama vowed to step up efforts to eliminate Islamic State and prevent it from carrying out attacks like those in Paris. EU leaders urged Russia to focus its military efforts on the radical Islamists.

France was the first European state to join U.S. air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq in September 2014, while a year later it extended its air strikes to Syria. Russia began its own air campaign in Syria in October, but has been targeting mainly areas controlled by other groups opposed to its ally, President Bashar al-Assad, Moscow's critics say.

France had been on high alert since Islamist gunmen attacked the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in Paris in January, killing 17 people.

Those attacks briefly united France in defense of freedom of speech, with a mass demonstration of more than a million people. But far-right populist Marine Le Pen is now making gains by blaming France's security problems on immigration and Islam.

"By spreading out migrants through the villages and towns of France, there is a fear that terrorists will take advantage of these population flows to hit out at us," she said after meeting the French president on Sunday.

(Additional reporting by Matthias Blamont, John Irish, Leigh Thomas, Ingrid Melander, Michael Nienaber, Matt Spetalnick, Dasha Afanasieva, Stephen Kalin, Saif Hameed, Anthony Paone, Marine Pennetier, Barbara Lewis, Robert-Jan Bartunek and Claire Watson; writing by Crispian Balmer; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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Obama vows effort to eliminate Islamic State

G20 set to agree that migration a global problem

BELEK, Turkey -- U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Sunday to step up efforts to eliminate Islamic State in Syria and prevent it from carrying out attacks like those in Paris, while European leaders urged Russia to focus its military efforts on the radical Islamists.

Speaking at a G20 leaders summit in Turkey, Obama described the killings in Paris claimed by Islamic State as an attack on the civilised world and said the United States would work with France to hunt down those responsible.

The two-day summit brings Obama and fellow world leaders just 500 km from Syria, where a four-and-a-half-year conflict has transformed Islamic State into a global security threat and spawned Europe's largest migration flows since World War Two.

"Traditionally the G20 has been a forum primarily to discuss economic issues facing the globe ... (but) the sky has been darkened by the horrific attacks that took place in Paris just a day and a half ago," Obama said in a statement after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

"The United States and its allies will redouble efforts to find a peaceful solution in Syria and prevent Islamic State militants from perpetrating attacks like those in Paris."

Obama and his Western allies now face the question of how the West should respond after Islamic State again demonstrated it posed a threat far beyond its strongholds in Syria and Iraq.

Washington already expects France to retaliate by taking on a larger role in the U.S.-led coalition's bombing campaign against Islamic State.

But European Council President Donald Tusk said Russia too should focus its military operations on Islamic State, rather than on the Syrian opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad, urging cooperation between Washington and Moscow.

"It should be our common aim to coordinate our actions against Daesh (IS) and for sure the cooperation between the United States and Russia is a crucial one," he said.

Obama-Putin handshake

Russia joined the conflict a month and a half ago with air strikes in Syria, but has been targeting mainly areas controlled by the moderate Syrian opposition fighting Assad, its ally, rather than Islamic State, its critics say.

Turkey and Western allies, by contrast, want Assad out.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he welcomed the renewed sense of urgency to find a solution to the war in Syria after the Paris attacks, adding the world had a "rare moment" of diplomatic opportunity to end the violence.

Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have no formal bilateral meeting planned. As the leaders moved into place for a group photo on Sunday, Putin approached Obama and they shook hands, exchanging words for only a few brief moments.

Obama is also seeking to coax other European and Middle Eastern countries into more tangible steps to show their military commitment and will hold a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia's King Salman, U.S. officials said. In a call late last month, the two leaders affirmed the need to cooperate in fighting Islamic State.

Obama said he had also discussed in his meeting with Erdogan the progress made by foreign ministers in Vienna, who on Saturday outlined a plan for a political process in Syria leading to elections within two years, although differences over Assad's fate still remained.

Migration concerns

The coordinated attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris on Friday puts Obama and other leaders of the world's major economies under increased pressure to find common cause.

It remains to be seen, however, whether Washington itself has an appetite for much deeper involvement after already stepping up air strikes and committing small numbers of special operations troops to northern Syria to advise opposition forces in the fight against Islamic State.

The Paris carnage, in which 129 people were killed in attacks on a concert hall, restaurants, bars and a sports stadium, also poses a major challenge for Europe, with populist leaders rushing to demand an end to an influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa.

In a diplomatic coup for Europe and for Turkey, the G20 leaders will agree that migration is a global problem that must be addressed in a coordinated way, according to a draft communique seen by Reuters, although it has yet to be accepted by all and is due to be published only on Monday.

Europe and Turkey, the most heavily hit by the crisis, had been pushing for the G20 to recognize the issue as a global problem and help to deal with it financially, despite opposition from China, India and Russia. A million migrants from the Middle East and Africa are expected to come to Europe this year alone.

According to a separate statement due to be released later on Sunday, a draft of which was also seen by Reuters, they also agreed to step up border controls and aviation security in the wake of the Paris attacks, which they condemned as "heinous."

The summit follows not only the Paris attacks but also comes two weeks after a suspected bomb attack on a Russian airliner killed 224 people in the Sinai Peninsula.

It also comes just over a month after two suspected Islamic State suicide bombers blew themselves up in Ankara, killing more than 100 people in Turkey's worst such attack.

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Pope says it is blasphemy to use God's name to justify violence

VATICAN CITY -- After the deadly attacks in Paris claimed by Islamic State militants, Pope Francis said on Sunday that using God's name to justify violence was sacrilege.

"I want to firmly repeat that the path of violence and hate does not resolve humanity's problems, and using the name of God to justify this path is blasphemy," the pope told thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.

"Such barbarism leaves us stunned and we ask ourselves how the heart of man could plan and execute such horrible acts, which shocked not only France but the whole world," he said.

The pope then invited the faithful to pray with him for the innocent victims of the attacks.

It was the first time the pope had spoken directly to the general public about the Friday attacks, though in a radio interview on Saturday he characterized the assault as inhuman.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks that killed 129 people, saying they were in revenge for French military action in Syria and Iraq.

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Global markets brace for short-term hit after Paris attacks

SYDNEY/TOKYO -- Global stocks are set for a short-term sell-off on Monday after Islamist militants launched coordinated attacks across Paris that killed 129 people, but analysts said a prolonged economic impact or market reaction was unlikely.

President Francois Hollande has declared a state of emergency, ordering police and troops into the streets, and set three days of official mourning after the attacks he called an "act of war" by Islamic State.

The carnage prompted condemnation by world leaders and outpourings of support for Parisians from around the globe, but would likely have only a knee-jerk impact on investment decisions, said Shane Oliver, chief economist at Australia's AMP Capital in Sydney.

"History will tell us that if the economic impact is limited - and I think it will be - that markets will quickly recover and go on to focus on other things," Oliver, who is also head of strategy at the $111-billion wealth management firm.

While news of the attacks hit after markets closed on Friday, S&P 500 Index futures were still trading and shed about 1 percent in light volume.

"If this had happened during market trading hours there could have been a panic but markets had a weekend to digest all the information," said Eiji Kinouchi, chief technical analyst at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo.

With Wall Street closing more than 1 percent lower after weak U.S. retail sales figures, Asian and European share markets would have been expected to fall even without the Paris attacks

French stocks, particularly those exposed to the country's large tourism sector, are likely to suffer the biggest falls.

France has the largest number of tourists in the world and the sector accounts for almost 7.5 percent of GDP.

"These Paris terrorist attacks and the larger scale of this attack could have a meaningful negative impact on the travel and tourism sector," said Robert T. Lutts, president and chief investment officer at Cabot Wealth Management in Salem, Massachusetts.

"It is possible this could cause investors to take a bit more cautious stance on the higher risk sectors of the markets."

Europe has suffered similar coordinated attacks on public transport systems previously, in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005. Almost 250 people were killed and more than 2,500 injured in those bombings on trains and buses by Al Qaeda-inspired militants.

"The knee-jerk reaction in other terrorist attacks over the last decade has been a rush to safety, including aggressive buying in the U.S. Treasury markets," said Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia.

"I sincerely hope these attacks will prove short in duration and will abate in intensity, in which case the market reaction will likely only include a brief safety bid in Treasuries."

U.S. 10-year Treasuries notes yielded 2.273 percent at Friday's close. The euro ended the week little changed at $1.0777, and is down 11 percent this year against a resurgent greenback.

French financial markets will be open as usual on Monday, stock and derivatives exchange Euronext said on Saturday.

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College student from California studying abroad killed in Paris attacks

A student from a university just south of Los Angeles who was studying design in France has been killed in the Paris attacks, a spokesman for the university said on Saturday.

Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, was a junior at California State University, Long Beach, and she was studying for a semester at the Strate College of Design in a suburb of Paris, said CSULB spokesman Michael Uhlenkamp. She was from El Monte in Southern California, he said.

Specific details of her death were not immediately available, but the school will hold a vigil on Sunday at 4 pm local time (2400 GMT) to mourn her passing as well as the death of everyone in the attacks.

"I’m deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Long Beach State University student Nohemi Gonzalez," university President Jane Close Conoley said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this sad time."

On Friday, several sites around Paris were targeted in a coordinated assault by gunmen and bombers in what the Paris public prosecutor said killed 129 people and wounded 352, of whom 99 remain in critical condition. Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Strate director Dominique Sciamma also confirmed Gonzalez's death on Facebook and added that other students at the school had been injured but were now out of danger.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department would only confirm that one American citizen had been killed, but did not release a name out of respect for privacy of the family. "We continue to reach out to other Americans affected by these attacks, including several Americans who were injured," the spokesperson said.

Conoley said the school has nearly 80 foreign exchange students from France and is offering counseling support as they cope with the aftermath.

The school said it has 17 students, including Gonzalez, who were participating in international exchange programs in Paris, but no others were hurt. It had originally counted 18 abroad, but an accounting of all the students found one did not go overseas as planned, a spokeswoman said.

One friend of Gonzalez on Facebook posted messages about the loss. "Rest in paradise my lil Mimi," wrote Miraya Cervantes. "I swear this is a sick joke. Nohemi Gonzalez. I love you sunshine. You always seem to find the bright side of everything."

Another friend, Niran Jayasiri, wrote on Facebook: "You were one of the most down to earth, cheerful, bubbly, helpful and honest people I knew. I'm grateful that you were my classmate and a true friend. Rest in peace Nohemi (little one)."

On Oct. 20, in a post on Facebook, Gonzalez talked about studying in French. "Learning a 3D modeling computer program in a language I don't know is up there in the top 3 hardest things I've ever had to do," she wrote.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Ben Klayman in Detroit and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Diane Craft)

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Belgian police arrest 'several people' after searches linked to Paris attacks

BRUSSELS - Belgian police on Saturday arrested several people during searches in a district of Brussels following a wave of attacks in Paris claimed by Islamic State, the Belgian justice minister said.

In a Twitter message, Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens said "multiple searches and arrests" had been made, and that they were related to a vehicle with a Belgian number plate.

A Belgian car was seen near the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, according to witness accounts.

A Justice Ministry spokeswoman said she could not confirm the precise number of arrests or give any further details.

The website of the public broadcaster RTBF reported that police searches were continuing in the Molenbeek district of Brussels.

It quoted a source close to the operations as saying there had been "between two and three searches, linked to the Paris attacks" and that five people had been arrested.

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