Tag: Paris

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Notre Dame Cathedral In Paris On Fire

(screen capture/NBC News)

UPDATE – USA Today reports that “nothing will remain” after the devastating fire. There is still an ongoing effort to save works of art.

The fire burned for hours, virtually unabated despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters. The flames continued to glow when darkness fell. “A special mission has been launched to try to save all works of art that can be saved,” Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy to the mayor of Paris, said on French TV.

“Everything is burning, nothing will remain from the frame,” Notre Dame spokesman Andre Finot told French media. The cause was not immediately known, but officials said it could be linked to renovation work. The cathedral is in the midst of a $6.8 million renovation project.

French historian Camille Pascal told French TV the fire was destroying “invaluable heritage.” “It’s been 800 years that the Cathedral watches over Paris,” Pascal said. “Happy and unfortunate events for centuries have been marked by the bells of Notre Dame.”

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From NBC News:

Flames were spotted shooting from the historic Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on Monday.

Smoke was billowing from the structure and could be seen from miles away in the French capital.

The flames appeared to be around scaffolding at the top of the famous church, where renovations were being done.

“A terrible fire is underway at Notre Dame Cathedral,” Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted. She called on Parisians to stay away from the area to allow firefighters to do their work.

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Paris Terrorist Attack Suspect Captured In Belgium

Salah Abdeslam, also known as “the most wanted man in the world” for organizing the devastating Paris terror attacks in November, has been shot and captured Friday in a raid by police on a Brussels suburb, according to French and Belgian officials.

USA Today has the details:

Abdeslam was wounded in the knee in the operation, according to the deputy mayor o Molenbeek where the raid took place. He said he had received confirmation of Abdeslam’s capture from the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office.

Ahmed El Khannouss told The Associated Press that police were still searching for one person who was holed up in a house.

“Congratulations to the forces of order that allowed the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, during a police operation in Brussels,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Twitter.

In Paris, French president Francois Hollande confirmed that the operation underway in Belgian neighborhood was linked to the Paris attacks.

Abdeslam has been on the run since the massacre in Paris in November that left 130 people dead. Most of the Paris terrorists died that night, including Abdeslam’s brother Brahim, who blew himself up. French officials said Salah had discarded his suicide vest and fled the city.

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Madonna Mini-Concert: “Imagine” At Impromptu Memorial In Streets Of Paris

After her concert in Paris last night, Madonna headed over to at Place de la République, which has become a memorial for the victims of the November 13th terrorist attacks.

Via the tweet above, the Queen of Pop invited her Twitter followers to join her for the impromptu sing-along, which included John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

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Suspected Ringleader Of Paris Attacks Killed In Police Raid

(image via AP)

The Belgian jihadi suspected of masterminding deadly attacks in Paris died along with his cousin in a police raid on a suburban apartment building, officials said Thursday.

Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins’ office said 27-year-old Abdelhamid Abaaoud was identified based on skin samples, but authorities did not know how he died. His body was found in the apartment building targeted in the chaotic and bloody raid in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday.

Three police officials say a woman who died in the raid was Abaaoud’s cousin. One said Hasna Aitboulahcen is believed to have detonated a suicide vest after a brief conversation with police officers.

More at Huffington Post.

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Take A Moment And Open Your Mind To The Possibility

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BLINDFOLD MUSLIM HUG"Hug me if you trust me, I'm told I'm a terrorist", –Muslim man opens his arms to Parisians#Paris #PlacedelaRepublique #ParisAttacks #Islamophobia #MuslimsAreNotTerroristsPosted by In the NOW on Monday, November 16, 2015

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Madonna Calls For Powerful Moment Of Silence In Concert For Paris

Before launching into a touching rendition of her hit song “Like A Prayer” at her sold out concert in Stockholm last night, Madonna spoke passionately about the attacks in Paris, and then called for a moment of silence.

“This whole show is about celebrating life. And standing up for your rights. Fighting for what you believe in. It’s been very hard for me to get through this show and not forget about what happened last night. So I need to take this moment to acknowledge the tragedy. The tragic killings, assassinations and the senseless ending of precious life that occurred last night in Paris In many ways, I feel torn. Like why am I up here dancing and having fun when people are crying over the loss of their loved ones?

However, that is exactly what these people want to do. They want to shut us up. they want to silence us. And we won’t let them….As much [terrrorism] that does occur, there’s more goodness. We are here to claim it.

I was going to cancel my show tonight but then I thought to myself, why should I give that to them. Why should I allow them to stop me, to stop us, from enjoying freedom? All of the places that people were killed were places that people were having fun – were enjoying themselves, eating in restaurants, dancing, singing, watching a soccer match. These are freedoms that we take for granted of course, and we must not. But they are freedoms that we deserve!

There are people who have a respect for human life, and there are people that do atrocious, degrading, and unforgivable things to other human beings. But we will never ever ever change this world we live in, if we do not change ourselves, if we do not change the way we treat one another on a daily basis…in the simplest ways. We must start treating every human being with dignity and respect.”

Check the 9:15 mark.

The silence speaks volumes about the power of music.

The visceral connection between the Queen of Pop and the crowd is palpable during LAP.

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SNL Cold Open – Bilingual Tribute To Paris

Last night’s cold open for SNL by cast member Cecily Strong – a simple, poignant, bilingual salute to Paris.

First in English, then in French, Strong told the television audience, “Paris is the city of lights. And here in New York City, we know that light will never go out. Our love and support is with everyone there tonight. We stand with you.”

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Paris Terrorist Attack Updates