Belgian intelligence says 20 terrorists involved in Paris attacks
As French anti-terrorist units continue to arrest and detain ISIS suspects, the Belgian authorities have said they believe that up to 20 people were involved the the Paris bombings, given the planning and logistical requirements; a point already made by Israeli sources on Saturday morning. Overnight, there have been anti-terrorist raids in at least four towns and cities across France: Toulouse, Calais, Grenoble, Jeumont and the Paris suburb of Bobigny. French authorities are specifically hunting for one Salah Abdesalam who it seems was briefly detained and released in Saturday morning close to the Belgian border.

16 Nov 2015 18.39 GMT France to limit events around Paris climate summit The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, said on Monday that France will limit the events to core negotiations and will cancel planned marches and concerts in the wake of the attacks. This despite the fact that no foreign leaders had asked France to postpone the 30 November-11 December summit, which would amount to “abdicating to the terrorists”, Valls said. Environmental activists are due to meet later on Monday, Reuters reports, to rethink plans for a march on 29 November, the eve of the summit, that they had hoped would attract perhaps 200,000 people to put pressure on governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Mainstream groups say they will respect any bans, decreed under emergency powers in France after the attacks on Friday that France blamed on Islamic State.

Updated at 18.56 GMT

16 Nov 2015 18.01 GMT Here’s a video of Mohamed Abdeslam’s press conference: “He grew up here, he studied here,” Mohamed said of his brother Salah, the fugitive suspect, in Molenbeek, Belgium. “He’s a completely normal boy.” Mohamed said he had been accused of taking part in terrorist acts after his arrest on Saturday, but that the investigating magistrate had believed his alibi for Friday evening. “There are plenty of people in the borough who know me, who know what I’m capable of and what not.” His parents, he added, were “in shock”. He said that like everyone else he had learned of the atrocities from television. “I am affected by what happened ... I think of the victims, of the families of the victims. But you will also understand that we have a mother, we have a family.” More on his comments here. (via my colleague Ian Traynor)

Updated at 18.30 GMT

16 Nov 2015 17.30 GMT The Eiffel Tower is now lit up in the French Tricolore, having dimmed its lights in mourning since the attacks on Friday: The Eiffel Tower is lit with the blue, white and red colours of the French flag to pay tribute to the victims of the deadly attacks. Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters The tower reopened to visitors on Monday afternoon.

And here’s a photo of the Eiffel Tower at the weekend: The Eiffel Tower with its lights turned off following the attacks. Photograph: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 18.25 GMT

16 Nov 2015 17.21 GMT Corbyn refuses to say whether he would ever authorise military action against Islamist extremists Andrew Sparrow Jeremy Corbyn, the opposition Labour leader in the UK, has already given at least two interviews about the Paris attacks (see 10.36am and 2.56pm) but the most revealing is easily this new one, by the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg. Corbyn, a relatively obscure leftwing backbencher until his surprise victory in the leadership election in September, is probably the most pacifist figure to lead a major UK political party since the 1930s and this interview revealed how different his views are from David Cameron’s - or from Ed Miliband’s, his predecessor as Labour leader. Here are the main points.

Corbyn refused to say whether he would ever support military action against Islamist extremists. He was asked about this three times. In his first reply he said: I think I would support security measures, policing measures, to deal with these issues, but I think we have to be careful if we act illegally or irrationally; we stand by the rule of international law, we stand by the charter of the United Nations, we stand by our own law. If we start doing random acts without legal backing for them, then we don’t strengthen our position in the world. So I think the answer to your question is that we have to abide by the law. When it was put to him that in some circumstances military action against Islamist extremists would be legal, he said whether or not he would approve was a hypothetical question. Bombing Syria was not the right way forward, and he would not support it at this stage, he said. When Kuenssberg pressed him for a third time he replied: I’m not saying I would or I wouldn’t. I’m saying its a hypothetical question at this stage. My view is we have to review our foreign policy, review the situation that’s going on in the region and listen to words put forward by Barack Obama on behalf of the United States and Ban Ki-moon on behalf of the United Nations. They made some very wise comments over the weekend. There has to at the end be a political solution to it. Corbyn said that he would not be happy to order the police or troops to operate a “shoot to kill” policy in relation to terrorists on British streets. Asked about this, he replied: I’m not happy with a shoot-to-kill policy in general. I think that is quite dangerous and I think that can often by counter-productive. I think you have to have security that prevents people firing off weapons where they can ... The idea that you end up with a war on the streets is not a good thing. Surely you have to work to try and prevent these things happening. That has got to be the priority. This story was prompted by a front page Times story on Monday (paywall) saying special forces have been ordered to intervene and shoot to kill if jihadis stage a Paris-style attack in a British city. He said he thought Western intervention in the Middle East was partly to blame for the Paris attack. Asked if he agreed with a post from Stop the War on Twitter (subsequently deleted) saying Paris was “reaping [the] whirlwind of western support for extremist violence in Middle East”, Corbyn replied: I would not use that language. I would use the language that has been put forward by the thoughtful words of President Obama saying we had to reckon with what happened there. But he said he did think Western policy was a factor in explaining the attacks. We have created a situation where some of these forces have grown. Obviously, [I] absolutely blame those that did it. Absolutely, obviously, Isil are totally wrong. Obviously they are some kind of nihilistic movement that are a threat to everybody. Is the way of dealing with them bombing which will include civilian casualties? Bombing does. Or is the way to obviously make the necessary security protective measures in each country, but also to try and get a solution in Syria? We can’t go on with more and more people leaving Syria who are refugees from all wars ... We’ve got a record, all the Western countries, of interventions, all across the whole piste, and has peace got better as a result of it? Well, I think you know the answer as well as I do to that. He said the government should abandon its planned police cuts to enhance security in this country. The government should also recognise the role community policing can play in building up good community relations, he said.

He said he received a security briefing from the government on Saturday about the Paris attacks. He said the government had not yet asked for his support on the issue of extending airstrikes against Isis to Syria.

Updated at 18.18 GMT

16 Nov 2015 17.20 GMT Brother of fugitive suspect: 'We don't know where he is' Jonathan Bucks Mohamed Abdeslam, the brother of two suspects linked to the attacks on Friday in Paris was released by Belgian police this afternoon after several hours in custody. He spoke to the press in the eastern Brussels suburb of Molenbeek: Mohamed Abdeslam, brother of suspected Bataclan attacker Brahim and key suspect Salah, talks to media after he was released without charge by Belgian police in Molenbeek, Brussels. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA I was accused of committing an act of terrorism … but I have not in the slightest way been connected to the operation in Paris. I have worked for the local council for 10 years and I’ve never had a problem with anyone … My parents are completely shocked by the tragedy. My two brothers are normal and I have never noticed anything strange.” “My brother Salah [currently the subject of a Europe-wide manhunt] still has not been heard from, perhaps he just isn’t daring to show himself to the authorities. We don’t know where he is or have any information. “We did not know that Brahim [the suicide bomber at a cafe in the 11th arrondissement] was in Paris on Saturday. My brothers are big boys, we don’t ask them what they do with their time. Although some people won’t believe me, my family and I are extremely affected by this, we are thinking about the victims. You must understand that for my mother, [my brothers] are just her children.” Watch his comments here:

Updated at 17.57 GMT

16 Nov 2015 17.11 GMT Henry McDonald Northern Irish punk legends Stiff Little Fingers are going ahead with their concert in Paris on Tuesday night despite the attacks on the French capital. Jake Burns, lead singer who co-wrote punk anthems like Alternative Ulster and Suspect Device, said that being from Belfast made them appreciate the importance of defying terror and playing the gig. Tomorrow: Paris, France - Nov 17 at Le Backstage by The Mill https://t.co/2ITws63D7m — Stiff Little Fingers (@RigidDigits) November 16, 2015 On the SLF Facebook page, Burns and the rest of the band posted: “As you may know, Stiff Little Fingers are scheduled to play in Paris tomorrow evening and there is a lot of confusion around this date as shows are being cancelled or re-scheduled and so on. When we were growing up in Belfast, I was always saddened by the fact that groups would never come and play there because of the political situation. I was deprived of another ‘normal’ part of life. With this in mind, and with the wonderful cooperation of our Parisian promoter, the S.L.F. show at Backstage at the Mill, WILL GO AHEAD AS ADVERTISED tomorrow night.” (The Guardian’s music news editor Harriet Gibsone has done a roundup of the bands who’ve cancelled Paris gigs).

Updated at 18.22 GMT

16 Nov 2015 16.28 GMT Vikram Dodd Scotland Yard has said armed police will guard the England v France football match at Wembley on Tuesday evening, in a highly unusual move. France’s friendly game against Germany on Friday in Paris saw suicide bombs explode outside the Stade de France stadium. Scotland Yard deputy assistant commissioner Peter Terry, from specialist crime and operations, said: Ahead of tomorrow’s England v France match, we have carried out a full and thorough review of our policing operation, in light of the tragic events in Paris last Friday. This match will obviously be a more sombre event than usual as we all reflect [on] the senseless loss of life that Paris suffered. However, we want everyone coming along to the match to know that our officers will be out there in increased numbers, to keep them safe. This will include extra, highly visible, armed officers who will be patrolling around Wembley stadium. Our focus is the public’s safety and security. I would stress that our plans are purely precautionary and not as a result of any specific intelligence. I would ask ticket holders who are travelling to Wembley to plan their journey and help us out by arriving at the venue early. We will be supporting Wembley Stadium Limited with additional entry searches, which may take longer than people are used to. If you see anything suspicious or that causes you concern, please tell a police officer or member of security staff. We will be working closely with colleagues from British Transport police, who will have a presence throughout the transport network. Across London, additional patrols have been carried out at key locations to provide reassurance, and those will continue. Sadly, London is no stranger to terrorism and the men and women of the Met police will continue to do all we can to keep our capital safe. The England football team captain, Wayne Rooney, told a press conference that he and his teammates had no concerns about playing the game. I think the world of football has to stay strong together,” he said. I’m sure everyone will do that and try to deal with the situation to the best everyone knows how to do.

Updated at 16.46 GMT

16 Nov 2015 16.20 GMT Obama says sending ground troops would be a mistake Barack Obama has said he will defy critics who have called for the US to send in ground troops to defeat Islamic State, saying it would go against the advice of his military strategists. Barack Obama gestures during a press conference following the G20 summit in Antalya. Photograph: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images The strategy that we are putting forward is the strategy that is ultimately is going to work. It’s going to take time. It is not just my view, but the view of my closest military and civilian advisers, that [boots on the ground] would be a mistake. In an irritable exchange with reporters at a news conference after two days at the G20 summit in Ankara, he dismissed calls for ground troops as tough talk. This is not an abstraction. When we send troops in, those troops get injured. They get killed. The US’ strategy in fighting Isis was not about retaking territory but changing the dynamics that gave rise to “these types of violent, extremist groups”. This is not a traditional military opponent. We can retake territory and, as long as we keep our troops there, we can hold it, but that does not solve the underlying problem of eliminating the dynamics that are producing these kinds of violent, extremist groups. He also criticised the Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush for suggesting that refugees to the US should be primarily Christian. That’s shameful. That’s not American. That’s not who we are. The people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism. They are the most vulnerable as a consequence of civil war and strife. They are parents. They are children. They are orphans and it is very important ... that we do not close our hearts to these victims of such violence and somehow start equating the issue of refugees with the issue of terrorism. Obama said he had not been briefed on any intelligence that indicated an attack in Paris was likely. There were no specific mentions of this particular attack that would give us a sense of something that we could provide French authorities, for example, or act on ourselves. The US president also voiced some optimism about the tentative plan formulated at peace talks in Vienna, saying he had “some degree of hope” that tit would provide a path forward. We are very clear-eyed about the very, very difficult road ahead.

Updated at 16.21 GMT

16 Nov 2015 16.18 GMT François Hollande speech – the details Addressing the Congrès des Parliamentaires – a meeting of both houses of parliament, the senate and the national assembly – the French president, François Hollande, called for the French constitution to be rewritten in the fight against terrorism. François Hollande arrives to deliver a speech at a special congress of the joint upper and lower houses of parliament. Photograph: Reuters Hollande said France demands a rapid implementation of “coordinated and systematic controls” of the EU’s internal and external borders.



If Europe does not control its external borders, then it’s back to national borders. This would be the dismantling of the European Union. He also said he wanted French law to allow dual nationals to be stripped of their French citizenship if they were convicted of terrorism and banned from entering France if they presented a “terrorism risk”.



Hollande announced that France will increase its presence in Syria. He has called for the UN security council to meet in the coming days to adopt a united position against Isis. We are confronting an organisation, IS, that controls a large amount of territory, financial resources and military capabilities. He pledged to increase the budgets for security forces and the army, announcing the creation of 8,500 new jobs.

We will have 5,000 new police officers within five years. The Ministry of Justice will include an extra 2,500 posts and there will be 1,000 more people working in customs. Referring to the eurozone budget limits, he said: I consider that in these circumstances, the security pact prevails over the stability pact. Hollande added that he will table a bill to extend the state of emergency in France by three months. Addressing French lawmakers directly, he said: You are the representatives of free people, invincible when united. We will use all our strength within the law to defeat terrorism. We will eradicate terrorism so that France may continue to lead the way, because French citizens want to continue to live without fear. As the French parliament did in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January, both the senate and national assembly sang the Marseillaise after President Hollande finished his speech.





Updated at 17.57 GMT