Monthly Archives: November 2015

Resilient Paris prepares for key climate conference

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World leaders will begin gathering in Paris this weekend for the long-anticipated UN conference on climate change, which begins on Monday amid obvious security anxieties and a warning on the environment from the Pope.

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Meanwhile, France is to hold a national remembrance service for the victims of the terror attacks two weeks ago today.

In Moscow, French President Francois Hollande and Russia’s Vladimir Putin agreed on closer co-operation in the fight against ISIS.

But there are continuing uncertainties in the wake of the downing of the Russian jet this week.

In Britain, meanwhile, the political divide over potential expansion of Britain’s role in Syria is being played out as you might expect, with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn apparently braced for resignations from his shadow cabinet.

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Black Friday is under way. Who cares?

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SPORTS

World athletics boss Lord Coe quit his role as a paid ambassador for Nike.

The Davis Cup final gets under way today in Belgium.

 

Cameron to make case for Syria air strikes

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Prime Minister David Cameron is to lay out his case to parliament today for British participation in air strikes on ISIS positions inside Syria. He maintains his plan would be “unlikely to lead to civilian casualties” but many MPs remain sceptical.

If the strategy gets put to a vote in the House, it is expected within weeks.

Meanwhile, last night the French National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to continue that country’s current air campaign, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged support. President Obama said that the number of US airstrikes against ISIS has now exceeded 8,000.

Relations between Russia and Turkey continue to be tense, following this week’s downing of a Russian jet on the Turkish border with Syria.

French PM Francois Hollande is in Moscow today for talks with President Putin.

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Pope Francis is in Africa – his first official visit to the continent – but before he left had some strong words on what passes for the idea of “normality”:

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BUSINESS

At yesterday’s Autumn Financial Statement, Chancellor George Osborne pulled off something of a balancing act in plans for government spending over coming years.

osbornefronts(Tomorrow’s Papers Today)

While there was one moment of cringe worthiness in the Opposition response…

Something of an expensive 24 hours for Barclays…

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CULTURE

And on the most American of all holidays…

 

Osborne lays out spending priorities

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Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will deliver his Autumn Financial Statement in parliament on Thursday. The statement will set out the government’s spending priorities and strategy for the coming years, and is expected to provoke controversy over potential cuts to departmental budgets as well as tax credits.

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Tensions remain high amid street protests in Chicago after authorities released dashcam video of the shooting by a police officer of a 17-year-old youth. While the shooting took place a year ago, on Wednesday the officer was charged with first-degree murder.

Russian jet incident heightens tensions

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Confusion reigns amid high tensions following the downing of a Russian fighter plane near the border between Syria and Turkey.

Feb 24..? That’s kind of specific, no..?

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Brussels will remain on “lockdown” until Wednesday…

But its hard to imagine anything better than Twitter’s lockdown cats in response to requests not to tweet about locations of police.

Hostages held in Mali siege

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Developing..

A siege is under way at a hotel in Mali, where some 170 people are understood to be held hostage by an unknown number of gunmen.

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As the Syrian refugee crisis, complicated by the context of the Paris attacks, continues to polarize citizens and politicians alike – on both sides of the Atlantic – Andrew Neil struck some chords in the UK last night…

But Pete Sinclair wasn’t alone in pointing out the possible provenance…

SNP MP Mhairi Black has another way of looking at the refugee situation, as the first group of Syrians arrived in Scotland.

In the US, meanwhile, things appear to be getting even more out of hand.

 

Northern Ireland is digesting the news that First Minister Peter Robinson is to retire.

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At least the requirements of the new owners aren’t as onerous as this, for now…

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Paris firefight targets alleged terrorist

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An intense and lengthy firefight in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis early on Wednesday caused an as yet unconfirmed number of deaths and injuries. It was reported that a woman detonated an explosive belt as police closed in on an apartment where Abdelamid Abaaoud, the alleged ringleader of last week’s attacks, was thought to be hiding. There were also reports of a number of arrests at the scene. No civilians were understood to have been hurt.

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As the US backlash against Syrian refugees appears to intensify, a clearly frustrated and angry President Obama spoke out.

For some, the issue has become simply part of the circus.

Not all, er, Republicans are the same, however…

Meanwhile, as the first Syrian refugees arrive in Britain…

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SPORTStimes(The Times/Tomorrow’s Papers Today)

(Interestingly, it’s worth noting the juxtaposition of that lower story on The Times’ poll on British attitudes to refugees.)

England and France met at Wembley last night in an emotional friendly match. England won 2-0, but the outcome was much less important than the message it sent.

Elsewhere, the game between Germany and Holland in Hannover was called off after authorities received warnings of a possible bomb attack on the stadium.

 

Finally, All Black star Jonah Lomu, modern rugby’s first global superstar, died aged 40.

 

Britain warns on cyber-attacks

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Chancellor George Osborne will warn today of the need for greater cyber-security in the fight against ISIS and that spending will be doubled. Maybe he didn’t read that Anonymous are already on the case…

And Prime Minister David Cameron said that more security personnel were being recruited to respond to a heightened threat.

express.jpg(Daily Express/Tomorrow’s Papers Today)

Meanwhile, In Paris…

IntNYT.jpg(International NYT/Tomorrow’s Papers Today)

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Russia confirmed this morning that investigators had found that the crash of the airliner in Egypt was caused by a bomb.

President Putin announced a reward of $50m for information on the attack.

And events in Paris are affecting the political landscape everywhere…

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Zzzzzzzz…

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Congratulations to baseball’s brightest young stars.

Finally, tonight sees the highly significant football friendly between England and France at Wembley. The result, obviously, will be of much less significance than the message the game sends.

star.jpg(Daily Star/Tomorrow’s Papers Today)

Amid mourning, debate over next steps in fight against terror

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Amid the grief and anger following Friday night’s attacks in Paris, the manhunt continued for additional terrorists as victims and perpetrators alike began to be identified. The situation remains tense across many European capitals.

Meanwhile, French jets launched airstrikes on IS strongholds in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

This “war” will have many fronts.

As the world wrestled with what happens next, the outpouring of sympathy and respect for the city of Paris and the people of France was heartfelt and inspiring.

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Or perhaps not..

At the G20 meeting in Turkey, Presidents Obama and Putin met on the sidelines to discuss events in Paris and the situation in Syria.

Talks aimed at rejuvenating the Northern Ireland Assembly resume on Monday, with expectations that an agreement might be close.

One of the parties in attendance, the SDLP, elected a new leader at the weekend in a potentially significant generational shift.

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Saturday Night Live paid tribute to the Paris victims,

and John Oliver:

And, after U2 cancelled two shows in Paris over the weekend, here’s an even better alternative…

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As did the New York Rangers.

Tuesday’s soccer friendly between England and France will go ahead at Wembley Stadium.

Holly Holm defeated Ronda Rousey, dealing the UFC champ her first defeat and – of course – setting up a lucrative re-match.

In cricket,

Baseball’s Rookie of the Year awards are made today.

Many killed as Paris hit by terror attacks

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DEVELOPING 10.00PM GMT

More than 100 people have been killed tonight in what appears to be a co-ordinated series of attacks in several locations across Paris. Five terrorists are also reported to have been killed.

There were initial reports of explosions near the Stade de France, where the national football team were playing Germany, as well as a shooting at a restaurant. A hundred people are also thought to be held hostage at the Bataclan concert hall.

UPDATE 12.30AM: French police stormed the Bataclan concert hall and overpowered the attackers, but reports said as many as 100 people could have died inside.

President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency, ordered the country’s borders closed and convened an emergency cabinet meeting. Hundreds of French troops were deployed on the streets of the capital. Residents were told to stay indoors and many people found themselves locked in restaurants and bars as they sought shelter.

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UPDATE 9AM 14 NOV: