Paris shooting: Three killed and several wounded at Kurdish cultural centre
Three people have been killed and three others injured after a gunman opened fire in Paris.
A man, 69, has been arrested in connection with the shooting at a local Kurdish cultural centre, the prosecutor’s department in the French capital said.
The French government asked police to reinforce the protection of Kurdish community sites in the country following the deadly attack.
Also this afternoon, protesters clashed with French police during a demonstration near the shooting scene in the Rue d’Enghien.
The prosecutor’s office said the suspect had a prior police record, including an arrest for attacking migrants living in tents a year ago, before adding investigators would examine a “possible racist element” behind the attack.
The man was also wounded “in the face” during in the incident and is being treated in hospital, according to district mayor Alexandra Cordebard.
A lawyer for the Kurdish Community Centre said all three people killed in the shooting were members of the Kurdish community.
Police and firefighters secure a street after gunshots were fired in the French capital
Several people were injured during the incident
Suspect is French national and ‘acted alone’
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said the suspect is a French national and known by authorities, but not in the context of political extremism, and was not known to the secret service.
He added the “exact motives” of the attacker are so far unknown, and “as things stand” he acted alone.
The shooting took place at midday local time at a Kurdish cultural centre and a restaurant and hairdresser nearby, district mayor Ms Cordebard said.
President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: “The Kurds of France have been the target of a heinous attack in the heart of Paris.
“Thoughts to the victims, to the people who are struggling to live, to their families and loved ones. Recognition to our law enforcement for their courage and composure.”
Officers cordon off area
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said three victims of the shooting had died, while one is in a critical condition and two others are in hospital with less serious injuries.
Police officers cordoned off the area on a busy street with shops and restaurants near the Gare de l’Est train station, and urged people to stay away.
Antiterrorism prosecutors said they are investigating the shooting but have not indicated any sign of a terrorist motive.
Police said they were dealing with an incident on the Rue d’Enghien
Investigation into gunman’s motives
One witness told French news agency AFP that seven or eight shots had been fired, sparking chaos in the street.
Shortly after the incident, Mr Darmanin said he would travel to Paris and visit the scene of the “dramatic” shooting, and also confirmed the suspect had been arrested by police.
An investigation into the motives of the gunman continues, Ms Cordebard said, who also told reporters the incident was a “terrible drama”.
French police talk to people as they secure a street after gunshots were fired
France endured a series of deadly attacks by Islamic extremists in 2015 and 2016 and remains on alert for terror-related violence.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said an investigation has been opened into murder, manslaughter and aggravated violence.
It said the suspected attacker had been detained a year ago for an attack with a sabre on a migrant camp in Paris
and investigated for a racially motivated crime.
The UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted about the “tragic news” in Paris, and said the UK “is ready to support in whatever way we can”.
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
Read more:
Azerbaijan president hails oil and gas as ‘gift from God’
UN climate summits ‘no longer fit for purpose’
The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
Read more:
No 10 indicates Netanyahu would be arrested
‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike
Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
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