International News

PARIS, (APP/AFP): France has declared three days of
national mourning from Saturday after at least 84 people were mown down
by a truck while watching a Bastille Day fireworks display, the prime minister said.
Manuel Valls also told reporters that the government wants to extend
the state of emergency which has been in force since the November 13 Paris attacks, until October.
Flags will be flown at half-mast from Friday, and a law extending
increased powers for the police will be put before parliament next week, he said.
“Times have changed, and France is going to have to live with
terrorism, and we must face this together and show our collective sang-froid,” he said.
“France is a great country and a great democracy and we will not
allow ourselves to be destabilised,” he added.
“We want to bring the French nation together. The only dignified
response (to the attack) is for France to stick with the spirit of July 14, a France that is united around its values,” he said.
Bastille Day is the country’s national holiday and marks the start of
the French Revolution in 1789.
It is celebrated with military parades and fireworks displays across
the country, and is the traditional start of the holiday session.