Loving life in Paris' Empire of the Dead

Beneath the streets of the City of Light lies a world draped in darkness and shrouded in silence. The tunnels are narrow, the ceilings are low and death is on display. The skulls and bones lining the walls, arranged in a macabre fashion, make up what is known as the Empire of the Dead -- the Catacombs of Paris. 

 The catacombs snake below the city, a 321-kilometer (200-mile) network of old quarries, caves and tunnels. Some Parisians are drawn to this largely uncharted territory -- a hidden network of adventure, discovery and even relaxation. They are known as 'cataphiles' and the catacombs are their playground. Empire of the Dead: Part 1 Empire of the Dead: Part 2 Empire of the Dead: Part 3 It is a top-secret group. Catacomb entrances are known only to those daring enough to roam the networks on their own -- and break the law.

 Entering unauthorized sections of the catacombs is illegal and a police force is tasked with patrolling the tunnels, and caught cataphiles risk fines of up to 60 euros ($73). But for explorers like Loic Antoine-Gambeaud and his friends, it is a risk they are willing to take. "I think it's in the collective imagination. Everybody knows that there is something below Paris; that something goes on that's mysterious. But I don't think many people have even an idea of what the underground is like," Antoine-Gambeaud said. 

For those who want to find out, but are not willing to take the risk of going in unsupervised, there is a legal, tourist-friendly public entrance to the catacombs off Place Denfert-Rochereau. Visitors from around the world will queue up to see death on display. "I think people are fascinated with death," one visitor said. "They don't know what it's about and you see all these bones stacked up, and the people that have come before us, and it's fascinating.

 We're trying to find our past and it's crazy and gruesome and fun all at the same time." But experiencing the history of Paris in an orderly fashion is not the cataphiles' style. Underground, there are plaques echoing the street names above etched into the walls, helping the cataphiles navigate. Often equipped only with head lamps and homemade maps, they explore the tunnels and ancient rooms, sometimes staying underground for days at a time. 

They throw parties, drink wine, or just relax in a silence they say can't be experienced anywhere else. The catacombs are a by-product of Paris' early development. Builders dug deep underground to extract limestone to build Paris above ground. But the subterranean quarries that were formed proved to be a shaky foundation for the city, causing a number of streets to collapse and be swallowed up by the ground.

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France helicopter crash kills six

The aircraft came down  in the Verdon Gorge, an area popular with hikers. The helicopter, a Cougar, belonged to aviation company Eurocopter and was on a test flight involving pilots and engineers, officials say.

 Witnesses said the helicopter had hit an electricity cable before plunging down onto the river bank. Firefighters and a team of climbers were despatched to the scene, as well as a medically-equipped helicopter. 

 The helicopter came down in one of Europe's best known river gorges, which runs 700m (2,300 ft) deep. Police spokesman Benoit Gounine told reporters that rescuers had trouble reaching the site. 

 "The accident happened in a very difficult place to access, which complicates our work," he said. Investigations are taking place to determine the cause of the crash. 

 French radio station Europe 1 said the Cougar had been destined for the Albanian army and was being followed by a second helicopter at the time of the crash.

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Horror as tourist climbs the Eiffel tower and then jumps to his death

An English-speaking tourist has died after jumping off the Eiffel Tower. The man climbed up the outside of the structure at around 11:30pm yesterday before leaping to his death. Police had spotted him scaling the 1,063ft tower, prompting them to evacuate and seal off the area. 

Firefighters tried to talk the man down but failed. It is thought he jumped from around 1,000ft, said Frederic Grosjean, deputy spokesman for the Paris firefighters' brigade. A police source said: 'These tragedies are all too common, but it’s rare for someone to climb to the very top before jumping off.

 'The man was spotted after he started climbing, and negotiations took place, but he had apparently made up his mind to end his life. When he got to between the second level and the top, he jumped.' The entire tower, which includes a restaurant, was evacuated during the drama. Firefighters intervened again on Monday when a woman aged about 30 also attempted to jump from the tower. 

She was talked out of the suicide and lifted by helicopter from the structure. Eiffel Tower management refused to comment to AFP on the number of suicides at the site every year, saying: 'It is always too many.' French engineer Gustave Eiffel built his world-famous tower for the Paris world fair of 1889. It is now visited by more than seven million people a year, many of whom come from Britain. Numerous measures are in place to try and stop people using the tower to end their lives, including security fences and safety nets.

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Toulouse hostage gunman arrested

The man initially demanded money but when he was refused, a shot was fired and the hostages taken. Claiming to be linked to al-Qaeda, he demanded to speak to the elite Raid police unit that killed Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah nearby in March. He freed two hostages before police stormed the bank and detained him.

 The gunman was said to have been wounded in the thigh, but not seriously. His two remaining hostages are not thought to have been harmed. 'Religious reasons' The man went into the branch of the CIC bank at 10:10 local time (08:10 GMT), taking the manager and three other people hostage. The area around the bank was cordoned off and two nearby schools were closed. 

 Continue reading the main story Mohamed Merah French citizen of Algerian extraction, aged 23 Described himself as an al-Qaeda member who had spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan Behind murders of seven people 11 March, shot dead Sgt Imad Ibn-Ziaten in Toulouse 15 March, shot dead Corporal Abel Chennouf, 24, and Private Mohamed Legouad at a cash machine in Montauban 19 March.

 attacked Ozar Hatorah Jewish school in Toulouse, killing teacher Jonathan Sandler, 30, sons Gabriel, 4, and Arieh, 5, and head teacher's daughter Myriam Monsonego, 7 22 March, Merah shot dead after siege at his flat Merah's path to murder Merah 'wanted to kill more' Special police units from the GIPN (Groupe d'intervention de la police nationale) arrived from Marseille and Bordeaux.

 No officers from Raid - which has its headquarters north of Paris, about 600km (400 miles) from Toulouse - were deployed to the scene. A police union source told the regional newspaper Ouest-France it was not clear whether the man's claim about al-Qaeda was "serious or a fantasy". 

 More than four hours into the siege, police said a woman hostage had been freed in exchange for food and water. A second woman was released some time afterwards. Public prosecutor Michel Valet told reporters that the man "wishes to let it be known that he is not acting for money, but for religious reasons".

 The hostage-taker was believed to be around 30 years old and known to the authorities, Toulouse newspaper La Depeche reported. He was from Castres, to the east of Toulouse, and one source told the paper he was a schizophrenic who had broken off his treatment. His sister, who was brought to the scene during the afternoon to help in negotiations, revealed that her brother was not religious and had been in and out of social care since childhood. 

 After almost seven hours, the siege came to an end. The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris said that three explosions had been heard, possibly stun grenades, shortly before news emerged of the gunman's arrest. The gunman had come out of the building with one of the two hostages, reportedly threatening him with a gun, prompting the special police unit to launch its assault. 

 He was shot in the thigh, La Depeche reported, before being arrested. He was then taken to hospital. Merah siege The bank in which the drama unfolded is a few hundred metres from Mohamed Merah's flat, in an area adjacent to the barracks where Raid police were based during the March siege that ended in his death.

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BREAKING NEWS:Hostages held' in Toulouse bank

The man fired a shot and demanded to speak to the elite police unit which shot Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah. Merah, who claimed to have al-Qaeda training, killed seven people in Toulouse in March before he was shot dead by police. The director of the bank, a branch of CIC, is said to be among the hostages. 

 The regional newspaper Ouest-France says the area around the bank has been sealed off by the security forces. "We do not know if his claim about al-Qaeda is serious or a fantasy," a police union source told Ouest-France. The BBC's Christian Fraser, in Paris, says the bank is 100 metres (330ft) from Merah's flat. A police official told the Associated Press no injuries had been reported so far.

 Mohamed Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian descent, killed seven people in three separate attacks. His victims included three children and a teacher at a Jewish school, and three soldiers. He was shot dead by a police sniper on 22 March after commandos stormed his flat.

 In the wake of the shootings, the French authorities set up an investigation into whether Merah had accomplices and into possible Islamist indoctrination practices in prisons. Merah filmed his attacks, footage which was later recovered.

 On 7 June, a man armed with a shotgun took hostage a security guard at the French weather service, Meteo France. The hostage-taker fired several shots and was seriously injured when police returned fire. His hostage was uninjured.

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Sarkozy concedes defeat as Hollande becomes new leader of France

Nicolas Sarkozy tonight conceded defeat to Socialist Francois Hollande as his presidential career ended in humiliation. In a speech before supporters the incumbent said he had called his rival to wish him 'good luck' as France's new leader. 

 Following one of the bitterest election campaigns in recent history, official results showed Hollande with 51 per cent of the vote compared with Sarkozy's 49 per cent, the Interior Ministry said. With two thirds of the vote counted, the CSA, TNS-Sofres and Ipsos polling agencies all predicted a Hollande win as well.

 It means that Sarkozy, a self-styled radical conservative who had pledged to reform France as Margaret Thatcher had Britain in the 1980s, became a one-term president who achieved relatively little. 

Sarkozy thanked his supporters and said he did his best to win a second term, despite widespread anger at his handling of the economy. He said: 'I take responsibility ... for the defeat.' Hollande, meanwhile, took to the stage in his political heartland of Tulle, in the south-west of the country, to make his acceptance speech.

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Sarkozy Battling For French Presidency

Nicolas Sarkozy is battling to survive as French President after he was runner-up in the first round of voting to Socialist rival Francois Hollande. With 98% of the votes counted, Mr Hollande is in the lead winning 28.6% of the vote. Mr Sarkozy is just behind his rival with 27.1%. 

"Tonight I become the candidate of all the forces who want to turn one page and turn over another," Mr Hollande said following the vote. Mr Sarkozy, speaking at his campaign headquarters on Paris' Left Bank, said he recognised voters' concerns about jobs and immigration, and "the concern of our compatriots to preserve their way of life". 

In more bad news for Mr Sarkozy, a new opinion poll suggested he will lose the May 6 second round run-off with Mr Hollande. The survey suggests the Socialist leader will beat the centre-right incumbent by 54% to 46%. The Ipsos survey, commissioned by French public television and the daily Le Monde newspaper, predicted a majority of those who backed candidates eliminated in the first round would support Mr Hollande. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, of the National Front, got 18.1% and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon polled 11.1%.

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Samuel Eto's wife exposes breatises at public pool(PHOTOS)

The most decorated African player of all time and one of the highest-paid footballers in the world Samuel Eto'O is married to a gorgeous Ivorian woman named Georgette Eto Fils, and they have three children.

Georgette lives in France with her children. During a trip to the US, the mother of three was photographed sunbathing topless at a public pool.

To see the photos, you have to be at least 18. Continue to see it...and enjoy the view.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW...http://lindaikeji.blogspot.com/2012/03/samuel-etos-wife-exposes-breatises-at.html#more

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Shooting at Jewish School Leaves Rabbi, 3 Kids Dead in France

Jewish school shooting mourners

A shooter opened fire on a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, this morning just as students arrived, killing four, including a 30-year-old rabbi and his two children, officials said.

The shooter, who arrived and fled from the Ozar Hatorah school on a scooter or a motorcycle, "shot at everything he could see," according to local prosecutor Michel Valet.

The dead included Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, who taught at the school, his 3- and 6-year-old sons Gabriel and Arieh, and the school headmaster's 8-year-old daughter, according to the Israeli newspaper Ynet. Sandler, a French-Israeli national, had left Israel last September to begin a two year teaching stint at the school, according to the Le Parisien newspaper.

A 17-year-old and two other students were seriously wounded.

Authorities are investigating whether the shooting is linked to two other incidents where a shooter targeted his victims while driving a motorcycle in the same area. Last Sunday, a paratrooper out of uniform was killed by a gunman on a motorbike outside of a gym in a suburb of Toulouse.

On Thursday, two soldiers were killed and a third wounded by a shooter on a scooter as they used an ATM in Montauban, about 30 miles away.The same caliber weapon – a .45 handgun, referred to in France as an 11.43 – was used in the shootings last week and this morning, police officials told local media."It is too early to link the different shootings, but there are similarities between these shootings: same modus operandi, same area," French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told ABC News. "The shooter in all these cases was very determined."

Witnesses of today's shooting described a horrific scene at the drop-off point for nursery- and primary-age students. The killer arrived with two weapons, and one jammed, according to AFP.

"I saw two people dead in front of the school, an adult and a child ... It was a vision of horror, the bodies of two small children," a father whose child attends the school told RTL radio. "I did not find my son. Apparently he fled when he saw what happened. How can they attack something as sacred as a school?"

"Just because we are different doesn't mean we should be killed," one student's father, in tears, told the local newspaper Sud Quest from outside the school.

One student described how the shooting began just as she arrived for her morning prayers. "We were really afraid," she told Sud Quest. She said after police arrived, the children sat down, were given water, and prayed together.

The killer arrived at the school carrying two weapons, including the same .45 caliber gun that killed one of the soldiers in Thursday's attack, according to the Toulouse-based La Depeche newspaper.

Police say they have locked Toulouse down as they hunt for the killer, and the government tightened security at all religious sites in France, particularly Jewish schools. Sixty police officers, including anti-terrorist police, are helping with this investigation after they had already begun examining the attacks on the troops.French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is running for re-election, immediately flew to Toulouse, which is about 425 miles south of Paris.

"Whatever happens," he said, "faced with this kind of toll, we can say that the French Republic as a whole has been hit by this appalling tragedy."

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4 killed in shooting at French Jewish school

A gunman opened fire on a Jewish school in southern France Monday, killing four people -- the third shooting of ethnic minority people in the region in the past 10 days.

The gunman pulled up in front of Ozar Hatorah school in Toulouse just before 8 a.m. and started shooting, authorities said.

The victims included a teacher at the school and his two children. A 3-year-old child was also among the dead, and a 17-year-old was wounded, local prosecutor Michael Valet said.

The gunman got close enough to his victims to shoot them in the head, local journalist Gil Bousquet said.

Families hugged and wept in front of police cars around the school in the aftermath of the shooting, pictures from the scene showed.

Ambulances and police vans lined the narrow streets of the city, and a helicopter circled overhead as police on foot made their way through the small crowd of shocked locals to get to the building.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy flew to the school, where he declared that "everything must be done so the killer is arrested."

"And of course our thoughts are with these families that are shattered -- a mother who has lost her husband and her two children the same day, the director of the school saw a little girl die before his eyes," Sarkozy said in a somber appearance at the entrance to the school.

He called for a minute's silence in schools across the country in response to the "national tragedy."

The gunman wore a motorcycle helmet and fled on a motor scooter after the shootings, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said -- the same method used in the shootings of soldiers on March 11 and 15.

Those soldiers were all of North African origin, Brandet said.

"It's a horrible tragedy," Brandet said of Monday's shootings.

"Even if it's too early to say whether or not they are the same weapons, there are similarities," Brandet said, citing the use of a motorcycle and the location of the killings.

Ballistics tests will help determine whether the same guns were used in all three shootings, he said, speaking on CNN affiliate BFM.

Prosecutors in Paris have opened an investigation into all three shootings under anti-terrorism powers.

The interior ministry has ordered police across the country to contact Jewish organizations to arrange increased vigilance, Brandet said.

France, which has one of the largest Jewish populations in Europe, had 389 reported acts of anti-Semitism in 2011, according to Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, known in French as CRIF.

Its head, Richard Prasquier, and Minister of Education Luc Chatel accompanied Sarkozy to Toulouse.

The news of Monday's shooting brought immediate reaction from the Jewish world.

"We follow with shock the news coming from France, and we trust the French authorities to shed full light on this crime and to bring those responsible to justice," said Yigal Palmor, the spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry.

Gilles Bernheim, the chief rabbi of France, said he was "horrified" and "upset."

Moscow Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt said on behalf of the Conference of European Rabbis that "the thoughts of Jewish communities across Europe will be with the families of the victims."

Presidential candidate Francois Hollande said he felt "horror" at the killing.

On March 11, a soldier was on his motorbike when a helmeted man on another motorcycle pulled up and shot and killed him, Toulouse police Capt. David Delattre said.

The soldier was not in uniform, and his motorbike did not have any military identification, Delattre said.

On Thursday, two other soldiers were shot dead and another injured by a black-clad man wearing a motorcycle helmet in the southwestern French city of Montauban, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Toulouse.

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