Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb threat

PARIS: The Eiffel Tower and the surrounding Champ de Mars park were evacuated on Tuesday for the second time in two weeks after a bomb alert, a spokeswoman for the Paris landmark said.

“The police asked us to evacuate, saying they had received a warning,” the spokeswoman said.

About 2,000 people were usually in the area at that time of day, she said.

A police spokeswoman said the fire service had received a call from a public telephone saying there was a suspect package at the tower.

The police cordoned off an area about 200 metres from the tower.

The bomb alert was the fourth in as many weeks. French security officials said last week the country was on heightened alert after receiving a tip-off of a planned suicide attack on the Paris metro.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said on Sept. 20 France faced a real terrorism threat as

Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb threat

PARIS: The Eiffel Tower and the surrounding Champ de Mars park were evacuated on Tuesday for the second time in two weeks after a bomb alert, a spokeswoman for the Paris landmark said.

“The police asked us to evacuate, saying they had received a warning,” the spokeswoman said.

About 2,000 people were usually in the area at that time of day, she said.

A police spokeswoman said the fire service had received a call from a public telephone saying there was a suspect package at the tower.

The police cordoned off an area about 200 metres from the tower.

The bomb alert was the fourth in as many weeks. French security officials said last week the country was on heightened alert after receiving a tip-off of a planned suicide attack on the Paris metro.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said on Sept. 20 France faced a real terrorism threat as

Paris Bomb Alerts Prove Hoax: Police

Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb scare

The Eiffel Tower in Paris has been evacuated after an anonymous bomb threat sparked panic in the French capital.
Around 2,000 were led to safety and police combed through the world famous landmark.
A second tourist hub – the Saint-Michel subway station near Notre Dame cathedral – was also evacuated after a similar threat. The station was the target of a terrorist attack in 1995 that killed eight and injured dozens of people.
French media has reported that the scare was a false alarm – and there have been no immediate claims of responsibility. The Eiffel Tower attracts around 6.6 million visitors every year.

Paintings worth euro500M stolen from Paris museum

PARIS: Police and prosecutors say a lone thief has stolen five paintings worth a total of euro500 million ($613 million), including works by Picasso and Matisse, in a brazen overnight theft from a Paris modern art museum.

The paintings were reported missing early Thursday from the Paris Museum of Modern Art, across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower, according to Paris police. Investigators have cordoned off the museum.

Europe shudders under pre-Christmas cold snap

Travelers are facing severe transport disruption as Northwest Europe was hit by a cold snap and early snow.

The French capital and much of the north of the country awoke to find a seven-centimetre blanket of snow, which delayed flights from Charles de Gaulle airport by up to two hours.The iconic Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors, and train and bus services were delayed in many areas, as daytime temperatures dropped below zero for the first time in the year and black ice coated northern roads.
In Britain, traffic disruptions are expected as heavy snow falls across much of the UK, with south-east and north-east England worst affected. The Met Office issued severe warnings for heavy snowfall in London, south-east and east England, as well as north-east England and East Midlands. Up to 20cm of snow is possible in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, London and East Anglia, with gale-force winds causing drifts.

The northern Netherlands experienced the worst falls in four years, with snow up to 25 centimetres deep in places, the national weather service said, while all bus services in the region were cancelled. Numerous flights were cancelled and delayed at Brussels airport.

In Germany, temperatures dropped to around minus two in the capital and drivers had to take care on the roads as the snow fell. The German government’s weather service says that some 10 centimeters of snow fell in the hills outside the financial capital Frankfurt.

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Europe shudders under pre-Christmas cold snap was first posted on December 18, 2009 at 6:56 pm.