Terrorists are planning to kidnap foreigners on a Philippine island popular with tourists, the US embassy has warned, a month after a foiled abduction attempt by Islamic militants at another tourism hotspot.

An advisory from the US embassy in Manila yesterday warned Americans to "carefully consider" going to Palawan, naming a World Heritage-listed underground river as one area of specific concern.

The US Embassy has received credible information that terrorist groups may be planning to conduct kidnapping operations targeting foreign nationals in the areas of Palawan, the advisory said.

The Philippine military today said in a statement it "shared the same concerns" as the US government, and that it had increased security at Palawan's tourism sites.

The embassy identified two locations, the capital city of Puerto Princesa and the nearby underground river that attracts thousands of visitors daily,as areas the kidnappers were targeting.

Puerto Princesa is about 400 kilometres (240 miles) northwest of southern islands that are strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf, militants who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and frequently kidnap foreigners.

The Abu Sayyaf last month attempted a kidnapping raid on Bohol island, a popular tourist destination in the central Philippines, but were foiled after security forces became aware of the plot.

Security forces found the militants a day after they arrived on Bohol on speedboats, and engaged them in a gun battle.

Nine militants, three soldiers and one policeman were killed in the clashes, according to authorities.

They said another militant died in police custody.

The Bohol raid occurred days after the US embassy issued a warning of potential kidnappings there.

The Abu Sayyaf has since its founding in the 1990s kidnapped dozens of foreigners and many more locals to extract ransoms.

It typically raids coastal areas after sailing from its southern island strongholds on speedboats, although in recent years it has also attacked cargo and merchant ships.

The militants beheaded two Canadians last year and an elderly German sailor in February after demands for millions of dollars were unmet.

The Abu Sayyaf raided a resort in Puerto Princesa's Honda Bay in 2001, abducting three Americans and 17 Filipinos.

One of the Americans was beheaded, while one was killed in a military rescue attempt a year later. The third American was freed in the rescue effort.

The Abu Sayyaf has also kidnapped people from Malaysian coastal resorts, which are a short speedboat ride from its southern Philippine bases.

Trump administration is making it tougher for millions of visitors to enter the United States by demanding new security checks before giving visas to tourists, business travelers and relatives of American residents.

Diplomatic cables sent last week from Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson to all American embassies instructed consular officials to broadly increase scrutiny.

It was the first evidence of the “extreme vetting” Mr. Trump promised during the presidential campaign.

The new rules generally do not apply to citizens of 38 countries — including most of Europe and longstanding allies like Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea — who can be speedily admitted into the United States under the visa waiver program.

That program does not cover citizens from any country in the Middle East or Africa.

Even stricter security checks for people from six predominantly Muslim nations remain on hold because federal courts have temporarily blocked President Trump’s travel ban.

But Mr. Trump and his national security team are not waiting to toughen the rules to decide who can enter the United States. Embassy officials must now scrutinize a broader pool of visa applicants to determine if they pose security risks to the United States, according to four cables sent between March 10 and March 17.

That extra scrutiny will include asking applicants detailed questions about their background and making mandatory checks of social media history if a person has ever been in territory controlled by the Islamic State.

Mr. Trump has spoken regularly of his concern about the threat of “radical Islamic terrorism” from immigrants. But it is unclear who, exactly, will be targeted for the extra scrutiny since Mr. Tillerson’s cables leave that decision up to security officers at each embassy.

Still, taken together, consular officials and immigration advocates said the administration’s moves will increase the likelihood of denial for those seeking to come to America, and will further slow down a bureaucratic approval process that can already take months or even years for those flagged for extra investigation.

In 2016, the United States issued more than 10 million visas.

There are legitimate reasons someone might be targeted, such as evidence of a connection to terrorism or crime. But advocates also said they worry about people being profiled for extra scrutiny because of their name or nationality.

“This will certainly slow down the screening process and impose a substantial burden on these applicants,” said Greg Chen, the director of advocacy for the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “It will make it much harder and create substantial delays.”

The cables from Mr. Tillerson make clear that the Trump administration wants a more intense focus on the potential for a serious threat when making decisions about who should receive a visa.

“Consular officers should not hesitate to refuse any case presenting security concerns,” Mr. Tillerson wrote in the cables, titled “Implementing Immediate Heightened Screening and Vetting of Visa Applications.”

“All visa decisions are national security decisions,” the secretary of state added.

During his presidential campaign, Mr. Trump accused the Obama administration of failing to properly screen people coming into the United States, a claim former officials in that administration reject.

As a candidate, Mr. Trump vowed to ban all incoming Muslims until leaders could “figure out what the hell is going on.” Later, he backed away from a total ban on Muslims but promised “extreme vetting” of those trying to come to the United States.

The president’s first attempt to put tougher screening in place was the executive order aimed at temporarily blocking refugees and people whom Mr. Trump called “bad dudes” from predominantly Muslim countries.

Courts blocked the first version of the president’s order after a chaotic rollout just days into his term. A second order was blocked this month.

But on March 6, the same day that Mr. Trump issued his revised travel ban, he also wrote a presidential memorandum ordering the secretary of state, the attorney general and the secretary of homeland security to “implement protocols and procedures” to enhance visa screening.

Administration officials said the cables from Mr. Tillerson are among the actions being taken to carry out that memorandum. Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said the steps aim “to more effectively identify individuals who could pose a threat to the United States.”

Most people seeking entry to the United States, for family, business or tourism reasons, must apply for a visa. Embassy officials can deny a visa for anyone suspected of being a threat, conducting fraud or planning to stay longer than allowed.

The seven-page unclassified cable that Mr. Tillerson sent on March 15, which was provided to The New York Times, makes clear that the process of securing an entry visa is about to get harder and longer at diplomatic posts around the globe.

“Consular chiefs must immediately convene post’s law enforcement and intelligence community partners” to develop what Mr. Tillerson described in the cable as “sets of post-applicant populations warranting increased scrutiny.”

People targeted for increased scrutiny, Mr. Tillerson said in his cable, may be subject to a decision made only after more rigorous screening.

The March 15 cable suggests areas of inquiry during a required interview, including: the applicant’s travel history, addresses and work history for 15 years; and all phone numbers, email addresses and social media handles used by the applicant in the past five years.

Another cable, sent two days later, indicated that consular officers should not begin asking for the 15-year travel and work histories until the State Department received authorization for those questions from the Office of Management and Budget.

It is unclear why that permission had not been granted.

The State Department also urged its embassy officials to delay or reschedule interviews if an applicant was unable to provide all of the information demanded.

And Mr. Tillerson acknowledged in the cables that the extra scrutiny would cause “backlogs to rise,” even as he recommended that officials should each interview no more than 120 visa applicants each day.

Mr. Chen, of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, questioned how a single interviewer who conducts 120 interviews per day — at about five minutes per interview — could improve security for the visa process.

“It’s highly unlikely they could obtain information that demonstrates whether someone is a national security threat in such a brief interview process,” he said.

In addition to the new security protocols for embassies, the four diplomatic cables sent last week offer a view into how the administration hopes to enact the travel ban if the president ever gets the chance.

The March 15 cable, which was sent before federal courts blocked the revised travel ban, increases scrutiny on people from the six countries in the president’s executive order: Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Somalia and Libya. It also includes a section calling for increased scrutiny for Iraqi nationals.

For those from the six countries covered in the ban, the cable envisions a process for potentially granting a limited number of exemptions from the ban by issuing a waiver, but only after vigorous screening.

Those people would be questioned about their past 15 years of travel and occupational history, as well as whether they have visited territory controlled by the Islamic State.

A March 16 cable suspended “all enforcement” regarding the tougher scrutiny on the countries from Mr. Trump’s executive order.

A gunman, allegedly disguised as Santa, has killed 39 clubbers inside an Istanbul nightclub in a New Year’s Eve terror attack.

The gunman shot his way into the popular Reina nightclub packed with New Year’s revellers at around 1.30am local time (10.30am AEDT).

The attacker is believed to have opened fire at police outside the nightclub before entering and firing on people inside.

While earlier media reports said more than one assailant may have been involved in the attack, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the gunman was acting alone.

He also said the attacker was believed to have left the club wearing “different clothing” to those he entered the club in.

Soylu raised the death toll to 39 with around 69 others wounded at the nightclub in Istanbul’s Ortakoy district.

CCTV footage has also emerged from inside the nightclub, allegedly showing the gunman in a jacket and Santa hat making his way across the nightclub floor.

Turkish journalist Ürün Dirier tweeted what is reportedly CCTV from inside the club.

Just before he goes out of view he drops something to the ground, which is covered in debris.

The attack sparked mass panic, with some diving into the Bosphorus Strait between Europe and Asia to escape the bullets. Rescuers were battling to bring them to safety.

“A terrorist with a long-range weapon brutally and savagely carried out this incident by firing bullets on innocent people who were there solely to celebrate the New Year and have fun,” Istanbul's Governor Sahin told reporters at the scene.

“Unfortunately (he) rained bullets in a very cruel and merciless way on innocent people who were there to celebrate New Year’s and have fun,” Sahin added, telling reporters at the scene it was a “terror attack”.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is looking into whether there were any Australians involved in the attack.

“The Australian Embassy in Ankara is liaising with local authorities to determine whether any Australians may have been involved in the nightclub attack that occurred in Ortakoy, Istanbul, on the morning of 1 January,” a spokesman said.

DFAT also said those unable to contact loved ones over there should call them.

The Australian government closely monitors the travel advice for all countries and reviews them as necessary. We will continue to monitor the travel advice for all parts of Turkey, including Gallipoli. Those with concerns for the welfare of family and friends in the region should attempt to contact them directly. If you are unable to make contact and still concerned for their welfare, please call the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s 24 hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1 300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 (if calling from overseas).”

Australia’s ambassador to Turkey, James Larsen, offered support to the Turkish government.

He confirmed that work was continuing to identify the other victims. Four of the wounded are in a serious condition, he added, including one in a very critical condition.

Indicating that the attacker was still at large, Soylu said: “The search for the terrorist continues. The police have started the necessary operations. I hope the assailant will be captured quickly, God willing.”

As many as 700 people were dancing to celebrate the New Year at the nightspot, which chimed in barely an hour before the attack.

The elite club targeted in the attack lies on the shore of the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey’s most populous city.

According to some witnesses , the attackers were “speaking Arabic”.

Professional footballer Sefa Boydas said he had only been in the club with two friends for about 10 minutes before he heard gunshots and his friend collapsed in shock.

“Just as we were settling down, by the door there was a lot of dust and smoke. Gunshots rang out. When those sounds were heard, many girls fainted.” He said that people appeared to be crushed as they ran away from the attacker.

“They say 35 to 40 died but it’s probably more because when I was walking, people were walking on top of people,” said Boydas, who plays full time for Istanbul club Beylerbeyi SK.

Boydas initially tried to escape holding his friend but upon seeing her older sister faint, the footballer said his friend also passed out.

He described the screams which he said drowned out anything said by the attackers.

“But even if there were shouting, you wouldn’t hear because the crowd’s screams were 100 times louder,” a distressed Boydas added.

He described how the area was full of police, saying that officers came quickly to the scene but kept many at the club for prolonged periods during their investigation.

After a slew of attacks in Turkey this year, Boydas said for the first time ever he had feared going out on New Year’s Eve.

But while making plans with friends, his fears were dismissed. “I was hesitant that there could be a fight, something might happen, a bomb. A friend said: ‘It wouldn’t never happen in a place like Reina’.

“I said actually the target is places like that. I felt something. I went after the New Year began and it happened 10 minutes after I entered.”

Another eyewitness, Sinem Uyanik, said she saw several bodies inside the Istanbul nightclub. Her husband Lutfu Uyanik was wounded in the attack.

“Before I could understand what was happening, my husband fell on top of me,” she said outside Istanbul’s Sisli Hospital. “I had to lift several bodies from on top of me before I could get out.” Her husband was not in serious condition despite his wounds.

Mehmet Kocarslan, the club’s owner said that security had been beefed up at the club over the last 10 days after US intelligence officials shared information about a planned attack. He said the attackers used Kalashnikov rifles.

The club is known as one of the most elite nightspots in the city and it is notoriously hard to get past the bouncers, who seek out only the best dressed. It is also one of Istanbul’s best-known nightclubs, popular with locals and tourists alike.

Television pictures showed shell-shocked revellers dressed up to the nines — men in suits and women in cocktail dresses — emerging dazed from the scene.

Dozens of ambulances and police vehicles were dispatched to the club in Ortakoy, a cosmopolitan neighbourhood nestled under one of three bridges crossing the Bosphorus, and home to clubs, restaurants and art galleries.

Footage taken from the outside of the club and posted to YouTube after the attack shows police and ambulance vehicles at the scene. An AP photographer says police cordoned off the area about three kilometres away from the nightclub and reported multiple ambulances passing by.

President Barack Obama has expressed condolences for the deadly attack at a nightclub in Istanbul and directed his team to offer US help to Turkish authorities.

“This afternoon the president was briefed by his national security team on the attack in Istanbul,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement.

“The president expressed condolences for the innocent lives lost, directed his team to offer appropriate assistance to the Turkish authorities, as necessary, and keep him updated as warranted.”

Istanbul has been the target of a series of recent attacks by Islamic State and Kurdish extremist groups.

The latest attack comes as Turkey remains on a heightened state of alert following a spate of terror attacks across the country.

In Istanbul, 17,000 police officers were put on duty on New Year’s Eve, some camouflaged as Santa Claus and others as street vendors.

Less than two weeks ago 13 Turkish soldiers were killed and dozens more wounded in a car bombing targeting off-duty soldiers being taken by bus on a weekend shopping trip.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan blamed the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the car bomb attack on a bus in the central city of Kayseri.

That explosion came a week after 44 people were killed on December 10 in a double bombing in Istanbul after a football match. The attack was claimed by Kurdish militants.

In June, 47 people were killed in a triple suicide bombing and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, with authorities blaming the Islamic State group.

Another 57 people including 34 children were killed in August in a suicide attack by an IS-linked bomber at a Kurdish wedding in the southeastern city of Gaziantep.

Maldives jihadists released a video warning leaders of the Maldives to adopt strict sharia law.
IT’S supposed to be a rich tourist’s perfect paradise, but increasingly, the Maldives’ credibility as a tropical dream is being overshadowed by the spectre of a terrorist nightmare.

The country famed for white sands and laid back locals is teetering on the edge of a coup with unrest and the threat of Islamic State terrorism set to see paradise turn ugly.

The Maldives is painted as a picture-prefect haven for tourists — many of them rich Western Europeans escaping the winter.

But increasing internal political turmoil and hard line radicalisation has the country at tipping point.

There is civil unrest as democratically-elected President Abdulla Yameen continues to lose support, and as more locals leave the Muslim country to fight in the Middle East with Islamic State and other militant outfits.

An estimated 200 Maldivians have done this, which would make the Maldives the largest foreign contributor of fighters on a per-capita basis. It’s a figure disputed by Yameen, who says the number is closer to 50 — despite the fact his government last week asked India for help sharing intelligence in light of an increasing threat form IS.

Whatever the numbers, terrorism experts say the figure is concerning, given the small population.

If there was to be a single terrorist attack on one of the luxury resorts, the billion dollar tourist industry would topple.

“It makes me very, very scared to see what is happening there,” Azra Naseem, who was born in the Maldives and now specialises in researching Islamist radicalism at Dublin University, said.

She said the government was afraid if the number of people leaving to become foreign fighters became public, it would harm the country’s exclusive tourism industry.

“Rich Western Europeans, towards whom most of the Maldives’ tourism is geared, would not want to book expensive holidays in a country known for the production of jihad,” she said.

“If the tourism industry is damaged, the minuscule percentage of rich Maldivians who control it would suffer, and many of them bankroll the government. So the current regimen downplays the number of jihadists, pretends it is a problem that does not exist and labels anyone who speaks about it a traitor.”

She said, the Maldives, which adopted Islam when Arab traders came to the islands in the 12th century, had never really distinguished between the Shia and Sunni sects of Isla, blending island traditions and Islam.

“And now the only Islam that is being accepted is Saudi Salafism,” she says.

Almost half the Maldivian population of 300,000 lives on the island capital of Male.

Unemployment and drug use is high. Few Maldivians work in the resorts, which are on islands uninhabited by locals. They tend to be managed by Europeans and Australians and staffed mainly by tens of thousands of poorly-paid Bangladeshis.

While the government has been diligent in cracking down on political opponents, it has done little to halt the flow of Maldivians heading off to fight for Islamic State.

There have been whole families who have gone over,” says Naseem. “There has been a Maldivian baby born in Syria.”

When Islamic State first emerged, the stories of people going off to fight would be reported in local newspapers as their families proudly talked of their bravery.

Naseem says the government seems to have cracked down on the publication of such reports, but “it doesn’t mean that people aren’t still going”.

Terrorism experts say the problem is what happens if some of these Maldivian jihadists, trained and radicalised on the battlefields of Syria, come home.

Maldivian jihadists recently posted a video on a website with the pictures of the three most recent Maldivian presidents — including Yameen — depicting the presidents being shot.

The video said it was a warning for the leadership of the Maldives to adopt strict sharia law.

It’s a stark contract to the idyllic weather, beaches and tropical fish showcased as the ultimate Maldives holiday.

Experts say the country’s 100-plus luxury resorts are ‘soft’ terrorism targets.

Meanwhile Yameen is trying to pacify Islamic interests, safeguard his leadership, and protect than economy where 70 per cent of the economy is directly reliant on tourism.

The result is building opposition towards him, and the growing threat of a coup.

The Maldives became a democracy in 2008 when Mohamed Nasheed became its first freely-elected leader, ending three decades of autocratic rule under Mr Yameen’s half-brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Since Yameen came to power in 2013, he has enacted a series of increasingly draconian laws.

Under his rule, hundreds of political activists have faced charges and several senior figures have been given long jail sentences including Mr Nasheed, who was painted as anti-Islamic, and now lives in self-imposed exile in the UK.

Last weekend, reports emerged that a group of exiled opposition leaders — including Nasheed — had met in Sri Lanka planning how to oust him.

Protests have become frequent in the past year amid fears Yameen will return the Maldives to its more repressive past.

Last month strict defamation laws, with punishments for comments or actions considered insulting to Islam and tighter restrictions on demonstrations came into effect.

Yameen plans to bring back the death penalty — after a 60-year unofficial moratorium — and capital punishment as a way of proving his “Islamic credentials’, a move which has drawn criticism from the UN, the UK, the EU and the US.

While the Maldives relies heavily on its billion-dollar tourism industry, that same industry promotes a feeling of inequality. Some locals resent the wealthy foreigners. Even more resent the uneven distribution of the proceeds of tourism.

The internal power struggle, combined with the increased terrorism fears, haven't hit the tourist trade.

But on August 25, the BBC announced it had received information that a move to oust the president is expected in the coming weeks.

About 7000 Australians travel to the Maldives every year, and the current Australian government travel warnings are to “exercise normal safety precautions” overall, but exercise “a high degree of caution in the capital, on Male Island, due to the possibility of civil unrest and the threat of terrorist attack.”

“Australians in the Maldives should avoid all demonstrations, protests, and large public gatherings, particularly in Male, as they may turn violent,” the government travel warning says.

“Australia and Australians are viewed by IS and other terrorist groups as a target for terrorist attacks. Even in cases where attacks may not specifically target Australian interests, Australians could be harmed in indiscriminate attacks or attacks aimed at others.”

Public observance of any religion other than Islam is prohibited in the Maldives and importation of non-Islamic religious material is illegal. In the past, foreigners have been expelled for allegedly engaging in religious preaching.

It’s at odds with the tourism brochure picture of tropical paradise perfection of year-round sun, an underwater wonderland, and rich tourists sipping cocktails on the country’s resort islands where alcohol and pork are allowed, bikinis are acceptable dress, and almost anything goes.

French ban on the burkini is threatening to turn into a farce as police officers armed with pepper spray and batons marched onto a beach today and ordered a woman to strip off.

France prides itself on its secular society and the burka is banned. That has now spread to the burkini.

Four burly cops stood over the middle-aged woman, who had been quietly sunbathing on the Promenade des Anglais beach in Nice - yards from the scene of the Bastille Day lorry attack - and watched her take off a Muslim-style garment which protected her modesty.

It is thought the woman was given a warning about the dress code on the beach and was handed an on-the-spot fine.

'I'm in the country of human rights. I see no trace of the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. I am outraged that this could happen in France.'

David Lisnard, the right wing Republican Party mayor of Cannes who introduced the burkini ban in the first place, defended the police officers' behaviour.

Mr Lisnard said all 'beach dress that ostentatiously shows a religious affiliation' was unwelcome at a time when France was a target for Islamic State. He said any dress that might be linked with the terrorist group was offensive and risked provoking people, so risking public order.

On the same day, video also emerged of armed police waiting for Muslim women to come out of the sea at nearby Nice, and then warning them about their choice of headscarves.

The French government has warned that the burkini ban must not lead to the "stigmatisation" of Muslims, as outrage grew around the world over photos of armed police apparently making a woman remove some of her clothing on the beach in Nice, France.

Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, made the warning after he held emergency talks with French Muslim leaders, who demanded he meet them amid the furore over the photos of the woman removing her tunic, watched by four policemen.

"The implementation of secularism, and the option of adopting such decrees [banning burkinis] must not lead to stigmatisation or the creation of hostility between French people," Cazeneuve said after the meeting.

But he did not call for the bans, decreed by around 30 resorts mostly on the Mediterranean coast, to be overturned, and he noted that the Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls had last week given his support to local bans while stopping short of backing a nationwide prohibition.

The bans were implemented on the grounds that the full-body Islamic swimsuit "conspicuously" shows a person's religion, and their stated aim is to reduce tensions in the wake of the Islamist extremist massacre of 86 people last month in Nice.

But many critics say they are being used as an excuse to discriminate against Muslims in France, which has western Europe's largest Muslim community, at around five million people.

The photos of the woman in Nice were taken earlier this week as she appeared to be snoozing on the gravelly beach in front of Promenade des Anglais, the scene of last month's massacre in which a Tunisian lorry driver drove his truck into crowds of Bastille Day revellers.

She was wearing a headscarf, but not a burkini.

The officers stood around her and, apparently on their instructions, she removed a top that revealed either a sleeveless T-shirt or a swimsuit. She was also wearing leggings.

The officers then appear to write her a fine, as other beachgoers look on.

The images quickly went viral on social media, sparking mostly negative comments and making #WTFFrance a top trending hashtag on Twitter.

Feiza Ben Mohamed, secretary general of the Federation of Muslims of the South of France, said ‘two young women were made to leave the water by the police’ even though they were ‘not wearing the burkini’.

The video, which was posted on Twitter, shows children crying and shouting as the women are spoken to by the officers. Ms Ben Mohamed has accused the French authorities of ‘shamefully mixing up terrorists with the wider Muslim community.’ She said ‘this type of row is totally counterproductive and plays into Isis's hands.

‘It's exactly what Isis want - the mayor is doing their work for them. Isis seeks to make our young people believe that they are excluded, stigmatised, and they will use such examples in their recruitment drive.'

Then Ms Cusin said the officers went for Siam, was wearing 'a simple hijab [a headscarf that does not cover the face] around her hair'.

People then started shouting insults at Siam, telling her she was not welcome in France, and that she should 'go home'.

Ms Cusin said: 'It was pretty violent. I had the impression of a pack going after a woman sitting on the ground, crying with her daughter.'

Siam accepted an on-the-spot fine of around nine pounds, and her details were recorded on what will amount to a criminal record. She said: 'Today we are not allowed on the beach. Tomorrow, the street? Tomorrow, we'll be forbidden from practicing our religion at all?

The incidents come after a Muslim businessman pledged to pay fines imposed on women for wearing burkinis.

A French court has upheld the 'burkini ban' – ruling that the female swimwear was liable to cause offence and to provoke people to violence.

But wealthy Rachid Nekkaz, born in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges from Algerian immigrants, has said that he will pay any penalties that Muslim women incur for wearing the outfits.

He believes that the ban is 'unfair'.

He said 'I decided to pay for all the fines of women who wear the burkini in order to guarantee their freedom of wearing these clothes, and most of all, to neutralize the application on the ground of this oppressive and unfair law.'

The banning of the burkini in France, by the Administrative Tribunal in Nice, has been challenged by two human rights groups.

They argued that the ban on a garment that does not cover the face was petty, and designed to spread hatred against a small group of mainly Muslim mothers and grandmothers.

But judges said the ban in the resort of Villeneuve-Loubet was 'necessary, appropriate and proportionate'.

They said the burkini was 'liable to offend the religious convictions or non-convictions of other users of the beach.'

Burkini bans in France have boosted sales and interest in the full-bodied Islamic swimsuit, particularly from non-Muslim women, the Australian credited with creating the design said Tuesday.

The burkini has sparked huge controversy in France, with bans in 15 towns in the country's southeast amid high tensions following a string of deadly jihadist attacks.

But Australian-Lebanese Aheda Zanetti, who claims the trademark on the name burkini and burqini and created her first swimwear for Muslim women more than a decade ago, said the furore in France has attracted more publicity for her products.

'I can tell you that online on Sunday, we received 60 orders - all of them non-Muslim,' the 48-year-old Sydneysider said, adding that she usually received 10 to 12 orders on Sundays.

Zanetti did not have sales figures for the rest of the past week but said she had also received numerous messages of support - and only one disparaging email - since the French bans.

They include messages from cancer survivors and other swimmers who use her light-weight, quick-drying two-piece garments as protection from the sun.

There are other Islamic swimsuits but Zanetti has said her designs are the first to be streamlined into two-piece swimwear with a head covering.

'A lot of the correspondence... was that they are survivors of skin cancer and they've always been looking for something like this, saying, 'Thank god we've found someone like this producing such a swimsuit',' she said.

'The support I'm getting is somehow about empowering women... I feel like I've been a counsellor. It's a cry of need that they want to have this enjoyment.

'Women are standing together on this. It doesn't matter what race or religion.'

She said the one critical email questioned why Zanetti wanted to cover up women in France, noting 'we prefer our women to be naked'.

Australia is grappling with a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment after a series of attacks by radicalised youth but the burkini has not attracted strong criticism in a country where people regularly cover up at beaches to protect their skin under the harsh sun.

While there are divisions over the burkini in France, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday dismissed the idea of a ban in his country, saying Canadians should rise above the controversy as he called for the respect of individual rights and choices.

Judges also ruled the clothing could be viewed as a 'provocation exacerbating tensions' within France, which is currently under a State of Emergency following a series of attacks by Islamic State.

A lorry was used by a man claimed by Isis to kill 86 people in Nice on July 14th, in an attack which took place next to the city's main beach.

It is among around 15 where the burkini is now banned, and mayors across France are widening the measure every day.

But critics point out that 30 Muslims died in the Nice attack, including women wearing traditional clothes, including headscarves.

They point out how the French authorities are meant to support free expression, including the right to offend and provoke, and say that the burkini ban is utterly hypocritical.

Lawyers for the Human Rights League (LDH), and the Collective against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) - who challenged the ban in Nice - said they would now appeal to the Council of State, France's highest administrative court.

Around ten women have so far been criminalised for wearing burkinis on French beaches this summer.

All were reprimanded by police officers in the Riviera resort of Cannes, and forced to leave the sand.

Four were fined the equivalent of £32, while all received 'warnings' that will now technically form part of their criminal records.

Another young Muslim mother was ordered off the beach at Cannes and fined for simply wearing a headscarf.

Three armed officers pointed a pepper spray canister in the 34-year-old's face and told her she was in breach of a new rule outlawing swimming costumes that cover the entire body.

She said the 'racist' officers simply wanted to humiliate her in front of her children and other family members, even though she was not even wearing a burkini.

It was the latest in a series of incidents in the south of France and comes after video emerged of armed police waiting for Muslim women to come out of the sea at nearby Nice, and then warning them about their choice of headscarves.

And just days ago, four women were fined 38 euros for wearing their burkinis on the beach in Cannes.

The Islamic State group is considered to be planning terrorist attacks on the beaches of Europe this summer

Bombs can be placed under the loungers and the attackers can be disguised as street vendors, according to the leaders of the Intelligence Services in Italy, informs Daily Mail.

Italian Intelligence Agency presented to the German BND details of these plans and the terrorists’ strategies to commit bomb attacks in resorts, the German daily newspaper Bild reported.

The Italian Intelligence Agency received information about the terrorist plans from a credible source in Africa. They also announced that the attackers have concrete plans to disguise themselves into tourists and sell drinks, snacks, accessories and T-shirts on the European beaches.

German media reported that SI can send suicide bombers disguised as street vendors and would place bombs under sunbeds in famous resorts in Spain, France and Italy. Beaches resorts that are considered to be specially targeted in southern France, Costa del Sol in Spain and both coasts of Italy, according to the heads of the intelligence services, quoted by Bild.

Build had also informed that plans are involving the use of automatic weapons on crowded beaches, sand burial of explosive devices under beds and commit suicide attacks.

Last year, 38 people died after a man opened the fire on a beach in Tunisia.

Belgian brothers Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui have been named as the two ISIS airport suicide bombers. According to Belgium's state broadcaster RTBF, it's thought they escaped a police shoot-out in Brussels just eight days earlier.

The third member of the squad, pictured below wearing white, was named as Najim Laachraoui by Belgian newspaper La Derniere Heure. He is believed to be the bomb maker, and is also suspected of rigging up the suicide vests used in the Paris massacres.

Laachraoui is still on the run after leaving his suitcase which was packed with explosives but failed to detonate, and walking calmly out of the terminal shortly before the other explosions. His bomb was later neutralised by police.

According to Belgian newspaper HLN, a taxi driver told police he unknowingly drove the suspects to the airport, and when he tried to help the men with their luggage, he was abruptly instructed not to touch their belongings. Police investigated the Schaerbeek area of the city where the taxi driver picked them up shortly after the attacks. Law enforcement found a nail bomb, ISIS flag and chemicals at a nearby property.

The Belgian prosecutor's office told NBC News that multiple raids were conducted in Schaerbeek, where several possible links to the Brussels attacks on Tuesday, March 22, were found. Authorities found an ISIS flag and an "improvised explosive device containing nails," NBC reported.

Belgian police have released a photo of a possible suspect who was in the Brussels airport prior to the explosions across the city that claimed the lives of at least 34 people on Tuesday, March 22.

"He is suspected of having committed the attack at the Zaventem airport on Tuesday, March 22, 2016," police wrote on Facebook of the man, clad in a dark hat in sunglasses. The other two men in the photo were believed to have died when two of the bombs were detonated. The man in the cream jacket is being sought by authorities. Their names have not been released.

The Associated Press also reported Tuesday afternoon that another bomb had successfully been deactivated, following two deadly explosions at the city's Zaventem Airport. The other site of the deadly explosions was at the Metro stop of Maalbeek. The bombs contained nails, officials at the Hospital Gasthuisberg said.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks in Brussels that have claimed the lives of at least 34 people, ABC News reported on Tuesday, March 22. NBC News' counterterrorism consultancy deemed a post by ISIS affiliate Amaq Agency claiming responsibility for the terrorist explosions as legitimate.

The terror group claimed that it "carried out a series of bombings with explosive belts and devices" in "the Belgian capital Brussels, a country participating in the international coalition against the Islamic State ISIS."

A series of explosions took place across Brussels Tuesday morning. At least twenty of the victims were apparently at a metro station and the others were at the airport. Hundreds of people were injured by the attacks, including three Americans who were "seriously injured."

Up to two blasts occurred at the city's Brussels' Zaventem Airport. One was blamed on a suicide bomber.

The city's mayor, Yvan Majeur, the subway blast killed 20 people and injured more than 100. The country's ministry of health said there were at least 11 fatalities at the airport.

U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the attacks from his historic planned speech in Havana, Cuba. "The thoughts and the prayers of the American people are with the people of Belgium," Obama said. "We stand in solidarity with them. This is another reminder that the world must unite. We must be together regardless of nationality or race or faith in fighting against the scourge of terrorism."

People react outside Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium Tuesday March 22, 2016.
Presidential front-runners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump also shared their responses to the attacks while calling in to the Today show. "First of all, this is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. I've been talking about it much more than anyone else. It's probably why I'm number one in the polls," Trump replied. "I would be very, very tough on the borders and not allowing certain people into this country without absolute perfect documentation."

His Democratic counterpart had a very different response. "We've got to be absolutely smart and strong and steady in how we respond," Clinton said. "It's unrealistic to say we're going to completely shut down our borders to everyone."

Tributes were shared from all over the globe, including one standout cartoon by French artist Plantu. The cartoonist's work shows a figure in a French flag shedding a tear and wrapping an arm around its crying counterpart in the Belgian national flag.

The federal prosecutor in the case had confirmed that the airport explosion was a suicide attack. Shortly after the airport blasts, another explosion went off at a subway station in the suburb of Maalbeek, close to the European quarter where much of the European Union is based. All metro stations in the city have now been closed and police have advised all foreign nationals to stay at home or indoors.

Eyewitnesses said that "dozens" of people were taken out of the airport on stretchers. The airport tweeted that there had been two blasts and the building was being evacuated. All airport operations have been suspended.

Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, has tweeted his reaction to the situation. "My thoughts with #Brussels and its citizens after these heinous attacks. Stay in a safe place, follow instructions of authorities."

The Belgian government has raised the terror alert level to 4 across the country, the highest level, amid fears that the attacks are retaliatory strikes after the Friday arrest of Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in last year’s Paris massacre.

Seven people have been detained in connection with a suicide bombing at the heart of Istanbul's historic district that killed 10 German tourists, Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said.

The bomber, identified as a member of Islamic State who had entered Turkey as a refugee from Syria, blew himself up on Tuesday among tourists visiting some of Istanbul's most popular attractions.

Fifteen people, mostly foreigners, were also wounded in the attack.

"The number of those detained in connection with Istanbul attack have reached seven. The investigation is underway in the most comprehensive way", Ala told reporters at an ambassadors' conference in Ankara.

Turkey was quick to identify the bomber, named by Turkish media as 28-year old Saudi-born Nabil Fadli, as the man who had given his fingerprints a week ago at an immigration centre.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said fragments of the bomber's skull, face and nails at the site of the blast matched his records.

Turkey, which like Germany is a member of the US-led coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, has become a target for the radical Sunni militants.

It was hit by two major bombings last year blamed on the group. One was in the town of Suruc near the Syrian border and the other in the capital Ankara, where more than 100 people were killed in the worst attack of its kind on Turkish soil.

Dozens of tourists and Turks holding carnations have paid their respects at the blast scene on Thursday, near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, the top sites in one of the world's most visited cities.

18 countries led by the US and Russia are set to meet in New York on Friday to discuss a peace solution in Syria, but one travel company in banking on the brutal civil war continuing.

Russian travel agency Megapolis Kurort has reportedly filed an application to begin taking daring holidaymakers on five-day tours of war-torn Syria.

If all goes according to plan tourists from around the world will be able to take the “Assad Tour” in 2016 which aims to give travellers a glimpse into the epicentre of global jihadism, reports Russia Today.

For just over $2,000 including airfare and accommodation, thrill seeking voyeurs can get up close and personal with the Islamic State.

Megapolis Kurort is better known for health and wellness holidays in the Moscow region but earlier in the year the company began offering extreme travel holidays to Eastern Ukraine.

The latest idea to take customers to Syria seems to be an expansion of the agency’s new direction, but who the hell is going to want to wander around one of the world’s most brutal conflict zone?

Anatoly Aronov, the president of a patent company who helped lodge the application for the travel company believes potential customers won’t be a problem.

Despite the crisis in the tourism industry, there are always people, who are willing to combine the cognitive goals with the opportunity to see natural disasters or visit the places located near the warzones.

According to him, the company has already contacted the Syrian Embassy in Russia and relevant ministries on the issue of a “possible trip to the front line”.

Mr Aronov said Russians would enjoy the tour and even went as far to say that Syrian residents could house the travellers for some extra money.

Since April 2011, the Australian government had maintained a strong warning against tourists travelling to the country.

“We strongly advise Australians not to travel to Syria because of the extremely dangerous security situation, highlighted by ongoing military conflict including aerial bombardment, kidnappings and terrorist attacks,” the Department of Foreign Affairs website says.

Sending tourists to conflict zones is also against Russian law as the company cannot guarantee their safety said Izo Arakhamiya from the Russian Federal Tourism Agency.

Until the necessary paperwork is approved, “they are not authorised to sell these trips,” she told Moscow-based news site Interfax.

The idea has also prompted criticism of what some people are saying is a growing level of interest in “war tourism”.

Indian man hailing from the communally sensitive region of Bhatkal, Karnataka, was arrested by Dubai police for allegedly indulging in activities benefiting dreaded terror outfit Islamic State (ISIS). The accused has been identified as Adnan Hasan Damudi. He was tracked by the Indian intelligence for the past one year.

Damudi participated in all forms of online activities of ISIS including recruiting, spreading propaganda material on social media and interacting with like-minded fundamentalists.

The alleged ISIS recruiter is last said to be employed by Dubai World Trade Centre where he worked as an assistant delivery coordinator. The Dubai police apprehended him two months back based on inputs received from Indian intelligence.

The Twitter account which is supposedly linked to Damudi is @AdnanDamudi. However, it is seen as non-operational since the past few months.

Damudi came under the radar of Indian intelligence in late 2014, when early probe indicated that 4 youths from Hyderabad were in his contact through social media. Damodi was persuading them to join ISIS.

Apart from the 4 Muslim youth, Telangana Police claims that he attempted to recruit Muslims across the nation.

In September, Dubai deported five radicalized Indians back to New Delhi after identifying them as ISIS sympathizers, including Hyderabad-origin woman Afsha Jabeen who was leading the recruitment drive.

French aircraft undertook a fierce bombing campaign against Islamic State positions inside Syria late Sunday, less than 48 hours after gunmen killed at least 132 people and wounded hundreds more in the worst terror attack on French soil in modern history.

The French Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on its website that the intense bombing campaign against the Islamic State’s defacto capital, Raqqa, destroyed “a command post, a jihadist recruitment centre and arms and munitions depot” as well as “a terrorist training camp.” It offered no estimate of casualties but said that its objectives had been destroyed.

The 12 French planes flew from bases in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, and the mission was coordinated with the United States, the ministry said. The aircraft dropped 20 bombs.

French President Francois Hollande had promised Saturday that France would respond without mercy to Friday night’s terrorist attacks, which struck at six crowded nightspots in the French capital and a suburb, Saint-Denis.

The French retaliation came as French police acknowledged that they had been wrong when they’d said earlier that all the shooters responsible for Friday night’s horror were dead.

French police said at least one suspect had escaped, and they issued a Europe-wide alert for the man, Abdeslam Salah, 26, a Belgian citizen who police said had rented a Volkswagen Polo that was found parked outside the Bataclan concert hall, the scene of the bloodiest of Friday night’s attacks.

Other evidence suggests that at least one more suspect might be at large.

French officials have said the bodies of seven terrorists have been located – six who had triggered their suicide belts and one who was shot by police. Salah would make eight.

But French prosecutors have said the assailants worked in three “teams,” while witnesses at the locations of the attacks have consistently described three attackers at each, indicating nine assailants in all.

Additionally, three assault rifles were found in an abandoned car believed used in drive-by shootings that killed at least 38 people at restaurants, suggesting three shooters had been in the car. Only one of those shooters has been accounted for, a terrorist who blew himself up.

The other dead terrorists included three who blew themselves up outside the national soccer stadium and the three attackers thought responsible for killing 89 people at the Bataclan concert hall; two of those killed themselves by detonating their explosive belts and the third was shot by police.

Police did not address the issue of whether other assailants were still at large.

The rise in the official death toll – it had been 129 on Saturday – was expected, and it was likely to rise further. An estimated 352 were wounded in the attacks and more than 90 of those remain in critical condition.

France remained on high alert. President Francois Hollande canceled his appearance at the G-20 summit meeting, which began Sunday in Antalya, Turkey. The French military said that 10,000 soldiers would be assigned to patrol duties around the country.

Parisians remained on edge. Hundreds of mourners who had gather outside the Petite Cambodge and Le Carillon restaurants, where at least 19 people were killed, scattered at the sight of a suspicious car, and police drew their weapons.

Shortly after that, several thousand mourners who’d gathered at the nearby Place de la Republique to pay tribute fled, quickly left after what was described as a possible, though unconfirmed, gunshot.

For a second day, theater and museums were closed, and the police and military presence was heavy.

Meanwhile, French and U.S. officials said they had determined that the assailants had been in contact with Islamic State figures in Syria, cementing that group’s claim of responsibility. U.S. and French officials said they had agreed on joint measures to combat the Islamic State, including sharing intelligence on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq.

If the official narrative is accurate, the cafe attackers were either extremely proficient at navigating crowded Paris streets or extremely lucky with traffic on narrow one-lane cobbled roads.

Confusion still surrounded the official description of what took place Friday night. If the official narrative and timing of the attacks are accurate, the attackers were either extremely proficient at navigating crowded Paris streets on a Friday evening, extremely lucky with traffic on narrow one-lane cobbled roads or more numerous than has yet been reported.

This much is certain. The attackers’ plans for much greater bloodshed were thwarted when two assailants were prevented from entering the crowded Stade de France soccer stadium in the suburb of Saint-Denis where thousands of spectators and President Hollande were watching a friendly match between France and Germany.

Alert security guards stopped one of the assailants when they subjected him to a pat-down as he attempted to enter through the stadium turnstiles. Turned away, he detonated his explosive belt outside the stadium’s Gate D at 9:20 p.m., killing a single passerby.

The explosion could be heard clearly on the broadcast of the game but the crowd inside the stadium was apparently unaware of what had taken place, and the game continued for more than another 70 minutes of play to its conclusion.

During that time, two other assailants detonated their bombs outside the stadium – one at 9:30 p.m., the other at 9:53 p.m. – apparently killing only themselves.

But while the terrorist team assigned to the stadium failed to cause massive bloodshed, the other two teams were finding greater success, though the routes and timing followed by one makes it difficult to believe it was the only set of shooters involved.

At 9:25 p.m. three attackers arrived in a black Seat Leon vehicle and opened fire at two sidewalk cafes, the Carillon and the Petit Cambodge, which are located across a narrow street from one another. Fifteen people were killed.

Seven minutes later, according to witnesses, at 9:32 p.m., a black Seat Leon vehicle carrying three attackers, pulled up in front of the Casa Nostra Pizzeria and the Bonne Biere bar, which also are across the street from one another. Three men in the Seat open fire, killing five. The two cafes are only a few blocks from the Carillon and the Petit Cambodge, though going from one location to the other quickly would require detailed knowledge of the small one-lane streets in the area.

Four minutes after that, at 9:36 p.m., according to survivors, a black Seat Leon carrying three gunmen opens fire at the Le Belle Equipe restaurant, which is located a little more than a mile south of the Casa Nostra. Nineteen sidewalk café diners are shot to death.

The route between the Casa Nostra and the Belle Equipe would be crowded and difficult to navigate quickly on a Friday night.

Then, at 9:40 p.m., on the Boulevard Voltaire, a terrorist blows himself up in front of a brasserie, injuring a bystander. The next time the black Seat Leon is seen, it is found by police in the suburb of Montreuil, about a half-hour’s drive away. Three Kalashnikov rifles are found inside.

At the same time, at least three and maybe four gunmen entered the Bataclan theater and started shooting. The Bataclan is about a mile from Voltaire attack. The attackers kill many during the initial assault, but they also seized about 100 hostages and began executing them. The siege at the Bataclan lasted till after midnight, when police stormed in, and two attackers detonated their suicide belts. A third terrorist was shot to death by police, though reports now say he too detonated his belt.

The prosecutor believes the six café attacks all involved the same group of attackers. One attacker obviously survived to drive the car back to the Paris suburbs. Witness accounts of the attacks indicate that he would not have been alone.

European authorities staged an international manhunt on Sunday for a 26-year-old “dangerous individual,” one of three brothers involved in the deadly attacks on Paris, even as an image took shape of a larger network of terrorists that could involve as many as 20 plotters.

At least eight assailants in three death squads are thought to have directly carried out Friday’s assault, which is being dubbed France’s 9/11. Six detonated their suicide belts. Police shot and killed one. French police on Sunday issued an urgent alert and released a photo of an eighth suspect: the 5-foot-7-inch Salah Abdeslam, a Belgian-born French national.

The manhunt came as France detained seven people for questioning and Belgian officials detained seven more in connection with the siege that killed at least 132 people. The international dragnet and investigation now stretch from the Aegean Sea to the teeming Paris suburbs. At the same time, France responded to an act of terrorism it blamed on the Islamic State with airstrikes on the group’s Syrian stronghold, the city of Raqqa.

Yet Europeans and their governments were confronting a chilling reality at home. A rogues’ gallery of homegrown terrorists with links to Islamist groups has become large enough – and is acting stealthily enough – to make tracking them increasingly difficult for the region’s intelligence agencies.

A senior official familiar with the investigation said authorities suspected that as many as 20 people in Europe had been involved in planning, supporting and executing the attack. Just as in January, when two brothers, Said and Chérif Kouachi, staged a bloody siege in Paris, some of the attackers this time were also related. Brahim Abdeslam, 31, blew himself up Friday night inside a busy cafe. His 26-year-old brother, Salah, who allegedly rented a car that was used in one of the attacks, is on the run. A third unnamed brother was apprehended in Belgium.

It became evident, in fact, that Brussels was a major base of operations for the Paris attacks, after French police seized a car rented in Belgium and then uncovered a fortuitous clue: a discarded parking ticket from the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, a district known as a breeding ground for jihadists.

At least two of the eight known attackers had spent time in Syria, according to two European intelligence officials, who like many interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. One of them, Bilal Hadfi, a 20-year-old French national, was known to have returned from the Middle East to Belgium. He then disappeared from the radar of the Belgian security services.

One senior European intelligence official offered a mea culpa: “That so many people, some of whom had been known to police, had been able to plot such a large attack, using suicide explosive belts, weapons, without the intelligence services knowing – that’s a major failure of the intelligence services.”

This secular city, consecrated to personal liberties, found itself plunged into a new normal of tension. Police found a car with Kalashnikovs inside in the eastern suburb of Montreuil. On Wednesday, President François Hollande will present a bill to the National Assembly calling for a three-month state of emergency – a move granting exceptional police powers to restrict freedom of movement and gatherings at public places.

On Sunday night, the sound of what may have been a firecracker, or a light fixture blowing a circuit breaker at a restaurant near the Place de la Republique, where a vigil was taking place, ignited an extraordinary panic. People stampeded out of restaurants, bars and stores across a two-mile-wide sector of the city as false warnings of gunshots erupted on Twitter. Some dived into news vans. Hotels turned off their lights as employees huddled behind chairs. One woman flung herself into the Canal St. Martin.

“Suddenly people were running and screaming everywhere, going in every direction,” said Omar Zahiri, a 50-year-old lawyer attending the vigil. “I said, ‘Stop running like a crazy person, calm down.’ But they didn’t. They kept running.”

An incomplete picture of the perpetrators began to emerge. A Syrian passport was found at the stadium where three suicide bombers blew themselves up; it may have belonged to one of them. A senior European security official said the name in the passport was Ahmad Almohammad. According to the passport, he was 25 and was born in Idlib, Syria.

Officials have not conclusively connected the document to any of the bombers. But Greek authorities, following through on a request from the French, traced the Syrian passport to a refugee who arrived on the Aegean island of Leros on Oct. 3 with 198 other people on a migrant boat. The possible link was enough to ignite fresh calls by some to end the huge flow of refugees pouring into Europe.

At a Group of 20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged world leaders not to treat asylum seekers as terrorists in the wake of the Paris attacks. The people who organized and carried out the attacks “are exactly those who the refugees are fleeing,” he told reporters, adding that “there is no need to revise the European Union’s entire refugee policy.”

Other assailants, however, appeared to fit an emerging pattern among Europe’s homegrown extremists – petty criminals who were radicalized and became far more religious than their parents.

A case in point is Ismael Omar Mostefai, a 29-year-old French national who blew himself up after gunning down victims alongside two other suicide bombers at a Paris music hall. He had a criminal record, French officials said, and was picked up for eight minor offenses between 2004 and 2010, including driving without a license.

In 2010, however, Mostefai came on the radar screen of French intelligence because of his association with radical Islamists at a mosque in Lucé, near Chartres, a city southwest of Paris. The mosque is a modest, wooden-shuttered building surrounded by wrought-iron railings. Its leaders were bewildered to find themselves in the limelight Sunday. They called a news conference to deny any connection to extremism. The current administration, they said, took over in 2013 – after Mostefai had left the area – and they said no one recalled ever seeing him there.

Mostefai is thought to have traveled to Syria in the winter of 2013, a French police official familiar with the case said. “That is when we lost track of him,” the official said.

During his youth, Mostefai lived in a middle-class, predominantly Arab neighborhood in the Paris suburb of Courcouronne. Kamel Ousti, 53, a neighbor and family friend, said Mostefai grew up in a modest apartment on Rue Pont Amar, with three brothers; two sisters; a father, who was a deliveryman of Algerian descent; and a mother who was a Portuguese convert to Islam.

When Mostefai was 13, the family received an eviction notice because of his criminal tendencies. “Ismael was kind of a troublemaker, he used to steal things, like mobile phones,” Ousti said. Ousti recalled one traumatic event in the family’s history. During a trip to Algeria, in 2000, Ousti said they went to the beach, where Mostefai’s brother-in-law and two nephews drowned in the surf.

The family eventually moved to Chartres, where residents today recall his family as religious but not extremely so. Mostefai’s mother wore a headscarf, but his sisters did not.

Ousti last saw Mostefai four years ago. “He was the kind of kid who wouldn’t talk that much. If you ask me, the little lamb turned into a monster.”

Mostefai’s brother, who surrendered for questioning in a southeastern suburb of Paris, told the Agence France-Presse news service that he had broken off all ties with his brother years ago. The 34-year-old man, who was not identified, said Mostefai had moved back to Algeria with his young daughter. He said he was shocked to learn that his brother was involved in the attacks.

French SWAT teams searched the brother’s home and that of Mostefai’s father, outside Paris, for three hours Saturday night, according to RTL radio.

“What does this have to do with us?” the brother’s wife asked in tears. “We haven’t spoken to him in years. I hope we'll be left alone. We have a quiet little life, and this is starting to worry me.”

French police patrol at the place de la Republique in Paris, France, Sunday Nov. 15, 2015, two days after over 129 people were killed in a series of shooting and explosions. French troops deployed around Paris on Sunday and tourist sites stood shuttered in one of the most visited cities on Earth while investigators questioned the relatives of a suspected suicide bomber involved in the country's deadliest violence since World War II.

France is urging its European partners to move swiftly to boost intelligence sharing, fight arms trafficking and terror financing, and strengthen border security in the wake of the Paris attacks.

The top French official in charge of European affairs, Harlem Desir, said on Monday that “clearly, decisions must be taken.”

He underlined the need for “cooperation in matters of intelligence, (between) police and the judiciary, the fight against terrorism on European territory.”

Desir’s remarks came in Brussels ahead of talks with European Union foreign ministers.

He said that “France was attacked, but all of Europe was hit. We were hit together, and we will respond together.”

Britain’s government says it is doubling spending on aviation security and is recruiting some 1,900 security and intelligence agents as part of Britain’s response to the terror attacks in Paris.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced the actions during the G-20 summit being concluding Monday in Turkey.

Cameron, who, pledged a 15 percent increase in the 12,700-strong staff of the security and intelligence agencies and a doubling of the 9 million pounds ($13.7 million) annual outlay on aviation security. Funds will also be provided for aviation security experts to provide regular assessments of airports around the world.

The steps are part of an extensive review of spending and not a direct response to the Paris attacks.

The Paris prosecutor’s office says two more suicide bombers involved in deadly attacks in the French capital have been identified.

Prosecutors said Monday that one suicide bomber who blew himself up in the Bataclan music hall Friday night was Samy Amimour, a 28-year-old Frenchman charged in a terrorism investigation in 2012. He had been placed under judicial supervision but dropped off the radar and was the subject of an international arrest warrant.

Prosecutors say three people in Amimour’s family entourage have been in custody since early Monday.

A suicide bomber who blew himself up outside the national soccer stadium was found with a Syrian passport with the name Ahmad Al Mohammad, a 25-year-old born in Idlib. The prosecutor’s office says fingerprints from the attacker match those of someone who passed through Greece in October.

Belgium’s foreign minister is urging European countries to exchange information more quickly and efficiently to better tackle extremists like the Islamic State group.

Didier Reynders said on Monday that “we need to exchange more and more intelligence.”

He said at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers that sharing intelligence “is the only one way to find the people with such a level of radicalization” as those who carried out the Paris attacks.

He also says Belgian authorities need “to organize more and more actions” in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels, which has been a focal point for religious extremism and fighters going to Syria.

One of two French men believed to have carried out the attacks lived there.

European stock markets have opened lower but the retreat is less than many analysts were predicting in the wake of the attacks in Paris.

Though there are concerns over the impact on the French economy, especially what happens to consumer sentiment, the markets have largely held up early Monday.

The Stoxx 50 index of leading European shares was down 0.2 percent, while the CAC-40 index in Paris was only 0.4 percent lower.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said there is “no sign of the panicked trading that could have been justifiably expected.”

Unsurprisingly, stocks within the travel and tourism sector, such as Germany’s TUI and Britain’s Thomas Cook, underperformed.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says no world leader has asked for the upcoming climate conference in Paris to be delayed, but some side events might be canceled.

Valls, speaking on French radio RTL Monday morning, says the climate summit is “crucial to the planet’s future”. At least 117 heads of state and government have accepted tinvitations to come on the first day of the Nov. 30-Dec. 11 conference.

Valls says “a series of events that were scheduled might not take place,” referring to a live music show near the Eiffel tower and a march for climate scheduled on Nov. 29 in Paris’ streets.

France’s prime minister says there have been “over 150 police raids” overnight in France.

Manuel Valls spoke on French radio RTL Monday morning, reaffirming President Francois Hollande’s declaration that “we are at war” against terrorism following Friday’s attacks in Paris.

Valls also warned that more attacks could hit “in the coming days, in the coming weeks.”

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has announced he is refusing Syrian refugees relocating to his state.

In a news release Sunday Bentley said, “After full consideration of this weekend’s attacks of terror on innocent citizens in Paris, I will oppose any attempt to relocate Syrian refugees to Alabama through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. As your governor, I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm’s way.”

According to the release, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is working with federal agencies to monitor any possible threats. To date there has been no credible intelligence of terror threats in Alabama.

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius says France had the “legitimacy” to take action against Islamic State after Friday’s terror attacks in Paris.

Fabius said Sunday on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Turkey that the decision to conduct airstrikes in Raqqa against Islamic State targets was a “political” one and that France had to be “present and active” following Friday’s attacks that killed 129 people.

Congressman Michael McCaul

Against the backdrop of suspicions that an explosive device brought down a Russian airliner over Egypt on October 31, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee has voiced concerns that flights from Puerto Rico to the US mainland may be vulnerable to having bombs placed on board.

Representative Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said “In Puerto Rico, we have many cases of prosecution of corruption, of putting drugs and weapons on airplanes inbound to the United States.

“It wouldn’t take a whole lot to put a bomb on one of those airplanes as well. And I think that’s a main thing from the homeland security standpoint, we’re really worried about these planes coming into the United States,” he added.

The lawmaker was commenting on domestic security threats following the loss of the Airbus 321 that crashed in Sinai killing all 224 people on board.

Sinai Province, a group affiliated to Islamic State, has repeatedly claimed that it brought down Metrojet Flight 9268, flying from the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to the Russian city of St Petersburg.

There were angry scenes in Sharm el-Sheikh, as thousands of anxious Britons, who had also hoped to fly home, were sent back to their hotels after Egypt blocked several other repatriation flights.

"I think a lot of people will question whether they ever want to go to Egypt again," Emma Turner, a 34-year-old from southeast England, said after arriving back in London.

Thomson flight with 189 passengers on board had to avoid a military missile when landing at Sharm el-Sheikh airport just over two months ago, as it emerges US intercepted 'intelligence chatter' of Isil jihadis 'celebrating' downed Russian jet

Those who did get home were withering about the organization of their repatriation back in Egypt.

“Absolute shambles, it is mayhem there,” a tourist said.

Passengers returning home from Sharm el-Sheikh are painting a horrendous picture of the security – or lack of it – at the airport.

Ben Khosravi, 27, who was on another easyJet flight which landed at London Luton, described screening process.

Quote The security at Sharm was horrendous - we had friends with lighters in their pockets, people were patting you down but not asking you to get anything out, bottles of water being passed through.

It was quite worrying how easy you could get through - you could pay people money to fast track it."

Money changed hands at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

A rather alarming tweet appearing to show money changing hands at Sharm el-Sheikh airport as tourists are desperate to get home.

A British jet packed with holidaymakers had to “evade” an Egyptian missile in what the Department for Transport described as an incident just over two months ago.

According to one report, the missile came within 1,000 feet of a Thomson flight with 189 passengers on board.

Thomson said the incident was not a cause for concern, while the DfT said the flight was not the victim of a terrorist attack, adding that the incident was probably connected to routine exercises being carried out by the Egyptian military.

A Thomson plane is reprted to have come ?within 1,000ft? of a rocket as it approached Sharm El Sheikh

But given there are strict protocols designed to keep civilian aircraft away from such military exercises, it remained unclear how the Thomson flight found itself in that position.

Details of what appears to have been a near miss emerged as evidence mounted that the Russian Metrojet flight was brought down by a bomb.

Analysis of information on the flight data recorder – or black box – revealed there was an explosion 24 minutes into the flight.

Intelligence had provided further evidence that terrorists were responsible for the Metrojet crash which killed 224 people.

What was described as “chatter” between Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leaders in Raqqa, Syria and jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula included a boast that they had taken down the aircraft.

Meanwhile in Sharm el-Sheikh, progress in bringing back British tourists was slow, with only eight of the 29 evacuation flights being allowed to land.

John Casson, Britain’s ambassador to Egypt, bore much of the frustration and anger voiced by UK holidaymakers who had been trapped at the Red Sea resort.

Those who did get back spoke of chaotic scenes at Sharm el-Sheikh airport with some claiming that they had to pay bribes to avoid lengthy security queues.

More flights are due to arrive on Saturday to continue the evacuation of around 20,000 British tourists who have been trapped at Sharm el-Sheikh.

British tourists face continued frustration at Sharm el-Sheikh.

There were angry scenes in Sharm el-Sheikh, as thousands of anxious Britons, who had also hoped to fly home, were sent back to their hotels after Egypt blocked several other repatriation flights.

"I think a lot of people will question whether they ever want to go to Egypt again," Emma Turner, a 34-year-old from southeast England, said after arriving back in London.

Those who did get home were withering about the organization of their repatriation back in Egypt.

“Absolute shambles, it is mayhem there,” one tourist said

The latest on the crash of a Russian plane in Egypt that killed all 224 people onboard last Saturday.

10:05 p.m.

Alitalia says it has suspended freight and mail transport in its aircraft holds as part of new security measures at Cairo airport.

The Rome-based airline said Friday it won't accept luggage traveling without an owner as part of strengthened security at the Egyptian airport. The measures follow the crash of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt on Oct. 31. U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up the plane in flight.

Alitalia noted that it doesn't operate any scheduled or charter flights to the Sinai peninsula, nor does it fly over the Sinai desert "or any war zones."

9:30 p.m.

Business owners who cater to tourists in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh say the Russian decision to suspend flights to the country may be catastrophic for them.

For 17 years, Ayman Aweiss has been running a cafe on a main drag in the city. On Friday, his cafe was empty. He says every business owner in Sharm el-Sheikh will be forced to leave after a month if there aren't any Russian tourists.

He says that if the situation remains like this "we can't live."

Other businesses in Sharm el-Sheikh, including tour companies and souvenir shops, say 60 to 80 percent of their business comes from Russian tourists. Many of the stores have Russian signage and hawkers call out in Russian to passers-by.

Ramy Roma, who runs a shop selling spices and souvenirs, is concerned but is trying to stay optimistic.

"Maybe it won't be a long time," he said. "Maybe the matter will be over tomorrow. God willing."

Sharm el-Sheikh sprawls along the coast, with resorts lining the blue sea against a harsh desert backdrop. Tourists flock to the built-up, commercialized area for sun, snorkeling, shopping and nightlife.

8:35 p.m.

The U.S. Homeland Security Department has announced a series of new security efforts aimed at international airports in the wake of the crash of a Russian jetliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said Friday the newest security efforts will focus on commercial flights bound for the United States from certain overseas airports in the region. He did not say which airports will be affected.

The new security procedures will include expanded security screening of items put on commercial jets, airport assessments and offers of security assistance for certain airports.

Russian carrier Metrojet's Airbus A321-200 crashed shortly after takeoff from the Sharm el-Sheikh airport in Egypt on Saturday, killing all 224 people on board. There are no direct flights from that airport to the U.S.

U.S. and British officials think the plane may have been blown up by a bomb and Britain has grounded all British flights to and from the Sinai Peninsula. On Friday, Russia also announced that it will suspend all flights to Egypt until security is improved at its airports.

8:10 p.m.

France 2 TV is reporting that "the sound of an explosion can be distinctly heard during the flight" according to "an investigator who had access to the black box" of the Metrojet plane that crashed in the Sinai.

France's BEA accident investigation agency said it could not confirm the report. The agency has experts now in Egypt investigating the crash because the Metrojet Airbus A321-200 was made in France.

U.S. and British officials think the plane that crashed Saturday, killing all 224 people aboard, may have been blown up by a bomb.

7:25 p.m.

A retired senior official in Egypt's Tourism Ministry says "airport security procedures in Egypt are almost (all) bad."

Magdy Salim tells The Associated Press that the crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people onboard, may be a deadly blow to the country's battered tourism sector, which has yet to fully recover after years of political turmoil.

Salim says he understands why people are scared — that's because security measures in Egypt are lax.

He says airport guards regularly skip security checks for friends or co-workers. He says they often don't search people "if they look chic or if they come out of a fancy car."

He noted that a donkey was found wandering around Cairo airport in April. In recent weeks, a stray dog wandered onto a runway and security forces were called in to catch a rogue cat ahead of an inspection by international regulators.

7:10 p.m.

In the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, frustrated tourists are bemoaning conflicting information not only about when they can leave — but also about how to pack.

British businessman James Farrar, who is stuck in a hotel with his partner, says: "We haven't been given information about how we should repack our stuff. We hear there are restrictions on what we can take in your hand luggage as well."

Hundreds of British tourists at the resort had been promised flights home Friday, though only a minority of the flights managed to take off and passengers were only allowed to carry hand luggage onboard.

Farrar said the prospect of being separated for days from most of his belongings was "disconcerting." He said many tourists had little faith in the increased airport security measures after reports surfaced that some managed to jump the queues by bribing security guards.

Security has been tightened because U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up a Metrojet flight in midair Saturday, killing all 224 people onboard.

6:40 p.m.

Slovenia's national carrier is suspending all flights to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh following the crash of a Russian jet over Egypt.

Adria Airways said Friday its first scheduled flight to Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday has been canceled but the company will still be flying to Egypt's other Red Sea resort of Hurgada.

Slovenia's foreign ministry is advising citizens against traveling to Egypt until more is known about the cause of the crash that killed 244 people onboard. It says citizens already in Egypt should stay within the tourist resorts.

A Metrojet flight carrying 224 people crashed in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday. .U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up the plane in midair.

6:30 p.m.

Several flights heading to Sharm el-Sheikh to bring back stranded British tourists have turned around in mid-air, and airlines are scaling back the number of flights they plan to operate.

Monarch sent five empty planes from Britain to the Red Sea resort but said only two would return Friday. Two more were on the ground in Sharm el-Sheikh and the fifth was diverted to Larnaca, Cyprus.

Thomas Cook said only one of its four planes due in Sharm el-Sheikh to pick up vacationers was being allowed to land. Flight-tracking websites showed two turning back mid-flight.

The U.K. grounded all flights to and from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, saying the Oct. 31 Metrojet crash may have been caused by a bomb.

U.K. airlines planned 29 repatriation flights Friday, but Egypt's civil aviation minister said only eight would operate. Prime Minister David Cameron's office said officials were trying to get people back as quickly as possible but "the sheer scale of the task poses a number of logistical complexities."

6:10 p.m.

Travel agency Thomas Cook says two flights that left the UK heading to Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh airport will not be landing as scheduled.

Thomas Cook representative Mahmoud Ezz has told passengers at the airport that the flights on Friday, which were expected come and then take British tourists back to Manchester and London-Gatwick, are not landing.

Online tracker Flight Radar 24 shows the two planes have turned around in mid-flight.

Ezz tells stranded passengers they are getting accommodations in the Red Sea resort for the night and will be notified about a new flight time.

Approximately 20,000 British tourists are stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh after the U.K. grounded all regular flights to and from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up a Metrojet flight in midair last Saturday, killing 224 people, mostly Russian tourists leaving the Red Sea resort.

5:55 p.m.

Britain's defense minister has met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in London to discuss working together against common security threats, including the Islamic State group.

Michael Fallon said that as part of the collaboration, Britain will form a small military operations team in Egypt to "better understand" Libyan and regional security issues and how Britain can support Egypt's government.

Britain earlier said it had sent a small team of military personnel to Egypt to assess security arrangements at Sharm el-Sheikh airport, where hundreds of British tourists have been stranded after Britain decided to suspend flights for security reasons.

A Metrojet flight carrying mostly Russian tourists crashed after leaving the airport on Saturday, killing all 224 on board. U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up the plane in midair.

5:25 p.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's halt on flights to Egypt from Russia will affect tens of thousands of Russians and is expected to devastate Egyptian tourism.

Russian officials and tourism experts say there's about 30,000 to 40,000 Russians now in Egypt.

Tourist flights to Egypt leave daily from many Russian cities. There were 14 Egypt-bound flights Friday from Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport and another eight flights to Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.

The Egyptian economy is deeply dependent on tourism, and the industry was hurting even before the Metrojet crash Saturday that killed 224 people.

Egypt's Tourism Minister Hesham Zazou said in September that tourism at Red Sea beach resorts was rebounding after years of turmoil following the 2011 ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, but otherwise "tourism is suffering tremendously" in Egypt.

5:05 p.m.

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman says the Russian leader's order to suspend all flights to Egypt does not mean that Russia now views terrorism as the main theory behind the Metrojet plane crash.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday "it definitely doesn't mean that. Not a single theory can be given priority, since there aren't any definite indications to prove it."

Peskov says the flight suspension will last as long as it takes Egyptian aviation authorities to put "a proper level of security" into place.

A Metrojet flight carrying mostly Russian tourists crashed over the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, killing all 224 on board. U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up the plane in midair.

4:50 p.m.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin says all flights to Egypt will be suspended until proper security is in place there.

Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that the suspension will not wait until the results of the probe into Saturday's plane crash is complete. He says it will last as long as it takes Egyptian authorities to put "a proper level of security" into place.

Peskov would not say what these securities measures should be but said the Russian government will hammer out the details together with the Egyptians.

A Metrojet flight carrying mostly Russian tourists crashed over the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, killing all 224 on board. U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up the plane in midair.

4:20 p.m.

Russian experts have brought plane wreckage samples to Moscow from Egypt to study for possible traces of explosives.

Russian news agencies on Friday quoted Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov as saying that experts are sure to find a trace of explosives on the samples if it was a bomb that brought down the Metrojet flight on Saturday.

The Metrojet flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to Russia's St. Petersburg crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 onboard.

U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up the plane in midair while Russian officials say they are looking into all theories of why the plane crashed.

4:10 p.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a halt to all Russian flights to Egypt and told authorities to repatriate Russians in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh pending an investigation into Saturday's plane crash in the Sinai.

Putin on Friday promptly reacted to a suggestion by the Russian intelligence chief, who said it was "reasonable" to halt the flights. Neither Putin nor Alexander Bortnikov offered the timeline for the suspension or the repatriation.

All 224 people aboard the Oct. 31 Metrojet flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg were killed, and U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up the plane in midair.

4 p.m.

Aviation experts say British authorities are making travelers leave most of their luggage behind when leaving the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh so that it can be intensively searched before being put on an aircraft.

The U.K. has grounded all flights to and from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, saying there was a "significant possibility" a Russian airliner that crashed Saturday was downed by a bomb. All 224 people on the plane were killed.

Britain has not disclosed details about its intelligence, but speculation has focused on a bomb in the hold.

Analyst Paul Beaver said passengers are being told to travel with carry-on luggage only so there can be "the most thorough search" of their luggage by British security officials who have been sent to Sharm el-Sheikh. He said any checked bags would be flown back separately, probably on Royal Air Force jets.

David Learmount, editor of Flightglobal magazine, told Sky News that "not taking any luggage in the bag hold means the underfloor luggage compartment can be sealed, so that nobody can get into it."

3:45 p.m.

The head of the Russian intelligence agency FSB says it would be "reasonable" to suspend all Russian flights to Egypt pending the results of a probe into the cause of Saturday's crash of a Russian plane in the Sinai Peninsula.

Russian news agencies on Friday quoted Alexander Bortnikov as saying that investigators should take their time in establishing the cause of the crash. Bortnikov did not provide a timeline for the suggested suspension of flights but said it should cover all tourist flights.

All 224 people aboard the Oct. 31 Metrojet flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg were killed, and U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up the plane in midair.

3:30 p.m.

Budget airline easyJet says two flights have taken off from Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh airport and are en route to London, carrying 359 vacationers who had been stranded at the Red Sea resort after British authorities grounded flights.

The airline says one flight is headed to London's Gatwick airport with 180 passengers and another with 179 passengers is bound for London's Luton airport.

EasyJet had originally planned seven other flights to London on Friday and one to Milan, but says those have been cancelled. The airline says it is paying for hotels and additional expenses for its stranded customers.

The U.K. grounded all flights to and from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, saying there was a "significant possibility" a Russian airliner that crashed Oct. 31 was downed by a bomb.

2:30 p.m.

Egypt's civil aviation minister says Sharm el-Sheikh airport will operate eight flights to the U.K. Friday, instead of the 29 flights planned earlier.

Hossam Kamal says in an e-mailed statement that British airlines are flying without passengers' luggage, while the airport isn't able to hold more than 120 tons of luggage left behind.

"This big volume will affect the smooth operation of the rest of the domestic and international flights," says Kamal, adding that a cargo plane is planned to carry the baggage of departing passengers the same day of the departure.

"Egypt fully cooperates with the British side in the light of the resources of the airport and in accordance with international security regulations," says the minister.

2:10 p.m.

Britain's government says it is urgently working with Egyptian authorities to make sure planned flights leave the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Anger and confusion reigned Friday at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport after British airline easyJet said Egyptian authorities were disrupting plans to fly hundreds of British tourists back home. Exasperated tourists heckled the British ambassador, demanding to know when they would be flown out.

The ambassador is denying that Egypt is blocking the flights.

The British Department for Transport says travelers should not leave for the Sharm el-Sheikh airport unless they have a confirmed flight and asks for "people's patience at this difficult time."

The U.K. grounded all flights to and from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, saying there was a "significant possibility" a Russian airliner that crashed Oct. 31 was downed by a bomb.

1:55 p.m.

Belgium is advising its nationals not to travel to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, until the reasons for the crash of a Russian airliner that took off from the Red City resort are determined.

All 224 people aboard the Oct. 31 Metrojet flight to St. Petersburg were killed, and U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up the plane in midair. Russian and Egyptian officials say it's too early to know that.

A travel advisory Friday on the Belgian Foreign Ministry website recommended "heightened vigilance" for anyone traveling in Egypt. It says "terrorist acts are regularly committed throughout the territory, chiefly against police and military targets, but they can also affect civilians."

It also recommended against travel in Egyptian border areas close to Libya and Sudan and in the northern Sinai Peninsula.

1:40 p.m.

Exasperated British tourists who have waited for hours at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport are heckling U.K. Ambassador John Casson after reports of more flight delays and cancellations.

One irate tourist at the Red Sea resort shouted: "When are we going home?"

Casson says "our aim is to get as many people home as soon as possible" adding there would be more flights out Friday.

Britain has blocked flights to the Red Sea resort amid fears, shared by the U.S., that a bomb brought down a Metrojet carrying 224 people out of Sharm el-Sheikh on Oct. 31. Russia and Egypt say it's too soon to say that.

Casson says Egyptian authorities are not blocking flights from taking the tourists home, as easyJet was claiming.

He told tourists British authorities "will continue to work until we have everybody home. There are challenging, difficult issues to work through, this is a busy airport and we need to make sure people leave in a way that is safe."

1:20 p.m.

Air France is stepping up security checks in Cairo and France is warning its citizens to limit travel around Egypt after a Russian jet crashed in the Sinai Peninsula amid fears it was downed by a bomb.

France's Foreign Ministry on Friday urged its citizens to avoid Sharm el-Sheikh, Taba and surrounding areas in Sinai unless they have an "imperative reason" to go.

France also toughened its travel warning for Egypt on Thursday. It strongly urges French travelers to avoid the rest of Sinai, avoid the Nile Delta unless necessary, and use vigilance around Cairo and some other Egyptian cities.

Air France said Friday it is reinforcing screening procedures in Cairo. Air France partner company KLM announced Friday it is only accepting hand luggage on flights from Cairo, but Air France says it is still accepting checked-in luggage.

The Metrojet crash Saturday killed 224 people, mostly Russian tourists.

12:40 p.m.

The Dutch foreign minister says his government's decision to issue a negative travel advisory this week for Sharm el-Sheikh airport was linked to lax security.

Minister Bert Koenders told reporters Friday in The Hague: "We have the impression that there are insufficient security measures there."

He stressed the advisory did not cover the whole of Egypt.

Dutch travel companies are preparing to repatriate tourists vacationing at the Egyptian Red Sea resort, the takeoff point for a Metrojet plane that crashed into the Sinai desert on Oct. 31. All 224 people aboard were killed, and U.S. and British officials fear a bomb might have blown up the plane in midair.

Laura Water, a spokeswoman for travel company TUI, says it has cancelled flights on Sunday and Tuesday from Amsterdam to Sharm el-Sheikh and will fly empty planes to the resort to pick up just under 200 of its customers. Returning passengers will only be allowed to take hand luggage on board.

12:10 p.m.

British airline easyJet says its plans to fly hundreds of stranded Britons back from the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh have been disrupted by Egyptian authorities.

The budget carrier had been due to operate 10 flights from the Red Sea resort on Friday, but said eight would not be able to operate because Egypt had suspended British flights from flying into the airport.

Monarch and British Airways said they still planned to operate flights back from Sinai on Friday.

The U.K. grounded all flights to and from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, saying there was a "significant possibility" a Russian airliner that crashed Saturday, killing 224 people, was downed by a bomb.

11:50 a.m.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is outraged at a cartoon in the French weekly Charlie Hebdo mocking the Russian plane crash in Egypt.

Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Moscow views the cartoon as "blasphemy."

It's one of dozens of cartoons in this week's edition of Charlie Hebdo, which has been beset by tensions this year over whether there should be limits, after 12 people were killed at the magazine's offices by Islamic extremists over the paper's publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

The small cartoon appears on the magazine's back page and shows plane parts and a passenger falling from the sky onto a bearded, armed man in what appears to be an Islamic robe.

The commentary reads: Islamic State: Russian aviation intensifies its bombardments.

Russians have been bombing Islamic State targets in Syria since end of September.

Lawmakers at the Russian State Duma voiced their outrage as well, calling on the government to blacklist the French publication as extremist literature and insisting that the French authorities react and apologize.

11:20 a.m.

In the Netherlands, a KLM spokeswoman would not elaborate on the Dutch carrier's decision to only allow passengers to take hand luggage on board a plane that left Cairo airport on Friday.

Gedi Schrijver repeated a KLM statement that it was a precautionary measure based on "national and international information."

She said that "the airport in Cairo is good, because we can fly there without restrictions, but loading baggage in the hold via Cairo airport we have decided not to do that based on the information."

She would not give any more details about the source of the information that led to the decision.

KLM has no direct flights to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, from where the doomed Russian plane took off last Saturday.

9:40 a.m.

Dutch carrier KLM has instructed its passengers leaving from the Egyptian capital of Cairo that they can only take hand luggage on board the plane departing Friday.

A statement on KLM's website says the measure is "based on national and international information and out of precaution."

It follows a similar announcement from Britain, whose tourists are allowed to only take carry-on luggage as they start leaving the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Security officials at the Cairo airport told The Associated Press that flight KL554 left for Amsterdam on Friday morning with only 115 passengers out of the 247 who were booked.

The officials say the remaining passengers refused to leave without taking their check-in bags. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

—Maamoun Youssef in Cairo.

9:10 am

Egyptian police are carrying out detailed security checks around the airport at Sharm el-Sheikh — the resort from where the doomed Russian plane took off last weekend — after U.K. officials confirmed that flights will start bringing stranded British tourists home from the Sinai Peninsula.

Dozens of busses are waiting outside the airport on Friday morning, with the line stretching up to a kilometer (half mile) as police inspect each vehicle. Most of those onboard are Russian and British tourists.

Britain has said that additional security measures will be in place, including only allowing passengers to carry hand baggage, while checked luggage will be transported separately.

The Metrojet plane crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for St. Petersburg last Saturday, with mostly Russians aboard.

Russia and Egypt on Thursday dismissed Western suggestions that a terrorist bomb may have caused the crash that killed 224 people, saying the speculation was a rush to judgment.