The Latest: Obama still attending climate talks in Paris - Go.! Magazine

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The Latest: Obama still attending climate talks in Paris

10:20 a.m. The White House says U.S. President Barack Obama still plans to travel to Paris for the upcoming climate talks. Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes says the U.S. has great confidence in France's government and a very close intelligence relationship with French security officials.
He says the U.S. has been actively sharing intelligence with France since the attacks last week. Rhodes says the French will be the ones to make determinations about how to provide security for the climate summit.
Obama is currently scheduled to be in Paris on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. It's unclear whether the dates will be extended or adjusted in light of the attacks.
10:05 a.m.
Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann is calling for more intensive border checks of migrants in the wake of the Paris attacks, but says the closing of borders is out of the question.
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Speaking Thursday morning on Germany's ARD television ahead of meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Faymann said to close the borders "would be the end of Schengen and the European idea," referring to the so-called Schengen Zone of passport-free travel.
Most important, he said, is to work to end the violence in Syria that is causing so many people to flee, as well as improving refugees' situations in Turkey and registration measures in Greece.
He says "we cannot solve the problem at either the Austrian or the German borders."
Following Paris, he says, European countries also need to better coordinate intelligence-sharing.
10 a.m.
The French Interior Ministry and Paris prosecutor's office say it remains unclear whether the suspected mastermind of last week's Paris attacks has been killed or is still at large.
Officials in each agency said Thursday that authorities are working on determining whether 27-year-old Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud was among those killed in a chaotic and bloody raid on an apartment in a Paris suburb Wednesday. The officials were not authorized to be publicly named speaking about an ongoing investigation.
Police launched the operation after receiving information from tapped phone calls, surveillance and tipoffs suggesting that Abaaoud was holed up there.
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said the identities of the dead are still being investigated, but that neither Abaaoud nor another fugitive, Salah Abdeslam, is in custody.
—By Angela Charlton
9:55 a.m.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is warning that the associates of extremists who targeted France last week could use chemical and biological weapons, as he urged Parliament to extend a state of emergency.
Valls presented a bill extending the state of emergency declared after Friday's attacks for another three months to the lower house of Parliament on Thursday. It goes to the upper house Friday.
Valls said "terrorism hit France, not because of what it is doing in Iraq and Syria ... but for what it is."
He added, "we know that there could also be a risk of chemical or biological weapons."
9:45 a.m.
Authorities in Belgium have launched six raids in the Brussels region linked to Paris suicide bomber Bilal Hadfi.
An official in the Belgian federal prosecutor's office said that the raids were taking place in Molenbeek and other areas of Brussels.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.
Bilal Hadfi has been identified as one of three attackers at the Stade de France stadium. The raids are centering on "his entourage," the official said.
—By Raf Casert in Brussels
9:40 a.m.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel says he wants to amend the constitution to extend the length of time terror suspects can be held by police without charge.
"All democratic forces have to work together to strengthen our security," Michel told lawmakers.
9:25 a.m.
Belgian Prime minister Charles Michel has announced a package of additional anti-terror measures in the wake of the attacks in Paris.
Michel said 400 million euros ($427 million) would be earmarked to expand the anti-terror fight
He told legislators in a special announcement that personnel involved in security would be increased, and said special attention would be paid to eradicating messages of hate.
Michel also called for more international cooperation.
9 a.m.
A Turkish government official says authorities have deported some among a group of eight Moroccan nationals who were detained at Istanbul's main airport, while others are still being investigated.
The men were detained on arrival at Ataturk Airport on Wednesday and interviewed by a team of profilers for possible links to Islamic State militants.
The official said in an email sent late Wednesday that authorities have not been able to confirm that the group was attempting to travel to Germany illegally by posing as refugees, as suggested by Turkish media.
The official, who cannot be named because of government rules, said Turkish profiling teams have questioned some 4,700 suspects in the past two years. Around 1,300 people were denied entry into Turkey, while more than 2,300 were deported.
— By Suzan Fraser in Ankara
8:55 a.m.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is urging the international community to do more to eradicate the Islamic State group after deadly attacks in Paris that rattled the Western world.
Fabius, speaking on France-Inter radio Thursday, said the group "is a monster. But if all the countries in the world aren't capable of fighting against 30,000 people (IS members), it's incomprehensible."
The group claimed responsibility for Friday's attacks on a rock concert, Parisian cafes and France's national stadium that killed at least 129 people.
France has stepped up its airstrikes against extremists in Syria since the attack, and French President Francois Hollande is going to Washington and Moscow next week to push for a stronger international coalition against IS.

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