Paris attacks: 16 arrests in Belgium - as it happened

Summary

Belgian police arrest 16 in raids after Paris attacks
Suspected Paris gunman Salah Abdeslam is still at large
Brussels begins another day of lockdown on highest level of alert
UK Prime Minister David Cameron arrives in Paris for talks on the fight against IS
French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle arrives in eastern Mediterranean
All times GMT

Live Reporting

Joel Gunter and Mario Cacciottolo

Tweeters help police with cat photospublished at 22:18
Belgians have posted pictures and videos of cats using the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown in an attempt to bury tweets about police anti-terror operations in the city.
It follows a police request for journalists to stop tweeting operational details.
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Pictures: commandos in Molenbeekpublished at 22:15
Away from the city centre, heavily armed police commandos have carried out an operation in the suburb of Molenbeek, where some of the Paris attackers lived.
Image source, EPA
Image source, EPA
'The life of my city has stopped'published at 21:39
Belgian opposition MP George Dallemagne, who represents the Brussels area, has explained to the BBC why he supports the government's decision to maintain the highest state of alert in the city.
Quote Message
The threat is still very high and the risk is still very important. So I think yes, of course, we don't have to take any risk, especially for the kids, because the schools will be closed tomorrow, which is really very, very exceptional. It's unseen since World War Two.
Quote Message
So it's really historical. I've never seen my city like that. And it's amazing to see that the capital of Europe can be blocked and that all the life can be stopped by a few individuals.
Pictures: police on Brussels streetspublished at 21:34
Armed officers and soldiers have been conducting several operations in Brussels this evening in response to the threat of an attack, a police spokesman told AFP.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Killed at the Bataclanpublished at 21:24
An undated photo provided by Joseph Anticevic shows his wife Armelle Pumir Anticevic aboard one of his cruise boats, named after her. The 46-year-old mother of two children, aged 9 and 11, died at the rock concert in the Bataclan theatre in Paris. She and her husband had gone there to celebrate. He survived.
Image source, AP
Belgian authorities urge calmpublished at 20:57
European Council cancels non-essential meetingspublished at 20:42
The European Council has increased its alert state to orange and has cancelled most non-essential meetings scheduled for Monday.
In a statement, it said:
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As a result of the increase in alert state, the Presidency of the Council, in consultation with the GSC, has decided to cancel the majority of non-essential meetings scheduled to take place tomorrow in the council building.
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However the EYCS Council, the Eurogroup, and a limited number of senior officials meetings will take place as planned.
Police unblock some roadspublished at 20:36
BBC correspondent Christian Fraser tweets that the bendy bus that was blocking a road near the Grand Place has been removed.
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Police: stop tweeting operation detailspublished at 20:32
Brussels police have asked journalists in the city not to tweet about the police operation under way in the centre.
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At the scene in central Brusselspublished at 20:03
BBC journalists are on the scene in central Brussels, where a police operation is reportedly under way.
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Pictures: Soldiers stand guard in Brusselspublished at 19:54
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
A soldier stands guard over the Grand Place in Brussels, where a police operation is under way, according to local reports
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Armed policemen are also at the Grand Place in Brussels
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Another soldier patrols the area outside a cafe near the Grand Place
Police activity in central Brusselspublished at 19:50
People in Brussels are tweeting about an ongoing police operation in the city centre.
Le Soir newspaper has a photo of a bus being used to block a street.
Some people say they have been escorted out of restaurants and there are reports of a threat to police stations.
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'Trying to stay positive' in Brusselspublished at 19:37 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2015
Mary Katharine Phillips, an American student in Brussels, says all her classes at university on Monday have been cancelled.
She told the BBC:
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I'm trying not to be scared, but of course it's very hard. Everyone is really giving in to the hype. I'm American and the American embassy is constantly updating us so it's hard not to be afraid.
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It's very hard not to think about but I'm trying to stay positive. It's been shocking - over a week and we still don't know what's going on, who to be afraid of exactly, what the situation is.
Eurostar lets Brussels passengers postpone trippublished at 19:31 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2015
Eurostar tweets that passengers who are booked to travel to Brussels on Monday can postpone their trip for free because of heightened security.
The train company says it will run a full service tomorrow.
City of romancepublished at 19:02
State of emergency notwithstanding, life in Paris is returning to a semblance of normality nine days after the attacks. Here a newly wed couple pose for photos on the Place de la Concorde.
Image source, AP
BBC sees bomber's paperspublished at 18:55
Breaking
The BBC understands that the picture released today of the third suicide bomber outside the Stade de France is a man known as M al Mahmod. He entered the Greek island of Leros on 3 October with another attacker called Ahmad al Mohammad.
The BBC's Ed Thomas looked at the arrival papers of a man called M al Mahmod in Leros. The photograph in those papers looked identical to the picture released by French investigators today. Al Mahmod bought ferry tickets with al Mohammad to leave Leros and journey through Europe with Syrian refugees.
Protective clothing 'stolen' in Parispublished at 18:50
French police are investigating the recent theft of medical protective clothing from a hospital in Paris, the Paris public hospital administrator says - Reuters.
The disappearance of a "limited number" of "protective clothing elements" from the Necker hospital was discovered on Wednesday, the administrator is quoted as saying.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said after the Paris attacks that France faced the risk of chemical or bacterial warfare in its fight against Islamist militants.
Police operation under waypublished at 18:45 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2015
A police operation is under way near the Grand Place in Brussels, the broadcaster RTL tweets.
Police are telling people to keep away from windows, it says.
Paris bomber 'was in Greece'published at 18:36
A little more on that French police appeal for information about the "third suicide bomber" at the Stade de France. While his identity remains unknown, police believe he was registered as a migrant on the Greek island of Leros on 3 October, along with a fellow bomber, who has also still to be identified.
Aboard the Charles de Gaullepublished at 18:24
The flagship of the French navy, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, is in the eastern Mediterranean, ready to begin air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria from Monday. An AFP news agency team on board took these photos today.
Image source, AFP
Image caption,
A Rafale jet fighter is catapulted off the deck
Image source, AFP
Image caption,
The ship also carries Super Etendard jet fighters
Image source, AFP
Image caption,
The carrier jets will reinforce French planes based in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan
Image source, AFP
Image caption,
The Charles de Gaulle (pictured here) will also fill a gap left by a US aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which recently returned to America