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French President Francois Hollande bows Saturday to the families of people killed in the July 14 attack in Nice.
French President Francois Hollande bows Saturday to the families of people killed in the July 14 attack in Nice.

French remember Nice attack’s victims

photo

AP

People gather near a funeral tent that was damaged in a suicide bombing Saturday in Baghdad.

NICE, France — French President Francois Hollande presided at a ceremony Saturday paying homage to the 86 people killed when an Islamic extremist rammed his truck through crowds watching holiday fireworks in Nice.

The ceremony took place atop a hill overlooking the Promenade des Anglais, the scene of the slaughter, in the presence of families, injured people, religious representatives, France’s main political leaders and local authorities.

The names of the 86 victims were read and 86 white roses placed on the center of the ceremony square.

Cindy Pellegrini, who lost six family members in the attack, recalled France’s ideal of “liberty, equality, fraternity.”

“Our sadness is undefinable,” she said.

“It’s national unity that has been hit on July 14. That’s the monstrous target of the terrorists,” Hollande said. “Hitting some to scare the others, unleashing violence to create division, instilling fear to fuel distrust and stigmatization.”

“This evil project will fail. Unity, liberty, humanity, in the end, will prevail,” he said.

70,000 throng India rite; 24 die in panic

LUCKNOW, India — At least 24 people were killed and 20 others injured in a stampede that occurred as they were crossing a crowded bridge to reach a Hindu religious ceremony in northern India on Saturday, police said.

The stampede took place on the outskirts of Varanasi, a city in Uttar Pradesh state known for its temples. Organizers were expecting 3,000 devotees at the ceremony, but more than 70,000 thronged the ashram of a Hindu leader on the banks of the Ganges River, said police officer S.K. Bhagat.

“We were not prepared for such a large crowd,” said Raj Bahadur, a spokesman for the organizers.

The stampede happened as police started turning back people from the crowded bridge, the Press Trust of India news agency cited Bahadur as saying. That triggered a rumor among the devotees that the bridge had collapsed, and they started running for safety, he said.

Nineteen people were killed on the spot and five others died at a hospital, said police officer Daljit Chaudhary.

U.S. says new N. Korea missile test fails

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and the U.S. said today that the latest missile launch by North Korea ended in a failure when the projectile exploded soon after liftoff.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the military believes the North attempted to fire a midrange Musudan missile. It said the failed launch was made near an airport in the North’s North Pyongan province.

The U.S. military first reported the launch was attempted at 11:33 p.m. Eastern time on Friday and that the missile didn’t pose a threat to North America. The test drew harsh criticism from the U.S.

North Korea has claimed technical breakthroughs in its goal of developing a long-range nuclear missile capable of reaching the continental United States. South Korean defense officials have said the North doesn’t yet have such a weapon.

As recently as last month, North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast. The U.N. Security Council condemned those North Korean launches and threatened “further significant measures” if it refused to stop its tests.

North Korea also conducted its fifth nuclear test last month and in all has launched more than 20 ballistic missiles this year.

ISIS suicide blast in Baghdad kills 35

BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber struck a funeral gathering Saturday in Baghdad, killing at least 35 people and wounding more than 60, Iraqi police and hospital officials said.

The attack in the Shaab neighborhood occurred around lunchtime, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility in a statement carried by its Aamaq news agency. The Islamic State also is known as ISIS.

Hussein Khazem, the owner of a nearby clothing warehouse, said the bomber detonated his payload inside a funeral tent, causing a big explosion.

He saw a large number of killed and wounded people, many burning cars and major damage to the nearby market. The dead included elderly people, children, and some women. He said he closed his shop to help evacuate the wounded and remove the bodies.

The U.S. State Department condemned Saturday’s “barbaric” attack, calling it yet another sign of the Islamic State group’s “cowardice and contempt for human life and their attempt to sow sectarian discord among the people of Iraq.”

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