Is Gwen Stefani’s Song ‘Misery’ About Blake Shelton? ‘You’re Crazy!’ | TODAY
She is a multi-platinum solo artist and the lead singer of No Doubt.
And Gwen Stefani did not disappoint fans as she took to the stage in a sheer bodysuit for a performance of her new song Misery on theToday Show on Friday in New York City.
The 46-year-oldlooked sexy as she rocked the plaza, talked about her first tour in seven years, and played coy when it came to boyfriend Blake Shelton, 40.
Scroll down for video
Sexy show: Gwen Stefani, 46, did not disappoint fans as she took to the stage in a sheer bodysuit for a performance of her new song Misery on the Today Show on Friday in New York City
Gwen"s long-time friend and TV host Carson Daly got straight to the point asking the Grammy winner if her new song was written about her country star beau.
The blonde beauty laughed and told Carson, "You"re crazy."
Adding, "You know what"s crazy, the song is called Misery, but it is a song about love."
She continued, "And that"s all I will say about that."
"You"re crazy": The pop star"s long-time friend and TV host Carson Daly got straight to the point asking the Grammy winner if her new song was written about her boyfriend Blake Shelton. She laughed and said, "You"re crazy." Adding, "You know what"s crazy, the song is called Misery, but it is a song about love"
Rise and shine!Today co-host Matt Lauer thanked the mom-of- three for her early morning performance. The bright-eyed bombshell smiled and said, "I"m very flexible when it comes to sleeping" saying she is enjoying catching some zzz"s on the tour bus
Gwen and Blake started dating in November of 2015 after each one divorced their spouses only a few months prior.
Today co-host Matt Lauer first thanked the mom-of- three for her early morning performance.
The bright-eyed bombshell smiled and said, "I"m very flexible when it comes to sleeping."
Back at it! Gwen"s This Is What The Truth Feels Like tour -- her first in seven years -- just kicked off in Boston on July 12. On Today she said the opening show was "magical" and very "rewarding"
Gwen gushed: "I missed it. I was starving to be back on tour. I love it."In addition to singing Misery, the songstress also performed her hits The Sweet Escape and Hollaback Girl on Friday morning
The pop star"s This Is What The Truth Feels Like tour, which coincides with her new album, just kicked off in Boston on July 12, and Gwen is enjoying life on the road.
"That tour bus is the best sleep you ever could get... I missed it. I was starving to be on tour. I love it."
Gwen gushed as she talked to the Today hosts about opening night.
The Make Me Like You singer said, "It was literally magical.. and so rewarding..."
Signature look: The Voice judge sported her usual bold red lip and wore her platinum blonde locks swept back into a sleek ponytail which featured jet black ends
For her early morning appearance on NBC Gwen sported her signature look: a bold red lip and her platinum blonde locks swept back into a sleek ponytail which featured jet black ends.
The Voice judge showed some skin in a black mesh onesie which featured gold and silver sparkly adornments.
Gwen layered a black bra underneath the sultry design and teamed the rocker look with jeans.
She also appeared to have a black leather fringed cape attached to her denim pants and finished off the edgy ensemble with a pair of flat combat boots.
In typical Gwen glamour the star glitzed up her look with a custom funky manicure and diva sized diamonds on her fingers and in her ears.
In addition to singing Misery, the songstress also performed her hits The Sweet Escape and Hollaback Girl.
Meanwhile, Gwen"s beau Blake, who"s been traveling with the hitmaker while she tours, is expected to perform on stage with his love at some point during her concert series.
Gwen and Gavin Rossdale were married for nearly 13 years when they divorced in August 2015.
The Used To Love You singer and her Bush rocker ex have three sons together: Kingston, 10, Zuma, 7, and Apollo, 2.
While Blake ended his second marriage to Miranda Lambert in 2015 after four years of marriage.
Details! Gwen layered a black bra underneath the mesh onesie and teamed the rocker look with jeans. She also appeared to have a black leather fringed cape attached to her denim pants and finished the edgy ensemble off with a pair of flat combat boots
Where"s Blake? Gwen"s country star beau, who"s been traveling with the hitmaker while she tours, is expected to perform on stage with his love at some point during her concert series
Syrian rebel groups backed by the U.S. and its allies have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, including abductions, torture and summary killings, according to Amnesty International.
A report by the leading human rights organization details how extremist rebel groups have taken over large parts of major Syrian cities, in which they have created repressive theocratic regimes where critics are violently silenced and where religious and ethnic minority groups fear for their lives.
Torture Was My Punishment: Abductions, Torture and Summary Killings Under Armed Group Rule in Aleppo and Idleb, Syria shows how the Syrian people have been caught between a rock and a hard place with extremist rebels on one side and a brutal regime on the other.
The report focuses primarily on the governorates of Aleppo and Idlib, in the north of the country. Aleppo is Syrias largest city, and the Aleppo governorate is the most populous.
Amnesty documented abuses committed by five armed groups that have controlled parts of Aleppo and Idlib since 2012. These rebels have been supported by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the U.S.
In Aleppo, Amnesty investigated the actions of the Levant Front, the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and Division 16, factions in the Aleppo Conquest rebel coalition.
In Idlib, it looked at the crimes of the rebel groups Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham, both of which are extremist Islamist militias that are party of the Army of Conquest coalition.
Jabhat al-Nusra is Syrias al-Qaeda affiliate. The U.S. officially considers it a terrorist group, although Western allies Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar have supported it.
Amnesty noted that al-Nusra has a significant presence throughout the Idlib governorate. Ahrar al-Sham is present in the major cities Idlib, Aleppo, Damascus and Hama.
Executions and strict Sharia
Armed groups have repressed many Syrians who were themselves once supportive of the rebels.
I was happy to be free from the Syrian governments unjust rule but now the situation is worse, a Syrian lawyer told Amnesty.
Rebel groups have established courts (the report uses the term in scare quotes) in Aleppo and Idlib based on strict interpretations of Sharia (Islamic law).
Extremist Islamist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham have harshly punished Syrians who disobey their theocratic laws, the report notes.
It cites numerous cases of summary killings carried out by Jabhat al-Nusra, the Levant Front and rebel courts. Some have been execution-style killings in front of crowds.
Jabhat al-Nusra has publicly executed civilian men it accused of homosexuality and civilian women it accused of adultery.
In Aleppo, the Supreme Judicial Council run by the Levant Front told Amnesty that the punishment for apostasy is execution. Death sentences are carried out in the detention center according to Sharia principles, the deputy director said.
According to the Carnegie Endowment, most of the rebel groups in the Levant Front coalition likely receive support from the Military Operations Center, a Turkey-based rebel facility that the U.S. helps operate with its allies.
Most of the courts run by these rebel groups, Amnesty says, are based on the Unified Arab Code, a set of Sharia-based legal codes that were endorsed by the Arab League between 1988 and 1996 but were never implemented anywhere.
This legal code demands harsh corporal punishments for hudud crimes (violations of Islamic law), including stoning, amputations and flogging.
I publicly criticized Jabhat al-Nusra on Facebook accusing them of committing worse human rights abuses than those perpetrated by the government. The next morning, Jabhat al-Nusra forces took me from my home, a Syrian lawyer told Amnesty.
An interrogator told him he was not a real lawyer because he did not know Islamic law. The Syrian rebel threatened him, telling him he had to give up his profession or his family wold never see me again. After 10 days of abduction, hearing men screaming from torture, the lawyer agreed.
I left Syria as soon as I was released, he added.
A female activist who had just been released from detention by the Syrian government told Amnesty she was subsequently arrested and interrogated by Ahrar al-Sham rebels for not wearing a veil.
They forced me to wear a veil and cover my face. They brought a religious man who made me kneel to confess my wrongdoings. The interrogator repeatedly threatened to conduct a virginity test, she recalled.
Torture
Amnesty documented cases of armed factions torturing journalists, activists and other civilians who do not share their ideologies.
I heard and read about the government security forces torture techniques. I thought I would be safe from that now that I am living in an opposition-held area. I was wrong. I was subjected to the same torture techniques but at the hands of Jabhat al-Nusra, explained a Syrian man who was abducted by the extremist rebel group.
Syrian lawyers who have spoken out against rebel groups use of torture have themselves been abducted and threatened.
In several of the cases of abduction, journalists, political activists and a humanitarian worker told Amnesty that they were tortured by either Jabhat al-Nusra or the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement. Some were violently forced to sign a statement of confession.
The methods of torture described are disturbingly similar to some of the ones used by the Syrian government, Amnesty wrote.
Numerous journalists and activists were kidnapped and tortured by al-Nusra for promoting secular beliefs, the rights group reported.
One journalist who works for an international media outlet was tortured by al-Nusra rebels for offending the jihad and mujahidin [rebel fighters] and for working with a media channel that opposes al-Qaida.
The release form given to the tortured journalist by his interrogator said that he had been acquitted of the charges after pledging that he would only report on issues that support the Islamic faith.
Another activist was told he was being tortured for being secular.
Even groups Syrian activists described as moderate have abducted and tortured Syrians. Activists told Amnesty the Levant Front, the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and the 16th Division also tortured and mistreated detainees.
A humanitarian worker was abducted and tortured by the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement for complaining about the misuse of funds in a hospital in Aleppo.
The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement is a CIA-approved rebel group that has received TOW anti-tank missiles.
Amnesty said Syrian lawyers and activists told it of cases of abduction and torture carried out by other rebel groups in Aleppo and Idlib, but it was unable to independently verify these claims.
Targeting of minority groups
The Amnesty report also shows how rebel groups have targeted ethnic and religious minorities.
The rights organization documented cases in which Division 16, a Syrian rebel group that the U.S. government identifies as moderate, abducted Kurdish civilians.
In one case, an Arab man offered to drive his Kurdish neighbor to a dentist appointment in Aleppo. She was kidnapped at a checkpoint by the 16th Division. The Arab man was released, but she wasnt. The womans son went looking for her, and he disappeared as well.
Other Kurdish civilians told Amnesty their family members were also abducted by Division 16. A Kurdish man who was released said he saw three missing Kurdish women working in the kitchen in a Division 16 detention center, but their families are too afraid to ask the rebel group for more information.
The 16th Division is backed by the U.S., and is part of a coalition that is fighting other U.S.-backed rebels.
Christian residents of the Aleppo and Idlib governorates have also been abducted and abused by Syrian rebels because of their religion, Amnesty said.
The CIA-approved Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement has abducted Christians.
Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra have destroyed churches. They have also confiscated the homes and stolen the belongings of Christian Syrians.
Ahrar al-Sham is supported by close Western allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey (the latter is also a member of NATO).
Some Syrian Christian families were told they must either convert or leave the Idlib governorate, Amnesty reported.
Abductions and repression of journalists
Amnesty documented dozens of cases of abduction carried out by armed opposition groups in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates between 2012 and 2016.
It even reported cases in which extremist rebel groups Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra kidnapped children and placed them for long periods of time in solitary confinement, leading to hallucinations.
An activist who said he celebrated the Syrian governments defeat told Amnesty that the rebel groups he now lives under are in control of what we can and cannot say. You either agree with their social rules and policies or you disappear.
Syrian armed groups have carried out abductions and deprived persons of their liberty without any legal basis even under the quasi-judicial system under which they are operating, Amnesty wrote.
An activist in Idlib told Amnesty that, during a ceasefire, protesters tried to fill the streets, but were violently dispersed and arrested by rebels with the extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra.
Abducted victims have included human rights activists, journalists and lawyers.
Jabhat al-Nusra was pressuring men to join the armed group. Even those who resisted were forced to join. My friends left for Turkey because they were afraid, a Syrian man told Amnesty.
He went into hiding, but al-Nusra kidnapped his son. The man told the extremist group that he would join if it released his son. As soon as his child was free, the man fled with his family to Turkey.
Witnesses told Amnesty that extremist rebel groups have cracked down on behavior they deem un-Islamic.
In one anecdote, they recall how the extremist group twice attacked Radio Fresh, a radio station in the rebel town Kafranbel, arresting staff members for playing music which it deemed to be socially unacceptable and offensive to Islam. A witness said they had been playing revolutionary songs and the music of Fairuz, a popular Lebanese singer.
Another media activist was kidnapped by Ahrar al-Sham for criticizing the extremist rebel group on Facebook and accusing it of corruption. Amnesty says he is still detained.
Yet another media activist told Amnesty that he had been kidnapped by the moderate groups the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and the Levant Front for criticizing the unjust rule of some the armed groups [and issues] such as corruption on Facebook. He said he heard people being tortured in other rooms while he was abducted.
Journalists also told Amnesty that newspapers and other media deemed insulting to Islam and the mujahidin (jihadists) have been banned and confiscated.
A journalist working at Enab Baladi recalled that, in 2015 alone, we had to pull out dozens of our employees from Idleb and Aleppo because they were receiving threats of abductions and killings.
Another journalist at Souriatna said that, after distributors and journalists were threatened by rebel groups, they stopped distributing the newspaper in Idlib and Aleppo for eight months.
Rebel groups have also abducted individuals, including children, accused of sympathizing with or providing information to the Syrian government.
International response
The cases of abduction, torture and summary killings documented by Amnesty International offer a glimpse into the reality of life under armed opposition groups in Aleppo and Idleb governorates, Amnesty wrote.
It added: These abuses have taken place in a context in which armed opposition groups across Syria have committed war crimes by killing and injuring civilians through the indiscriminate use of weapons such as mortars, improvised explosive devices and suicide car bombs in attacks on residential areas under government control.
Amnesty conducted this research between December 2015 and May 2016. Many of the witnesses it interviewed were living in exile in Turkey.
The human rights group contacted representatives of Syrian rebel groups, including the Aleppo Conquest coalition and Ahrar al-Sham, asking for responses to its findings. No armed opposition groups answered Amnestys questions about specific human rights abuses.
It condemned the impunity on all sides of the war in Syria.
Justice for the hundreds of thousands of victims remains elusive as neither the Syrian government nor armed groups have been held accountable for their crimes, the rights group wrote.
Amnesty accused the Syrian government of carrying out the majority of human rights violations. It also said Russia has committed violations that are likely war crimes in its bombing campaign.
While there has been a lot of attention in the Western media to crimes committed by the Syrian government and its allies, there has been much less attention to the crimes of Western-backed rebels.
Amnesty called on the International Syria Support Group particularly the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, the U.K. and France to immediately cease the transfer of arms, munitions and other military equipment, including logistical and financial support, to armed groups implicated in committing war crimes and other serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law.
The rights group emphasized that Syrian rebel groups and the international community, particularly those governments that support them militarily and financially, must address the abuses they are committing without delay.
Today was Rogue Ones day at Celebration Europe. We got a look at the new ships and vehicles of the Empire, new behind-the-scenes footageand even the teeniest glimmer of Darth Vader. But as well as dazzling the main stage, Rogue One brought its costumes to Celebrations convention hall, and we went and took a look.
On display as part of the same Rogue One installation that brought us Director Krennics sharp shuttle and the TIE Striker, Stormtroopers were out in force. The the classic costumes styled after the Empires appearance in the original films showed up as did the new troopers (those of the Death and Shore variety) that will threaten Jyn and her erstwhile group of ragtag rebels in Rogue One.
The Golden Oldies
Lookin good, trooper.
The commanders of the stormtrooper forces in Rogue Oneconfirmed by director Gareth Edwards in the Rogue One panel to be portrayed by members of the Maldives National Defense Forcedo have something a little different to the ones we previously saw in the films: humongous backpacks that we certainly hope they didnt have to drag through the waters of the newly-named planet of Scarif.
The New Team
Described by their information panel as as patrolling defense squads at a planetary facility on Scarif (presumably housing components for the Death Star?)itself called the headquarters of the Imperial Military.
Being at the seat of Imperial Military might means fancy armor...
... And fancier weapons.
Not everything feels like classic Star Wars thoughthe combat skirt on this guy feels very much like the specialized armor of the prequels clone troopers.
The Deathtroopers, meanwhile, arent Imperial Military like their fellow troopers. Theyre pretty muchdescribed as Director Krennics personal squad of soldiers, highly trained operatives of Imperial Intelligence encased in black armor.
Shiny. On the stage floor, the look almost silver rather than the deep, dark black in the trailers.
For all the newnew weapons, new helmets, new armortheres still some of the old in the Deathtroopers: their sidearms, the classic Imperial SE-14C.
And Their Fabulous Boss
Also on display is the Deathtroopers bossor at least the uniform of Orson Krennic, leading officer in the Imperial Militarys Advanced Weapons Research division, is. I agree with Gwendoline Christie: that is indeed a good cape.
Be sure to check out all of our coverage of Star Wars Celebration Europe.
Is Britney Spears FINALLY about to drop her new single Make Me (Oooh)?
After months of speculation about when Spears would finally reveal the first single from her upcoming 9th studio album to the world, The Daily Star has some exciting news.
According to the site, Spears is set to drop Make Me (Oooh) on July 15, and it sounds like she has some big plans to introduce it to the world.
A source revealed to the site this week that Britney could have another huge performance up her sleeve following her stellar 2016 Billboard Music Awards medley back in May, potentiallyperformingthe new single for the first time at the 2016 MTV VMAs on August 28.
The insider teased to the site that show bosses are always trying to make the show bigger and alleged that the big bosses are going after both Britney and Lady Gaga to make the show one of the biggest in history.
Britney and her team are yet to comment on the rumours, though some of the pop superstars most iconic moments have gone down on the VMAs stage.
It was back in 2001 that Britney took to the VMA stage to perform Im A Slave 4 U with a snake wrapped around her neck before she returned once again 2 years later for that show stopping kiss with Madonna.
RELATED: Britney Spears Make Me (Oooh) to sample Justin Timberlakes Cry Me A River?
However, Spears hasnt performed on the award show stage since 2007 following her pretty disastrous performance of Gimme More.
But as fans desperately await for confirmation of Britneys potential VMA performance and single drop, as we previously reported, its been a pretty rock road to get Make Me (Oooh) on the airwaves.
The Las Vegas Sun claimed back in May that the single was originally set for release ahead of Spears Billboard performance, but claimed that technical difficulties meant the song had to be pushed back.
Theres no point in Britney previewing it so far in advance if we dont even have a new release date yet, a source close told the site earlier this year.
Were told that itll now be later in the summer, the insider continued, but we dont even know exactly when yet until production hiccups are resolved.
Watch Britneys 2016 Billboard Music Awards medley performance below;
Would you like to see Britney Spears debut Make Me (Oooh) at the 2016 MTV VMAs in August? Tell us your thoughts on the potential performance in the comments section below.
DON"T EVER DO WHAT DANI MATHERS JUST DID! Its disgusting and horrible. 7/15/2016 6:44 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
EXCLUSIVE
Don"t just blame Dani Mathers for the gym sauna pic she posted of a stranger -- without the woman"s knowledge -- blame the woman too ... according to actor Brandon T. Jackson.
The "Tropic Thunder" star had a much different perspective on the case everyone"s talking about -- former Playmate Mathers body shaming the woman on social media after posting the image she secretly shot.
Brandon, who is a funny guy, was NOT joking when we got him in Bev Hills. If it sounds harsh to blame the victim, check out Brandon"s take -- he might have a point.
A travs de sus redes sociales,Katy Perry anunci de manera sorpresiva el lanzamiento de una nueva cancin, Rise, un poderoso sencillo en el que la cantanteproclama que no se conformar conser parte del comn.
VER TAMBINEstrenan video de la cancin oficial de los Juegos Olmpicos 2016
Gracias a su letra motivacional, el sencillo ha sido declarado como uno de los himnos de las olimpiadas de verano que se realizarn en Rio de Janeiro en el mes de agosto, por lo que poco despus de su lanzamiento exclusivo a travs de Apple Music, se public un video en el que aparecen varios deportistas que estarn compitiendo en el evento deportivo, en el que se escucha el tema de Perry de fondo.
Me siento honorada de que NBC Olympics la haya elegido como un himno antes y durante los juegos de Rio, indic la artista de 31 aos a travs de su cuenta de Twitter.
VER TAMBINKaty Perry es la persona con ms seguidores en Twitter
El lanzamiento de Rise marca la primera vez en casi tres aos que la intrprete de Roar presentamaterial musical nuevo, ya que desde el estrenode su lbumPrismen octubrede 2013, la cantante se haba dedicado a otras cosas, incluyendo el lanzamiento de una nueva fragancia.
Bataclan massacre survivor: ‘I’m surprised I’m still alive’
Twenty-two year-old Eoin Staunton from Tourmakeady near Westport came to work at Ma Nolans pub, a block from the Promenade des Anglais, on Friday morning, sleepless and having received the fright of his young life.
We were walking back from a party at a hotel near the airport when we heard people screaming behind us. We turned and saw the crowd of people running towards us, with the truck advancing at such speed behind them. I think I saw two people fall, Staunton said.
Less than 12 hours later, Staunton is still dazed. It all happened so quickly, he keeps repeating. My girlfriend Lydia and I were ahead of the others. We were all spread out and we were trying to find each other. It didnt click that it was a terrorist attack...It was just panic...
The group of friends took refuge on the rocky beach below the promenade. We tried to climb back up but the police told us to stay there. Thats when I saw the bodies. One here and one here, he says, gesturing to left and right with his hands. I saw a man get hit...
Stauntons small group sought shelter in the Neptune Plage restaurant, along with 50 other people. They closed the doors to keep us all in. They had the telly on. We were all trying to get internet to call our relatives. We were so lucky we all got away. My friend Philip was just feet away from getting hit... Its crazy....
Staunton arrived in Nice shortly before the Bataclan massacre in Paris last November, after finishing a degree in Irish and geography. His curly mop of hair hangs in his eyes. Hes sunburned and wears a claddagh ring. In two weeks, h**l return to the safety of the west of Ireland.
Ma Nolans is the centre of Irish life on the Cte dAzur, with three pubs in Cannes and Nice. Thady Nolan (48), from Portlaoise, founded the pub with a French business partner 11 years go. On Friday morning he worked the mobile phone to make sure that 60 staff, about half of them Irish, were safe.
Bastille Day night is a huge party here, a family occasion, Nolan said. Any Irish who are in Nice go to it, but we dont know if any were hurt.
Virtually everyone I spoke to said they had expected trouble during the Euro 2016 football championship, which ended last Sunday. People had dropped their guard after the Euros. We had been waiting for something to happen, Nolan said.
The Promenade des Anglais was such an easy target, Nolan continued. I dont understand how you could get a truck down there when the promenade was closed and there were police everywhere. It doesnt look like they were doing much.
The driver, a 31-year-old Tunisian resident in France, managed to travel 1.5km and kill 84 people before he was stopped. Someone messed up big time, Nolan says.
His business partner, Frenchman Christophe Souques (48), has strong connections in the local police. He had rented the truck and pre-parked it on the promenade, before the road was closed for the fireworks, Souques says.
Theres going to be a blame game going on today, Nolan continues. It shouldnt have happened. On the best of days, you wouldnt be able to drive anything that size down the promenade. Unfortunately our politicians dont have the tools to stop it.
People running
Souques was running the pub on Thursday night when people started running past. At first he thought they were cold, or rushing to their cars to avoid the traffic jam after the end of the fireworks. It was his friend Olivier Castillo (55), an orthopaedic surgeon, who told him there had been a terrorist attack.
Castillo rushed to the Clinique Saint Georges, where he works. He saw mostly broken bones; ankles, a foot, ribs, arms, and one severe abdominal injury. A guy in his 40s walked in, completely haggard. He didnt know where he was. It was the first time Id seen such a state of shock, as if hes seen the devil. I saw a young woman in her late 20s in the same state.
More than 50 injured children have been hospitalised, Agence France Presse reported.
French doctors received special training in advance of the Euros, Castillo said. In particular, they self-trained on the internet to treat war wounds, particularly Kalashnikov bullets like those that killed most of the 130 victims in Paris eight months ago.
No one had imagined that a truck would be the weapon of mass murder. This means that anyone can become an improvised terrorist, Castillo said.
It was difficult to sort truth from rumour, Souques said. People came to hide here in Ma Nolans. We brought everyone in from the terrace. Some said there was shooting in the casino. Some said there was an explosion on the Place Massena. Others spoke of a hostage taking at the Buffalo Grill. None of that was true.
At first, there was total panic, with people running every which way, Souques said. Inside the pub, people were crying. He put all his efforts into calming the 200 people who sheltered in Ma Nolans. Every 20 minutes or so, I would stand on the stage where the bands usually play, and tell them everything we knew.
A man walked alone down the empty street outside, his arms spread wide. Police laser sights marked a half dozen red target spots on his chest. He said, Im looking for the town hall. My son is there. I dont give a d**n if they shoot me. I have to find my son, Souques recounts.
A police colonel stuck his head into Ma Nolans to say Stay inside. Turn off the lights. Between 12.30 and 1am, the police asked everyone to leave, single file, as they evacuated the entire area.
Christian Estrosi, the president of the region and deputy mayor of Nice who was the first to report that there were dozens of dead on Thursday night, was criticised in the past for speaking of a fifth column of Arab Muslims in France.
Estrosi was right, Souques said. I cannot understand such hatred. This guy wanted to kill everyone; young, old, babies. I cannot conceive of it. This is not happening over there, in the Middle East; its here, at home; as if our society was diseased, like gangrene.
Like other people in Nice, Souques was not surprised that jihad has struck his city. I was surprised by the method and the number of dead, he said. Not that we were attacked.
