PARIS (AP) " France's lower house of parliament has definitively approved a two-month extension of the state of emergency that was declared after the deadly Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. The vote, scheduled for weeks, took place on Thursday. The measure is aimed at covering the June 10-July 10 European Championship soccer tournament and the July 2-July 24 Tour de France. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve justified the measure by the "unprecedented context of terrorist risk." It expands police powers to put people under house arrest and allows authorities to forbid the movement of people and vehicles at specific times and places.

Source: New Zealand Herald May 19, 2016 05:56 UTC