Part of the passengers on board a hijacked EgyptAir plane that was forced to divert to Cyprus have been freed, the airline says.
The Egyptian airliner said negotiations had resulted in the release of all those on board Flight MS181 apart from the crew and four foreign passengers.
Video from Larnaca airport has shown people leaving the plane and boarding a bus.
It was taken over after a passenger said he was wearing an explosives belt.
Latest reports from Cyprus media suggest there is just one hijacker who was motivated by “personal reasons” and may be seeking asylum – although this has not been confirmed.
EgyptAir said the Airbus A320 was carrying 81 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo.
A senior Alexandria airport official said those on board the flight when it took off included 30 Egyptians, eight Americans, four Dutch, four Britons, two Belgians and one Italian.
Larnaca airport, on the south coast of Cyprus, has been closed and scheduled flights diverted elsewhere.
“The pilot said that a passenger told him he had an explosives vest and forced the plane to land in Larnaca,” the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said in a statement.
Brazil’s tourism minister Henrique Eduardo Alves has stepped down before vote on President Dilma Rousseff’s coalition.
Opposition lawmakers want to remove Dilma Rousseff over claims she manipulated accounts to hide growing deficit.
Officials from Dilma Rousseff’s coalition allies, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), will vote to leave the alliance on March 29, members said.
Tourism Minister Henrique Eduardo Alves became the first PMDB member to resign from government on March 28.
Dilma Rousseff, a former political prisoner during Brazil’s military government, began her second term in office 14 months ago.
However, her popularity has plummeted amid corruption allegations around senior members of the governing Workers’ Party.
The speaker of the lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha, agreed in December to open impeachment proceedings against her.
Last week, Dilma Rousseff, who denies wrongdoing, said the procedure amounted to a coup. She met officials from the PMDB ahead of that party’s national leadership meeting on March 29.
However, a number of lawmakers from the PMDB said ahead of the meeting that most members had already decided to abandon the coalition.
The PMDB is headed by Michel Temer, Dilma Rousseff’s deputy, who would become president should she be removed.
The loss of support by his party’s 69 lawmakers could have consequences for the impeachment proceedings. Dilma Rousseff needs the support of a third of the 513 members of the lower house of Congress to stave off impeachment.
The Workers’ Party has been in power since former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in for his first term in 2003.
It has been hit by a long-running investigation into bribes from contractors working for state oil company Petrobras.
A recent attempt by Dilma Rousseff to appoint Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as her chief of staff was seen by critics as an attempt to shield him from money-laundering charges – which he denies – connected with the case.
His appointment was blocked by a judge earlier this month.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on March 28 he expected Dilma Rousseff to survive growing pressure, and said he would speak to Michel Temer to work out how to save her job.
Protests involving tens of thousands of people have taken place across Brazil to call for Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment.
According to poll by the Datafolha poll in late February, only 11% of respondents across the country said President Dilma Rousseff’s performance was “good or excellent”.
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has broken his silence over President Barack Obama’s Cuba visit in a damning letter published in state-run newspaper Granma.
Fidel Castro, who handed power to his brother Raul a decade ago, said Cuba didn’t need any gifts from the “empire”.
He described Barack Obama’s words of reconciliation as “syrupy” and warned they could give Cubans a heart attack.
President Barack Obama had suggested that it was time to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas.
In his 1,500-word letter, Fidel Castro also reminded readers of the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, in which a CIA-sponsored paramilitary force of Cuban exiles attempted to take over the island.
However, Fidel Castro also said his “modest suggestion” was that Barack Obama “reflects and doesn’t try to develop theories about Cuban politics”.
During his visit, Barack Obama invoked “a future of hope” for Cuba in an unprecedented live TV address delivered from the Grand Theater in Havana.
Barack Obama told Cuban President Raul Castro that he did not need to fear a threat from the US nor from “the voice of the Cuban people”.
The US president also called for the lifting of the 54-year old US trade embargo against Cuba, a remark which was met by loud applause.
The embargo remains one of the main sticking points in US-Cuban relations but can only be lifted by the US Congress.
Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba was the first by a president since the Communist revolution in 1959.
The only person arrested and charged with involvement in the Brussels attacks – man known as Faycal C – has been released on March 28 for lack of evidence.
Belgian media named him as Faycal Cheffou and said he was suspected of being the mystery third man seen in CCTV footage of the bombers.
Last week’s attacks on Brussels airport and the city’s metro system killed 35 people and injured more than 300.
The attacks were claimed by ISIS.
Police have blocked off a Brussels square, Place de la Bourse, which saw clashes between police and nationalist protesters on March 27.
People were allowed to stay in the square, where mourners have placed candles, wreaths and messages for victims of the bomb attacks.
Of the 35 victims, seven have still to be identified, the country’s crisis centre said on March 28.
At least 12 of the victims are foreign nationals from the US, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and China, it said earlier.
The death toll does not include three attackers, two of whom blew themselves up at the airport and one in the metro.
EU institutions based in Brussels will reopen on March 29, following the Easter break, “with important additional security measures in place”, European Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva said in a tweet.
The man referred to officially as Facyal C was released on March 28 after being arrested on March 24 in Brussels and charged with “participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders and attempted terrorist murders”.
In a statement, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said: “The clues that led to the arrest of Faycal C were not substantiated by the ongoing inquiry.
“As a result, the subject has been released by the examining magistrate.”
Photo Reuters
He had been charged only two days before with “taking part in a terrorist group, terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder”.
Belgian public TV and Le Soir daily identified the freed man as Faycal Cheffou, a freelance journalist.
CCTV footage released by Belgian police on March 28 shows the two airport bombers alongside a third man, who is wearing light-colored clothing and a dark hat. Each is pushing a loaded luggage trolley.
Twin blasts struck the main terminal of Zaventem Airport. A third, even bigger, bomb was abandoned, prosecutors said at the time. It exploded after the security forces had secured the scene and nobody was hurt, they added.
The man in the hat is believed to have fled the scene.
Brussels was the second large-scale attack on an EU capital city claimed by ISIS, after gunmen and bombers killed 130 people in Paris on November 13.
In a bid to identify the third attacker at Brussels airport, whose bomb did not explode and who fled, Belgian police have released a new CCTV footage.
The attacker is seen wearing light-colored clothing and a hat.
The death toll from March 22 attacks in Brussels rose to 35 after four people died of their injuries in hospital.
More than 300 people were also injured in the attacks, which were claimed by ISIS.
The death toll does not include three attackers, two of whom blew themselves up at the airport and one in the metro.
Investigators have not commented on reports in the Belgian media that the third airport attacker is Faycal Cheffou, a freelance journalist arrested on March 24 outside the prosecutor’s office.
On March 26, a man named Faycal C was charged with “participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders and attempted terrorist murders”, a prosecutor’s statement said.
Separately, three men were charged on March 28 with belonging to a terrorist group.
The three, whose names were given as Yassine A, Mohamed B and Aboubaker O, were arrested during raids on 13 addresses on March 27. A fourth man was released without charge.
Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block announced the latest deaths in a tweet: “Four patients deceased in hospital. Medical teams did all possible. Total victims: 35. Courage to all the families.”
Of the 35 victims, seven have still to be identified, the Belgian crisis center said on March 28.
At least 12 of the victims are foreign nationals from the US, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and China, it said earlier.
More arrests have also taken place in relation to what authorities say were planned attacks on France.
A man already in Belgian custody was reported to have been charged in connection with a foiled attack in the Paris region.
Separately, Dutch police announced on March 27 that they had detained a 32-year-old Frenchman in Rotterdam at the request of French authorities.
The man was arrested on suspicion of preparing an attack in France and will be extradited to the country. Three other people were also detained.
The Frenchman is allegedly linked to Reda Kriket, who was arrested in a Paris suburb on March 24 and said to be in the “advanced stage” of plotting an attack, AFP news agency reported, citing a police source.
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s top money launderer, Juan Manuel Alvarez Inzunza, has been arrested while on holiday in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexican authorities say.
El Chapo Guzman, a former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, is currently awaiting extradition to the United States.
The Mexican drug lord was recaptured in January after breaking out of a high-security prison.
Juan Manuel Alvarez Inzunza, nicknamed Rey Midas (King Midas) is suspected of laundering $300 million-$400 million a year for the Sinaloa cartel through a network of companies and currency exchange centers.
A US federal court in Washington had requested Juan Manuel Alvarez Inzunza’s arrest and he is likely to be extradited.
El Chapo Guzman himself is also facing extradition to the US on charges of drug trafficking in California, and murder in Texas.
Earlier this month, the drug lord asked for the extradition process to progress rapidly so he could receive better treatment in prison.
Since El Chapo Guzman’s recapture in January, six months after he escaped from prison, he has been subject to a stricter regime.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has taken $424 million at the global box office in its first five days despite poor reviews.
The global total – the fourth-highest ever – included $170.1 million in the US, a record for a March debut and the sixth-highest US opening weekend.
Batman v Superman brings the two superheroes together for the first time is a welcome success for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros has been hit by a series of expensive failures such as Jupiter Ascending and Pan in recent months.
The DC Comics adaptation, which cost more than $250 million to make, was Warner Bros’ second-highest international opening after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
Dawn of Justice opened on more than 40,000 screens in 66 markets, including 16,000 in China, 4,242 in the US, 1,701 in the UK and 1,696 in South Korea.
The Zack Snyder-directed film, starring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavil, is the first of 10 DC Comics adaptations planned by Warner Bros over the next five years, including Wonder Woman and the Flash.
The first, Suicide Squad, will hit the big screen in August.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens still holds the record for the biggest box office debut weekend globally, with ticket sales of $529 million in December 2015, including $248 million in the United States.
An explosion at a public park in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore left at least 69 people dead and scores injured, officials say.
The park was crowded with families, some celebrating Easter. Many victims are said to be women and children.
According to police, it appeared to be a suicide bomb. A Pakistan Taliban faction said it carried out the attack.
Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain has condemned the blast and the regional government has announced three days of mourning.
All the major hospitals in the area were put on an emergency footing after the blast early on Sunday evening.
The explosion appears to have been at the main gate to the Gulshan-e-Iqbal park in an area where cars are usually left – and a short distance from the children’s swings.
One eyewitness said there was chaos, with a stampede starting and children separated from their parents in the rush to escape.
According to Lahore’s deputy commissioner, Mohammad Usman, the number of injured was 193.
Facebook has activated its feature for people in Lahore to mark themselves as safe, as news of the blast spread.
Lahore is the capital of Punjab, Pakistan’s largest and wealthiest province and the political powerbase of PM Nawaz Sharif.
Pakistan Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar told local and Western media it was behind the attack.
“We claim responsibility for the attack on Christians as they were celebrating Easter,” spokesperson Ehansullah Ehsan told Pakistan’s Express Tribune.
Pakistan has suffered regular incidents of Taliban-related violence, sectarian strife and criminal gang activity.
Meanwhile in the capital, Islamabad, police fired tear gas at thousands of protesters who marched in support of Islamist gunman Mumtaz Qadri, whom they see as a religious hero.
Mumtaz Qadri was hanged last month for the murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer five years ago.
Salman Taseer had defended a Christian woman jailed on blasphemy charges.
Tribeca Film Festival has withdrawn Vaxxed, a controversial film about the MMR vaccine, festival founder Robert De Niro announces.
On March 25, Robert De Niro stood by his decision to include Vaxxed by anti-vaccination activist Andrew Wakefield in next month’s festival.
The link Vaxxed makes between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism has been widely discredited.
“We have concerns with certain things in this film,” said Robert De Niro.
Robert De Niro, who has a child with autism, said he had hoped the documentary would provide the opportunity for discussion of the issue.
However, after reviewing the documentary with festival organizers and scientists, the actor said: “We do not believe it contributes to or furthers the discussion I had hoped for.”
Vaxxed was directed and co-written by Andrew Wakefield, who described it as a “whistle-blower documentary”.
In a statement issued following the Tribeca Film Festival’s decision, Andrew Wakefield and the film’s producer Del Bigtree said that “we have just witnessed yet another example of the power of corporate interests censoring free speech, art and truth”.
The British doctor was the lead author of a controversial study published in 1998, which argued there might be a link between MMR and autism and bowel disease.
Andrew Wakefield suggested that parents should opt for single jabs against mumps, measles and rubella instead of the three-in-one vaccine.
His comments and the subsequent media furor led to a sharp drop in the number of children being vaccinated against these diseases.
The study, first published in The Lancet, was later retracted by the medical journal.
Andrew Wakefield was subsequently found guilty of fraud by the General Medical Council and struck off the medical register.
Syrian army has re-captured the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS, say state media and a monitoring group.
The Syrian government forces had been gaining ground for several days, supported by Russian air strikes. Military sources say the army now has “full control”.
ISIS seized the UNESCO World Heritage site and modern town in May 2015.
Images released by the Syrian military on March 26 showed helicopters and tanks firing at positions in Palmyra.
Photo Getty Images
The date of the footage could not be independently verified.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, there was still gunfire in the eastern part of the city, but the bulk of the ISIS force had pulled out and retreated further east.
In a statement released on March 26, Russia’s defense ministry said the strikes hit 158 ISIS targets killing more than 100 militants.
When ISIS seized Palmyra it destroyed archaeological sites, drawing global outrage. Two 2,000-year-old temples, an arch and funerary towers were left in ruins.
ISIS, which has also demolished several pre-Islamic sites in neighboring Iraq, believes that such structures are idolatrous.
The prospect of Palmyra’s liberation was welcomed by UNESCO, which has described the destruction of the ancient city as a war crime.
The head of Syria’s antiquities authority, Mamoun Abdelkarim, promised to repair as much of the damage as possible as a “message against terrorism”.
Bernie Sanders has won Alaska and Washington in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, as he tries to close the gap on Hillary Clinton.
He was projected to have won 72% of the vote in Washington against 27% for Hillary Clinton.
In Alaska, Bernie Sanders took about 79% of the votes, against 21% for Hillary Clinton.
Results are yet to emerge from Hawaii but initial projections suggest another Bernie Sanders victory.
Washington was the most significant of the three states voting on March 26, with 101 delegates up for grabs. There were 16 delegates on offer in Alaska and 25 in Hawaii.
In spite of his victories, Bernie Sanders faces a struggle to overhaul Hillary Clinton’s overall lead. Going into Saturday’s votes, Hillary Clinton led Bernie Sanders by 1,223 delegates to 920.
When superdelegates who have so far declared their allegiance are included, Hillary Clinton was ahead by 1,692 to 949.
It takes 2,383 delegates to win.
Bernie Sanders tweeted: “Thank you, Alaska! Together we are sending a message that this government belongs to all of us… Washington, thank you for your huge support! It is hard for anybody to deny that our campaign has the momentum.”
The senator earlier told supporters in Wisconsin: “This is what momentum is about. Don’t let anybody tell you we can’t win the nomination or win the general election. We’re going to do both of those things.”
Bernie Sanders had spent the week on the west coast, rallying support among liberals and the left-wing.
He is trying to build on overwhelming victories in last Tuesday’s caucuses in Idaho and Utah.
However, he suffered defeat in Arizona, and although his delegate haul from the three states was 20 higher than Hillary Clinton, he failed to make major inroads into her lead.
Hillary Clinton has pointed out that she has “2.6 million more votes” than Bernie Sanders.
She campaigned less in the three states that voted on March 26, perhaps expecting the defeats, and spent Easter with her family.
This week Hillary Clinton focused on the deadly attacks in Brussels, condemning Republican rivals Donald Trump and Ted Cruz for their “reckless” foreign policies.
Despite March 26 results, the battle will be won and lost in far bigger states still to come. In RealClearPolitics poll averages, Hillary Clinton has the lead over Bernie Sanders by nine percentage points in California, 34 points in New York and 28 in Pennsylvania.
Calculations suggest Bernie Sanders may need to win two-thirds of the remaining delegates – in primaries, caucuses and among so-far uncommitted super-delegates – the unelected officials who can vote for their candidate of choice at the party’s election convention.
There was no voting in the Republican race on March 26.
Donald Trump leads Ted Cruz by 739 delegates to 465, with a total of 1,237 needed to win the Republican nomination, according to AP.
Pope Francis has called on Christians not to let fear and pessimism “imprison” them as he delivered his Easter message.
Speaking amid tight security at the Vatican, Pope Francis said: “Let us not allow darkness and fear to distract us and control our hearts.”
The Pope’s message followed a condemnation on March 25 of the Brussels terror attacks.
Islamist violence is expected to be a prominent theme of his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” Easter message.
Photo Getty Images
Many pilgrims cancelled their planned trips to Rome in the wake of the violence in Brussels, but St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican was packed when Pope Francis celebrated mass on March 26.
Pope Francis entered a darkened basilica with just a single candle guiding him. As he reached the altar, the basilica’s floodlights came on to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Delivering his homily, Pope Francis said: “Today is the celebration of our hope. It is so necessary today.”
The lengthy vigil service also included a papal baptism for 12 adults hailing from China, South Korea and other countries around the world.
On Easter Day, Francis will preside over Easter Mass and offer his annual Easter blessing.
On March 25, he denounced the “terrorist acts committed by followers of some religions which profane the name of God and which use the holy name to justify their unprecedented violence”.
Meanwhile, Vatican officials distributed sleeping bags to 100 homeless people.
The police presence in the streets around the Vatican has been stepped up this year, as more pilgrims than usual are expected after Pope Francis declared a jubilee year for the Catholic Church, calling it a “Holy Year of Mercy”.
According to official figures, the US economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.4% in Q4 of 2015.
The US Commerce Department revised its Q4 GDP to upward from an initial estimate of 0.7%.
Overall, the US economy is estimated to have grown at a rate of 2.4% for all of 2015.
One reason for the revised figure was greater consumer spending than officials initially thought, boosted by an improving labor market.
Analysts had expected the fourth quarter growth rate to remain unchanged from the last estimate of 1%.
Increased employment has helped to slowly boost wages and housing prices, while low oil prices have increased discretionary spending by US households.
The stronger growth rate could increase the chances of an interest rate hike when the Federal Reserve meets in April. The Fed left rates unchanged at its meeting in March, saying the slowing global economy raised risks for the US market.
US corporate profits dipped 11.5% for Q4 compared to the same October through December period in the previous year.
Companies were hurt by low oil prices, with some industrial and petroleum linked companies forced to cut their workforces or file for bankruptcy.
A man has been charged with terrorist offences, in connection with March 22 attacks in Brussels that left 31 dead, including three bombers, Belgian prosecutors say.
The man was named as Faycal Cheffou and was arrested on March 24.
At least half the victims died at the airport, the rest in an attack on the metro in suicide bombings claimed by ISIS.
Meanwhile a demonstration against the attacks, planned for March 27 in central Brussels, has been canceled after a request from the authorities.
Organizers said people’s security was a top priority.
Belgian prosecutors said that Faycal C had been detained outside the prosecutor’s office in Brussels on March 24. A search of his home had found no weapons.
Faycal C was charged with “participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders and attempted terrorist murders,” a statement said.
It gave no further details and made no comment on Belgian media reports that he was the third man in an airport CCTV image that showed the two suicide bombers – Najim Laachraoui on the left, and Brahim el-Bakraoui. Belgian media say the third man is Faycal Cheffou, a freelance journalist.
The third man, wearing a hat and pale jacket, also had luggage packed with explosives. However, he was said to have fled without detonating his device. It was detonated in a controlled explosion once the departures hall was cleared.
Brahim el-Bakraoui’s brother Khalid carried out the Maelbeek metro attack.
Faycal C was among 12 people arrested on March 24 and 25 in police raids in Belgium, France and Germany.
Four days before the Brussels attacks, the key suspect in the November 13 Paris attacks which killed 130 people, Salah Abdeslam, was detained in a raid in Brussels. Police said he was initially co-operative.
Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens later confirmed in parliament that Salah Abdeslam “no longer wants to talk since attacks” in Brussels.
Separately, Brussels airport authorities said the “investigative work related to the judicial inquiry into the airport terminal has been completed” but that passenger activity could not resume before March 22.
Airport engineers and technicians are getting access to the terminal for the first time since the attack.
They will assess the damage and stability of the building. The airport authorities will also put new security measures in place.
The check-in area suffered severe damage when two blasts seconds apart hit opposite ends of the departures hall.
In addition to the dead, 340 people were injured. One hundred and one remain in hospital, of whom 62 are in intensive care.
In his weekly address on March 26, President Barack Obama paid his respects to the victims and said attempts to stigmatize Muslim-Americans should be rejected.
Meanwhile, Mariah Carey has canceled a concert scheduled for Brussels on March 27, citing security concerns.
In a separate development, Belgian prosecutors denied the murder of a security official at the Fleurus nuclear research centre was a terrorist act, the Belga news agency reported.
The trial of Cumhuriyet journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul has been adjourned until April 1.
The journalists, who are charged with revealing state secrets, were arrested in November 2015 over a report alleging that the Turkish government had tried to ship arms to Islamists in Syria.
Can Dundar and Erdem Gul deny the charges but face possible life sentences if found guilty.
Their supporters say the case is a major test of press freedom in Turkey.
The Turkish government has come under increasing international criticism over its treatment of journalists.
Earlier this month, Turkish police raided the offices of the country’s biggest newspaper, Zaman, hours after a court ruling placed it under state control.
Over 100 reporters and observers attended the opening session of the trial on March 25.
Prosecutors then asked the judge for a closed hearing, a request which the judge approved, after a brief adjournment.
A Human Rights Watch observer present in the court called the decision “a travesty of justice”.
The adjournment came after more than a dozen opposition lawmakers refused to leave the courtroom. The judges filed a complaint against them for attempting to influence the trial.
Can Dundar, Cumhuriyet‘s editor-in-chief, and Erdem Gul, Ankara bureau chief, were arrested in November 2015.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally filed a criminal complaint against the two journalists.
Can Dundar and Erdem Gul were held in pre-trial detention but were released in February after the Constitutional Court ruled their rights to liberty and free expression had been violated.
In a statement given just before the trial, Can Dundar said the government was trying to intimidate Turkey’s journalists.
“There is an effort to arrest an entire profession and the public – what foreigners call a <<chilling effect>>,” he said.
“What is trying to be created is a mechanism of self-censorship and an increasing empire of fear.”
Campaigners say the case is politically motivated and part of a growing crackdown on media critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On March 24, dozens of prominent writers published an open letter to PM Ahmet Davutoglu, urging the government to drop the charges against the Cumhuriyet journalists.
“We believe that Can Dundar and Erdem Gul are facing life in prison simply for carrying out their legitimate work as journalists,” they said.
The letter also voiced concern over the “increasing climate of fear and censorship and the stifling of critical voices in Turkey”.
Zaman newspaper is closely linked to the Hizmet movement of influential US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
The government says Hizmet is a “terrorist” group aiming to overthrow President Erdogan.
Fethullah Gulen was once an ally of Recep Tayyip Erdogan but is now seen by the Turkish President as a threat to his authority.
According to the 2015 Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, Turkey ranks 149th amongst the 180 countries.
Media organizations in Turkey say that more than 30 journalists are currently behind bars and most are of Kurdish origin.
However, the government argues journalism in Turkey is among the most free in the world.
Brussels international airport will be closed until March 29, Belgian authorities say, following attacks in the capital that left 31 dead.
Zaventem airport was the first target on March 22, with two suicide bombers triggering explosions in the departures hall.
An hour later, 20 people died in the suicide bombing of a metro station.
On March 26, Belgian prosecutors announced that one arrested man had now been charged with terrorist offences.
ISIS has said it carried out both the Brussels attacks, and the ones in Paris, in which 130 people died in November 2015.
Brussels airport authorities said the “investigative work related to the judicial inquiry into the airport terminal has been completed” but that passenger activity could not resume before March 29.
A team of airport engineers and technicians is being given access to the terminal building for the first time since the attack.
They will assess the damage and stability of the building. The airport authorities will also install new security measures.
Zaventem airport check-in area suffered severe damage when two blasts seconds apart hit opposite ends of the departures hall.
Some people fleeing the first blast were caught by the second.
The two suicide bombers there have been identified by DNA as Najim Laachraoui and Brahim el-Bakraoui. They were pictured in an airport CCTV image before the explosions with a third man, on the right of the picture, who has yet to be identified or apprehended.
Brahim el-Bakraoui’s brother, Khalid, carried out the attack on the Maelbeek metro attack.
In Brussels, buses are running and most metro stations have reopened but there are still soldiers patrolling the streets and although people are defiant, they are aware that there are possibly still other suspects at large.
On March 26, Belgian police continued operations to search for members of the terror cell, in particular the missing man from the airport image and a man suspected of aiding the metro attack.
Twelve people were arrested on March 24 and 25 in police raids in Belgium, France and Germany.
Tens of thousands of Cubans have attended The Rolling Stones concert in Havana, where most foreign rock music was banned for several decades.
Many of those at the free concert were lifelong fans who for years had to keep quiet about their love of the Stones and other groups.
Mick Jagger welcomed fans in Spanish before opening the performance with the 1968 hit Jumpin’ Jack Flash.
The Stones’ concert comes days after a historic visit by President Barack Obama.
Tens of thousands of Cubans queued for hours to get into the grounds of Havana’s huge 450,000-capacity Ciudad Deportiva venue.
Photo Twitter
The band swept through 18 songs in a two-hour gig, including Sympathy for the Devil and Satisfaction.
The gig is being seen as another sign of real change on the island. Until about 15 years ago Cuba’s communist government banned most Western rock and pop music, which was deemed decadent and subversive.
Fans traveled from many parts of Cuba and other countries to witness what some described as a historic moment.
The Rolling Stones released a short video saying their concert was a sign of change in Cuba.
“Time changes everything. So we’re very pleased to be here,” said Mick Jagger.
“It would have been surprising for this to happen 10 years ago.”
Cuban authorities said they expected at least half a million people to watch the Stones’ first concert in Cuba.
Set List
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)
Tumbling Dice
Out of Control
All Down the Line
Angie
Paint It Black
Honky Tonk Women
You Got the Silver
Before They Make Me Run
Midnight Rambler
Miss You
Gimme Shelter
Start Me Up
Sympathy for the Devil
Brown Sugar
Encores: You Can’t Always Get What You Want. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz’s feud is becoming increasingly personal, with the Texas senator accusing “sleazy Donald” of spreading rumors.
Ted Cruz told reporters that Donald Trump was behind a story in the National Enquirer that alleged Cruz has had extramarital affairs.
The Texas senator called the story “garbage, complete and utter lies”.
“It is a tabloid smear and it has come from Donald Trump and his henchmen.”
As evidence that Donald Trump planted the story, Ted Cruz pointed out that the only person quoted by name in the Enquirer story was Roger Stone, a former top adviser to the Trump campaign.
Photo AP
Ted Cruz also noted that Donald Trump and National Enquirer CEO David Pecker are close friends.
Asked whether he would still support Donald Trump, the current Republican frontrunner, if he won the nomination, Ted Cruz did not answer directly.
However, he said: “I’m not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and my family.”
Donald Trump said in a statement: “I had absolutely nothing to do with it.”
On March 22, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, who had been on good terms earlier in the campaign, began trading insults on Twitter.
Mistakenly believing the Cruz campaign had produced an attack advert about his wife Melania, Donald Trump on Twitter threatened to “spill the beans” on Cruz’s wife, Heidi.
Ted Cruz responded saying his campaign did not produce the advert, calling Donald Trump “classless” and a “coward”.
On March 23, Donald Trump continued, posting an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz on Twitter.
Ted Cruz responded, calling Donald Trump a “sniveling coward” and told him to “leave Heidi the hell alone”.
South Korea’s stock market is trading low after fresh data showed Asia’s fourth-largest economy is continuing to slow down.
The country’s GDP rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% during Q4 of 2015, which is slightly faster than an earlier central bank estimate for a 0.6% increase.
However, the figure still reflects a marked slowdown from the 1.2% growth during the previous quarter.
The South Korean benchmark Kospi Index fell 0.1% to close at 1,983.81 points.
The Bank of Korea has kept interest rates on hold again this month, despite concerns about slowing growth and unemployment.
Most major Asian markets, with the exception of Korea, Japan and China, are closed today for the Easter holiday.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 closed 0.7% higher at 17,002.75, while the broader Topix ended up 0.8% at 1,366.05.
This comes after data showed Japan may be making some progress in pushing up consumer prices.
Headline inflation rose 0.3% year-on-year in February, compared to zero the month earlier, matching economist estimates.
Over in China, markets were mixed. The Shanghai Composite closed up 0.62% to 2,979.43, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng benchmark closed down 1.31% to 20,345.61.
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s new stock exchange begins its first day of trading on March 25.
Shares of a conglomerate called FMI, are available only to Burmese investors.
Those backing the exchange are hoping more companies will list soon, and that it will become an important source of capital for an economy still emerging from decades of mismanagement.
Volkswagen has to come up with a plan to fix 600,000 cars that emit illegal levels of pollution by April 21, a US court has ruled.
The US District Court Judge said: “This issue of what is to be done with these cars must be done by that date.”
If a plan is not in place by April 21, the court will consider what action to take.
The auto maker said it was committed to resolving the US investigation “as quickly as possible”.
In September 2015, US authorities revealed that VW had used computer software to massage emissions data during tests, sparking the biggest crisis in the company’s history and leading to the departure of its CEO.
The DoJ is suing VW for breaching environmental laws.
In emerged that more than 11 million VW cars worldwide have been fitted with the devices.
VW has set aside €6.7 billion to cover the costs of the scandal, although earlier this month the company warned this might not be enough.
Electronic gadgets make a great gift for your friends on any special occasion. It can be difficult to find the gadget you want from the local gadget shop because they only have a limited inventory. If you are wondering where to get smart electronics gadgets, you should shop online. The advantage of shopping for the smart electronics online is that there is a large selection so you have enough choices.
These products are categorized neatly into different categories including health, sports, glasses and remote control. The best place to get these gadgets cheap is by shopping at the online wholesale store portal. The online wholesale store portal is made up of many small sellers. Some sellers have their own stores and you can visit their stores to take a look at the full selection of smart electronic gadgets products.
It is completely safe and secure to buy the product from the online wholesale store as they offer buyer protection upon confirming your order. Buyer protection means that they will offer a full refund in the event that the item that is delivered is not as described in the description Shopping for electronic gadgets at the online wholesale store is secure because it is protected with a valid SSL encryption. The main payment method they accept is credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. They also accept alternative payment methods such as Skrill, bank wire and Western Union.
If you are interested in buying an item from the seller, you should first check how many reviews the product has and check the feedback of the seller. Reading the product reviews will allow you to gauge the quality of the products since you cannot perform a physical inspection on the product. By checking the seller feedback, you will know how many people have purchased items from the seller. Sellers with hundreds or thousands of transactions are already established and can be trusted if they have more than 99% of positive feedback.
A good seller will have mostly positive feedback of at least 99%. When you click through to read the seller’s feedback, you will see 3 types of customer reviews including positive, neutral and negative. You should click through each type of reviews to see what people are saying so that you know whether the seller can be trusted in shipping the product as advertised promptly. If there is any question on an item you are interested in buying, you can click on the Message link to contact the seller with your inquiry.
You can buy these gadgets at a super cheap price if you buy in bulk quantity. The price will depend on the bulk order you place and you can see the table for the bulk order pricing in the product description.
Usually, there is a search function at the online store that allows you to filter the search result by various criteria such as price, ship to, shipping courier, free shipping, wholesale and minimum order.
In conclusion, the online wholesale store is the best place for shopping electronic smart gadgets because of the low price and large selection. Because of the large selection, it is possible to find rare gadget that you can’t find at your local shop. If you need the item faster, you can always pay extra to have it delivered via shipping courier.
North Korea announces it has carried out a live-fire artillery drill simulating an attack on the official residence of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, known as the Blue House.
The exercise was overseen by Kim Jong-un, said the KCNA state news agency, who called on the military to be ready to “ruthlessly” destroy the government in South Korea.
It is the latest in a series of angry gestures by Pyongyang.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has ordered the army to be on alert.
Photo Wikimedia
However, Park Geun-hye said on March 24 that “reckless provocations will only become a path to self-destruction for the North Korean regime”.
North Korea has been reacting after the UN imposed some of its toughest sanctions following its nuclear and long-range rocket tests.
Pyongyang has also been angered, as it is annually, by joint US-South Korean military exercises taking place south of the border.
Already known for vitriolic language, the KCNA report threatened to turn South Korea’s presidential residence into a “sea of flames and ashes”.
“Artillery shells flew like lightning and intensely and fiercely struck targets simulating Cheong Wa Dae and rebel governing bodies in Seoul,” it said of the latest drill, using the Korean name for the Blue House.
It was not clear when the drill was carried out, but the report warned of a “miserable end” for President Park Geun-hye.
The Blue House (Cheongwadae) was attacked by North Korean commandos in 1968.
The attempt to assassinate then-President Park Chung-hee was unsuccessful, but seven South Koreans and most of the 31 North Koreans attackers were killed.
Prominent Turkish journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, from the newspaper Cumhuriyet, are due to go on trial charged with revealing state secrets.
They were arrested in November 2015 over a report alleging that the Turkish government had tried to ship arms to Islamists in Syria.
Can Dundar and Erdem Gul deny the charges but face possible life sentences if found guilty.
Supporters of the two journalists say the case is an important test of press freedom in Turkey.
The Turkish government has come under increasing international criticism over its treatment of journalists.
Earlier this month, Turkish police raided the offices of the country’s biggest newspaper, Zaman, hours after a court ruling placed it under state control.
Photo AP
Can Dundar, Cumhuriyet‘s editor-in-chief, and Erdem Gul, Ankara bureau chief, were arrested in November 2015.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally filed a criminal complaint against the Cumhuriyet journalists.
They were held on pre-trial detention but were released in February after the Constitutional Court ruled their rights to liberty and free expression had been violated.
Can Dundar said the government was trying to intimidate Turkey’s journalists.
“There’s an effort to arrest an entire profession and the public – what foreigners call a <<chilling effect>>,” he said.
“What’s trying to be created is a mechanism of self-censorship and an increasing empire of fear.”
Campaigners say the case is politically motivated and part of a growing crackdown on media critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On March 24, dozens of prominent writers published an open letter to PM Ahmet Davutoglu, urging the government to drop the charges against the Cumhuriyet journalists.
“We believe that Can Dundar and Erdem Gul are facing life in prison simply for carrying out their legitimate work as journalists,” they said.
The letter also voiced concern over the “increasing climate of fear and censorship and the stifling of critical voices in Turkey”.
Zaman newspaper is closely linked to the Hizmet movement of influential US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
The government says Hizmet is a “terrorist” group aiming to overthrow Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Fethullah Gulen was once an ally of Recep Tayyip Erdogan but is now seen by the Turkish President as a threat to his authority.
