Belgian authorities have detained two more suspects in connection with the November 13 Paris attacks.
One man was held on November 29 at an airport in Brussels trying to leave for Morocco, prosecutors said. Another was held the same day in Brussels’ Molenbeek area.
This brings the number of people detained in Belgium to eight.
Attackers armed with automatic rifles and suicide belts killed 130 people at a number of sites in Paris. Some of the attackers had lived in Belgium.
Belgian prosecutors said a 20-year-old Frenchman, listed as Samir Z, had been stopped at Zaventem airport, north-west of Brussels, preparing to board a flight to Morocco in the early hours of Sunday.
They said he was “considered to be part of the entourage of Bilal Hadfi”.
Bilal Hadfi was said to have blown himself up in a street after failing to get into the Stade de France at the soccer match between France and Germany on November 13.
Prosecutors said Samir Z was “under the suspicion of having attempted to leave for Syria at least twice in 2015”.
The second arrest was at dawn on Sunday, November 29. A Belgian national listed as Pierre N and born in 1987 was detained in his home in Molenbeek.
Both were placed in custody “on grounds of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization”, the prosecutors’ statement said.
They have appeared before a court, which has extended their detention.
Since the attacks, Belgian authorities have carried out a series of raids searching for key suspects believed to have lived in the Molenbeek area.
A fourth suspect has been charged in Belgium with terrorism offences related to November 13 deadly attacks on Paris, the federal prosecutor said.
The unnamed man was one of 16 people arrested in raids on November 22. The rest have been released without charge.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said he would maintain the highest security threat level in Brussels, warning of an imminent threat.
However, authorities plan to reopen schools and the metro on November 25.
The multiple attacks in Paris – claimed by ISIS – left 130 people dead.
A statement from the federal prosecutor’s office said the man had been charged with “participating in activities of a terrorist group and with [a] terrorist attack”.
Of a further five people arrested on November 23, two have been released, while “further enquiries” are under way regarding the others, the prosecutor said.
Mohammed Amri, 27, and Hamza Attou, 20, have already been charged with aiding Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam, who remains at large. A third, unnamed suspect has also been charged.
In a separate development, French police said an object that appeared to be an explosives belt was found in a bin in the Paris suburb of Montrouge on November 23. The item is being examined.
Photo Getty Images
Mobile phone data suggest that Salah Abdeslam – whose brother died in the attacks – was in that area late on the night of the attack.
Universities, schools, large stores, shopping centers and the metro system were closed in Brussels on Monday as the highest security alert remained in place for a third day.
Armed police patrolled the normally bustling streets of the capital.
Announcing that the state of alert would remain at level four for another week, Charles Michel stressed “we must all progressively get back to a normal life”.
The rest of Belgium remains on alert level three, meaning an attack is seen as possible and credible.
France has stepped up security in schools, imposing a series of measures including compulsory safety drills and banning parking outside school premises.
Also on November 23, France carried out its first strikes against ISIS from its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, newly deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.
French jets bombed ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria, including Raqqa, ISIS’ key Syrian stronghold, the defense ministry said.
According to French officials, a total of 23 people have been arrested and dozens of weapons seized in a series of raids on suspected Islamist militants across France following last week’s attacks in Paris.
A police operation is also reportedly under way in Brussels, Belgium, with reports that one suspect was arrested.
France’s PM Manuel Valls said the attacks were organized from Syria.
He added that the authorities believed new terror attacks were being planned in France and other European countries.
Meanwhile two more Paris attackers were named, along with five already identified. One is confirmed to have entered Greece as a migrant earlier this year.
France is to hold a nationwide minute of silence at midday local time for the victims.
Police have named Brussels-born Salah Abdeslam, 26, as a key suspect, and a manhunt is under way. He was reportedly stopped by officers in the wake of the attacks but then let go.
Meanwhile, French aircraft have attacked Raqqa, the ISIS stronghold in Syria.
ISIS has said it carried out the attacks in the French capital.
Manuel Valls said that France was dealing with a “terrorist army”, rather than a single terrorist group.
“We know that operations were being prepared and are still being prepared, not only against France but other European countries too,” he said.
Manuel Valls said more than 150 raids on militant targets had been carried out in different areas of France on November 16.
Photo AP
“We are making use of the legal framework of the state of emergency to question people who are part of the radical jihadist movement… and all those who advocate hate of the republic,” he said.
Police sources told news agencies that properties in the Paris suburb of Bobigny, as well as the cities of Grenoble, Toulouse and Lyon, had been targeted.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 23 people were arrested and dozens of weapons seized, including a Kalashnikov assault rifle and rocket launchers. More than 100 have been placed under house arrest.
Seven attackers died in the assault on the French capital, most of them after detonating suicide belts.
Five were identified over the weekend.
On November 16, another two were named by the Paris prosecutor as Ahmad al-Mohammad and Samy Amimour.
Ahmad Al-Mohammad is the name on a Syrian passport found with the remains of one of the attackers, though the man’s identity has not yet been verified. What has been confirmed is that his fingerprints match those taken by the Greek authorities after he arrived with migrants on the island of Leros in October 2015.
Samy Amimour was said to be facing terrorism charges in France. He was placed under judicial supervision while under investigation for terrorist conspiracy – he planned to go to Yemen. An international arrest warrant was issued against him when he broke bail in autumn 2013. Three of his relatives were among those detained this morning.
One of the main lines of investigation concerns Molenbeek, which has a reputation as being a haven for jihadists. One of Salah Abdeslam’s brothers, Mohammed, was reportedly arrested there when he returned from Paris.
He remains in custody. Belgian police say they have made a total of seven arrests.
Belgium’s PM Charles Michel said the Belgian authorities would crack down on Molenbeek.
France is currently marking a second day of national mourning. A state of emergency declared by President Francois Hollande remains in force. Thousands of extra police and troops are on the streets of Paris.
Belgium has unblocked frozen Russian state accounts, Belgium’s foreign minister says.
The assets were seized in a move triggered by a court ruling over the now-defunct Yukos oil company.
In July 2014, an international arbitration court said Russian officials had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos.
Yukos was then taken over by a Russian state company.
The company’s former boss, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was also jailed.
In 2014, a court told Russia to pay Yukos shareholders $50 billion in compensation, after Yukos’s break-up.
But Russia does not acknowledge the court’s findings, leading former Yukos shareholders to get Russian state assets frozen.
Responding to the asset seizure, President Vladimir Putin said he would “defend our interests by the route of justice”.
Belgium’s ambassador to Moscow was summoned to the Kremlin, and told the asset seizure was “an openly hostile act” that “crudely violates the recognized norms of international law”.
While visiting China, Belgium’s Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said: “A solution has been found to unblock as a priority accounts for the running of the embassies, and the rest will follow.”
France also seized Russian state accounts in about 40 banks, along with several buildings.
It is not known if those assets will also be unblocked.
On June 19, Mikhail Khodorkovsky – who was freed in 2013 – said the seizure of Russian assets was “a signal that theft will not escape punishment, no matter how all-powerful the thief was”.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky has not responded to Belgium’s decision to unfreeze the assets.
Russia has protested over the seizure of the Russian state assets in Belgium, a move triggered by a court ruling over the now-defunct Yukos oil company.
The Belgian ambassador to Moscow was told that the asset seizure was “an openly hostile act” that “crudely violates the recognized norms of international law”.
In 2014, a court told Russia to pay Yukos shareholders $50 billion in compensation, after Yukos’s break-up.
A Russian state company took over Yukos.
In July 2014, an international arbitration court in The Hague said Russian officials had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos, and jail its boss, the oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
France has also seized Russian state accounts in about 40 banks, along with eight or nine buildings, AFP news agency reports.
In a statement on Facebook, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent 10 years in detention in Russia, expressed joy at the asset seizures.
“I am not a beneficiary in this process as the partners redeemed my share back in 2004. But this does not prevent me from sincerely rejoicing, as a Russian citizen, at what is happening now.
“This is a symbolic moment for our country,” Mikhail Khodorkovsky said, calling it “a signal that theft will not escape punishment, no matter how all-powerful the thief was”.
According to a Russian foreign ministry statement, Russia demanded that Belgium reverse its asset seizure. If no such action was taken, Russia warned, it would consider “appropriate reciprocal measures” against the Belgian embassy and unnamed Belgian officials.
Earlier, Russia’s Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev ruled out any compensation for Yukos shareholders. Their interests are now represented by a Gibraltar-registered holding company, GML.
Russia is appealing against the court ruling of last July, Alexei Ulyukayev said.
The asset seizures in Belgium and France also affect Russian media, including TASS news agency and state broadcaster VGTRK, Russian media report.
GML manager Tim Osborne was quoted in French media as saying similar legal action was being taken against Russian state assets in the UK and US.
Belgium is on high alert after Verviers anti-terror raid in which two suspected Islamist militants were killed.
The suspects were shot dead after they opened fire on police with automatic weapons on Janaury 15.
Officials say they had returned from Syria and planned imminent attacks on police targets. Another suspect was wounded before being arrested.
Searches were also carried out overnight in the Brussels area.
Speaking after yesterday’s raid in Verviers, near the German border, Prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt said the terror threat level had been raised to three – the second highest.
Referring to the raid itself, he said: “The suspects immediately and for several minutes opened fire with military weaponry and handguns on the special units of the federal police before they were neutralized.”
After the operation, four Kalashnikovs, bomb-making equipment and police clothing were found, according to local media. Security forces remain in the Verviers area.
Police are expected to provide more details at a briefing on January 16.
“Operations on the ground are now over. We are now exploiting the information [from the overnight anti-terror operations],” Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders told French TV station iTele.
Photo AP
Some Jewish schools in Antwerp and Brussels were closed on January 16, after they were informed that they could be potential targets, Belgian newspaper Joods Actueel reported.
Anti-terror raids also took place late on Thursday in the capital Brussels and surrounding towns, including Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Anderlecht and Schaerbeek.
Earlier that day, two suspected Islamists were arrested in the Brussels suburb of Zaventem, Belgian media reported.
Belgian officials say more than 300 people have left Belgium to fight with Islamic militant groups in Syria and Iraq.
Belgium is thought to have the highest number of foreign fighters per capita in Europe who have taken part in fighting in Syria.
Prosecutors said the suspects in Verviers were believed to have been plotting to attack a police station and cause a large number of casualties.
The area around the train station remains sealed off.
Belgian PM Charles Michel said the security operation “shows the government’s determination to fight those who want to spread terror”, his spokesman said.
Verviers is in the province of Liege, close to the German border, and has a population of about 56,000.
The incident comes a week after attacks in neighboring France that killed 17 people. Belgian media has reported that some of the weapons used in those attacks were bought in Brussels.
Two died in an anti-terror operation in Verviers, eastern Belgium, local officials say.
A third person was wounded in the raid, according to Belgian TV. Several arrests were made.
A source in the mayor’s office told AFP news agency that “an operation is under way”. Another official said the raid was “jihadist-related”.
Unconfirmed reports said raids were also taking place in Brussels and elsewhere in Belgium.
In Verviers, witnesses reported hearing heavy gunfire for several minutes and at least three explosions.
The area around the train station has been cordoned off and reports on social media say there is a heavy police presence in the town centre.
Media reports suggested those targeted were suspected jihadists who had returned from Syria.
Verviers is in the province of Liege and has a population of about 56,000.
The incident comes a week after attacks in neighboring France that killed 17 people.
Belgian media has reported that some of the weapons used in the attacks in Paris were bought near the Midi train station in Brussels.
The attacks – on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, a kosher market and a police officer – have heightened security fears in several European countries.
Four gunmen have entered a flat in the Belgian city of Ghent and police have sealed off the surrounding area.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that the four had taken a man hostage and police urged residents to remain indoors for their own safety.
The gunmen burst into the flat in the Dampoort area of the city, in northern Belgium.
“They’re in the building but it’s not clear what’s going on inside,” a police spokesman said.
Photo AP
The head of Ghent police Filip Rasschaert told De Standaard website that they were carrying out the operation carefully because of the potential involvement of a hostage.
Federal authorities were now in control of the siege, he said.
“They have all they need to bring a successful end to a hostage-taking,” he said.
Belgian TV said that another siege had taken place in Ghent in October, involving a man implicated in an earlier hostage-taking. That incident involved an unpaid debt, it reported.
HSBC Private Bank’s Brussels branch is being accused of helping wealthy Belgians to avoid taxes.
Belgian prosecutors allege that hundreds of clients – including diamond dealers in Antwerp – moved money to offshore tax havens with the help of the bank.
They said it resulted in hundreds of millions of euros in lost tax revenue.
In August, HSBC warned that the penalties in relation to such allegations “could be significant”.
In a statement, Belgian authorities accused HSBC of “having knowingly eased and promoted fiscal fraud by making offshore companies available to certain privileged clients”.
These companies, which are based in Panama and the Virgin Islands, exist for the sole purpose of tax evasion, they added.
Over 1,000 taxpayers are alleged to have been involved in the fraud, which saw funds amounting to several billion dollars transferred out of Belgium since 2003.
Responding to the announcement by Belgian authorities, HSBC said it had been notified of the investigation, and of a similar investigation by French authorities, and that the bank would “continue to cooperate to the fullest extent possible”.
Banks operating in Switzerland are bound by the European Union Savings Directive to counter cross-border tax evasion, by collecting information on the savings income foreign residents receive outside their resident state.
Belgian authorities also published emails and other correspondence between HSBC and Belgian clients, which appear to show the bank offering tax evasion services.
Prosecutor Michel Claise accused HSBC of “fraud, money laundering, criminal association and illegal exercise of the profession of financial intermediary”.
In October, Belgian police raided the homes of approximately 20 people with private bank accounts at HSBC’s Swiss subsidiary, to gather evidence against the lender.
HSBC has been subject to a series of fines for misconduct in recent years, most recently in relation the manipulation of foreign currency exchange rates.
World leaders and royals have gathered for ceremonies marking 100 years since Britain joined World War One.
Prince Charles and UK’s PM David Cameron attended a service in Glasgow, while Prince William and Kate Middleton are in Belgium with many heads of state.
At the Liege ceremony, Prince William paid tribute to the soldiers who “died to give us our freedom”.
The day concludes with a candle-lit vigil at Westminster Abbey and a “lights out” event around the UK.
The public can join the switch-off ending at 23:00 – the time Britain declared war on Germany in 1914.
World leaders and royals have gathered for ceremonies marking 100 years since Britain joined World War One
About 17 million soldiers and civilians were killed between 1914 and 1918.
The day’s events began in Liege, Belgium, where 50 heads of state gathered for a service to mark the invasion of Belgium.
French President Francois Hollande said Belgium had been the first battleground of WWI and had offered “solid resistance” in Liege.
Speaking to the gathered European leaders, Prince William said: “We were enemies more than once in the last century and today we are friends and allies.
“We salute those who died to give us our freedom. We will remember them.”
Prince Harry unveiled a memorial arch in Folkestone, Kent – where a parade followed the route taken by millions of soldiers who marched to the harbor to begin their voyage to France in WWI.
France has extradited Mehdi Nemmouche, the man suspected of shooting dead four people at Brussels’ Jewish Museum, to Belgium.
A spokeswoman for the Belgian police told AFP that Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, arrived in Brussels on Tuesday and was being interrogated.
Four people were fatally shot in the attack on May 24, in broad daylight in the heart of the Belgian capital.
Mehdi Nemmouche, who is of Franco-Algerian origin, is said to have spent a year fighting with Islamists in Syria.
Mehdi Nemmouche, who is of Franco-Algerian origin, is said to have spent a year fighting with Islamists in Syria (photo FranceTV)
His lawyer appealed against the extradition, saying it failed to guarantee that he would not be sent to “a third country,” but France’s final appeals court rejected the complaint last week.
Mehdi Nemmouche was said to fear that once he was sent to Belgium, he would be extradited to Israel.
Two of the victims of the May 24 attack were Israeli tourists. A French female volunteer at the museum and a Belgian employee were also killed.
Mehdi Nemmouche is from Roubaix near the border with Belgium and was arrested in Marseille, during a routine customs check as he arrived on a coach from Amsterdam a few days after the shootings.
Police said he was carrying a Kalashnikov rifle and a handgun matching those used in the attack.
Prosecutors said that after spending a year in Syria he had returned to Europe, flying to Germany in March.
Belgium sought Mehdi Nemmouche’s extradition under a European arrest warrant, which fast-tracks the legal process.
President Barack Obama has praised the efforts of the US soccer team in the World Cup in a phone call to two of its star players.
President Barack Obama calling Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard in São Paulo
Despite the US being eliminated from Brazil’s tournament by Belgium, Barack Obama told goalkeeper Tim Howard and team captain Clint Dempsey they had made the nation proud.
“To see the way you guys captured the hearts and the imaginations of the whole country is unbelievable.”
Millions of Americans stopped work early on Tuesday to watch US soccer team getting edged out of the World Cup by Belgium in a thrilling match in Brazil.
After a string of fine saves from US goalie Tim Howard, Belgium went 2-0 ahead in extra-time. The US then pulled one back to set up a pulsating finale.
Thousands packed public viewing areas across the country, despite a kick-off time of 16:00 EST.
Afterwards, the 2-1 defeat was hailed by many as the best game so far.
Millions of Americans stopped work early on Tuesday to watch US soccer team getting edged out of the World Cup by Belgium
Leaving Soldier’s Field in Chicago, where nearly 30,000 people watched the drama unfold on big screens, fans said they were “heartbroken” but proud of how the team had played.
It was a magnificent defensive effort, as Belgium launched wave after wave of attacks in the second half but each one foundered as American bodies – most often Howard’s – were flung in the way.
As many as 14 million workers were predicted to down tools to watch Tuesday’s game, costing the US economy more than $600 million in lost labor productivity, according to an estimate by Yahoo Finance.
Even President Barack Obama told reporters he had arranged his schedule around the match.
“I thought I’d get the cabinet together this morning, because we all know that America will be busy this afternoon. Go team USA,” the president said.
Large viewing parties were held across the US, including in Chicago, Kansas City and Washington DC.
At Freedom Plaza in Washington, the city government was hosting a viewing party, where viewers grabbed a spot on the stone plaza in the blistering heat hours before the match.
Team USA’s success in progressing through the so-called Group of Death had driven a wave of enthusiasm for soccer, which typically lags far behind American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey in popularity.
Even in Texas, traditionally American football country, soccer has taken a hold.
But not everyone will be tuning in. Despite the increased viewing figures, an NBC News poll suggests six in 10 Americans have very little interest or no interest at all in the World Cup. Only 22% had a “great deal” or “quite a bit” of interest.
The US and Belgium had not played each other in the World Cup since the first tournament in 1930, where the Americans won 3-0.
Millions of soccer fans in America have stopped work early to watch team USA playing Belgium for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals in Brazil.
The match kicked off at 16:00 on the US east coast, so offices have emptied a little early.
Big screens have been erected in public viewing areas across the country, including at Chicago’s American football stadium.
An estimated 20 million Americans watched the US-Germany game last week.
This time, as many as 14 million workers could down tools to watch Tuesday’s game, costing the US economy more than $600 million in lost labor productivity, according to an estimate by Yahoo Finance.
Millions of soccer fans in America have stopped work early to watch team USA playing Belgium for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals in Brazil
Even President Barack Obama told reporters he had arranged his schedule around the match.
“I thought I’d get the cabinet together this morning, because we all know that America will be busy this afternoon. Go team USA,” he said.
Large viewing parties are planned across the US, including in Chicago, Kansas City and Washington DC.
At Freedom Plaza in Washington, the city government was hosting a viewing party, where viewers grabbed a spot on the stone plaza in the blistering heat hours before the match.
But not everyone will be tuning in. Despite the increased viewing figures, an NBC News poll suggests six in 10 Americans have very little interest or no interest at all in the World Cup. Only 22% had a “great deal” or “quite a bit” of interest.
Team USA’s success thus far – defeating Ghana and drawing Portugal to slip out of the group stage into the last 16 – has driven a wave of enthusiasm for football, which typically lags far behind American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey in popularity.
The US and Belgium have not played each other in the World Cup since the first tournament in 1930, where the Americans won 3-0.
“I’m sure if we play to the best of our ability, we’ll get a positive result,” US captain Clint Dempsey said.
“For some of the guys, it’s the last opportunity, so we have to make the most of it.”
Speaking after the US lost 1-0 to Germany on Thursday, US coach Jurgen Klinsmann said: “We will work … to shift our entire game up forward. So that will put more pressure on the opponents and create more chances.”
The Belgian parliament has passed a bill allowing euthanasia for terminally ill children without any age limit, by 86 votes to 44, with 12 abstentions.
When, as expected, the bill is signed by the king, Belgium will become the first country in the world to remove any age limit on the practice.
It may be requested by terminally ill children who are in great pain and who have no treatment available.
Opponents argue children cannot make such a difficult decision.
In the Netherlands, Belgium’s northern neighbour, euthanasia is legal for children over the age of 12, if there is parental consent.
Under the Dutch conditions, a patient’s request for euthanasia can be fulfilled by a doctor if the request is “voluntary and well-considered” and the patient is suffering unbearably, with no prospect of improvement.
Belgium passed a law decriminalising euthanasia for terminally ill people over the age of 18 in 2002.
Belgium parliament has passed a bill allowing euthanasia for terminally ill children without any age limit
Supporters of the legislation argue that in practice the law will affect an extremely small number of children, who would probably be in their teens.
The law states a child will have to be terminally ill, face “unbearable physical suffering” and make repeated requests to die – before euthanasia is considered.
Parents, doctors and psychiatrists would have to agree before a decision is made.
Protesters have lobbied politicians against the changes. Church leaders argued the law is immoral.
Some paediatricians have warned vulnerable children could be put at risk and have questioned whether a child can really be expected to make such a difficult choice.
But opinion polls have suggested broad support in Belgium for the changes.
A small tourist plane crashed near the city of Namur in south-east Belgium killing at least 10 people.
The plane was carrying a group of skydivers and crashed shortly after take-off, killing all on board, the local mayor has told the AFP news agency.
The plane was carrying a group of skydivers and crashed shortly after take-off, killing all on board
The aicraft is thought to have taken off from the Temploux aerodrome and crashed around 10 minutes later in a field.
Its wing appears to have suffered some damage, Belgian media report.
The small plane came down near the village of Marchovelette, 6 miles from Namur.
“I just saw a plane lose its right wing in mid-flight and crash. I heard a massive ‘bang’ towards the south of Marchovelette,” one witness told Belgian television.
“I didn’t see anyone escape with a parachute,” the witness added.
Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium has been sworn in as the new king after the emotional abdication of his father Albert II.
Prince Philippe, an Oxford- and Stanford-educated and trained air force pilot, took the oath as the country’s seventh king in a ceremony in parliament.
To warm applause, King Philippe, 53, promised to uphold the constitution.
Belgium has a constitutional monarchy in which the king plays a largely ceremonial role.
One of the duties the monarch does have is trying to resolve constitutional crises.
In his final address before signing a legislative act to step down, 79-year-old King Albert said his country must remain a “source of inspiration” to Europe.
His resignation on the grounds of ill-health came after nearly 20 years on the throne and was timed to coincide with Belgium’s national day.
He stressed his wish that Belgium – split between the Dutch-speaking north and the French south – remained united.
In a colorful ceremony topped off by trumpet fanfare and cannon-fire, Philippe took his oath in the country’s three official languages – Dutch, French and German.
Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium has been sworn in as the new king after the emotional abdication of his father Albert II
This was a reminder of the delicate political task that awaits him – trying to mediate across the divide between French-speaking Wallonia and Dutch-speaking Flanders, where support for independence has been rising fast.
Flag-waving supporters gathered in the midday sun waiting for their new king and his wife, Mathilde, to greet them from the balcony of the nearby royal palace.
“The new king is a bit of history,” said Xavier De Graef, draped in the red, yellow and black of the Belgian tricolor.
“That doesn’t happen very often so we wanted to be here,” Xavier De Graef, from French-speaking Liege, told Reuters news agency.
But not everyone was celebrating.
The far-right separatist Vlaams Belang party boycotted the swearing-in ceremony.
Meanwhile, Jan Jambon, parliamentary head of the N-VA party that wants Dutch-speaking Flanders to break away from Belgium and favors a republic, said the occasion “leaves me cold”.
In the abdication ceremony at the royal palace in Brussels, King Albert monarch told his son: “You have all the emotional and intellectual qualities to serve our country well.”
He thanked an audience of some 250 dignitaries and political leaders “for all that you have achieved during my reign”.
Ex-king Albert also thanked his wife, Paola, for the support she had given him during his reign, and was in turn thanked by PM Elio Di Rupo for his service to his country.
Elio Di Rupo holds the political power in the 183-year-old parliamentary democracy.
Albert II then embraced his son and signed the official abdication papers, ending his reign.
King Albert exercised his authority in mediating between political leaders on the formation of a government during the 2010-2011 parliamentary stalemate, when Belgium was left without a government for 541 days after elections failed to find a clear winner.
Tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French communities sometimes run high, and the issue has brought down several governments, creating frequent political instability.
Respect for the royal family, though, is one of the few factors that crosses the communal divide.
King Albert’s abdication comes only three months after Queen Beatrix of the neighboring Netherlands vacated the Dutch throne in favor of her son Willem-Alexander.
King Albert II of the Belgians has announced his abdication.
In a national televised address, King Albert, 79, said he would step down in favor of his son Crown Prince Philippe, 53, on July 21st, Belgium’s national day.
The monarch said his health was no longer good enough to fulfill his duties, and he would step down after nearly 20 years on the throne.
He is the first of Belgium’s line of six monarchs to abdicate.
“I realize that my age and my health are no longer allowing me to carry out my duties as I would like to,” King Albert said.
“Prince Philippe is well prepared to succeed me.”
King Albert met the Belgian government’s cabinet earlier on Wednesday to inform them of his decision, Belgian state TV reported.
King Albert II of the Belgians has announced his abdication
King Albert was sworn in as the sixth king of the Belgians on 9 August 1993, following the death of his brother, King Baudouin at the age of 62.
After he succeeded his brother, King Albert became embroiled in a major royal scandal when he was alleged to be the father of an out-of-wedlock daughter, Delphine Boel, and suffered a crisis in his marriage with Queen Paola.
That issue came to the fore again this spring when Delphine Boel opened court proceedings to prove she was the king’s daughter. There is some speculation in the media that this may have influenced his decision to abdicate.
Belgium has a constitutional monarchy in which the king plays a largely ceremonial role.
One of the duties the monarch does have is trying to resolve constitutional crises.
King Albert exercised his authority in mediating between political leaders on the formation of a government during the 2010-2011 parliamentary stalemate, when Belgium was left without a government for 541 days after elections failed to find a clear winner.
Tensions between the two main language communities of Flemish and French sometimes run high, and the issue has brought down several governments, creating frequent political instability.
Respect for the royal family, though, is one of the few factors that cross the communal divide.
King Albert’s announcement comes only three months after Queen Beatrix of the neighboring Netherlands vacated the Dutch throne in favor of her son Willem-Alexander.
Two people died and other 14 were injured after a train carrying toxic, flammable chemicals derailed and caused a major fire near the Belgian city of Ghent.
The train was travelling from the Netherlands to Ghent’s seaport when it derailed as it changed tracks between the towns of Schellebelle and Wetteren at about 02.00 a.m.
Six of the train’s 13 cars derailed and three caught fire, setting off a series of explosions.
Two people died and other 14 were injured after a train carrying toxic, flammable chemicals derailed and caused a major fire near the Belgian city of Ghent
It is unclear how the two people died.
More than 300 people were evacuated from the area.
Local official Jan Briers said: “Everything is well organized, I think, and right now, there is no reason to increase the safety zone.”
The fire was brought under control later on Saturday morning but residents were advised to keep their doors and windows closed.
The commander of the Ghent fire brigade, Christian van de Voorde, said the best way to limit the spread of toxic chemicals had been to let the fire burn out.
Belgium is holding a day of national mourning by coming to a standstill for a minute’s silence at 11:00 a.m. and with flags being flown at half mast to remember the 28 victims of the Switzerland coach crash.
After the minute’s silence, church bells rang out.
Two planes carrying the bodies of those killed have landed at Melsbroek military airport in Belgium.
The C130 planes left Switzerland following a memorial ceremony.
Twenty-two of those killed when the coach struck the wall of a tunnel on the way back from a school skiing trip were children.
Eight of the injured children were flown home on Thursday, but many survivors are still in hospital.
It has emerged that one of the victims was an 11-year-old British boy who had been a pupil at St. Lambertus School in Heverlee.
Sebastian Bowles’s parents Edward and Ann flew to Brussels on Thursday night after identifying their son’s body in Switzerland, a school spokesman confirmed.
The four most seriously injured children are being treated at hospitals in Lausanne and Bern.
Belgium is holding a day of national mourning to remember the 28 victims of the Switzerland coach crash
Family members of the dead children who had travelled to Switzerland visited the crash site on Thursday, some laying flowers in the tunnel.
They also faced the daunting task of identifying their children’s bodies.
Most of the victims of Tuesday night’s disaster were around 12 years old. In addition to the British boy, six of the dead children had Dutch nationality; the others were Belgian.
The authorities have refused to comment on suggestions in Swiss and Belgian media that the coach driver may have been changing a DVD at the time of the crash.
Swiss police spokesman Renato Kalbermatten said CCTV from the tunnel did not confirm the disk theory, which he described as “pure speculation at this stage”.
All the adults on board the coach were killed in the crash.
The group had spent a week skiing in Val d’Anniviers in the Swiss Alps and were travelling home on one of three buses hired by a Christian group. The other two coaches reached Belgium safely.
Those on board the bus that crashed were from the Stekske primary school in Lommel, near the Dutch border, and from St. Lambertus in Heverlee, near Leuven (Louvain).
A memorial service was held in Lommel on Thursday evening.
Police there said 2,500 people attended the service, at St Joseph’s Catholic church next to the school, AFP reports.
Rows of chairs were set up outside the church for residents to watch the service on a large screen.
A message of condolence from Pope Benedict XVI was read out.
A Vatican statement said the Pope was praying for the bereaved families and expressed his deepest sympathy for the injured and the emergency workers. He had conferred a special apostolic blessing on all affected by the tragedy.
Belgian police revealed that a real arsenal was uncovered during a raid of Liege killer Nordine Amrani’s home during October 2007, which includes two rocket launchers, hunting rifle and several other powerful rifles, ammunition, and what appears to be a flak jacket.
Nordine Amrani, 32, who on Tuesday murdered 5 people and wounded 125 others, also used his home in the city of Liege as a cannabis factory, with police finding more than 2,800 plants during the raid.
Wednesday, Nordine Amrani’s lawyer said he carried out the attack because he feared being sent to back to prison for a sex crime.
The gunman, a convicted criminal, who was due to marry his long-term girlfriend, used grenades and a semi-automatic rifle to cause carnage in the Belgian city before turning a revolver on himself.
Among his victims was a 45-year-old cleaning lady whom he shot dead near his home on Tuesday morning, as well as a 17-month old baby boy.
Defense lawyer Jean-Francois Dister said Nordine Amrani, a Belgian from a Moroccan background, was on parole and was due to answer a summons about allegedly “sexually molesting” a young woman.
Nordine Amrani is thought to have attacked the unnamed victim after driving alongside her in his van. Its number plate was captured by CCTV.
One of Nordine Amrani’s numerous previous convictions was for rape, for which he had been given a two-year suspended sentence in 2003.
If convicted again for a sex crime, he would have had to serve it.
This would have also meant his girlfriend, a nurse called Perrin Balon, finding out about the sex allegations against him.
Nordine Amrani, 32, who on Tuesday murdered 5 people and wounded 125 others, also used his home in the city of Liege as a cannabis factory, with police finding more than 2,800 plants during the raid
“He feared being returned to prison,” said Jean-Francois Dister.
“He called me twice on Monday afternoon and on Tuesday morning about it.
“What worried him most was to be jailed again. According to my client it was a set-up by people who wanted to harm him. Mr. Amrani had a grudge against the law.
“He thought he had been wrongfully convicted.”
After Tuesday’s attack, the bag Nordine Amrani used to carry his haul of weapons was found to still contain several loaded magazines, as well as a number of live grenades.
An enquiry has been launched into why he had not been under closer supervision while on bail after early release from a sentence of nearly five years.
Nordine Amrani’s weapons were confiscated because of his other criminal offences, yet he managed to obtain a FAL Belgian assault rifle, grenades and other weapons soon after his release in October 2010.
Belgian’s notoriously liberal criminal justice system is already facing questions as to why, in October 2010, the killer had been released from prison three years early after being convicted of firearms and drug offences.
In 2008, Nordine Amrani had been found guilty of keeping 10 complete firearms, and an astonishing 9,500 gun parts in his flat, along with 2,800 cannabis plants nearby.
On Tuesday morning, Nardine Amrani is thought to have tried to rape the woman cleaner in his flat, where police had found an arsenal of weapons including a rocket launcher, AK47 and Kalashnikov.
Police said he killed her “with a bullet to her head” and then dumped her body in a lock-up shed where he was growing cannabis plants.
Nordine Amrani then left money for Perrin Balon, with a note that said: “Good luck! I love you.”
A police source said: “The cleaner had been working in a neighbour’s home. It appears that Amrani had invited her into his own flat to discuss the possibility of cleaning his flat.
“There were signs of a struggle, and it may be that Amrani had tried to rape her.
“Whatever happened, she was undoubtedly his first murder victim on Tuesday morning.”
Cedric Visart Bocarme, the Belgian Attorney General, confirmed that the woman “would have been murdered by the killer just before he went to Place Saint-Lambert”.
The attack brought horror to Liege, the Belgium’s fifth largest city, with crowds of shoppers, many of them children, screaming and running in panic as grenades exploded and shots rang out.
Today, a small crowd gathered at the Place Saint-Lambert for a minute’s silence at 12noon, 24 hours after the shooting.
Abdelhadi Amrani, another lawyer who worked for the killer but is not related, said he had grown up in foster homes after being orphaned as a child.
“I remember a man deeply marked by the loss of his parents,” she said.
“He lost his father and mother very early. He was marked by fate.
“I would add he was a very smart boy, gifted.
“Nordine often spoke of his desire to start a family. He was to be married to a nurse in Liege.”
Commenting on Nordine Amrani’s background, Abdelhadi Amrani said: “He did not feel at all Moroccan. He did not speak a word of Arabic, and was not Muslim. What he said is that he felt like a Belgian.
“He was crazy about weapons, but as a collector.
“He felt he had not had much luck in life and felt unfairly treated by the courts.
“This was the fed-up cry of a tormented soul – he was estranged from justice, and against society.”
Nordine Amrani had been due to attend a police interview on Tuesday morning but never showed up.
Instead he left his apartment armed with a Belgian-made FN- FAL automatic rifle, a handgun and up to a dozen grenades carried in a backpack.
Nordine Amrani drove the five-minute journey from his 1930s apartment building the Residence Belvedere and parked his white van in Place St Lambert.
He walked on to a raised walkway above a bus stop where lunchtime shoppers were thronging for the opening of a Christmas market.
From his 15ft high vantage point he lobbed three hand grenades towards a busy bus shelter before opening fire on the crowd. A 15-year-old boy died instantly while the baby of 17 months and a 17-year-old boy succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
Five people are still fighting for their lives, including a 75-year old woman who was initially declared dead on arrival at hospital.
The death toll from yesterday’s grenade attack at a Christmas market in Liege, Belgium, rose to six, including the killer himself.
According to Belgian police, the body of a woman was found at an address used by the gunman Nordine Amrani.
Nordine Amrani, 32, was armed with grenades and an assault rifle when he attacked holiday shoppers at Place Saint-Lambert in Liege.
Attacker’s victims included two teenage boys aged 15 and 17, a 75-year-old woman and an 18-month-old baby, who died in hospital last night. A total of 122 were also wounded.
Prosecutor Cedric Visart de Bocarme told Belgian La Premiere radio station that the woman – a 45-year-old cleaner – had been found in a warehouse used by Nordine Amrani.
Cedric Visart de Bocarme said: “A search last night revealed in a warehouse used by the attacker, notably to grow cannabis, the body of a woman killed by the attacker.”
The death toll from yesterday's grenade attack at a Christmas market in Liege, Belgium, rose to six, including the killer himself
Nordine Amrani, who was previously jailed for possession of arms and drugs offences, hurled grenades and sprayed bullets into crowds of Christmas shoppers and children in Place Saint-Lambert.
The attack paralyzed the centre of Belgium’s fifth largest city, with workers trapped in offices as police sealed off the area. It is still unclear what drove Nordine Amrani to carry out the attack.
The shoppers, many of them children, ran screaming for safety in the panic as the gunman opened fire.
Men, women and children fled down the streets of the city centre – some still carrying shopping bags – as ambulances and police descended on the area.
Reports said Nordine Amrani used an FN FAL automatic rifle, a Belgian-made rifle capable of firing 700 rounds a minute, a pistol and threw three grenades in the attack.
In the initial chaos, reports said up to three men had taken part in the attack, but the Interior Ministry later confirmed only one was involved, adding the incident was not terrorism-related.
Nordine Amrani was on his way for police questioning when he attacked a crowd near a bus stop at Place Saint Lambert, a central shopping square which is the site of the city’s Christmas market and its main courthouse. It was not clear whether he committed suicide or died accidentally.
Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo expressed horror at the attack and travelled to the city. The nation’s King and Queen also arrived on the city this evening to visit survivors.
Interior Ministry official Peter Mertens said emergency medical teams were called in from as far away as the Netherlands.
The broadcaster Radio Television Belge Francophone said during the attack that all buses had been asked to leave the city centre and all shops in the area were closed, some with many customers stranded inside.
Police helicopters were flying over the city and a medical post has been set up in the courtyard of the palace of the Prince Bishops (the court house) located on the site.
Police were on the scene quickly and sealed off the square. TV images showed blood splattered across the cobblestones.
Place Saint-Lambert is a busy crossroads. Every day 1,800 buses serve the square, which leads to downtown shopping streets.
The Place Saint-Lambert and the nearby Place du Marche host Liege’s annual Christmas market which consists of 200 retail cabins and attracts some 1.5 million visitors a year.
Four people have been killed and at least 75 were injured during a grenade attack in a Christmas shopping area in Liege, Belgium.
The shoppers, many of them children, ran screaming for safety in the panic as the attacker Nordine Amrani opened fire.
The dead included a 15-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl, and a 75-year-old woman.
Nordine Amrani, 32, who was a convicted sex attacker and drug dealer, also died.
A two-year-old girl is in critical condition in hospital.
Men, women and children fled down the streets of Liege centre – some still carrying shopping bags – as ambulances and police descended on the area.
Four people have been killed and at least 75 were injured during a grenade attack in a Christmas shopping area in Liege, Belgium
Detectives said Nordine Amrani used a rifle, a pistol and grenades in the attack.
In the initial chaos, reports said up to three men had taken part in the attack, but the Interior Ministry later confirmed only one was involved, adding the incident was not terrorism-related.
Nordine Amrani was on his way for police questioning when he attacked a crowd near a bus stop at Place Saint Lambert, a central shopping square which is the site of the city’s Christmas market and its main courthouse. It was not clear whether he committed suicide or died accidentally.
Gaspard Grosjean, a journalist for local Liege newspaper La Meuse, ran over to the square just after the attack, shortly after 12:30 p.m.
“We saw people with bullet wounds in their shoulders, their hands,” the journalist said, adding that he had seen one dead body.
“I see people completely scared, people are crying, everyone is on their phones.”
Interior Ministry official Peter Mertens confirmed the attack in the city and said emergency medical teams were called in from as far away as the Netherlands.
The broadcaster Radio Television Belge Francophone said that all buses had been asked to leave the city centre and all shops in the area were closed, some with many customers stranded inside.
It said police helicopters were flying over the city and a medical post has been set up in the courtyard of the palace of the Prince Bishops (the court house) located on the site.
Police were on the scene quickly and sealed off the square. TV images showed blood splattered across the cobblestones.
Valerie Schaaps, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office in Brussels, confirmed there had been explosions and gunfire, causing injuries.
Place Saint-Lambert is a busy crossroads. Every day 1,800 buses serve the square, which leads to downtown shopping streets. The Place Saint-Lambert and the nearby Place du Marche host the Liege’s annual Christmas market which consists of 200 retail cabins and attracts some 1.5 million visitors a year.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]Belgian festival Pukkelpop 2011 deaths toll raised to five after a severe storm struck, knocking down screens and collapsing tents and stages, officials said on Friday.
Another eight festival attendees were seriously injured according to Hilde Claes, mayor of the eastern Belgian city of Hasselt, were festival have been held. The mayor also told Belgian television that some 65 people had more minor injuries.
Belgian Pukkelpop 2011 deaths toll raised to five.
[googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]About 65,000 mainly young people were attending Pukkelpop 2011 when the storm struck early in the evening. Many were sheltering in large festival tents, which were whipped away by the wind.
“The storm struck in an incredibly sudden way,” said Hilde Claes, who was there.
“It was a real whirlwind. I have never seen anything like it in Hasselt before.”
The three-day Pukkelpop 2011 was set to have featured rapper Eminem, Foo Fighters, 30 seconds to Mars and The Offspring among others.
According to a post on Pukkelpop 2011 official website, the organizers decided early on Friday to cancel the rest of the festival.
“Pukkelpop is in deep mourning. We truly sympathise with the families and friends of the victims.
Words are not enough. We have struggled with the decision to continue the festival. Therefore we have decided to cancel Pukkelpop 2011.
What has happened is very exceptional and could not have been predicted. We are deeply moved by… “
[youtube v3ol0S7dUWw]
[googlead tip=”vertical_mediu” aliniat=”stanga”] Pukkelpop is an annual music festival which takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium in mid-to-late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland – between a dual carriageway called Kempische Steenweg – in the village of Kiewit, approximately 7 km north of Hasselt. It is the second largest music festival in the country after Rock Werchter, with an attendance rate of 180,000 over the course of the event in 2009.
The programme is noted for its wide variety of alternative music, spanning styles such as rock, pop, electronic, dance, hip-hop, punk and heavy metal. The event’s organizers aim the festival to be a “progressive and contemporary” musical event. Notable acts that have performed at previous editions include Sonic Youth, The Mission, Ramones, Nirvana, The Sisters of Mercy, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Green Day, Guns N’ Roses, Pixies, Daft Punk, The Prodigy, Nine Inch Nails and Iron Maiden. The term “pukkel” is the Dutch word for “pimple”.
The Belgian tragedy comes just five days after another five people died when an outdoor concert stage collapsed in heavy winds at the Indiana State Fair in the United States.
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