Tag: Belgium

Ecuador court orders arrest of Brussels-based ex-president Correa

QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) – An Ecuadoran court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of Brussels-based former president Rafael Correa over alleged links to the kidnapping of an opponent in Colombia. The National Court of Justice said Judge Daniella Camacho “resolves to impose preventive detention” against Correa and has alerted Interpol. Correa, president from 2007-2017, was one of the feistiest characters in Latin American politics. He now lives in his wife’s native Belgium, but is under investigation […]

Gunman with Islamist links kills three in Belgian city

by Marine LAOUCHEZ with Matthieu DEMEESTERE in Brussels Agence France Presse LIEGE, Belgium (AFP) — A gunman on a police watchlist for contacts with Islamist extremists launched a brazen suspected terror attack in Belgium on Tuesday, shooting dead two female police officers with their own weapons before killing a bystander. The bloodshed in the gritty eastern industrial city of Liege began around 10:30 am (0830 GMT) when the attacker armed with a knife repeatedly stabbed […]

Tears, panic as gunfire erupts near Belgian school

by Marine LAOUCHEZ Agence France Presse LIEGE, Belgium (AFP) — It was late morning and the children were playing football in the schoolyard when they heard the bang-bang of gunshots in the street. Outside, though they could not see it, Belgium’s latest deadly attack was under way in the medieval city of Liege. A man in black had chased two policewomen along a boulevard, stabbed them, taken their guns — which they were now using […]

Abdeslam: from pot-smoking delinquent to key terror suspect

by Mehdi Cherifia and Clare Byrne Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – In the Brussels neighborhood where he lived until his capture, Salah Abdeslam was known as a pot-smoking petty criminal whose former lawyer described him as having “the intelligence of an empty ashtray.” But the sole survivor of the jihadist team that wrought carnage in Paris in November 2015 — who goes on trial in Belgium on Monday over the shootout — remains something of an […]

In Belgium for ‘safety’, axed Catalan leader is summoned to Spain court

by Marine Laouchez with Daniel Silva in Madrid Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Spain’s top criminal court on Tuesday summoned Catalonia’s axed separatist leader for questioning, hours after he appeared in Brussels insisting he remained the “legitimate president” of a region now under direct rule from Madrid. The National Audience in Madrid, which deals with major criminal cases, summoned Carles Puigdemont and 13 other former members of his administration, dismissed by Spain’s central government last week, […]

Catalonia’s ex-leader seeking legal advice in Belgium

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Carles Puigdemont, who was removed from office as Catalonia’s president last week by Madrid’s central government, spoke with a lawyer in Belgium on Monday as Spanish prosecutors sought rebellion charges against the region’s separatist leaders. But Paul Bekaert, who specializes in asylum issues, said “Puigdemont is not in Belgium to request asylum,” only to prepare a legal riposte to any eventual moves by Madrid. “On this matter (asylum) nothing has yet been decided,” […]

Trump team ‘dispels’ EU doubts on data protection deal

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – US President Donald Trump’s administration has “dispelled” doubts over whether it will stand by a hard-won personal data protection accord with Europe struck during Barack Obama’s presidency, the EU said Wednesday. But Brussels said it still wanted Washington to improve on a deal to protect European personal data transferred to the US by internet giants like Google and Facebook. Last year’s deal replaced a previous arrangement struck down by the bloc’s top court, […]

Thousands form human chain to protest against Belgium’s nuclear reactors

VISE, Belgium (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters formed a human chain on Sunday (June 25) to demand the closure of two Belgian nuclear reactors, Tihange and Doel. Organisers said they were aiming to form a chain between Tihange reactor in Belgium to Aachen in Germany, and said some 50,000 people attended the chain, less than the 60,000 they said were needed to cover the 90 kilometres between the two cities. The core tanks at the […]

Brussels bomber was Moroccan national aged 36: prosecutor

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Belgian authorities on Wednesday identified the bomber killed by soldiers in a busy Brussels rail station as a 36-year-old Moroccan national. “The assailant has been identified as O.Z., born 20 January 1981 and of Moroccan nationality,” spokesperson Eric Van Der Sypt said at a press conference after Tuesday’s attack. “He was not known to the authorities for any terrorism connection,” Van Der Sypt said, declining to give the man’s full name […]

Brussels station bomber identified

by Lachlan Carmichael Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – Belgian security forces have identified the man who set off an explosion at one of Brussels’ busiest train stations before he was shot and killed, in the latest attack to hit Europe, authorities said Wednesday. Interior Minister Jan Jambon said the attack Tuesday evening could have been much worse because the “big explosion did not happen,” adding more details about the device would be released shortly. Witnesses said […]

Soldiers shoot attacker in Brussels ‘terrorist’ blast

by Clément Zampa / Alex Pigman Agence France Presse Belgian soldiers shot a terror suspect after an explosion rocked the central train station in Brussels on Tuesday in the latest attack to hit Europe. Witnesses said the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) before causing the blast, with local media saying the individual had activated an explosive belt. Authorities reported no casualties, apart from the attacker who was killed in the confrontation. Crying passengers […]

EU says Brexit negotiations will start after British election

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Union’s “real political” negotiations on Britain’s exit from the bloc will start after the snap British election in June, an EU spokesperson said Wednesday. “The real political negotiations on article 50 with the (United Kingdom) will start after the elections foreseen for the 8th of June,” European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas told a press conference.