Belgian authorities raised the terror alert to the highest level for Brussels and shut the city’s metro system as they warned of a “serious and imminent threat.”
“We have precise information that outlines the risk of an attack similar to the one that unfolded in Paris,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told a press conference yesterday morning in Brussels. “It is a threat based on the theory that it would take place with arms and explosives, maybe even in several places and at the same time.”
People in Brussels should “avoid places where a lot of people come together like concerts, major events, train stations and airports, public transport,” the country’s OCAM national crisis center said on its Web site.
Photo: Reuters
Brussels already canceled a soccer match on Tuesday between the national team and Spain because of security concerns.
The Belgian capital, which houses most of the institutions of the EU, has been on alert since it emerged that at least three of the extremists involved in the attacks in Paris had been living in the city. Salah Abdeslam, the brother of one of the suicide bombers, is still at large.
Authorities late on Friday raised the terror alert for the Brussels region to 4, or “very serious.” The rest of the country remains at level 3. They advised the cancellation of Belgium’s league soccer games yesterday and bolstered the numbers of on-duty police and soldiers.
Photo: Reuters
The Brussels metro is to remain closed until at least this afternoon, Michel said, following a meeting of the national security council. The council is to meet again today to decide on the next steps.
Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders said security information indicated that “the threat is precise and imminent,” according to Belga newswire. “We are going to see what steps need to be taken and what we can communicate without disturbing the investigation.”
Belgian prosecutors on Friday charged a third suspect with involvement in the Friday attacks in Paris, following raids in Brussels on Thursday. The three, whose identities have not been disclosed, are being held on terrorism charges, prosecutors said.
The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Society (STIB), which runs public transit in the city, said in a statement on its Web site that it had closed the metro network following advice from the Interior Ministry.
“STIB will decide in consultation with the competent authorities and the police on a day-to-day basis if the stations should re-open,” the company said.
The company said the measures would also affect some trams.
Brussels’ historic main square, the Grand Place, was evacuated Friday morning along with several schools in Belgium as terror scares took hold and police continued their investigations.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS