Belgian special forces boarded the Ethera, which was sailing under the flag of Guinea, on Saturday night
Belgium has seized an oil tanker believed to form part of the so-called “shadow fleet” used by Russia to circumvent western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
Special forces assisted by French helicopters boarded the ship in a clandestine operation in the North Sea on Saturday night, Belgium’s defence minister, Theo Francken, said on Sunday.
Continue reading...US ambassador accused of interference after labelling inquiry into suspected illegal circumcisions ‘antisemitic’
A diplomatic row is escalating between Belgium and the US, with Donald Trump’s ambassador refusing to apologise for accusing his host country of antisemitism and reportedly threatening to bar a socialist politician from travelling to the US.
Bill White, a staunch ally of the president like many US ambassadors, on Monday demanded Belgium drop a “ridiculous” and “antisemitic” investigation into three Jewish men suspected of performing circumcisions without medical qualifications.
Continue reading...Exclusive: UK graduates in Germany, Belgium and possibly other countries informed of rises as salary threshold is cut
Britons living in some European countries face a huge rise in their student loan repayments later this year, the Guardian can reveal, in a move that threatens to trigger a fresh backlash for Rachel Reeves.
UK graduates working in Germany and Belgium – and possibly other countries – have been told that their monthly repayments will increase from April, the Guardian can reveal.
Continue reading...Belgian police raid EU foreign service HQ and College of Europe and arrest Federica Mogherini and two others
Belgian police have arrested three people including the EU’s former top diplomat Federica Mogherini and raided the headquarters of the EU foreign service and the elite College of Europe as part of an investigation into suspected fraud.
The three were detained “as part of a probe into suspected fraud related to EU-funded training for junior diplomats”, the European public prosecutor’s office said in a statement, without naming individuals.
Continue reading...Incursions halted flights at Brussels and Liège airports last week with Russia said to be the most likely culprit
Britain is deploying Royal Air Force specialists to help Belgium counter drone threats to the country’s airports after disruptive sightings last week that some politicians blamed on Russia.
Sir Richard Knighton, the head of the UK’s armed forces, said the British military would provide “our people, our equipment” to help Belgium, though he was careful to say “we don’t yet know” the origin of the drones seen last week.
Continue reading...Source says Russia ‘very probably’ responsible amid surge in incursions into European airspace since mid-September
Belgium’s national security council will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday after drone sightings at airports caused chaos for travellers and raised security concerns.
Arrivals and departures were halted for several hours on Tuesday evening at Belgium’s busiest airport, Brussels, leading to the cancellation of dozens of flights. The skies were also closed over Liège airport, an important hub for freight transport, leading to further cancellations, delays and diversions.
Continue reading...Netherlands and Hungary move towards designation as draft resolution reportedly backed by 79 MEPs in 20 countries
Where Donald Trump leads, Europe’s nationalists and far right follow. After a Truth Social post last month, when Trump announced the US would designate antifa, the decentralised anti-fascist movement, “a major terrorist organisation”, his international allies swung into action.
That same day, the Dutch parliament, where the largest party is Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV, passed a resolution, noting the US decision and calling on the government to declare antifa a terrorist organisation in the Netherlands.
Continue reading...Officers in Antwerp arrest three suspects and recover an improvised explosive device
Police in Belgium have arrested three young adults suspected of plotting a jihadist-inspired attack using drone-mounted explosives, with the Belgian prime minister reported to be among the politicians targeted.
The arrests were made in the northern city of Antwerp as part of an investigation into “attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group”, the federal prosecutor Ann Fransen told a news conference.
Continue reading...Officers in Antwerp arrest three suspects and recover an improvised explosive device
Police in Belgium have arrested three young adults suspected of plotting a jihadist-inspired attack using drone-mounted explosives, with the Belgian prime minister reported to be among the politicians targeted.
The arrests were made in the northern city of Antwerp as part of an investigation into “attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group”, the federal prosecutor Ann Fransen told a news conference.
Continue reading...La Magie Noire, bought by family of wartime resistance heroine 90 years ago, expected to fetch more than €7m
A painting by the surrealist artist René Magritte that has been held in a private collection for more than 90 years will go on sale later this month.
La Magie Noire was bought by the family of the second world war resistance heroine Suzanne Spaak, who were Magritte’s benefactors at a time when he was struggling financially and had failed to sell a single work for two years.
Continue reading...Zaventem asks airlines to cancel half of Monday departures, while most of Heathrow flights expected to operate
Hundreds of thousands of passengers at Heathrow and Berlin airports faced flight delays on Sunday after a cyber-attack hit check-in desk software, while cancellations at Brussels airport suggested that disruption of Europe’s air travel would continue into Monday.
Airlines were forced to revert to slower manual check-ins from Friday night after the attack hit Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in desk technology to various airlines.
Continue reading...Trump had refused to grant visas for Palestinian delegation due to attend conference and UN general assembly
The United Nations general assembly has voted to allow the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to address next week’s annual gathering of world leaders next week in New York via video link after Donald Trump said he would not give him a US visa.
The resolution received 145 votes in favour and five votes against, while six countries abstained.
Continue reading...Bart De Wever travelled to Essen, Germany to hear performance conducted by Lahav Shani, the music director of the Israel Philharmonic
Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, has said he attended a concert by a German orchestra that was uninvited from a Belgian festival to show support for its Israeli conductor.
The cancellation of a planned performance at the Flanders festival Ghent by the Munich Philharmonic over concerns about its Israeli future chief conductor, Lahav Shani, has triggered a storm of criticism and accusations of antisemitism.
Continue reading...Belgian organisers are accused of ‘naked antisemitism’ after cancelling performance by Lahav Shani
A Belgian classical music festival has axed a leading German orchestra from its programme over concerns about its Israeli conductor, drawing accusations of antisemitism from Berlin.
Flanders Festival Ghent announced it had cancelled a concert by the Munich Philharmonic scheduled for 18 September, citing insufficient clarity over Lahav Shani’s attitude to the Israeli government.
Continue reading...Gift comes 8o years after Welsh guards first left replica uniform for Belgian statue to commemorate end of Nazi occupation
When British forces commemorated the liberation of Brussels for the first time in 1945, they left a unique gift – a replica Welsh guards uniform for the Belgian city’s emblematic “peeing boy” statue, the Manneken Pis.
Now 81 years after the Welsh guards freed Brussels from Nazi occupation, the gift has been renewed: the Manneken Pis has a new regimental uniform, including scarlet jacket embroidered with gold lace, gleaming white belt and authentic bearskin hat.
Continue reading...Foreign minister says move is not aimed at Israeli people but ‘ensuring their government respects international and humanitarian law’. This live blog is closed
At least 63,633 Palestinian people have been killed and 160,914 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
At least 76 Palestinian people, including 12 aid seekers, were killed in the last 24 hours alone, the ministry said.
Continue reading...Authorities interviewed Israeli pair after they were seen at Tomorrowland music festival near Antwerp
Belgian authorities have said they briefly held and questioned two Israeli citizens who attended an electronic music festival last week, after pro-Palestinian groups accused them of war crimes.
Prosecutors said they had received legal complaints alleging that two Israeli soldiers responsible for “serious violations of international humanitarian law” in Gaza were spotted at the Tomorrowland festival near the northern city of Antwerp.
Continue reading...Blaze came a day before thousands of electronic dance music fans were set to descend on the Belgian event
The main stage of the Tomorrowland music festival near Antwerp was totally destroyed by fire on Wednesday, a day before thousands of electronic dance music lovers were due to arrive at the Belgian event.
There were no injuries, organisers said, insisting they would still go ahead with the festival over the next two weekends.
Continue reading...French education ministry follows Britain and Netherlands in incorporating Netflix hit into school curriculums
France has followed the UK and the Netherlands in allowing the Netflix drama Adolescence to be used in secondary schools as part of efforts to teach teenagers about toxic masculinity and online harms.
The French education ministry will offer schools five classes based on excerpts from the critically acclaimed mini-series, which has provoked a global debate about the impact on young boys of misogynistic content online and on social media.
Continue reading...Florence in Italy could hit 39C as hot weather sweeps continent, while parts of South Africa brace for snow
The severe thunderstorms that have been lashing parts of Europe over recent days are expected to give way to high temperatures this week. Several regions could climb to 10C (50F) above seasonal norms, with Italy braced for the full force of the heat. Florence in Tuscany is forecast to soar to a sweltering 39C on Thursday and across the weekend.
Germany, France and Belgium will also face hot weather from Wednesday, with widespread highs at least 9C above the June average. Many other parts of Europe are forecast to experience temperatures 5-7C above normal. This is the result of a high-pressure system creating a heat dome over the region, whereby sinking air compresses and warms as it descends, trapping heat near the surface.
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