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.
Continue reading...An exhibition in the Belgian capital shows the artistic style was first to seek to appeal to a wider group of consumers
The glazed porcelain vases with bold colours and geometric shapes of the 1920s and 30s are immediately recognisable to many people, says the art historian Cécile Dubois. Often given as a wedding present, these vases were usually passed down as family heirlooms, revealing the accessibility of art deco works, she says, gesturing to the glass cabinet beside her. “If you were a collector, you could find works that cost a fortune, but these pieces were destined for people of more modest means for very reasonable prices.”
Art deco was the first artistic movement that sought to appeal to a wider public beyond the elites, say the organisers of a new exhibition dedicated to the artistic movement of the interwar years, co-curated by Dubois, the president of the Brussels Art Deco Society.
Continue reading...Victims have had fingers chopped off by attackers in crimewave targeting entrepreneurs and their families
French police are investigating a series of kidnappings of investors linked to cryptocurrency after a 60-year-old man had a finger chopped off by attackers who demanded his crypto-millionaire son pay a ransom.
In the latest of several kidnappings of cryptocurrency figures in France and western Europe, the man, who owned a cryptocurrency marketing company with his son, was freed from a house south of Paris on Saturday night. He had been held for more than two days.
Continue reading...French justice officials have launched an investigation after Mathieu van der Poel had a plastic bottle hurled at his face during his triumphant ride to a third consecutive Paris-Roubaix victory on Sunday.
“An investigation was opened into the charge of violence with a weapon in order to identify and arrest the perpetrator,” said the Lille prosecutor Carole Etienne on X. The Dutch Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was struck while powering solo over a cobbled section with 33km remaining in the prestigious one-day classic, often called “The Hell of the North”.
Continue reading...Prince Laurent had argued that his work entitled him to the same benefits as independent entrepreneurs but a court in Brussels disagreed
A Belgian prince has lost a legal battle to claim social security benefits on top of his royal allowance, with a court ruling his claim – the first of its kind in the country’s nearly 200-year history – “unfounded”.
Prince Laurent, the youngest of three children of the former king and queen, had argued that his work entitled him to the coverage granted to independent entrepreneurs – and that he was acting out of “principle” rather than for money.
Continue reading...Secretary of state says Putin ‘will have to make a decision’ as US officials appear to be growing impatient
The US will know within weeks whether Russia is serious about pursuing peace with Ukraine, the secretary of state has said, warning that Donald Trump was not “going to fall into the trap of endless negotiations” with Moscow.
“We’re testing to see if the Russians are interested in peace,” Marco Rubio told journalists in Brussels after talks with Nato allies. “Their actions – not their words, their actions – will determine whether they’re serious or not, and we intend to find that out sooner rather than later.”
Continue reading...Officials in France and Belgium hit out at ‘American interference’ amid growing transatlantic tensions
Officials in France and Belgium have hit back at American efforts to impose Donald Trump’s rollback of diversity measures on Europe, which in the US has seen Disney put under investigation.
Several companies across the EU have in recent days reportedly received letters informing them that the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives also applies to firms around the world looking to do business with the US government.
Continue reading...Prosecutors allege suspects spiked victims’ drinks with drugs at venues in Kortrijk between 2021 and 2024
Belgian authorities are investigating the alleged rape and sexual assault of at least 41 women whose drinks are thought to have been spiked, with three bar managers identified as prime suspects, prosecutors have said.
Officials believe drugs were mixed into the women’s drinks, including ketamine, a general anaesthetic used for recreational purposes because of its hallucinogenic effects.
Continue reading...Homes searched in inquiry into alleged corruption at European parliament relating to Chinese technology giant
Several people have been arrested and homes searched as part of an investigation into alleged bribery and corruption at the European parliament relating to the Chinese technology giant Huawei, Belgian prosecutors have said.
The investigating judge in charge of the case has asked for seals to be fixed to the offices of two European parliament assistants alleged to be involved.
Continue reading...The coalition government will be led by the conservative New Flemish Alliance party’s Bart De Wever
Five Belgian parties struck a coalition deal on Friday to form a new government headed by the Flemish conservative Bart De Wever, after more than seven months of tortuous negotiations.
The agreement paves the way for De Wever to become the first nationalist from the Dutch-speaking Flanders region to be Belgian premier – although in recent years he has backed off on calls for it to become an independent country.
Continue reading...Jos Leijdekkers, reportedly the son-in-law of African country’s president, was sentenced to 24 years in prison
One of Europe’s most wanted men, the Dutch crime boss Jos Leijdekkers, is hiding out in Sierra Leone, Dutch prosecutors have said.
The statement came after Dutch media published footage that appeared to show the violent drug trafficker at a New Year’s Day church service seated close to Sierra Leone’s presidential family. Sierra Leone’s information office said it was investigating reports that he was benefiting from high-level protection.
Continue reading...Law to stop armed groups profiting from trade in gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum is being breached, rights groups say
The European Union has been urged to clamp down on illegal imports of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after evidence was found that current regulations had been breached.
The advocacy group Global Witness (GW) said there remained a “high risk” of the EU’s mineral imports being used to fund militias and state repression in several countries.
Continue reading...Verdict of crimes against humanity for kidnap of mixed-race children could pave way for wider justice, activists say
A historic court ruling that found Belgium guilty of crimes against humanity during its colonial rule of central Africa has been hailed as a turning point that could pave the way for compensation and other forms of justice.
Belgium’s court of appeal ruled last month that the “systematic kidnapping” of mixed-race children from their African mothers in Belgian-ruled Congo, Rwanda and Burundi was a crime against humanity. The case was brought by five women who were removed from their Congolese mothers as small children between 1948 and 1953, and who now live in Belgium and France. Each was awarded €50,000 (£42,000) in damages.
Continue reading...Message came after northern city of Ghent posted tips for recycling the conifer as a dish
At a time when most people have probably polished off their holiday leftovers, Belgium’s food agency has issued a surprising seasonal health warning: don’t eat your Christmas tree.
The message on Tuesday came after the city of Ghent, an environmentalist stronghold in the country’s northern Flanders region, raised eyebrows by posting tips for recycling the conifers on the dinner table.
Continue reading...Products banned on health and environmental grounds, while Milan outlaws outdoor smoking
Belgium has become the EU first country to ban the sale of disposable vapes in an effort to stop young people from becoming addicted to nicotine and to protect the environment.
The sale of disposable electronic cigarettes is banned in Belgium on health and environmental grounds from 1 January. A ban on outdoor smoking in Milan came into force on the same day, as EU countries discuss tighter controls on tobacco.
Continue reading...Court said five women were victims of ‘systematic kidnapping’ by state over forced removal from mothers as small children
The Belgian state has been found guilty of crimes against humanity for the forced removal of five mixed-race children from their mothers in colonial Congo.
In a long-awaited ruling issued on Monday, Belgium’s court of appeal said that five women, born in the Belgian Congo and now in their 70s, had been victims of “systematic kidnapping” by the state when they were removed from their mothers as small children and sent to Catholic institutions because of their mixed-race origins.
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