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.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
STREAMLINED: The dedicated funding would allow the US to transfer equipment to Taiwan when needed and order upgraded replacements for stockpiles, a source said The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a defense appropriations bill totaling US$838.7 billion, of which US$1 billion is to be allocated to reinforcing security cooperation with Taiwan and US$150 million to replace defense articles provided to the nation. These are part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act, which the US House yesterday passed with 341 votes in favor and 88 against. The act must be passed by the US Senate before Friday next week to avoid another government shutdown. The US House Committee on Appropriations on Monday unveiled the act, saying that it allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative
RSS