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☆ Brussels attack: Two Swedes shot dead in Belgian capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Two people were shot dead in the Belgian capital Brussels on Monday evening in what the government described as a terrorist attack. The suspect was still at large hours later, Belgian media reported, as authorities raised the terror alert in Brussels to its highest level. “Horrified by the terrorist attack that claimed two victims in the heart of Brussels,” Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib posted to X. Following the attack, the terror threat level for Brussels was raised to 4, the highest level. I am closely following the situation, together with the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs from [the Belgian Crisis Center].

Persons: Hadja Lahbib, Philippe Close, ”, “, Alexander De Croo Organizations: CNN, Brussels, Police, Justice, Home Affairs, Belgian Crisis Locations: Belgian, Brussels, Belgium, Sweden

☆ World reacts to surprise attack by Hamas on Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself," Foreign Minister James Cleverly said in a social media post. URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION"I unequivocally condemn the attack carried out by Hamas terrorists against Israel. DUTCH PRIME MINISTER MARK RUTTE"Just spoke with Prime Minister @netanyahu about the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel. POLISH FOREIGN MINISTER ZBIGNIEW RAU"I strongly condemn Hamas' ongoing attacks on Israel. AUSTRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ALEXANDER SCHALLENBERGSchallenberg strongly condemned what he called a "cowardly and underhand" attack on Israel by Hamas.

Persons: Mahmoud Issa, OLAF SCHOLZ, Scholz, EMMANUEL MACRON Macron, Macron, JAMES, James, URSULA VON DER LEYEN, JOSEP BORRELL, Borrell, TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Erdogan, MARK RUTTE, @netanyahu, Rutte, MIKHAIL BOGDANOV, Mikhail Bogdanov, Israel, Israel's, ZBIGNIEW RAU, Rau, PETR PAVEL, Pavel, Benjamin Netanyahu, ALEXANDER SCHALLENBERG Schallenberg, HADJA LAHBIB, Ros Russell, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Hamas, Twitter, SAUDI ARABIA'S, OF, AK Party, DUTCH, Hezbollah, Gaza, MINISTRY, Israel, State, SWISS DEPARTMENT OF, BELGIAN, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Germany, SAUDI, Egypt, TURKISH, Ankara, Netherlands, RUSSIAN, MIKHAIL BOGDANOV Russia, Iran, Lebanese, Ukraine, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, CZECH, Czech Republic, Czech, AUSTRIAN, Belgium, Greece

☆ A missing F-35 stealth fighter may have kept flying after its pilot ejected. A pilotless Soviet jet once flew 500 miles before crashing in NATO territory.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An F-35 stealth fighter went missing after a pilot ejected during a "mishap" on Sunday afternoon. If it kept flying, as reports indicate it may have, it could echo a Cold War incident involving a Soviet aircraft. Toward the end of the Cold War, for example, one Soviet pilot witnessed his jet fly off without him after he ejected from it and continue flying for over 500 miles. On Sunday afternoon, Joint Base Charleston confirmed a "mishap involving an F-35B Lightning II jet" in which the pilot had to eject. The F-35 is considered to be a highly advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft known for its high-end capabilities and stealth.

Persons: haven't, Jeremy Huggins, Huggins, Lockheed Martin Organizations: Soviet, Service, Base Charleston, Charleston didn't, Facebook, Charleston, Federal Aviation Administration, Joint Base, NBC News, US Marine Corps, Joint, The New York Times, Belgian, NATO, Convair, Dart, Washington Post, Marine Corps, Lockheed Locations: Wall, Silicon, South Carolina, Lake Moultrie, Lake Marion, Soviet, Belgium, Kortrijk, Poland, East, West Germany, Netherlands, Montana

☆ Brussels bombing attacks: Six guilty of "terrorist murder," Belgian public broadcaster reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A Brussels court on Tuesday found six out of ten suspects guilty of “terrorist murder” in the 2016 Brussels attacks, according to Belgian public broadcaster RTBF. Mohamed Abrini, Oussama Atar, Osama Krayem, Salah Abdeslam, Ali El Haddad Asufi and Bilal El Makhoukhi were all found guilty of terrorist murder, according to RTBF. The Brussels court established a terrorist motive behind the attacks, ruling that the group’s intention was to intimidate the Belgian population and kill as many people as possible, RTBF reported. The six men, alongside Hervé Bayingana Muhirwa and Sofien Ayari, were also found guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, according to RTBF. Meanwhile, Oussama Atar who was absent from the Brussels trial, is presumed to have been killed in Syria, according to RTBF.

Persons: Mohamed Abrini, Oussama Atar, Osama Krayem, Salah Abdeslam, Ali El Haddad Asufi, Bilal El Makhoukhi, Hervé Bayingana, Sofien Ayari, Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Abdeslam, Smail Farisi, Ibrahim Farisi Organizations: CNN, RTBF, ISIS, Reuters, European Union Locations: Brussels, Belgian, Paris, Syria, Belgium, Iraq

☆ Women’s World Cup teams permitted to wear armbands that highlight ‘social causes’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Amanda Davies | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —World soccer governing body FIFA will allow a variety of different armbands that highlight “a range of social causes” to be worn at the upcoming Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the organization said Friday. “FIFA, in partnership with several United Nations agencies, will use the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ to highlight a range of social causes, selected following extensive consultation with stakeholders including players and the 32 participating member associations,” FIFA said in a statement. “But football does even more than that – it can shine the spotlight on very important causes in our society. Several European teams were set to participate in the “OneLove” campaign to promote inclusion and oppose discrimination, but those countries were prevented by FIFA from doing so. There is no explicit mention of LGBTQ rights in Women’s World Cup armbands, beyond the “themes” of “gender equality” and “inclusion.”The Women’s World Cup is scheduled to be played from July 20 to August 20 with the opening game taking place in Auckland when co-hosts New Zealand play Norway.

Persons: ”, “, Gianni Infantino, Hadja Lahbib, Nancy Faeser – Organizations: CNN, FIFA, “ FIFA, United Nations, ” FIFA, Football, Inclusion, UN Human, Indigenous Peoples, Equality, UN, Peace –, UNHCR, UN Refugee Agency, Education, –, Cultural Organization, UNESCO, UN Women, World Health Organization, WHO, Qatar –, Belgian Foreign Affairs, German, New Zealand Locations: Australia, New Zealand, Qatar, Infantino, Auckland, Norway

[1/2] Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib appears before the External Relations committee at the Belgian Parliament to be questioned by lawmakers after delegations from Iranian and Russian cities were granted visas to attend a mayors' convention, in Brussels, Belgium June 26, 2023. REUTERS/Yves... Read moreBRUSSELS, June 29 (Reuters) - Belgian foreign affairs minister Hadja Lahbib on Thursday survived a vote of no-confidence in Parliament after granting visas to delegations from Iranian and Russian cities to attend a mayors' convention in Brussels earlier this month. When in Brussels, the Iranian delegation filmed Belgian-Iranian lawmaker Darya Safai and Iranian opposition members. The opposition had called for Lahbib's resignation over the scandal, but 79 MPs voted in support of the minister while 50 voted against and four abstained. Two members of coalition parties Ecolo-Groen and PS abstained symbolically to voice that Lahbib will have to regain their parties' trust.

Persons: Hadja Lahbib, Yves, Read, Darya Safai, Lahbib's, Marine Strauss, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Leslie Adler Organizations: Belgian, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, BRUSSELS, Belgian

☆ Belgian foreign minister in turmoil over Iran, Russian delegates invitations
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Marine Strauss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 19 (Reuters) - Belgian foreign affairs minister Hadja Lahbib is facing calls for resignation after granting visas to delegations from Iranian and Russian cities to attend a mayors convention in Brussels last week. State secretary for external relations & foreign trade of the Brussels government Pascal Smet resigned on Sunday over the all-expenses paid trip. I am now asking the organizers, Metropolis, to bear these costs," Smet told a press conference on Sunday. Why only three weeks after the release of Olivier Vandecasteele, she accepts that terrorists come to Brussels? And why must the name of Belgium always be sullied by foreign relations which it cannot manage to control?"

Persons: Hadja Lahbib, Lahbib, Olivier Vandecasteele, Pascal Smet, Smet, Darya Safai, Safai, Marine Strauss, Benoit Van Overstraeten Organizations: Belgian, Brussels Urban, European Commission, Sunday, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Belgian, Brussels, Vandecasteele, Iran, Iranian, Belgium, Bogota, Kyiv, Tehran, Kazan

☆ Three Europeans return home after release by Iran in prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Charlotte Van Campenhout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

They arrived around 2:45 a.m. (0045 GMT) and were greeted by Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, Belgium's Belga news agency reported. Danish citizen Thomas Kjems flew on to Copenhagen, landing at around 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) on Saturday. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg tweeted photos of the two Austrians arriving in Vienna. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian tweeted on Saturday that he had told Lahbib that he hoped the prisoners' release would "open a new page" in Iran's relations with Belgium and Europe. Belgian government officials said that officially there were still 22 Europeans in Iranian prisons, but that no more Europeans would be exchanged for Assadi.

Persons: Thomas Kjems, Read, Dane, Asadollah Assadi, Olivier Vandecasteele, Assadi, Hadja Lahbib, Belgium's, It's, I've, Alexander Schallenberg, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Lahbib, Amirabdollahian, Massud Mosaheb, Kamran Ghaderi, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Kazem, Ahmadreza, Louise Rasmussen, Tom Little, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Bart Biesemans, Andrew Gray, Francois Murphy, Hugh Lawson, Mark Potter, Frances Kerry Organizations: Copenhagen Airport, Europeans, Belgian Foreign, Austrian, Ministry, Austrian Friendship Society, Danish, Assadi, Iranian, Thomson Locations: Copenhagen, Denmark, Iran, BRUSSELS, DUBAI, Tehran, Belgian, Belgium, France, Oman, Danish, Vienna, Iranian, Europe, ., Swedish, Brussels, Dubai

☆ Iran sentences Belgian aid worker to 40 years in prison, Tasnim reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The sentence imposed on aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, reported by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, was more severe than the 28-year term Belgium had reported in December. It said Vandecasteele, who was arrested while on a visit to Iran in February last year, could appeal the verdict. Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib condemned Vandecasteele's "arbitrary detention" on Twitter and said Iran's ambassador to Brussels would be summoned in protest at the sentencing. "The family is devastated by the news," Olivier Van Steirtegem, who is Vandecasteele's best friend and has been acting as the family's spokesperson, told Reuters. "Olivier is a victim, a hostage," Van Steirtegem said, adding that the Belgian government should do everything possible to free Vandecasteele and condemn Iran's "hostage diplomacy".

Soccer’s global governing body has found itself at loggerheads with seven European nations over the threat of sanctions for any player wearing a “OneLove” armband during games. Kane (right) wears the "OneLove" armband during the Nations League game between England and Italy on September 23. So that’s why we chose to do this.”Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib wears a "OneLove" armband in the stands. Germany's players pose with their hands covering their mouths prior to their World Cup game against Japan. The “OneLove” armband is not the only instance of attire being scrutinized at the World Cup.

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