Brussels ‘on highest terror alert’ and football fans told to stay in stadium after two shot dead
Police in Belgium have launched a manhunt after two Swedish people were shot dead in a terror attack in Brussels.
The shooting caused Belgium’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Sweden to be abandoned at half-time on Monday night.
Fans were also kept in the stadium as armed officers searched for the suspected shooter – who has not yet been found.
The shooting took place about three miles (5km) from the 50,000-seater King Baudouin Stadium shortly after 7pm local time – around 45 minutes before kick-off.
Shortly after, a man who claimed to be the shooter appeared on social media in a video in which he claimed to be a member of Islamic State (IS) and a “fighter for Allah”.
A map showing the location of the shooting and the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels
He also claimed he had carried out the attack in “revenge in the name of Muslims”.
One Belgium newspaper said a witness heard the shooter shout “Allahu Akbar” – “God is great” in Arabic – before the shots were fired.
Another video, reported to be of the incident, which has not been verified by Sky News, showed a gunman in a fluorescent orange jacket and a white helmet chasing a man into a building before shooting at him.
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Moments before fatal Brussels shooting
Belgium’s interior minister, Annelies Verlinden, said the suspect was “actively being tracked down”.
Belgium’s National Crisis Centre raised the terror alert in the city to the highest level on Monday night. It was also moved to the second highest for the rest of Belgium.
A spokesperson for Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office told reporters that the investigation was focusing on “a possible terrorist motivation for the shooting”.
Eric Van Duyse said: “During the evening, a claim of responsibility was posted on social media, having been recorded by a person claiming to be the assailant. This person claims to be inspired by Islamic State.”
He said the Swedish nationality of the victims had been put forward as the probable motive for the attack – but said there was nothing to suggest a possible link with the current situation between Israel and Gaza.
Forensic teams at the scene
A police spokesperson confirmed that two people had been killed in a shooting, but declined to give further details.
The country’s prime minister, Alexander de Croo, meanwhile, appeared to link the incident to terrorism.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote: “I have just offered my sincere condolences to the Swedish prime minister following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels.
“Our thoughts are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones. As close partners, the fight against terrorism is a joint one.”
In an earlier post, he offered his “deepest condolences” to the relatives of those killed in what he described as a “cowardly attack”.
He also urged the residents of Brussels to “be vigilant”.
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Swedish justice minister, Gunnar Strommer, said his government was working with authorities in Belgium “to get more information about what happened”.
Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, urged Swedes in Belgium to stay vigilant and follow the instructions of the local authorities.
Sweden fans at the game at the King Baudouin Stadium
A Belgian supporter is comforted in the stands. Pic: AP
Meanwhile, France’s President Emmanuel Macron described the incident as an “Islamist terrorist attack”.
Speaking in Albania on Monday evening – days after his own country was rocked by the fatal stabbing of a teacher in a suspected terror attack – Mr Macron said: “Europe is being shaken”.
The shooting in Brussels took place near Boulevard d’Ypres – in an area to the north of the city centre.
The area is around three miles (5km) from the King Baudouin Stadium, where the Euro 2024 qualifier was held.
A UEFA spokesperson confirmed the game had been suspended on Monday.
In a statement, UEFA said: “Following a suspected terrorist attack in Brussels this evening, it has been decided, after consultation with the two teams and the local police authorities, that the qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden is abandoned.”
Fans leave the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels
Sweden coach Janne Andersson later told Swedish website Fotbollskanalen: “We can’t play football in this situation. We and Belgium completely agree that we shouldn’t play.”
Laura Demullier, of Belgium’s OCAD anti-terror centre, said getting the thousands of football fans attending the match safely out of the stadium was their top priority.
Over two hours after the game was suspended, a message flashed on the big stadium screen which said: “Fans, you can leave the stadium calmly.”
Sweden has in recent months faced rioting following a string of Koran-burning incidents in both Sweden and neighbouring Denmark.
Muslim leaders in Sweden have called on the government to find ways to stop the Koran burnings, but police have allowed them, citing freedom of speech.
A sex scandal has rocked Thailand’s Buddhist clergy after a woman allegedly enticed a string of monks into having sex with her and then blackmailed them.
At least nine abbots and senior monks have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said.
Wilawan Emsawat, in her mid-30s, is accused of enticing senior monks into having sex with her and then pressuring them into making large payments to cover it up.
Thai monks are largely members of the Theravada sect, which requires them to be celibate and refrain from even touching a woman.
Several monks transferred large amounts of money after Wilawan initiated romantic relationships with them, police said -her bank accounts received around 385 million baht (£8.8m) in the past three years, with most of that spent on gambling websites.
Wilawan was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province, north of the capital Bangkok, on charges including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods.
Thai media reported a search of her mobile phones revealed tens of thousands of photos and videos, as well as numerous chat logs indicating intimacy with several monks, many of which could be used for blackmail.
Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau holding a press conference in Bangkok. Pic: Central Investigation Bureau/AP
An investigation was launched last month after an abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood.
He had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan over their romantic relationship, investigators found.
She told the monk she was pregnant and asked him to pay her 7.2 million baht (£165,000), Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner, said at a news conference in Bangkok on Tuesday.
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Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples, especially the transparency of temple finances, to restore faith in Buddhism, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said on Tuesday.
The Central Investigation Bureau has set up a Facebook page for people to report monks who misbehave, Mr Jaroonkiat said.
“We will investigate monks across the country,” he said. “I believe that the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes.”
World
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
Israel has shown little respect for international borders since becoming the unrivalled military hegemon of the Middle East. Today that meant an Israeli airstrike on a government building in Damascus.
Israel says its attack on a Syrian defence ministry facility was intended as a warning to the new government: stay out of the part of southern Syria we have occupied or else.
Israel has moved into parts of the south of the country, built military bases and declared a line of control.
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the Syrian Defence Ministry in Damascus. Pic: AP
On Monday, Syrian tanks heading south to try and restore order following an outbreak of factional fighting were attacked by Israeli warplanes.
“The presence of such vehicles in southern Syria could pose a threat to Israel,” stated the Israel Defence Forces.
In reality, Syria’s ageing tanks pose minimal threat to Israel’s state-of-the art military.
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Syrian presenter interrupted by Israeli airstrike
The Syrian armour was attacked as it entered the area around Sweida in the Druze heartland of southern Syria following factional fighting there.
The flare-up reportedly began with clashes between Bedouin and Druze groups that ended in scores killed.
The background to the escalation is complicated.
At least three Druze militia groups are divided in their loyalties to different religious leaders and differ over how they should respond to calls to assimilate into the new post-revolutionary Syria.
Druze from Syria and Israel protest on the Israeli-Syrian border.
Pic: AP
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Israel is becoming more and more involved in Syria’s internecine war and says it will remain there indefinitely “to protect our communities and thwart any threat”.
Its critics say Israel is operating a policy of divide and rule in Syria, weakening the fledgling government and creating a buffer zone to protect the border with the Golan Heights – originally Syrian territory that it has occupied and annexed for almost half a century.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has used airstrikes to destroy of much of Syria’s military capability weakening its ability to impose control on outlying regions. This makes it more not less likely Israel will have a volatile unstable state on its northern border.
Syrian security forces walk along a street in the southern Druze city of Sweida. Pic: Reuters
America and European powers have chosen to normalise relations with the new government in Damascus and lift sanctions.
In contrast Israel has occupied its territory, bombed its military and today hit one of its government buildings in the capital with an airstrike.
Since its crushing military campaigns against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, Israel has emerged as the unchallenged military power of the region.
There is however a limit to what blunt force can achieve alone. It requires diplomacy to achieve lasting gains and Israel’s repeated assaults on multiple neighbours combined with its relentless campaign in Gaza are winning it few friends in the region.
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