Tag Archives: Belgium

The BBC reports: For nearly three weeks Belgium’s leading virologist has been living in a safehouse with his wife and 12-year-old son, guarded by security agents. While scientists across the world have come under attack throughout the pandemic, the threat to Prof Marc Van Ranst is more serious than most. He has been targeted by a far-right soldier, Jürgen Conings, …

Axios reports: President Biden will travel to the U.K. on June 11-13 for the G7 summit, followed by a trip to Brussels on June 14 for the NATO summit, the White House announced Friday. Why it matters: Biden’s first overseas trip — which has been delayed due to the pandemic — will be used to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to …

The Guardian reports: Hungary’s rightwing ruling party has tried to brush off accusations of hypocrisy over a “gay orgy” scandal in Brussels, involving one of its inner circle, the MEP József Szájer. The prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his ruling Fidesz party have enacted a range of legislation over the past decade infringing on LGBT rights, and Szájer himself boasted …

Sky News reports: Belgian officers have “neutralised” a person wearing an explosive belt at a major train station in Brussels, according to reports. Police have confirmed that an “incident involving an individual” has taken place at Brussels Central – the country’s busiest station – and say the situation is now under control. The main square has been evacuated, and witnesses …

The BBC reports: A gay man in Belgium is trying to end his life because he cannot accept his sexuality. He told the Victoria Derbyshire programme he wanted to be granted euthanasia on the grounds of extreme psychological suffering. Sébastien has thought carefully about the moment he hopes his life will come to an end. “The moment when they put …

CNN reports: Though organizers postponed a Sunday march in the Belgian capital out of security fears, those who gathered at Brussels’ Place de la Bourse were confronted by protesters raising their arms in Nazi salutes and shouting anti-immigrant slogans. The gathering, which took place in a commercial district in the capital, started out peacefully with mourners laying flowers at the …

Politico reports: Ted Cruz on Tuesday called for a freeze on any new refugees from areas affected by Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, as well as new powers for law enforcement to patrol “Muslim neighborhoods.” “We need to immediately halt the flow of refugees from countries with a significant Al Qaeda or ISIS presence,” the Texas senator said in …

“It is striking that the day after Donald Trump called for weakening NATO, withdrawing from NATO, we see Brussels, where NATO is headquartered, the subject of a radical Islamic terror attack. Donald Trump is wrong that America should withdraw from the world and abandon our allies. Donald Trump is wrong that American should retreat from Europe, retreat from NATO, hand …

To no one’s surprise, Donald Trump immediately exploited the attacks in Brussels this morning by calling into every network that would have him. From his call to Fox News: “I would close up our borders to people until we figure out what is going on. Look at Brussels, look at Paris, look at so many cities that were great cities. …

The Associated Press reports: The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks in Brussels, saying its extremists opened fire in the airport and “several of them” detonated suicide belts. The posting in the group’s Amaq news agency said another suicide attacker detonated in the metro. The posting claimed the attack was in response to Belgium’s support of the international …

President Obama is due to address the Cuban people from Havana this morning. He will begin with a statement about today’s terror attack in Brussels. Watch below. The speech will begin shortly. UPDATE: The president expressed solidarity with the people of Belgium and vowed to work with their government to bring today’s attackers to justice. He is now delivering the …

The BBC reports: Many people have been killed or seriously injured in terrorist attacks at Brussels international airport and a city metro station, Belgium’s PM says. Two blasts tore through the departures area of Zaventem airport shortly after 08:00 local time (07:00 GMT). An hour later, an explosion hit Maelbeek metro station. The airport and whole transport system are closed. …

The Guardian reports: Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has been shot and arrested in an ongoing raid in the Molenbeek area of Brussels, Belgian police have told AFP. Police sources told AFP that Abdeslam was injured in the leg and was arrested. French president François Hollande said an operation was under way in Brussels linked to the Paris attacks, but …

The Canadian statistics site 10 And 3 has examined same-sex marriage rates in several nations, comparing the number of weddings that took place two years after legalization in each country. Their analysis suggests that same-sex marriages happen at a lower rate in strongly religious nations. They write: We dug into the numbers, and discovered that in some nations, like Belgium, same-sex …

Belgium’s Eurovision entry was selected by state media and today the track to be performed by 18 year-old Loïc Nottet was unveiled. There’s a lot going on in this video, but I think it’s supposed to be some statement about gender roles. Or maybe not. Nottet came in third in last year’s Belgian version of The Voice and his label, …

ESPN is live-streaming the match, but you must login with your cable account info.

USA vs Belgium starts at 4pm EDT.

Another bear, another ballad. So So Gay reports on Belgium’s Eurovision finals, which were held Sunday night. It is the turn of the Flanders region of Belgium to select the country’s entry this year, and they went back to using a national final for the first time since 2008 to choose the artist and song. After one of those processes …

Vitaly Milonov, one of the authors of Russia’s “homosexual propaganda” ban, speaks briefly at the end of this clip.