Starting from January 1, 2017, Belgian and Dutch air forces will guard the Benelux airspace alternately. An agreement signed by the three member countries back in March 2015 prepared the way for this, the technical arrangement signed in Rotterdam on Wednesday, now fixed the details of this international military cooperation. According to the quick reaction alert (QRA) in place up until now, two Dutch and two Belgian fighter jets have been on alert in case of a “renegade”, meaning for example the hijacking of a civil plane by terrorists. Luxembourg…
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British WWII bomb forces 54,000 Germans from homes
An unexploded British bomb from World War Two forced 54,000 people out of their homes in Germany on Christmas Day, the country’s biggest such evacuation since the end of hostilities. The huge operation on Sunday in the southern city of Augsburg took 11 hours, involved 900 police officers and it ended successfully around 6pm, local authorities announced. The 1.8-tonne explosive was found on Tuesday during work at a construction site in the Bavarian city, but authorities waited until Sunday to coordinate the logistics necessary to make it safe. More than…
Read MoreBarclays refuses to settle with US DoJ over ‘craptacular loans’
Barclays is refusing to settle with the US Department of Justice over allegations it deliberately sold mortgage bonds to investors that it knew contained “craptacular loans”. The DoJ’s legal filing outlines an array of colourful descriptions of the types of mortgages that it alleges were used by Barclays to package up in bonds – known as residential mortgage bond securities – which could be sold on to investors. It accuses Barclays of selling investors RMBS “backed by loans it knew were made to borrowers who were not creditworthy and which…
Read MoreUS government collecting social media information from foreign travelers
Visitors filing visa waiver application are prompted to enter account names for social platforms, but activists say there are few guidelines for use of information. The US government has begun asking select foreign travelers to disclose their social media activities as part of an expanded effort to spot potential terrorist threats. The request functions as a prompt on the online Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or Esta, a visa waiver application that many visitors are required to submit before travelling to the US. The choices include platforms such as Facebook,…
Read MoreChapecoense plane ran out of fuel before crash, say aviation authorities
Colombian aeronautics agency says evidence points to human error rather than technical problem or sabotage. A plane that crashed while carrying a Brazilian football team had run out of fuel before it could land, according to Colombian aviation authorities. The Civil Aeronautics agency said the conclusion was based on the aircraft’s black boxes and other evidence. It said the evidence pointed to human error rather than technical problems or sabotage. Experts had previously suggested fuel exhaustion led to the crash on 28 November that killed all but a few members…
Read MoreBelgium respects European threshold for fine particulate matter for second year running
European standards for fine particulate matter were complied with for all measuring stations in Belgium this year. This result completely mirrored 2015. Frans Fierens, the Administrative Director for the Inter-regional Environment Unit (known colloquially as Celine) indicated “This is more than coincidence. We can genuinely speak of structural improvement in air quality.” The European standard was instigated in 2005. The standard specifies that, for each measuring station, the daily threshold of 50 micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic metre of air can only be exceeded for a maximum of…
Read MoreEurope’s lack of strong leadership leaves it vulnerable to terrorism
Terrorist groups know that well-timed attacks cause political upheaval and exploit people’s fears, but liberal democracy is often strongest when wounded. Europe is in bad shape to repel a terrorist threat that has moved from its Middle East doorstep into its living room. Political divisions, public disenchantment, economic weakness, lack of leadership and acute international instability are combining to make this a uniquely vulnerable moment for the western democracies. The nature of the threat – ubiquitous, hidden, improvised and randomly targeting civilians – is all but impossible to defend against….
Read MoreCourt action by foreign communes against Tihange 2 started
A number of communes and regions neighbouring Belgium, located on the border regions of Germany, the Netherlands, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, have officially commenced first instance court proceedings against Tihange 2. These are specifically Aix-la-Chapelle, Maastricht and Wiltz in Luxembourg, which are all requesting that the power station operation be stopped, the Brussels law firm, Blixt, which represents a number of energy sector clients states. Some 80 German, Luxembourg and Dutch communes have launched this procedure. The Barrister Tinne Van der Straeten from Blixt confirmed this. The former…
Read MoreTen Salafists in Belgian Army
Around fifty soldiers are currently subject to surveillance by the intelligence and security service (SGRS). This is indicated in a recent report by Comité R (the Parliamentary Surveillance Committee). Ten such soldiers are thought to be Salafists, amongst whom four may possibly be actively engaging in radical Islam, the Sudpresse publications are stating today (Friday). Other members of the army under surveillance are suspected of being linked to criminal gangs or indeed the far-Right. Per the Constitution, it is not possible to remove a soldier simply on the basis of…
Read MoreBrussels attacks: over six years €450 million spent on airport security
Between 2010 and 2016, some 450 millions euros have been spent on airport security, the CEO of Brussels Airport Company, Arnaud Feist, indicated yesterday (Wednesday). He was addressing the parliamentary investigation commission for the terrorist attacks. In six years, 6.2 euros of airport tax per individual to cover security has yielded 366 million euros to which another 80 million euros have been added. These sums cover as much operational costs, including staff, as investments. Mr Feist stressed, “this is a significant amount of money, showing the extent to which security…
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