Brussels

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$50M in Diamonds Stolen in 11-Minute Airport Heist

Masked men enter through hole in fence at Brussels airport

(Newser) - Millions of dollars in diamonds have been stolen from a plane at Brussels' international airport yesterday in a daring heist, the AP reports. Police say the jewels were lifted by eight masked men who, though armed, never fired their weapons. How did they pull it off? By cutting a hole...

Protesting EU Farmers Spray Cops With ... Milk?

They're protesting low milk prices

(Newser) - Thousands of enraged dairy farmers converged on the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday, and sprayed the building, and the cops who showed up to contain them, with their stock in trade: milk. The protesters arrived on tractors, blocked traffic along many of the city's main streets, then pulled out...

Brussels to Fine ... Insults
 Brussels to Fine ... Insults 
in case you missed it

Brussels to Fine ... Insults

Watch your mouth, or it could cost you

(Newser) - Feel like really telling someone off? Keep it off the streets of Brussels, where you could now be fined as much as $315 for the offense. "Any form of insult is from now on punishable, whether it be racist, homophobic, or otherwise," the mayor was quoted as saying...

Brits Refuse to Back New Europe Pact

But 23 nations agree to austerity measures in new accord

(Newser) - After strenuous negotiations, 23 of the 27 nations of Europe agreed to government spending and borrowing caps to be outlined in a new pact—but a unified treaty was blocked by Britain. Negotiations broke down largely over London's demands for future protection from financial regulations forged by France and...

Gates: NATO Full of Freeloaders

Outgoing defense secretary says US picking up tab for Europe's defense

(Newser) - Robert Gates had some harsh words for NATO today, saying that many of the US’ allies are “apparently willing and eager for American taxpayers to assume the growing security burden left by reductions in European defense budgets.” Gates was speaking at a think tank in Brussels, where his...

'Serious' Hack Strikes EU on Eve of Summit

It's 'a big one,' but officials mum on details

(Newser) - The EU government was hit with a “serious” cyberattack the day before a summit in Brussels. “We're often hit by cyberattacks, but this is a big one,” said an insider. Officials didn’t provide details of the attack, which targeted the European Commission and the EU’s...

EU Chiefs: Gadhafi Must Go

But they don't agree on how to make that happen

(Newser) - It’s time for Moammar Gadhafi to go, the leaders of the EU have declared following an emergency meeting in Brussels. The leaders will “examine all necessary options” to protect civilians in Libya, they say. But amid reluctance from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the officials haven’t come to...

Nasty Tweets About Berlusconi Hit EU Summit Screens

Italian tweeters hack into system easily

(Newser) - EU summit organizers got far more than they bargained for after erecting a “tweet-wall”—two giant screens that displayed Twitter messages to the 27 European leaders who were meeting yesterday. Italian Twitter users soon discovered that anything tagged “#EUCO” would appear on the screen—and proceeded to...

Wikileaks Founder Comes Out of Hiding

Assange will avoid US but attempt to contact whistleblower Manning

(Newser) - The founder of Wikileaks has come out of hiding, but he won't be visiting the US any time soon, the Guardian reports. Julian Assange has been wary of the US since the arrest of a US military analyst who claimed to have sent Wikileaks 260,000 confidential US diplomatic cables....

Travel Chaos Continues as Ash Cloud Spreads East

Flights grounded at least 2 more days after Icelandic volcano eruption

(Newser) - The cloud of volcanic ash emanating from Iceland has reached northern Scotland, and the aviation disruption caused by the floating debris will continue for at least 2 more days, the Times of London reports. Thousands of flights have been grounded, crippling airline schedules around the world, and now health concerns...

20 Killed in Head-On Belgian Train Crash

Wrong-way driver ignored repeated warnings

(Newser) - At least 20 people were killed at rush hour today in Belgium when two commuter trains crashed head on south of Brussels. Both train drivers and conductors were among the dead. One mangled train perched atop the other as rescuers used cranes to get to dozens of passengers and some...

Belgian Named EU Prez After Blair Bid Fails

Center-right leaders want one of their own for European Council

(Newser) - Tony Blair won't be the first president of the European Council. The job went to Belgian PM Herman Van Rompuy today after British PM Gordon Brown withdrew Blair's nomination when it became clear he didn't have enough support. Blair tells the Guardian he isn’t surprised, because the “direction...

27 Nations Vote in Massive EU Election

Across continent, angry voters set to punish ruling parties

(Newser) - Citizens of 27 nations begin voting today for elections to the European Parliament, and across the continent voters are expected to punish ruling parties and encourage the opposition, including the extreme right. From Ireland to France to Hungary, governments are braced for a protest vote spurred by the economic meltdown,...

Zoo Webcasts Elephant Birth
 Zoo Webcasts Elephant Birth 

Zoo Webcasts Elephant Birth

(Newser) - A Belgium zoo webcast its first elephant birth to enthralled animal lovers yesterday as the newborn plopped out of mom Phyo Phyo after 38 hours of labor. The mother, sister and aunt scrambled in excitement in a circle around the newborn, trumpeting, until the baby responded with squeals of its...

Immigrant Busted Clinging to 186 mph Eurostar

Cops aren't saying how he did it

(Newser) - An illegal immigrant was nabbed in England clinging to the outside of a Eurostar rail car, reports the Independent. The trains reach speeds of 186 mph. The train originated in Brussels and traveled through France. Police provided no details on how the man survived the risky journey. Immigrants sneaking into...

Israel Completes Gaza Withdrawal

(Newser) - The last Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip before dawn today, the military said, as Israel dispatched its foreign minister to Europe in a bid to rally international support to end arms smuggling into the Hamas-ruled territory. The timing of the pullout reflected Israeli hopes to defuse the Gaza crisis...

Belgian Police Nab Female al-Qaeda 'Legend'

EU Summit bomb plot foiled

(Newser) - Belgian police have arrested a woman described as "a living legend" of the al-Qaeda network, CNN reports. Malika El-Aroud, the widow of a suicide bomber, is alleged to be a recruiter for al-Qaeda in Europe. She is one of 14 suspects arrested as police foiled a terror attack coinciding...

14 al-Qaeda Suspects Arrested During EU Summit

Huge police operation as European leaders arrive in Brussels

(Newser) - Belgian police have arrested 14 people with suspected links to al-Qaeda, including 3 who allegedly were planning an attack. The Guardian reports that the suspects may have been planning a suicide bombing at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, which opened today and is being attended by all the...

15-Nation Eurozone Falls Into Recession

New figures confirm bloc's first ever contraction

(Newser) - The 15-nation eurozone has entered recession for the first time since the introduction of the common currency in 1999. The bloc's GDP contracted 0.2% in the second quarter, worse than expected, according to new figures released today. Several individual European nations, including giant Germany, are already contracting, and forecasters...

Firebrand Sets Russia's Tone at NATO

Moscow's Brussels rep, a Stalin admirer, revels in attack

(Newser) - If you needed proof of Russia's contempt for NATO, look no further than Dmitri Rogozin, Moscow's representative to the military alliance. A fiery ultranationalist who once had a poster of Stalin hanging in his office, Rogozin has seemed more showman than diplomat. But since the South Ossetian war, something's changed—...

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