Belgium begins largest 'terrorism' trial
Belgian prosecutors have begun the country's biggest-ever terrorism trial, accusing 46 men of being members of a terrorist organisation that indoctrinated young men to fight in Syria. Nine of those charged were present in court in Antwerp on Monday, including the alleged ringleader Fouad Belkacem. The others were allegedly still in Syria, with many possibly dead in the fighting there. Prosecutors said the accused belonged to Sharia4Belgium, a group disbanded two years ago, which prosecutors say was led by the 32-year-old Belkacem. The court heard that members approached young men and a few teenage women in Antwerp and Vilvoorde, north of Brussels, to invite them to their centre in Antwerp where they were indoctrinated and readied for their trip to Syria. ‘The clear aim was to prepare them for armed combat,’ Luc Festraets, a prosecutor, told the court.
South of France hit by devastating floods
Around 60 towns in the south of France have been officially declared natural disaster sites following severe flooding caused by torrential downpours, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced on Tuesday. Flood waters inundated roads and highways, engulfing cars after the Lez river, which flows by the coastal city of Montpellier and burst its banks. More than 4,000 people across the rain-soaked region spent the night in emergency centres, schools, train stations or the airport, the local government said in a statement. According to the authorities, emergency workers were called out more than 1,200 times, backed by three helicopters. ‘We will put in place natural disaster measures for about 60 towns,’ Cazeneuve told local media, adding he would head to the flood-hit region later on Tuesday. Rains were expected to ease by Tuesday and meteorologists downgraded the maximum red alert to orange in the region.
Ukraine troops and rebels 'begin withdrawing'
Ukranian officials have said that government troops and pro-Russian rebels are withdrawing forces and artillery from frontline positions in eastern Ukraine in line with a peace agreement. Monday's withdrawal leaves a 30km buffer between the two sides as part of a nine-point memorandum signed on Saturday. The agreement came after a truce signed on September 5 was hampered by violations, leading to the deaths of 39 Ukrainian troops and civilians. However, reduced fire from pro-Russian rebels in recent days has allowed Ukranian forces to begin to pull back troops, said Anriy Lysenko, a Ukranian military spokeswoman. Although the withdrawal has begun, it is ‘not as large as expected’, added Lysenko. ‘We are seeing a trend that [the rebels] are reducing their use of heavy armed weaponry.’ Neither side has completed their withdrawal. The Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, said that a continued Ukrainian offensive risked alienating support from the US and other Western governments.
Jihadists from The Hague planning attack on European Commission
The Belgian Justice Department has leads that jihadists from The Hague have plans to attack the office of the European Commission in Brussels. In August, a man and a woman of Turkish origin were arrested at Brussels airport where they had returned from Turkey. They had most probably been in Syria. Apparently the Belgian Justice Department is searching for additional jihadists in the Netherlands. All of these jihadists are Dutchmen of Turkish descent who are suspected of having connections to jihadist networks.
