Belgium

Subterms

    Latest story

    113 Shares54 Views

    Amsterdam Police Arrest 5 More Men Over Antisemitic Attacks

    by

    A total of eight people were being held in connection with last week’s violence, and unrest in the largest city in the Netherlands continued on Monday night.The police in Amsterdam arrested five more people on assault charges this weekend, four of whom are still being held, over the attacks on Israeli soccer fans in the city late last week after a match between an Israeli and a Dutch team.The total number of people who are still being held in connection to with the violence is now eight, the police said, and more arrests were possible. The people arrested were all men ranging in age from 18 to 37. The police urged people to share any video footage as a way to aid their investigation.On Monday afternoon, Dick Schoof, the prime minister of the Netherlands, told Dutch reporters that the perpetrators who attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in Amsterdam primarily had “a migration background.”“We have an integration problem,” Mr. Schoof said, “This is an expression of that.”Over the past year, tensions related to the war in Gaza have been high in Amsterdam, a city with a large Muslim population angered by Israel’s conduct in the conflict, which was set off by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. While most of the hundreds of Gaza-related protests in Amsterdam have been peaceful, some have turned turbulent. One disrupted the opening ceremony for the city’s new Holocaust museum.On Monday night, the unrest continued, with riot police responding to vandalism and people throwing fireworks, which set a tram on fire in a square in the western part of the city. The police urged people to stay away from the square.In neighboring Belgium, two boys — ages 14 and 17 — were arrested in Antwerp on Sunday and Monday, Antwerp officials said, for allegedly spreading calls on social media to attack Jewish residents in the city.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 163 Shares99 Views

      in Soccer

      Brussels Court Orders 3 Linked to Qatar Bribery Case to Stay in Prison

      by

      Belgian officials said they suspected a Gulf country of trying “to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament.”BRUSSELS — A court in Belgium ruled on Wednesday that two suspects in a case linking current and former European lawmakers to alleged bribery by Qatar should remain in prison until trial and that a third should wear an electronic monitor, as the snowballing scandal continued to rock European Union institutions.Four people, including Eva Kaili, a former vice president of the European Parliament who is from Greece, were charged last week with corruption, money laundering and participation in suspected bribes from Qatar, in what may be the biggest scandal in the history of the Parliament.A court hearing for Ms. Kaili was postponed until Dec. 22, the office of the Belgian federal prosecutor said on Wednesday, so she remains imprisoned outside Brussels. Parliamentary lawmakers also stripped Ms. Kaili of her title as vice president during a plenary session in France.Court documents seen by The New York Times identified the other suspects as Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former member of Parliament; Francesco Giorgi, Ms. Kaili’s partner and an assistant to a current European lawmaker; and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, secretary general of a Brussels-based charity. Mr. Panzeri and Mr. Giorgi were ordered to remain detained until trial, and Mr. Figa-Talamanca was ordered to be placed under electronic monitoring.Two others were arrested in Italy in connection with the case, the Belgian prosecutor’s office said.Belgian officials said they suspected a Gulf country of trying “to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament.”The Belgian intelligence services have been working for more than a year with similar services in other countries to “map suspected bribery” of European lawmakers, the justice ministry told The Times.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Soccer

      Belgium’s Golden Generation Reaches the End as Croatia and Morocco Move On

      by

      AL RAYYAN, Qatar — After the final whistle of a scoreless draw between the golden generations of two small European nations’ soccer teams, the end came for one of them. Eras in soccer last only so long, injuries and age catching up to all.The tie was enough for Croatia to advance to the knockout stage of this World Cup. Its players, several of whom were on the field when Croatia lost the 2018 World Cup final in Russia, will get to play at least one more game in Qatar. They hugged and slapped hands after Thursday’s game ended at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.But Belgium — a team that rose to new heights, and spent several years atop the world rankings and finishing third in 2018 — will go home. Once expected to contend for a World Cup title during an era in which it was able to call upon some of the world’s best players at several positions — goalkeeper, midfielder, forward — Belgium instead never won a major international title, or even reached a final. Now, its stars are unlikely to play together again. Most of Belgium’s top players are in their early to mid-30s. This trip to Qatar was their final collective shot.“A huge disappointment for us,” Belgium Coach Roberto Martínez said.After the game, Romelu Lukaku, 29, Belgium’s career leading scorer, was moved to tears and consoled by teammates on the sidelines. Axel Witsel, 33, a midfielder, collapsed to the ground, as did the 33-year-old defender Toby Alderweireld. Kevin De Bruyne, 31, a midfielder widely considered one of the best players in the world, walked around saying his goodbyes.Martínez, Belgium’s coach since 2016, later admitted that he hugged everyone because it was to be his final game as the team’s leader.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

    • 125 Shares179 Views

      in Soccer

      After Belgium’s Loss to Morocco, Violence Breaks Out in Brussels

      by

      Riots erupted in the heart of Brussels and several other Belgian cities on Sunday after Belgium was upset by Morocco, 2-0, at the World Cup.Video footage shared online showed crowds overturning and setting ablaze a car Brussels, the Belgian capital. Local reports said rioters also set fire to electric scooters and threw bricks at other vehicles. A Brussels police spokeswoman, Ilse Van de Keere, told reporters that one person had suffered injuries.It was not immediately clear if the protests were between rival fans of the teams.The center of Brussels is on fire after the match. 🇲🇦🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/D0zznXZ00d— Yassin Akouh (@Yassin_Akouh) November 27, 2022
      In response, the police in Brussels deployed water cannons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowds, videos showed. It was unclear if anyone was arrested.Mayor Philippe Close of Brussels said in posts on Twitter that he strongly condemned the incidents. He advised soccer fans to stay away from the city center. “The police are doing everything they can to maintain public order,” he added.The city of Antwerp also saw an eruption of violence after the match.The police in the neighboring Netherlands said that riots had also broken out in Rotterdam, a port city; the Dutch capital, Amsterdam; and The Hague. Footage shared online showed charred vehicles in the middle of one street.Riot police officers in Rotterdam tried to break up a group of about 500 soccer supporters who had tossed fireworks and glass at officers, according to the authorities.The World Cup, held this year in Qatar, has had several upsets, with Japan trouncing Germany, 2-1, and Argentina falling to Saudi Arabia, 2-1, before coming back to beat Mexico 2-0, and resurrect its chances of advancing. More