BRUSSELS MANHUNT CONTINUES
Belgian police are hunting two suspects believed to have participated in Tuesday’s Brussels terror attacks that killed at least 31 people and injured 270, Le Monde reports. One of them can be seen on airport security footage accompanying killers Ibrahim el-Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui. Police believe he fled after dropping off a bag containing a bomb and that the other at-large suspect was in the Brussels metro with the third bomber, Khalid el-Bakraoui, moments before his accomplice blew himself up. According to the newspaper, the three dead suicide bombers, and potentially the other two suspects, were part of the Paris terrorist network and known to the police. Laachraoui is believed to have made the bombs used in November in Paris. Turkish President Erdogan told reporters yesterday that Ibrahim el-Bakraoui had been arrested in Turkey and deported to Europe last June as a potential Islamist militant, claims that represent “a major political embarrassment for Belgium,” the Financial Times writes.
- Belgian newspaper La Dernière Heure reports that the initial targets of the el-Bakraoui brothers, both of whom were supposed to be in jail, were Belgium’s nuclear power stations. The recent arrest of Paris terrorist Salah Abdeslam, who appears to have been part of the same group of French-Belgian terrorists, reportedly forced the attackers to change their plans and act quickly before being caught.
- Abdeslam’s lawyer Sven Mary has claimed that his client didn’t know anything about Tuesday’s attacks. He has also said Abdeslam wants to return to France “as soon as possible … to explain himself.” The terrorist had initially refused extradition after his arrest last Friday. According to newspaper Le Soir, the last surviving terrorist behind the Paris attacks hasn’t been talking to investigators since Tuesday’s killings. Yesterday, Belgian media reported he had been placed in a cell close to Mehdi Nemmouche, who is suspected of killing four people at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels in 2014. According to the reports, Nemmouche kept Abdeslam up to date during the attacks and told him several times to keep his mouth shut. Abdeslam’s lawyer dismissed the claims as “materially impossible.”
- While some experts and EU leaders fear new attacks, AP reports that ISIS has trained at least 440 fighters to attack Europe in deadly waves. They are reportedly organized in a “network of agile and semiautonomous cells.”
VERBATIM
“If European politicians, European elites, believe that we can solve the problem of terrorism by organizing another protest march, laying flowers where victims were killed or by lighting up monuments with the colors of the attacked countries, they’re being terribly naive,” Niezależna quotes Polish Prime Minister Beata SzydÅ‚o as saying. She also announced she was suspending Poland’s commitment to welcome more refugees as part of an EU-wide relocation program. “I do not see it possible to allow migrants in Poland at the moment,” SzydÅ‚o said. Read more from Reuters.
SYRIA, IRAQ CLOSE IN ON ISIS-HELD CITIES
A Syrian army offensive to retake the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS is underway. Government troops backed by the Russian warplanes that remain in the country have entered the “heart” of the city, which has been held by ISIS since May 2015, Al Arabiya reports, citing Syrian state media. If successful, the offensive would represent both a major boost to President Assad and his allies, and a major blow to ISIS. Meanwhile, across the border, Iraqi ground troops backed by U.S. airstrikes have launched an offensive to retake the ISIS-held city of Mosul. Read more from Newsweek.
NORTH KOREA HAILS SOLID-FUEL SUCCESS
North Korea is claiming to have successfully tested a solid-fuel rocket engine. If true, it would bolster Pyongyang’s missile capabilities, The New York Times reports. Using solid fuel instead of liquid fuel means a greater ground mobility for missiles that can also be launched much quicker. “We have anticipated this and we have been making necessary preparations,” the spokesman for South Korea’s Defense Ministry said.
SNAPSHOT
Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire/ZUMA
More than 5,000 of the world’s best Irish dancers, aged between 8 and 30, are participating in the 46th annual world Irish dancing championships at the Glasgow Royal concert hall, from March 19-27.
DEBRIS “ALMOST CERTAINLY” FROM MH370
Debris recently found by an American tourist on a beach in Mozambique is “almost certainly” from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing two years ago with 239 passengers on board, the BBC reports.
$416 MILLION
The record industry made $416 million from U.S. vinyl sales last year. The figure represents a 27-year high, as vinyl purchases brought in more money than free, ad-supported streaming.
WORLDCRUNCH-TO-GO
Suffering with a low birth rate and grappling with how to maintain a workforce and economic development, Japanese officials believe they have a solution in AI. “Over the past few years, Japanese firms have competed in investing huge amounts of funds in the research and development of artificial intelligence,” China’s Economic Observer reports. “Toyota, the largest Japanese automobile maker, is among them. In a recent press conference, company president Akio Toyoda announced that the firm will spend $1 billion over the next five years in a joint AI research project with Preferred Networks, a small company located near Tokyo University.”
Read the full article, Can Artificial Intelligence Solve Japan’s Demographic Decline?
ROCKEFELLERS ABANDON EXXONMOBIL
The Rockefeller family, which has played a crucial role in the development and expansion of the oil industry, has announced that it is divesting from fossil fuels and its holdings in ExxonMobil, one of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil “babies.” According to the Rockefeller Family Fund, Exxon’s conduct on climate issues is “morally reprehensible.”
ON THIS DAY
[rebelmouse-image 27090070 original_size=”232×150″ expand=1]
Hungarian-American illusionist Harry Houdini was born on this day in 1874. That and more in today’s shot of history.
KIWIS KEEP THEIR FLAG
After months of drawing, campaigning and debating, and after spending no less than $17 million, New Zealand voters have decided to keep their flag as it is. Prime Minister John Key said he was disappointed that New Zealand would keep its Australia-like banner, but he urged all Kiwis “to use it, embrace it and, more importantly, be proud of it.”
MY GRAND-PERE’S WORLD
[rebelmouse-image 27090071 original_size=”610×599″ expand=1]
WEIRDOVISION
If you thought the Eurovision song contest couldn’t get any weirder, this year’s contestant from Belarus will make you think again.
