Brussels seeks UNESCO heritage mark for puppetry, flower carpet
Brussels, Belgium Reuters Brussels is looking to protect two of its historical traditions: rod puppetry and a 1,680-square-metre flower carpet rolled out every second year in front of the Belgian capital’s city hall, by granting them the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage status. Puppets are seen at the Royal Toone Theatre, in Brussels, Belgium, on 28th […]
COP28 focus on health draws $US777 million to fight tropical disease
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters The United Arab Emirates and several charities at the UN climate summit on Sunday offered $US777 million in financing for eradicating neglected tropical diseases that are expected to worsen as temperatures climb. Climate-related factors “have become one of the greatest threats to human health in the 21st century”, COP28 President Sultan […]
Swedish, Belgian leaders pay tribute to Brussels attack victims
Brussels, BelgiumReuters Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo paid tribute in Brussels on Wednesday to the victims of Monday’s attack by a gunman in which two Swedish football fans died and one was injured. Kristersson said on Tuesday that the attack in the Belgian capital by a 45-year rejected […]
Brussels gunman who killed two Swedes shot dead by police
Brussels, BelgiumReuters A Tunisian gunman suspected of killing two Swedish football fans in Brussels died on Tuesday after being shot by police in a cafe, hours after an attack which Sweden’s prime minister said showed Europe must bolster security to protect itself. The 45-year-old, who identified himself as a member of Islamic State and claimed […]
Updated: Two Swedes shot dead in Brussels, Belgium raises terror alert to top level
Updated: 11:30am (AEDT)Brussels, BelgiumReuters Two Swedish nationals were shot dead and a third wounded in central Brussels on Monday night, and a man who identified himself as a member of Islamist State claimed responsibility in a video posted online. The suspected assailant fled the scene after the shooting as a football match between Belgium and […]
UN migration chief voices concern over Mediterranean deaths, pledges new solutions
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The new head of the UN migration agency on Monday voiced concern that the deaths of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean were being “normalised” and vowed to work with governments to provide options for economic migration to address the crisis. US former White House adviser Amy Pope started as head of […]
Six convicted of murder for 2016 Brussels bombings
Brussels, BelgiumReuters A Belgian court convicted six men of murder and two others of terrorism charges on Tuesday after the country’s largest ever trial involving the 2016 Islamist bombings in Brussels that killed 32 people. Defendants sit in a specially designed glass box in the courtroom during the start of the Brussels terrorist attack trial […]
EU says slavery inflicted “untold suffering”, hints at reparations
Reuters The European Union said on Tuesday that Europe’s slave-trading past inflicted “untold suffering” on millions of people and hinted at the need for reparations for what it described as a “crime against humanity”. From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported by mostly European ships […]
Repurposed churches: In Europe’s empty houses of worship, prayer and confessions make way for drinking and dancing
RAF CASERT, of Associated Press, reports from Belgium where churches have been repurposed into everything from a luxury hotel to a climbing centre…
Donors pledge $US6 billion for Syria at EU-hosted conference
Brussels, BelgiumReuters International donors pledged €5.6 billion ($US6.13 billion) at an EU-hosted conference in Brussels on Thursday to help Syria where an earthquake in February compounded the plight of a poverty-stricken population caught up in conflict since 2011. The pledges include €4.6 billion for 2023 and one billion for 2024 and beyond to support people […]