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Outgoing Belgian PM on President Trump: ‘Europe should at times show some muscle’

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• Alexander De Croo

 In a speech at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss town of Davos, Belgium’s outgoing Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Flemish liberal) said that Europe should “sometimes be allowed to react a little harder” to some of the plans outlined by the new US President Donald Trump. “Greenland is part of Denmark, end of story. This is a discussion that needs to be ended”

This week Mr De Croo is spending several days in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where the World Economic Forum is taking place. The outgoing Belgian PM will have dozens of meetings with politicians and business leaders during his time in Davos. Earlier on Tuesday Mr De Croo gave a press briefing at Belgium House, the Belgian delegation’s base for the duration of the Forum.

Inevitabily, the newly inaugurat­ed President of the United States is a hot topic among those in Da­vos. Mr De Croo believes that the return of Donald Trump to the White House should push Europe to strengthen itself economically and politically. “We will be in a world where we will sometimes have to show our muscles”. He added that it is in no one’s inter­ests to start a trade war between Europe and the US.

“However, the United States isn’t the only place in the world. The agreement with the Mercosur countries in South America is a good thing, for our country too. There is also plenty of scope for trade with India”.

“We are clear: the European market is very attractive, but access to it must be reciprocal”.

During his speech, Mr De Croo also showed understanding for the Americans’ position. In particular their concern about US’ trade deficit. He suggested that Europe could buy more of its oil and gas from America and added that some European defence spending will still go on equipment pur­chased from US companies.

Despite this, Mr De Croo be­lieves that Europe should act more firmly where needs be. President Trump’s desire to annex Green­land is one example where Europe needs to take a firm stance. “It’s not something you can’t laugh off. It creates an atmosphere. We should have reacted much more firmly to it through the EU”.

-FIANDERS NEWS

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 Drug violence in Brussels: House shot at 23 times in Anderlecht

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• The scene after the gunshots

 A house in the Brussels mu­nicipality of Anderlecht was shot at in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The shooting occurred at 1:40 a.m. on the facade of a building, com­posed of a professional room and a dwelling, near Place Lemmens in Anderlecht, the Brussels Public Pros­ecutor’s Office has now confirmed.

Initial reports suggested that the shooting took place on the corner Place Clemenceau, but the scene was later confirmed to be about a ten minutes’ walk away.

The Brussels Public Prosecutor also confirmed that 23 bullet holes and two failed molotov cocktails had been found at the scene. Initial unconfirmed reports suggested 15 shots and one molotov cocktail had been found.

It is not yet known whether there is a link with the shootings that took place in the past few days on Saint-Guidon Square, or with pre­vious shootings at the Clemenceau metro station and in the Peterbos neighbourhood in Anderlecht.

Since the beginning of February, those shootings, linked to the drug environment, have already left two dead and three wounded.

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 Passengers on crashed Toronto plane offered US$30,000 each

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 DELTA Air Lines is offer­ing US$30,000 (£23,792) to each person on board a plane that crash-landed in Toronto on Monday – all of whom survived.

As it landed in the Canadian city, the plane skidded along the runway in flames before flipping over and coming to a halt upside down. Passengers described their amaze­ment as most of them walked away without injuries.

It remains unclear what caused the inci­dent, which is under investigation.

There were 76 passengers and four crew on the flight, which had travelled from the US city of Minneapolis before making its crash-landing in Canada.

A spokesperson for Delta said the money offer had no strings attached and did not affect customers’ rights.

The plane crew and emergency respond­ers were praised for their quick work in removing people from the wrecked vehicle. The plane’s various safety features have also been credited for ensuring no loss of life.

All but one of the 21 passengers who were taken to hospital had been released by Wednesday morning, the airline said.

Delta’s chief told BBC’s US partner CBS News that the flight crew were experienced and trained for any condition.

The airline’s head Ed Bastian told CBS the plane crew had “performed heroically, but also as expected”, given that “safety is embedded into our system”. He said Delta was continuing to support those affected.

Several theories about what caused the crash have been suggested to the BBC by experts who reviewed footage, including that harsh winter weather and a rapid rate of descent played a role.

One passenger recalled “a very forceful event”, and the sound of “concrete and met­al” at the moment of impact. Another said passengers were left hanging upside down in their seats “like bats”.

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been recovered from the wreckage. The investigation is being led by Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB), supported by US officials.

The accident was the fourth major air in­cident in North America in a space of three weeks – and was followed on Wednesday by a crash in Arizona in which two people lost their lives when their small planes collided.

Experts continue to insist that air travel is overwhelmingly safe – more so than other forms of transport, in fact.

That message was emphasised by US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who told CBS on Wednesday there was no pattern behind the incidents, each of which he said was “very unique”. -BBC

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Peru declares state of emergency ….following bomb attack against Public Ministry

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Peru declared a state of emer­gency on Monday, following the detonation of explosives attacking the Public Ministry of Tru­jillo. Monday’s incident marks the second attack in Trujillo this year.

During the emergency state de­clared by President Boluarte to stop delinquency, the Presidency of Peru stated that “the Armed Forces and the police will take control of the city due to the state of emergency.” The Superior Court of Justice of La Libertad declared its commitment to “not succumb to any acts of violence.”

An unidentified individual posing as a delivery driver attacked the Pub­lic Ministry of Trujillo by leaving a package with explosive material that later detonated. Two explosions were detected, one originating from the package, which led to another car explosion.

Public Minister Delia Espino­za said in an interview that initial signs link the tragedy with illegal mining. Espinoza also revealed that days earlier, someone threatened a comptroller working on an orga­nized crime case.

According to Espinoza, these events show that the Minister of Interior makes promises he cannot fulfil, stating, “Constitutionally, the labor of prevention is for the police, there is no police intelligence.” Recent research shows that the disapproval of the current Minister of Interior, Juan José Santiváñez, peaked at 80 per cent in December 2024.

Former minister of Interior Oscar Valdés criticised the low efficiency of the state of emergency because of the intelligence system, argu­ing that the government failed to address illegal mining and drug trafficking as the real threats to the country.

Illegal mining has been a contro­versial issue in Peru. On December 1, 2024, the Peruvian Congress ex­tended temporary permits for “in­formal miners,” which critics argue are a part of systemic corruption that legitimised illegal mining and helped circumvent environmen­tal regulations. In April 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights also found that Peru’s failure to regulate mining activities violated inhabitants’ basic right to a healthy environment.

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