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Two suicide bombers who died in the Paris attacks and two men held in Austria for suspected links to the operation were all processed as migrants on a Greek island on the same day, a source close to the probe told AFP. wo suspects in the November 13 attacks were arrested over the weekend at a refugee centre in the western city of Salzburg after a tip-off from French police, said a separate source in Austria. The Austrian source said the men were Algerian and Pakistani. Fingerprint analysis has shown the suspects were processed among migrants arriving on the Greek...

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech state-owned brewery Budejovicky Budvar, which has been fighting a long legal battle with U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch over the use of the "Budweiser" brand, says its overall output and exports reached record highs in 2014. Budejovicky Budvar NP says exports rose by 6 percent to reach 813,000 hectoliters (21.48 million gallons) of beer, the best result in 119 years. Budvar exported to 70 countries last year, five more than the previous year. Overall output reached 1.457 million hectoliters, up 2.5 percent from 2013. Profit figures from the brewery are due in April. Both Budvar and Anheuser-Busch...

Three years ago, I was having lunch in an Italian restaurant with the leader of Belgium's Flemish nationalist party, Bart De Wever. "Give me Elio Di Rupo as prime minister of Belgium and then make Prince Philippe a king," the head of the New Flemish Alliance told me. "Within five years Belgium will be finished. Game over." At the time I took it as a joke, or perhaps some braggadocio from a man who might have become somewhat detached from reality following the huge success of his party in the 2010 elections. Three years later, it turns out Mr. De...

Identical twins have been killed by Belgian doctors in a unique case under the country’s euthanasia laws. The 45-year-old brothers from the Antwerp region were born deaf and sought euthanasia after finding out that they would soon go blind. They told doctors that they were unable to bear the thought of not being able to see each other again. The twins, who have not been named but have been pictured on Belgian television, had spent their entire lives together, sharing a flat and working as cobblers. Belgium’s Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper reported on the weekend that doctors at Brussels University...

Former Belgian bishop Roger Vangheluwe has gone live on TV to talk about how he sexually abused two boys but does not see himself as a paedophile. Emerging from hiding, he revealed he had molested two of his nephews, and not one, as he confessed last year before resigning as bishop of Bruges. He does not face prosecution because the abuse occurred decades ago. "It had nothing to do with sexuality," he said, in comments that caused indignation among politicians. Justice Minister Stefaan De Clercq said in a statement the Church authorities "had to take measures to stop the irresponsible...

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium sparked an uproar today after the release of a new translation of a book in which he says the AIDS epidemic is a “sort of inherent justice” resulting from the “mistreatment of the profound nature of human love.” Coming just weeks after a report that detailed the abuse of hundreds of children by Catholic priests over several decades in Belgium, the comments of Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard has plunged the Church into a fresh controversy. Political leaders, media, medical institutions and gay rights campaigners have all lined up to denounce his words....

It could hardly be said to be the most dignified of send-offs. Undertakers in Belgium plan to eschew traditional burials and cremations and start dissolving corpses instead. The move is intended to tackle a lack of burial space and environmental concerns as 573lbs of carbon dioxide are released by each cremated corpse. Under the process, known as resomation, bodies are treated in a steel chamber with potassium hydroxide at high pressure and a temperature of 180c (350f). The raised pressure and temperature means the body reaches a similar end point as in standard cremation — just bones left to be...

Police investigating claims of child abuse by Belgian clergy have told the BBC they are probing death threats against witnesses and magistrates. Last month police raided a meeting of Belgium's Catholic bishops as part of their investigation, seizing computers and documents. They even searched the tomb of at least one cardinal, prompting an angry response from the Vatican. The country is one of several where the Church has been shaken by abuse claims. The investigation into child abuse allegations in Belgium's Catholic Church has already prompted extraordinary scenes, says the BBC's Dominic Hughes in Brussels. But now the investigation has...

The Vatican has expressed "shock" at raids, including a "violation" of a cathedral crypt, by Belgian police investigating alleged child sex abuse. As well as searching a couple of main Church offices and a cardinal's home, police had drilled holes in two archbishops' tombs, said the Church. Prosecutors said the raids were over alleged "abuse of minors committed by a certain number of Church figures". Belgium is one of many countries where the Church has been hit by sex scandal. In April, the Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, resigned after admitting he had sexually abused a boy more than 20...

Muslim group posts anti-Jewish cartoons on website as exercise in 'free speech.' A Belgian-Dutch Islamic political organization posted anti-Jewish cartoons on its Web site in response to the cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that appeared in Danish papers last year and offended many Muslims. The cartoons were posted on the Arab European League's site on Saturday. It was not working Sunday morning because of exceeded bandwidth. The site carried a disclaimer saying the images were being shown as part of an exercise in free speech rather than to endorse their content - just as European newspapers have reprinted the Danish...

BRUSSELS, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Vandals set fires in Belgium for a third straight night in what authorities called copycat violence patterned on the rioting in France. Cars, trucks and at least two cellars were burned in Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent, Expatica reported Wednesday. Federal officials said Tuesday night's incidents were isolated, and cautioned against equating the violence in Belgium with the situation in France, where rioting has continued nearly two weeks. Ghent Police Commissioner Steven de Smet said authorities would take the unrest seriously, but would not overreact. "But we must not panic either. For now, we cannot say...

Doctors in Belgium recently released an injured Iraqi girl who was wounded during the US invasion. The hospital billed the US embassy. One of the docs said, "I bet they won't pay." The bill is 66K. I thought maybe we could raise the money (using our tax returns) and pay it off with a little extra for the girl to show this moron up. Any takers? Anyone wanna get a .org going and get this taken care of real quick? If we could raise 60K+ for this website, don't ya think this is worth it - help an Iraqi girl...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. Welcome to "Warrior Wednesday" Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different...

The entire Antwerp council, including its Mayor, resigned yesterday in a scandal over buying perfume, clothes and shoes on official credit cards, to the delight of Belgium's outcast far-right party, the Vlaams Blok. Two months before a Belgian general election, the furore has been a godsend to the extremist Blok, which has been excluded from power in Antwerp even though it won 33 per cent of the vote in municipal elections in October 2000.