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Europe let security slip, says Australia

Sydney / AFP Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Wednesday that Europe had “allowed security to slip”, as he questioned the EU’s Schengen passport-free zone in the wake of the Brussels attacks. Turnbull’s comments came as Belgium’s neighbours France, Germany and the Netherlands tightened border security after some 35 people were killed in Belgium’s worst extremist assault. Security at ...

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‘Urgent’ need to bolster EU external border controls: French PM

Paris / AFP France’s prime minister on Wednesday said there was an “urgent need” to tighten controls on the European Union’s external borders after deadly bombings in Brussels claimed by the IS group. “There is an urgent need to strengthen the external borders of the European Union,” Manuel Valls told French radio. Heightened vigilance was required to stop people crossing ...

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Brussels airport remains closed amid investigation

Brussels / Bloomberg Brussels Airport will remain closed on Wednesday as terrorism investigators sift through the site seeking evidence in the twin bombing attacks a day ago that killed at least 31 people. “Because the forensic investigation is still under way, we currently have no access to the building,” the airport said in a statement on its website. “It is ...

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Lavrov urges Europe to drop ‘geopolitical games’

Moscow / AFP Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday called for Europe to drop its “geopolitical games” and unite behind efforts to fight terrorism, a day after attacks in Brussels killed around 30 people. “I really hope that Europeans, in the face of the terrible threat of terrorism that occurred yesterday in Brussels, will put aside their geopolitical games ...

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The dark path to Brussels

The value of catastrophic events is that they can help people face up to problems that are otherwise impossible to address. Maybe this will be the case with Tuesday’s horrific attacks in Brussels. Europe is facing a security threat that’s unprecedented in its modern history, at a time when its common currency, border security and intelligence-sharing are all under severe ...

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Plug security loopholes before a Brussels replay

The terrorist attacks in Brussels have once again evoked the international resolve to defeat terrorism, defend freedom and human rights not only in Europe but also around the world. Posing a new challenge, perpetrators vented their anger over the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, the most wanted suspect in November’s attacks in Paris. They seem to send a vengeful message that ...

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Assessing market reactions to Brussels

The reaction of financial markets to the terrorist attacks in Brussels on Tuesday was calm and mature, showing that they have learned the lessons of such tragedies, which have become all too common. Nonetheless, markets will find it increasingly difficult to price the longer- term effects, including unusual political developments that could affect the global economy. The markets’ relatively muted ...

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Trump immigration attack begins in Brussels

Here we go again. Speaking on NBC’s Today show shortly after deadly terrorist attacks in Brussels, Donald Trump said the U.S. should “close up our borders until we figure out what’s going on.” The Trumpian rhetoric is now familiar: His proposal is both shockingly aggressive — it was accompanied by another call to “expand” American law to permit the torture ...

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Aquino’s military modernization is unprecedented, but insufficient

Shang-su Wu SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS With his term set to end in June, it’s an appropriate time to review the Philippines’ military modernization efforts under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III. During his six years in office, military modernization has advanced at a scale unprecedented since the Marcos era – but it remains insufficient. After the Philippines gained ...

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