Breaking story just moments old at this hour. Two explosions heard at Zaventem Airport in Brussels, Belgium. Further reports on Twitter say one was at the check-in counter.
[News] Bombings in Brussels
- Thread starter DarkAudit
- Start date
Look, if you're going to beat me to it even if it's 5 minutes' drive from here (ok, more like 10 outside of traffic), what's the point of even living here?
But, yeah, that.[DOUBLEPOST=1458633067,1458633020][/DOUBLEPOST]11 dead, 25 wounded so far according to police reports.
CNN is reporting that as local media reports plus "words exchanged in Arabic" just prior.
Suspect package found at one of the subway stations of the European Parliament - all subways have been halted and are being evacuated. Fuck, the station where they found the package is less than 2km from here and the one my girlfriend usually takes to go to/from work - she passed through there about an hour ago. 
[DOUBLEPOST=1458635441,1458635397][/DOUBLEPOST]Yup, just been updated from "suspect package" to "explosion". Well, that's fun.
[DOUBLEPOST=1458635441,1458635397][/DOUBLEPOST]Yup, just been updated from "suspect package" to "explosion". Well, that's fun.between NATO's headquarters, the EU parliament, the EU council, a EU Summit currently ongoing, and the European Commission, it's been long been accepted Brussels was pretty much "due". I (and many experts with me) expected them to focus more on specific subway stations (one of which they have indeed targeted) and the train stations than the airport, though - though it might yield a higher body count, it's a less important target.
Stay safe, @Bubble181 and girlfriend of Bubble. Are you still at work or back home now?
Thank you.
I'm at home and supposed to be in bed (it's 10 am here and I have the night shift), she's at work and passed through aforementioned subway station about an hour before the explosion. No idea how she's going to get home this evening, to be honest, but that's somewhat of a secondary concern.
Confirmed third explosive found at the airport; still unclear whether there's been an explosion in one or two subway stops - there's smoke coming out of both but they're next to each other so may have been from one explosion.
And I have NATO disposition because of the "vital for national security" nature of my job - even if they close off all roads in and out of Brussels, I can still get to work. Probably even faster than usual, given our traffic jams...
And I have NATO disposition because of the "vital for national security" nature of my job - even if they close off all roads in and out of Brussels, I can still get to work. Probably even faster than usual, given our traffic jams...
Meehhh, not too fast. Suspect packages reported all over the place ,but the only two subway stations with confirmed smoke are Maalbeek and Schuman (next to each other and both in the European Quarter, where I live). Arts-Loi is the next one over (and still in the European Quarter) and there's a suitcase the police don't like. We'll see and hear soon enough, but several local media are doing their best to have the scoop so they're reporting a bit too much too quickly.[DOUBLEPOST=1458637889,1458637517][/DOUBLEPOST]For those who feel the need to see such things, the moment of the first explosion (security cam footage):
And with that, I'm going to try and sleep a bit.
And of course our government feels the need to (over)react in the most ridiculous way possible: everyone across the whole country is asked to remain where they are and a state of complete lockdown has been announced. Admittedly, it's a small country, but it still makes no sense at all.
So there's nothing more you can do, then. Get some sleep.
For the moment, I think it's the safest measure.
Glad you're okay, Bubble.
Glad you're okay, Bubble.
Glad to hear you're safe, Bubble. Still trying to get some friends (and their families) to check in, I'm quickly becoming fond of Facebook's safety check feature.
Yeah, as soon as I woke up I got the news from my family's Whatsapp. My dad (the journalist) told me to go watch American news, and I said "lolno" and turned on catalan ones. Paris coverage was tripe states-side, comparatively, and I expect this to be much the same.
As long as the international desk was reporting actual news, CNN was okay. It was when they shifted to analysis and brought in the talking heads that it went all to shit. The very first sentences out of his mouth were claiming as fact reports that had either not been confirmed or already debunked. You lose, Counter-Terror Dude.
Since nothing new has made it's way into this thread since I left work, I'll skip the news channels for the day and catch up tonight when I get up again.
I miss the level headed world news from CNN from the 90's. I used to leave CNN running on my TV when I was home during non-primetime hours. But the channel has become so stupid over the years. I can not even remember the last time I watched more than 10 minutes of that channel.
I even owned a CNN baseball cap when I was in college.
I even owned a CNN baseball cap when I was in college.
See if you can find a way to watch CNNi (CNN International). Every time I've had access to it (mostly when travelling to Andorra), I've thoroughly enjoyed the level of quality in both reports and news. When Al-Jazeera started broadcasting, their early quality stuff really reminded me of CNNi.
On her way to Central Station, still not quite sure how she'll get back here. I have to leave for work now though, so we won't see each other today
Was kind of hoping she'd've made it early enough to get a good cuddle in, at least....She went to a friend's place for some talking and huddling together...In Schaarbeek. About 2 blocks from where they are now doing door-to-door searches and have already found another bomb, IS-flags, and a bunch of rifles. -_-. Well-chosen location, honey! Maybe next time invite them to our place!