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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting. Brussels main airport will partially reopen for passenger flights Sunday, but it will be under tighter security.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Zaventem Airport Chief Executive Arnaud Feist confirmed that three Brussels Airlines flights will depart from Belgium's main airport. He also announced temporary repair work and security features that will be used at the airport as it works toward a return to full operation. "A temporary construction is implemented next to the connector on the tarmac. Only passengers coming from the car park will have access to this zone, near the bus station. In this construction, first four lanes, then eight lanes are installed with metal detectors and X-ray screening equipment to screen all passengers and their luggage." The opening comes 12 days after the airport's departure hall was damaged by suicide bombers. Meanwhile, Belgian police made several arrests following a tense confrontation between right-wing protesters and anti-racist youth in Brussels on Saturday. U.S. President Barack Obama praised this week's nuclear security summit, saying it gave visiting countries a chance to focus on the fight against terrorist groups like the Islamic State. In his weekly media address, Mr. Obama said many of those attending the conference will lead their fighting IS or have an interest in seeing it overthrown. "At this summit, we pledged to keep up our efforts to prevent the world's most deadly networks from obtaining the world's most deadly weapons." The president added the summit's goal of reducing the world's nuclear materials is especially important in light of the rise of terrorist networks. This is VOA news. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has dedicated a Turkish-funded mosque near Washington, saying he hopes the facility can help eliminate intolerance that he sees coming from some U.S. presidential candidates. Erdoğan did not identify those candidates by name. However, Republican front-runner Donald Trump has in recent weeks called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. His rival Ted Cruz has called for increased police patrols in Muslim neighborhoods across the country. Mr. Erdoğan called such statements "shocking." He said, "It's very interesting and shocking for me to observe some of the presidential candidates here in the United States using allegations that Muslims are terrorists and using those labels against the Muslims on a continuous basis." Erdoğan called it "absolutely unacceptable" to blame all Muslims for terrorist attacks in the West. Syrian officials said Saturday that its army had found a mass grave on the northeastern edge of Palmyra after it recaptured the ancient city from Islamic State militants. Authorities say there were at least 40 bodies in the grave, including women and children. Some of the bodies had been beheaded, while others were shot. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the discovery. Also Saturday, heavy fighting was reported between Syrian government forces and rebels including the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front on the outside of the city of Aleppo. Reports from Mogadishu, Somalia, say seven people, including three intelligence security officers, died in separate shootings Saturday. The violence came just one day after confirmation from a U.S. official that an airstrike had killed a senior member of the al-Shabaab militant group. Hassan Ali Dhore's death was confirmed on Friday. The Somali government last year put him on its "most wanted" list of 12 people involved in terror attacks in Mogadishu. The Turkish coast guard intercepted more than 60 migrants and refugees in the Aegean Sea as they tried to reach the Greek island of Lesbos Saturday. The group, including Syrians, was transported to the western Turkish town of Dikili in compliance with the deal that takes effect on April 4. Turkey agreed with the European Union last month that migrants who arrive illegally in Greece from Turkey will be sent back unless their application for asylum is accepted. In return, the EU agreed to resettle thousands of legal Syrian refugees directly from Turkey -- one for each Syrian returned from the Greek islands. For more on these stories, log on to our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |