There are no statistics available for this player Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here The federal prosecutor's office made seven arrests as 14 properties across the nation were raided Those detained are suspected of preparing a terrorist attack and other offences The specific targets of the attack have not yet been established The arrest of two Russians in Germany is being linked to the Belgian raids Seven persons were taken away for questioning An examining magistrate must now decide whether they will be arraigned and arrested Those involved are suspected of having participated in the activities of a terrorist group of financing terrorism and preparing a terrorist attack A specific target had not yet been established The federal prosecutor's office is not commenting further Two Russians have been arrested in Germany They are suspected of raising cash to fund terrorist attacks German prosecutors say they may be linked to the suspects held in Belgium and that the Russians wanted to collect funds in other European countries to finance terrorist acts by IS (Islamic State) Belgium’s Francophone broadcaster RTBf says the timing of the raids is linked to the start of the Paris Olympics There is as yet no indication that the Games were being targeted but security services didn’t want to take any risks The RTBf says several of the suspects detained in Belgium hail from Central Asia where IS-affiliate ISKP is active This week, the Belgian army’s Medical Component deployed its new "Role 2 Enhanced" field hospital in Leopoldsburg. This is the largest purchase ever made by the Medical Component.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link The Belgian army’s Medical Component deployed its new "Role 2 Enhanced" field hospital in Leopoldsburg (Picture source: Twitter account of DGMR) This deployment is an integration check of the field hospital with specialists from the various medical entities field and logistics equipment s are deployed tested and subjected to quantitative and qualitative controls as specified in the specifications More than fifty tents form such a Role 2 have been deployed with complete modules such as surgery Role 2 support is normally provided usually at Brigade or higher level depending upon the operational requirements it will be prepared to provide evacuation from Role/Echelon 1 facilities treatment and holding of patients until they can be returned to duty or evacuated Though normally this level will not include surgical capabilities certain operations may require their augmentation with the capabilities to perform emergency surgery and essential post-operative management Echelon 2 is equivalent to the land forces' Role 2+ as a surgical team is integral to this echelon Maritime echelon 2 support is normally found on major war vessels and some larger logistics or support vessels The Belgian army’s Medical Component deployed its new "Role 2 Enhanced" field hospital in Leopoldsburg (Picture source: Facebook account of the Medical Component) The Belgian army’s Medical Component deployed its new "Role 2 Enhanced" field hospital in Leopoldsburg (Picture source: Facebook account of the Medical Component)  The Belgian army’s Medical Component deployed its new "Role 2 Enhanced" field hospital in Leopoldsburg (Picture source: Facebook account of the Medical Component)   The Belgian army’s Medical Component is equipped with FN P90 (Picture source: Peter Leduc/Comopsmed Delcom)  The Medical Component is commanded by a major general and has the following organization:* Medical Component Operational Command (COMOPSMED) in Evere (Brussels)* Medical Component Competence Centre in Neder-Over-Heembeek.* Queen Astrid Military Hospital in Neder-Over-Heembeek.* 14th Medical Battalion 3x medical companies (one company supports the Air Component one company supports the Maritime Component and one Paracommando qualified company supports the Special Operations Regiment).* 23rd Medical Battalion 3x medical companies (supporting the Land Component including units of the Motorized Brigade).* 5th Medical Supplies and Distribution Element The corporal had been on a Belgian extremist watchlist and his security clearance had been revoked in April 2020 A leaked government report found significant blame for the affair lay with Belgian military intelligence as the General Intelligence and Security Service (GISS) did not inform the rest of the military of the decision made in regards to Conings’ security clearance his access to the Leopoldsburg armory was not rescinded A number of other intelligence failures further confused the government response to Conings; GISS chief Major General Philippe Boucké told the Belgian parliament on 14 July that he had not been made aware of Conings’ existence before his disappearance; his staff apparently decided that the only Belgian soldier identified as a potential terrorist was not worthy of his attention “On 8 July I received a single message – that people wanted me to be replaced and even begin disciplinary action against me On 14 July I was questioned by the parliamentary committee on defense for four hours with the result being known the same day: the majority supported me I said I would continue in office if the ADIV (CGRS) was reinforced with more staff The decision has also drawn criticism from other Belgian generals referred to Boucké as an exceptional officer draw lessons from a Conings affair which ultimately only represents a non-event Active serving senior officers including General Pierre Neirinckx General Pierre Gérard and deputy defense chief Mark Thys expressed similar sentiments Their position is further reinforced by two independent reports which placed primary responsibility for the Conings mishap with Defense Minister Dedonder’s office Copyright © 2025 Overt Defense. All Rights Reserved. Paratroopers from 12 nations participate in mass airborne operations and remembrance ceremonies dedicated to World War II’s “Operation Market Garden” at Drop Zone Ginkelse Heide, Netherlands on September 18, 2021. Photo by Sgt. Catessa Palone residents of towns along “Hell’s Highway” in the Netherlands commemorate a famous World War II operation – Operation Market Garden – by lining their streets with U.S “(The memory) is really kept alive,” said Bart Verhulst an avid cyclist and history buff who’s long been fascinated with Operation Market Garden It was the largest airborne drop in history and most extensive U.S Verhulst grew up in Eindhoven, a city along the route of Operation Market Garden, and now lives in Amsterdam. Believing that cycling is the best way to absorb historical landmarks, Verhulst recently launched a website, marketgarden.cc for those interested in doing that along the operation’s route The goal of Operation Market Garden was to sidestep the Siegfried Line the 390-mile defensive wall built by the Germans by seizing a 64-mile stretch of territories and bridges in the Netherlands and crossing the Rhine River to advance into Germany The operation had a massive airborne component — called Market — undertaken by the First Allied Airborne Army the British 1st Airborne and the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade; and a land operation — called Garden — headed by XXX Corps of the British Second Army Verhulst’s website features five different cycling routes, ranging from 83 miles to 137 miles He says all can be done in a day “at a moderate pace” by cyclists of all levels Each route has stops at different markers and points of interest related to Operation Market Garden drop zone sites and even World War II military gliders and tanks There are also links with background information “You need to make history accessible these days especially to young people,” Verhulst said It’s absolutely amazing all of the things you can see on this route that are still there While Operation Market Garden technically was a failure it was life-changing for the local population Nazi Germany had occupied the Netherlands in May 1940 “(The Allies) liberated most of the south of the Netherlands in 1944,” he said “People still tell the stories of plowing the fields and all of a sudden thousands of men dropped from airplanes.” Local battlefield tour guide Joris Nieuwint is always busy in September giving tours often attended by relatives of soldiers who fought in Operation Market Garden “It’s about the men who fought and gave their lives for our freedom,” he wrote via email “(That) made for an incredibly powerful ceremony at the gravesite,” he wrote. “To be able to help and arrange these meetings is the most beautiful thing, and is one of the reasons I’m a tour guide.” Verhulst said he first found out about Operation Market Garden while cycling at age 14, when he stumbled upon a mural written in English along Hell’s Highway. A local man told him it was written by the liberators in 1944. “He talked about how tanks rolled by and how they were shot, and the fierce resistance,” Verhulst recalled. A few years later, Verhulst’s father dug out old photos of himself as a baby on the hood of an Allied military vehicle during Operation Market Garden, and his lifelong interest was sparked, he said. Over the years, Verhulst read books and did research on the operation, and eventually had the idea of cycling its route, which he’s done every year since 2017. This year, a buddy from Chicago — where Verhulst lived for a few years — had planned to join him, but was sidelined at the last minute by a cycling crash injury. Verhulst, who runs a software company, said his aim is to disseminate information, with no commercial gain for himself. “It is just to say, ‘Hey guys, there is this amazing route through history,” he said. Thinking of young American soldiers fighting so far away from home is a humbling notion, Verhulst said. “All of a sudden, a boy from Toledo, or Chicago, or Sacramento … jumps out of a plane above a country whose location he probably doesn’t exactly know, whose names he cannot pronounce,” he said. “Many of them enlisted because of the sheer idea that a country was dominated by another force, and they strongly felt they should liberate them. I think that is just one of the bravest things there is.” Tweet30 Elena Ferrarin Elena Ferrarin has been a journalist and freelance writer for two decades She has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brown University She freelances for a variety of publications and was on staff at the Daily Herald Get a free copy of MILITARY FAMILIES delivered to your inbox each month © 2024 Military Families by U.S. Military Publishing. Site by SCBW A grey wolf has lately been trotting its way around Flanders the northern part of Belgium: the first of its kind officially confirmed in the country in more than 100 years The Belgian nature organisation Landschap reported the radio-collared canid hailed from Germany where Eurasian wolves have staged a comeback in recent years The wolf slipped into the Netherlands sometime around Christmas then navigated Dutch terrain from north to south to cross into Belgium’s Limburg province on January 2 “The animal has traveled more than 500 kilometres in 10 days,” Landschap noted on its Facebook page and said the wolf had most recently been located near Beringen and Leopoldsburg in eastern Flanders a film crew captured trail-camera footage of a probable wolf near Gedinne in the Ardennes of southern Belgium though the animal’s identity was confirmed through DNA analysis or subsequent sightings: Legal protection and habitat restoration have provided a boost for this re-expansion; so have burgeoning populations of many native European ungulates – read: wolf chow – such as roe deer and wild boar The wolf’s reoccupation of modern Germany began in the late 1990s and early 2000s more than a dozen packs call Deutschland home including a male killed that March on the A29 motorway wolves can get by in the sort of landscape spectrum of agricultural fields and cities that defines so much of modern Europe “Whereas large carnivores do not permanently occur in the areas of highest human density in Europe,” the authors of that 2014 Science assessment of European large carnivores wrote “they have shown an ability to recolonize areas with moderate human densities if they are allowed and to persist in highly human-dominated landscapes and in the proximity of urban areas in highly fragmented landscapes consisting of forest-farmland mosaics or even agro-ecosystems.” Belgium's wayfaring wolf comes on the heels of other exciting news on the European Canis lupus beat: In 2017, a she-wolf born to a pack south of Berlin showed up in Denmark, where male wolves have been seen over the past few years; experts suspect the formation of that country's first known wolf pack in some 200 years: voices get lost and some stories are never heard That’s especially true of our planet’s countless wild species: big and small For our growing team of writers and contributors those are the stories that matter most: we dedicate our time to them all day and every day nature is our niche – and we love it that way are passionate about these stories we tell Take your passion further by supporting and driving more of the nature news you know and love With wolf populations making a comeback in Germany it seems people's deep-rooted fears are also resurfacing A little skirmish between a dog and a cat is nothing to write home about But a snowy standoff between a wolf and a lynx Golden jackals have spent the past few decades establishing themselves across Europe it appears they've made it to northern Germany in towns and villages people across West Flanders Province marked the 80th anniversary of their Liberation from the Nazi yoke as the Second World War drew to a close special ceremonies were staged and exhibitions opened In Bruges a parade of old army vehicles was held while elsewhere people pariedy in 40s style the commemoration of the liberation started with the opening of a restored command bunker The bunker houses a permanent exhibition telling the story of the liberation by Polish forces Local people could take part in a tour of all the places that played a role on that eventful 1944 day and flowers were laid on the spot where 8 Polish soldiers died during the liberation several re-enactment groups pitched their tents on the Kruisvest to show what daily life was like for soldiers 80 years ago where triage was done and lightly wounded soldiers were separated from the seriously injured The lightly wounded were patched up and sent back to the front the seriously wounded were given first care at the dressing station and then dispatched to a field hospital or hospital Dorine Bousse is also a nurse in real life ‘It was completely different working then’ she says On Saturday a parade of 25 military vehicles wended its way from ‘t Zand to the Market Square in Bruges A photo exhibition also runs at the town hall till 20 October before moving to Zeebrugge In the Westhoek District a torch of remembrance toured the area  The initiative came from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission which looks after the graves of Commonwealth soldiers The memorial torch symbolises the memories and lessons from the two world wars that need to be passed on to younger generations It was lit at Talbot House in the town of Poperinge during the commemoration of its liberation After a special Last Post on Sunday evening in Ieper the inauguration of a new memorial stone to the Polish liberators had already taken place in the presence of the granddaughter of the Polish general Stanislas Maczek A number of towns chose not only to commemorate the liberation with ceremonies and exhibitions but also to party in a style that would be familiar to the inhabitants who celebrated 80 years ago while in De Panne there was a liberation concert Regrouping of participants of the Belgian Motorized Brigade after an operation in the framework of Celtic Uprise 2023 in Leopoldsburg (Picture source: Army Recognition) The exercise encompassed various deployment methods One of its key objectives was to test and strengthen cooperation between Belgian and French ground forces within the framework of the Motorized Capacity  (Capacité Motorisée military personnel were deployed in Oirschot before carrying out operations in the provinces of Antwerp (Oud-Turnhout region) and Limburg (Leopoldsburg region) Members of the French 150th Infantry Regiment with their VBCI at Celtic Uprise 2023 in Leopoldsburg (Picture source: Army Recognition) As part of the CaMo strategic partnership between Belgium and France, it was agreed that the bi-national Celtic Uprise exercise would be held annually. This exercise serves as a precursor to the establishment of a Belgian Specialized Training Center focused on "NATO Stability Operations," where bi-national tactical subgroups (SGTIA) and bi-national tactical groups (GTIA) can undergo certification. Member of the Belgian Motorized Brigade with a Lynx LMV during Celtic Uprise 2023 in Leopoldsburg (Picture source: Army Recognition) It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem finance and maintenance of the Dendermonde Prison project in Belgium has reached Financial Close successfully The Belgian Buildings Agency (Regie der Gebouwen / Régie des Bâtiments) awarded BAM PPP b.v the contract for the provision of a prison in Dendermonde which will house 444 inmates. Stibbe acted as legal advisor to the Belgian Buildings Agency alongside Rebel Advisory (financial) and eld (technical) The construction work is due to start in August 2020 and is expected to be completed by October 2022 at the latest Stibbe acted as legal advisor to the Belgian Buildings Agency is 100% shareholder and equity provider of the special purpose company “Poort van Dendermonde” BAM Interbuild will be in charge of the design and construction of the project while BAM fm will provide the maintenance for a period of 25 years and soft facilities services which will be limited to laundry AG Insurance and Nationale-Nederlanden Levensverzekering Maatschappij Coöperatieve Rabobank provides the Equity Bridge Facility of €15m Stibbe currently has similar mandates for the Belgian Buildings Agency for the realization of new prisons in Antwerp the newly opened electrified railway line 15 has been inaugurated with a symbolic first electric train ride from Hasselt in the province of Limburg to Mol This step completes the electrification of Infrabel’s passenger rail network in the region A total of 5,965 kilometres of the main track or more than 90 per cent of the Belgian network making the country a European leader in this field Read 1 month for free → Read this article → { "premium_state" : "popin-anon-limit" }); /* ]]> */ Emma Dailey is an editor at RailTech.com and RailTech.be Two massive tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have started excavation on Poland’s “Podłęże-Piekiełko” railway project will connect Męcina and Mordarka in the… Network Rail is trialling long-range drones that can fly beyond the operator’s line of sight for the first time with plans to build a fleet to support operations… has praised the 300 km/h train tests currently underway in Extremadura considered the country’s most underserved region for high-speed rail trains are once again running through the Fréjus Rail Tunnel The key rail link between France and Italy reopened on 31 March Log in through one of the following social media partners to comment Receive the latest news from the railway sector directly into your mailbox Belgian rail infrastructure manager Infrabel has started electrifying the Mol-Hasselt line in the Flemish province of Limburg The company is also electrifying the Mol-Hamont railway towards the Dutch border These projects will improve passenger services in Limburg and will allow launching direct trains from Antwerp to Mol and Hamont The works are being carried out on the 38-kilometre line between Mol and Hasselt Workers will install 1,250 new catenary poles 300 kilometres of new cables and overhead wires Houthalen/Zolder and one section station in Hasselt The project also includes the construction of four bridges The works will be accomplished by the end of 2022 In August 2018 Infrabel launched the electrification of the 33-kilometre railway between Mol and Hamont The project includes the installation of 830 catenary poles 200 kilometres of new cables and wires and three traction substations The works are expected to be completed by Autumn 2020 The first electric trains will run to Hamont at the of 2020 Mykola Zasiadko was editor of online trade magazines RailTech.com and RailFreight.com As the first of its new passenger trains arrives after a two-decade hiatus on buying fresh rolling stock Romania is continuing to invest: this month What flies through the Buckinghamshire night Not your favourite yet-to-be-commissoned high-speed railway project The approaches to London Victoria have to deal with traffic levels that are anything but Victorian The fifth busiest station in the UK needs split second train planning… This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.