While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 17
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Belgian police officers search for forensic evidence in a street after two people were killed during a shooting in Brussels.
PHOTO: AFP
Two Swedes shot dead in Brussels
Two Swedish nationals have been shot dead in Brussels as a football match between Belgium and Sweden was due to take place on Monday evening, police said, and Belgium raised its terror alert to the highest level.
A man in a video on social media claimed that he was the assailant and that he was from Islamic State.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo confirmed on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that the victims were Swedish, but not their number.
The alleged assailant, calling himself Abdesalem Al Guilani and a fighter for Allah, put the number of victims at three, rather than two.
Biden meets security chiefs amid talk of Israel visit
US President Joe Biden abruptly cancelled a domestic political trip to meet with his national security team on Monday as he weighed an invitation to go to Israel to show support as it wages war against Hamas.
Mr Biden, 80, was due to visit Colorado but stayed at the White House at the last minute for briefings amid mounting fears the conflict could escalate into a wider Middle East war.
The White House confirmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had invited Mr Biden following the deadly Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people, but said there were no travel plans yet.
Hamas broadcasts video of ‘prisoner’ in Gaza
Palestinian militant group Hamas released on Monday on its official Telegram channel a video of “one of the prisoners in Gaza”, showing a young woman speaking Hebrew.
The video, which could not immediately be verified by AFP, includes footage purportedly of the same woman receiving treatment for an arm injury.
According to the caption, she had been abducted on Oct 7, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, triggering a war that has killed thousands of people in both Israel and the blockaded Gaza Strip, which Israel is bombing in retalitation.
COP29 climate talks without home amid Russian opposition
REUTERS
Russia’s opposition to holding next year’s United Nations climate summit in a European Union country has left nations scrambling to find an alternative in time to organise the massive global event.
Nearly 200 countries gather each year for the two-week “Conference of Parties” - referred to as COP - to agree joint efforts to tackle climate change.
This year will mark the 28th such conference, or COP28, and will begin on Nov 30 in Dubai.
Austria seal Euro place; Belgium-Sweden match abandoned
AFP
Austria sealed a place at Euro 2024 on Monday, but Sweden missed out on the finals for the first time in 28 years on a night in which their fixture with Belgium was abandoned at halftime after two Swedish nationals were shot dead in Brussels.
Austria’s 1-0 victory over Azerbaijan, earned via a second half penalty from substitute Marcel Sabitzer following Rahil Mammadov’s handball, was enough to book a ticket for next year’s tournament in Germany at the expense of the Swedes.
Sweden’s fixture with Belgium was not completed after two people, who local media reported were Swedish supporters, were fatally shot in the vicinity of the stadium.
