BRUSSELS (AP) — The latest on the attacks in Paris and security alert in Brussels:
9:50 a.m.
The brother of a fugitive Paris attack suspect is urging him to surrender to police immediately.
Mohamed Abdeslam said on RTL radio Wednesday that he shares the pain of victims’ families and wishes he and his family could have done something to prevent the bloodshed across Paris Nov. 13.
Abdeslam had two brothers involved in the attacks. Brahim Abdeslam blew himself up in front of a Paris cafe, and Salah Abdeslam is believed to have been another potential bomber but escaped the scene. An international warrant is out for his arrest.
“Let him turn himself in for his parents, for justice, for the families of victims, so that we can find out what happened,” Mohamed Abdeslam said.
He said he saw his brothers a few days before they left their Brussels suburb for Paris, but had no idea what they were plotting, and hasn’t heard from Salah since
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9:35 a.m.
As schools reopened in Brussels, dozens of parents hugged and kissed their children before dropping them off at the College Saint-Jean-Bermans. Many were reassured by the police presence — including at least one officer with a visible machine gun — as the threat alert in the city remains at its highest.
Annelaure Leger, mother of two children, said “I’m not very concerned because if (the government) lets children go to school again, then things must be OK.”
She said the closure of schools in Brussels during the previous two days was like an early Christmas for her children. Leger said that since her family lives partly in Paris, the children are very aware of what’s happening and that she told them “the police are trying to catch a terrorist so everyone will be safe.”
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9:30 a.m.
A top European Union official has urged EU leaders to rescue of Europe’s passport free area as it comes under threat from extremist attacks and the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants.
Visa-free travel in the 30-nation area known as the Schengen zone has been compromised by border closures, increased security and the building of fences in recent months.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told EU lawmakers on Wednesday that “we need those who believe in Europe, in its values, in its principles, and in its freedoms try to reanimate the spirit of Schengen.”
Juncker said that “a single currency will have no sense if Schengen falls.”
He insisted that extremists and refugees must not be confused, saying that many migrants flee the very same people who attacked Paris on Nov. 13.
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08:55 a.m.
Students in Brussels have begun returning to class after a two-day shutdown over fears that a series of simultaneous attacks could be launched around the Belgian capital.
Special measures are being taken at primary and secondary schools plus universities, with student movements limited around or outside school buildings during the day.
Underground transport in Brussels is also slowly starting up again after a four-day closure. Sections of the main metro are in operation, but services are not running to outlying suburbs.
Belgian authorities set the city on maximum alert overnight on Friday amid warnings of an imminent security threat. More than 1,000 security personnel and soldiers have been deployed.
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