Boko Haram Leader Abubakar Shekau Appears in ‘New’ Video

By   Newsweek

Boko Haram’s purported leader Abubakar Shekau has appeared in an unverified video that possibly signals a change in leadership in the Nigerian militant group.

Shekau took over the leadership of Boko Haram in 2009 after the death of its founder Mohammed Yusuf. Under his leadership, the group has waged a six-year insurgency in northeastern Nigeria—which spread in 2015 to neighboring countries Cameroon , Chad and Niger—killing tens of thousands and displacing more than 2 million people.

Shekau was last heard from in March 2015, when an audio message attributed to him was released pledging Boko Haram’s allegiance to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), after which it rebranded itself as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).In the poor-quality eight-minute video, which has been posted on social media and YouTube , Shekau is seen holding a rifle beside one of the black flags associated with ISIS. He speaks slowly and appears more frail than in previous videos. Speaking in a mixture of Arabic and the northern Nigerian language Hausa, Shekau says that the video is “a message of greeting and joy for you to see my face,” according to AFP . Shekau also appears to indicate that his leadership of the group may be coming to a close. “This is my desire: that whoever sees this will hear nothing but greetings between me and you. Only Allah knows the rest, as you believed [and] as you submitted. For me the end has come,” says the bearded leader.

A wanted poster shows Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in Maiduguri, Nigeria, May 1, 2013. Shekau has not been heard from since March 2015.
A wanted poster shows Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in Maiduguri, Nigeria, May 1, 2013. Shekau has not been heard from since March 2015.

The video appears to be new and legitimate, according to Yan St-Pierre, chief executive of the Berlin-based Modern Security Consulting Group (MOSECON). “He is telling his followers that he is alive. This appears to be the video preparing for the post-Shekau situation [in] Boko Haram-ISWAP,” says St-Pierre. Contrary to earlier reports that Shekau was advising his followers to surrender, St-Pierre says the message is intended to “galvanize the troops” despite losses suffered by Boko Haram over recent months.

The Nigerian military said they would examine the video to “ascertain its authenticity” in a statement reported by the BBC . The military added that the campaign against Boko Haram continued and that “every terrorist is free to surrender.”

Shekau has appeared in numerous Boko Haram videos in the past, including one displaying hundreds of girls kidnapped by the group from their dormitories in Chibok , Nigeria. The girls were kidnapped in April 2014 and 219 still remain unaccounted for. He is currently subject to a $7 million U.S. bounty .

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari claimed in December 2015 that Boko Haram had been “technically” defeated after the Nigerian military reclaimed much of the territory held by the group. Since the start of 2016, however, the group has launched multiple attacks and killed almost 200 people .

WATCH ABUBAKAR SHEKAU IN NEW VIDEO >>>

While Politicians Talk About Banning Syrian Refugees, Pope Francis Washes Their Feet

File photo: Pope Francis, right, washes the feet of prisoners.
File photo: Pope Francis, right, washes the feet of prisoners.

By Jack Jenkins  | Think Progress

As politicians in the United States and Europe rekindle the heated debate over how to respond to the surge of people fleeing the Syrian civil war, Pope Francis is sending his own message. This week, the pontiff is celebrating the traditional Christian holiday of Maundy Thursday in a new way: by washing the feet of refugees.

On Thursday, Pope Francis will celebrate Maundy Thursday — sometimes called Holy Thursday — a traditional Christian holiday meant to commemorate Jesus Christ’s “Last Supper” with his disciples. Although the service usually sees the pope washing the feet of 12 inmates at a prison — a reference to Jesus’ 12 disciples, whose feet he washed in the biblical story — the Vatican announced earlier this week that Francis will instead travel to the Center for Asylum Seekers (Centro di Accoglienza per Richiedenti Asilo, or CARA), where he plans to wash the feet of young refugees.

“We can understand the symbolic value intended by Pope Francis’ visit to the CARA in Castelnuovo di Porto and his bending down to wash the feet of refugees,” Archbishop Rino Fisichella said in a statement. “His actions mean to tell us that it is important to pay due attention to the weakest in this historic moment; that we are all called to restore their dignity without resorting to subterfuge. We are urged to look forward to Easter with the eyes of those who make of their faith a life lived in service to those whose faces bear signs of suffering and violence.”

The grace-minded vigil contrasts starkly with rhetoric from American politicians and presidential candidates such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who responded to the this week’s horrific terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium by renewing his opposition to allowing Muslim Syrian refugees into the United States.

“We need a president who sets aside political correctness. In the wake of Brussels, we don’t need another lecture from Obama on Islamophobia,” Cruz said on Tuesday. “We need a commander-in-chief who does everything necessary to defeat the enemy, and we need to immediately halt the president’s ill-advised plan to bring in tens of thousands of Syrian Muslim refugees.”

It’s unclear whether the 12 refugees in Francis’ service will be Syrian, or whether those that are will be Catholic, Muslim, or otherwise. But the pontiff has consistently voiced support for those attempting to escape the Syrian civil war, irrespective of their faith: Last September, Francis demanded that every Catholic parish in Europe take in a Syrian refugee family, saying those that don’t should be required to pay property taxes because they are not truly “religious.” He has also repeatedly stood up for immigrants in general by condemning anti-immigrant hatred, surprising migrants with free Christmas gifts, and even visiting the U.S.-Mexico border in February to bless undocumented immigrants.

Francis has also frequently used the ritual of foot washing to model the ideal of a more welcoming, inclusive Catholic Church during his papacy. Although the service has traditionally involved the pope washing the feet of 12 men, Francis made waves in 2013 when he washed the feet of women and Muslim prisoners instead. He took similar steps in 2014 and 2015,and the Vatican announced in January that the ceremony is now officially open to women and girls as well as men.

BP: The US will be energy independent in 5 years

BP_The_US_will_be-1c3ada13a10ada100bbad0f7f73a5906

By Bob Bryan  |  Business Insider

As a global supply glut continues to keep oil prices at their lowest levels in years, it seems that everyone is focused on the future of the commodity.

In its 2016 energy outlook, the oil giant BP predicted that the US would be “energy self-sufficient” by 2021 and oil self-sufficient by 2030.

Oil is used for products beyond just power, such as plastics, which is why oil independence would come shortly after energy independence.

According to the report, much of this independence will be a function of a global shift, an adoption of more renewable energy, and the growing impact of shale drilling.

“The big winner in the ‘faster transition’ case is renewables, with an almost six-fold increase in output (nearly 9% p.a.) and a 15% share of energy by 2035,” the report said. “The rate at which renewables gain share from 2020 to 2035 matches oil’s gain over the 15 years of 1908-23 — years that included the Texas oil boom, the discovery of oil in the Middle East, the British Navy switching to oil, and the Model T Ford starting mass motorization.”

Despite this, BP said that oil consumption would be driven mostly by emerging economies and that natural-gas consumption would continue to climb.

The company also made numerous other huge predictions, including:

  • “EU energy demand in 2035 is back to where it was 50 years earlier, despite the economy being almost 150% bigger.”
  • “By 2035 coal accounts for less than 25% of primary energy, its lowest share since the industrial revolution.”
  • Renewables account for a quarter of global primary energy growth out to 2035, and over a third of the growth in global power generation.
  • “China adds more renewable power over the Outlook than the EU and US combined.”

BP said the biggest danger to the downside for its outlook is slower-than-expected gross-domestic-product growth; and to the upside it suggested the possibility of a quicker-than-projected adoption of renewable energy.

6 Arrested in Brussels Police Operation After French Raids Foil Planned Terror Attack

6 Arrested in Brussels Police Operation After French Raids Foil Planned Terror Attack
6 Arrested in Brussels Police Operation After French Raids Foil Planned Terror Attack

houses were searched in Brussels, Schaerbeek and Jette, the prosecutor said. The police raids were conducted in connection with the Brussels terror attack investigation.

News of the raid came shortly after raids in northwest Paris foiled a planned attack, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.

The French plot was at the “advanced stage” of preparation and was discovered after a French national — described as being at a “high level” in the plot — was arrested this morning, Cazeneuve said.

There did not appear to be links “at this stage” between the plot foiled in France and the Paris or Brussels attacks, he added, saying the arrest is the result of weeks of investigation and the individual was involved in a “terror network” that planned to strike.

The raids in Argenteuil, about 8 miles outside of the center of Paris, were ongoing and the streets were sealed off.

Investigators are actively seeking a second suspect in the Brussels metro bombing who has been seen on surveillance camera footage inside the subway station with suicide bomber Khalid El-Bakraoui, a Belgian police source told ABC News.

That second suspect, who is unidentified, was spotted on the subway platform at the Maelbeek station with El-Bakraoui, according to police.

El-Bakraoui is thought to be dead after detonating a bomb on the subway train as it was pulling out of the station. The accomplice now being sought has yet to be identified, but police do not believe he died in the Tuesday attack.

In the other attack at the city’s international airport, Khalid El-Bakraoui’s brother, Ibrahim El-Bakraoui, was one of two alleged suicide bombers who led that attack.

Najim Laachraoui and a man wearing a light-colored jacket, who has not yet been publicly identified by police, were with Ibrahim El-Bakraoui at the airport, as seen on a surveillance camera image released by authorities.

Laachraoui is believed to be dead after detonating his suicide bomb, while the unnamed man has been the subject of a manhunt since Tuesday’s attacks, as Belgium lowered its threat level today from the highest level, 4, to 3. Paul Van Tieghem, director of the office that evaluates threats to the nation, said there is no indication that another attack is imminent but the threat is still serious and possible.

The first suspect that is being sought was pictured on the airport surveillance footage. His identity remains unknown, but he stood out in the photo because he was the only one of the three suspects pictured not wearing a black jacket. As a result, he’s been widely referred to as the “man in white.”

There has been some speculation that the “man in white” was a handler or supporter for Laachraoui and El-Bakraoui since he was not wearing a glove on his left hand like they were, which may have been hiding a trigger, and his bomb failed to detonate until after it was secured by law enforcement.

Nigeria indicts 300 firms over fake contracts

The contracts are linked to former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki, pictured, who served under former president Goodluck Jonathan from June 2012 until his sacking in July last year
The contracts are linked to former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki, pictured, who served under former president Goodluck Jonathan from June 2012 until his sacking in July last year

Abuja (AFP) – Nigeria has indicted over 300 companies and prominent individuals, including serving and retired military officers, for defrauding the country of millions of dollars in fake contracts, the presidency said.

The contracts are linked to former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki, who served under former president Goodluck Jonathan from June 2012 until his sacking in July last year by current premier Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari took office last May and has since launched a crackdown on endemic graft with some high-profile arrests made over the fictitious arms contracts to fight Boko Haram worth some $2 billion and also linked to the former spy master.

A separate committee was set up to investigate other deals awarded by Dasuki, 60, between 2011 and 2015.

“Over seven billion naira ($5 million) has been recovered so far from the indicted companies and individuals,” the presidency said in a statement, adding that another 41 billion naira is due to be paid back soon.

“The committee further established that one of the indicted companies, Societe D’Equipment International was overpaid to the tune of 7.9 million euros and $7.09 million,” it said.

The statement said that contracts were awarded under Dasuki “without any contractual agreement or evidence of jobs executed”.

“The committee further discovered that some companies failed to meet up their tax obligations for contracts executed,” it added.

Dasuki is already facing charges for the possession of illegal weapons, as well as allegedly diverting millions of dollars meant for security to the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party to finance Jonathan’s bid for re-election.

Boko Haram insurgents abducts 14 women, 2 girls in Adamawa

By Umar Yusuf Yola – Vanguard

No fewer than 14 women and 2 girls were abducted by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents in Sabongari Madagali, in Madagali Local Government of Adamawa state, Thursday, locals and police sources have confirmed. The women who were said to be in company of two local vigilante operatives before their abduction went into the nearby forest in search of fire wood and farm produce as others went for fishing in a nearby river before they abducted. A source in the area told vanguard that two out of the women had managed to escape the snare of the abductors under the pretext of being drowned by the river.

Women sit at Gamboru central market in northeastern Nigeria on Monday, burnt by suspected Boko Haram insurgents during  a previous attack.
Women sit at Gamboru central market in northeastern Nigeria on Monday, burnt by suspected Boko Haram insurgents during a previous attack.

The source said “the two women who are in real state of trauma told us that the suspected Boko Haram insurgents had a field day carting away the women when their escorts ran away for fear of dear lives,” The source noted that on sighting the gunmen who came in their numbers wielding dangerous weapons, the vigilante men took to their heels for the fear of being killed by the rampaging assailants. “The two local vigilante men took to their heels when they sighted the gunmen who were armed to the teeth. “They left the women to their own faith as the gunmen were left unchallenged leading to the abduction of the said women,” the source added Confirming the incident, the member representing Michika/ Madagali Federal constituency in the National Assembly Mr. Adamu Kamale said “I just received the shocking news to the effect that about 16 women have been abducted by Boko Haram. “We have been witnessing pockets of attacks contrary to the belief that security has been fully restored in the area.

As a member of National Assembly (NASS) I have been calling for the deployment of security personnel but to no avail as the government seems to have relegated our concerns to the background,” he regretted. When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of Adamawa state command DSP Othman Abubakar confirmed the incident adding that on hearing about the development, the command sent a detachment of police officers to the affected area are working round the clock to track down the abducted women and girls even as he said normalcy has returned to the area.

Why #NeverTrump Will Never Work

By Matt Bai Yahoo Columnist
By Matt Bai
Yahoo Columnist

We all had a good laugh at Chris Christie’s expense after the New Hampshire primary, when he decided to get behind Donald Trump in exchange for dibs on an especially comfortable chaise longue at Mar-a-Lago. Next to the kinds of craven endorsements we’re seeing now, though, Christie might be in line for a Profile in Courage award.

Just yesterday, Jeb Bush followed his pal Lindsey Graham by coming out in support of Ted Cruz, although apparently he didn’t think he could get through an actual announcement without falling to his knees and rending his clothes in self-loathing, so he released a tepid statement instead. Bush described Cruz as a “consistent, principled conservative who has demonstrated the ability to appeal to voters,” by which he meant that Cruz is not Trump and that’s all there is to say.

This followed the bizarre contortions of Mitt Romney, whose state-by-state endorsement strategy has been so convoluted that I’d suggest getting a blank NCAA bracket if you really want to keep up.

All of which gets to why this #NeverTrump movement among governing Republicans might more aptly be called #NeverGoingtoHappen instead.

That’s not to say I don’t understand the strategy here, because I do. The singular goal is to keep Trump from amassing the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination, thus hurtling the party into an open convention for the first time in 40 years.

Bush has apparently decided that this can happen only if it’s a two-man race, even though he almost certainly believes that John Kasich is the only candidate left who has any business being in the Oval Office. So he and other leading Republicans are going to close ranks around Cruz and hope they can get control of the process once the voters are finished making a holy mess of it.

(It’s interesting that Jeb has not been joined in this cause by his brother George W., who seems to have decided that he would sooner paint Trump’s presidential portrait himself than endorse the fellow Texan who once worked for him. That ought to tell you something.)

Romney’s strategy is more elaborate. Like many of you who probably also assumed you were watching an old “Bewitched” rerun on daytime TV until you realized that Darrin had just way too many lines, I watched Romney’s speech attacking Trump a few weeks back, and I have to say I was impressed. Where Trump was vulgar and insecure, Romney was cutting and confident, reminding us that titans of business don’t hawk bad steaks in late-night infomercials.

The goal of the #NeverTrump movement is to keep Donald Trump from amassing the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination. (Photo: George Frey/Getty Images)
The goal of the #NeverTrump movement is to keep Donald Trump from amassing the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination. (Photo: George Frey/Getty Images)

It seemed possible that Romney, in his advancing years, had at last found within himself some hidden reserve of political steel.

But no – turns out some distant race of extraterrestrials had actually snatched Romney’s body for a day so they could deliver a message about the grave danger of a Trump presidency, and when they were done they dropped the old Romney right back into our laps.

Romney endorsed Kasich in Ohio, noting that he was the “only guy with a real track record.” But then he turned around and announced he was voting for Cruz in Utah anyway – although he wasn’t actually endorsing Cruz, just so nobody gets confused. Right.

If you step back for a second, you can see why Romney might have some interest in getting to a convention with the delegates divided as many ways as possible. Mitt made his fortune as the consummate turnaround guy — the bloodless analyst who swoops into a company in crisis and fires all the incompetent executives.

What is the Republican Party now if not an organization in crisis? If you were Romney, why wouldn’t you look at the disaster looming and recognize a ripe takeover opportunity?

But here’s the problem for Bush and Romney and the whole #NeverTrump thing generally: You don’t win campaigns solely by running against somebody else. You have to give voters something — or someone — that they can be for.

This, of course, was Romney’s essential flaw as a nominee four years ago. He effectively ran as the #NeverObama candidate, avoiding anything that could have been misconstrued for a declarative worldview or agenda. He thought it was enough to not be Barack Obama and not be objectionable, and he was wrong.

Ivory Coast arrests 15, seeks leader of al Qaeda beach attack

By Ange Aboa  |  Reuters

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast authorities have arrested 15 people in connection with an attack claimed by al Qaeda that killed 19 people at a beach resort this month, a state prosecutor said on Tuesday.

They were still seeking the suspected ring-leader, whom prosecutor Richard Adou named as Kounta Dallah.

Gunmen shot swimmers and sunbathers before storming into several hotels when they burst onto the beach in the town of Grand Bassam, 40 km (25 miles) from the commercial capital Abidjan, on March 13.

“Evidence found at the scene has allowed us to identify and trace certain individuals who participated in these acts,” Adou told a news conference.

Adou gave no further information on those arrested, declining to give their nationalities out of concern that their countrymen living in or visiting Ivory Coast could become the target of violent reprisals.

Soldiers stand guard on the beach following an attack by gunmen from al Qaeda's North African branch, in Grand Bassam, Ivory Coast, March 14, 2016. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
Soldiers stand guard on the beach following an attack by gunmen from al Qaeda’s North African branch, in Grand Bassam, Ivory Coast, March 14, 2016. REUTERS/Luc Gnago

He showed reporters a photo of Dallah that appeared to have been taken during an airport passport inspection. No other details about the suspect were available.

“This person is directly involved in the attack, was recognised by witnesses … He was present at the scene, but left at a certain moment,” Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko told reporters.

“Concerning him, there is no doubt. The arrests that followed are a community of individuals who were with him, who have links to him,” he added.

Weapons, ammunition, balaclavas and vehicles believed to have been used by the attackers were being examined and a judge was preparing both domestic and international arrest warrants for other suspects.

Eleven Ivorians, including three special forces’ soldiers, died in the shooting rampage. Four French citizens were killed and other foreign victims included citizens of Germany, Lebanon, Macedonia and Nigeria.

Adou said that Ivorian authorities had received assistance from a team of French investigators, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations as well as law enforcement officials from Germany, Morocco and Mali.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the group’s North African affiliate, announced that it was responsible for the Grand Bassam assault and posted the photos of the three suicide attackers it said had carried it out.

Interior Minister Bakayoko said the investigations had not been able to confirm that they were the same three men killed by Ivorian security forces on the beach.

(Writing by Joe Bavier; editing by Gareth Jones)

2 suspected Brussels suicide bombers were brothers

By asch  |  Business Insider

 Two suicide bombers in Tuesday’s attacks at an airport and a metro station in Brussels were brothers who were known to the authorities, according to Belgian federal prosecutor Frederick Van Leeuw. The two have been named as Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui. Ibrahim El Bakraoui was identified in a CCTV image from Brussels’ Zaventem Airport; he is reportedly the man dressed in black in the middle of three suspected attackers.

Van Leeuw said Ibrahim El Bakraoui was responsible for one of two suicide bombings at the airport. The attack killed at least 10 people and left more than 100 wounded.

The suspects at the airport. Ibrahim El Bakraoui is in the middle of the image; the other two men have not yet been identified.
The suspects at the airport. Ibrahim El Bakraoui is in the middle of the image; the other two men have not yet been identified.

A second suspect dressed in black in the CCTV image has not yet been identified but is thought to be responsible for the second bombing at the airport.

The Belgian prosecutor said the other brother, Khalid, detonated his bomb in the Brussels metro while part of the train was still in a station. That explosion killed at least 20 people and injured more than 100.

The RTBF reports that Khalid had rented, under an alias, the house that was raided by the police in the Brussels suburb of Forest last week. He had also reportedly rented an apartment in Charleroi that was raided by the police a few months ago and was used to plan the Paris attacks.

The third suspect in the CCTV image, pictured at the airport wearing a white jacket, has not yet been identified. The Belgian prosecutor said the man had dropped a bag full of explosives in the departures hall and then run away. He is actively sought by the police.

“His bag contained the most explosives,”Van Leeuw said. “Shortly after the arrival of the bomb-defusing team, the bag exploded because of the instability of the explosives. No one was injured.”

The man in the white jacket had been identified in news reports as Najim Laachraoui, but the prosecutor’s office did not confirm the man been identified. Laachraoui is being sought by the police in connection with the November attacks in Paris. Reuters reported that Laachraoui’s DNA was found in houses used by the Paris attackers last year and that Laachraoui traveled to Hungary in September with Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect in the Paris attacks, who was captured last week in Brussels.

The head of the Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis confirmed on Wednesday that Belgium’s terror-threat status would remain at its maximum level.

The brothers Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui were identified by a Belgian federal prosecutor as suicide bombers in Tuesday's attacks in Brussels.
The brothers Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui were identified by a Belgian federal prosecutor as suicide bombers in Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels.

 

Van Leeuw also revealed that the police found a note thought to be written by Ibrahim Bakraoui in which he allegedly said he knew the police was looking for him and that he did not want to end up in a cell.

An antiterror raid was carried out on Wednesday in the Anderlecht region of Brussels, and one person was arrested, the BBC reports. The name of the person detained by police has not been released.

Belgium is in three national days of mourning after Tuesday’s attacks, which left at least 31 people dead and about 270 wounded.

Belgian troops man a roadblock near Brussels’ Zaventem airport following Tuesdays’ bomb attacks in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2016.

A minute’s silence for the victims was held at noon local time (11 a.m. GMT, 7 a.m. ET) to remember those who were killed. Islamic State, the militant group also known as ISIS, Daesh, or ISIL, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The two explosions in the airport happened in quick succession shortly after 8 a.m. Belgian police officials are presuming that the two men wearing black in the photo of the suspected attackers are dead after detonating suicide devices.

A newspaper with the headline "Hold Fast!" is held up following a minute silence for victims of Tuesday's bomb attacks in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2016.
A newspaper with the headline “Hold Fast!” is held up following a minute silence for victims of Tuesday’s bomb attacks in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2016.

The three men in the photo are thought to have come to the airport with bombs in their suitcases. “They put the suitcases in their trolleys,” Francis Vermeiren, the mayor of Zaventem, said. “The first two bombs exploded. The third one also put his suitcase on a trolley, but he must have panicked — the bomb did not explode.”

According to the Belgian news site VRT, the suspects tried to fit five suitcases in the taxi but had to leave two behind because they did not fit in the car.

The Belgian police have located the taxi driver who drove the three suspects to the airport, Van Leeuw said.

 

Belgian troops at a roadblock near Brussels' Zaventem Airport after Tuesday's bomb attacks in Brussels.
Belgian troops at a roadblock near Brussels’ Zaventem Airport after Tuesday’s bomb attacks in Brussels.

He gave the police an address in the Schaerbeek area of Brussels where he picked up the men, according to Van Leeuw, who said authorities found an ISIS flag there along with another explosive device, which was filled with nails and chemicals.

“In that apartment, we found all the elements to make bombs, including 15 kilos of TATP, 150 litres of acetone, hydrogen peroxide, as well as a lot of nails screws and nails,” Van Leeuw said.

The police continued operations throughout the night and led numerous raids near the train station in Schaerbeek.

A man at a street memorial after Tuesday's attacks in Brussels.
A man at a street memorial after Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels.

The prosecutor’s office confirmed that numerous raids were taking place throughout Brussels and across Belgium. On Wednesday morning the prosecutors had not yet confirmed whether any raids were successful but said many witnesses were still being questioned, the RTBF reports.

A minute of silence is observed for victims following Tuesday’s bomb attacks in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2016. Front row L-R: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, King Philippe of Belgium, EU Commissionm President Jean-Claude Juncker, Belgian Queen Mathilde and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. REUTERS/Francois LenoirREUTERS/Francois Lenoir

A minute of silence was observed Wednesday for victims of Tuesday’s bomb attacks in Brussels. Front row, from left: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, King Philippe of Belgium, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Belgian Queen Mathilde and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

A minute of silence was observed Wednesday for victims of Tuesday's bomb attacks in Brussels. Front row, from left: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, King Philippe of Belgium, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Belgian Queen Mathilde and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.
A minute of silence was observed Wednesday for victims of Tuesday’s bomb attacks in Brussels. Front row, from left: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, King Philippe of Belgium, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Belgian Queen Mathilde and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

The attacks came days after Abdeslam, the leading suspect in the Paris attacks, was arrested in Brussels, the de facto capital of the European Union.

Belgian officials have long been aware of the existence of an ISIS-linked terrorist cell in Brussels, believed to be centered in the district of Molenbeek.

Belgium’s interior minister, Jan Jambon, has called Molenbeek “the capital of political Islam in continental Europe,” and several suspects have been arrested there in connection with the Paris attacks, which killed 130 people.

The Belgian football association announced on Wednesday it was cancelling next Tuesday’s international friendly game against Portugal in Brussels over security fears after the attack. “The Red Devils match against Portugal, scheduled for Tuesday evening at the King Baudouin Stadium, will not take place,” it said on its website.

 

The Latest: Cruz says he didn’t want to be Trump ‘roadkill’

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks about counterterrorism, Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at the Bechtel Conference Center at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif.  Carolyn Kaster  - AP Photo
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks about counterterrorism, Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at the Bechtel Conference Center at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. Carolyn Kaster – AP Photo

The Associated Press  |  WASHINGTON

The Latest on the presidential election (all times EDT):

10 p.m.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says he waited until January to begin criticizing Republican rival Donald Trump because he didn’t want to become “roadkill” like other candidates who had challenged the front-runner.

Cruz made the comment Wednesday during a forum hosted by a conservative talk radio host near Milwaukee. It marked Cruz’s first campaign stop in Wisconsin, which holds its primary April 5.

Cruz was asked about a previous statement he made calling Trump “terrific.” Cruz responded by noting that his campaign has had a plan since launching a year ago, and said he needed to build his base of support first and get his record out before drawing contrasts with Trump.

Now Cruz is looking to Wisconsin, with its 42 delegates, as a place to slow Trump’s momentum.

5 p.m.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich says there is “zero chance” he will drop out of the race before Wisconsin’s primary on April 5.

Kasich told voters during a campaign stop Wednesday outside Milwaukee that he’s not dropping out of the race and he’s “going to be nobody’s vice president.”

He later told reporters that he was going to do “fine” in Wisconsin, “but I’m not going to predict we’re going to win here.”

Instead, Kasich is looking ahead to states in the East where he says Texas Sen. Ted Cruz can’t beat Donald Trump.

Kasich says he’s not remaining in the race to stop Donald Trump, but if he drops out Trump will win. Kasich says he’s pinning his hopes on securing the nomination at a contested Republican Party convention this summer in Cleveland.

4:20 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is maintaining a 300-delegate lead over Bernie Sanders after Tuesday night’s contests.

Sanders won Idaho and Utah, but his net gains were more modest after Clinton won Arizona.

For the night, Sanders won at least 73 delegates while Clinton picked up at least 55. Three delegates from Tuesday remain to be allocated, pending final vote tallies.

To date, Clinton has a lead of 1,223 to 920 over Sanders based on primaries and caucuses.

If Sanders hopes to overtake her, he must win 58 percent of the remaining delegates. So far, he’s only winning 43 percent.

Clinton holds an even wider lead when including superdelegates, or party officials who can back any candidate they wish.

With them, she has 1,690 to Sanders’ 946. It takes 2,383 to win.

3:45 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is pledging to defeat the Islamic State group and arguing her opponents are not up to the task.

She spoke at Stanford University as the Brussels attacks a day earlier reverberate in the U.S. presidential campaign.

The Democratic front-runner says the U.S. must adapt to a sophisticated adversary yet Republican presidential contenders offer only bluster that alienates U.S. allies.

And she’s stressing the importance of NATO in light of Donald Trump’s comments that the U.S. should rethink its involvement with the alliance.

Clinton says if Trump gets his way, “it will be like Christmas in the Kremlin.”

And she took issue with Ted Cruz’s talk about carpet-bombing IS.

She says “slogans aren’t a strategy” and “loose cannons tend to misfire.”

2:30 p.m.

Ted Cruz is trying to link Donald Trump to the “disasters of liberal Democrats” who have governed New York.

Cruz, speaking in Manhattan, says Trump supported the state’s Democratic politicians, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, ex-congressman Anthony Weiner and Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.

He says Trump’s donations to Democrats raise questions about his judgment. For his part, Trump says he gave money to people in both parties because that’s what a businessman needs to do.

Cruz has spent two days in Manhattan doing television interviews, meeting donors and speaking to Republicans. He’s sidestepped questions about his previous criticism of “New York values.” He says he hopes to compete effectively in the New York primary next month.

1:10 p.m.

Ted Cruz is saying that Donald Trump’s tweet that threatened to “spill the beans” on his wife was “gutter politics” and “reached a new low.”

Cruz, in New York City, said Trump tries to “attack and bully people” but should know that spouses and children are off-limits.

Trump issued a vague threat on Twitter on Tuesday to disclose something about Heidi Cruz. This, in response to an ad made by an outside political group that features a provocative photo of Trump’s wife, Melania, when she was a model and before they were married.

Trump misidentified the Cruz campaign as the source of the ad.

The Texas senator says Trump launches personal attacks when he wants to change the subject, suggesting Trump wanted to divert attention from Utah, where he lost to Cruz on Tuesday night.

12:40 p.m.

Donald Trump won 59 percent of the delegates that were up for grabs in Tuesday’s contests. If he kept up that pace, he’d clinch the Republican nomination for president before the party’s national convention this summer.

Trump needs to win 54 percent of the remaining delegates to reach 1,237. That’s how many it takes to secure the GOP nomination.

Trump’s closest rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, would need to win 83 percent of the remaining delegates, a nearly impossible task.

The next GOP primary is April 5 in Wisconsin, with 42 delegates at stake. Wisconsin awards 18 delegates to the statewide winner and three delegates to the winner in each congressional district. Several coming contests award delegates in a similar manner, enabling a successful candidate to win most or all of the delegates at stake.

The AP delegate count:

Trump: 739

Cruz: 465

John Kasich: 143

12:30 p.m.

Ted Cruz’s wife had sharp words for Donald Trump after he warned he’d “spill the beans” on her in a vague tweet.

The tweet came after an anti-Trump group that’s not controlled by Cruz ran an ad in Utah featuring a provocative picture of Trump’s wife, Melania, from a photo shoot that ran in British GQ magazine more than a decade ago. She was then a model.

Heidi Cruz opened a campaign office for her husband in suburban Milwaukee on Wednesday. She said: “the things that Donald Trump says are not based in reality.”

Trump misidentified Cruz as the source of the ad.

Noon

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says he hasn’t decided whether he’ll endorse anyone for the GOP presidential nomination. But he says only Ted Cruz can beat Donald Trump.

Walker dropped out of the Republican presidential race after a 70-day campaign last year. He says in an interview broadcast Wednesday on WTMJ radio that he’ll make a decision next week about a possible endorsement. The Wisconsin primary is April 5.

Walker says Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich fit more with his strategy than Trump. But only Trump and Cruz have a statistical chance to win the nomination, says the governor.

10:15 a.m.

Hillary Clinton is closing in on collecting three-quarters of the delegates needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination.

Bernie Sanders netted more than a dozen delegates after splitting the latest contests with Clinton. But he still trails significantly.

Three states held Democratic contests with a total of 131 delegates at stake.

Sanders picked up at least 67, having won big in Idaho and Utah.

Clinton will gain at least 51 after a victory in Arizona.

Thirteen delegates remain to be allocated from Tuesday, pending final vote tallies.

Still, Clinton continues to sustain a big lead overall.

Based on primaries and caucuses to date, she leads Sanders 1,214 to 911.

Clinton’s lead is even bigger when including superdelegates, or party officials who can back any candidate they wish.

She now has 1,681, or 71 percent of the number needed to clinch the nomination. Sanders has 937.

10 a.m.

Donald Trump took the top prize in the latest Republican presidential races: all 58 delegates in Arizona’s primary.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won big in Utah, and he’ll get all 40 of the state’s delegates to the Republican National Convention. But he has a very limited path to clinch the nomination before the party’s convention this summer.

The third contender still fighting for the nomination, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, was shut out for the night.

Here’s the latest AP delegate count:

Trump: 739

Cruz: 465

Kasich: 143

Needed to win the nomination: 1,237

9:45 a.m.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has won the endorsement of the political arm of the Club for Growth. The conservative group has spent millions in television ads to stop Donald Trump.

Club for Growth President David McIntosh says Cruz is the best free-market, limited-government candidate in the presidential race.

McIntosh says there’s a “vast gulf between the two leading Republican candidates on matters of economic liberty.” Cruz would shrink the federal government, McIntosh says, while Trump “would seek to remake government in his desired image.”

Former GOP candidate Jeb Bush also is backing Cruz.

But Trump’s substantial lead in delegates will be hard for the Texas senator to catch in the remaining primaries.

7:32 a.m.

Ted Cruz is suggesting he’d find a place for Republican rival John Kasich in his future administration if Kasich agrees to drop out of the presidential race and supports him.

Cruz noted that it’s mathematically impossible for Kasich to reach the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the GOP nomination. So the only role Kasich is playing now is that of a “spoiler” by taking votes that could have gone to Cruz. And that is only serving to help front-runner Donald Trump, Cruz says.

In an interview Wednesday on CNN’s “New Day,” Cruz said of Kasich: “I think he’d be a tremendous addition to an administration.”

Cruz also praised his latest endorsement from Jeb Bush, saying it proved his candidacy has drawn broad support among Republicans.

7:10 a.m.

Jeb Bush says he’s endorsing Ted Cruz for president.

Bush tweeted Wednesday that “Ted is a consistent, principled conservative who has shown he can unite the party.”

He added on his Facebook page that Republicans “must overcome the divisiveness and vulgarity Donald Trump has brought into the political arena” or risk losing to Hillary Clinton.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/article67713112.html#storylink=cpy

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