Facebook Activates Safety Check for Brussels Attacks

Facebook activated its Safety Check Tuesday morning for users located in Brussels following a series of deadly attacks that left at least 31 people dead and dozens more injured. Three explosions, two at Zaventem airport and a separate one on the subway near the European Union headquarters, left Brussels on lockdown.

The social network’s Safety Check launched in April after a deadly earthquake in Nepal and was activated in November after the Paris terrorist attacks, which was the first time the feature was used for a terror attack. Unlike a normal Facebook update, Safety Check automatically sends your status to your friends in the form of a notification if you are marked safe. It can also be used to check on Facebook friends in the area of the attacks.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg came under fire in November when the Safety Check was activated for the Paris attacks but not after other attacks in Beirut and Baghdad.

The Belgian capital has been on high alert since the Paris attacks in November when Salah Abdeslam, a suspect, fled to Brussels. He was arrested on Friday.

Social Media Solidarity After Brussels Attacks

Social media users around the world have shown their support for Brussels after the terrorist attack in the Belgian capital.

As news emerged that dozens of people had been killed or injured in the bombings at Zaventem Airport and a metro station, Facebook's Safety Check function appeared on the site.

It allows users to tell people they are safe and for others to check on their friends and family and mark them as safe.

Meanwhile, on Twitter a number of hashtags started to trend, including #prayforBrussels and #OpenHouse.

An image of a plane at the centre of a peace sign in the black, yellow and red colours of the Belgian flag was retweeted by many users.

There was also widespread support from French accounts such as @Paris and @LeMondefr.

The blasts follow the arrest of the Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam on Friday - four months after 130 people were killed in the French capital.

Le Monde tweeted a drawing of two people crying and hugging - one wrapped in the French flag and the other in the Belgian one.

The dates of the two attacks are written underneath.

@Paris tweeted that the Eiffel Tower will be lit up in the Belgian colours tonight.

"NousSommesUnis (We are united)," it added.

People in Brussels are opening their homes to those affected by the attacks with residents offering hot drinks, a sofa and Wi-Fi.

Twitter was also used to make appeals for blood donations at hospitals across Brussels.

French and Belgian social media users have also been showing their solidarity by tweeting images of Mannekin Pis, The Little Peeing Boy statue which is a tourist attraction in Brussels.

"Mannekin Pis on your bombs," one user wrote.

Other users changed the word "pis" to "peace" and created a picture showing the statue on the Belgian flag.

What To Know About the Brussels Terrorist Attacks

Three explosions hit Brussels on Tuesday morning, the first two at Zaventem airport and a separate blast an hour later on the subway near the European Union headquarters. At least 26 people were killed and scores injured. Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw called all three explosions terrorist attacks. Brussels has gone on lockdown: the airport, metro stations and museums and international train services have been shut down, halted or diverted. Residents were told to remain at home or at their place of work.

Airport:

The blasts happened at Brussels Airport, around 8am local time. The first explosion tore through the departure hall, while the second happened minutes later at another area of the aiprort. Val Leeuw confirmed that one of the airport explosions was carried out by a suicide bomber, but gave no details about the second blast. According to Reuters, the Belga agency said that there were shouts in Arabic and gunshots shortly before the blasts. Belgian media reported that a Kalashnikov AK-47 rifle was found at the airport.

Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block said 11 were killed and 81 injured at the airport.

Reports initially suggest that the blast took place in front of an American Airlines desk. The airline sent out a statement saying that all employees were accounted for and no injuries were reported.

Daniel Widman, from Sweden, was travelling from Liberia to Sweden. He said: “I was sleeping and I was woken up by people screaming and running. I just followed the crowd. People came running down the stairs. People left their luggage and kept running. We were given no information in the terminal.”

Josh Balser, from the U.S, said:”In Terminal B this guy came running down the hall. I was in the lounge and heard a rumbling so thought something had hit the airport. Then they told us to go to the end of the hallway and eventually some guy was screaming ‘we found guns and ammunition, everybody leave your bags and exit the airport.’ He was airport personnel.”
Images and videos on social media showed shattered windows, fallen ceiling tiles and broken glass scattered around the departure hall. A plume of smoke is also seen rising from the terminal, with
passengers fleeing with their bags from the explosion.

Subway station:

Around 9.10 am, a blast hit Maelbeek station in the city centre, a short walk many European Union institutions and offices. Brussels transit spokesman Guy Sablon told reporters that 15 people were killed and 55 injured.

“For the moment, what we know is that there was at least one, possibly two explosions; we are still investigating,” Sandra Eyschen, a spokeswoman for the Belgian federal police, told the New York Times. “There are several injured, we don’t have any exact numbers, and, unfortunately, it appears there are some dead, at least one person.”

“There was smoke surrounding the buildings and the smell of burning everywhere,” said Andrew Wilson, a 28-year-old policy official who was inside the E.U. Thon Hotel near the subway station where the blast hit.

“The area I am in has been completely shut down. We’ve been
locked inside cafes,” Wilson told TIME, adding that the hotel is being used to house those who were in the Metro station at the time of the explosion.

Speaking to AP, Alexandre Brans, who was wiping blood from his face, described the moments before and after the explosion: “The metro was leaving Maelbeek station when there was a really loud explosion… It was panic everywhere. There were a lot of people in the metro.” Sky broadcast footage showing smoke streaming out of the station and victims being carried on stretchers.

The European Commission has asked its staff to stay indoors, while Reuters reports that Belgium is sending 225 extra troops to Brussels following the explosions.

The Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michels confirmed that, “what we feared has happened, we were hit by blind attacks,” adding, “we know there are many dead, many injured.” King Philippe of Belgium condemned the heinous attacks on Brussels.

All stations in the city’s bus, tram and Metro networks have been completely shut down in response to the attacks.

Brussels has been on high alert since the Paris attacks in November when Salah Abdeslam, a suspect, fled to Brussels. He was arrested on Friday.

Brussels Witnesses Tell Of 'War Scene'

Witnesses have told of dust, smoke and feeling the explosions "through your body" as terrorists targeted Brussels.

Sky News Correspondent Alex Rossi, at the scene of the first blasts at the city's airport, said he heard two "very, very loud explosions".

"I could feel the building move. There was also dust and smoke as well ... I went towards where the explosion came from and there were people coming out looking very dazed and shocked."

"I knew it was an explosion because I've been around explosions before," said Denise Brandt, an American woman interviewed by Sky News.

"I felt the explosion, the way it feels through your body, and we just looked at each other and I said: 'let's go this way'.

"There was just this instinct to get away from it. Then we saw people running, crying, toward us.

"So I knew we were going in the right direction and away from it."

Zach Mouzoun, who arrived on a flight from Geneva about 10 minutes before the first blast, told BFM television that the second, louder explosion brought down ceilings and ruptured pipes, mixing water with victims' blood.

"It was atrocious. The ceilings collapsed," he said.

"There was blood everywhere, injured people, bags everywhere.

"We were walking in the debris. It was a war scene."

Marc Noel, 63, was about to board a flight to Atlanta and was buying car magazines in an airport shop when the first explosion occurred about 50 yards away.

"People were crying, shouting, children. It was a horrible experience," he told AP.

He said the first explosion was near a counter where customers pay for overweight luggage, while the second blast was near the airport's Starbucks.

Meanwhile, an explosion at Maalbeek metro station, close to European Union buildings, saw several people injured.

 An Associated Press reporter said he saw several people with facial injuries and at least two people were seen being moved on stretchers.

Alexandre Brans, 32, who was wiping blood from his face, said: "The metro was leaving Maalbeek station when there was a really loud explosion. It was panic everywhere. There were a lot of people in the metro."

Ian McCafferty, who was at the next station Arts Loi, said: "I was getting off at the metro station at Loi when we heard a muffled thud and a lot of debris was thrown up."

13 killed in explosions at Brussels airport

At least 13 killed in explosions at Brussels airport, metro station, Belgian media report.

Authorities did not immediately confirm that the explosions were a terror attack. However, Belgium's interior minister announced that the terror threat was being raised to its maximum level.

Burma’s Treatment of the Rohingya Is Not Genocide, Says U.S.

The Rohingya Muslim minority in western Burma face torture, unlawful detention and restrictions on their movement, among other abuses, the U.S. State Department says, but American officials believethe government’s treatment of the group does not constitute genocide.

The department reported to Congress last week after it was asked to look into allegations that an effort was underway to wipe out the ethnic group.

More than 1 million people identifying themselves as Rohingya live in Rakhine state, which sits on the Bay of Bengal. They have faced discrimination for decades by Burmese governments who insisted they are interlopers from neighboring Bangladesh, and not entitled to citizenship, despite many tracing their roots in the region back generations.

“Members of the Rohingya community in particular reportedly face abuses by the Government of Burma, including those involving torture, unlawful arrest and detention, restricted movement, restrictions on religious practice, and discrimination in employment and access to social services,” said the State Department’s Atrocities Prevention Report.

The state erupted in violence just as Burma (officially known as Myanmar) was beginning a transition from military dictatorship. “We assessed that the 2012 intercommunal violence targeted against the Rohingya civilian population resulted in approximately 200 deaths and over 140,000 displaced,” the report said. Tens of thousands of people have since taken to often unseaworthy boats to escape the country.

It remains unclear whether a new democratically elected administration set to take power April 1 will attempt to address the treatment of the Rohingya, who, as the State Department noted, receive “little public support” in majority-Buddhist Burma.

“We remain concerned about current acts that constitute persecution of and discrimination against members of the Rohingya population in Burma,” the report concluded.

Metro Trains Evacuated As Blast Hits Station

All metro stations in Brussels have been closed after several people were reported injured in a rush-hour explosion at a station.

Footage of the blast at Maalbeek station, close to European Union buildings, showed black smoke pouring from the entrance.