Terrorism threat prompts Brussels to cancel New Year's Eve celebration
Law enforcement agencies around the world are on heightened alert on New Year's Eve, trying to balance vigilance against terrorist attacks with assurances to the public that it is safe to ring in the New Year in public spaces. Turkey arrested two alleged Islamic State plotters on Wednesday, and Belgium arrested two alleged ISIS-inspired attack planners on Tuesday, but officials in Brussels still decided to err on the side of safety and canceled fireworks and other festivities in the Belgian capital's equivalent of Times Square.
Last year, 100,000 turned out for the New Year's Eve celebration in central Brussels, Mayor Yvane Mayeur told television station RTBF, and this year "we can't guarantee that we can check everyone." Paris, site of the Nov. 13 ISIS-linked attack carried out largely by Belgian nationals, has also canceled a planned New Year's Eve fireworks display, but is still putting on a 10-minute video and light show at the Arc de Triomphe. In New York City, 6,000 police will be deployed around Times Square. "Come on down," New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said on MSNBC's Morning Joe. "We're going to have the best party in the world." You can learn more in the CNN report below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
There’s a new serif in town: Trump’s font overhaulIn the Spotlight As the State Department shifts from Calibri to Times New Roman, is this just a ‘typographic dispute’, or the ‘latest battleground’ of a culture war
-
Do you have to pay taxes on student loan forgiveness?The Explainer As of 2026, some loan borrowers may face a sizable tax bill
-
Planning a move? Here are the steps to take next.the explainer Stay organized and on budget
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
A peek inside Europe’s luxury new sleeper busThe Week Recommends Overnight service with stops across Switzerland and the Netherlands promises a comfortable no-fly adventure
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
