Terror attacks rock capital city of Belgium

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement Tuesday on the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium:

“My thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost loved ones in these horrific attacks and all of the injured. We stand with the people of Brussels and all of Europe as we join together to defeat these cowardly and barbaric terrorists.”

BELGIUM-ATTACKS

UPDATE: 31 dead in Brussels attacks

BRUSSELS (AP) – Belgian officials say the casualty toll from three explosions in the capital on Tuesday morning is 31 dead and at least 187 wounded.

The mayor of Brussels is raising the death toll from today’s bombings at an airport and a subway station.

He now says at least 20 people died and more than 100 others were wounded in the subway station attack, near the headquarters of the European Union.

Another Belgian official said earlier that 11 people were killed and more than 80 were wounded in explosions at the Brussels airport.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which come after a top suspect in the deadly Nov. 13 attacks in Paris was arrested Friday in a massive police raid in Brussels.

More than 200 flights to Brussels have been diverted or canceled. The Brussels airport has been shut down and airport security has been tightened across Europe.

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NEW: Embassy advises Americans to stay where they are

BRUSSELS (AP) – The U.S. Embassy in Brussels is recommending that Americans in Belgium stay where they are and avoid public transportation.

The embassy noted Tuesday that with the threat rating in Brussels at its highest alert, attacks can take place with little or no notice. It urged U.S. citizens to monitor media reports, follow instructions from the authorities, and “take the appropriate steps to bolster your personal security.”

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NEW: Train from Brussels stopped in the Netherlands

AMSTERDAM (AP) – Police in the Netherlands say they have halted an international train from Brussels to Amsterdam at a station just one stop from the Dutch capital’s busy Schiphol Airport as a precaution and are searching the train and its passengers.

Local police said on Twitter that Hoofddorp station had been evacuated and will stay closed until the investigation is completed. Passengers were being put up in nearby hotels.

There was no immediate word of any arrests and police did not say what prompted them to stop the train. The incident came just hours after deadly attacks on the Brussels airport and a city subway station.

Photos spread on social media are showing armed police patrolling the Dutch train station.

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NEW: French leader: We are at war

PARIS (AP) – French officials are condemning the Brussels attacks in the strongest terms.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls, speaking after a crisis meeting called by the French president, says “we are at war. We have been subjected for the last few months in Europe to acts of war.”

President Francois Hollande says “terrorists struck Brussels but it was Europe that was targeted – and all the world that is concerned.”

Hollande also warned that “this war will be long” so sang froid and lucidity are needed.

Paris says it will light the Eiffel Tower in the colors of the Belgian flag. The city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, described it in a tweet as a measure of “solidarity with Brussels.”

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NEW: Russia blames the West

MOSCOW (AP) – Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says the West’s politics of “double standards” have led to terrorist attacks and that frozen diplomatic relations between NATO and Russia have slowed the fight with terrorism.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, has offered its condolences to Belgium and expressed solidarity after the attacks Tuesday that left scores dead.

While Russia and the United States have brokered a fragile peace agreement in Syria, the two countries still disagree on how to tackle terrorist threats posed by the Islamic State group.

Prominent Russian lawmaker Alexei Pushkov also had a jab at Europe and NATO following the Brussels attacks. Pushkov later offered his condolences, but said “it’s time for Europe to understand where the genuine threat is coming from and join efforts with Russia.”

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In Cuba, Obama briefed on Brussels attacks

HAVANA (AP) – President Barack Obama, traveling in Cuba, was briefed this morning on the Brussels attacks that killed dozens of people. The White House said U.S. officials were in contact with Belgian officials about the explosions at the Brussels airport and subway system.

At least one of the attacks was believed to be caused by a suicide bomber, and Belgium raised its terror alert to its highest level.

Last week U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said U.S. Homeland Security officials are constantly monitoring world events and evaluating if there is a need to either publicly raise the nation’s security posture or issue another bulletin via the government’s National Terror Advisory System.

Such a bulletin was issued in December advising the public that federal law enforcement was concerned about the possibility of homegrown violent extremists and terrorist-inspired individuals.

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Obama to meet with Cuban dissidents

HAVANA (AP) -President Barack Obama will decry political repression and economic deprivation when he meets today with dissidents and speaks to the Cuban people.

It’s unclear exactly which Cuban dissidents will meet with Obama at the U.S. Embassy.

The issue of political prisoners is hugely important to Cuban-Americans and the international community.

Yet most people on the island are more concerned about the shortage of goods and their struggles with local bureaucracy.