Belgian capital on high alert

Brussels central train station was evacuated for about an hour yesterday because of a suspicious suitcase amid heightened security fears in the Belgian capital after a huge anti-terror operation led to three men being charged with terrorism offences.

The suitcase later turned out to be a false alarm but shows Belgium’s high state of alert, three months after Islamist bombers killed 32 people in Brussels.

Belgian police searched 40 houses and 152 garage lockups between Friday night and Saturday, arresting 12 people following reports of possible attacks targeting soccer fans watching the matches in Brussels. They later released nine.