Emergency personnel are seen at the scene of a blast outside a metro station in Brussels, in this still image taken from video on March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Reuters TV

By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Two explosions tore through Brussels airport on Tuesday morning killing 13 people in what Belgian public broadcaster VRT called a suicide attack, and a further blast struck a metro station in the capital shortly afterwards.

The Belga agency said shots were fired and there were shouts in Arabic shortly before two blasts rang out at the airport. Pictures on social media showed smoke rising from the terminal building through shattered windows and passengers running away down a slipway, some still hauling their bags.

All public transport in Brussels was shut down, as it was in London during 2005 militant attacks on the underground that killed 52. The Belgian Crisis Centre, clearly wary of a further incident, appealed to the population: "Stay where you are".

The blasts at the airport and metro station occurred four days after the arrest in Brussels of a suspected participant in November militant attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Belgian police had been on alert for any reprisal action.

British Sky News television's Alex Rossi, at the airport, said he heard two "very, very loud explosions".

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Broken windows seen at the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels, Belgium, March 22, …

"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."

"The thinking here is that it is some kind of terrorist attack - that hasn't been verified by any of the authorities here at the airport."

The blasts triggered concern across western Europe with Britain calling a meeting of its crisis response committee. The Dutch military strengthening security at airports and borders and London’s major airports Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and City said they were working to provide a high police presence.

Video showed devastation inside the departure hall with ceiling tiles and glass scattered across the floor. Some passengers emerged from the terminal with blood spattered over their clothes. A witness said the blasts occurred at a check-in desk.

The metro station hit by the explosion was Maelbeek, close to European Union institutions. There were no details immediately available of casualties in this second incident of the morning.

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People leave the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels, Belgium, March 22, 2016. …

VRT said the blast went off on a carriage of the underground train but that no one was killed. Earlier, private broadcaster VTM had said there were reports of the metro death toll at 10.

Other media reports cited the transport authority saying the explosion was on a train traveling between Schuman and Maelbeek stations, close to the EU institutions.

A local journalist tweeted a photograph of a person lying covered in blood among smoke outside Maelbeek metro station, on the main Rue de la Loi avenue which connects central Brussels with the EU institutions.

The European Commission told staff to stay indoors.

Ambulances were ferrying the wounded away and sirens rang out across the area.

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People leave the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels, Belgium, March 22, 2016. …

FLIGHTS CANCELED, PASSENGERS EVACUATED

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on his twitter feed: "We are following the situation minute by minute. Our priority concern is for the victims and those present in the airport.

"For now, we are asking everyone to avoid all movement."

British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose country is also on a high security alert, expressed shock over the attack. "We will do everything we can to help."

Brussels airport said it had canceled all flights until at least 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Wednesday and the complex had been evacuated and trains to the airport had been stopped. Passengers were taken to coaches from the terminal that would remove them to a secure area.

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Emergency personnel are seen at the scene of a blast outside a metro station in Brussels, in this st …

All three main long-distance rail stations in Brussels were closed and train services on the cross-channel tunnel from London to Brussels were suspended.

Police did not give any confirmation of the cause of the blast. But there has been a high state of alert across western Europe for fear of militant attacks backed by Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the Paris attack.

While most European airports are known for stringent screening procedures of passengers and their baggage, that typically takes place only once passengers have checked in and are heading to the departure gates.

Although there may be discreet surveillance, there is nothing to prevent member of the public walking in to the departure hall at Zaventem airport with heavy baggage.

Following an attempted ramraid attack at Glasgow Airport in 2007, several airports stepped up security at entrances by altering the pick-up and drop-off zones to prevent private cars getting too close to terminal buildings.

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Black smoke is seen rising from the Brussels airport following explosions, in this still image made …

European stocks fell after the explosions, particularly travel sector stocks including airlines and hotels, pulling the broader indices down from multi-week highs. Safe-haven assets, gold and government bonds rose in price.

French citizen Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect for November's Paris attacks on a stadium, cafes and a concert hall, was captured by Belgian police after a shootout on Friday.

Belgium's Interior Minister, Jan Jambon, said on Monday the country was on high alert for a revenge attack.

"We know that stopping one cell can ... push others into action. We are aware of it in this case," he told public radio.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

HAVANA — “Give me the list!”

Cuban President Raúl Castro’s eruption filled the grim auditorium where he and President Obama faced the news media on Monday after a historic meeting in Havana.

After lengthy opening statements, including polite disagreements over human rights, largely couched in agree-to-disagree diplomatic blah-blah, CNN’s Jim Acosta asked Cuba’s infrequently questioned leader in rusty but respectful Spanish why his socialist government here jails dissidents, and whether he would free them.

“Dáme la lista!” Castro thundered at Acosta, a second-generation Cuban-American. “Give me the list of political prisoners, right now!”

“What political prisoners? Give me a name or names, and after this meeting is over, you can give me a list of political prisoners, and if we have those political prisoners, they will be released before tonight ends,” Castro said, according to a translation of his remarks.

The CNN reporter did not have a list, but many human rights groups have documented Cuba’s pattern of trying to smother any spark of dissent. Even as Obama flew here aboard Air Force One, security forces detained one high-profile democracy activist, Elizardo Sánchez, and squelched a peaceful protest by the Ladies In White. The group’s weekly demonstrations regularly end with arrests, its members and human rights groups say.

Slideshow: Obama’s historic visit to Cuba >>>

Acosta’s question clearly got under Castro’s skin. He came back to it at the end of the press conference, declaring it “not correct” — improper — and asking again: “Please give me a name.”

Even before Castro’s outburst, the press conference had veered into uncharted territory. While Obama answered a different question from Acosta, Castro summoned an aide to the stage and began an animated conversation.

“Excuse me,” a bemused Obama said, trying to get Castro’s attention.

“I was asking if he was — if his question was directed to me or to President Obama,” the Cuban leader explained.

President Obama speaks as Raúl Dominguez Castro, grandson and bodyguard of Cuban President Raúl Castro, talks to his grandfather during a joint press conference in Havana on Monday. (Photo: Sven Creutzmann/Mambo Photo/Getty Images)

It was not the first time Castro seemed unaccustomed to the theatrics of a press conference. Throughout the session, he loudly cleared his throat — a sound magnified by the headsets transmitting real-time translations of the remarks. He tapped his pen in front of his microphone.

Obama’s second question came from NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, who seized the opportunity to press Castro for his view of the schism over human rights. The U.S. president revealed that the leaders had arranged for two questions for Obama and one for Castro, then urged his host to answer Mitchell’s query.

Castro rubbed his hands against each other, as though spoiling for a fight. Then, spotting the outstretched hands of reporters on the Cuban side of the room, he seemed to think better of it.

“There is a program here to be fulfilled,” he said. “I know that if I stay here, you’ll make 500 questions. I said that I was going to answer one. Well, I’ll answer one and a half.”

Castro charged that no country complies with all human rights standards. “I think human rights issues should not be politicized,” he said, reprising a standard Cuban rejection of criticism from Washington.

The socialist leader sidestepped a question about whether he preferred Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race.

“I cannot vote in the United States,” he said.

Unfortunately, one must admit that the security of America’s nuclear arsenal today remains a truly troublesome matter. This means that not only US citizens, but the people of the world remain hostages of Washington’s reckless policies. It’s sad but true that a whole region can be subjected to chaos and destruction at the will of US interests, as it has been repeatedly done in the Middle East and other areas of the world. What’s even worse, as Washington continues accumulating weapon stockpiles and nuclear warheads, one day we may wake up to witness the whole world being plunged in nuclear winter due to inadequate control over nuclear weapons.

Such grim predictions can be justified by the recently uncovered scandal involving systematic drug use among US military personnel stationed at Warren Airbase in Wyoming, which provides storage for American nuclear weapons. Recently the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) Robin Rand, was forced to admit that there were habitual drug abuse among the officers of the 90th Missile Wing and Twentieth Air Force of the AFGSC. Those suspected of drug abuse have already been discharged at least for the period of the investigation.

As you may know, the Warren Airbase has been entrusted with the responsibility to launch nuclear strikes against any possible menace to US security at will. Therefore, Rand was very much on point when he noted that “trained professionals” were entrusted with a grave responsibility that they were supposed to undertake with honor. At least now we can decide whether or not we can sleep peacefully, while such people hold the fate of the world in their hands.

It must be emphasized that this was not the first time US strategic forces were accused of using drugs. Back in 2011, a massive scandal erupted when over fifty American sailors were caught using synthetic drugs on a regular basis. A total of 46 people were discharged from service on the USS Carl Vinson, which is also armed with nuclear weapons.

Time and time again certain American soldiers have shown criminal negligence while handling nuclear weapons. In 2013, there came a report that guards didn’t seal the doors of a nuclear bunker at a US military base, and a year later, soldiers damaged aMinuteman III nuclear warhead in Colorado during a routine check. There’s a handful of other incidences regarding inadequate security measures that US authorities have put in place, while having no fear whatsoever that a nuclear disaster may follow shortly afterwards.

It is curious that the case of the mishandled Minuteman III nuclear warhead was committed by the 320th Missile Squadron that is a part of the above mentioned 90th Missile Wing. As for General Robin Rand, he hesitated to report this incident for over six months in direct violation of instructions he was given only to label this case top secret afterwards to conceal the details from the public.

The lack of discipline and the low morale of the soldiers at Warren Airbase in Wyoming has been extensively covered by a number of Western media sources since 2014, but to this date, the US military has taken no steps to address the issue. So why should anyone be surprised by the fact that officers across America have grown accustomed to abusing drugs when they’re confident of the fact that their superiors are reluctant to hold them fully accountable?.

Therefore, instead of escalating tensions with North Korea, while running the risk of triggering a nuclear conflict, the White House would be better off instilling some sense among its own armed forces. It must able to provide the international community with evidence that it will not become the instigator of a nuclear war, intentionally, or inadvertently.