The week in brief: 11 May

The NGO consortium 12-12 has raised €2.15 million for Nepal, with a target of €5 million for the whole of Belgium. 12-12 consists of Caritas International, Doctors of the World, Handicap International, Oxfam, Plan België and Unicef.

Flemish economy minister Philippe Muyters has suspended pay-out of the 2015 subsidy for Technopolis, the hands-on science centre for children in Mechelen, while he awaits the presentation of a new action plan aimed at solving the centre’s problems. An external audit recently revealed problems with management and business culture at Technopolis, as well as a lack of financial transparency. The audit followed an open letter published at the end of last year from a number of former and current employees.

This year’s Belfius Press Prize has gone to three investigative journalists – Kristof Clerix of MO*magazine, Lars Bové of De Tijd and Xavier Counasse of Le Soir – who worked with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on “LuxLeaks”, the shady deals made with the Luxembourg tax authorities designed to help bank customers avoid paying tax.

An Uber driver was found guilty last week of acting in breach of taxi regulations, but the court chose not to pronounce sentence in the first criminal action related to the ride-sharing service operating in Brussels. The drivers’ vehicle, however, was confiscated. Ride-sharing, the court said, does not include payment for services. The official taxi association welcomed the verdict; Uber said it would do “everything possible” to support its driver, including a possible appeal.

The Chinese telecommunications company Huawei plans to open a new European research institute in Leuven, founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei announced last week on a visit to the European Business Summit in Brussels. The institute will oversee the activities of 18 of Huawei’s R&D sites in eight European countries, which employ 1,200 researchers working on developing next-generation network technology.

The American TV network The CW, part-owned by CBS and Time Warner, plans a remake of the Flemish drama series Cordon, following the success of a pilot episode. The series (pictured) was produced in Flanders by Eyeworks for VTM, and told the story of an outbreak of a deadly virus in Antwerp. The US version, to be directed by David Nutter (The X-Files, Game of Thrones) will be set in Atlanta.

Two groups of cycling activists gathered on the border between the Brussels-Capital Region and Flemish Brabant last week to have breakfast and publicise their support for Fiets-GEN, the regional express network of cycle paths linking Brussels with the periphery. The delegations, one from Brussels and the other from Halle, met on the border, together with Brussels ministers Bianca Debaets  (road safety) and Pascal Smet (mobility), as well as representatives of Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts and Flemish Brabant province. The region has promised 15 new routes by 2025, but the necessary investments are being delayed, protesters said.

Jozef De Witte, who heads the government’s Centre for Equal Opportunities and the Fight against Racism, has been named as the new intendant, or general manager, of the National Orchestra of Belgium. De Witte joins the orchestra as it faces cost-cutting measures that require it to explore synergies with the De Munt opera house orchestra.

Red Cross Flanders raised €2.8 million from its annual sale of comic strip stickers. The organisation sold 565,000 – 40,000 more than last year. The money goes to operational expenses of the local branches. Meanwhile, the Red Cross action for Nepal has raised just over €500,000 in Flanders.

The Young Brassband of Willebroek, made up of musicians under the age of 22, has won the European Brass Band Championships in Freiburg, Germany, becoming Belgium’s first winner of the competition. Lode Violet, the band’s principal cornet, also won a soloist award. The senior version of the band, made up of older musicians, won a silver medal.

The only person to have died as a result of the 2013 train crash in Wetteren, East Flanders, has still to be cremated two years after the accident, it was revealed last week. Willy Van Poucke died as a result of toxic fumes that came up out of the sewers into his home, caused by burning chemicals in the train’s cargo. His body cannot be released for cremation until the judicial enquiry into the accident is completed. Last week provincial governor Jan Briers attended a brief remembrance ceremony by the temporary grave.

The postal service delivered 497 cards last week to Tjorven Van Cauweberge in Brakel, East Flanders, sending him best wishes on his first communion. Tjorven, who has Down’s Syndrome, had been inadvertently left off of the list compiled by the church and used by members of the congregation to send cards to the new communicants. After the story appeared in Het Laatste Nieuws, Tjorven received a blizzard of cards from all over the region. 

Photo courtesy VTM