The week in brief: 14 July

Last place goes to the Passendalebeek in Moorslede, where the lowest numbers of living creatures are to be found. The stream connects to the Leie river, which is itself polluted by industry, agriculture and built-up areas. One in five households in Flanders discharges its waste water directly into rivers and streams.

During the first four months of 2014, about 500 official reports were drawn up against Belgian bar owners who were flouting the smoking ban. About 77% of the bars inspected were declared smoke-free, compared to 78% in the whole of 2013. The federal public health department wants to reduce the number of offenders through higher fines and a possible closure lasting six months.

The Flemish agency for roads and traffic (AWV) has installed trajectory-control cameras in the Waasland tunnel leading to Antwerp, and the speed control system is due to begin operating in the autumn, a spokesperson said. The cameras will allow checks on lorries passing illegally through the tunnel, as well as motorists who fail to respect the no-overtaking rule. During a test phase, no fines will be imposed.

A plane carrying 304 passengers from Toronto to Brussels was held on the ground for five hours at Ostend last week after being told it was unable to land at Zaventem because of mist. According to company procedure, the Jet Airways flight put down in Ostend; passengers later complained they were given no information, as well as nothing to eat or drink for hours. The flight was further delayed while a new crew arrived.

Scouts and Guides were unprepared last week when heavy rain crossed the country, washing out many of their camps in the first week of the summer holidays. According to a Facebook group set up to call for help, Scouts and Guides from Antwerp, Knokke, Oostduinkerke and Sint-Amandsberg were forced to abandon tent camps and take refuge in buildings including local schools.

More and more people are leaving their estate to charities instead of relatives, according to Testament.be, the group that organises bequests left to 110 charities and non-profits. The Foundation Against Cancer saw bequests go up from €8.7 million in 2008 to €14.8 million last year. The Flemish League Against Cancer received €6 million last year, up from €3.5 million three years before. Other examples include Doctors Without Borders, Unicef and SOS Kinderdorpen.

The Flemish Brabant police school in Asse last week unveiled a plaque in memory of Kitty Van Nieuwenhuysen, a graduate who was killed on duty by home-jackers in 2007. Van Nieuwenhuysen was still in training with the police of Beersel when she attended the incident and was shot dead by escaping robbers. The school also unveiled a memorial to another former student, Veerle Hamels, who took her own life in 2004.

The Council of State has given the go-ahead to a plan by the Flemish government to move a portion of its administrative offices to the site of Tour & Taxis in Brussels. The case before the council was brought by the developer of another office complex who had hoped to obtain the contract. However, the Tour & Taxis project still has no permit, although the court said it had received sufficient guarantees that one would be granted in time for the move of about 2,000 civil servants in 2016.

The municipal council of Brussels-City has decided to split the award of contracts for the planned Beer Temple in the stock exchange building in two: one contract for the planning of the concept, and another for the implementation of the plans. The project would take over part of the now largely unused building at Beurs to create a museum of Belgian beer. The council had decided in May to work with a single contractor, but the project was considered complex enough to warrant splitting.

The outgoing Flemish government has declared a temporary moratorium on prospecting for and extraction of hydrocarbons using the technique known as fracking. The moratorium can be prolonged or lifted once more information is available for or against the process, which involves pumping water and chemicals into the ground under high pressure to release gases trapped there millions of years ago. Critics warn that fracking is dangerous to human health and harms the environment. Antwerp province last week issued a negative opinion on plans to use fracking to extract shale gas in parts of the Netherlands bordering on the province.

The Flemish government should give the same level of support to Flemish music that it does to Flemish film and literature, according to BEA Music, which represents producers and distributors in Belgium. Flemish artists do well in Flanders, BEA said, but found it difficult to break through outside the region. Last year’s Ultratop of the 200 most successful albums was 36.6% local, including Stromae, Axelle Red and the soundtrack for the movie The Broken Circle Breakdown. With the exception of Stromae, who sings in French, that success was not repeated abroad. 

Photo by Dieter Telemans / BIG JUMP Bxl