The week in brief: 22 September

Olivier Vanneste (pictured), governor of West Flanders province from 1979 to 1997, has died at the age of 84. Vanneste came to international prominence in 1987 when the ferry Herald of Free Enterprise foundered off the port of Zeebrugge. He was in charge of the rescue operation, for which he received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. He was ennobled by King Albert II in 2002.

People living in Flanders are four times more likely to use a bike as a means of transport than residents of Brussels, according to a poll carried out for Le Soir newspaper. Within Brussels, Dutch-speakers are more likely to cycle than their French-speaking neighbours.

The bodies of an elderly couple were washed up on shore at Nieuwpoort last week. The woman is thought to have been swimming in the vicinity of a breakwater when she got into difficulties. The man tried to rescue her, but both were carried off by the strong current.

Conflict arose between police and a crowd of about 200 young people on Ghent’s Woodrow Wilsonplein after a police patrol detained two teenagers accused of an attack on inspectors of the public transport authority De Lijn. During the stand-off, two officers used pepper spray when they found themselves surrounded. The crowd later dispersed.

Antwerp chief of police Serge Muyters has appealed to government negotiators to allow the deployment of the Belgian army for the protection of Jewish institutions in the city. He stressed that the army would only be brought in during extended periods of increased risk of terrorist attacks.

Operatie Kelk (Operation Chalice), the investigation into sexual abuse and cover-ups in the Catholic church, has now been completed and the case file handed over to the federal prosecutor. The further progress of the case will have to await a court ruling after it was reported that some of the documents have gone missing. The operation began in 2010 with the highly publicised search of offices of the archbishop of Mechelen, at the time Cardinal Godfried Danneels, as well as his home and the city’s cathedral.

Police in Ghent have arrested Martina Johnson, former commander of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, accused of crimes against humanity. Johnson, a lieutenant of former president Charles Taylor, is charged with mass murder and mutilations carried out during the country’s civil war between 1989 and 2003. Johnson could be tried in Belgium under the legal doctrine of universal jurisdiction.

Four bicycle storage boxes installed this summer in the centre of Brussels cannot be used because the city council failed to prolong the contract with management company Cyclo, according to political party Groen. The boxes provide safe storage for bicycles while their owners are busy elsewhere. Boxes already in place before the contract ended in July can still be used, thanks to Cyclo’s decision not to close them down. The four new boxes, each with space for five bikes, cost about €4,000 each. Some 2,500 bicycles are stolen in Brussels City every year.

Taxi drivers from Canada, India, the US and Europe, including Belgium, are protesting against the Uber taxi service on 8 October. Taxi unions met in Brussels last week, faced with the growth of Uber – now operating in 205 cities in 45 countries – in conflict with taxi service regulations. The Brussels-Capital Region originally banned the service, which has nevertheless continued to operate, and last weekend offered free taxi rides as a promotional stunt. Previous taxi protests in Brussels have led to serious traffic disruption.

The National Bank of Belgium (NBB) has expressed concern about electronic payment networks in the event of a loss of power this winter. The government has a brownout plan in place for times when demand threatens to exceed supply. According to NBB, people will be unable to obtain money during the so-called brownouts, which will also affect electronic payment terminals in shops. The bank intends to hold talks with the banking sector as well as the retail industry.

A fire that broke out in a flat above a synagogue on Kliniekstraat in the Brussels district of Anderlecht last week was arson but has not been confirmed as terrorist activity, the fire service said. Three people in the building at the time escaped without injury. Also last week, a group of 20 visitors to the National Monument to Jewish Martyrs in Anderlecht were pelted with stones and empty bottles. No-one was injured, and police have no leads on the attackers. The Belgian League against Anti-Semitism has called for an investigation.