The week in brief: 31 October

Belgium’s first restaurant that specifically caters to babies opened in Ghent last week. Amélie+Moi (pictured) has a special menu for babies, a play space, changing facilities and a welcoming policy regarding crying and running around. Breast-feeding is also welcome.

There are too many police zones in Belgium to operate efficiently, and there is not enough personnel to carry out the necessary tasks, according to Catherine De Bolle, chief of the federal police, speaking to the federal parliament’s committee investigating the March terrorist attacks. Belgium has 189 police zones, with a staff De Bolle said is 15% below requirements. By 2019, when planned spending cuts will have been implemented, that deficit will have risen to 24%. “That will have an impact on the implementation of the national security plan,” she said.

An incident in February in which a train in Flemish Brabant travelled 12 kilometres without a driver was the result of human error, a report by rail accident investigators has revealed. The empty train was on its way to Leuven when the automatic brake lost pressure. The driver stepped out to inspect the exterior of the train without setting other braking systems, and the train started moving again. Another driver was able to board the train at Tienen and bring it to a halt.

The sculpture of the agonising Everard ’t Serclaes on the Grote Markt in Brussels is back following its removal in 2011 for repairs. The bronze relief had been damaged by being rubbed by visitors, a gesture reputed to bring good luck. ’t Serclaes was a 14th-century alderman of Brussels who saved the city from the clutches of Louis de Male, count of Flanders, and was attacked on the road from Lennik to Brussels, dying a few days later. The renovation cost the city nearly €250,000.

Wouter Deprez is recruiting fellow comedians and musicians for an event to raise funds for independent news site Apache.be, following damage claims against the site. Among the claims is one for €100,000 from Bart De Wever’s former chief-of-staff for stories on Antwerp construction projects, and another for €250,000 from real estate developer Land Invest. The site has also started crowdfunding for its legal fund.

A number of people personally affected by the terrorist attacks in Brussels and Zaventem last March were updated on the progress of the investigation into the attacks last week. In two sessions, those affected – including injured parties and relatives of the dead – heard from magistrates, police, the disaster identification team and bomb experts. The exact details of what was said are not being revealed while the investigation continues.

Another Belgian has won a large jackpot on the EuroMillions lottery. The man won €50 million in the latest draw, just two weeks after a street-sweeper in Schaarbeek picked up €168 million. The latest winner has asked to remain anonymous.

Dutch parcel delivery service PostNL is hiring in Belgium, with the aim of taking on about 100 delivery staff, at least for the festive season. Last year the company made 80,000 deliveries a day in Belgium, a record it expects to beat this year. In addition, warehouses in Vilvoorde and Sint-Truiden will be enlarged, and a new sorting centre opened in Sint-Niklaas.

An exhibition on the phenomenon of Harry Potter currently running at Brussels Expo has been extended until 8 January. The international exhibition toured 14 cities before arriving in Brussels, where some 275,000 people have visited since it opened in June.

The logistics firm H Essers has been awarded a hotly contested environmental permit for the extension of its premises in Genk. The application made headlines earlier this year when it was criticised by the popular Flemish comedian Wouter Deprez for meaning the loss of 12 hectares of woodland. The Flemish government told Essers it would have to plant 13.2 hectares in compensation, and the permit was finally issued by provincial authorities.

Flemish media minister Sven Gatz assured regional broadcasters that their subsidies are safe until at least the middle of next year, when a general evaluation will take place. The handful of broadcasters in question are those that are not part of larger media conglomerates such as Ghent’s AVS and Rob TV of Flemish Brabant. Between now and the evaluation, Gatz advised the broadcasters to co-operate to seek economies of scale.

An unidentified insurance company has been fined €56,000 for discrimination against a transgendered woman, when it tried to exclude all costs from a health insurance contract that could be associated with her “gender dysphoria”. The woman took her complaint to the Institute for Equality between Women and Men, which brought the case to court.

Photo courtesy Walkie Talkie