The week in brief: 13 February

The North-South railway link through the centre of Brussels will be closed to all train traffic from 29 April to 1 May, the NMBS has announced. For the first time in more than 30 years, Central Station (pictured) will close down for infrastructure works, including the installation of new signalling technology. The link is the busiest in the country’s rail network, with some 1,200 trains a day. Details of alternative arrangements for domestic and international passengers will be announced later.

The flu epidemic continues to affect more people, with the latest figure of 889 diagnoses per 100,000 residents in the week from 30 January to 5 February, the Scientific Institute for Public Health announced. The institute said the epidemic has not yet reached its peak. Last year’s high point of 734 has already been topped.

A former US ambassador to Denmark whose son was killed in the 22 March attack on Brussels Airport has criticised the decision that damages for the relatives of those who died will be restricted to Belgian nationals or others living in Belgium. James Cain expressed his concerns in a letter to Patrick Dewael, chair of the parliamentary commission investigating the attacks, comparing the situation with the US response following the attacks of 11 September, 2001, when a fund for all victims was set up.

Bart Raeymaekers has been appointed as the new director of the federal crisis centre. A former police officer who has been security minister Jan Jambon’s deputy chief of staff for more than two years, Raeymaekers will take up the job on 1 March. The crisis centre is responsible for co-ordinating the reaction of emergency services to actual or potential crises.

Brussels Airlines has received an assurance from the Indian government that the necessary permits will be granted to allow the airline to introduce flights from Brussels to Mumbai starting on 30 March. The company met with civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in New Delhi last week. The new destination will fill the gap left when Jet Airways left Zaventem to move to Schiphol.

The federal finance ministry has filed an appeal with the Cassation Court against a ruling by the Antwerp court of appeal that strikes down a claim by the customs service against Omega Diamonds. The customs service accused Omega of undeclared trade in diamonds that defrauded the government of billions in duties over a number of years. The court said Belgian rules were in breach of EU law. “We can’t just let this pass,” said finance minister Johan Van Overtveldt.

It is now easier for transport companies that carry part of their freight via rail or waterways instead of the roads to apply for a rebate on road tax, after the rules were made simpler by Flanders’ finance and mobility ministers. The so-called combined transport aims to reduce the number of lorries on the roads, leading to less congestion and lower levels of pollution. The rebate was already available on paper, but the tight rules meant few applications were successful.

Social media site Facebook has reversed its decision to take down a video posted by the non-profit Plan België as part of its campaign against female genital mutilation. Facebook originally took down the video, which uses animation to illustrate its point, because it said it contained adult material, but the site relented following an appeal by Plan België.

Mobility minister Ben Weyts has introduced a new plan to stop human traffickers from loading migrants into lorries parked at service points along the E40 between Groot-Bijgaarden and the French border. The migrants are usually heading to the UK. The plan involves designating some sites as long-term parking, as well as installing fences and cameras and employing night-time security guards.

The computer systems at Brussels Airport were the subject of an attempted cyber-attack on 22 March last year, the day of the bomb attacks at the airport and the Brussels metro, the federal prosecutor’s office has revealed. There was, it said, no link between the cyber-attacks and the suicide bombers. The hacker, identified as an American teenager living in Pennsylvania, was unable to infiltrate the airport’s systems.

A webshop based in Antwerp province that sells personalised Lego bricks has been ordered by the Danish toy company to stop selling them. Mijnblokje.be personalises the blocks with text or logos to offer as gifts for both personal and business use. The business has been running for eight years without incident, but Lego has now refused to supply any more of the iconic bricks.

Photo: PMRMaeyaert/Wikimedia