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Belgium builds sand berm to protect coastline from oil spill

A sand berm was constructed on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday off the Belgian coast to stop oil from the sunken Dutch freighter Flinterstar from reaching the Zwin nature reserve, reports Gazet van Antwerpen . The Flinterstar sunk after colliding with a tanker in the North Sea off Zeebrugge early...

Good for career, bad for relationship? Study reveals highs and lows of expat life in Belgium

Belgium is one of the best countries in the world for education and career progression - but scores less favourably for expats when it comes to relationships and social i ntegration. These are some of the findings of a new global expat quality of life survey which ranks Belgium 30th out of the 39...

Striking rail workers are allowed to block tracks, court rules

The operator of Belgium's rail network has failed in a legal attempt to stop workers from blocking railway lines when they go on strike. Infrabel, which runs the tracks infrastructure on behalf of the SNCB, had taken a group of staff to court after they brought services to a standstill last...

Moroccan police to patrol Brussels and Antwerp streets

Police patrolling in certain areas of Brussels and Antwerp will be joined by colleagues from Morocco next year, federal home affairs minister Jan Jambon has announced. In return, Belgian police will go on secondment to Morocco. Jambon described the programme as “a sort of Erasmus for police...

One in four Belgians forget to buckle up in back seat

Seat belt use in the car has improved in Belgium in recent years, rising to 92.2% in the front seat, compared with 84.6% in 2012. In the back seat, however, a quarter of Belgian passengers do not wear a seat belt, according to a study by the Belgian Institute for Road Safety (IBSR). The institute...

Plan for 30% more trains through central Brussels

The number of trains running between Brussels' north and south stations could be increased by almost a third under new plans to invest in better signalling software. Belgium's federal transport minister Jacqueline Galant said the technology could provide a cheaper alternative to digging new tunnels...

Union rally to hinder access to Brussels Central Station

Brussels public transportation network STIB expects Wednesday's national demonstration to block access to Central Station, especially between 12.00 and 17.00. Access to the stations Bruxelles-Chapelle and Congrès will also be limited. Belgian rail company SNCB will add extra trains to bring...

Eight in 10 Belgian teens own a smartphone

More than 80% of adolescents in Belgium between the ages of 13 and 16 own a smartphone. Nearly half of the parents keep an eye on the monthly data usage, reports DataNews.be, based on a study by French smartphone brand Wiko and online research company iVox. The survey interviewed 2,687 Belgians...

First hydrogen fuelling station in Belgium set for 2016

Toyota will launch its new Mirai fuel cell model in Belgium at the beginning of next year, the company announced. The special five-door vehicle is powered by a fuel cell that runs on hydrogen, and emits only water vapour. Belgium will be the fourth country in Europe where the Mirai is on sale,...

Turkish minorities protest arrival of Erdogan

Organisations representing Turkish minorities have held protests at the arrival of Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan on a three-day visit to Brussels. The visit comes less than a month before a snap election called in Turkey for 1 November. Erdogan, as a visiting head of state, is due to meet the...

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