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Running for Retrak: Week 10

This week’s lesson was twofold. 1) It seems we all have rather different ideas of the meaning of “slow”. 2) Someone has to come last, and it might as well be me. As part of my couch-potato-to-20km training programme, I signed up to the Brussels Runners Meetup group, hoping for a bit of motivation...

It’s official: Marks & Spencer to reopen in Brussels

Marks & Spencer will open a new store in 2015 in Belgium, located on Avenue de la Toison d'Or in Brussels. The rumour ran for a little time in Brussels’ real estate circles, but it was not until yesterday that the British chain confirmed the information. This means that M&S returns after...

Government tackles Belgacom’s executive wages

The Belgian government, the majority shareholder of Belgacom, will either abstain or vote against several points relating to the remuneration of senior executives and directors of the company, at the general meeting of shareholders of the telecommunications group today in Brussels. "It is time that...

Panel of 12 experts to help with pension reform

Belgian minister for pension Alexander De Croo and minister for the self-employed and SMEs Sabine Laruelle have announced that 12 industry experts have been put in charge of preparing a second instalment of pension reform to the Belgian pension system for between 2020 and 2040, writes European...

Belgium to expand consular presence in India

Belgium is hopeful of setting up its Consulate General in Chennai before the end of this year, reports The Hindu . A visit to New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai by a large business delegation headed by the Prince Philippe is also set to take place in November, said Karl Van den Bossche (pictured left...

Belgium's polished diamonds exports down 12%

Belgium's polished diamond exports fell 12% year on year to €920million in March, reports Diamonds.net . The figures were released by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. By export volume, the number of polished carats fell 5.9% to €614,601 and the average price per carat dropped 6% to €1,500...

‘No victims’ among Belgians in Boston

At least 23 Belgians took part in yesterday’s Boston Marathon, which ended in tragedy as three people were killed and dozens injured in a double explosion, writes Het Laatste Nieuws. “Immediately after crossing the finishing line I heard this terribly loud bang, turned around, saw a giant blowtorch...

Police in dawn raids on Syria-bound Muslim fighters

Belgian police today staged dozens of early-morning raids on radical Islamists suspected of recruiting volunteers to fight the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Police carried out 46 raids, “essentially in Antwerp and in Vilvoorde”, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office told AFP. An...

Russian PM thanks Belgium for helping children hurt in bus crash

Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev has thanked the Belgian authorities for the help they gave to the Russian children injured in Sunday’s coach crash outside Antwerp in which five people died, reports the Itar-Tass agency . “First, I wanted to thank our Belgian partners for their help,”...

Hasselt ends free public transport scheme

People in Hasselt will no longer be able to travel for free on public transport in the city. The free bus scheme, launched in 1997 by the then mayor, the popular former pub landlord Steve Stevaert, cost public transport company De Lijn €967,000 per year, with the city of Hasselt also contributing...

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