Today's Top Stories - August 3, 2012

Tram too noisy in Schaerbeek

The commune of Schaerbeek is threatening to ban Bombardier T2000 trams from its streets because residents cannot bear the tram’s vibrations. The STIB is carrying out tests to find alternatives to the T2000 which is noisier than its smaller sister models the T3000 and T4000. Residents in Avenue Rogier report trembling walls, swinging light fitting and rattling crockery every time the line 62 tram passes between Place des Bienfaiteurs in Schaerbeek and Da Vinci in Evere. Schaerbeek mayor Bernard Clerfayt has written to Brussels transport minister Brigitte Grouwels demanding the tram to be taken out of service for not respecting noise and vibration regulations.

Bellewaerde Park welcomes new baby residents

The animal, nature and attraction park in Ypres, western Flanders, has announced multiple summer births. First it welcomed a baby Bolivian squirrel monkey a few weeks ago and then on Monday three little capybaras were born. The capybara is a native of South America and is the world’s largest rodent. Semi aquatic, it is also known as a water pig. The birth of the Bolivian monkey was a surprise for the park as its parents had only been together since January. It normally takes much longer for the Saimiri monkey family to reproduce. The species is facing extinction and is on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red list of threatened species.

King Albert II returns to honours list

After a two-year break, King Albert II has resumed the tradition of granting knighthoods and nobility titles in the annual honours list. The twenty-two new honours awarded in July bring to 277 the  number of nobility titles bestowed by the monarch since the beginning of his reign in 1993. Recipients typically come from fields such as academia, finance, arts, charity and the judiciary. There are 1,300 noble families in Belgium, which represents between 20,000 and 25,000 people. Being knighted doesn’t come for free, however – costs attached to becoming noble include registration fees (€740) and the services of a heraldic artist for the letters patent of nobility (€3,000). 

LA Times hails ‘world-class’ Belgian festival 

The Los Angeles Times heaps special praise on the Tomorrowland dance music festival on its music blog. “Belgium’s Tomorrowland festival came to an end on Sunday night,” writes Eddie Velosa, “but not before it had seen what is believed to be one of the last performances of EDM superstars Swedish House Mafia (pictured) as a trio, debuted a new single from movement hero David Guetta and transformed Flanders' De Schorre national park for tens of thousands of fans. The festival’s last two days saw a world-class lineup of headliners throwing out two-hour sets, including Afrojack, Grammy Award-winning producer Skrillex, Martin Solveig and Guetta. Steve Aoki returned Sunday night to close out the festival on the 138-ton main capping off the weekend by playing a 2 ½ -hour set in front of a frenzied, sold-out crowd, tossing them a birthday cake and spraying bottles of champagne. These antics led up to an over-the-top fireworks finale that just might have put the Fourth of July out of business.”

Read the full article on The Los Angeles Times music blog.

Miracle footballer assessed in Belgium

The Anglo-Congolese footballer Fabrice Muamba will visit a specialist at Aalst Hospital’s Cardiovascular Centre next week to find out whether he could continue his career in professional football, writes The Bolton News. The Bolton Wanderers midfielder, who made a miraculous recovery after his heart stopped for 78 minutes in an FA Cup quarter final match at Tottenham on March 17, has expressed a desire to play again and could now complete a fairytale return for the Whites this season if he gets the go-ahead. The 24-year-old will visit leading cardiologist Dr Pedro Brugada, who recently performed a minor operation on him, to find out whether his body could stand up again to the rigours of daily training whilst fitted with a special defibrillator.

Read the full story on The Bolton News website.