Today's Top Stories - July 24, 2012

Police suspend work-to-rule action at Charleroi airport

Federal police have suspended their work-to-rule action until at least Wednesday evening when a further union meeting will decide on reinforcing police presence at Charleroi Brussels South. The police who are responsible for security and border controls have been distributing leaflets to passengers at the airport since last week explaining their action. Their problem is understaffing following an increase in the number of passengers over the past few years. The rule led to delays in flights to destinations outside of the Schengen area.

97% of stock fraud cases unpunished

Over the past five years, the Brussels Prosecution Service shelved 129 out of 133 cases of securities fraud (a staggering 97%), ranging from insider trading to short-and-distort offences. The majority of the cases were presented to the prosecution by the Belgian stock exchange’s regulatory body, the FSMA. Justice Minister Annemie Turtelboom admits that no specific directives were ever emitted to determine which cases would lead to prosecution and which ones would result in administrative fines. “Maybe we should change tactics,” she said. “At the moment, the police are not aware of the cases in the FMSA’s possession”. 

Immigrant regularisations fall

A total of 2,629 illegal immigrants had their status regularised in the first six months of 2012, mostly on humanitarian or medical grounds. At this rate, the projected number of regularisations for 2012 will be in the region of 5,000 – a record low for recent years. Since 2005, the annual figure has been around the 10,000 mark, and was higher still in 2009 and 2010 as a result of the authorities’ one-off regularisation campaign. At the same time, the number of illegal immigrants asked to leave the country has risen sharply: 48,000 last year, against 30,000 in 2009 and 2010. The Immigration Department now tends to view each regularisation as an exception rather than a rule.

4G network in Belgium slowly on the rise

Internet surfing from a mobile telephone should speed up in the coming months as fourth-generation coverage improves across Belgium. While all Belgian operators are preparing for the transition to 4G technology (10 times faster than 3G) with pilot projects in cities around the country, the forecast for Brussels, the capital of Europe remains bleaker. The Brussels-Capital Region applies voltage standards that are among the strictest in the world.

Sunshine all week long

Following inclement summer weather Belgium is finally enjoying clear blue skies, a light breeze and sunshine. The maximum temperature today is 27° with 28° forecast for Friday which will be increasingly hot, humid and potentially stormy. The weekend is likely to be variable with lower temperatures and some rain and showers.