22/05/2013 • 16:15
22/05/2013 • 16:15
Videozone - 22/05/13 - In Brussels, the 36th "Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting" is taking place, a conference on the present and future situation of the South Pole. Prince Albert II of Monaco promised that efforts will be done to maintain the present ban on exploitation, and to protect the South Pole. The Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders expressed similar ideas. As to scientific research, a more coordinated approach is called for.
22/05/2013 • Update 12:31
22/05/2013 • Update 12:31
22/05/2013 • 12:36
22/05/2013 • 12:36
22/05/2013 • 16:37
22/05/2013 • 16:37
22/05/2013 • 16:29
22/05/2013 • 16:29
Videozone - 22/05/13 - Six days after workers of bagage handler Swissport put an end to their strike, hundreds of suitcases are still stuck at Brussels Airport. A lot of bagage has been handled, but it will take several days to have everything out of the way. Some airlines allow passengers to pick up their suitcases themselves (see www.brusselsairport.be); other passengers will have to be patient and wait some more days.
22/05/2013 • 12:02
22/05/2013 • 12:02
News - The federal government announced that special ceremonies to commemorate World War I will be held in the cities of Liège, Ieper and Brussels in August, October and November next year. More details were unveiled at a press conference.
22/05/2013 • 10:15
Health & environment - All residents that had been evacuated after the Wetteren rail disaster, can return home. All but two, that is. Two residents lived so close to the scene of the accident, that a burning train wagon ended up in their garden, causing considerable damage. Meanwhile, new tests to measure pollution levels yielded reassuring results.
21/05/2013 • 16:55
21/05/2013 • 16:55
21/05/2013 • 10:10
Life - Average temperatures this spring only climbed to 8.1 degrees Celsius. This makes it the coldest spring since the seventies. The past 10 weeks also had dark and gloomy weather, and it doesn't look as if things are about to change, at least not in the 5 or 6 coming days. "As things are looking now, we will make it into the top-10 of the springs with the least hours of sunshine."
21/05/2013 • Update 16:43
21/05/2013 • Update 16:43
21/05/2013 • 15:26
21/05/2013 • 15:26
Videozone - 21/05/13 - The Brussels Museum of Natural Sciences has a meteorite on display. Not just any meteorite: this one is exceptionally big, almost the size of a basketball. Belgian and Japanese scientists discovered the stone in Antarctica last winter.
21/05/2013 • 15:38
21/05/2013 • 15:38
Videozone - 21/05/13 - The new Brussels Prime Minister, Rudi Vervoort (Francophone socialist), has a plan ready to tackle unemployment among young people in Brussels. The Brussels government has earmarked 10 million euros for the plan, which involves language courses and apprenticeships.
21/05/2013 • 11:11
21/05/2013 • 11:11
Economy - A Chinese pigeon fancier paid the highest amount ever for a racing pigeon: 310,000 euros. The pigeon is Flemish, it was sold on the auction site Pigeon Paradise. The owner, a 66-year-old man from Vorselaar (Antwerp), sold his complete collection of pigeons for over 4 million euros.
21/05/2013 • 12:18
21/05/2013 • 12:18
Health & environment - A number of parents of children battling a rare disease have written an open letter to the federal Public Health Minister Laurette Onkelinx. In the letter, which was published in a couple of newspapers, they demand a long-term solution for the issue of refunding medicines through the health mutual.
21/05/2013 • 15:50
21/05/2013 • 15:50
Videozone - 21/05/13 - Players, staff and management of football champions Anderlecht have been received at the Anderlecht town hall. The players cherished this special moment, although many of them hadn't had a lot of sleep the past two nights, after claiming the title on Sunday.
21/05/2013 • 12:54
21/05/2013 • 12:54
Sports - The city of Antwerp, the largest in the Flemish region, is left without a team in the top flight of the Belgian football league. Beerschot was relegated, and to make matters worse, the club also went bankrupt. The Great Old, Antwerp FC, is playing in second division. A team of businessmen and representatives of the media and the Antwerp city council are discussing the issue, joining forces to have a team playing in the top flight in Antwerp next season after all.