Category Archives: Belgium

Covid in Europe: protests in Czech Republic, Ireland to toughen rules

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Switzerland makes masks mandatory as continent struggles to contain infections

Police fought anti-mask protesters in the Czech Republic, Ireland prepared to announce tough new restrictions and Switzerland made masks mandatory indoors as European governments struggled to contain continuing record Covid case numbers.

As Italy on Sunday reported 11,705 new infections over the past 24 hours, its largest ever figure, and France on Saturday set a new high of 32,427 cases, police in Prague’s historic tourist district fired teargas and water cannon after demonstrations against strict anti-coronavirus restrictions turned violent.

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Belgian ambassador throws King Charles II treaty into EU fishing debate

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British king granted 50 Flemish fishermen ‘eternal rights’ to English fishing waters in 1666

All is fair in love and cod war. And with the EU’s coastal states under pressure to give way on Britain’s demands for greater fishing catches in its waters post-Brexit, any old argument is worth a try.

When the issue of the future access of European fishing fleets was being discussed by EU ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday the Belgian government’s representative, Willem van de Voorde, made a notable intervention.

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Berlin nightlife given first curfew in 70 years as Covid cases surge

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German capital tells bars to shut at 11pm, while fellow role model Belgium also tightens rules

Berlin’s nightlife is facing a closing time for the first time in 70 years as the party-loving German capital seeks to contain spiralling coronavirus infection rates.

From Saturday, bars, restaurants and off-licences will have to close their doors between 11pm and 6am as a large second wave of Covid-19 cases in the city threatens to taint Germany’s image as a pandemic role model.

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Coronavirus: Europe struggles to contain surge of cases

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Rise in infection rate in Paris as Spanish authorities clash over Madrid lockdown

Bars in Paris have been ordered to close for two weeks, Madrid residents may no longer leave their city and Ireland is set to introduce tighter national restrictions as governments struggle to contain a Europe-wide surge in Covid-19 cases.

As infections in the Paris area rose to 270 for every 100,000 people – and as high as 500 for every 100,000 among 20- to 30-year-olds – with 36% of intensive care beds occupied by Covid-19 patients, the city’s police chief said bars must close from Tuesday.

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Delphine Boël: Belgian king’s daughter wins right to call herself princess

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Artist whose mother had affair with former king Albert II wins the right to use royal title and father’s surname

An artist who successfully fought a seven-year legal battle to prove she was the daughter of the former king of Belgium, Albert II, has won the right to be recognised as a princess.

The Brussels Court of Appeal has ruled that Delphine Boël, 52, had the right to her Royal father’s surname after a bitter battle for acknowledgement.

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Belgium agrees on government nearly two years after previous one fell

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Flemish Liberal Alexander De Croo sworn in as PM as country passes milestone of 10,000 Covid deaths

Belgium’s warring political parties have agreed to form a government nearly two years after the previous one collapsed, as the country passed the grim milestone of 10,000 deaths from coronavirus.

The deal, only finalised in the early hours of Wednesday , ends 652 days of caretaker and minority governments, since the fall of the previous administration in December 2018.

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As Covid cases rise again, how are countries in Europe reacting?

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Tighter measures are being imposed, but they vary across the continent

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Belgian king’s daughter fights for right to call herself a princess

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Delphine Boël, whose mother had affair with ex-king Albert II, also wants to take her father’s surname

A woman who successfully fought a seven-year legal battle to prove she was the daughter of the former king of Belgium, Albert II, will learn next month whether, against the wishes of her father, she will be able to use the titles Her Royal Highness and the Princess of Belgium.

Delphine Boël, 52, an artist and sculptor, whose mother had an extra-marital affair with Albert in the 1960s and 70s, argued in the Brussels court of appeal that she should also be able to use her biological father’s surname of Saxe-Coburg. The court will give its judgment on 29 October.

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Belgium must return tooth of murdered Congolese leader, judge rules

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Belgian policeman had admitted taking tooth from Patrice Lumumba’s body in 1961

A Belgian judge has said that a tooth taken from the remains of the Congo’s first elected leader, Patrice Lumumba, should be returned to his family almost 60 years after his assassination by rebels overseen by Belgian officers.

The tooth had been seized from a Belgian policeman who admitted taking it while helping to dispose of Lumumba’s body after the politician was murdered in 1961. The Belgian government of the time, the CIA and MI6 have also been implicated.

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UK looks to Belgium for Covid inspiration despite infections rise

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Matt Hancock hails Belgian model amid rollout of new curbs in England – but data shows jump in new cases

Belgium has been cited by the UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, as a model for getting coronavirus under control – just as its public health body recorded a 15% rise in the number of daily infections compared with the previous week.

Despite a dip in the number of new infections in August, after a tightening of rules by the Belgian prime minister, Sophie Wilmès, the most recent data suggests the country’s success may be short-lived as people return to work and school.

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Global report: schools across Europe reopen as Covid cases grow

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Parents and teachers fear face masks and other measures not enough to prevent second wave

Tens of millions of pupils, most wearing face masks, have headed back to class in France, Belgium, Poland and Russia, as schools across Europe cautiously reopened amid spiralling numbers of new coronavirus cases in several countries.

Parents and teachers around the continent have expressed fears that strict physical distancing and hygiene measures such as hand cleansing stations will not be able to prevent a second Covid-19 wave, maybe coinciding with the autumn flu season.

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Reopening schools: how different countries are tackling Covid dilemma

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As schools in England prepare to reopen, we examine the situation around the world

As schools in England and Wales get set to reopen amid continued controversy over safe conditions, attention has focused on potential evidence of coronavirus transmission in the classroom and on the experiences of other countries.

Research on the ability of children of different ages to catch and transmit the virus is contradictory, and differences in education systems and social conventions make comparisons difficult.

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Coronavirus in Europe: French and Dutch on alert over rise in cases

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New infections back to nearly half their peak in the Netherlands as France reports ‘worrying increase’

New daily coronavirus infections in the Netherlands are back to roughly half their level at the peak of the pandemic, while France’s prime minister has said it is crucial for his country to avoid a new lockdown amid a “worrying increase” in cases.

Jaap van Dissel, the Netherlands’ chief epidemiologist, told the Dutch parliament on Tuesday that 4,036 new Covid-19 cases had been reported in the past week, an increase of 55% on the previous seven days. The figure translated to a daily average of more than 500, compared with nearly 1,200 at the peak of pandemic.

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Coronavirus: Belgium beach brawl prompts call to limit visitors

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Government says it will not cancel trains to seaside after dozens are involved in fight

Belgium’s government has ruled out cancelling trains to the seaside after a weekend beach brawl prompted local mayors to call for limits on visitors to the coast.

Local politicians across Belgium’s 40-mile (65km) strip of coastline called for action after police confronted dozens of young people, who had been disturbing other holidaymakers, at a beach in Blankenberge on Saturday. Some of the young people threw sand in people’s faces and used parasols as projectiles against police. Three people from Brussels appeared before a judge on Monday charged with assault and battery.

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Belgium set to be added to England’s coronavirus quarantine list

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Department for Transport officials said to be finalising announcement of the move

Belgium is set to be added to England’s quarantine list after a rise in Covid-19 cases, meaning arrivals from the country will have to isolate for 14 days.

The Guardian understands that officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) are finalising the announcement of the move and the current plan is that the measures are not due to come into effect until the weekend.

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Belgium mulls charges over 1961 killing of Congo’s first elected leader

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Prosecutors say there are two living suspects allegedly linked to assassination of Patrice Lumumba

Belgian prosecutors are investigating whether they can bring charges against people suspected of taking part in the killing of Congo’s first democratically elected leader, Patrice Lumumba, almost 60 years after his assassination.

Belgium’s federal prosecutor Frédéric Van Leeuw said on Wednesday: “We are in the process of taking stock of the prosecutions that could be launched. The facts have been qualified as a war crime, which has been confirmed by the Brussels court of appeal. This means there is no statute of limitations.”

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Belgian king expresses ‘deepest regrets’ for brutal colonial rule

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Letter to Democratic Republic of the Congo president hailed as historic by Belgian media

King Philippe of Belgium has expressed his “deepest regrets” for acts of violence and brutality inflicted during his country’s rule over Congo, as the Democratic Republic of the Congo marks the 60th anniversary of its independence.

The letter to the DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, has been described as historic in the Belgian media, as it is the first time a Belgian king has expressed regret for the country’s colonial past, although it stops short of an apology.

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Thirteen people charged in France over Essex lorry deaths

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Group of mainly French and Vietnamese nationals accused of organising migrants’ journey from Asia

Thirteen suspects arrested by French police over the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people found in a refrigerated lorry in Essex have been charged with people trafficking and manslaughter, a judicial source has said.

Six of the group – mainly Vietnamese and French nationals – were taken into custody on Tuesday in the Paris region, while the alleged key figure in the ring of smugglers was caught in Germany.

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Global report: EU countries block hydroxychloroquine, South Korea fears new spike

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France, Italy and Belgium respond to safety fears around drug; UN issues food insecurity warning for Africa; mosques reopen in Syria

France, Italy and Belgium have all taken steps against the use of hydroxychloroquine in treating patients with Covid-19 as safety concerns over the drug, touted by Donald Trump and Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, continue to grow.

Paris on Wednesday revoked a decree allowing doctors to use the drug with severely ill coronavirus patients, while the Italian and Belgian medicine agencies either suspended or warned against its use except in clinical trials.

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Belgium confirms inquiry into Malta-China spy threat

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Investigation centres on claims Beijing has spied on EU from Malta’s embassy in Brussels

Malta’s ties to China have come under the spotlight after Belgium’s intelligence services confirmed they have been investigating suspicions that Beijing has been spying from the country’s embassy opposite the European commission’s headquarters in Brussels.

A spokesman for Belgium’s homeland security service, the Veiligheid van de Staat, made the unusual disclosure about the existence of the inquiry after the French newspaper Le Monde reported on the suspected espionage by the Chinese state.

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