Tag: Belgium

Belgian king, in shadow of colonial past, to visit DR Congo

  by Matthieu Demeestere Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Belgium’s King Philippe on Tuesday begins a historic visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, in a region cruelly exploited by his ancestors, as tensions rise in the volatile east. The six-day trip, at the invitation of President Felix Tshisekedi, has strong symbolic significance, coming two years after Philippe expressed to the Congolese leader his “deepest regrets” for the “wounds” of colonization. The visit, the monarch’s […]

Continue Reading →

Four dead in Belgium as car hits early morning carnival crowd

A car crashed into a crowd of early morning carnival-goers in Belgium on Sunday, killing four people and injuring 20 people seriously, authorities said. “A car driving at high speed ran into the crowd that had gathered to attend (the carnival),” La Louviere mayor Jacques Gobert told Belga news agency. The incident took place at about 5:00 am (0400 GMT) at the carnival of Strepy-Bracquegnies, a district of the former industrial town of La Louviere, […]

Continue Reading →

Violence erupts at Covid curb protest in Brussels

by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Violence broke out at a protest against anti-Covid measures in Brussels on Sunday, in which police said tens of thousands of people took part. The march began peacefully but police later fired water cannon and tear gas in response to protesters throwing projectiles, an AFP photographer witnessed. AFP also saw at least two police injured in the events, as officers in riot gear charged the crowd backed by […]

Continue Reading →

Tens of thousands rally in Belgium climate march

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – Tens of thousands of protesters joined the first major climate march in Brussels since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, weeks before a major climate summit. Police said initial estimates suggested at least 25,000 marchers walked a three-kilometre (two-mile) route from the city’s North rail station to the Cinquantenaire Park. Organisers said the number of participants was 70,000. “It is time for systemic change with radical action.  It’s about the survival […]

Continue Reading →

Kabul evacuation flight arrives in Belgium

MELSBROEK, Belgium (AFP) — A charter flight arrived at a Belgian air base outside Brussels on Monday carrying 193 people escaping the chaos in Kabul. The Air Belgium jet brought the escapees — including Belgians and Afghans who worked for international missions — from an Islamabad base acting as a staging post for Belgium’s military airlift from the Afghan capital. AFP and other media at the Belgian air base saw people disembarking from the plane […]

Continue Reading →

Flood-hit Belgians struggle to get over ‘nightmares’

by Anne-Laure MONDESERT TROOZ, Belgium It has been two weeks since the torrents of water trapped Nadia Neqrat on the first floor of a house in Belgium’s eastern Trooz district, and she still has nightmares. Now — with the help of relatives, neighbours and volunteers — she is among the residents trying to rebuild their lives. The devastation from the worst floods here in living memory, which left at least 41 dead in Belgium and […]

Continue Reading →

Flood death toll rises to 165 in Germany

  BAD NEUENAHR-AHRWEILER, Germany (AFP) — The death toll from Germany’s worst floods in living memory rose to 165 on Monday as emergency services continued to comb through decimated towns in search of dozens of people still missing. A deluge of rain fell over western Germany over two days last week, sending torrents of water rushing down streets, sweeping away trees, cars and sheds, and destroying swathes of housing. Many victims have been found dead […]

Continue Reading →

Europe picks through rubble from deluge as death toll soars to 150

  by Jean-Philippe LACOUR with Deborah COLE in Berlin Agence France Presse Troops and firefighters scrambled through the night Saturday to find victims of the devastation left by the worst floods to hit western Europe in decades, which have already left more than 150 people dead and dozens more missing. Western Germany has suffered the most brutal impact of the deluge that also pummelled Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, leaving streets and homes submerged in […]

Continue Reading →

93 dead, hundreds missing in huge floods in Germany and Belgium

  by Christof STACHE Agence France Presse The death toll from devastating floods in Europe soared to at least 93 Friday, most of them in western Germany, where emergency responders were searching for hundreds of missing people. “I fear that we will only see the full extent of the disaster in the coming days,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said from Washington late Thursday, where she met with President Joe Biden. Catching residents of several regions unaware […]

Continue Reading →

At least 68 dead in Germany, Belgium as storms ravage Europe

by Michelle FITZPATRICK with Deborah COLE in Berlin Agence France Presse MAYEN, Germany (AFP) — Heavy rains and floods lashing western Europe have killed at least 59 people in Germany and nine in Belgium, and many more people are missing as rising waters caused several houses to collapse on Thursday. In Germany, which is experiencing one of the worst weather disasters since World War II, desperate residents sought refuge on the roofs of their homes […]

Continue Reading →

90-year-old infected with ‘two virus variants at once’

PARIS, France (AFP) — A 90-year-old woman who died after falling ill with Covid-19 was infected with both the Alpha and Beta variants of the coronavirus at the same time, researchers in Belgium said Sunday, adding that the rare phenomenon may be underestimated. The unvaccinated woman, who lived alone and received at-home nursing care, was admitted to the OLV Hospital in the Belgian city of Aalst after a spate of falls in March and tested […]

Continue Reading →

France, Belgium ease virus curbs as US decision boosts travel hopes

  by AFP Bureaus France and Belgium further relaxed their Covid-19 restrictions Wednesday, allowing restaurants and cafes to serve indoors, while the United States eased travel warnings for dozens of countries as vaccinations boost hopes of a return to normal life. The pandemic’s impact on life around the planet was also illustrated Wednesday with a shake-up of the list of the world’s most liveable cities, with Auckland rocketing to the top on the back of […]

Continue Reading →
1 2 3 4 … 7