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Hugsies 4 everyone

Summary:

A 47-year-old man of Afghan descent was arrested in Izegem after fatally stabbing three people in Roeselare. Earlier that day, he was involved in a domestic violence incident where his former partner was found dead. The man, who had a history of violence against his wife and children, had been sentenced just four days prior for domestic abuse.

Despite being convicted to one year in prison (with half suspended) and a fine of €800, he had not yet served time due to ongoing legal proceedings. He also received a six-month effective prison sentence, which is not currently enforced for such short durations. The court deemed probation supervision unfeasible due to his limited understanding of Dutch, and no restraining order was imposed after the verdict.

Summary:

The Belgian Federal Planning Bureau has concluded that, in an optimal scenario, Belgium will need to build 8 gigawatts of new nuclear power plants to achieve a climate-neutral electricity supply by 2050. This study supports the current government's push for a nuclear revival. The report outlines three scenarios for meeting electricity demands, with the most cost-effective option involving significant investments in both offshore wind energy and nuclear power.

In this optimal scenario, offshore wind capacity would increase from 2.2 to 8 gigawatts, and new nuclear plants would generate nearly one-third of Belgium's electricity by 2050. The study predicts that electricity consumption will more than double, exceeding 200 terawatt-hours. Without nuclear energy, Belgium would need to import nearly 40% of its electricity, significantly increasing energy dependence.

The nuclear scenario is deemed the cheapest, with total costs estimated at €115 per megawatt-hour, compared to 25-35% higher costs in scenarios without nuclear energy. However, the Planning Bureau emphasizes that economic factors are not the only considerations; energy independence and the uncertainties surrounding nuclear fuel costs and waste management are also critical.

Investment in new nuclear plants is projected at €7.7 billion per gigawatt, with potential cost overruns posing risks to the feasibility of the nuclear option. The Bureau remains skeptical about the viability of small modular reactors due to their higher costs. The findings align with previous studies and provide additional support for the government's nuclear energy ambitions.

Summary:

The Flemish government is in the final stages of negotiations to finalize its budget by Monday, aiming to find €1.5 billion to maintain a balanced budget by 2027. The discussions, which resumed at 5 PM after a night of deliberation, have reportedly made progress, with key proposals on the table, including an increase in the healthcare premium and a truck toll. The government is under pressure as the projected deficit for 2026 has risen from an agreed €2.7 billion to €4.2 billion, necessitating urgent measures to address the shortfall.

In what the N-VA party describes as the "most ambitious interim budget ever," all expenditure and revenue items are being scrutinized. The government is considering delaying or spreading out certain expenditures, such as reforms to inheritance tax, increased funding for welfare, and initiatives to promote Dutch language skills in education. Additionally, new revenue sources may include making the inheritance tax reform budget-neutral by excluding real estate from tax-free gifts to family businesses and implementing a wealth test for social premiums.

Another potential revenue stream could come from increasing the healthcare premium, currently set at €64 for approximately 4.7 million Flemish residents, which supports over 300,000 individuals in need of care. There are also discussions about raising the truck toll, particularly targeting polluting vehicles. If an agreement is not reached by Monday at 2 PM, when Minister-President Matthias Diependaele is scheduled to present his September statement in the Flemish Parliament, the speech will need to be postponed.

Summary:

• The Bierset airport in Liège is overwhelmed by a surge in e-commerce packages, with 3.8 million products arriving daily, a 33% increase from the previous year, but customs can only inspect 0.006% of these shipments due to limited resources.

• 40% of the packages are found to have issues, including counterfeit goods, incorrect valuations, and safety concerns, prompting calls for better scanning technology and data sharing with e-commerce platforms to improve oversight.

• The Belgian customs face additional challenges, such as enforcing sanctions against Russia and addressing competitive disadvantages for European businesses due to the influx of Chinese products, leading to demands for stricter regulations on companies like Shein and Temu.

Summary:

Brussels Airport is still experiencing disruptions after a cyberattack yesterday targeted an external provider of check‑in systems. Several airlines faced technical issues that forced staff to perform check‑ins manually with pen and paper, causing longer processing times. The airport says its own systems were not affected and that it is working with carriers and the external supplier to limit the impact, but a precise timeline for resolution is not yet available.

As a result of the outage about nine flights were canceled and around fifteen experienced delays of an hour or more; some TUI fly morning departures were diverted to Ostend with passengers bused there. Passengers with planned flights are advised to check flight status before traveling to the airport and to arrive two hours early for Schengen flights or three hours early for non‑Schengen flights. Multiple European airports are affected by the same supplier incident; Brussels Airport continues to monitor the situation and share updates through its channels.

Summary:

• Iberian harvester ant queens (Messor ibericus) mate with males of a different species (Messor structor), store their sperm, and produce males that are genetic clones of M. structor while retaining M. ibericus mitochondrial DNA.

• Queens produce both M. ibericus males (hairy) and M. structor-like males (nearly hairless); all colony workers are female hybrids of the two species.

• Researchers coined the term “xenoparity” for this phenomenon; it challenges traditional species concepts because two distinct species are required for the M. ibericus colony’s reproductive system.

• The relationship appears mutually beneficial—M. ibericus secures workers and spreads M. structor via cloned males—but cloned males may accumulate harmful mutations over time, risking long-term viability.

Summary:

• Belgian Finance Minister Jan Jambon (N-VA) wants to make cross‑border shopping less attractive because high excise taxes make many goods cheaper in neighbouring countries, causing Belgians to shop across the border (e.g., at French Auchan).

• He plans to address this in upcoming budget talks and focus on reforms (two‑thirds of efforts per the coalition agreement).

• Jambon says Belgium is one of the highest‑taxed OECD countries, so scope for new taxes is limited; instead, lowering certain taxes (like some excises) could raise revenues by reducing cross‑border purchases.

• The government will also study which other excises could be reduced to deter cross‑border buying. Alcohol and sugary‑drink taxes are among the levies that affect cross‑border shopping the most, but cuts will depend on political support and other coalition goals.

Summary:

The Masonic lodge La Flandre in Bruges opened its building to the public for the first time in over a century during Open Monument Day. Founded in 1881 and later moved to a Beenhouwersstraat building remodeled into an Egyptian-style temple with columns, scarabs and Masonic symbols, the lodge usually kept strict discretion. After a vandalism incident earlier this year—a stone thrown through a window—the lodge decided to open to counter persistent rumors and misconceptions. Visitors, who quickly filled available slots, were told the lodge is a place for discussion and reflection rather than plots for world domination or bloody rituals. Members explained that the Egyptian motifs symbolize life, rebirth and growth, while traditional Masonic symbols like the compass, square, sun and moon represent self-improvement. Several attendees described the visit as surprising and pleasant, despite longstanding myths about the site.

Summary:

The article discusses the European Commission's efforts to accelerate the electrification of the vehicle fleet in Europe, led by President Ursula von der Leyen. She aims to support the production of small, affordable electric cars by the European industry, with a target price of under €20,000. A strategic dialogue has been initiated between the Commission and the automotive industry, highlighting the gap between aspirations and reality, as European automakers face challenges in transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) and are heavily reliant on China for their supply chains.

Von der Leyen has previously delayed stricter emissions regulations to appease automakers and announced a €1.8 billion project to boost battery production. However, concerns remain about Europe's lag behind China in EV adoption. The article notes that the German automotive industry is pushing back against the EU's 2035 deadline for banning new combustion engine vehicles, seeking extensions and more flexible regulations, particularly for hybrid vehicles.

The article concludes that reversing established legislation would be politically risky for the Commission, and ongoing discussions are expected to address the challenges faced by the commercial vehicle sector, which currently has a low market share of electric vans at 8.5%.

Summary:

The article says Belgium is losing the war on drugs, shown by rising urban shootings, corruption and smuggling in prisons, overcrowding and violent incidents linked to organized crime. Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden is asking for an extra €1 billion (half for operations, half for buildings) while the government searches for €12 billion in the budget; proposed actions include tougher sentences for drug bosses, mandatory prison drug tests, making wealthy inmates help pay incarceration costs, and Defence Minister Bernard Quintin has suggested deploying soldiers on city streets. The piece argues that better management of justice is needed but is a long-term project, and that Belgium is in a state of emergency with "no-go" urban areas, investor flight and unprosecuted crime forcing hard budgetary trade-offs between stopping financial decline and addressing societal decay.

A feeling of impunity undermines citizens' trust in justice, politics and "the system". The cost of that is almost impossible to calculate.