Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday held the day after Pentecost, a religious holiday of the Christian faith celebrated by devotees the world over, and marked by a public bank holiday in many European countries, like Belgium. The holiday falls the day after Pentecost Sunday, which commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles after the death of Jesus, leading to the first sermon and marking the birth of the Christian Church. The two days of Pentecost change each year, as Pentecost Sunday is set 49…
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Artwork by Koen Vanmechelen found dumped in skip
Parts of a work by artist Koen Vanmechelen, divided up for members of the public and much sought-after not a year ago, have turned up dumped in a rubbish skip in Gullegem in West Flanders. In Ypres last year, Flemish artist Koen Vanmechelen exhibited a work titled Coming World Remember Me, a commemoration of the First World War which ended a century earlier, consisting of a massive clay sphere and 600,000 smaller versions (photo), one for each life lost in the conflict, much of which took place in and around…
Read MoreMedieval Market called off as storm shuts Brussels parks for the weekend
The yearly Medieval Market in Brussels’ Parc du Cinquantenaire has been cancelled, as a looming windstorm makes its way into Belgium from Friday. As Storm Miguel makes its way north from France, authorities have announced that all regional parks will be shut down from 12:30 on Friday, halting the three-day-long medieval fest only hours before it was set to kick-off. Gusts of up to 80 km/h are expected to sweep into the country, meaning fans of the middle ages will have to forego taking part in the festival’s traditional activities…
Read MoreHarassment accusations engulf Brussels university
Two professors of the Free University of Brussels (ULB) have been suspended and an internal investigation launched after revelations emerged that the institution had for years failed to respond to several harassment complaints filed by students against faculty personnel. University Dean Yvon Englert announced the measures on Wednesday, in a video posted on Facebook in which he also declared to be “personally shocked” over a nearly hundred-page report into the matter students submitted to him a day prior. “Past reports and signals were not taken into account and did not…
Read More‘Move your money, or we do’: Belgian banks pressured to divest from fossil fuels
Account-holders of Belgium’s four biggest banks have pledged to drop their accounts there unless the banks adopt more sustainable investing and financing policies, by signing an online petition which has so far gathered over 10,000 signatures. The petition called “Move your money, or we do,” specifically targets the country’s four biggest financial institutions —Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING and KBC—, handing them an ultimatum to better align their investment policies with the Paris Climate Agreement by June— or watch clients, and their money, walk out the door. The petition asks…
Read MoreTelsa electric car catches fire while charging in Antwerp
A Tesla electric car caught fire while it was plugged into a charging station in Antwerp during the early hours of Saturday morning. The fire department said the charging station was also damaged by the flames. The fire department were able to quickly determine that the fire was caused by a technical problem with the vehicle. It was submerged in a container of water to stop it bursting into flames again. “It takes a lot of time to cool the battery in this type of car down correctly. Our firefighters…
Read MoreParis bans smoking in 52 parks and gardens
Smoking has been banned in 52 parks and public gardens in Paris, in a move that, the mayor’s office hopes, will make the city “an even more welcoming capital”. Anyone found violating the ban, which came into effect on Friday, 31 May, faces a fine of 38 euros. The new no-smoking zones represent about 10% of the green spaces in Paris. However, the ban does not apply to the city’s biggest parks, popular with picnickers and revellers in the summer. The level of cigarette smoking is slightly higher in France…
Read MoreTrains not stopping in Brussels station after bomb alert
No trains are currently stopping in Brussels Gare du Nord following a bomb alert, national rail company SNCB announced. At around 15:00 on Tuesday, the SCNB said on its Twitter account that no trains were going through or serving the station, located to the north of the city. After advising travellers to follow the instructions of security personnel, the rail company said that trains could once again go through, but not stop at the station. In replies, the SNCB said that the Midi and Central stations were not impacted. En…
Read MoreFive people evacuated from a burning building in Brussels
Brussels firefighters had to evacuate five people from a burning building in the early hours on Monday morning, said Walter Derieuw, spokesman for the Brussels fire brigade. The fire brigade was called around 3:00 AM to a fire in a bar on the ground floor of a three-storey building on Chaussée de Louvain. One person was present on the first floor, two on the second and two on the third. There were no injuries. During the rescue, the firefighters were able to enter the bar through a side door in…
Read MoreBrussels scraps fixed parking places for commuters in public car parks
Commuters in Brussels can no longer count on fixed parking spaces in public car parks, thanks to a new measure to be introduced on 1 July. Companies often reserve places in public car parks for their staff who work in the neighbourhood, but live elsewhere. The new measure, imposed by Bruxelles Environnement, hopes that more commuters will leave their cars at home when deprived of their guaranteed space. “Commuters account for some 200,000 cars entering Brussels every day,” said Bruxelles Environnement spokesperson Pauline Lorbat told Bruzz. “This measure was the…
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