Helen Lyons

The US embassy will need to provide protective measures for nesting birds in order to obtain the needed environmental permits for its massive party planned for Cinquantenaire park on 28 June.

Belgium has approved a legal framework regulating the use of personal cameras (bodycams) for certain services that are regularly confronted with violence, including firefighters, public transport staff and security guards at events.Interior minister Bernard Quintin (MR) pointed to an increase in violence in public spaces in recent years as the reason for the new law.“It’s unacceptable. Those who protect us and serve society must themselves be protected,” Quintin said.“The expansion of bodycam use provides an additional tool to clearly establish who is responsible for what in the event of incidents or violence.”The measure also has the support of Belgium’s federal mobility minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés), who has previously raised concerns about an increase in attacks on public transport staff.“Safety on public transport is one of our priorities and a necessary condition for guaranteeing peaceful and safe journeys for everyone,” Crucke said.“In this context, we are enabling the use of bodycams for staff of the SNCB and regional operators (Stib, De Lijn and TEC) to enhance the safety of passengers and staff.”The cameras are activated when there is a risk of aggression or violence against individuals. The text provides safeguards regarding the protection of personal data in accordance with European regulations, with footage stored for a maximum of 90 days.For firefighters, the draft bill also provides for assistance cameras that can be used in real time during operations.These systems make it possible to guide personnel on the scene, ensure their safety and that of third parties, and transmit images to the command post.Following its recent approval by the federal council of ministers, the text will now be submitted to trade unions for negotiation and to the data protection authorities to ensure compliance.

The French-speaking Red Cross is making new preparations for this year’s Brussels 20km run on Sunday in response to anticipated hot weather.These include stations with ice baths to help runners cool down and avoid severe heat exhaustion, one at the main medical post at the start and finish in Cinquantenaire park, one at Place Montgomery and one on Avenue de Tervuren.The Red Cross is also deploying two mobile teams in ambulances equipped with an ice bath for the running event.The purpose of the cooling baths is to be able to act very quickly to assist runners who have become seriously overheated.“Hyperthermia does not only occur in extreme heat. We deal with it every year,” said Gilles De Schepper, emergency services coordinator for the race.“With these new units, we can intervene more quickly and effectively.”Hyperthermia, or overheating due to exertion, entails an extreme and sudden rise in body temperature that can become life-threatening and requires immediate assistance.“When body temperature rises above 39°C, the consequences can become very serious within minutes,” warned the Red Cross.In addition to its precautions against hyperthermia, the Red Cross will deploy 430 staff members - both volunteer first aiders and professionals - to ensure the safety and health of almost 50,000 runners along the entire route.According to the organisation, the 20km through Brussels is the “largest rescue operation of the year” for the organisation.“On average, the teams spring into action every 32 seconds, usually for minor ailments, sometimes for life-threatening situations,” the organisation said.In addition to the large medical station at Cinquantenaire park, which will cover an area of 500m², 13 other first-aid stations will be set up at various points along the route.The Red Cross is not the only entity preparing for Brussels’ big running event. Public transport operator Stib is adapting its network to make it easier for runners and their supporters to get around.The start and finish of the race are very easily accessible by public transport, using metro lines 1 and 5 (Merode or Schuman), tram lines 7 and 25 (Montgomery) and tram line 81 (Merode). Stib will be increasing services on all of these lines.Several bus and tram services impacted by the race route will be either suspended or diverted. A complete list of alterations to services can be found on the Stib website.

Rules surrounding barbecues in Brussels mean that residents hoping to take advantage of the sunny weather need to make sure that they are adhering to the region's regulations in order to avoid a fine.

A tender for an open-air swimming pool in the Brussels neighbourhood of Anderlecht is expected to be launched before the summer, as calls for such swimming spots increase in Belgium and especially in the capital.

Bpost is still trying to clear a backlog of more than 16 million letters and about 700,000 parcels that accumulated during the weeks-long strike over plans to adjust working hours for staff.

Belgians are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the economic situation in the country, according to an extensive survey commissioned by RTBF and VRT from the University of Antwerp and the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).Almost seven in 10 Belgians believe that the state of the Belgian economy has deteriorated over the past 12 months, the study found.Economic pessimism is particularly high when it comes to purchasing power, everywhere in the country but especially in Wallonia where it is considered the most important issue.In Flanders, concerns about making ends meet are also rising but the primary worry remains the state of public finances.Concerns just behind purchasing power include political representation and mistrust of the current functioning of democracy.Immigration, which was the top concern in 2024 at the time of the elections, has fallen to fourth place among Belgians’ concerns.Belgians also are not happy with measures the government is planning, especially at the federal level. Measures to increase VAT and cap wage indexation are overwhelmingly rejected, everywhere and by almost all voter groups.Pension reform - in particular the loss of certain pension entitlements in the event of early retirement - is also generally rejected, particularly on the left in Wallonia and Brussels.Other reforms, despite being contested, are supported by the public. This is the case, for example, with the time limit on unemployment benefits which is supported at a rate of 77% in Flanders and 59% in Wallonia.There is also significant support for tightening controls on long-term sick leave, ranging from 72% in Brussels to 82% in Flanders. In Wallonia, 75% of all voters "agree" or "very much agree" with such measures.While some issues tend to see support along expected party lines, others come as a surprise. While the right-leaning MR party opposes a capital gains tax that would affect the very wealthy, 56% of MR voters support it.Also noted in the survey is a collapse in support for defence spending. Last year, some 71% of Flemings and about 60% of Walloons and Brussels residents were in favour of increasing the defence budget to 2% of GDP.This year, the government is aiming for 5% and the public is no longer on board to the same extent: 54% of Flemish people and 44% of Walloons and Brussels residents support the shift - generally along political lines with opposition greatest among left-wing voters - whereas last year’s support was broad.

The state of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode’s finances is so abysmal that Brussels is considering placing its smallest municipality under the control of the region.The cumulative budget deficit of Saint-Josse was almost €14 million in 2024 and now stands at about €30 million just two years later.According to Brecht Warnez, a Flemish MP for CD&V and visiting professor of administrative law at Ghent University, “obvious irregularities and unwillingness” are decisive reasons for imposing compulsory supervision.“To be clear, the mayor will not be removed from office, but he would have to follow the lead of a government commissioner,” Warnez told Bruzz."The municipal council will then have to follow instructions and, for example, draw up a budget that is in order."First elected in 2012, Saint-Josse mayor Emir Kir secured his third term in a re-run in 2024, after allegations of electoral fraud were confirmed.Financial woes were soon widely reported, including that the Brussels region had already arranged loans totalling €21 million, partly to guarantee the payment of municipal staff. Belfius bank refused to grant any further overdraft facilities to the municipality.The financial lifeline from the region was accompanied by recovery measures to be overseen by the financial inspectors sent to the municipality by the then-minister for local authorities Bernard Clerfayt (Défi).Mayor Kir responded by, among other things, increasing property taxes and the cost of administrative documents.“Nothing is free any more,” he told Bruzz last October.The Council of Ministers, at the instigation of current Brussels minister for local authorities Ahmed Laaouej (PS), will discuss seizing control of Saint-Josse this week. Such a move is said to be strongly supported within the Dilliès government by the MR party.If the government approves the guardianship, supervision would begin six months later unless the municipality turns its financial situation around within that period.Such a measure has only been implemented one other time in history, in Schaerbeek in 1976 following a scandal involving separate counters in the town hall for Dutch-speakers, French-speakers and foreigners under then-mayor Roger Nols.Clerfayt had already taken steps towards the guardianship during his term and his successor Laaouej holds no warm feelings for mayor Kir, having booted him from the PS party after Kir invited a delegation from the Turkish far-right movement Grey Wolves to Saint-Josse.“We are simply following the administrative process initiated by Clerfayt,” said Laaouej’s spokesperson.A government memo from the office of Laaouej referred to “the numerous shortcomings of the municipality”.Kir would remain mayor under the guardianship, but would have little to no say in the measures the region imposes.Criticism of Saint Josse’s financial situation is not new. When the region stepped in with its loan last year, the municipality itself indicated that it had ended up in "an extremely worrying financial situation" and that the payment of municipal staff was therefore at risk.In September 2025, Saint-Josse faced a liquidity shortfall of no less than €35 million, while arrears had swelled to €22 million. The municipal council of Kir could no longer even cover the monthly allocations to the police zone and the CPAS social welfare organisation.“The shortcomings in terms of governance and institutional functioning point to a lack of internal and democratic control,” states a report, which also mentions the improper use of “municipal resources for election advertising and disputes over the elections in which a lawyer was appointed at the municipality’s expense”.The report also points to “the recurring tendency to overestimate budget revenues”. In 2024, the difference between the actual figures and the budget amounted to €11 million.“Given the scale of these discrepancies, these overestimates appear to be clearly deliberate,” the report states.The document refers to “failure to comply with the real budget balance and the cumulative result, the overestimation of certain revenues, persistent gaps in the accounts, insufficiently controlled accounts receivable and debt management, as well as failure to comply with statutory deadlines and obligations regarding disclosure and transparency”.Kir responded by stating that the municipal council has already made significant financial efforts and asking that the issue “not be politicised”.“The situation has changed - we have only just approved the annual accounts for 2024,” Kir said.“Instead of a deficit of €14 million, we are now at €11 million. Last week I was with my treasurer."The information we’ve received shows that in 2025 we will not have a deficit of €16 million, but that the deficit is expected to amount to €5.35 million."According to Kir, Saint-Josse is well on the way to having a balanced municipal budget in 2026 and his administration implemented substantial savings.“I ask for respect for the work of my administration and for recognition of what we have achieved,” Kir said."All our expenditure must be validated by the region. People here are acting as if I’m doing whatever I please in my municipality."

The director of Haren prison, Jurgen Van Poecke, is resigning from his post in protest against overcrowding and staff shortages.

The Brussels federal judicial police have arrested 27 people during a major operation against drug trafficking in and around the Peterbos neighbourhood in Anderlecht.The operation was primarily aimed at the "lower echelons" of a major criminal organisation that imports and sells drugs on a large scale, with police raiding various sales points and locations where the drugs were stored and packaged.“Dismantling this network was particularly complex, as it was active at several levels of the drug trafficking chain,” said the federal police.Investigators were able to identify "dedicated logistical structures, storage facilities and organised distribution mechanisms".Firearms, narcotics, tens of thousands of euros in cash, vehicles and numerous digital storage devices were seized.Ten of those arrested have since been remanded in custody by the investigating judge. A minor suspect was placed in a community institution for special youth care and another person was taken to a detention centre because he was residing in Belgium illegally.The investigation, initiated in 2025 under the authority of an investigating judge, uncovered a network involved in the supply, storage, packaging and distribution of drugs destined for several outlets located in the Brussels district.The investigations focused in particular on the area around Saint-Guidon metro station and the Peterbos neighbourhood, which is known as a hotspot for drug-related crimes.According to sources close to the investigation, the arrested suspects can be linked to the criminal organisation led by Imad B., better known as ‘Mara’.He and 45 other suspects were referred to a criminal court last Friday on charges of large-scale importation of cocaine from South America to Europe. Two minor suspects were referred to the juvenile court.Mara’s operation is thought to be linked to the drug mafia from Marseille in southern France.The 30-year-old was already sentenced in 2022 to eight years in prison in a major trial concerning drug trafficking in and around the Peterbos neighbourhood, along with 29 other defendants.The public prosecutor’s office said Mara continued to lead the criminal organisation from prison in recent years, using a smartphone he had smuggled into his cell.The investigation led authorities to Panama, among other places, where several suspected business partners of Mara were identified.These suspects are alleged to have been responsible, among other things, for transporting the cocaine from South America to the European continent.Mara was also charged last year with a brutal mistaken identity murder in Anderlecht, in which a 31-year-old man was shot dead at the wheel of his Volkswagen Golf.An investigation reportedly revealed that Mara had ordered the killing of the leader of a rival drug gang from prison, but the gunmen had mistaken their target.The Brussels public prosecutor’s office also investigated eight shootings linked to the drug trade.