Pandemic Showcases Belgium as Europe’s Vaccine Valley
A small country with an outsize reputation in research and pharmaceuticals, Belgium has emerged with a strategic role in the world’s battle against the coronavirus.
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Belgium
EU Countries Can Require Licensing for Dockworkers
The EU’s top court found Thursday that European law allows countries to require specialist training for dockworkers, but such national rules cannot violate the freedom of movement for workers from other member states.
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Iranian Diplomat Convicted of Planning Attack on Opposition
An Iranian diplomat identified as an undercover secret agent was convicted Thursday in Belgium of masterminding a thwarted bomb attack against an exiled Iranian opposition group in France and sentenced to 20 years in prison, a legal outcome that infuriated Tehran.
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Meet ‘Baby’ Claire, Explorer of Antwerp’s Bad Air
Claire is the brainchild of Professor Roeland Samson whose research ropes in Antwerp citizens to help his team more widely measure exposure to air pollution.
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Brexit Paperwork Sours Belgian Beer Exports to UK
Some suppliers of Belgian beers are waking up to a post-Brexit hangover as exporting their brews to thirsty British drinkers across the Channel becomes more difficult and prices go up.
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Ban on Ritual Animal Slaughter Upheld by EU High Court
Ruling against an unlikely alliance of Jewish and Muslim leaders, the EU’s highest court ruled Thursday that member states can require that animals be stunned before being killed.
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Pre-Trial Hearings in Brussels Attacks Start at NATO’s Ex-HQ
More than four years after suicide bombings killed 32 people and injured hundreds in the Brussels subway and airport, massive pre-trial hearings started Monday on the outskirts of the Belgian capital to determine which suspects will eventually be tried.
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Trial Opens in Death of Toddler in Migrant-Smuggling Case
A trial opened Monday in the shooting death of a 2-year-old toddler who was in a van during a high-speed chase in Belgium between police and suspected migrant smugglers seeking to get to Britain.
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Report: Belgian Nursing Homes Failed Patients Amid Pandemic
Belgian authorities “abandoned” thousands of elderly people who died in nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic and did not seek hospital treatment for many who were infected, violating their human rights, Amnesty International said in an investigation published Monday.
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Belgium Exempts Gift-Bearing St Nicholas From Virus Bans
To ensure the merriment of millions of Belgian kids, the government is offering a special exemption from the stringent coronavirus measures to beloved St. Nicholas, who always delivers bountiful presents on the morning of Dec. 6.
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Divided Belgium Turns Into Europe’s Worst Virus Hot Spot
Small, yet so divided, Belgium has been hit hard again by the pandemic, and now presents some of the most worrying statistics in a continent reeling under a coronavirus resurgence.
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Belgium’s Former King Albert Finally Meets Daughter Delphine
The long-running royal scandal that has riveted Belgium and damaged those involved reached a new milestone when former King Albert II reunited with the daughter he fathered out of wedlock over half a century ago.
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Europe Becomes Coronavirus Epicenter Once Again
Europe is once again the pandemic’s epicenter and from Lisbon to Moscow the story is largely the same: Infections are rising and nations are responding with new restrictions.
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Belgian King Meets Once-Hidden Half-Sister for First Time
Belgium’s King Philippe has met his once-secret half-sister Delphine de Saxe-Cobourg for the first time, the palace said Thursday, after she won a legal battle to be admitted to the royal family.
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Facebook, Belgian Data-Protection Watchdog Face Off at EU High Court
The European Union faced some tough questions as it defended Facebook at the EU high court Monday, in a case over which country’s data-protection agency can go after the social media giant.
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Belgium to Return Tooth to Family of Slain Congolese Icon
The family of Congolese independence icon Patrice Lumumba will soon receive the only known remains of the assassinated leader, a tooth removed after his death by a Belgian man whose family apparently held on to it for nearly 60 years.
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European Magistrate Backs Ritual Slaughter for Halal and Kosher Meat
In a legal test case pitting animal rights advocates and far-right politicians against Muslim and Jewish religious leaders seeking to protect halal and kosher meats, a magistrate for Europe’s highest court on Thursday said bans on the ritual of slaughtering of animals without first stunning them are unlawful.
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Belgian Court Rejects Move to Extradite Ex-Catalan Minister
A Belgian court on Friday rejected Spain’s demand to have a former high-ranking politician from the region of Catalonia extradited, in yet another set back for the country’s efforts to try several officials in exile over their alleged roles in an independence referendum that Madrid branded as illegal.
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European Art Masterpiece Reveals Its Secrets — With the Help of Technology
State-of-the-art imaging techniques and algorithms have allowed a team of scientists and art experts to peer beneath the layers of restorations covering a Renaissance masterpiece in a Belgian cathedral.
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Ban on Religious Animal Slaughter Fought at EU High Court
Religious groups argued their case against a Belgian law banning ritual animal slaughter before the European Union’s highest court on Wednesday, while Belgium denied the law infringes on religious freedom.
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