Belgian airports cancel flights on Tuesday as strike looms, World News
BRUSSELS — Brussels Airport, Belgium's main international flight hub, will cancel several flights on Tuesday (April 29), while Charleroi Airport plans to suspend all departures the same day due to a nationwide strike over the new government's austerity policies.
Brussels Airport said in a statement that some of its baggage and security service providers were due to participate in the industrial action.
While it did not specify how many flights would be cancelled, Belga news agency reported that at least 30 per cent of departures were to be axed and that disruption to incoming flights was also possible.
Charleroi Airport said in a statement that a staff shortage expected on Tuesday would make it impossible to ensure safe operations for departing flights. It added that incoming flights would continue as scheduled.
Belgian unions are organising another nationwide strike against the new government's policies including pension reforms.
The planned pension reform rewards those who work past retirement age with 35 years of service, while early retirees without 35 years of work behind them face a penalty. The new system would be less favourable for lower-income earners compared with the previous one, which provided a lump sum based on career length.
Flemish nationalist Bart De Wever's government was sworn in on Feb 3 after eight months of negotiations that resulted in a five-party coalition including conservatives, centrists, and socialists.
ALSO READ: Heathrow Airport orders probe into shutdown as travellers endure days of disruption
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
05-06-2025
- Straits Times
Ukraine hits out at Europe's payout from frozen Russian cash
FILE PHOTO: Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot, European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan and Ukrainian Deputy Justice Minister Iryna Mudra prepare for a family photo at the international peace conference 'Restoring Justice for Ukraine', in The Hague, Netherlands, April 2, 2024. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo KYIV/BRUSSELS - Ukraine's government has criticised a decision to take billions of euros of Russian wealth frozen in Europe and hand it to Western investors, warning that it weakened Europe's stand against Moscow. The criticism follows a move last month by Belgium's Euroclear to take 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) of Russian investor cash held at the clearing firm to pay Westerners who lost out when Moscow seized their money held in Russia. Now Ukraine has warned that it sends a wrong signal and threatens to weaken Europe's hand when dealing with Russia, while it debates using the entire $300 billion of Russian wealth stranded in Europe to rebuild and defend the battered country. "If private investors are compensated before the victims of war, it won't be justice," said Iryna Mudra, a senior official in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, in Kyiv's first public comments on the move. "It creates a perception of inconsistency, of Europe wavering in its resolve," Mudra, a deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, told Reuters. "International law requires that the aggressor is to make full reparation to the victim and not to investors who ... entered a high-risk jurisdiction," said Mudra, who is in charge of legal affairs in Zelenskiy's administration. The criticism comes at a critical time for the Western alliance backing Kyiv, with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration distancing itself from Europe and casting doubt over its commitment to Ukraine's defence and Russian sanctions. Mudra, one of a small circle of officials that set policy, also stressed the importance of maintaining control of the frozen Russian assets, which chiefly belong to its central bank with the majority held at Euroclear. The central bank assets were frozen at the outset of war in the single most powerful sanction directed at Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a penalty that is deeply resented in Moscow. Euroclear in March gained clearance from Belgium, its principal legal authority, to make the payout, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters, after the European Union changed its sanctions regime last year to make this possible. A spokesperson for the Belgian government said: "This is not a Belgian decision but the application of a European regulation decided unanimously by the member states." Euroclear has emphasised that it only implements sanctions and does not take decisions about lifting them. 'MIND BOGGLING' Three Russian sources recently told Reuters that Russian President Vladimir Putin's conditions for ending the war include the resolution of the frozen assets issue. Ukraine, meanwhile, is campaigning fiercely against any return of the money to Moscow. Euroclear alone held 195 billion euros of cash in March - mainly Russian central bank funds, with some belonging to Russian investors. "If it is returned to Russia, it will be converted into tanks, missiles, drones, training of new troops," said Ukraine's Mudra. "The world ... must demonstrate that unlawful war brings irreversible financial consequences." Some see the frozen Russian wealth as a lifeline for Kyiv. In the past, the West has engineered loans and payments to Ukraine from the interest on the stranded Russian stockpile, which Putin denounced as theft. Ukrainian officials fear the Euroclear payout, even though it does not affect the central bank money, could undermine their efforts to secure an agreement on using the wider pool of Russian assets to help their country. Mykola Yurlov, an official at Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the payout set a bad precedent, while Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian parliamentarian, was also critical. "Western companies were operating in Russia at their own risk. Why are these companies basically asking their societies to compensate for this risk?" Rudik told Reuters. "We need this money to rebuild and defend Ukraine." Last month's move also drew criticism abroad. "It is mind boggling that the priority is to reimburse corporate interests rather than spend the money defending Ukraine," said Jacob Kirkegaard, a sanctions expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington-based think tank. While the payout to investors left frozen Russian central bank reserves untouched, it made a dent in the stockpile of Russian wealth that gives the EU leverage over Moscow. More importantly for critics, it sets a worrying precedent. European Union leaders are expected to renew sanctions, including a freeze of Russian assets, at a summit meeting in June, although they could yet face an attempt by Hungary to derail those efforts. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
04-06-2025
- Straits Times
TikTokers spend 27 hours in stadium toilet to watch Champions League final for free
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Paris St Germain Victory Parade - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - June 1, 2025 Paris St Germain players pose for a picture with the trophy and Paris St Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi during the victory celebration REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo A pair of Belgian TikTokers say they spent 27 hours in an Allianz Arena toilet last weekend before watching Paris St Germain beat Inter Milan in the Champions League final for free. Neal Remmerie and Senne Haverbeke told VRT News they managed to get into the Munich stadium the day before the match and hid in a toilet cubicle. After sticking a homemade "Out of Order" sign on the door, the pair waited in silence for more than a day as stadium staff used the facility. "We had a backpack with snacks and we played around on our phones to kill time," Remmerie told the Belgian public broadcaster. "The lights were on all the time and the sitting position was uncomfortable, so sleeping was almost impossible. That made it physically and mentally difficult." Once they heard fans starting to use the toilets on matchday, the pair left their bolthole and made their way past ticket inspectors to join the 86,600 crowd in the stands. "We looked carefully at which security guard was paying the least attention. While on the phone and with food in our hands, we just walked on, and suddenly we were inside," Remmerie added. "PSG won 5-0 and we were also in the supporters' section of the winning team. It was the most beautiful football match we have ever seen." The Allianz Arena and UEFA did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Those fans who made their way into the match more conventionally had to pay anywhere from 90 to 950 euros ($100-$1,100) for their tickets. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Straits Times
Future queen of Belgium caught up in Harvard foreign student ban
BRUSSELS - Princess Elisabeth, the 23-year-old future queen of Belgium, has just completed her first year at Harvard University but the ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on foreign students studying there could jeopardise her continued studies. The Trump administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students on Thursday, and is forcing current foreign students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status in the U.S., while also threatening to expand the crackdown to other colleges. "Princess Elisabeth has just completed her first year. The impact of (the Trump administration's) decision will only become clearer in the coming days/weeks. We are currently investigating the situation," the Belgian Royal Palace's spokesperson Lore Vandoorne said. "We are analyzing this at the moment and will let things settle. A lot can still happen in the coming days and weeks," the Palace's communication director, Xavier Baert, added. Elisabeth is studying Public Policy at Harvard, a two-year master's degree program that according to the university's website broadens students' perspectives and sharpens their skills for "successful career in public service". The princess is heir to the Belgian throne, as the eldest of four children born to King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. Before attending Harvard, she earned a degree in history and politics from the UK's Oxford University. Harvard said on Thursday the move by the Trump administration - which affects thousands of students - was illegal and amounted to retaliation. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
