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Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters awards Belgian mathematician Pierre Deligne with Abel prize of 2013

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 07:04:14 GMT

Thursday, March 21, 2013

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Mirrored photo of Pierre Deligne in 2005
Image: Eecc (original); Gryllida (mirror).

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters awarded Belgian mathematician Pierre Deligne with Abel prize of 2013 for his contributions toward shaping algebraic geometry. The award includes a 6 million Norwegian kroner (US$1,026,000, €793,000) prize. Timothy Gowers, a mathematician from Cambridge University, announced the award in Oslo yesterday.

The Academy gave the award to Deligne for "seminal contributions to algebraic geometry and for their transformative impact on number theory, representation theory, and related fields".

For example, in 1974, Pierre Deligne did a mathematical proof of fourth Weil conjecture, one of properties of Riemann zeta function. This concept is related to analysis of the prime-counting function and the currently unsolved Riemann’s hypothesis. During the proof of the Weil conjecture, a concept of l-adic cohomology was introduced.

Pierre Deligne said, "The nice thing about mathematics is doing mathematics. The prizes come in addition".

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Sources [edit]

Philip Ball and Nature magazine. "Belgian Mathematician Wins Abel Prize for Shaping Algebraic Geometry" — Scientific Amerian, March 20, 2013
Jacob Aron. "Shapely algebra breakthrough wins million-dollar prize" — New Scientist, March 20, 2013

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2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships preparations underway

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 18:14:51 GMT

Wikinews Sports

Sources [edit]

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

"U.S. Paralympics selects team for IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships" — US Paralympics, February 8, 2013

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Wheelchair rugby gets underway at London Paralympics

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 08:40:09 GMT

Thursday, September 6, 2012

2012 Summer Paralympics

Newest 2012 Paralympic stories

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19 January 2013: Wikinews interviews Spain's most decorated Paralympian, Teresa Perales
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13 September 2012: Australian wheelchair rugby team wins gold at London Paralympics
11 September 2012: Samoa looking ahead to Rio Paralympics with eye on powerlifting

...More articles here

London, England — Wheelchair rugby got underway yesterday at London's Basketball Arena with four games being played: the United States versus Great Britain, Sweden versus Belgium, Australia versus Canada, and Japan versus France.

Seth McBride of the United States is pursued by Great Britain's Kylie Grimes
Image: Laura Hale.

Great Britain's David Anthony and Mike Kerr battle the United States' Chance Sumner for the ball
Image: Laura Hale.

Andy Cohn gets a wheel change during the game
Image: Laura Hale.

Aaron Phipps takes a tumble while Mike Kerr handles the ball in the back court
Image: Laura Hale.

Great Britain's Ross Morrison gets a wheel change as the United States' Jason Rieger looks on
Image: Laura Hale.

The United States' Nick Springer has a round with Great Britain's Ross Morrison
Image: Laura Hale.

A member of Team USA gets a wheel change as Great Britain's players look on
Image: Laura Hale.

Great Britain's Kylie Grimes got a large cheer from the crowd when she got on the floor for the first time
Image: Laura Hale.

Will Groulx prepares to get an assist up while Great Britain's Jonathan Coggan stays nearbye
Image: Laura Hale.

Team USA fans support their team
Image: Laura Hale.

Both teams shake hands after the game
Image: Laura Hale.

Before a full house at a game that was the first one to sell out in the lead up to the start of the London Paralympics, the United States national wheelchair rugby team defeated Great Britain national wheelchair rugby team by a score of 56 - 44. While the game got off to a slow start for the United States, once the team found its rhythm, they dominated the home team and appeared to score at will. Despite this, the crowd supported their side, even when they were down by eight points. When the United States bench started a chant of U-S-A! U-S-A!, the crowd soon drowned them out with a chant of Team G-B! Team G-B!

The United States came to London as defending gold medalists and ranked first in the world. Coming into the game, the team's assistant coach James Mate told the media regarding this game, "To be truthful we have played the home team a couple of times, but you have to play the game in that moment and it can give the hosts the edge. [...] In Beijing, Great Britain gave us our best game, and the semifinal was a three-goal game. We had something similar in June (at the Canada Cup). [...] They (Great Britain) play some like us and some like Canada, and are one of the teams that have a lot of good players, so we can't focus on just one player, but on the team as a whole."

Ranked sixth in the world, Great Britain came to London as the home town favorites. Their roster included club players from across the country including David Anthony who plays for the Cardiff Pirates, Andy Barrow, Bulbul Hussain and Steve Brown who play for the Kent Crusaders, Jonathan Coggan and Mandip Sehmi who play for the Stoke Mandeville Storm, Mike Kerr who plays for the North West Bulls, Myles Pearson who plays for the West Coast Crash, and the team's only female player Kylie Grimes who plays for the London Wheelchair Rugby Club with teammate Ross Morrison.

Before the game, first time Paralympian Great Britain wheelchair rugby player Mike Kerr told the media regarding his squad selection, "I felt I'd never been given a chance to get noticed, so I got myself some court time at big tournaments like Knock and Roll in 2010 (a USA national tournament) and Bernd Best (the biggest wheelchair rugby tournament in the world, held in Germany). I played well and I think people finally took notice." Regarding the wait to play, Kerr said, "It's hard. I hate waiting around. I'm here to do a job and the sooner I get started the better. But it's been a great experience so far. The crowd and support have been amazing. [...] I'm really confident. We took confidence from how we played against them at the Canada Cup (in June). If we play our game we can shock them."

The United States meets Japan while Great Britain meets France later today in their second games in pool play.

Sweden takes the floor in their game against Belgium
Image: Laura Hale.

Sweden and Belgium shakes hands before the start of their game
Image: Laura Hale.

In the second wheelchair rugby match of the London Paralympics, Sweden defeated Belgium by a score of 52-42.

Sweden, the current European champions, came to London with a relatively new coach, who only took over the side in late 2011. Belgium's coach Bob Vanacker also plays on the team. He and Peter Genyn and Lars Mertens play their club wheelchair rugby in the United States.

The Australian team listens to their national anthem before the start of their game against Canada
Image: Laura Hale.

An Australian player throws the ball as teammate Ryley Batt and a Canadian player race down the court
Image: Laura Hale.

Ryley Batt and a Canadian player collide
Image: Laura Hale.

10 Chris Bond, 11 Ryan Scott and teammates during a time out
Image: Laura Hale.

Ryley Batt wheels off as Canadians Patrice Dagenais and and Fabien Lavoie wait for their teammate to get upright
Image: Laura Hale.

A Canadian player gets an assist in getting upright
Image: Laura Hale.

Canadian fans support their team
Image: Laura Hale.

Batt and Chris Bond battle Canada's Jason Crone and Garrett Hickling for the ball
Image: Laura Hale.

In the first game for both teams since the London Paralympics began, Australia national wheelchair rugby team defeated Canada by a score of 64-52. Australia and Canada both had their flag bearers from the opening ceremonies represented by this sport, Greg Smith for Australia and Garett Hickling for Canada.

Beijing silver medalists Australia came to London ranked second in the world. Their last major competition before the Paralympics was the Canada Cup, where they lost to the United States by a single point. The Australian side included flag-bearer Greg Smith at his fifth games, Nazim Erdem who is at his third Paralympics, Ryley Batt and Ryan Cott who competed at the 2004 and 2008 Games, Cameron Carr who competed at the Beijing Games, Chris Bond, Cody Meakin, Ben Newton, Andrew Harrison, Josh Hose and Jason Lees who made their Paralympic Games debut.

Canada came into their match against Australia as returning bronze medalists. Their roster included Ian Chan who was on the team that finished first at the 2002 World Championships, the former ice hockey player Jason Crone from Owen Sound, Ontario, debut Paralympian from Embrun, Ontario Oarice Dagenais, 2002 World Champion Jared Funk from Manitoba, five time Paralympian Garett Hickling, Trevor Hirschfield who is decribed by the Canadian Paralympic Committee as one of the world's best low point players, Athens silver medalist and Beijing bronze medalists Fabien Lavoie, eighteen-year-old Zak Madell, University of Arizona alumnist Travis Murao, 2010 World Championships All Star Ten player Patrice Simard, former recreational hockey player David Willsie and Harrow, Ontario native Mike Whitehead.

Australia meets Sweden later today while Canada will take on Belgium.

In the last match of day yesterday, Japan defeated France 65-56. France qualified for the tournament despite the national team only being five years old. Japan came to London having beaten the top ranked United States in this year's Canada Cup.

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Greece defeats Portugal in boccia match at 2012 London Paralympics

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 09:57:57 GMT

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

2012 Summer Paralympics

Newest 2012 Paralympic stories

24 February 2013: Team USA delivers going into third day of 2013 IPC Alpine World Championships
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28 September 2012: Wikinews interviews Australian Glider Amanda Carter
13 September 2012: Australian wheelchair rugby team wins gold at London Paralympics
11 September 2012: Samoa looking ahead to Rio Paralympics with eye on powerlifting

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Big smile from Greek competitor on clinching gold
Image: Laura Hale.

Greek and Portuguese pairs prep for their shots
Image: Laura Hale.

Players during the fourth end
Image: Laura Hale.

London, England— Greece defeated Portugal on Tuesday in the boccia BC3 pairs gold medal match, by four points to one. 2012 is the eighth Paralympics since the introduction of the sport, which is similar to lawn bowls.

The Greek pair Nikolaos Pananos and Grigorios Polychronidis won three sets, and lost one, against Portugal's Armando Costa and Luis Silva by scores of 2—0, 1—0, 1—0 and 0—1. They enjoyed enthusiastic support from Greek fans repeatedly shouting, "Bravo!" after each took their respective shots. Following the Greek win, supporters broke into rhythmic clapping, continuing their flag-waving and chanting. One of the Greeks competitors rolled his electric wheelchair around, whilst smiling and posing for photos.

Georgian-born Polychronidis holds an accounting degree from the Athens University of Economics and Business. He came into the London Games as a silver medallist from the BC3 individual event at the Beijing Paralympics. Having spinal muscular atrophy, he took up the sport at university where he was introduced to it by George Tzimas.

With London being Pananos's debut Paralympic Games, he only took up boccia competitively in 2007 and took part in both individual and team events at these Games. Pananos, who has cerebral palsy and is retired, is coached by Andreas Keramidas and plays his club boccia for ASAX Eidiki Olympiada.

Portugal qualified for this match after beating South Korea 4—3 in the semi-finals. The Greeks earned their gold medal round opportunity after beating Belgium who went through pool play undefeated. Portugal won two of their three matches in pool play, losing one, and taking 14 points with only four scored against them. In pool play, Greece won two matches, lost one, and took eight points versus 13 points against them.

Boccia, which is similar to lawn bowls, was first played at the 1984 Summer Paralympics. As a Paralympic sport, it is played by people with cerebral palsy and similar locomotor conditions; players are divided into four different classifications based upon their functional ability.

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Imam dead in Shia mosque attack in Belgium

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:50:19 GMT

Belgium

Other stories from Belgium

21 March 2013: Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters awards Belgian mathematician Pierre Deligne with Abel prize of 2013
16 February 2013: 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships preparations underway
6 September 2012: Wheelchair rugby gets underway at London Paralympics
5 September 2012: Greece defeats Portugal in boccia match at 2012 London Paralympics
13 March 2012: Imam dead in Shia mosque attack in Belgium

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Location of Belgium

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The area around Anderlecht (marked in red) is home to a large number of Muslim immigrants

An imam in the Belgian municipality of Anderlecht, near the capital, Brussels, has died following a suspected arson attack at a Shia mosque.

It is thought the mosque was attacked by a man wielding an axe, petrol and Molotov cocktails on Monday evening. The imam, in his mid-forties, reportedly died of smoke inhalation while trying to put out the resulting blaze. Another person was injured during the attack.

Police spokeswoman Marie Verbeck confirmed the death, and said a suspect has been arrested in connection with the fire. Police are not seeking anyone else in relation to the incident.

Belgium's interior minister Joëlle Milquet said: "This person went in [to the mosque] hurling statements linked to the Syrian conflict. It appears to be a problem between Sunnis and Shias ... Belgium will not tolerate this type of act and the importing of this type of conflict on its territory".

She stressed that details on the motive for the crime are unclear. The area around Anderlecht is home to a large number of Muslim immigrants. The last imam to have been killed in an attack in Belgium's capital was Saudi Abdullah Muhammad al Ahdal, who was shot in 1989.

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Sources [edit]

"Imam dies in mosque arson attack in Belgian capital" — BBC News Online, March 13, 2012
"Imam Dies Battling Arson Attack On Mosque" — Sky News, March 13, 2012
AFP. "Imam dead in Belgium mosque arson: police" — Hindustan Times, March 13, 2012
"Belgium’s Muslims in shock after deadly mosque arson" — Dawn (newspaper), March 13, 2012

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Solar-powered airplane makes first international flight

Sun, 15 May 2011 14:10:01 GMT

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Solar Impulse during its first flight on December 3, 2009
Image: Matth1.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

The solar-powered airplane Solar Impulse touched down at the Brussels National Airport late Friday night, after completing a 13-hour flight from its home base in Payerne, Switzerland. It was the first international flight by a fully solar-powered aircraft.

The experimental aircraft was piloted by André Borschberg, co-founder and chief engineer for the Solar Impulse project, which hopes to circumnavigate the globe using only the sun's energy in 2013. "Our goal is to create a revolution in the minds of people...to promote solar energies -- not necessarily a revolution in aviation," Bertrand Piccard, the group's other co-founder, said in an interview after the flight.

The aircraft collects energy from the sun using 12,000 extremely thin solar cells affixed to the wings and tail section. An on-board battery can store enough electricity to fly all night, allowing the Solar Impulse to stay aloft indefinitely. This allowed the aircraft to maintain a holding pattern over the Brussels airport as other flights landed and conditions were right for the Solar Impulse to land. Because the aircraft weighs only about 3,500 pounds and has a wingspan of 200 feet, it is extremely sensitive to wind and needs calm conditions to land safely.

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Sources [edit]

Christopher Le Coq. "Solar plane makes maiden international flight" — Reuters, May 14, 2011

Osha Gray Davidson. "Solar-Powered Airplane Makes Historic Flight" — Forbes, May 13, 2011

External links [edit]

The Plane description at the Solar Impulse Official Website

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Azerbaijan win 2011 Eurovision Song Contest

Sun, 15 May 2011 13:57:51 GMT

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Eurovision Song Contest

Sources [edit]

"Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Final" — Eurovision, May 14, 2011
"Azerbaijan wins the Eurovision Song Contest" — BBC News Online, May 15, 2011
"Winner's Press Conference: "We want to bring Europe together"" — Eurovision.tv, May 15, 2011
"Eurovision 2011: Semifinals results revealed" — ESC Today, May 15, 2011

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France first to enforce burqa ban

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:00:09 GMT

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

France

Sources [edit]

Brian Love and Nick Vincour. "France starts ban on full-face veil" — Reuters, April 11, 2011
Dave Clark. "France bans the burqa" — The Age, April 11, 2011
Gavin Hewitt. "French ban on Islamic veil comes into force" — BBC News, April 11, 2011

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FIFA announce Russia to host 2018 World Cup, Qatar to host 2022 World Cup

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:08:06 GMT

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Football

Recent football news

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Russian bid personnel celebrate the awarding to Russia the 2018 World Cup.
Image: Alexander Wilf.

Football's governing body, FIFA, today announced Russia is to host the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar is to host the 2022 World Cup. The decision was made by FIFA's 22 executive members, who conducted a ballot in Zurich today. Russia beat England, Spain-Portugal and Holland-Belgium to host the event in 2018. The Qatar bid was picked ahead of the United States, Australia, Japan, and South Korea to stage the 2022 tournament.

Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov spoke briefly to react to his country's victory. "You have entrusted us with the FIFA World Cup for 2018 and I can promise, we all can promise, you will never regret it. Let us make history together," he said. Some analysts had suggested that Russia would not win the right to host the tournament, since Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had decided not to travel to Zurich, but remained in Moscow. FIFA President Sepp Blatter said of Russia: "I am sure that to organise the World Cup in that region, or that continent, it will do a lot of good for this part of the world."

	You have entrusted us with the FIFA World Cup for 2018 and I can promise, we all can promise, you will never regret it. Let us make history together
—Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia

Russia captain Andrey Arshavin said he was "very, very happy" with the result. "It is going to have a huge impact in sports, in our economy, in the development of the country and even in politics. The influence of football in the world is huge. You can see that even today with the presentations and those who were making them," he said. "It’s going to be the best World Cup in history because Russians are so hospitable. I hope it will change the way that Europe and the world view Russia—and hopefully change the opinion of Russian people too."

'Today we celebrate, but tomorrow, the work begins' [edit]

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the ruling Emir of Qatar, praised FIFA for "believing in change". Al Thani, who was in Zurich for the announcement, added: "We have worked very hard over past two years to get to this point. Today we celebrate, but tomorrow, the work begins. We acknowledge there is a lot of work for us to do, but we also stand by our promise that we will deliver." Qatar urged FIFA to take "a bold gamble" by hosting the event in the Middle East for the first time. While only 1.7 million people live in Qatar, the bid representatives said that football is popular there. It was thought that there may be concerns that the extreme heat in Qatar would put the delegates off. Hassan Al-Thawadi, the chief executive of the bid, played down the fears. "We know it would be a bold gamble and an exciting prospect but with no risk," he said. "Heat is not and will not be an issue."

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the ruling Emir of Qatar, praised FIFA for "believing in change".
Image: United States Federal Government.

"Everyone is celebrating in the Middle East; everyone was behind us since the very beginning. They believed in us the whole way. And I’m so glad FIFA believed in us as well," Al Thani added. "I’m speechless, but very proud and happy. I’m so proud that the Middle East was recognised by FIFA. We are so privileged to have a tournament like this coming to our region for the first time. It shows the value of FIFA and what it stands for as an organisation. As I promised, we will not let FIFA down. Everything we have promised until now will become a reality." Speaking about why Qatar won the bid, he said: "What made us different is that we pushed the boundaries; we created new concepts, things which were not conventional but still very possible, very realistic for a country like ours. Therefore we are very proud to represent a new era, a new age for FIFA to look towards the future—the World Cup is for everyone.

'We gave it our best shot' [edit]

Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA, announced Russia and Qatar would host the tournament.
Image: Roosewelt Pinheiro.

There was disappointment in the countries which were beaten by Russia and Qatar. "Naturally we are hugely disappointed. At the same time we gave it our best shot," said England ambassador Gary Lineker. "It was very well presented by our bid team. All you can do is wish Russia well and hope they have a really good World Cup but I wish it was us." A journalist in Spain reported that there was "bitter disappointment here amongst Spanish fans," and added that the economic crisis in the country may have been to blame. American supporters watching on large screens in Washington, D.C. were, when it was announced Qatar had won, "simply stunned—no booing or tears, but disbelief; and then a minute later, every face shows honest disappointment," a BBC correspondent said.

The managing director for the Spain-Portugal joint bid, Miguel Angel Lopez, commented on losing out to Russia. “FIFA thought it was better to promote football in other latitudes and there we are," he said. "The decision is focused on taking football to regions which have never held a World Cup." Former Belgian footballer Marc Wilmots said: “Russia is a political choice and Qatar is an economic choice. You can say that to some extent the sport has been the loser with the decision for these two World Cups.”

	We had heard people say our bid was too soon so it’s possible that was the reason. We knew it would be tough but it’s still a big disappointment.
—Kuniya Daini, vice-president, Japan Football Association

Howard Stringer, Japan's bid chairman and CEO of Sony said: “We had it in 2002—that was too big a mountain to climb. I was hoping we could get Japan another mission—the chance to do something spectacular in technology for society.” The vice-president of the Japan Football Association Kuniya Daini added: “We had heard people say our bid was too soon so it’s possible that was the reason. We knew it would be tough but it’s still a big disappointment. We have set a target of hosting the World Cup alone by 2050 so we will be bidding again.” The Australian Sports Minister Mark Arbib told local media: “We’re all pretty shattered over here. It was a bit unexpected because we thought we had run a first-class campaign to win. We did our best ... unfortunately it wasn’t the case.”

Making the announcement, Blatter said: "We have had four bidders for 2018 and we can have only one winner. Three of the bidding associations must go home saying 'what a pity'. But they must say football is not only by winning but football is also a school of life where you learn to lose. That's not easy." The 2010 World Cup was held earlier this year in South Africa, and Brazil will host the 2014 World Cup. When the bids for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments were announced in March 2009, Blatter praised the number of countries who wanted to host. "We are very pleased about the fantastic level of interest in our flagship competition, with all initial bidders confirming their candidature."

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

Some information contained in this article was obtained from television, radio, or live webcast sources. Reporter's notes and the broadcast source details are available at the discussion page.

"World Cup vote live - decision day" — BBC Sport, 2 December 2010
Paul Doyle, Steve Busfield. "World Cup 2018 and 2022 decision day - live!" — The Guardian, 2 December 2010
"Russia & Qatar will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups" — BBC Sport, 2 December 2010
Jamie Jackson. "Qatar win 2022 World Cup bid" — The Guardian, 2 December 2010
"Reaction from losing candidates in World Cup race" — Toronto Sun, 2 December 2010
"M. Al-Thani: Qatar is the right choice" — FIFA, 2 December 2010
"Arshavin: Russia 2018 will change views" — FIFA, 2 December 2010

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Latest 'CableGate' disclosures hint at US diplomatic tactics in Spain and beyond

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 07:39:43 GMT

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Spain

Sources

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

This article is a featured article. It is considered one of the best works of the Wikinews community. See Wikinews:Featured articles for more information.

AFP. "US pressured Spain to quash investigations: WikiLeaks" — Expatica Spain, November 30, 2010
DPA. "WikiLeaks: US pressured Spain to shelve Iraq, Guantanamo cases" — Earth Times, November 30, 2010
DPA. "WikiLeaks: US offered to pay countries to take in Guantanamo inmates" — Monsters and Critics, November 30, 2010
David Leigh. "US embassy cables leak sparks global diplomatic crisis" — The Guardian, November 28, 2010
"Spanish judge Garzon faces trial over Franco probe" — BBC News Online, April 7, 2010
"Spain may decide Guantanamo probe this week" — Reuters, March 28, 2009

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Belgian Eurovision singer Fud Leclerc dies at age 86

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:57:35 GMT

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Belgium

Other stories from Belgium

21 March 2013: Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters awards Belgian mathematician Pierre Deligne with Abel prize of 2013
16 February 2013: 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships preparations underway
6 September 2012: Wheelchair rugby gets underway at London Paralympics
5 September 2012: Greece defeats Portugal in boccia match at 2012 London Paralympics
13 March 2012: Imam dead in Shia mosque attack in Belgium

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Location of Belgium

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Fud Leclerc at the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest

Fud Leclerc, who represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest four times, has died at the age of 86. Leclerc had the distinct honour of being the first person to score nul points at the 1962 contest.

The singer performed at the first contest in 1956 and appeared again two years later and achieved his best result with his performance of Ma petite chatte. After appearing for the third time at the 1960 contest he made his final appearance at the 1962 contest. At the 1962 contest Leclerc became the first person in Eurovision history to fail to score any points, also known as Nul Points.

During his career he also worked as a pianist and a songwriter. After his final Eurovision appearance he left the music industry and became a building contractor. In 2005 he made an appearance on a special programme to commemorate Eurovision.

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Sources [edit]

"Four-time Belgian contestant dies" — Eurovision.tv, September 21, 2010
"Belgium: Fud Leclerc passed away" — ESC Today, September 21, 2010

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Belgium passes ban on full face veil

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:20:06 GMT

Friday, April 30, 2010

Belgium

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Location of Belgium

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Lawmakers in Belgium voted almost unanimously to ban public wearing of full face veils on Friday.

The proposal received 134 votes in the lower house of federal parliament with two abstentions and nobody opposing. Under the new rule, any clothing that fully obscures the face will be prohibited in public areas such as parks and streets; anyone who ignores it will be fined $20 to $35 and/or a jail sentence of up to a week. Exceptions could be made during certain festivals, or if the wearer has police permission to use the veil.

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The proposal will now go to the Belgian Senate, where it is expected not to be blocked; some reports suggest it could become full law in June or July.

"It's not about introducing any form of discrimination," commented Daniel Bacquelaine, head of the liberal MR party in the parliament. He said that veils were "aimed at stopping people from being identified".

Before the lower house voted, the vice-president of the Muslim Executive of Belgium, Isabelle Praile, opposed the proposal, saying: "Today it's the full-face veil, tomorrow the veil, the day after it will be Sikh turbans and then perhaps it will be mini skirts. The wearing of a full-face veil is part of the individual freedoms."

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Sources [edit]

"Belgian lawmakers pass burka ban" — BBC News Online, April 28, 2010
"Belgian politicians pass veil ban" — Al Jazeera, April 28, 2010

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Belgian prime minister offers resignation

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:20:04 GMT

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Belgium

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Location of Belgium

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Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme has offered to resign amid a political dispute, the press office of the Belgian parliament reported on Thursday.

File photo of Yves Leterme

The Belgian king, King Albert II, has not yet accepted the prime minister's offer. He and Leterme met on Thursday's afternoon, the office said. The king said that the resulting political turbulence from the resignation "seriously threatens" the country's standing in the European Union.

"[He] had no other choice than to inform us that he would go to the king immediately to tender the government's resignation," said Belgium's health minister, Laurette Onkelinx.

The Belgian palace commented on the issue in a written statement. "The king and the prime minister jointly underlined that [...] a political crisis would be inopportune and would seriously damage both the economic and social well-being of the citizens and the role of Belgium in Europe."

Leterme also resigned as prime minister in late 2008 over a banking scandal. He returned to office last November when former PM Herman van Rompuy gave up the post to become the first, full-time head of the European Union.

This latest resignation is a fallout of Belgium's long-term power struggle between the country's French-speaking Walloons and Flemish-speaking majority.

The latest disagreement centers on special rights for Walloons living near Brussels; specifically, the location of electoral boundaries around the capital. A key coalition member, the Flemish liberal Open VLD Party, pulled out of the government, frustrated over the failure to resolve the dispute. Party chairman Alexander De Croo said that"[w]e have not agreed on a negotiated solution and therefore Open VLD no longer has confidence in the government."

Without the VLD, the other four government parties have 76 of 150 lower house seats in the parliament, although governing with such a small majority would be hard, Al Jazeera says.

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Sources [edit]

"Belgium PM tenders resignation" — Al Jazeera, April 22, 2010
"Belgium's Coalition Government Collapses" — Voice of America, April 22, 2010

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Greek debt deal reached

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:48:34 GMT

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Greece

Sources [edit]

"Europeans Reach Deal on Rescue Plan for Greece" — The New York Times, March 25, 2010
"Deal reached over Greece debts at Brussels summit" — BBC News Online, March 25, 2010

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Train collision kills at least eighteen near Brussels, Belgium

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:03:51 GMT

Monday, February 15, 2010

Belgium

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Location of Belgium

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Belgian authorities have confirmed that at least eighteen people died in a head-on collision between two passenger trains in the suburbs of Brussels. Other reports suggest that the death toll could be as high as 25. More than 125 passengers are reported injured, 11 of them "very seriously". Rescuers were still trying to free bodies from the wreckage of the trains more than eight hours after the crash, which occurred in snowy conditions at 08:28 local time (0728 UTC) near the station of Buizingen in the municipality of Halle, about 15 kilometres southwest of the Belgian capital.

One of the trains involved was travelling from Quiévrain to Liège, while the other was travelling from Leuven to Braine-le-Comte. The collision saw the first two carriages of one train being forced upwards into the air over the first carriage of the second train. Eyewitnesses described the collision as "brutal", with passengers being thrown "violently" around the carriages.

Location of the collision within Belgium

Television footage showed the two smashed locomotives forced up in the air, with passenger cars strewn over a wide area and dazed survivors wandering at the crash site. Train speed at the time of the crash was not immediately known. There are reports that one of the trains ran a stop signal.

Initial reports suggest that the Leuven–Braine-le-Comte train was on the wrong line. It is not known if the train went through a red signal or if there was a problem with the signalling. A "well informed source" quoted by French-language daily Le Soir suggested that there might have been an electrical failure in the signalling system.

The collision occurred on one of the main access lines to Brussels-South station, about 14 kilometres (9 miles) from the Belgian capital. It caused "major damage" to overhead power cables, especially on the Brussels–Mons and Brussels–Tournai lines, and high speed rail services between Brussels and France and the UK have been suspended. Thalys services were temporarily halted due to the accident, with four of its trains in the region being diverted to alternative stations. Thalys services between Brussels and Cologne have now resumed, but services to Amsterdam and Paris are still suspended.

One passenger on board, Christian Wampach, described conditions on board the train, "It was a nightmare. We were thrown about for about 15 seconds. There were a number of people injured in my car but I think all the dead were in the first car." Wampach was in the third car.

Another passenger, Patricia Lallemand, said, "When we came out we saw dead bodies lying next to the tracks, some mutilated."

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Sources [edit]

This article includes material from Commuter Train Collision Kills 25 in Belgium by VOA News, which is in the public domain.

Wikipedia has more about this subject:

Halle train collision

"25 doden na treinbotsing in Buizingen" — De Standaard, February 15, 2010 (Dutch)
"Catastrophe ferroviaire à Hal" — Le Soir, February 15, 2010 (French)
"Belgian train crash: Toll put at 10 to 25 in Halle" — BBC News Online, February 15, 2010
Associated Press. "Passenger Trains Collide Head-On in Belgium" — New York Times, February 15, 2010
"Botsing tussen twee treinen eist zeker 18 doden in Halle" — Het Laatste Nieuws, February 15, 2010 (Dutch)
"Treinen botsen frontaal op elkaar in Halle: zeker al 18 doden" — De Morgen, February 15, 2010 (Dutch)
"Gouverneur De Witte: "Trein negeerde stoplicht"" — De Morgen, January 15, 2010 (Dutch)

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