Expatica news

Belgian news in brief, 24 March 2006

Grounded Rwandan plane departs Zaventem

The grounded DC-8 plane of Rwandan airline Silverback departed from Zaventem Airport on Friday. The cargo plane had been grounded since August 2005 due to safety concerns. Silverback is now on the Belgian and EU blacklist and is banned from entering EU airspace. The problems with the airline were also allegedly linked to a diplomatic row between Belgium and Rwanda. The Central African nation kept an SN Brussels plane on the ground in Kigali for three days in February, citing safety concerns.

‘Terrorists tried to buy atom bomb’

Members of an alleged British terrorist cell are accused of negotiating with the Russian mafia in Belgium to ‘buy’ a nuclear bomb. The claim was made by a public prosecutor on the second day of a trial against alleged fundamentalists in London. The seven suspects are accused of planning to blow up nightclubs and/or a shopping centre and a gas network in March 2004, newspaper ‘De Morgen’ reported.

Man drowns in rescue attempt

A man has drowned while trying to rescue a woman in Brussels. The 20-year-old man tried to rescue a woman who was trying to commit suicide by jumping in a canal. A city labourer also tried to rescue the woman, who was later pulled to safety by fire authorities and revived, VRT reported on Friday. The labourer suffered hypothermia, while 20-year-old man drowned.

[Copyright Expatica News 2006]

Subject: Belgian news