Today's Top Stories - August 23, 2012

Waiting list grows for first-year places in French-speaking schools 

Two weeks before the beginning of term, more than 300 children in Brussels and Wallonia are on a waiting list to start secondary school. The situation is concentrated in Brussels, where there are 287 children on the list, compared to 214 last year. A further 20 are without a place in Wallonia. Ciri, the commission for inscriptions, said at a meeting yesterday that “the situation is more dramatic than last year” and “globally, the situation is getting tougher”. Other problem areas are the city of Liège and Hainaut province. According to Ciri, the lack of places is due to some schools offering fewer places for the first year, plus a population boom in Liège, Charleroi and Mons. In June, Ciri tried to ease the situation by adding an extra place in 80 percent of schools that were full, creating an extra 500 places. Some additional places are expected to become available before the start of term. Despite a new law on school registrations introduced three years ago, which aimed to ease the annual battle for families, the fight for a place is expected to get tougher.

Problems with payments of green energy incentives 

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of homeowners who equipped their properties with solar panels have received incorrect payments in relation to their ‘green energy’ certificates. Some homeowners received too much, others not enough, because of a problem in network operator Infrax’s main computer system. About 300 to 400 clients will receive a letter of apology for the inconvenience, along with a statement. 

Man killed in ammunition explosion at army base

One person died and two suffered heavy injuries after a massive ammunitions explosion at a military base in Houthalen-Helchteren in Limburg province. Warrant officer Johan Bosmans, 47, died last night at the military hospital in Neder-over-Heembeek. He had worked for the bomb disposal unit since 1991. The explosion happened when old ammunition that was being decommissioned ignited spontaneously at the Pampa Range, a firing range used by the Belgian air force. Seven bomb disposal officers were caught in the blast; two remain in a critical but stable condition. 

Drivers ignore inner-city limits without speed bumps

The majority of drivers do not respect the speed limit of 30kph in designated inner-city areas if there is no speed bump, a study reveals. A total of 93 percent break the 30kph speed limit and 70 percent go over 40kph, according to figures published by the Belgian Institute for Road Safety (ISBR). The study also reveals that the number of accidents resulting in injury has dropped by 25 percent since the introduction of the Zone 30 areas. The number of fatal crashes, meanwhile, is down by 40 percent. The ISBR recommends widening the 30kph areas outside schools, to increase road safety. “At first, road signs would be sufficient at the edge of such areas if these are widened,” explained spokeswoman Sophie Van Damme. “After a while, local authorities would determine whether to go ahead with infrastructure work or, instead, redirect traffic to less populated areas.”