And this year’s Miss Belgium is… (drum roll, please)… Kedist Deltour, a 23-year-old hairdresser from Nazareth, East Flanders.

Ms. Deltour was crowned last night at the Proximus Theatre in Adinkerke. The ceremony was held without an audience due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Out of a total of 33 candidates, 15 were chosen for the finals. Thanaree Scheerlinck won first runner-up, followed by Louise-Marie Losfeld, Elodie Gualano, and Camilia Martinez. 

The new Miss Belgium was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. When she was eight years old, she lost her mother to cancer. Her father left her in an orphanage the following year. Belgian couple Peter and Nadège Deltour adopted her when she was ten years old. 

Ms. Deltour succeeds Céline Van Ouytsel as Miss Belgium.

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From its old headquarters in Avenue d’Auderghem, the municipal administration of Etterbeek will serve the public from a new, energy-efficient building in the Jardins de la Chasse area starting today, the 16th of March.

Other municipal services, including the Public Centre for Social Welfare (CPAS), the local job centre, and the Montgomery Police, will also set up operations in the new location in the coming days.

Designed by Jaspers-Eyers Architects in collaboration with BAEB,  the low-energy building stands five storeys high and covers 14,500 square meters of office space in total. It includes a three-level underground parking area and a multi-faith funeral home. 

“All the services that are useful to the public are now located in one place, and we took the opportunity to design the reception area in an entirely different way to further improve the quality of service,” said Etterbeek Mayor Vincent De Wolf.

The new municipal building is part of a large-scale urban development program initiated by the mayor some 10 years ago. The project aims to transform a three-hectare site in Jardins de la Chasse into a new neighborhood.

The next stages of the project will involve the construction of more than 200 new housing units, a childcare centre, new roads, a green space, and other community services. 

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“In Italy people are dying at the rate of 300 a day. And so I can certainly understand the high level of anxiety that would exist in Italy and in many countries across Europe.”

That was the response of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison after Italy took actions to prevent the delivery of 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia in a move authorised by the European Commission.

Based on the report first published by the Financial Times, the Italian government defended its actions by citing the huge shortfall in AstraZeneca’s vaccine commitments to Italy and the European Union, and pointing out that Australia was a “non-vulnerable” country.

While Australian officials have chosen to stay level-headed after the incident, they are now calling on the European Commission to review its decision.

In January, the EU implemented an export control system for Covid-19 vaccines for the purpose of ensuring that pharmaceutical companies will honor their contracts with the EU.

The measure was drafted after AstraZeneca failed to supply the amount of vaccine doses promised to the EU early this year.

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“We have to overcome this pandemic together with one overarching objective: to leave no one behind,” the Belgian premier said during the launch of Recovery Plan for the World, a campaign to end Covid-19 and kickstart a global recovery.

Belgium is one of 23 governments that have pledged their commitment to the new global recovery plan initiated by Global Citizen together with the World Health Organization and the European Commission.

In support of the campaign, the Belgian prime minister guaranteed additional assistance for the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) initiative. “If we want to recover better together, we need to assure everybody is safe.”

The Recovery Plan for the World is a year-long campaign with five goals: 1) to end Covid-19 for all; 2) end the hunger crisis; 3) resume learning everywhere; 4) protect the planet; and 5) advance equity for all.

“Vaccines must reach all corners of the planet, as soon as possible. In fact, Europe is the continent that exports the most vaccines to the rest of the world. We try to walk the talk. But everybody needs to chip in,” European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said in her message.

At present, 116 countries and territories affected by the pandemic still have no access to vaccines.

“For whatever the challenges, we must never forget that the pandemic can only be beaten for good if vaccines, tests, and medicines are affordable and accessible and available to everyone in the world,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The grand launch of the Recovery Plan for the World yesterday featured various leaders and personalities including WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Global Citizen Ambassador Hugh Jackman, and singer/songwriter Billie Eilish.

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More than a month since coronavirus vaccines made their debut, only 1.24 percent of the world’s affected population has been vaccinated.

Out of 223 countries and territories with reported cases of Covid-19, no less than 145 are still waiting for the vaccine to arrive.

Once again, countries from the hard-up regions of the world are the last in line as wealthy and developed nations race against each other to secure more vaccines.

Israel, UAE, UK still leading the vaccination race

Nearly 40 percent of Israel’s 8.7 million population has received at least one shot.

In the United Arab Emirates, close to 37 percent of the population has been vaccinated.

The United Kingdom takes the lead in Europe with a vaccination rate of 17 doses per 100 persons.

Within the European Union, 15.78 million doses have entered the bloodstream of at least 2.58 percent of the bloc’s 447.7 million occupants.

In Belgium, 326,405 vaccinations have been carried out. This covers 2.84 percent of the country’s 11.62 million population.

Regions with little or no access to vaccines

Only 390,160 vaccines have been administered in the whole African continent, which has a population of 1.36 billion.

Asia records a total distribution of 49.7 million vaccines, but the vaccination rate is as low as one dose per 100 persons in a population of 4.6 billion.

South America has 432.9 million inhabitants, but less than one percent of the population has been vaccinated.

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After weeks of failed snow forecasts in Brussels, the much-awaited drizzle of ice crystals finally fell upon the city today.

A whole night of rain culminated in a shower of snow, which began a little before 9  in the morning.

After several false alarms

As early as November last year, weather forecasts have been signalling the arrival of snow in the Brussels-Capital Region in time for the holiday season.

The snow comes a little late for a white Christmas, but never too late for the winter season.

According to the day’s weather forecast, snowfall may continue throughout the day.

The temperature in Brussels will remain within 1 -2 ° C throughout the day.

Roads and sidewalks will be more slippery than usual, so watch your step.

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Researchers from Sciensano detected the presence of antibodies in 26 percent of blood donors from Brussels, 18 percent of donors from Wallonia, and 10 percent in Flanders.

Overall, 14.4 percent of blood donors in Belgium have developed a resistance to the deadly virus.

Sciensano made the discovery after analysing over 16,000 blood samples provided by the Red Cross.

According to the Red Cross, the antibodies lower the risk of infection but do not guarantee complete immunity from the disease.

Meanwhile, the average number of new coronavirus cases per day is still declining in Belgium. From December 20 to 26, it stood at 1,801.4 or 29 percent lower than the previous period.

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Here is the latest number of cases and incidence rates in the 19 communes of Brussels. The figures reflect the situation in the last 14 days.

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The United Kingdom and the European Union finally reached a post-Brexit agreement today, just a week before the end of the Brexit transition period.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the good news during a press conference this afternoon.

“It was a long and winding road, but we have got a good deal to show for it,“ the EU chief said.

In a separate press conference at Downing Street, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson proudly declared “it was a good deal for the whole of Europe.”

The historic deal, which took 11 months to forge, will allow the UK and the EU to trade goods with zero tariff and zero quota. New arrangements on police and judicial cooperation will also be enforced.

Both sides have finally agreed on EU member states’ fishing rights and access to UK waters, which proved to be a thorny issue toward the end of negotiations.

The EU and the UK will continue cooperation in other areas of interest including climate change, security, and transport.

“Together, we still achieve more than we do apart,” said the EU chief. “It is time to leave Brexit behind, our future is made in Europe.”

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After 11 months of dramatic negotiations, a post-Brexit trade deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union is expected to be announced today, the 24th of December.

EU and UK negotiators haggled all through the night over the major bone of contention:  fishing rights in British waters.

The UK exited the EU on January 31 of this year, but it is still under obligation to follow the union’s regulations, such as the Common Fisheries Policy, until the end of 2020.

Under the Common Fisheries Policy, member states have full fishing access to each other’s waters, but they have to agree on the volume of fish that can be caught from each species.

The British government has demanded a higher fishing quota share in its own waters while the EU is pushing for more access to UK waters for its member states.

The EU has made it clear that both sides have to reach a fair deal on fisheries before any free trade agreement can happen.

Without a deal, border checks and widespread taxes will be imposed on goods exchanged between the UK and the EU starting in January.

Negotiations will continue today. If an agreement is reached, both sides have until December 31 to get their parliaments to approve the Brexit deal document, which contains about 2,000 pages.

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