Archive for January 2010

 
 

And he’s off!

Purported Arabian Prince Abdelkarim Sehrani was unmasked as a 23-year-old former student from Ixelles when he tried to scam his way to a test drive of a Rolls Royce at the European Motor Show in Brussels. The student has allegedly been pulling off the scam for years.

Coupon cutting champs

Belgians once again broke their own world record in coupon cutting last year with 155 million coupons snipped worth €123.8 million. Belgium has held the record for coupon clipping per head of population for several years. Despite fewer coupons being issued on account of the economic crisis, Belgium still managed to break the record by 22 percent.

Objecting to taxes

The Brussels Appeals Court declared itself not competent to rule on the case of a conscientious objector who has refused to pay the part of his taxes that go on military spending. Jan Hellebaut of Antwerp has only paid 92.7 percent of his due taxes since 1993 while donating the rest to peace charities. Hellebaut now has the option of taking his case to the Cassation Court.

Hair suit

Forensic teams have identified the owner of the remaining strand of hair found in notorious child-killer Marc Dutroux’s dungeons where he held his victims. The hair belongs to a woman from the forensic team. The last outstanding case against Marc Dutroux may be drawing to an end after 15 years.

A whiz with words

Walloon minister in charge of airports André Antoine demanded that Wizz Air retract the latest edition of their in-flight magazine for its unacceptable description of Charleroi. "A one-way motorway runs through the centre of town, separating the depressing brick houses from the factories on the other side", notes the magazine. "In less than 20 minutes it becomes clear that Charleroi is cursed by a chronic case of missed opportunities."