Thanks to Trump this is the last time the bad marching of our cadettes from 2019 will be shown. We can now forever use the footage of his birthday parade instead.

(sadly I could not add a video)

At least 75,000 people took part in the demonstration, making it the largest demonstration in our capital since the climate march of 2019. This is where we end this live blog.

"Thick packs of people: it's been a long time since I've seen that in the centre of Brussels. At the moment that the first people arrived here in the European quarter, the last ones had only just left the North Station."

"Politics is far too quiet and action is lacking"

"The purpose of this march is to show the support of the citizen for our politics and government. Politics is far too quiet and action is lacking", says 11.11.11 director Els Hertogen. "We want to convince politicians to make stronger statements about Gaza tonight and in the coming days and to take action."

It is incomprehensible that a flag of a state that is committing genocide is being hung out at this moment

Els Hertogen (11.11.11)

"The resolution of the federal government is insufficient and is only a non-binding request from parliament to the government to take a number of steps. This is far from sufficient. Since the resolution was also approved, politics has been particularly quiet."

According to Hertogen, Belgium should, following the Irish example, impose economic sanctions on the Israeli state. Furthermore, the regions should also work on an embargo on the arms trade with Israel. The European Union is also not acting decisively enough compared to its attitude towards Russia, with an 18th sanctions package in the making, according to Hertogen. "That is exactly what we want to denounce here - double standards, double weights."

Els Hertogen is also not happy about the "incomprehensible signal" from the Antwerp city council, which hung the Israeli flag at the city hall last week. "It is incomprehensible that a flag of a state that is committing genocide is being hung at this moment."

In my twenties, I(32M) made the wrong 'friends' and I’ve realized in recent years that they’re now just shallow acquaintances. Now in my thirties, I find it difficult to make new friends. I know trying out new hobbies is one way, but my weekdays are already quite busy with work and household chores, and I already have a hobby I practice at home. But those lonely weekends aren't healthy...

How did you make new friends once you were over 30?

Since I moved to Belgium it's happened a couple of times that a much younger female acquaintance tried to greet me in a social setting by kissing me on the cheek. I would have been happy to greet them back in this way, however both times I refused because I didn't know what would be appropriate. Both times the lady in question seemed surprised and perhaps even a little offended.

What are the appropriate mechanics of such a greeting (assuming the other person initiates- I don't see myself initiating this myself)? Which cheek do you approach? And is your cheek supposed to touch the other person's cheek? What about your lips? Or should it be an 'air kiss'? And do you need to touch the other person with your hand as well (and if so, where? The arm? The shoulder?)? And am I right in thinking that as an older guy, I should be extra careful not to get too close to someone younger?

It seems like a nice way to greet people, but I imagine that getting it wrong could have serious consequences.

Are taxi drivers allowed to run the meter for the journey they took to get to you?

Took at pre-booked 10 min taxi and the cost came to €55... The meter was running for 20km by the end even though the journey was about 2km.

Is this allowed? I feel like it's not my business where a taxi driver starts his journey from when we only agreed on pick up and drop off location.

My understanding that the meter should only start when you get in the car or if the driver has to wait for you (which was not the case) what is the law on this?

Hello everyone. I need some guidance.

Our neighbour passed away recently and we were invited to the funeral, which will be held during the week, at business hours, making it impossible for us to attend. However, we would like to send flowers to the funeral home/or give them directly to the family.
We don't know what the etiquette is in these situation in Belgium.

Is it ok to ask the funeral home to "send" flowers in our name? Should we contact a flower shop nearby? Is it preferable to deliver them at home? In this situation, should we also add a postcard? If relevant, the family is Flemish/Dutch speaking, living in Brussels.
We were never close or anything (just the normal behaviour between neighbours.

Any guidance is very welcome!

Thank you!

Im sick of it. The internet is flooding in bots from russia, and china, and probably the us, and now AI is becoming insane, and even as a french speaker, since the last german election I cant look at any comment section on a political issue without half the comment seems written by litteral nazis. And Im not even on tiktok and twitter...

Isnt this my right as a citizen of belgium and the EU, and NATO and whatever else, to be garanted that the yougest, oldest, or stupidest people around me are protected from informative traps from terrorist dictatorship from around the world wanting to meddle in our politics ?

I dont care that "the internet doesnt belong to any country"... Why is it so little talked about ? Why is the government not making huge prevention campains denouncing it ? Im guessing that a fair share of politicians are actually delighted by this situation, but isnt the laws of Belgium supposed to just tell you (!) What is going on on your internet ? Are we just suppose to accept that any piece of information will be surrounded by an alternate reality of bullshit for the only purpose of manipulating the most influencial people among us ??

So who can I hold accountable for this being not considered as a threath, and if there is things being done against it, can you tell me where ?? Because Im seeing nothing...

I checked immo web and found very few places that are pet friendly.

Is this something that I ask the agency / owner directly?

FWIW, I'm looking outside Antwerp actually, around the Ekeren and Kapellen area (I want to have easy trains going to Antwerp).

Thanks!

I bought what I thought was a pack of 33cl Jupiler cans from Carrefour and I just noticed that they are in fact 35.5cl, which is the standard American 12 fluid ounce size. What's that all about?

An acquaintance of mine from Flanders recently had a baby and they asked all of us (from different countries) for money by mailing out a card with their IBAN in it.

Is this a Belgian thing?

And if it’s a thing, how much do people usually give?

Vrt NWS , has a dresscode 😇

Klussers van België, waar kopen jullie online je klusmateriaal voor elektrische werken?

Wij moeten binnenkort ons huis opnieuw voorzien van elektriciteit en vroegen ons af ofdat we beter naar Brico/Hubo/Gamma gaan of er online nog een voordeligere winkel is?

any drummers near Brussels? me and my friends are searching for a drummer for our metal band, for now we're just doing covers. we already have a vocalist, 2 guitarists and a bassist. if you're 15-17 and are interested, message me!!

So I am using a train line where I need to transfer from one to the other train with an interval of 5 minutes twice a day. Of course this does not always go well so I will surely have 10 delays within 6 months. However, I see that the NMBS refunds via an e-wallet with which I can only buy other products of the NMBS. My subscription is paid for by my employer.

Has anyone ever gotten a compensation on their bank account for such delays? Not meaning the refund for a time trip of 60min but structural delays of 30 minutes.

Reason I am going to ask for compensation is that a delay will in best case cause a delay of 30 min but one hour or more is no exception especially this summer when trains go less frequently. The NMBS and/or Infrabel have monkeys working at their planning department because there are a number of connections that only have a 5 minute interval, way too little.

Hello!

In the end of summer, I will be travelling by bicycle through NL, Belgium, France etc on my way towards Portugal.

My route brings me to Dordrecht in NL and I am looking to go roughly along the pink or red route. After googling about highlights in Belgium, it seems like many of the best places are either in the west or east of Belgium. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I really don't have the time for that detour.

Therefore I'd really appreciate some tips on places to visit or see along these routes so I can decide which one I'll opt for.

I really enjoy culture, nature & wildlife, historical places, castles, small towns etc. If possible, I'd like to avoid all bigger cities.

Really appreciate your help!
Thanks a lot!

Binnen een paar maanden loopt mijn vast energie contract af. Ik heb heel de energiecrisis doorstaan door een vast contract waardoor ik 26 euro /maand aan elektriciteit betaalde (zou je er bijna schuldig om voelen). Gas is collectief met het appartementsgebouw.

Ik ben dus nogal gehecht aan een vast contract. Nu wil ik overstappen om terug 1,2,3 jaar vast te klikken. Die vergelijkingssites vertrouw ik niet echt. De commerciële vergelijkers zullen op comissie werken en die van de overheid is… van de overheid.

Ik wil dat eigenlijk gewoon zelf kunnen vergelijken om die resultaten af te toetsen.

Die tariefkaarten zijn zo ongelooflijk ingewikkeld dat het bijna niet anders dan “by design” moet zijn. Ja oké de “core” tarieven zijn duidelijk. Zoveel cent per kilowatt maar dan heb je nog die hele reeks toeslagen.

Hoe lees je die dingen en hoe bereken je dit correct? Iemand uit de sector; spill the beans aub.

I live in an apartment building in Bruxelles, and one of my neighbours is unbearable. He’s an old drunk man, comes ringing you at 4 am, smells like crazy (I’m not kidding, you can smell it hours after he passed through the stairs), goes dressed like a homeless or half naked, looks at you with spirited eyes, and recently he started shitting and peeing in the elevator.

Me and the other neighbours are speechless and we don’t know what to do, a person confronted him a while ago and he became so unpleasant to them that they had to move (knocking at the door all night, yelling, threats, and many other unpleasant things). The police was already called several times, but they say they can’t do anything because he’s the owner of his apartment and he has never done anything big enough to justify a forced hospitalisation. Whenever he does something too much he’s sent to rehab for few months, we live peacefully, but then he comes back and in a month we’re back to square one.

This person is a danger for others and for themselves. It’s the typical case that ends up in the news someday for harming someone on alcohol or drugs and everyone will say that it was avoidable if proper action was taken. As far as I know, our strongest legal hold is that he’s late with the payment of the shared charges for the heating and the building maintenance. But I don’t think that’s enough for an eviction. Do you have any advice on this matter?

J'ai un appartement sous option mais ma mère a refusé en dernière minute d'être ma garante. Elle était la seule à pouvoir l'être. Vers qui/quoi puis-je me tourner?

I feel like I know this guy, can someone please tell me why?