Belgium

Advances in DNA identification techniques led to the identification of a body found in 2001 in Belgium. The body of Corrie van der Valk was buried in Philippeville, Belgium that same year. The 58-year-old woman was struck by a train near Namur, Belgium, and caused extensive damage as to make identification impossible at the time.

The Van der Valk family was notified of the discovery on Thursday. One of her relatives told the AD, "We are sad, but also relieved that there is now clarity after so many years."

The Netherlands and Australia want to start negotiating with Russia "in the foreseeable future" about the country's accountability in the downing of flight MH17, Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs said after meeting with his Australian colleague Marise Payne in New York, NOS reports.

The police arrested two men in Limburg for suspected involvement in the death of a Belgian police officer in Spa during the early hours of Sunday morning, the Public Prosecutor in Verviers said on Monday. Belgium will request their extradition, De Limburger reports.

That brings the total number of arrested suspects to three. 36-year-old Dutch man Ivo T. was arrested in Belgium on Sunday morning.

A car with Dutch license plates hit a mother and her two children in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium on Monday afternoon. A 5-year-old boy was killed. The mother and her other son were seriously injured, RTL Nieuws reports.

The accident happened around 4:15 p.m. The driver lost control of the car while going around a bend. The car drove onto the sidewalk at the entrance of a Lidl store. 

Belgian consumers' organization Test-Ankoop is filing a lawsuit in Belgium against Air France-KLM, accusing the airline of causing customers unnecessary costs with its no-show clause. Travelers who did not use part of their ticket, are not allowed to board without paying a surcharge or buying new ticket, according to Test-Ankoop, AD reports.

Supermarket chain Jumbo established a subsidiary in Belgium - the next step in the Dutch chain's mission to open stores in the Netherlands' neighboring country, NU.nl reports.

Jumbo announced in November that it plans to open stores in Belgium. The first Belgian Jumbo stores will open only after this year, financial director Ton van Veen said. In March Jumbo posted a vacancy for an "experienced real estate acquisition agency" in Belgium, which must help the group select suitable shop locations. 

An 18-year-old student from Apeldoorn died after being critically injured in a climbing accident in Ardennes, Belgium last week, his football club a.v.v. Columbia said on their website, RTL Nieuws reports.

The young man studied Sports and Movement at Aventus in Apeldoorn. He was taking part in a group activity of a campsite in Engreux, Belgium when the accident happened. He fell 20 meters. A helicopter rushed him to a hospital in the Liege region.

Retail chain Hema is being bought by Belgian investment company Core Equity Holding. The Belgian investor is buying the chian from British Lion Capital, which has been trying to get rid of Hema for some time, the Telegraaf reports based on anonymous sources.

According to the newspaper, Core Equity Holding and Lion Capital have an oral agreement, but it will still be a few weeks before the deal is done. A source told Financieele Dagblad that Core Equity is paying around 1 billion euros for Hema, including te chain's debts. 

Belgium extradited 58-year-old Dutch man Guido W. to Russia on Tuesday. He is suspected of being a leader in one of the world's largest drug cartels, and of trafficking tons of cocaine from Latin America via Russian ports to Western Europe, AD reports.

After a long chase through the forest in the border area near Goirle, the police shot a suspect. The chase crossed the border between Belgium and the Netherlands twice. The suspect was arrested and is in hospital to be treated, NOS reports.

Around 1:00 a.m. on Thursday the police noticed a suspicious van in a business park in Tilburg. When officers wanted to arrest the two people in the van, they sped away towards the border in Goirle. The police gave chase. During the chase, the suspects crossed the border into Belgium and then back into the Netherlands.

The Netherlands had the sixth highest hourly wage in the European Union's business sector with an average of 38.80 euros last year. Denmark came in first place with 42,50 euros, according to European stats office Eurostat, ANP reports.

The public- and agricultural sectors are not included in these figures. 

In addition to Denmark, employers in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and France also spent more on their employees' wages than the Netherlands. Bulgaria had the lowest hourly wage at only 4.90 euros gross.