There are over two hundred countries in the world, but Belgium is often chosen to provide a surface comparison. This is the conclusion of the 50-year-old American Andy Millard, who created a remarkable website (sizeofbelgium.com). "For some reason your country is incredibly popular as a surface size," he says.
How much rainforest is cut down each year? How large is the Kruger National Park in South Africa? How big is the area that would be destroyed as a 1kilometer asteroid would collide with Earth? How big is the largest iceberg ever discovered?
Approximately 30.000 square km, is the answer to these questions. But newspapers and websites around the world prefer to use an equation more tangible, such as Belgium. With its 30.528 square kilometer Belgium is exceptionally popular as a surface size. The U.S. state of Michigan is "five times as large as Belgium, the Chinese capital Beijing is" half as big as Belgium.
source: nieuwsblad.com; sizeofbelgium.com
An extra tax has been introduced for passengers travelling to Spain by air. Those taking a flight to a Spanish destination, will have to pay 2 to 9 euros extra. The Spanish government introduced the tax as an austerity measure, to have more tax revenues in hard times.
The decision was taken on 30 June and applies to all tickets that were booked as from 1 July. That's unusual, as new airport taxes are normally announced two months before they come into force.
Ryanair has the intention to go back in time to collect the cash, Brussels Airlines will only adapt the prices for new tickets.
Geert Sciot of Brussels Airlines is not amused with the change: "For Spain, you will be paying 7, 8 or 9 euros more, depending on your destination. For some airports, it's only 2 euros. However, if you travel to Barcelona or Madrid, the two biggest airports, with a family of four this means 25 to 30 euros extra. We have to pay that amount to the company that operaties the airport in Spain. And I am afraid that we will have to pass the bill to the passengers."
source: http://www.deredactie.be
