Belgium, Netherlands to exchange territory — without a fight

VISE, Belgium (AP) — Throughout history, borders have caused unfathomable bloodshed, ageless feuds and decades-old legal disputes, which makes plans for a friendly exchange of land between the Netherlands and Belgium all the more remarkable.

While Belgium will be losing a splendid piece of nature that juts into the Meuse River dividing the two nations, it will also unburden itself of a jurisdictional nightmare that developed over time as the river meandered to turn the portion of land belonging to Belgium — about 15 soccer fields worth — into a peninsula linked only to the Netherlands.

Over time, the area was rumored to be increasingly lawless, a haven for drug dealers and illicit sexual escapades.

[...] the Dutch could not go there because it was Belgian territory, and Belgian police and judicial authorities found it extremely tough to get there.

[...] we had to go there by boat with all that was needed — the prosecutor, the legal doctor, the judicial lab — we had to do round trips over the water.