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Culture beat - March 20

Irish cinema is centre stage at Bozar in a continuing focus during the country’s EU presidency. A series of films are running parallel to the art exhibition Changing States that features contemporary Irish art, plus works and objects from Francis Bacon’s studio. The films include Jim Sheridan’s...

Wage watchers: how much does a car salesman earn?

Car salesman Dolf van de Ven, 34, from Veltem-Beisem talks about what he earns and how he spends it. What do you do for a living? I work for Hergon Group in Leuven – it’s a Ford and Land Rover dealership. I advise people who wish to buy a Ford, and I’m also responsible for price negotiations,...

English remains Brussels’ second language

English is the second most widely spoken language in Brussels, behind French and ahead of Dutch, a study by the Free University of Brussels (VUB) shows, the results of which are published in Le Soir today. All three languages, however, are declining, while knowledge of Arabic, in fourth position,...

Young workers first to be made redundant

Last year, 36% of Belgian workers aged 30 or under lost their jobs either through dismissal or not having their contracts renewed, according to the results of a survey by HR firm Securex, published in Le Soir. This is significantly higher than the Belgian average across all age groups, which stands...

Ford to pay Genk workers $750m

Workers at Ford Motor Co’s plant in Genk will get $750 million (€580 million) in severance as part of a deal that allows the carmaker to close the factory by the end of next year, reports Reuters’ Deepa Seetharaman . The announcement was made by the company in a regulatory filing yesterday. Ford...

Belgacom and BNP Paribas Fortis to launch mobile wallet

BNP Paribas Fortis and telecom operator Belgacom are set to jointly launch a mobile wallet in Belgium, reports The Paypers . The mobile wallet will integrate mobile payments, virtual ticketing, e-couponing and loyalty programmes. The pilot is planned for the end of the year with full rollout from...

Nuclear power capacity halved by end of March

Belgium’s capacity to generate nuclear power will be halved by the end of this month as the Tihange-1 reactor is shut down, writes Bloomberg’s Patrick Henry , quoting a report from today’s L’Echo. Tihange-1 will be closed from March 30 to May 21 for maintenance, and the shutdown won’t affect...

Running for Retrak: Week 6

Developmental psychologist Julyata Shibru manages Retrak ’s drop-in centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which reintegrates street children with their families, educates them and organises vocational training to help them fulfil their potential. She explains what the centre does and how donations to...

Belgian ministers lodge complaint against ‘shameful’ German employment practices

Minister for economy Johan Vande Lanotte and employment minister Monica De Coninck will lodge an official complaint to the European Commission against the German authorities in order to stop social dumping in the country, Le Soir and De Morgen report today. This unfair competition leads Belgian...

Uncertainties over latest tax amnesty plans

The new tax amnesty plan featured in the federal government’s 2013 budget will allow corporate fraudsters to regularise their black money, but legal uncertainties in the draft proposal could result in many reconsidering their decision to come clean. One of the novelties of this plan is that, for...

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