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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Physical and verbal attacks on train conductors are decreasing, La Libre Belgique reports today. A total of 1,178 attacks were recorded last year, compared to 1,230 in 2011. The 2010 figures, however, were slightly better, with 1,084 attacks. The majority (70%) of physical or verbal violence stems...

Train World, the vintage train museum due to open next year in Brussels’ Schaerbeek station, is faced with an unexpected problem: there are too many trains, writes the Wall Street Journal’s Frances Robinson . Belgium built continental Europe’s first railway line in 1835 and still has the world’s...