The prestigious Culture Awards from the Flemish
Community were announced last week in Hasselt by culture minister Bert
Anciaux. The 13 awards to Flemish artists cover a wide range of
activities, from cartoon strips to Baroque music. Each winner, one of
three nominees in each category, takes home €12,500 and a bronze
statuette specially commissioned from sculptor Johan Tahon.Full story
Ruined buildings are generally thought of as being
of interest to tourists, historians and archaeologists. But there is a
long tradition of ruins in art, dating back to the Renaissance, when
interest in antique Roman and Greek architecture and statuary revived,
and the vestiges of the past came to be regarded as relics of a better,
purer age.Full story
The federal government said last week it was
“investigating†the possible sale of a share in the Belgian postal
service, De Post, to the private equity fund CVC Capital Partners,
based in Luxembourg. The sale would involve shares currently owned by
the Danish Post Office, which it wants to sell. The two foreign
investors together paid €300 million for a holding of 50% minus one
share, all of which would pass to CVC under the deal.Full story
The government is overestimating the success of
service cheques, the system that allows members of the public to pay
for cleaning and ironing work while avoiding the black economy. Last
year 600,000 people paid for services with 73 million service cheques,
one-third more than in 2007. At the same time, the system provided work
for 90,000 people, predominantly women with little education and few
marketable job skills.Full story
A court in Ghent last week sentenced two businessmen
– a father and son – to two years suspended for their role in the
dioxin crisis that hit the Belgian food industry in 1999. Lucien
Verkest and his son Jan were tried along with five other men in
relation to the contamination of animal fat for the manufacture of
animal feed. The fat was found to contain machine oil mixed with toxic
products.Full story
The Belgian government’s proposed sale of
bank-insurer Fortis to the French BNP Paribas hung in the balance this
week as Fortis’ main private shareholder switched its vote to oppose
the deal.Full story
Located slap bang in the middle of the triangle
formed by Bruges, Ghent and Kortrijk, it's inevitable that the town of
Tielt struggled to make a mark on the West Flanders scene. Skilled
craftsmen were — and still are — attracted to the three nearby cities
in search of more or better work. Today's tourists frequently do
something similar, bypassing the burg of about 20,000 on their way to
visit its more famous neighbours.Full story
The average resident of Antwerp has a life
expectancy around two years shorter than in other cities in Flanders,
according to figures collected by the city council and a social aid
agency. According to recent estimates, a boy born in Flanders in 2006
has a life expectancy of 77.7 years and 82.9 for a girl. The life
expectancy in Antwerp is currently 76.4 years for a man and 81.2 for a
woman.Full story
Politicians, academics and social workers have
reacted with shock to the report released last week that shows that
half of all Flemish people think that Islam represents a threat to
Europe’s cultural values. The report, based on research carried out by
the Institute for Social and Political Opinion Research (ISPO) at
Leuven University, also found that 37% of Flemings think that Muslims
living here have no respect for local values and that 46% believe that
Islam has no positive contribution to make to Western culture. Full story
