By Expatica A few hundred people took to the streets of Brussels on Saturday calling on the authorities to impose a ban on wearing the Muslim headscarf in Francophone schools. The view, according to the organisers of the demonstration, is that politicians should ban all religious symbols from schools in Francophone education. "Unveil the girls and educate the boys" is one of the slogans used by demonstrators. According to one of the advocates of a headscarf ban, Karima, there is huge social pressure in schools to wear a headscarf. "Those who don't wear a headscarf are cursed at and accused of not being religious or of being a prostitute." Nadia Geerts of the organisation RAPPEL called on politicians to take a decision to protect young girls from the obligation of wearing a headscarf. The debate over whether or not to allow religious symbols in schools has been in the spotlight over the last few months, both in Flanders as well as in Wallonia, where a number of schools have implemented a ban individually. After a turbulent start to the school year, the network of Flemish Community schools decided to implement a ban on headscarves and other religious symbols in all schools. The debate is still very much alive in Belgian schools around the country....(Remainder.)
By La Dernière Heure
Expatica One in five people risk falling victim to an internet fraudster, a risk even higher than being burgled at home. Cyber-criminality has risen by 375%, according to Symantec, an American company specialised in internet security. The likelihood of being victim of a burglary or being involved in a car-crash is much lower than being attacked on the internet, with risks of 1 in 31 cases and 1 in 3,000 cases respectively. In Belgium, more than 13,000 infraction complaints were received by the eCops watchdog in 2008, which was 17% more than 2007 and 375% more than in the last six years. Symantec observed 1.65 million viruses on the internet in 2008, a figure likely to have risen notably in their next observation....(Original.)
By Agence France-Presse
Expatica Police in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg arrested 80 people in a four-day cross-border drugs operation that ended on Sunday, a Dutch police statement said. The operation that focused on shared border areas and transport routes netted 10 kilograms of cocaine, five grams of heroine, 22 grams of hashish and 277 grams of cannabis, it said. Police officials from the three countries searched cars on busy highways, passengers of international trains and several buildings since Thursday. Arrests were carried out mainly in the southern Dutch towns of Roosendaal and Maastricht, in Antwerp in northern Belgium and two in Paris on board the Thalys high-speed train en route from Brussels. The operation was part of a broader project to tackle drug trafficking and drug tourism between the Benelux countries and France, said the police statement....(Original.)
Belgian Foreign Minister Yves Leterme and Energy Minister Paul Magnette have deplored the failure of the U.S. President to put forward concrete figures regarding the reduction of green house gases. By Expatica The Belgian ministers are happy however with the new American attitude towards fighting climate change. U.S. President Barack Obama said that the days when the United States "dragged its feet" in the fight against climate change are over. He vowed to promote renewable energy and share green technology with countries around the world. "We will press ahead with deep cuts in emissions to reach the goals that we set for 2020, and eventually 2050," Obama said in his maiden speech to the U.N. General Assembly. "The threat from climate change is serious, it is urgent, and it is growing," Obama said, "And the time we have to reverse this tide is running out." The Belgians had hoped that the U.S. President would come with some concrete plans or figures but he remained vague about how exactly the climate goals would be met. The Belgian Energy Minister Magnette was reportedly disappointed with what he saw as a cautious American approach to tackling climate change. The minister immediately added that he realises that it is not an easy issue for President Obama with some tough opponents in the House of Representatives....(Remainder.)
At the end of August, Belgium counted 467,718 unemployed people, 39,501 more than in July and 47,827 more than in August 2008, according to new figures from Onem.
By Le Soir
Expatica The rise in the number of job seekers has been apparent in all regions: over 21,390 in a month in Flanders, over 11,468 in Wallonia, and over 6,643 in Brussels. At the end of the month, Wallonia counted a total unemployment rate of 212,891, Flanders counted 176,660 and Brussels had 78,230 people out of a job. 73,602 unemployed people in the country are under-25, with the majority in Wallonia, with 38,525, followed by Flanders with 26,209, then Brussels with 8,868. Wallonia still counts the highest number of people who have been unemployed for a long period of time, with 104,997 people in this category, which makes up nearly half the number of the total unemployed people in the region....(Original.)
By Euronews Hundreds of women and their children demonstrated in Brussels on Saturday to calling for the veil and all other religious clothes or symbols to be banned from schools. At the moment the veil is worn at the discretion of an individual school’s headmaster, or not. Now Belgium’s 40 percent French-speakers want the same law as passed in Belgium’s Flemish half, which bans the veil. “I had long, braided hair, so they would take the lower part of my veil, and wound it into my braids.” says one women’s rights worker. But the women’s groups are split; some prefer to stress free choice, others the risk of indoctrination of the young; “The Flemish are spot on, because their law preserves the ideas of diversity and equality among pupils, pupils who are the adults of tomorrow. So we are demanding that the French speaking community takes the same decision,” says another women’s representative....(Remainder.)
By Le Soir
Via Expatica The MR is proposing a ban on wearing any visible religious symbols to school until the age of 16. The debate is hardening, according to Didier Reynders, leader of the right-wing Mouvement Réformateur (MR) party. The controversial argument has run for a long time in the French community, and it is time that someone made a decision, the MR president, Didier Reynders, announced on Sunday to the television network RTL-TVi. Many Belgian political parties want this issue solved, particularly in reference to the Muslim headscarf, but it is important to negotiate first, they have stated. Representatives of the PS, Ecolo and CdH parties also took part in the televised debate but none showed a favourable attitude towards a total ban....(Original.)
By Expatica Budget Minister Guy Vanhengel (Flemish liberal) says that the government will not continue to fill the budget deficit in the social security system. The social security system should also make an effort to fill the gap, said the federal budget minister in an interview with the financial daily De Tijd. Until now the deficit in the social security system has always been covered for by other tax money. The Budget Minister Guy Vanhengel said that it is now time for this practice to stop. According to Minister Vanhengel, the Stability Pact, which the government agreed to earlier in the week, will put an end to the automatic replenishment of social security. It is not yet certain exactly how much the social security system will have to save. The discussion with the federal government promises to be contentious. The Flemish liberals have always disliked the fact that the social security system swallows up an increasingly large chunk of tax income. The Francophone socialists do not want to touch health care, unemployment benefits or pensions in the tightening of the budget belt....(Original.)
By Le Soir
Via Expatica.com The justice department devoted EUR 21 million to listening to telephone conversations last year. According to Brice de Ruyver, professor of criminology, "police can no longer lead the struggle against crime without phone tapping". The professor confirmed that it is an expensive process and that it requires specialised personnel. Strictly speaking the actual phone tapping system only costs EUR 4 million. Then EUR 17 million must be added for court costs, the recording of incoming and outgoing phone traffic, the activation of listening, observation and identification of suspect telephone numbers, and other administrative costs. EUR 3 million is spent on translation. Professor Ruyver said that the considerable amount spent listening to telephone activity had often been discussed at the heart of the police force. "But we have since arrived at the conclusion that we cannot do without this tool. Phone tapping is one of the most effective ways of dismantling rebel groups, fighting against drug trafficking and terrorism, and keeping an eye on extremist personalities," he added....(Original.)
By Valentina Pop
EU Observer Europe has emerged as the richest region in the world, pushing North America, where wealth has declined by more than 20 percent due to the economic crisis, off the top spot, a study has shown. The world's richest also feel the recession biting, especially in North America, where the financial crisis first unfolded a year ago, reveals a survey on global wealth carried out by the Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm. North America's wealth, measured in assets under management, plummeted by 21.8 percent, the steepest decline in the world. A lesser fall was registered in Europe, where assets shrunk by 5.8 percent compared to last year, down to €22.2 trillion – a quarter of the globe's total wealth. The number of millionaire households worldwide fell from 11 million to about 9 million - a drop of 17.8 percent. The decline was steepest in North America and Europe, at 22 percent in both regions, although the United States continues to have the most millionaire households - nearly 4 million. The crisis also narrowed the gap between the wealthy and non-wealthy. Wealth owned by households with less than €90,000 in assets under management increased by two percent in 2008, but it declined in all other segments. Among households with more than €4.5 million in assets under management, wealth fell by 21.5 percent....(Remainder.)
