Today's Top Stories - August 29, 2012

Michelle Martin released to Namur convent

The former wife and accomplice of child-killer Marc Dutroux entered the Clarisses convent in Malonne near Namur last night to shouts of abuse from about 100 people gathered outside. The controversial move followed her conditional release from prison as the highest court in Belgium rejected appeals against the ruling. The 52-year-old had served 16 years of a 30-year sentence for her complicity in Dutroux’s abduction of a number of girls and for starving two eight-year-old girls who were left in a basement dungeon while Dutroux was in prison for an unrelated offence. Martin will have freedom of movement at the convent under the supervision of nuns and probation workers. But she has been ordered to keep her distance from relatives of the victims and cannot speak to the media about her crimes. In 10 years’ time she will be eligible for full release. Dutroux, who is serving a life sentence for kidnap, rape and murder, also hoped to be freed one day, his lawyer said on Tuesday. The two appeals against Martin’s release were brought by Jean-Denis Lejeune, the father of one of the eight-year-old girls, and by prosecutors. Martin’s lawyer said she intended to atone for her crimes and reintegrate into society.

Tax authorities claim hundreds of millions from diamond traders

The inland revenue’s Special Investigations unit (BBI) is sending tax adjustment notices to 500 diamond traders thought to have defrauded the authorities by having illegal accounts with HSBC in Switzerland. The sending of such notices means the BBI considers all monies in the Swiss accounts – €1.2 billion in total – to consist of undeclared income. The BBI has repeatedly written to diamond traders asking for explanations, without response. Consequently, the Belgian tax authorities now consider these figures to represent serious tax evasion. As a result, a fixed tax rate of 50 percent must be applied, plus a 50 percent penalty rate, plus interest. Legal representatives for the diamond traders are trying to reach a settlement with the BBI, rather than risk hundreds of individual prosecutions. 

20% of Europe’s early retirees are Belgian

One in five workers who have taken early retirement in Europe are Belgian, according to a European Commission report. Only Italy has a higher proportion, adds the Flemish daily De Standaard. Pension minister Vincent Van Quickenborne believed the figure was due to Belgium’s early retirement system. “In other countries the majority of these people would be simply unemployed,” he said. In 2009 the 27 EU member countries had 1,049,502 people who had taken early retirement, of whom 212,863 were Belgian. According to the same report, the cost to Belgium in 2009 was almost €2.6 billion, or 0.76 percent of the country’s gross domestic income, compared to a European average of 0.08 percent. The Belgian figure is expected to slowly fall over the coming years following government pension reform.

Cult Brussels record shop Caroline Music to close

Caroline Music, one of Brussels’ last independent record stores, is to close. Founded in 1977 by passionate music fan André Tart, Caroline has been a mainstay of Brussels alternative culture since the 1980s. The shop, in the Passage Saint-Honoré arcade, was famous throughout Belgium and neighbouring countries for its selection of alternative records (new wave, grunge, goth, Britpop) as well as for its ability to import hard-to-find vinyl from the UK and beyond. The owners of Passage Saint-Honoré have decided to completely renovate the arcade, requiring all shops to close for months. Unable to find an alternative location for his shop, Tart has decided to throw in the towel – the clearance sale started on Saturday and Caroline will close for good in late September.

Saint-Gilles to host longest ‘vegetarian table’

The non-profit organisation Ethical Vegetarian Alternative (EVA) will tomorrow try to break the Belgian record for the longest ‘vegetarian table’ by hosting a veggie afternoon on Brussels’ Parvis de Saint-Gilles. EVA started the successful Thursday Veggie Day initiative in 2009, and Thursday’s veggie picnic will take place from 14.00 until 20.00. People wanting to take part simply need to turn up; they can bring their own vegetarian food or buy meat-free delicacies from the many stalls on the gourmet Saint-Gilles market. For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/167553616713535/