1. Why you can be happy that it rains so often now: ‘This is a boost for our nature’
The terrace weather is taking a long time, but the wet spring is not bad news for everyone. All that precipitation has significantly boosted the until recently problematically low groundwater level. In addition, many gardens, wild plants and animals revive.
“Think of earthworms, which make horizontal and vertical tunnels. This way they can make those corridors better and rainwater can infiltrate into them. Moreover, the water in those tunnels rises to the surface when it is dry. This way, your garden will remain resistant to dehydration for longer.”
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2. Sammy Mahdi takes a sip of the Vlaams Belang magic potion
“We will not allow this country to become blockaded. We are certainly not going to stand by and wait for the results of a mating dance between N-VA and PS. There is a need for an alternative to this axis of political stagnation.”
CD&V waves goodbye on the one hand/on the other. Economic centre-left and cultural centre-right: that is how the party wants to present itself in the elections. Chairman Sammy Mahdi is convinced that the average Flemish also views things this way.
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3. Anja Machielse researched loneliness for a quarter of a century: ‘You have to start combating it at a very young age’
Over the past 25 years, Dutch professor Anja Machielse (67) has conducted research into loneliness in society. She can only conclude that it is only increasing.
“In a city like Amsterdam, the ‘body finding’ figures are secret. I suspect to avoid unrest, but I am sure that the statistics are on the rise.”
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4. ‘This is the first time I am officially living with someone’: Angela Dansby (53), the girlfriend of Rob Vanoudenhoven (55)
Belgium could not wish for a better ambassador than Angela Dansby (53), a full-blooded American but a resident of Brussels for nine years. She talks so passionately about our country that even the biggest belgophobe will embrace his inner Tintin. The love has been completely mutual for several years now: she is the girlfriend of Rob Vanoudenhoven, once ubiquitous as a TV maker but nowadays mainly an artist, and Angela plays no small role in that.
“Belgians are a modest people. That is refreshing, but sometimes a bit too much. When François Englert won the Nobel Prize for Physics, he appeared on the balcony of his home in Uccle to answer a few questions from journalists. It was so endearingly clumsy, he sounded almost apologetic: ‘Sorry. I did it by accident.’”
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5. Baltic countries go into war mode, should we follow? ‘Putin must notice that we will not accept this’
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda, all warn of an impending Russian confrontation with NATO. With the urgent message that we must prepare for war. But where are we with that?
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6. ‘Losing my family especially had a big impact. I really lost myself’: the pain of divorce can linger for a long time
‘This journey and this divorce’Stromae sounds cynical. When the time comes, many couples find themselves in a minefield of arguments and conflict. Yet there is a way out, according to therapists and science.
“A partner is an important bonding relationship, so a divorce has a lot of impact. You lose much more than just that partner: part of your children’s lives, friendships, the bond with your in-laws and sometimes also economic security, especially for women.”
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7. Swearing and intimidation: why there are 132 employees on the street at a profitable company like Decathlon
Timing employees when they went to the toilet, swearing and intimidation: the management of the Decathlon depot in Willebroek did everything they could to drive the staff away. 132 people now have to look for another job. While Decathlon makes record profits year after year.
“They knew it was harder to fire union workers. Sometimes they withheld six days’ wages, something they had stipulated in the contract.”
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8. ‘I may need the rest of my life to heal’: Trinka was abused by her brother for years
It takes a lot of courage to talk about something as difficult as sibling violence, says Binu Singh, child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University Psychiatric Center of KU Leuven. Trinka (48) has that courage. She was touched, caressed and watched by her brother for years. His behavior continues to resonate, as can be seen in the VRT Canvas series If you only knew.
“I turned off my consciousness because otherwise I couldn’t tolerate what he was doing. But I still have the question: what was so bad that I started to dissociate from his touch from day one?”
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9. The success of A24 unraveled: the film studio for ‘all the weirdos in the world’ that wins Oscar after Oscar
They win Oscars, make blockbusters and have their own merchandise. A24 is the hippest film studio of the moment, thanks to excellent films such as Everything Everywhere All at Once and Civil Warbut also to smart marketing campaigns that have actually cultivated a fan base.
“A few years ago everyone was talking about how cinema was dead. But they convince people again to go to the cinema and see all those things, instead of staying at home.”
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Tags: Belgians modest people refreshing bit top stories week
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