Belgium's prime minister Charles Michel has remarkable roots, according to a group of genealogy enthusiasts. One of Michel's ancestors was Aloïse Ziebor, a foundling who was discovered in Antwerp in 1834 and passed away in 1877, say the genealogists. They presented their findings during a...

Toast. For Brits and Americans, it’s an integral part of a full breakfast. For Belgians and the French, it’s the foundation of a that lunchtime or anytime snack, croque monsieur. But who said toast could be part of a gourmet experience? Leaving aside its role in a serving of foie gras or smoked...

A classical music concert in aid of the victims of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami makes its return to Flagey on 11 March - marking exactly five years since the disaster which killed 15,000, left more than 300,000 people displaced and triggered the Fukushima nuclear accident. Fukko (...

Pop mega-star Rihanna has been moved from the 21 July Werchter Boutique show to the opening night of Pukkelpop in August because of security issues. As 21 July is National Day, a major police presence is needed in Brussels, and Werchter Boutique has been asked to change its date. Organisers are...

The Belgian Asbestos Fund, created by the federal government to compensate sufferers of asbestos-related conditions, recognised 292 victims of mesothelioma last year. That is the highest number since the foundation of the fund in 2007 and 60% more compared to 2014. Mesothelioma is a cancer caused...

The saga of the deteriorating Brussels tunnels has taken a farcical turn after it was discovered yesterday that some of the original plans were stored in a space under the Reyers viaduct for years, and “were probably eaten by mice," report various Belgian media. The plans were temporarily stored in...

The Brussels Housing Fund has adapted the conditions necessary to qualify for a mortgage loan at a low interest rate when purchasing a home in the Brussels-Capital Region. With an aim to make the benefit available to more middle class families, the Fund now stipulates that a couple with no...

An increasing number of Belgian health insurance funds offer a reimbursement of the co-payment owed on doctor's consultations for children, making visits to the general physician or specialist free until a certain age. Many doctors fear that the new benefit will lead to an increase in unnecessary...

As part of a Ghent University (UGent) course that aims to bring together tomorrow’ designers with tomorrow’s engineers, three students have designed a headphone that selects and plays music based on users’ brain activity. A headphone with three tentacles that jut out from both sides, Emuse (...

Vera Rogiers and her research team at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) are developing a technique that will make it possible to test new drugs for their potential negative effects on the liver without resorting to the use of test animals. Rogiers recently received €30,000 in funding from the...