Walloon arms exports closed out a record year in 2014. In the first half of last year, the Walloon Government approved 619 licenses for weapons with a total value of €3.55 billion, reports L'Echo based on figures from Walloon minister-president Paul Magnette. While the granting of licenses for...

Antwerp Central was selected as the most romantic train station in Europe by booking site Hotels.com. According to the site, Antwerp Central offers the perfect setting for a romantic hello or goodbye. The site evaluated several European stations based on their architectural attractiveness, and...

Belgium is just this side of a full-on flu epidemic, according to the Scientific Institute for Public Health (WIV). Last week, the institute reported, 121 per 100,000 residents, or just over 13,000 people, consulted their doctor reporting flu-like symptoms. The threshold for the declaration of an...

One of the upsides to winter weather blustering its way through January is the possibility any given morning of waking up and discovering that the roads are too icy or blocked with snow to make it to work. This marks the beginning of the noble snow day – a day when you have no choice but to do...

The province of West Flanders has announced details of Woordfront, the second of its First World War public commemoration events. On April 18, the province will mark the anniversary of the first gas attacks in Belgium, centred on the town of Tielt ( pictured ). It was in Tielt that, in April 1915,...

A touchscreen pen in the colours of the national flag has been voted the winner of Belgian Beauties, a competition to find the country’s best souvenir. The competition was launched as part of the Handmade in Belgium programme, which is sponsored by Unizo, the organisation that represents the self-...

Belgium’s justice minister Koen Geens has plans to expand the government’s surveillance capabilities. In addition to tapping telephone conversations, the minister would also like to tap private messages sent via WhatsApp, Facebook and Skype, reports De Morgen. He cites the fight against terrorism...

Belgian police agents should be allowed to take their service weapons home with them, even when off-duty, police unions said on Tuesday in various Belgian media. Many agents would like to remain armed at all times due to recent terrorist threats following last week’s attacks in Paris which left 12...

A total of 2,678 dogs were reported missing or stolen in Belgium in 2014, 8.5% less than the previous year. It is the first decline in 10 years, reports Het Gazet van Antwerpen. On average, seven dogs disappear in Belgium every day, and the vast majority of them are stolen. The most coveted breeds...

Barak Friture Barak Friture offers a loving tribute to what used to be a linchpin of small-town Belgium – the frietkoten or roadside chip stands that are fast disappearing from local streets. For this bite-size photo book, Jesse Willems, a self-taught Antwerp photographer, visited 80 frietkoten...