On Friday, 18 November, the Baltic state of Latvia celebrates the 98th anniversary of its independence in 1918, with Latvians home and abroad already planning a major celebration to ring in its centenary. Latvia was occupied by both Germany and the Soviet Union during the second world war, with the...

It was one of those headlines that only a Belgian would understand. "Funeral ceremony to end with a wafelenbak", announced Het Laatste Nieuws. And what, you might ask, is a wafelenbak. The Flemish Dictionary defines it as "a party where waffles are cooked and sold in aid of a good cause". In other...

According to the sixth edition of the Education First English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) released today, adults in the Netherlands are the best non-native English speakers in the world, followed by the Danes and Swedes. Iraq, Laos and Libya are at the bottom of the list. Belgium places 11th out of...

Brussels Airport is working on the introduction of a preclearance system for flights to the United States, reports La Libre Belgique on Tuesday. From next summer, the system will allow US customs officers to carry out inspections relating to immigration and border control on Belgian, rather than...

Three bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of a Royal Air Force bomber that crashed at Glabbeek in Flemish Brabant in March of 1945. The plane – a Lancaster NN775 – came down on marshy ground, and the wreck sunk over the years to several metres deep. The plane was returning from a mission...

The Brussels parliament has voted for a proposal to reopen the European debate on parental leave, writes Bruzz. Fathers across Europe should be entitled to two weeks paid parental leave, says Brussels MP Brigitte Grouwels. Grouwels wants to put parental leave back on the European agenda because she...

Participants hoping to pass the driving license theory test in Brussels will soon no longer be allowed to bring along an interpreter to the exam, says Brussels minister for road safety Bianca Debaets in La Libre Belgique . Last year 2,113 people made use of an interpreter for this purpose. In an...

Belgium's national football team put eight goals past Estonia during the World Cup qualifier match in Brussels' King Baudouin Stadium. Dries Mertens ( pictured ) was Red Devil of the match with three goals (though FIFA recorded his second as an own goal), followed by Romelu Lukaku with two, and one...

One of the men suspected of being involved in the Paris terrorist attacks a year ago smuggled at least 10 jihadi fighters into Belgium, who were later involved in the Paris attacks and the Brussels bombings. The information was released at the weekend by the Centre for the Analysis of Terrorism,...

Children in Belgium are much more reckless on the internet than their foreign peers, reports Het Laatste Nieuws based on a large-scale survey. The survey was given to 5,000 boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 15 living in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Benelux. It reveals that children...