Zuhal Demir is the new federal secretary of state for equal opportunities, people with disabilities, science policy and fighting poverty. She takes over from her N-VA colleague Elke Sleurs, who stepped down to lead the party’s election list on the Ghent city council. Demir (pictured) is from Genk,...

A daycare centre in Auderghem has been shut down for two weeks pending an investigation into claims that a 12-year-old girl was left in charge of supervising the young children while a staff member went to the post office. According to RTBF, police were called last week by a neighbour who saw the...

Belgium's 30,000 soldiers are getting more and more overweight, the latest figures from federal defence minister Steven Vandeput reveal. The average body mass index for soldiers over the age of 30 is 25.56. The World Health Organisations says a BMI over 25 is overweight. It appears to get worse...

The Brussels government has approved the creation of a working group to deal with the impact Brexit will issues relating to Brexit. The coordination group will be chaired by external trade secretary Cécile Jodogne and aims to prepare the region for Britain's eventual departure from the European...

At least one Belgian side will be in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, after Gent and Genk were drawn against each other in the last 16 and Anderlecht also qualified, meaning a record three Belgian sides are still in the competition. Gent secured their place after a hard-fought aggregate...

Rail traffic through Leuven has returned to normal following a fatal accident earlier this month, according to rail infrastructure company Infrabel. One man was killed and 27 people injured when a train leaving the station for De Panne derailed on 18 February. “The track is again in service as...

The Ancienne Belgique was evacuated for over an hour on Saturday evening due to a false bomb alert. About 1,000 concertgoers were told to leave the venue at about 21.00 and a police sniffer dog was sent in to detect possible explosives. A police spokesman told RTBF that a group of people came to...

Molenbeek is blossoming with various initiatives in the wake of the bashing the borough underwent after the Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks of late 2015 and early 2016. One of those initiatives is MolenGeek , a start-up incubator that offers young people a coding school with the aim of...

Documentary photographer Justin Jin has travelled the world from Mongolia to Russia to Europe to the Arctic and brought back thought-provoking images that help us recognise the human element in major world issues. Born in Hong Kong and educated at Cambridge in the UK, Jin began his career as a...

Charleroi is counting down to the grand opening of its long-awaited shopping centre Rive Gauche on 9 March. The ten-year project is at the heart of a major urban regeneration project for a city that has epitomised postwar economic depression in the region. “We are happy to arrive at the end of what...