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Train-related incidents down slightly

Incidents involving Belgium’s train network last year required 59,838 police and Securail (railway police) interventions. This is a slight decrease compared to 2012, when there were 62,804 police and Securail interventions recorded, reports Belga news agency based on figures from national railway...

Tom Waes to represent UNICEF Belgium

Belgian television celebrity Tom Waes is the new volunteer ambassador for UNICEF Belgium. He was appointed by the organisation’s Board of Directors for a period of two years. Waes joins fellow Belgian celebrities Axelle Red, Helmut Lotti and Tatiana Silva as volunteer ambassadors for the...

Become a Brussels socialite

How to meet new people in Brussels and have a little fun while you’re at it In spite of its packed events calendar and large expat population, Brussels can be a lonely place to live if you do not know where or how to meet new friends (this all while managing a busy work schedule). Below are some...

Belgian celebs remember Robin Williams

Both cycling legend Eddy Merckx and film director Stijn Coninx spoke yesterday about their personal relationships with American actor Robin Williams ( pictured ), whose death on Monday at his home in the San Francisco Bay Area is believed to be a suicide. “He was a great supporter of Lance...

Fewer Brussels residents trade car for premium

Since 2006, the Brussels-Capital Region offers a premium to get more cars off of Brussels’ roads and to encourage people to use public transportation in the city. However, the number of people taking advantage of the premium has tapered off in recent years. The ‘Brussel'Air' premium gives a Cambio...

Stem cell donors must be younger than 40

The Belgian Bone Marrow Donor Registry has set an age limit of 40 years for donors to register, report De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad . Stem cell donation can save lives, offering hope to people with diseases such as leukemia. The Belgian Registry is nonetheless only accepting donors under the age...

Brussels to keep house bonus until 2017

While the house bonus ( woonbonus ), or mortgage tax relief, will be reduced in Flanders in 2015, the tax incentive will remain in Brussels through 2017. In this way the city’s new government hopes to encourage more people to move to the Brussels-Capital Region, De Standaard reported. Many Flemings...

Flemish Minister-President called to explain budget cuts

Flanders’ minister-president Geert Bourgeois and budget minister Annemie Turtelboom have been asked to return from the summer holiday break early to explain their proposed budget cuts in the Flemish Parliament. Parliament speaker Jan Peumans has ordered a special committee session on Thursday...

Pear sales in Belgium doubled since Russian boycott

Belgians have responded en masse to the call to buy more Belgian products, such as pork and pears, after they were included in Russia’s food import ban last week. Since then pear sales have doubled, reports the Limburg Fruitveiling in Het Belang van Limburg and Gazet van Antwerpen . "Last week...

Belgian F-16s to pull out of Afghanistan

Yesterday the head of the Belgian army, General Gerard Van Caelenberge made a surprise visit to the Belgian soldiers serving in Afghanistan, De Standaard reported. He followed up the visit with the announcement that Belgium's F-16 mission in Kandahar is due to finish at the end of this year. There...

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