The Japanese car manufacturer Toyota is recalling 26,249 of its cars in Belgium, as part of its worldwide recall of 6.4 million cars because of technical problems. In total, 27 Toyota models are affected, including the Corolla, RAV4, Hilux, Yaris, Tacoma, Urban Cruiser and Scion xD. In Belgium,...

La Gaume is not the Ardennes, we were told by a couple in their late 60s who picked us up in Neufchateau and were going all the way to Orval. It was our sixth car of the day, hitchhiking from Brussels to Belgium’s southern-most tip in a quest for fresh air and organic vegetables, and we were happy...

Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters has launched an ambitious plan to cut down on food waste. The goal is to tackle the problem at every stage in food production by creating a “food chain road map” involving six of the biggest organisations involved in food distribution. The world currently...

Flemish opposition party Groen has called for the repeal of Belgium’s law on telecommunications data, after a ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg yesterday. The ECJ said that an EU law, in force since 2006, obliging telecommunications companies to stock information on...

Between December 2012 and December 2013, the average price of electricity fell 24%, while household electricity bills rose steeply, according to the latest report by the energy regulator Creg evaluating the effectiveness of federal energy policies. In the report Energy Minister Melchior Wathelet...

The restaurant concept Brussels in the Sky is returning to the capital. Fans of food in high places can enjoy meals prepared by Belgium’s top chefs at fifty metres above the ground from June 2 to June 29 in the Cinquantenaire park/Jubelpark, Brussels. The original ‘flying restaurant’ concept Dinner...

Last year the Antigifcentrum/Centre antipoisons recorded 538 carbon monoxide poisoning accidents that killed 26 and harmfully affected 1,251 people. In 2012, the centre reported 1,240 casualties and 23 fatalities. Overall, though, the number of carbon monoxide poisoning accidents has fallen...

Earlier this week, the European Commission presented the findings of the Epilobee study, the most comprehensive research project ever on the mortality of cultivated bee colonies in Europe. According to the research, 33.6% of bees in Belgium did not survive the winter of 2012-2013, which was the...

The national rail company SNCB/NMBS has recorded a net loss of €330.7 million in 2013, more than double the loss it made in 2012. The heavy loss has been attributed largely to the company writing off €134 million from its concern in the independent logistics subsidiary SNCB/NMBS Logistics. The...