Belgian Central Bank Governor Luc Coene said yesterday that, while Belgian banks are improving in terms of solvency and liquidity, their profitability remains low . He explained t his was due to several factors, writes Dow Jones’s Frances Robinson . "Overall, the situation has improved for banks in...

Media Markt will open its online store in Belgium next week, reports E-Commerce News . The electronics product chain will also open ten new stores in the country, while many existing stores will get an upgrade. In total, Media Markt expects to invest some €30m in this operation. The first new store...

Flemish tourism officials and Brussels-born designer Diane von Furstenberg have launched an American campaign, called Via Antwerp, to promote Antwerp’s soon-to-open Red Star Line Museum, which is devoted to the story of emigration to the U.S. a century ago, writes Travel Weekly’s Nadine Godwin ...

The Mini-Europe park could relocate to Uccle, on the site behind the Nemo 33 aquatic centre, La Dernière Heure reports today. " Plan B is becoming Plan A," says Thierry Meeus, the park’s managing director. The lease for the current Heysel site ends on August 31 and will not been renewed. In Uccle,...

Comedy and cabaret wrap up the Standupworld season at Théâtre 140 on June 22. Versatile performer Earl Okin kicks off proceedings with his entertaining combo of song and gags. The jazz and bossa nova musician is particularly adept at keeping an audience in thrall. He is followed by cabaret act...

The secretary of state for public service, Hendrik Bogaert (pictured) , wants overtime to be exempt from tax. "Those who want to work overtime should be able to do so without limit, in a system where gross is equal to net," he says in De Tijd this morning. "It would only apply to days of eight...

The total value of the diamonds stolen during last February’s robbery at Brussels Airport is thought to be closer to €300m than the original quoted amount of €37m, De Morgen reports today. Morocco’s intelligence services argue that Antwerp’s diamond sector has downplayed the value of the loot for...

Apple has updated its warranty policy in Belgium, offering all buyers a two-year warranty as standard, writes iDownload’s Christian Zibreg . Apple’s insistence on upselling European customers to its paid AppleCare extended coverage has failed to impress authorities in Europe, where two-year...

The group calling itself Anonymous Belgium, which had threatened to “liberate the internet” by launching an attack on Belgian cyberspace on June 15 has revealed its true identity: a Brussels-based commercial law firm specialising in IT law and intellectual property. "We are not hackers. We only...

Owners and staff of three cannabis-selling cafes went on trial yesterday in the southern Netherlands charged with selling cannabis to foreigners, in a case both sides of a heated drug debate in this border city hope will clarify the legality of a clampdown on so-called "coffee shops", writes...