Belgium is about to get its first US-style class action for compensation, as consumer group Test-Achats squares up to travel company Thomas Cook. Press reports expect the groundbreaking case to be placed before the Court of the First Instance in Brussels today. The challenge concerns a Thomas Cook...

The former refugee camp set up by the Red Cross in Brussels’ Parc Maximilien is almost completely dismantled, as the newly arrived asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, move to the WTC office tower nearby for winter accommodation. Yet more than 100 people have remained in the park...

Frontier controls introduced at the Belgian border at the end of September are revealed to be rather thin in today's papers. The idea, announced 10 days ago by interior minister Jan Jambon, was to stem the flow of migrants arriving in the country and frustrate people smugglers. De Standaard recalls...

A cafe in Vilvoorde is facing closure if people are found smoking on the premises one more time, in what is reported to be the first case of its kind in Belgium. According to a report in Le Soir , the owner of the unnamed cafe has been fined €1,800 for breaking the anti-smoking law, but has also...

Use a passsentence instead of a password to improve your internet security. That is the message of a new campaign by Cert.be, the federal cyber emergency team. “Passwords remain the key to much personal and professional information,” said Cert.be co-ordinator Christian Van Heurck. “If you have...

From chip stands to sushi and a growing posse of food trucks, it’s no hardship to find reasonably priced snacks and meals in Belgium. The daily menus of cafes and bistros are another reliable source for a tasty hot lunch. At the other end of the scale, the country has an enviable tradition of fine...

Predictions that Belgium is at risk of power outages during the winter are unfounded, according to a study by CREG, the federal Regulatory Commission for Electricity and Gas, reported in today's papers. Looking at the winter of 2014-15 it found that there would have been little need to draw on the...

Three areas of Saint-Josse could be declared tourist zones under plans discussed by the commune this week. In particular, this would allow shops to stay open seven days a week. The plans concern Madou, Rogier and the area that brings together Botanique ( pictured ), rue Royale and chaussée de...

Academics in Belgium are congratulating themselves for a good showing in the World University Rankings . The country has four universities in the top 200 of the prestigious league table, produced by Times Higher Education , a specialist newspaper based in London. In all, Belgium has seven...

Measures announced at the start of the week aimed at making vehicles in Flanders cleaner do not apply to leased cars, budget minister Annemie Turtelboom has confirmed. Before that can happen, a co-operation agreement has to be reached with the Brussels-Capital Region and Wallonia. Flemish Minister-...