“I know how difficult it is, honestly, to be an expat,” he says. “Whatever age you are, it’s difficult because you’re starting a new experience in your life.” Yet in those first few weeks after their arrival, newcomers in this country typically find many priorities tugging at their time and...

The Flemish public transport company, De Lijn, has previously announced its need to drastically reduce costs and come up with an additional €17 million to maintain services. The company is therefore considering the possibility of increasing its ticket prices by 5%. However, such a measure would...

"While Brussels is home to hundreds of chocolatiers, what makes a visit imperative… is the rich heritage of artisanal chocolate-makers,” writes The New York Times in an article about the 12 treasures of Europe . The piece appeared in the Travel section of the newspaper’s October 19 issue, for which...

It is only over the last few years that Halloween has hit Brussels every October 31st. But just because Halloween has not long been a tradition in Brussels, does not mean that you need to retire your pitchfork or hang up your witch’s cap. For both kids and adults, there are a few great places to...

The pharmaceutical division of multinational Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has put up €200 million for its Belgian subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica to speed up production of a vaccine against the Ebola virus. Janssen, based in Antwerp province, has been working on a preventive vaccine against...

The Belgian chocolate producer Isis has changed its name to avoid negative associations with current events in the Middle East. "Keeping the name Isis had become untenable," explains the company, referring to recent events in Iraq and Syria and the eponymous terrorist group, ISIS. "Isis launches...

The rapid growth of the renewable energy sector in Belgium is directly responsible for the creation of more than 10,000 jobs annually through 2020, according to a study by Ernst & Young, commissioned by three Belgian companies in the field of renewable energy, report De Standaard and De Tijd ...

According to the Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre (KCE), if post-natal care is reorganised, women could leave hospital sooner after giving birth. KCE was reacting to the new federal budget for medical insurance, which was approved on Tuesday. According to the new legislations, hospital stays...

A company in Leuven, Bio-Incubator, has received authorisation to keep as many as 6,870 animals next year for testing, which is a quadrupling of the current number allowed. Animal Rights Organisation ADC is threatening with actions and 300 individuals have already submitted an appeal against the...

This week we continue our look at Belgium's new federal government, headed by prime minister Charles Michel in a centre-right coalition. Maggie De Block, Minister of Social Affairs and Health Age: 52 Party: Open VLD (Liberal Democrats; centre right; colour: blue) Hometown: Merchtem, Flanders...