The number of high-speed internet connections in Belgium increased sharply in 2013, so that 35% of the fixed internet connections are now faster than 10 Mbps. According to a report published by Akamai, a leading provider of cloud services, this puts Belgium in seventh place among countries with a...

American donut and coffee chain Dunkin' Donuts is planning to open branches in Belgium, according to a press release from the chain, which is looking for franchisees. The chain - which has nearly 11,000 restaurants in 33 countries - wants to expand in Europe. There are currently branches in Germany...

In 2013, Belgian notaries recorded 15% more divorces than the year before. "The economic crisis may be one of the factors to blame for more marriages gone wrong, but the effect is only being felt now," said Bart Van Opstal, President of the Belgian federation of notaries, in Het Nieuwsblad and De...

Jan Peumans, the speaker of the Flemish Parliament, made a public apology yesterday on behalf of “the whole of Flemish society” to past and future victims of child sexual abuse. The apology was printed out and placed in a frame to hang in the parliament building. The declaration follows a recent...

Renewable energy provider Electrawinds was pulled back from the brink of bankruptcy yesterday as creditors agreed to a rescue plan, which was then approved by the Ostend commercial tribunal. Under the deal, the Liège-based Tecteo – a consortium of municipal authorities known as an intercommunal –...

In 1983, Belgium counted 38,128 pubs. More than 30 years later, in 2012, that number has more than halved to 17,512, according to figures from Guidea, knowledge centre for the the tourism and hospitality industry. Although Belgium is known abroad as a nation of beer drinkers, the reality is that...

The spring school holiday, which ended on Monday, was a major success for tourism at the Belgian coast, according to West Flanders tourism organisation Westtoer. “About 1.3 million day trippers travelled to the coast over the whole Easter holiday,” said Westtoer chair Franky De Block in a statement...

The state of alert in the nature and heathland areas of Antwerp and Limburg provinces was raised to orange at the weekend because of the increased risk of fire due to the continued dry weather. Areas affected included the Kalmthout heathland in Antwerp and the Mechelse heath near Maasmechelen in...