There are many mysteries surrounding the tiny bronze Manneken Pis statue that has such a symbolic value for Belgium. One question that troubles scientists is whether the sculpture currently showcased as the original in Brussels’ city museum Broodhuis is in fact the authentic one. The Free...

Brussels’ Grand Place is about to become even grander when workers remove scaffolding on Tuesday after the latest one-year renovation. For the past 12 months workers have been painstakingly cleaning, shining and repairing the Baroque façades of several buildings on the northwest edge of the square...

Brussels police have beefed up the fight against illegal drugs this spring and summer, with targeted raids and arrests in the Marolles neighbourhood and the Boulevard du Midi. The move comes in response to a call from Brussels-City mayor Yves Mayeur, who called drug dealing a “serious nuisance” to...

The fire service in Ypres was called out on Monday to deal with more than 1,000 dead fish floating in the Ieperlee canal to the north of the city. The fish were found over a distance of five kilometres along the course of the canal near Boezinge. Fire service personnel from Houthulst and Lo-Reninge...

One in three seniors has purchased the €50 annual pass for public transport authority De Lijn, as free travel for the over-65s ends at the end of this month. So far the offer has been taken up by 271,289 of those eligible. “That is better than expected,” said De Lijn CEO Roger Kesteloot. “Our goal...

Choosing a school in Belgium is an important step in setting up a life here for your family, whether it’s for one year or for twenty. But it is especially important for children and adolescents who require extra support or alternative approaches than the conventional school system. There are...

Federal home affairs minister Jan Jambon has set up a task force to address human trafficking, in an effort to avoid the creation of “a Belgian Calais,” he announced at the weekend. “Crime will always take the line of least resistance,” he said on VTM News. “If the authorities in Calais become...

Starting this week, Belgium will offer extra temporary housing for asylum seekers to handle the growing number of applicants, particularly from the war-torn Middle East. The plan, approved on Friday, calls for mobile housing units to be set up on sites operated by the Federal Agency for the...

Jean Lambrecks, whose daughter was kidnapped 20 years ago in Ostend and later found murdered by serial killer Marc Dutroux, has filed suit against the children of Dutroux and his ex-wife and accomplice Michelle Martin. Lambrecks is demanding a share of their grandmother’s estate as part of the...

A survey by the Association of Belgian Pharmacists has found that 1,200 patients a year are at risk because of the lack of availability of certain medicines, reported La Dernière Heure . In 35% of cases, the shortage can have a serious effect on the patient’s health. “Every year, it is worse and...