The newly appointed prosecutor of Brussels, Jean-Marc Meilleur, has promised to improve the rate of cases that go to court. Currently about 80% of all crimes and offences are processed without a suspect appearing in court, and most of those are simply shelved. In 2013, the Brussels prosecutor’s...

Ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in June, which will see Belgium’s Red Devils on the pitches for the first time in 12 years, a security strategy is to be circulated to all municipal authorities to ensure that planned televised matches in public pass off peacefully. The move comes in the wake...

A new generation of supertrucks will be appearing on roads in Flanders from 1 July as part of a pilot project. But they will not be permitted in the Kennedy Tunnel under the Scheldt in Antwerp nor on parts of the Brussels Ring Road. The supertrucks can measure up to 25.25 metres in length, compared...

More than one and a half tonnes of illegal ivory was pulverised at the Colonial Palace of the Royal Museum of Central Africa, Tervuren, on April 9. The destruction of the ivory, which took place in the presence of the Minister of Health and Social Affairs Laurette Onkelinx and Mayor of Tervuren Jan...

The Japanese car manufacturer Toyota is recalling 26,249 of its cars in Belgium, as part of its worldwide recall of 6.4 million cars because of technical problems. In total, 27 Toyota models are affected, including the Corolla, RAV4, Hilux, Yaris, Tacoma, Urban Cruiser and Scion xD. In Belgium,...

La Gaume is not the Ardennes, we were told by a couple in their late 60s who picked us up in Neufchateau and were going all the way to Orval. It was our sixth car of the day, hitchhiking from Brussels to Belgium’s southern-most tip in a quest for fresh air and organic vegetables, and we were happy...