An estimated 481 Belgian residents are involved in the conflict in Syria, 55 of whom have been killed, according to new figures from historian Pieter Van Ostaeyen, reports Het Laatste Nieuws . The Belgian authorities maintain a lower total, but admit that there are on average at least two Belgians...

Supermarket chain Delhaize has launched payments by smartphone, using the Bancontact app, the company announced. The system currently can only be used in one store – the Karreveld location in the Brussels commune of Molenbeek. Delhaize promises to have the system in operation in 15 stores by the...

There are currently about 100 families living in Belgium with 10 children or more, according to Famifed, the federal agency in charge of family allowances, writes Het Nieuwsblad . As a counterweight to the large amount of work and worry that comes with having a large family, the state provides some...

The 19th-century Belgian priest Joseph de Veuster, better known as Father Damien, who is venerated as a saint for his work with leprosy patients, is to have a street named after him in New York, writes the Los Angeles Times . Father Damien was canonised in 2009 for his work in the leper colonies of...

Belgium’s Special Tax Inspectorate of the FPS Finance will take a closer look at popular real estate websites in an attempt to tackle fraud in the sector, including unregistered sales and the evasion of income tax, VAT and registration fees, report L'Echo and De Tijd. "Real estate agencies and...

Belgium lost a remarkable person on Monday, with the death of 110-year-old Anna De Guchtenaere, its oldest resident, various Belgian media report. Coincidentally, the world’s oldest person, 116-year-old Gertrude Weaver, died the same day. De Guchtenaere (pictured), formerly the oldest inhabitant of...

Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt is in full expansion, and has plans for at least two new Brussels locations for its popular organic supermarket chain Bio-Planet as from 2016. New branches of the organic and health-food store are set to open in Uccle, not far from Calevoet station, as well as in...

About 40% of people living in the Brussels-Capital Region complain about noise nuisance at home, according to the Health Survey 2013 by the Scientific Institute for Public Health, which questioned about 3,000 people. Noise is the main factor in the category of environmental factors that disturb...

Alexander Kristoff became the first Norwegian to win the Tour of Flanders bike race, outpowering and outsmarting his rivals on Sunday in a chaotic edition of the cobbled one-day classic. Kristoff held off Dutchman Niki Terpstra of Etixx-Quick Step in a two-man sprint finish after a brutal 264km...