KU Leuven library tower The original Leuven university library was destroyed in 1914 during World War One, as German soldiers set fire to the city. Not only was the building itself destroyed, but 300,000 volumes burned along with it. The burning and destruction of the library symbolised a...

As of 2013, one in nine residents of Belgium is a foreigner, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The 1.2 million people have only a foreign passport. The majority of them come from the Netherlands, France and Italy, each with about 150,000 people, writes...

Federal police have begun patrols in border areas in order to combat illegal immigration and human trafficking. The first patrols took place in Limburg province this week in the presence of home affairs minister Jan Jambon. Police have set up checkpoints to examine lorries and vans at random for...

The average person spends more than nine hours a day sitting down, a situation that is “dangerously unhealthy,” according to a report by the Flemish Institute for Health Care Promotion and Illness Prevention (VIGeZ). For most of us, the better part of the day is taken up with sitting still, either...

A student renting out a room in Belgium will spend an average of €4,375 per year, or €349 per month, all expenses included, according to the Flemish Centre for Budget Advice and Research (Cebud), writes Het Laatste Nieuws . The calculation is based on prices for student rooms with a sink. Studios...

During the official launch of its new academic year on Tuesday at Bozar, The Free University of Brussels (VUB) announced an increase in the number of new students for the seventh year in a row. With more than 20% foreign students, the VUB is the most international of the Flemish universities,...

Belgium's first Apple Store opened on 19 September in Brussels, to the delight of hundreds of Apple fans who queued up early in the morning to attend the grand opening. The shop, located in the Toison d'Or Arcade, is the first to be designed entirely by Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive and...

The new Brussels museum, Train World , is gathering steam for its grand opening on Friday at Schaerbeek Station. The museum highlights the history and evolution of railway technology in Belgium. Director Pieter Jonckers has high expectations for the museum, aiming to attract as many as 100,000...

A family of Syrian refugees, two parents and three children, have become the first to move in with a local family. They moved from the tent camp in the Maximilian Park in Brussels to their new foster home at the weekend. The Sommet Citoyen (Citizen Platform), a volunteer group of residents working...

The University of Leuven (KU Leuven) is taking measures to battle the publication pressure that threatens to devalue quality of research, rector Rik Torfs told De Morgen . Rather than placing emphasis on how many articles have been published, the university is introducing a system of profiles in...