Ben Weyts, the Flemish minister for animal welfare, has refused to lift a ban on slaughtering animals without first stunning them. The measure was being sought by Muslim organisations to allow them to celebrate the coming Feast of the Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha, by slaughtering animals at temporary...

Now that we’ve reached the end of a success sales seasons, perhaps you find your drawers and closets a little tighter, a bit too hard to close. It’s time to get rid of clothes, you decide. Of course, with the exception of the rattiest of undergarments, no one likes to just throw away old clothes...

A new law to allow the government to stock communications data has come in for criticism before it is even passed. It replaces a law that was declared void by the Constitutional Court in June. The data retention law allows the government to oblige telecommunications companies to store data on all...

The supermarket Colruyt is carrying out a pilot project in one of its branches offering extra discounts and points to clients who shop during off-peak hours, with the aim of reducing the long lines and parking lot traffic jams of the post-work, evening rush. The project, which will run til June...

The Free University of Brussels (VUB) will put the city’s most famous statue, the Manneken Pis, under the microscope to verify, once and for all, whether the current statue is the original, Brusselnieuws reports. Since its creation in 1619, the legendary bronze statue has been stolen many times,...

“Look, this is what it should be like.” Leen Ricour kneels and points to the ground. “Heath and ling [a heather variety], interspersed with flowering sundew.” This carnivorous plant, unsightly yet beautiful, has become rare in Flanders. A bit later, we spot a lizard scampering away. The rare plants...

Brussels region’s secretary of state for equal opportunities, Bianca Debaets, has joined with the regional business federation BECI to launch a programme aimed at tackling gender stereotypes in choice of career. According to research, young people in Brussels tend to make career choices along...

The life expectancy of a person born in Belgium is 218 days longer than it was two years ago, the Federal Public Service Economy has announced. Today the average Belgian lives to be 81.07 years old, according to De Standaard. Over the past 20 years life expectancy has risen sharply in Belgium, on...

A study by The Lancet Oncology confirms that in the last 10 years 200,000 cases of uterine cancer have been avoided by using the birth control pill. British researchers compared 27,000 women across 36 countries in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa who had been diagnosed with cancer of the...

Running is one of the most accessible sport activities one can do in Brussels. All you need to start is a pair of shoes, serviceable weather and some vague sense of direction. This ease of entry might explain much of its wide popularity – Brussels is home to several running clubs, including the...