The Flemish authorities will not accept any more adoption requests concerning children from Morocco, while awaiting the outcome of a case before the Cassation Court. The case concerns a child that was placed two years ago with a Flemish couple, who have now been approved for an adoption by the...

Brussels-City mayor Freddy Thielemans has confirmed that he will leave office in December, handing over the chain of office to his long-rumoured successor Yvan Mayeur, chairman of the city's social aid agency CPAS. Thielemans' departure plans were leaked some months ago, but were denied at the time...

The company operating the Brussels waterbus plying the canal between the port and the city of Vilvoorde have said they are satisfied with the results of the service, which closed down for the winter at the weekend. However while the company was hoping to break into the commuter market, most of the...

Brussels Airlines has been rated 121 of 188 international airlines for its climate-friendliness. The ratings were published last week by the German climate-protection group Atmosfair and are based on airlines’ carbon dioxide emissions, or carbon footprint. For years now, Atmosfair points out, car...

Three Nobel Peace Prize laureates took part in a visit to the Westhoek area of West Flanders yesterday, on the eve of their participation in an International Symposium on Science for Peace. Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters accompanied Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee, who won jointly in 2011...

Police evicted some 200 squatters, including about 90 children, from the Gesú convent in St-Josse in Brussels early on Monday morning. The expulsion came soon after mayor Emir Kir ( pictured ) had finally given in to requests for talks with the group – talks which in the end failed to convince the...

As an international nomad you can freewheel, following good weather around the globe or pursuing personal or work interests, and such a life could also have its fiscal advantages. Imagine you’ve cashed in your pension and are living off capital. Every year, from May to August you live in Brussels,...

There will be train services this Tuesday, 5 November, the rail authority NMBS said, but they could be severely disrupted, due to industrial action by the ASTB union. The union is protesting against the new rail timetable, which comes into force on 15 December, and which, ASTB says, will result in...

The cost of a train ticket with the Benelux train from Brussels to The Hague will go up next month by 8%, with additional increases for journeys with connections to other destinations, the Dutch rail authority NS said. However they denied this was a price increase, arguing it is a return to the pre...

Do your homework: invest in products you understand; study the small print before you buy; understand the risks and what return is expected or guaranteed. Know how to get out and at what cost. Be aware of the taxation of the product according to your personal situation. Property can be a long-term...