In the first four months of 2014, the number of companies that filed for bankruptcy was a quarter less than in the same period in 2013. The hospitality industry was especially spared compared to last year, according to numbers from commercial information specialist Graydon Belgium. There were 673...

About 1 million people suffer from asthma in Belgium, including 200,000 children, making Belgium one of the worst countries in Europe for the disease, according to a press conference by the Belgian Society of Pneumology. The Society is calling for more specialised centres for asthma patients. Ten...

The E40 motorway was the scene of massive traffic chaos on Monday after three lorries collided on the eastbound exit to the Groot-Bijgaarden petrol services and caught fire. One truck driver died, and the road was blocked in both directions for several hours. Emergency services feared the danger of...

The national rail authority SNCB/NMBS and the Italian rolling stock manufacturer AnsaldoBreda have reached a settlement in the dispute over the ill-fated Fyra train. AnsaldoBreda will pay the SNCB/NMBS €2.5 million in damages. The Fyra train was the intended replacement for the Benelux train...

There are 467 Belgians imprisoned abroad, according to reports from Sudpresse newspapers on Tuesday. The largest group is in France, with 91 Belgian detainees. Spain and Morocco have the next greatest number of Belgian prisoners, with 71 and 54 respectively, followed by Italy (23) and the UK (17)...

The unemployment rate in Brussels climbed to 20.6% at the end of April 2014, compared to 20.1% a year earlier, according to figures from Brussels employment office, Actiris. Brussels counted 109,331 jobseekers at the end of April 2014, 1.6% more than at the same time last year. The annual increase...

The 15th annual State of the World’s Mothers report, a ranking of the best and worst places in the world to be a mother, shows Belgium coming in at ninth place. Belgium is tied with Australia, the only country outside Europe in the top 10. The ranking, published annually by the NGO Save the...

Châtelain ban puts Brussels outdoor parties on the endangered list Drinking a glass of wine – or two, or three – after a long day of work is something that many Brussels expats hold dear to their heart. That’s why it comes as no surprise that outdoor happy hour events proposed in Brussels grow very...

Brussels Police resorted to the use of water cannon on Sunday in order to disperse a crowd of about 400 people who had gathered to attend an anti-Semitic rally that had been banned by Anderlecht mayor Eric Thomas. The independent MP Laurent Louis organised the extreme-right rally called Debout les...

Unions representing staff of Brussels-City have plans to strike on May 8, in protest at the city’s new parking policy. The action concerns office staff as well as workers in the municipality’s various services. The unions are angry at the new parking policy, which means an end to free parking cards...