An apparent hostage-taking situation in Ghent yesterday was invented by the young man who reported it, the Ghent public prosecutor has revealed. The 18-year-old called police yesterday morning reporting that his friend had been taken hostage by four men armed with Kalashnikov rifles in the Dampoort...

Internet giant Google has announced the most popular search terms of 2014. In Belgium, the most popular search term was Facebook, followed by YouTube, Hotmail, Google and HLN. When it came to celebrities, Kim Kardashian turned out to be the Belgians' most popular choice, followed by Jeroen Meus,...

Insurance company Baloise has launched a new type of insurance policy to protect workers from income loss due to burnout. The policy is targeted at individuals, including both employees and the self-employed, reports Trends.be. Through its new policy, Baloise offers a guaranteed income in the form...

A recent study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) investigated how much time 15-year-olds in different countries spend on homework each week. In Belgium, a 15-year-old student spends on average 5.5 hours a week on homework, according to the study. That's less than...

A Saturday evening after eight and there was hardly a free seat to be had in Saint-Boniface Church in Ixelles. Entertainment not enlightenment was the flavour of the evening and the stragglers who shuffled in from the cold were offered condoms rather than spiritual guidance. All Our Voices Against...

Packing for a business trip or off on holiday? These innovations will make your trip smoother and smarter. Samsonite Ultimocabin carry-on case With its new Ultimocabin collection, American luggage maker Samsonite is reinventing the carry-on case. As always, the cases are rugged and light, but the...

Thibaut Courtois has become the first footballer to be named Belgian Athlete of the Year since the contest began in 1967. "It's very nice to be the first footballer to win this award, which is uncommon for a team player,” he told Het Laatste Nieuws. With a broad smile, 22-year-old Courtois entered...

Flanders’ minister for home affairs and urban policy, Liesbeth Homans, has approved a budget of €154,080 to subsidise two projects aimed at tackling radicalisation among young people. Homans said earlier this year in her policy statement that she wanted to support cities in implementing measures to...

Espionage by the British intelligence service GCHQ in Belgacom’s telecommunications network was more extensive than previously thought, according to documents revealed by De Standaard and the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad . In September last year, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported, based...

Female students in Belgium continue to choose the same disciplines as 50 years ago, according to a study by the Free University of Brussels (VUB), which examined the study choices of young women enrolled in Belgian universities in the years 1958, 1988, 2005 and 2011. The results of the study are...