Although Couchsurfing (CS) today is most identified as an online community that allows you to travel the world surfing strangers’ couches, many forget its other purpose: to connect (or reconnect) you with your local city. Indeed, the Brussels CS community is a worthy portal for expanding friendship...

In a bold move, Belgium has sent letters to around 2,712 citizens of other EU member states asking them to leave the country for burdening the welfare system. The letters have been issued as the number of unwanted residents made to leave has tripled over the past three years. Although the notices...

A cyber attack on a Belgian professor now has the federal judicial authorities investigating the case with possible links to the American National Security Agency (NSA.) Jean-Jacques Quisqater, a leading expert in the field of data security, was allegedly hacked in a cyber attack that is being...

According to the latest figures, burglaries are keeping Belgium’s police extremely busy with an average of 208 reported incidents each day across the country. The government report reveals that in 2012 police received 75,570 reports of homes broken into. In the first half of last year the number...

The Federal Parliament last week approved a proposed law that recognises clinical psychologists and orthopedagogists as health professions and provides a legal framework for psychotherapy. Patients can now be sure of the quality of the mental health care they receive from these professionals, who...

What do you do? I’ve worked as a shoemaker for the last 30 years. My first two years starting out I was a paid apprentice for a shoemaker who taught me the tricks of the trade. When my apprenticeship came to an end, I took full management of one of the shoemaker’s shops. You may be surprised to...

Brussels Airlines (BA) issued a declaration of war yesterday against low-cost airline Ryanair, with the announcement of an extension of their network just as the Irish airline gets ready to begin flying out of BA’ home base at Brussels Airport. BA’s 400,000 additional seats come in part from nine...

The Brussels agency for the homeless, Samusocial, was able to open its doors to 200 extra people seeking a bed last night, after federal asylum minister Maggie De Block opened up a new building as a homeless shelter. The organisation had to turn away 166 people the previous evening because of lack...

The latest figures released from Belgium’s central bank are good news, showing that the country’s economic growth is at its strongest since the first quarter of 2011. The final quarter of 2013 marked a 0.4% growth in the economy. This marks an upward trend that began last year as the second quarter...

Belgium has found a great way to stuff the coffers by handing out fines to motorists, and a lot of them. Last year, drivers in Belgium donated handsomely to the state, shelling out the amount of €430 million, the majority of it in traffic fines. The 2013 take increased by €50 million over last year...