Belgium has its first confirmed case of coronavirus, after one of the Belgians repatriated from China at the weekend tested positive. The patient arrived in Belgium on a specially chartered flight from Wuhan on Sunday night and was due to spend two weeks in quarantine at Queen Astrid military...

Biomedical s cientists at KU Leuven have discovered how a defect in a specific gene works to cause Parkinson’s Disease. A defect in the ATP13A2 gene was known to be one of the causes of the disease, but it was previously not known how. KU Leuven researchers have now discovered the gene’s function...

AGC Glass Europe is investing €10 million in the group’s plant in Wallonia, to build a production unit for its new vacuum glazing. The technology, called Fineo, will be produced primarily to thermally and acoustically insulate windows in both residential and office buildings. Fineo is being...

With 2.4 billion monthly users, Facebook and its various platforms, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, have conquered social media. Now, the US company plans to revolutionise global finance by creating a new payment system via its own cryptocurrency: Libra. Facebook has brought together an...

In the dead of winter, Brussels puts on two light festivals on consecutive weekends to chase the gloom away - Citizen Lights in Schaerbeek (7-8 February) and Bright Brussels (13-16 February). Be they living tableaux, dance, interactive sculptures or performance art, there are 11 light-based...

Both the oldest man and oldest woman in Belgium died recently. Elisabeth De Proost passed away 11 days shy of her 112th birthday. De Proost (pictured) lived in a nursing home in Anderlecht, the municipality in Brussels where she was also born. Maurits Stael lived to 108 and died in an assisted...

The Brussels municipality of Saint-Josse has introduced a four-day working week for staff aged 55 and over - without any loss of pay or pension contributions. The voluntary measure aims to improve work-life balance for the council's longest-serving staff, while also opening up new opportunities for...

Pickpockets in Bruges have come up with a new method to distract their victims - and it involves fake pigeon poo. Police in the tourist hotspot say that, in at least two recently reported cases, a passer-by spilled or sprayed a white liquid over their target's clothing. They then approached the...

Plans have been unveiled for a new tram line linking the north of Brussels with the city centre, which could enter service from 2025. The tram will provide a much-needed extra connection to Neder-Over-Heembeek, the northernmost part of the City of Brussels, which is seeing rapid population growth...

Twelve Belgians have been repatriated from the Chinese city of Wuhan following the coronavirus outbreak and will spend a fortnight under medical surveillance. The Belgian travellers landed at Melsbroek air base, near Brussels Airport, on Sunday night. They were among a group of 44 people of various...