Belgium recorded more strike action in 2025 than in any previous year

Belgium registered a record 1,354,845 strike days in 2025, as sustained opposition to the De Wever government’s pension, unemployment and labour-market reforms pushed industrial…

Who was Anne Thily, Belgium’s first female prosecutor-general?

Anne Thily, the first woman to serve as a prosecutor-general in Belgium and a central judicial figure during the Dutroux years, died in Liège on 19 August 2026 at the age of 88.

What does the White March still mean to Belgium 30 years later?

Hugues Jossa’s new Belgian documentary La Marche Blanche has returned Jean-Denis Lejeune and the vast 1996 demonstration in Brussels to the national conversation, three decades…

Did Belgium ignore warnings before the High Fens wildfire?

Belgian authorities contained the main fronts of the record High Fens wildfire after it burned roughly 3,000 hectares, but the disaster has revived warnings that fragmented…

Can Belgium stop rising borrowing costs from becoming a debt trap?

Belgium’s ten-year borrowing rate rose above 3.8% on 19 August, its highest level since 2012, intensifying pressure on Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s federal coalition as it…

Why did Belgium block the Chinese-linked takeover of helicopter operator NHV?

Belgian authorities have blocked the proposed takeover of Ostend-based helicopter operator NHV by Irish leasing company GD Helicopter Finance, citing risks to national security,…

Can Belgium contain the historic High Fens fire before it burns underground for months?

Firefighters halted the High Fens wildfire short of the German border on Monday, but authorities said the roughly 3,000-hectare blaze was not yet contained and peat fires could…

Can Belgian doctor Hans Kluge win the race to lead the WHO?

Was Belgium prepared for the High Fens wildfire, as Interior Minister Quintin insists?

Federal Interior Minister Bernard Quintin told parliament that Belgium’s emergency system was prepared for the High Fens wildfire and functioned as designed, while acknowledging…

Belgium’s first national climate-risk assessment exposes major preparedness gaps

Belgium’s Climate Risk Assessment Center has identified 28 major climate and ecosystem risks and concluded that adaptation policies need strengthening, adding official weight to…

Brussels restaurant Flamme closes temporarily after kitchen fire

Restaurant Flamme in Saint-Gilles has announced a temporary closure following an August fire in its kitchen extraction system, La Libre reported on Thursday.

Why did Brussels close its parks and woodland for several hours?

Brussels authorities temporarily barred access to regional and municipal green spaces on 27 August as thunderstorms and potentially dangerous gusts approached Belgium, with…

Can Brussels’ new drugs commissioner turn coordination into results?

Brussels’ recruitment of a regional security and drugs commissioner entered its final phase on 3 September, with 11 candidates still reported to be in contention and an…

Can Bouchez withhold €131 million from Brussels social housing over the Mostefa affair?

MR president Georges-Louis Bouchez said on 3 September that his party is blocking €131 million for Brussels’ regional housing agency until Lotfi Mostefa leaves the chairmanship of…

Brussels Airlines strike notice targets Tel Aviv flights, not the wider network

ACV Puls has filed a strike notice at Brussels Airlines over compulsory crew assignments to Tel Aviv, but no strike date has been announced and the union says any action will be…

Stray bullet enters sleeping woman’s bedroom during third Brussels shooting of the weekend

A bullet entered a sleeping woman’s first-floor bedroom near Porte de Hal in Saint-Gilles on Sunday morning, 23 August, without injuring her, according to reporting by Het…

Will Brussels lose 1,000 reception places before winter?

Federal–Brussels talks have ended without an agreement to halt the planned removal of 1,000 reception places, two days after aid organisations and trade unions mobilised in…

One injured and several detained after stabbing near Brussels-North Station

A stabbing near Brussels-North Station injured one person on Tuesday afternoon, while police detained several suspects and opened an investigation into circumstances that remain…

Can a single police command curb Brussels’ latest wave of shootings?

Brussels’ six police zones placed specialist teams under a single operational command on 26 August after six shootings were recorded across Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles and Molenbeek…

Brussels mayors unite police command after renewed gun violence

Brussels’ 19 mayors placed the capital’s six police zones under a single operational command on 26 August, combining officers, intelligence and camera monitoring in response to a…

Who can steady Musea Brugge after its director’s sudden departure?

Musea Brugge director Kristl Strubbe resigned on 1 September after thirteen months in charge, leaving the City of Bruges to stabilise a depleted leadership team just months after…

Aalter firefighter Bart Verheyde heads to New York for 25th anniversary of 9/11

Aalter volunteer firefighter Bart Verheyde will leave Belgium on Saturday for a ten-day visit to New York and Washington, joining nine other Belgian firefighters for events…

Flanders, the Netherlands and Germany strengthen joint defences against major wildfires

Flemish, Dutch and German authorities have agreed to intensify cross-border wildfire prevention, detection and emergency coordination through five existing cooperation projects.

Mechelen narrowly avoids flooding after lock malfunction

A lock problem sent the Binnendijle in central Mechelen about 70 centimetres above its normal level on Tuesday morning, but waterway staff lowered it before homes flooded or…

Why did one blocked lane cause a 45-minute queue on Antwerp’s Ring?

A crash blocked the right-hand lane of Antwerp’s R1 near Deurne on 24 August, creating a 45-minute queue from Antwerpen-West for traffic heading towards the Netherlands.

Antwerp police seize €16,000 and 120 cocaine packets in taxi-linked dealing cases

Antwerp police have seized about €16,000 in cash and 120 packets of cocaine after detecting suspected dealers using taxis, according to local reporting based on police…

Eight-year-old Omar evacuated from Gaza and brought to Belgium for treatment

Eight-year-old Omar, a relative of the Palestinian-Belgian Alsafadi family in Olen, has arrived in Belgium after being evacuated from Gaza for urgent specialist treatment,…

What does West Flanders’ youngest priest earn — and why does the Belgian state pay him?

Antwerp police investigate distraction theft of two luxury watches near Botanic Sanctuary

Antwerp police are examining camera footage after two men allegedly used a dancing distraction to steal a Rolex from hotel guest Nico Jasica near Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp early…

What does Wevelgem’s quickly contained kitchen fire tell us about everyday safety?

Firefighters brought a small kitchen fire in Wevelgem under control quickly, according to Het Nieuwsblad. Publicly accessible reporting confirms the location and outcome but…

Verviers adds wildfire vigilance to planning after High Fens blaze

Verviers said on Thursday that fire risk will receive close attention in future public-space projects after the High Fens wildfire, with the planned rehabilitation of the wooded…

What does Charleroi’s final tribute to Jacques Van Gompel say about his complicated legacy?

Charleroi’s municipal councillors paid tribute on 31 August to former mayor Jacques Van Gompel, who died in Gilly on 21 August aged 79, closing a fortnight of official and…

Scientists test wildfire prediction model during High Fens blaze

Scientists have tested a fire-prediction model against the wildfire in Belgium’s High Fens, with initial comparisons showing promising results, according to VRT NWS.

How does TEC Hainaut turn new recruits into bus drivers?

LeTEC strike halts Charleroi buses and cuts one in three Liège-Verviers journeys

A 48-hour LeTEC strike halted all buses in Charleroi and cancelled about one journey in three across Liège-Verviers on Thursday 27 August, with further disruption scheduled for…

Yellow rain alert brought heavy showers to Wallonia and Brussels

Belgium’s yellow rain warning expired late on Wednesday, 19 August, after covering Brussels, every Walloon province and Flemish Brabant as heavy showers crossed the country.

What does the Nivelles carnival assault ruling say about alcohol and responsibility?

A court has convicted a man over an assault that left a woman bleeding on the ground during the 2026 Carnival of Nivelles, rejecting intoxication as an adequate explanation for…

High Fens smoke drove extreme air pollution while Walloon alert rules stayed inactive

Smoke from the High Fens wildfire pushed PM2.5 concentrations in Vielsalm close to 700 micrograms per cubic metre on 16 August, but Wallonia’s regional alert criteria were not met…

Hautes Fagnes fire raises fine-particle health concerns across eastern Belgium

A major wildfire burning in Belgium’s Hautes Fagnes since Friday has damaged extensive areas of the nature reserve and sent smoke across the region, prompting warnings that fine…

What is known after a worker fell at the Van der Valk construction site in Charleroi?

A worker fell several metres at the future Van der Valk Hotel Charleroi Centre construction site on 18 August and was removed by the fire service’s specialist GRIMP team using an…

What is known about the man arrested with a Kalashnikov at Brussels-Midi?

Belgian officers arrested a man at Brussels-Midi on Thursday morning after customs staff found a Kalashnikov-type weapon in his luggage following his reported arrival by train…

Iceland rejects renewed EU accession talks despite Brussels hopes

Icelandic voters rejected reopening European Union accession negotiations, with 52.8% voting no in the 29 August referendum, leaving Brussels without the strategically important…

Russian drone strike and warehouse blasts kill at least 27 near Kyiv

A Russian drone strike on a warehouse in Myla, near Kyiv, triggered secondary explosions that killed at least 27 people and injured 42, Ukrainian authorities said.

Why did Brussels queue for hours for the last eclipse glasses?

Brussels residents queued for up to two hours on 12 August as several retailers ran out of certified glasses before Belgium experienced a deep partial solar eclipse.

How did Blankenberge café owner Jill Broos reach the world’s Stella pouring final?

Horeca Vlaanderen and Blankenberge mayor Björn Prasse have honoured café owner Jill Broos after she represented Belgium and finished second at Stella Artois’s 2026 Global Perfect…

Nepal-Tibet floods leave at least 168 dead as three Belgians remain unreachable

Catastrophic flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border region on 26 August, leaving at least 168 people dead and more than 1,300 missing; Belgium’s Foreign Ministry has been…

How did a fuel leak force flights away from Charleroi Airport?

Brussels South Charleroi Airport reopened its runway on Tuesday evening, 25 August, after fuel spilled during an aircraft’s departure and forced several incoming flights to divert…

Can Aerospacelab’s IRIS² contract turn Charleroi into a European space hub?

Belgian satellite manufacturer Aerospacelab has secured a major role in the European Union’s IRIS² secure-communications programme, linking its expanding Charleroi production base…

Can Liège Airport police Europe’s e-commerce parcels without choking its cargo economy?

Brussels turns Hokusai’s Great Wave into a floral emblem of Belgian-Japanese ties

Brussels displayed a Hokusai-inspired flower carpet on the Grand-Place from 13 to 16 August, placing a Belgian-Japanese cultural celebration among the week’s stark images of real,…

Why are West Flanders’ football clubs turning to teenagers before the new season?

SK Roeselare, RFC Knokke and Jong Essevee added teenage players to their squads in early August, while William Dutoit left his coaching role at Thierry Ambrose’s FC Trust project.

What does the final Choc Wallon verdict mean for Standard and Charleroi?

Belgian football’s Disciplinary Council has ordered Standard Liège and Sporting Charleroi to play one home match each behind closed doors and fined both clubs €10,000 after…

What do six-figure foal sales at the Brussels Stephex Masters reveal about Belgian show jumping?

Two foals fetched more than €100,000 at the Stephex Exclusive Breeding Collection auction in Wolvertem, underlining Belgium’s international influence in show-jumping breeding…

Can Waregem’s Year of the Horse turn a European championship into a lasting legacy?

Flanders launched the Lotto Year of the Horse in Waregem on 25 August, beginning a region-wide public programme that will culminate in Belgium’s first senior FEI Jumping European…

Can Van De Geuchte and Madiani change the balance in West Flanders’ provincial league?

SV Wevelgem City signed defender Gauthier Van De Geuchte from neighbouring FC Gullegem on 20 August, while Sparta Heestert recruited former French professional Aristote Madiani…

Drammeh double gives Standard first win in lively Walloon derby

Standard de Liège beat RAAL La Louvière 2-0 at Sclessin after substitute Salieu Drammeh scored twice in six second-half minutes, securing the Liège club’s first Jupiler Pro League…

How did 540 KLJ members turn Groot Veerle into one vast summer camp?

KLJ Sint-Lenaarts brought about 540 members from 17 Antwerp provincial branches together in Groot Veerle, Brecht, on Sunday 23 August for a regional sports festival combining…

Can Sporting Charleroi turn smart transfers and coaching continuity into lasting stability?

Sporting Charleroi have entered the 2026-27 season with Mario Kohnen permanently in charge after five wins in nine Europe Play-off matches, while a selective transfer campaign has…

What do Excelsior’s four European medallists reveal about Brussels athletics?

The City of Brussels scheduled a public reception at City Hall on 26 August for four Royal Excelsior athletes who won one silver and three bronze medals for Belgium at the…

Can Christophe Boeckx’s new Gentbrugge boxing gym bring more people into the ring?

Christophe Boeckx has moved Beats Per Minute Boxing from Destelbergen to a permanent gym in Gentbrugge, where the recreational club is preparing an open evening on 3 September…

Why did Charleroi judges impose eight years for attacking an ex-partner and her mother?

The Charleroi Criminal Court sentenced a man to eight years in prison on 13 August for two attempted murders committed against his former partner and her mother in Carnières on…

Why is Belgium’s judiciary warning politicians after the Grégory Lenoci judgment?

Belgium’s College of Courts and Tribunals has urged political officeholders to act responsibly after judges in Namur received threats following Grégory Lenoci’s 17-year prison…

Why did a Liège court impose a one-year prison term for selling two heroin wraps?

The Liège criminal court sentenced a repeat offender to one year in prison and a €10,000 fine for selling two wraps of heroin in the city centre, a judgment that highlights…

What does the Liège partner-violence case mean for victims seeking help in Belgium?

A man is being prosecuted before the Liège criminal court over allegations that he strangled his partner and held a cushion over her face; he denies the accusations, and no…

Why has the Grégory Lenoci verdict divided Belgium over justice and vigilantism?

A Namur court sentenced Grégory Lenoci to 17 years in prison on 20 August for attempting to assassinate his neighbour, after supporters demonstrated outside the courthouse and…

Anne Thily, Belgium’s first woman prosecutor-general, dies in Liège

Anne Thily, the former Liège prosecutor-general who became the first woman to hold that rank in Belgium, died in Liège on 19 August 2026. Her tenure encompassed the institutional…

Is Flanders ready for Belgium’s new Criminal Code?

What does Friday’s raadkamer hearing mean in the fatal Heusden-Zolder case?

A man described as a friend of the person killed in a fatal collision linked to Heusden-Zolder is due before the raadkamer on Friday after an investigating judge placed him under…

Why was a young Belgian suspect rearrested over the killing of student Jasin in Spain?

Belgian and Dutch fugitive teams arrested a 19-year-old man near Ghent on 25 June 2026 over the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Dutch national Jasin A. in Fuengirola, Spain, in…

Why did a cocaine courier stopped in Rixensart receive 150 hours of community work?

A Belgian court sentenced a cocaine courier intercepted in Rixensart to 150 hours of community work after he delivered drugs across Wallonia, according to reporting published on…

Why has Belgium’s Court of Audit sharply criticised the financing of the Liège tram?

Belgium’s Court of Audit has sharply criticised the financial management of the Liège tram project, whose dedicated Walloon budget allocation reaches €40.015 million in 2026, up…

5 things to know about Charleroi’s shop-window prize contest

Charleroi CentreVille launched a six-day promotion on 31 August involving 48 shops: customers spending at least €20 can estimate the value of a prize-filled window and compete to…

What does the burglary at a leading Uccle chocolatier reveal about business security in Brussels?

Burglars targeted Jérôme Grimonpon’s chocolate shop in Uccle, prompting the award-winning artisan to voice a loss of confidence in Brussels as official figures show that shop…

How did Louis-Marie Piron go from struggling student to a Walloon business heavyweight?

Thomas & Piron is marking its 50th anniversary in 2026 with a new chief executive and nearly 3,000 employees, turning Louis-Marie Piron’s improvised start in rural Wallonia into a…

What does Flanders’ first seven-day artisan bakery reveal about Belgium’s new shop rules?

Brood en Banket Neirinck in Machelen-aan-de-Leie has moved to seven-day opening after Belgium abolished the compulsory weekly closing day on 13 August, making the family bakery an…

Will the new auction rule hollow out Nieuwpoort’s fish market?

Nieuwpoort’s council has approved a new agreement governing Belgium’s three fish auctions that prevents catches from a single voyage being divided between Belgian and foreign…

Can Antwerp Airport survive after TUI leaves its scheduled-flight business behind?

5 takeaways from the design prize won by Brussels’ new digital metro signs

Do Europe’s depleted gas stocks point to a new energy crisis?

European gas storage is roughly 60% full in mid-August 2026, almost 20 percentage points below the level recorded around the same time last year, leaving the market with an…

Has the EU’s €3 small-parcel duty started to slow Liège Airport’s e-commerce boom?

Cargo traffic at Liège Airport fell by nearly 4% between 1 and 5 July 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, an early decline reported after the European Union introduced a…

What can visitors expect from Monster Chetwynd’s Middelheim performance weekend?

Monster Chetwynd will stage a free performance weekend at Antwerp’s Middelheim Museum on 12 and 13 September 2026, activating her outdoor exhibition with participatory…

What will Lost Frequencies bring to a landmark Brussels restaurant?

Brussels DJ Lost Frequencies and three partners have taken over the former Toucan sur Mer premises in Ixelles, with a renamed Mediterranean restaurant provisionally due to open in…

Are Belgium and the Netherlands becoming a narco-state?

VRT released the four-part documentary series Drugsdelta on 1 September 2026, examining how cocaine trafficking connects Antwerp and Rotterdam with production regions and…

Does the latest court defeat end Trump’s fight over ‘birth tourism’?

A federal judge in Maryland blocked Donald Trump’s renewed attempt to deny US citizenship to broad categories of US-born children on 2 September 2026. For Belgian travellers, the…

Did Balagan World turn Brussels’ canal into an international house-music crossroads?

Brussels collective Balagan World scheduled its largest open-air event to date at Quai de Heembeek on 29 August, pairing international house figures Folamour, Seth Troxler and…

How should you plan a summer wedding as heatwaves become harder to ignore?

A BBC investigation published on 4 August 2026 documented how intensifying European heat is pushing couples and wedding businesses to change ceremony times, venues, clothing and…

Did blue-green algae sink Ghent’s open-water swimming experiment?

Ghent’s three temporary open-water swimming zones remained closed through their final scheduled day on 30 August 2026 after cyanobacteria kept the water below safety requirements.…

How did Aalst’s CIRK! draw 35,000 visitors despite the downpours?

Aalst’s 17th CIRK! street-circus festival attracted an estimated 35,000 visitors from 28 to 30 August 2026, although heavy Saturday rain forced programme changes. The practical…

Can the ‘Bonkers’ podcast calm the back-to-school storm in a child’s head?

Het Nieuwsblad highlighted its new Dutch-language children’s podcast ‘Bonkers’ on 1 September 2026 as a playful way for families to discuss worries returning with the school year.…

Are the High Fens open after the wildfire — and where can visitors safely go?

Walloon Tourism Minister Valérie Lescrenier and German-speaking Community Tourism Minister Gregor Freches have reassured visitors that the High Fens are not wholly closed,…

What does West Nile virus in around ten Flemish horses mean for people in Belgium?

Flemish health authorities said on 3 September 2026 that around ten horses in Vlaanderen had contracted West Nile virus, while no locally acquired human infection had been…

Could a Brussels-backed study change how Belgium prevents migraine?

UZ Brussel neurologist Jan Versijpt has co-authored an international trial finding that atogepant prevented migraine more effectively and caused fewer treatment withdrawals than…

Did a swim in the Ourthe infect seven Flemish teenagers with salmonella?

Seven Flemish teenagers at a holiday camp near Liège have been diagnosed with salmonella after swimming in the Ourthe, according to Het Nieuwsblad, but the precise source of the…

Belgium faces vast care-building renovation gap as heatwaves intensify

La Libre reported on 10 August that 95% of Belgium’s care homes and hospitals require renovation by 2050, drawing renewed attention to whether ageing healthcare buildings can…

Can Antwerp’s planned Oncopolis bring cancer research closer to patients?

The University of Antwerp and Antwerp University Hospital plan to establish a cancer-research centre called Oncopolis on the UZA campus in Edegem, using a substantial private…

Can a Leuven café’s split terrace ease Belgium into its 2027 smoking ban?

Leuven eetcafé Kaminsky has divided its terrace into smoking and non-smoking sections ahead of Belgium’s planned federal ban on smoking and vaping on hospitality terraces from 1…

Why is Flanders still using a pneumococcal vaccine that misses the strain killing children?

Four young children in Flanders have died since 2025 from invasive pneumococcal infections caused by the emerging 12F serotype, according to figures confirmed by the Flemish…

What should patients know about Imelda Hospital’s campaign against aggression?

Imelda Hospital in Bonheiden has launched a campaign against workplace aggression after recording 208 incident reports in 2025. Patients and visitors are being asked to raise…

How did Belgium’s salmonella egg outbreak grow to at least 300 cases?

Belgian authorities have linked at least 300 cases of Salmonella Enteritidis to eggs from Laerco BV in Geel, prompting a second recall, the blocking of the entire production site…

Why are children who are not ill living in a Belgian hospital?

Two very young siblings removed from their family are staying in the paediatric ward of CHU UCL Namur’s Sainte-Elisabeth site because no suitable child-protection placement is…