België heeft in 2025 meer stakingsacties geregistreerd dan in enig voorgaande jaar

België registreerde in 2025 een record van 1.354.845 stakingdagen, aangezien de aanhoudende oppositie tegen het pensioen, de werkloosheid en de hervormingen op de arbeidsmarkt van…

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…

MR verbindt met het vertrek van Mostefa 131 miljoen euro in Brusselse woningfondsen

De president van de MR, Georges-Louis Bouchez, zei op 3 september dat zijn partij de geplande recapitalization van het regionale woningbedrijf Brussel van 131 miljoen euro zou…

Brussels restaurant Flamme sluit tijdelijk na de keukenbrand

Restaurant Flamme in Saint-Gilles heeft een tijdelijke sluiting aangekondigd na een brand in augustus in zijn keuken-extractie systeem, La Libre meldde donderdag.

Waarom heeft Brussel haar parken en bossen voor een aantal uren gesloten?

De autoriteiten van Brussel hebben op 27 augustus tijdelijk de toegang tot regionale en gemeentelijke groene ruimtes verhinderd, aangezien onweer en potentieel gevaarlijke stormen…

Kan de nieuwe drugscommissaris van Brussel de coördinatie in resultaten veranderen?

De aanwerving van een regionaal commissaris voor veiligheid en drugs is op 3 september in zijn laatste fase gegaan, met 11 kandidaten die nog steeds in strijd zijn en een…

Kan Bouchez 131 miljoen euro terughouden van de Brusselse sociale woning in verband met de Mostefa-zaak?

President Georges-Louis Bouchez van de MR heeft op 3 september gezegd dat zijn partij 131 miljoen euro blokkeert voor de regionale woningbureau van Brussel totdat Lotfi Mostefa…

Brussels Airlines staking aankondiging richt zich op Tel Aviv vluchten, niet op het bredere netwerk

ACV Puls heeft bij Brussels Airlines een stakingmelding ingediend over verplichte bemanningsopdrachten naar Tel Aviv, maar geen stakingdatum is aangekondigd en de vakbond zegt dat…

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…

Wie kan Musea Brugge stevigen na het plotselinge vertrek van de directeur?

Kristl Strubbe, directeur van Musea Brugge, heeft op 1 september ontslag genomen na dertien maanden aan het werk, waardoor de stad Brugge slechts enkele maanden na de opening van…

Brandweerman Bart Verheyde gaat naar New York voor de 25e verjaardag van 9/11.

Een vrijwilliger brandweerman, Bart Verheyde, vertrekt zaterdag uit België voor een tiendaagse bezoek aan New York en Washington, waar hij zich bij negen andere Belgische…

Vlaanderen, Nederland en Duitsland versterken de gemeenschappelijke defensie tegen grote bosbranden

De Vlaamse, Nederlandse en Duitse autoriteiten zijn overeengekomen om de grensoverschrijdende preventie, opsporing en noodcoördinatie van bosbranden te intensiveren door middel…

Mechelen vermijdt nauwelijks overstromingen na een storing van het slot.

Een slotenprobleem liet de Binnendijle in het centrum van Mechelen dinsdagochtend ongeveer 70 centimeter boven zijn normale niveau liggen, maar het waterwegpersoneel deed het…

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 voegt brandwacht toe aan de planning na High Fens brand.

Verviers zei donderdag dat het brandrisico in toekomstige projecten in het openbaar gebied na het bosbrand in High Fens nauwgezet zal worden behandeld, waarbij de geplande…

Wat zegt de laatste eerbetoon aan Jacques Van Gompel over zijn ingewikkelde nalatenschap?

De gemeenteraadsleden van Charleroi hebben op 31 augustus een eerbetoon geschonken aan de voormalige burgemeester Jacques Van Gompel, die op 21 augustus in Gilly op 79-jarige…

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…

Kan de bemanning van Brussels Airlines vluchten naar Israël weigeren zonder gevolgen?

Brussels Airlines heeft op 3 september bevestigd dat piloten en cabinepersoneel op de route van Tel Aviv zich kunnen verklaren psychologisch ongeschikt om zonder gevolgen te…

Wat is er bekend over de man die met een Kalashnikov in Brussel-Midi werd gearresteerd?

De Belgische officieren hebben een man donderdagmorgen in Brussel-Midi gearresteerd nadat douanepersoneel een Kalashnikov-wapen in zijn bagage had gevonden na zijn aankomst met de…

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…

How deep is Colombia’s earthquake toll as the country turns towards reconstruction?

Colombian authorities have raised the confirmed toll from the 10 August earthquake to 331 deaths, 4,439 injuries and 240 people missing, replacing an early count of 69 fatalities…

What does Xàbia’s seven-day forecast mean for Belgian travellers?

Spain’s AEMET forecasts a mainly dry, warm start to September in Xàbia, with daytime highs around 30–32°C and no weather warning currently displayed for Alicante’s northern coast.…

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.

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,…

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…

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…

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…

Waarom heeft de Belgische Rekenkamer de financiering van de tram van Luik scherp bekritiseerd?

De Belgische Rekenkamer heeft het financieel beheer van het tramproject in Luik scherp bekritiseerd, waarvan de toegewijde begroting voor Wallonië in 2026 40,015 miljoen euro…

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…

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…

Rihanna sighting adds star power to A$AP Rocky’s Brussels tour launch

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…

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…

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…

Wat kunnen bezoekers verwachten van Monster Chetwynd's Middelheim performance weekend?

Monster Chetwynd organiseert op 12 en 13 september 2026 een gratis performance weekend in het Middelheim Museum van Antwerpen, waarbij ze haar buiten tentoonstelling activeert met…

Wat zal Lost Frequencies brengen naar een historisch Brussels restaurant?

Brussels DJ Lost Frequencies en drie partners hebben de voormalige Toucan sur Mer-locatie in Ixelles overgenomen.

Wordt België en Nederland een drugsstaat?

VRT bracht op 1 september 2026 de vierdelige documentaire serie Drugsdelta uit, waarin wordt onderzocht hoe de cocaïnehandel Antwerpen en Rotterdam verbindt met productiegebieden…

Beëindigt de laatste nederlaag Trump's strijd over geboorte-toerisme?

Een federale rechter in Maryland blokkeerde op 2 september 2026 Donald Trump's hernieuwde poging om de Amerikaanse nationaliteit te ontzeggen aan brede categorieën van in de VS…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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.…

Six dead in a Brussels tower fire: what do you actually do when a workplace emergency touches your family?

Four of the six people killed in a fire in a Brussels high-rise were employees of a Limburg metals company, De Standaard reported, a detail that turned a Brussels emergency into a…

Wat betekent het West-Nile-virus in ongeveer tien Vlaamse paarden voor de mensen in België?

De Vlaanderense gezondheidsautoriteiten zeiden op 3 september 2026 dat ongeveer tien paarden in Vlaanderen het West-Nile-virus hadden aangetast, terwijl er in België geen lokaal…

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…