Japan’s foreign ministry on Tuesday appointed former European council president Herman Van Rompuy "ambassador of the haiku", placing the Belgian politician in charge of the promotion of the classic Japanese poem as part of the cultural exchange between Japan and the European Union. Van Rompuy is...

More than half a million ecocheques go unused in Belgium every year, according to a parliamentary question from CD&V’s Stefaan Vercamer to economy, employment and consumer affairs minister Kris Peeters. Vercamer advocates the introduction of a single electronic card for both meal- and...

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expects Belgium’s economy to grow by 1.3% this year and by as much as 1.8% in 2016. OECD attributes the gradual economic growth to rising exports and investments. Domestic demand, meanwhile, remains weak due to widespread budget cuts...

Seven-hundred women, 25 challenges, eight hours and one city – those in a nutshell are the quintessential ingredients of Pop in the City, the urban race that sends female duos into cities for a day of unconventional exploring. “We like to call it experimental tourism,” says Clementine Charles, one...

Several Belgian universities yesterday took part in a signing ceremony at the residence of the US ambassador to Belgium, Denise Campbell Bauer. The universities signed an agreement with the Fulbright Commission, which arranges educational exchanges between the United States, Belgium and Luxembourg...

Consumers seeking help with a problem with a company now have one central place to turn: a new consumer ombudsman service introduced by Kris Peeters, federal minister for consumer affairs. The service is a “one-stop shop” for anyone with a complaint against a company. “Any time a consumer has a...

Brussels-based pharmaceuticals firm Domobios raised €100,000 by crowdfunding in only 18 minutes this week, to finance a new product against dust mites. House dust mites ( Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus ) live in homes, particularly in beds, where they feed on the tiny flakes of shed skin. As if...

Julie Vanborm of chocolate shop De Zwarte Vos in Deinze, East Flanders, created a praline that was chosen as the best Belgian praline during last Friday’s fourth national Chocolaterie Awards 2015 in Bruges. The 29-year-old chocolatier was also awarded first prize for originality. The jury assessed...

Gert Cockx, president of the police union SNPS, and his wife were arrested yesterday based on suspicion of tax fraud, conflict of interest, misuse of company property and bribery, confirmed the office of the prosecutor in Mechelen in Het Laatste Nieuws . Last week the investigating judge in the...

If you’re looking for European or international news in English, then one common port of call is the BBC. Most cable television networks in Belgium offer BBC1 and BBC2 for free. And if you’re looking for the BBC Brussels team in person, you need only head behind the Berlaymont building to the third...