The fault that shut down the Interconnector UK-Belgium gas pipeline today has been found, but the line will remain closed while the problem is rectified, the operator said. “The fault [the failure of a water/glycol pump in the Bacton boiler house] has been identified and we are seeking to rectify...

Bars and nightclubs are behaving stubbornly when it comes to the smoking ban, reports De Standaard. Spot-checks last year showed that one in four pubs was in breach of the law, while almost half of nightclubs were flouting the ban. Health ministry inspectors conducted 4,700 daytime and 900 evening...

With cheap spaces, a friendly scene and a thoughtful audience, Brussels’ arts scene is making some noise, writes the New York Times’ Jim Lewis . “The Belgian system is more flexible than the French,” says Almine Rech-Picasso, who moved from Paris in 2006, bringing with her a branch of her deluxe...

The top 50 American companies in Belgium contributed €1.7 billion in taxes and social security payments to the state coffers in 2012. This finding, and many others, is contained in the recently released report The Importance of US Companies in Belgium, published by the American Chamber of Commerce...

The Belgian army is unable to remove its 16 Salafist recruits, or even to prevent them from being promoted, La Libre reports today. The legal impasse was confirmed in a session of the Defence Committee, held behind closed doors in the houses of parliament. Two of the 16 Salafists have attained the...

Brussels Expo is about to get even busier with the opening of the Brussels National Arena in June, writes Venues Today’s Linda Deckard . The renovation of the Palais 12 exhibition hall into a 15,000-seat arena is on budget (€20 million) and on time (with a four-month construction turnaround). Now...

Criminals who take advantage of the border between France and Belgium to evade police pursuit have been targeted under an agreement between the two countries, reports the UPI agency . French Interior Minister Manuel Valls and Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Joelle Milquet, meeting Monday in the...

New Zealand cyclist Jack Bauer was left lying motionless on the road after a crash during a one-day race in Belgium, reports 3 News . The 27-year-old Garmin-Sharp rider fell 58km from the finish of the 199.7km Dwars door Vlaanderen race in Flanders. Television footage showed him lying face down...

One of Europe’s largest music festivals will be crossing over into the US, setting up a fairytale world with electronic dance beats for three days in Georgia, reports the Daytona Beach News-Journal . The Belgian electronic dance music festival will hold a similar three-day festival in Chattahoochee...

Irish cinema is centre stage at Bozar in a continuing focus during the country’s EU presidency. A series of films are running parallel to the art exhibition Changing States that features contemporary Irish art, plus works and objects from Francis Bacon’s studio. The films include Jim Sheridan’s...