The Belgian Asbestos Fund, created by the federal government to compensate sufferers of asbestos-related conditions, recognised 292 victims of mesothelioma last year. That is the highest number since the foundation of the fund in 2007 and 60% more compared to 2014. Mesothelioma is a cancer caused...

The saga of the deteriorating Brussels tunnels has taken a farcical turn after it was discovered yesterday that some of the original plans were stored in a space under the Reyers viaduct for years, and “were probably eaten by mice," report various Belgian media. The plans were temporarily stored in...

The Brussels Housing Fund has adapted the conditions necessary to qualify for a mortgage loan at a low interest rate when purchasing a home in the Brussels-Capital Region. With an aim to make the benefit available to more middle class families, the Fund now stipulates that a couple with no...

An increasing number of Belgian health insurance funds offer a reimbursement of the co-payment owed on doctor's consultations for children, making visits to the general physician or specialist free until a certain age. Many doctors fear that the new benefit will lead to an increase in unnecessary...

As part of a Ghent University (UGent) course that aims to bring together tomorrow’ designers with tomorrow’s engineers, three students have designed a headphone that selects and plays music based on users’ brain activity. A headphone with three tentacles that jut out from both sides, Emuse (...

Vera Rogiers and her research team at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) are developing a technique that will make it possible to test new drugs for their potential negative effects on the liver without resorting to the use of test animals. Rogiers recently received €30,000 in funding from the...

Brussels environment minister Céline Fremault will ban the use of disposable plastic bags in the Brussels-Capital Region, she announced before the Brussels parliament. The decision comes shortly after the European Union adopted a new directive aimed at drastically reducing the use of plastic bags...

Only Switzerland and Sweden are more expensive than Belgium when it comes to parcel delivery abroad, writes Money Talk. The postal service in Belgium is expensive in relation to other European countries because there is little competition between the parcel businesses, suggests the Belgian e-...

Antoinette Mélis, Brussels' oldest woman, has died. She celebrated her 108th birthday last year in October, writes Brusselnieuws. Mélis was a real Bruxelloise , who lived in the Brussels communes of Molenbeek and Anderlecht her entire life. She spent the last eight years in retirement home Paloke...

Some members of the military are growing increasingly disgruntled since the terrorist threat level was raised across Belgium, requiring the soldiers to patrol the streets and remain on high alert for months on end. Due to the increased work load, the soldiers say they are unable to use up all of...