A Belgian economic delegation led by Princess Astrid ( pictured ) flew to Angola last Sunday with an aim to boost local exports to Angola and help companies develop trading links with the emerging African country. Trade between Belgium and Africa is already following an upward trend, with exports...

Flemish transport minister Hilde Crevits officially opened the new visitors centre for the port of Ghent yesterday. The centre is located on the Rigakaai north of the city centre. The new facility is intended to form a single meeting place for the 15,000 visits to the port every year by companies,...

Cartamundi, one of the world’s leading producers of playing cards, has announced a joint venture with Amada Printing of Japan, home of some of the world’s most popular collectible cards. Under the terms of the 50-50 agreement, Amada will produce Cartamundi cards in Japan, at its factory near Tokyo...

The federal government is to take action to prevent further incidences of major fraud trials being thrown out of court because of relatively minor procedural errors, state secretary for anti-fraud policy John Crombez ( pictured ) has promised. Yesterday, we reported the dismissal of a case of a man...

Don’t miss a free concert by The Voice Belgium judge BJ Scott at the Hard Rock Café on Thursday evening in aid of breast cancer charity Pink Ribbon. The Alabama-born singer songwriter follows the band Cocoa. There’s more music at Festival des libertés (Liberty Festival) which runs until Saturday...

Antwerp has an excellent public transport network, but you could pick up a Velo (rental bike) from one of the 153 spots in the city. The first half hour of every ride is free and you’ll find them near every attraction. Hop on and off and park your Velo safely in the designated bike racks. A must-...

Last January, five years after I came to live in Brussels, I decided the time had finally come to learn Dutch. I was tired of not understanding the guttural tones barked at me between songs on MNM Radio. I wanted to understand with more clarity my Belgacom bill, which arrived every month in Dutch...

The average Belgian takes the train 21 times a year, and travels a total distance by rail of 1,004 km, putting Belgium in the Top Ten of rail users in Europe + Japan, according to figures published this week by Litra, the Swiss service for information on public transport. The survey shows wide...

A case involving fraud carried out by a Belgian prince has been dismissed by the Brussels court of appeal, with the loss to the state of €75 million in damages. Prince Henri de Croÿ-Solre, a member of a family of minor nobles whose family dates its titles back to the 16th century, was convicted in...

The Belgian author and journalist Thomas Blondeau died at the weekend of a suspected aortic rupture, his publisher De Bezige Bij announced yesterday. The 35-year-old wrote widely in the Flemish and Dutch press, including De Morgen , De Standaard , Klara.be and NRC Handelsblad . Blondeau was born in...