A train derailed this morning around 8.20 upon leaving the station of Kortrijk in the direction of Mouscron, confirms rail infrastructure manager Infrabel. According to Infrabel spokesman Johan Vermant, the train was traveling at low speed when the accident happened. Twenty travelers were evacuated...

Prolific Canadian author Margaret Atwood is the next guest in Passa Porta’s excellent series A Writers’ Europe. Currently on tour to promote her latest opus, the final book in the trilogy series MaddAddam, Atwood talks to Flemish journalist Annelies Beck at Flagey on September 5. In the final...

Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders (MR) sees a way out in the discussion over top salaries for CEOs of public companies. The CEOs can retain their high salaries if the companies are further privatised, Reynders said this morning on Radio 1. If the government would continue to distance itself...

Opponents of a military intervention in Syria gathered in front of the old Stock Exchange building in Brussels yesterday. There were 250 protesters present, a ccording to the organisation Intal, while police report about a hundred. "All together for peace in Syria," shouted the protesters. Many of...

Drivers spend more time stuck in traffic in and around Antwerp and Brussels than anywhere else in the world, according to July figures from traffic software company Inrix, reports De Tijd . Brussels is the absolute champion when it comes to traffic. A driver there spends an average of 85.4 hours...

Schools in Brussels, from nursery and primary to secondary education, are increasingly prone to overcrowding. By 2020, some 42,000 additional places will need to be created in order to accommodate the growing population. This is according to a study published today by the Brussels Studies Institute...

Drivers in Brussels may be surprised lately when they are flashed by speed cameras disguised as garbage bags. According to the Brussels-Capital Region/Ixelles police department, the guise has helped them catch nearly a third more speed demons, writes Het Nieuwsblad . The idea came to the police by...

Technical copywriter Hilde Van Goethem, from Edegem, Antwerp province talks about what she earns and how she spends it What do you do for a living? I work for Vision, a creative and dynamic team active in the fields of communication, e-learning and technical documentation. I am currently seconded,...

The sale of electric bicycles is increasing more quickly in Belgium than in most neighbouring countries. This year some 50,000 electric models are expected to be sold, or one bicycle in eight. And the market for electric bicycles will continue to grow until 2016, according to a recent press release...

While Belgium counted 25 five-star hotels in 2011, last year there were only 15, a decrease of about 40 percent, the FPS Economy reports today. Its figures show that the number of overnight stays in Belgium in 2012 remained more or less stable at 17.8 million, but show a different image depending...