A whale found beached on the shores of Greenwich has turned out to be a stunt from a Belgian arts collective, reports the Evening Standard’s Louise Jury . However they won’t be getting a visit from Greenpeace any day soon as the whale is made from fibreglass. The 17-metre specimen is an...

Production at one of the world's eight remaining Trappist breweries is again under threat, this time from the expansion of a limestone quarry which will cut off their water supply, writes The Independent’s Charlotte McDonald-Gibson . The monks who brew Rochefort beer at the Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy...

Storm clouds may be hovering, but nevertheless the Summer solstice means it is the annual and 29 th edition of the free music bonanza Fête de la Musique this weekend, June 21 to 23. No fewer than 700 concerts in 55 towns and cities around the two regions are programmed, with every musical genre...

The federal government is considering banning the sale of alcohol to anyone under the age of 18,Flemish broadcaster VTM claimed yesterday. At the moment, anyone can order a glass of beer or wine in a Belgian cafe from the age of 16. For spirits, such as vodka or whisky, the Belgian legal age is 18...

The European Commission has said that passengers travelling through the Channel Tunnel are being overcharged, BBC Business News reports. The EC said both passengers and freight services are paying over the odds for using the track through the tunnel, which is operated by Eurotunnel. Eurotunnel is a...

Netherlands-based recruitment firm Randstad Holding NV yesterday announced that its Belgian branch, Randstad Belgium, has entered into formal discussions with the country’s works councils about a restructuring plan. “The plan aims to create a more efficient and client-orientated organisation,” the...

Novelist Anna Mackenzie, a New Zealander specialising in young-adult fiction, has been awarded a writer's residency by Passa Porta, Belgium’s International House of Literature, writes the Dominion Post’s Tracey Chatterton . She applied for the residency while in Belgium last year researching a WWI...

Four Belgian citizens who had wanted to fight in Syria were arrested by Turkish police on the border, Belgian home affairs minister Joëlle Milquet has announced.She said the four Belgians had been sent back to Belgium on June 17, adding that this incident showed the excellent cooperation between...

Driving instructor Dirk Bosmans, 30, from Halle talks about what he earns and how he spends it What do you do for a living? I teach learner drivers and prepare them for their test. I help them practice their manoeuvres, and take them through possible test routes. How many hours a week do you work?...

Rock Werchter may be sold out but there are plenty of other Belgian pop/rock festivals worth checking out this summer. Here’s our pick of some of the best. Fête de la Musique - June 21-23 Kicking off the summer festival season is the 29th edition of the Brussels and Wallonia musical bonanza, with...