In Ghent, capital of East Flanders, archaeologists may have found traces of a medieval city gate. These are believed to be the foundations of the Ketelpoort. The excavations are being carried out in phases as part of the redevelopment of Flanders’s busiest tram line, between Gent-Sint-Pieters Station and the commercial hub of the Veldstraat. The works will continue until 2029 and cost 23 million euros.

The City of Brussels plans to build a new Dutch-medium school campus on the Thurn & Taxis site. The campus will accommodate 800 pupils and will combine primary and secondary education with sports facilities. The final design of the campus will be decided through a design competition. The office of Anaïs Maes (Flemish socialist Vooruit), the alderwoman responsible for Dutch-language Education in the capital, announced the news earlier in the week.

Belgium had more excess deaths due to heat waves this summer than any other country in Europe, with politicians under pressure to come up with a solid heat plan for the future

Customs officials found a loaded military-grade weapon on a young man travelling into Brussels from France

The hilarious Ig Nobel Prize, which celebrates the more absurd scientific research ignored by its more sophisticated namesake, comes to the port city

For the first time in 20 years, a Belgian prime minister has been invited on an official visit to India, the fastest growing geopolitical power in the world

Claude Peru Luwara, a Congolese refugee in Belgium, is in hospital after undergoing a third violent attack in an attempt to silence him.

A team at the Leuven university-hospital have developed a technique to repair major damage to the midsection of the body using tissue from a deceased donor. The new procedure saves the patient from a lifetime use of anti-rejection medication.

Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (Francophone liberal MR) wants electric scooters to be fitted with number plates. He unveiled his proposal in the House Home Affairs Committee, which is meeting to discuss the recent shootings between drug gangs in Brussels. Scooters are often involved in drug-related violence, and compulsory number plates could make a significant difference in the fight against drug-related crime, says Quintin.

The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden are asking the European Commission, the EU’s executive, to devise a solution that would allow the frozen Russian assets held at Euroclear, the European securities depository, to be used to support Ukraine after all. This brings a matter that seemed to have been settled last December back onto the European negotiating table and puts Belgium back in the grinder.

Starting this week, guests can check in for a night spent in the historic De Hoop windmill in Elen (Dilsen-Stokkem - Limburg). The windmill, which is still used to grind grain to this day, will now also serve as a guesthouse. The people behind the project explain the accommodation is needed to ensure this gem of Limburg heritage can be preserved for the future.

The Cadillac in which King Boudewijn, Belgian head of state from 1950 to 1993, made his ‘triumphal entries’ in the early 1950s is set to go under the hammer at the Zoute Grand Prix in Knokke-Heist (West Flanders). The current owner’s family bought it in the mid-1970s for 2,500 Belgian francs, equivalent to a good 60 euros. It is expected to fetch between 40,000 and 70,000 euros.

For the first time, we are spending more than an hour each day travelling to and from work. This emerged in an international study by HR services provider SD Worx, the findings of which appeared in Flemish daily Het Laatste Nieuws. The average Belgian worker’s commute takes 61 minutes a day, which is well above the European average of 48 minutes.

“Put my daughter Raïa’s name on the table.” That is the appeal from Davy De Witte (45) from Waasmunster in East Flanders to Prime Minister Bart De Wever (Flemish nationalist N-VA). Davy has never seen Raïa (6): his ex-partner fled to India with their daughter and is suspected of parental abduction. The pair are also on international wanted lists. PM De Wever is visiting India this week.

The family of the missing Belgian-Latvian woman, Julija Jakovicka, aged 47, is urgently seeking information about what happened to her during the devastating mudslides on the border between Nepal and Tibet. Julija had lived in Ghent for many years and was on a group tour at the time of the natural disaster. She is one of three Belgians reported missing.

Eddy De Mulder (60) from Ninove (East Flanders) has been declared brain dead in hospital after being attacked by a nest of Asian hornets. Daily Het Laatste Nieuws reported the news that the family have meanwhile confirmed. “Eddy wasn’t allergic to wasp stings, but the amount of venom was probably too much,” says his cousin Guy.

Helena from Portugal is starting her sixth year at secondary school in Deinze (East Flanders) today. The 16-year-old exchange student is staying with a host family in Kruisem (East Flanders), where, temporarily, she is taking the place of Sienna, the family’s 15-year-old daughter, who is leaving for Greece at the end of this week for her own exchange programme.

Today is the first day back at school for hundreds of thousands of young Flemings. It’s also a new chapter for Bruno, who arrived in Belgium from Angola in 2024. After a year and a half in the reception programme for non-Dutch-speaking newcomers (OKAN), he is starting Year 3 at the Sint-Lucas School in Antwerp. “I’m going to study a new subject that I’m really keen to pursue: architecture and visual arts,” he told VRT.

A buyer has been found for the former Audi car assembly plant in Vorst (Greater Brussels): the Heylen Group, a company based in the Kempen District is purchasing the site. It plans to develop a large business park, hosting local firms and international players. In the long term, the project is expected to create 3,000 jobs, roughly the same number as the jobs lost due to the closure of the Audi car assembly factory. A year and a half ago, the last car rolled off the production line at the Audi factory in Vorst. Since then, the site, covering some 55 hectares, has stood empty.

From 1 September, helmets are compulsory for riders of electric scooters capable of travelling at speeds exceeding 20 kilometres per hour. The regulation has been introduced by the Federal Mobility Ministry.

More than 1.2 million Flemish children and young people are returning to school this morning.

“I promised Minister Prévot that I would refrain from making disparaging statements targeting Belgian officials and would direct those complaints to the government directly as a first course of action.” That’s what US Ambassador Bill White said following a meeting with Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Francophone centrist). White was called to account (once again), this time for a fresh attack on Belgian Deputy Premier and Health and Social Affairs Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Flemish socialist).

People from Brussels took to the streets of the Belgian and Flemish capital last weekend in search of wild yeasts on fruit trees. There are many different types of yeast in Brussels, both on fruit and in the air. These are yeasts that enable lambic beers to be brewed. Several researchers are on hand to catalogue the yeasts.

After his meeting with US Ambassador Bill White Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot released a statement. White had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry after poking fun with Belgian Deputy Premier, Health and Social Affairs Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Flemish socialist Vooruit).

Everybody in Belgium will feel the impact of the federal government’s imminent decisions to shore up the country’s national finances says Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever (Flemish nationalist N-VA). The federal PM was speaking on the French-medium independent radio station Bel RTL. “It’s keeping me awake at night; I think about it often,” the Prime Minister said.

“I’m not at all happy to be here discussing something I reposted on my personal account,” said US Ambassador Bill White on his arrival at the foreign ministry this morning after being summoned to give an account of his actions by Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Francophone centrist). The ambassador was called in to answer for a dig at Belgian Health and Social Affairs Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Flemish socialist Vooruit).

The Mayor of the City of Brussels Philippe Close (Francophone socialist PS) has pointed the finger at the Flemish port of Antwerp as one of the causes of the surge in drug-related violence in the Belgian and Flemish capital. “The drugs don’t just parachute in here. Why aren’t they taking more action up in Antwerp?” the mayor wondered aloud on Brussels broadcaster BX1.

For the first time, children in Flanders who speak a different language and arrive in Belgium will automatically have to attend a separate language support class from the second year onwards. There, they will receive a crash course in Dutch and be taught key minimum language skills so that they can make the transition to mainstream primary school as quickly as possible. Pupils who have been in Belgium for some time but do not have a sufficient command of the language may also attend such classes.

From 1 September, the deadlines and conditions for vehicle inspections are being relaxed in Flanders. Passenger cars over four years old will now only need to be inspected every two years. The insurance certificate will no longer be checked during the inspection, a separate inspection of the tow bar will no longer be required, and the deadline for having major faults repaired will be extended to two months.

The Trappist beer Westmalle Dubbel is celebrating its 100th anniversary. In the 19th century, the monks at Westmalle Abbey began by brewing a table beer for their own consumption. Later, they introduced other varieties which they sold to support themselves. “That same philosophy has always remained intact,” they say.

The Belgian-Dutch railway company European Sleeper has announced plans to launch a night train service from Brussels and Amsterdam to Copenhagen (Denmark) and Malmö (Sweden) from the spring of 2028. European Sleeper has entered into a strategic partnership with the German train operator RDC. The launch of the new service is scheduled for April 2028. This will be European Sleeper’s first route to Scandinavia.

Belgium’s new government bond, offering more interest than savings accounts, is popular with the public – if the website isn’t

Not surprisingly, the weather sent more people to the coast this year, but made them hesitate to book a stay in Limburg. And Americans have taken to Ghent, spending more there than any other group of foreign tourists

The percentage of accidents involving vulnerable road users is bigger for EVs than for petrol cars. This is partly due to how quiet EVs are, says traffic institute

Schools in Flanders can now require children to repeat the third year of pre-school rather than leaving it up to the parents, a decision that will better prepare children to enter primary school, say experts

Bill White, the endlessly controversial American ambassador to Belgium, has again publicly insulted health minister Frank Vandenbroucke in an Instagram post using AI-generated content

It’s a moment we thought would never happen: The scaffolding has been removed from the front of Brussels’ iconic Justice Palace, revealing the beautifully renovated facade. Scaffolding on other parts of the building will remain in place as renovations continue for the next 14 years.

IT company Digital Hive has delivered a presentation showing how AI, robots and drones can be used in agriculture. According to the company, technology will enable farmers to gather much more information. Farm minister Jo Brouns (Flemish Christian democrat CD&V) adds: “Technology will be needed to keep agriculture within climate limits”.

During a trial excavation, archaeology firm BAAC uncovered a medieval cemetery beneath the Vlasmarkt or Flax Market in Ghent. The city authorities in the capital of East Flanders had planned to plant a tree on this location following roadworks. BAAC estimates that there may be up to 240 skeletons buried here. The tree will now not be planted for the time being. Ghent has also decided not to carry out any further excavations at the minute.

The Nepalese Ministry of Tourism has announced that three Belgians are among the missing foreign tourists following flash floods in Nepal and Tibet (China). The Belgian foreign ministry previously said that 15 Belgian nationals were in the affected area at the time of the flash flood and that no contact had been established with three of them.

33 people have been sentenced to gaol terms of up to 7 years and fines totalling 696,000 euros for forcing Chinese women to “prostitute themselves day and night” for years. The sentence was passed down by the Ghent District Court. “The defendants lived off the women’s labour” the ruling states.

The Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) in Ukkel (Brussels) has issued a Code Yellow warning for localised severe thunderstorms from 5.00 pm. There is a risk of heavy rainfall, hail and strong gusts of wind. Emergency number 1722 has been activated.

A ‘Gold Commander’ is to be appointed in Brussels with immediate effect to coordinate the six police districts of the Brussels capital region, the mayors of Brussels have decided. Michel Goovaerts, Chief Constable of the Brussels-Capital Elsene police district, will take on this role. At the same time, interior minister Bernard Quintin (Francophone liberal MR) is deploying 50 additional police officers.

Ghent University has imposed a three-month mandatory remote working order on controversial American researcher Nathan Cofnas. During this period, he is not permitted to carry out any teaching activities. The university announced this on its website. Earlier today, Ghent university rector Petra De Sutter, the university's head, defended her university’s approach to the Cofnas case following international criticism.

In the Brussels borough of Sint-Gillis, local associations and groups are organising a rally to protest against organised crime. The rally to be held on Sunday is a response to the recent shootings in the municipality, which, according to the organisers, is suffering from “the growing influence of criminal organisations”.

Melexis, the Belgian chip designer and developer of chips whose product is primarily used in automotive sensors, is to supply Chinese automotive giant BYD directly. The company announced the news this morning.

Vital Borkelmans (63) has taken on a new challenge. The former Red Devil and deputy of Marc Wilmots as manager of the Belgian national men’s football team is set to take up the role of head coach at Forca Kochi FC, a young club based in southern India.

Since last Thursday, hundreds of birdwatchers have been flocking to the polders of Uitkerke in the seaside resort of Blankenberge. A rare saker falcon has been spotted. The saker falcon is a species of large falcon that normally lives in Eastern Europe and Asia. According to Frank De Scheemaeker of the Mergus birdwatching group, the bird accidentally strayed off course and has remained in the polders, low-lying land behind the coastline that is protected by a dike, because plenty of food is present.

Following Aldi, supermarket chain Colruyt is now also recalling courgettes because they contain excessive levels of heptachlor, an insecticide. Anyone who has bought the courgettes is asked not to eat them and to return them to the store. “As this is a slight exceedance of the limit, there is little cause for concern,” explains toxicologist Jan Tytgat.