Belgium News

Stolen ancient Roman statue found in Brussels antiques shop

By AFP

Rome - An ancient Roman sculpture stolen more than a decade ago has been recovered after two off-duty officers spotted it in an antiques shop in Brussels, Italian police said Tuesday.

Pentagon chief Austin to visit Israel, Germany, Britain

By AFP

Washington - US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel, Germany, Britain and the NATO headquarters in Belgium in the coming week for talks with government and military leaders, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

Police charge Brussels April Fool's Day 'party' crowd

By AFP

Apo - Police on horseback and using water cannon charged a crowd of up to 2,000 people gathered in a Brussels park on Thursday for a fake concert announced on social media as an April Fool's Day prank.

European jihadists' children 'at risk of radicalisation'

By AFP

Apo - The children of European jihadists left trapped in a Syrian camp after their fathers' defeat on the battlefield now face radicalisation in their turn, a Belgian expert warns.

Five years on, former PM remembers bombings that changed Belgium

By AFP

Apo - It has been five years since Islamist bombers slaughtered 32 people in the Belgian capital Brussels, in an attack then prime minister Charles Michel says changed the country forever.

Star French florist weathers pandemic

By AFP

Apo - There was a time, pre-pandemic, that Thierry Boutemy's flowery creations graced catwalks, magazine covers and celebrity weddings.

Pandemic showcases Belgium as Europe's Vaccine Valley

By AFP

Wavre - A small country with an outsize reputation in research and pharmaceuticals, Belgium has emerged with a strategic role in the world's battle against the coronavirus.

Eat your heart out: Covid-safe Valentine's Day dining

By AFP

Apo - It's a Covid-era conundrum for Valentine's Day: how to eat out with your beloved when you live in a country where all restaurants are closed?

Iran diplomat given 20 years for Paris bomb plot

By AFP

Antwerp - A Belgian court convicted an Iranian diplomat Thursday for plotting a thwarted 2018 bombing of an opposition rally outside Paris and ordered him jailed for 20 years.

An Art Nouveau gem unmasked in Covid-hit Brussels

By AFP

Apo - An emblematic Art Nouveau mansion designed by Belgian architect Victor Horta has opened its doors to the public in Brussels, revealing a long hidden jewel of the city's Belle Epoque glory.

Meet 'baby' Claire, explorer of Antwerp's bad air

By AFP

Antwerp - Out for an afternoon hike, Veerle Bonaers and a friend stop pushing their baby and look down to their map, suddenly aware they have taken a wrong turn.

Belgian cafe owner holds sleep-in to protest virus shutdown

By AFP

Belgique - A fed-up cafe owner in Belgium is sleeping in her premises with little food, in protest at the months-long shutdown of her sector to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Family seeks justice for Lumumba, DR Congo's murdered hero

By AFP

Apo - Will justice ever be served for Patrice Lumumba?Aged just 35, the charismatic hero of Belgian Congo's independence was assassinated 60 years ago in a plot linked to the fledgling nation's colonial master.

Pompeo cancels last foreign trip amid Trump impeachment moves

By AFP

Washington - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday canceled his final foreign trip scheduled this week as President Donald Trump faces a second impeachment vote.

Ten to face trial for 2016 Brussels bombings

By AFP

Apo - Ten suspects will go on trial over the 2016 Brussels bombings, Belgium's worst peace-time atrocity that left 32 dead, a court source told AFP on Tuesday.

Belgian judges to decide on trial for attack suspects

By AFP

Apo - Belgian judges will decide on Tuesday whether to send a dozen suspected jihadist extremists to trial for their alleged roles in the March 2016 Brussels bombings.

Hungarian MEP resigns over lockdown party

By AFP

Apo - A conservative Hungarian MEP and close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban apologised Tuesday after Belgian police caught him fleeing a lockdown-busting party that local press described as an orgy.

Belgium tries Iranian diplomat over bomb plot

By AFP

Antwerp - An Iranian diplomat went on trial in Belgium on Friday accused of plotting to bomb an Iranian opposition rally outside Paris, in a case that has stoked tensions with Tehran.

Belgian policeman tried over Kurdish toddler's death

By AFP

Mons - A police officer who opened fire on a van full of migrants and killed a two-year-old girl expressed his regrets Monday at the start of a trial that has put Belgium's immigration policy in the dock.

Belgian policeman tried over death of Kurdish toddler

By AFP

Apo - Belgium's approach to policing undocumented migration will be in the dock Monday when an officer goes on trial over the shooting death of a two-year-old Kurdish girl.

Virus-drained nurses hang up uniforms for other jobs

By AFP

Apo - One is a pastry-cook. Another dreams of becoming a bookseller. All have slammed the door on the hospitals where they used to work, exhausted by wave after wave of Covid-19 patients.

Pigeon sells for record 1.6 mn euros to Chinese fancier

By AFP

Apo - An unidentified Chinese buyer on Sunday paid a world record 1.6 million euros ($1.9 million) for a female homing pigeon called New Kim, online auctioneers Pigeon Paradise (PIPA) said.The sale beat the 1.

Tanzania challenger vows return from Belgian exile

By AFP

Tienen - Last month, Tundu Lissu was campaigning for the presidency of Tanzania.Today, he is back in a simple ground floor flat in the small Belgian town where he recovered from multiple gunshot wounds the last time he was forced to flee his homeland.