Belgium News

Man dies at Tomorrowland electro fest in Belgium

By AFP

Apo - A man attending Belgium's Tomorrowland festival, one of the world's biggest electronic music events, collapsed and was later declared dead in hospital, organisers and medical sources said Saturday.

Trial for 2016 Brussels suicide bombings set for 2020

By AFP

Apo - Suspects charged in connection with the 2016 Brussels suicide bombings will be tried next year in the former NATO headquarters in the city, Justice Minister Koen Geens said Friday.

Flemish MP resigns over drunken car crash, claims of prostitute fraud

By AFP

Apo - A Flemish lawmaker who crashed his car drunk and allegedly helped a prostitute claim fraudulent unemployment benefits, resigned Thursday just weeks after being appointed speaker of the regional parliament.

Explosives found in Brussels, no sign Tour targeted: prosecutors

By AFP

Apo - Belgian police are investigating the discovery of home-made explosives, knives and brass knuckles, but nothing immediately points to an attack plot, including against the Tour de France, prosecutors said Monday.

Australia suspends search for Belgian backpacker

By AFP

Sydney - Australian police on Wednesday said they have called off a month-long search for an 18-year-old Belgian backpacker who disappeared from a picturesque surf town in May.Theo Hayez was last seen on May 31 in Byron Bay, hundreds of miles north of Sydney.

Charles Michel, Belgium's compromise craftsman

By AFP

Apo - Charles Michel, named on Tuesday to succeed Donald Tusk as head of the European Council, has been Prime Minister of Belgium since October 2014.

Frenchman jailed for five years in Brussels diamond heist

By AFP

Apo - A Frenchman was sentenced Thursday in Belgium to five years in prison for his role in a spectacular $50 million diamond heist at Brussels airport in 2013.

Bosnian arrested over 2015 Paris attacks: German police

By AFP

Berlin - German authorities said Thursday they had arrested a Bosnian man wanted in connection with the 2015 Paris attacks and are preparing his extradition to Belgium.

Belgium arrests man suspected of plotting attack on US embassy

By AFP

Apo - Belgian counter-terror police have arrested a man suspected of plotting an attack against the US embassy in Brussels, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Belgium says will work toward giving visas to Uighur family in China

By AFP

Bejing - Belgium says it is working toward providing visas to a Uighur family that went missing after being escorted out of its embassy in Beijing last month under murky circumstances.

Dad makes tearful plea for backpacker son missing Down Under

By AFP

Sydney - The father of an 18-year-old Belgian backpacker made a heart-rending appeal for help finding his son Monday, as Australian police admitted they were "baffled" by his disappearance from a picturesque surf town.

Six Belgian orphans from IS families arrive in Belgium

By AFP

Apo - Six Belgian orphans born to families belonging to the Islamic State group have arrived in Belgium, Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said on Friday."The six children from Syria have just arrived in our country," Reynders said on Twitter.

Syria Kurds hand over 6 Belgian orphans from IS families: official

By AFP

Beirut - Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria on Thursday handed to their Belgian counterparts six orphans born to families belonging to the Islamic State group, officials said.

Belgian king names pointmen to help forge new government

By AFP

Apo - King Philippe of Belgium on Thursday tasked two politicians with exploring ways that a new government can be formed following elections in which a far-right party scored a surprise second place.

Repatriation from Belgium of body of DRC's Tshisekedi delayed: official

By AFP

Apo - The repatriation of the body of former Congolese Prime Minister and opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi from Belgium to DR Congo was postponed at the last minute on Wednesday, an official source told AFP.

Belgium begins hard task of post-election coalition building

By AFP

Apo - Belgium on Monday launched the daunting process of forging a new coalition government after elections deepened the split between the Dutch speakers in the north and French speakers in the south.

Belgian far-right surges in elections

By AFP

Apo - Belgium's far-right Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang party made strong gains Sunday in national, regional and European elections, partial results showed.

Far-right advances in Flanders as Belgium votes

By AFP

Apo - The far-right Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang made strong gains Sunday in national, regional and European elections, partial results showed.

Former Belgian king faces fines if refuses paternity test

By AFP

Apo - The former King Albert II of the Belgians has been ordered by a court to submit to a DNA test or face daily fines of 5,000 euros ($5,600) lawyers said Thursday.

UN Security Council to meet on Syria's Idlib

By AFP

New York - The UN Security Council will meet Friday to discuss the escalation of fighting in Syria's northwestern region of Idlib, where hospitals and schools have been hit by strikes, diplomats said.

Japan's Abe to visit US, France on pre-G20 tour

By AFP

Apo - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Monday plans to visit the United States, Canada and France this month before his country hosts the G20 later this year.

Belgium holds 60 in sweep against Albanian gangsters

By AFP

Apo - Police have detained more than 60 suspects and seized thousands of cannabis plants in a major operation against Albanian gangsters spanning Belgium, France and the Netherlands, Belgian prosecutors said Friday.

Nicaruaguan government, opposition agree to resume talks

By AFP

Managua - Nicaragua's government and opposition agreed Wednesday to resume negotiations on ending the country's long-running political crisis after authorities pledged to release some protesters detained during anti-government rallies.

Tired of racism charge, Belgian 'Blackies' change colours

By AFP

Apo - The "Noirauds" or "Blackies" -- a group that marks Belgium's annual carnival season by charitable fund-raising in black face paint -- have changed their colours.

Brussels Jewish museum killer sentenced to life in prison

By AFP

Apo - The French jihadist who shot dead four people in a terrorist attack at a Jewish museum was on Tuesday sentenced to life in prison by a Brussels court, after prosecutors branded him a "coward" and a "psychopath".

Brussels Jewish museum killer facing jail says 'life goes on'

By AFP

Apo - A French jihadist found guilty of shooting dead four people in a terrorist attack at Brussels' Jewish museum joked Monday "life goes on" as prosecutors demanded he be jailed for life.

Frenchman convicted of Belgium Jewish museum murders

By AFP

Apo - A jury found Frenchman Mehdi Nemmouche guilty Thursday of the "terrorist murders" of four people at Brussels' Jewish museum, in the first case of a Syria jihad veteran to stage an attack in Europe.

Radicalised in jail, troubled French teen who became a jihadist killer

By AFP

Apo - Mehdi Nemmouche has been convicted of carrying out Europe's first terror attack by an Islamist fighter returning from the war in Syria.

Defence sums up in Brussels Jewish museum terror trial

By AFP

Apo - Lawyers for a Frenchman accused of murdering four people in a terrorist attack at the Jewish museum in Brussels insisted Thursday their client was not the killer, as his trial nears its end.

Germany struggles to quash Nazi war payment suspicions

By AFP

Berlin - A Belgian bid to stop Berlin from paying pensions to alleged Nazi collaborators has exposed a cloud of confusion and suspicion -- including in Germany -- over payments still made to 2,000 people worldwide.