Everything you need to know about Belgium: news, reviews, in-depth analysis, opinion and more
Belgium: A Melting-Pot of Cultures
Belgium was invaded by France and Germany in early 1990’s and consequentially it now features varied cultures like Celtic, Roman, Spanish, Dutch, French, German and Austrian and can be referred as a true ‘melting pot’. Its located advantageously in the heart of Europe, thereby, it has an excellent infrastructure, especially in Brussels and the architectural wonder, Antwerp that are its major cities.
Belgium Quick Facts:
· National Name: Kingdom of Belgium
· Total Area: 30,528 sq km (11,787 sq miles)
· Total Population: 10,258,76
· National Capital: Brussels
· Major Languages: Dutch, French, German
· Major Religion: Christianity
· Currency: 1 Euro= 100 cents
· GDP per capita (PPP): $33,000 (2006 EST)
· Life Expectancy: 75 years (Male), 82 year(Female) (2006 EST)
Belgian Culture and Cuisine:
Belgium offers an amalgam of different varied cultures thereby it cannot be defined by one national identity. Its art and culture is significantly rich offering an artistic approach to its culture variation through surrealistic paintings and intricate architecture. Besides this, Belgians are known for their lavish celebrations during festivals and carnivals.
Some of the important festivals are:
· Carnival at Binche, held before Lent which includes carnivalesque activities and dancing in particular dresses. As men called ‘Gilles’ wear bright costumes with high, plumed hats.
· Procession of Holy Blood, which is an important children’s holiday commemorating St. Nicholas’s day.
Other than these, Belgians are also known for their music interests, Folklore and etiquettes regarding cleanliness, formal meetings, dressing etc.
Cuisine: This exotic country offers some delectable and sumptuous dishes which are famous world wide featuring a blend of French and German cuisines. The French fries were introduced in Belgium itself and not in France as the name suggests. Also it is known for its wide range of beers, chocolates such as Godiva, Callebaut and many others and also wafers. Some of the typical Belgian dishes include Waterzooi, a casserole of chicken, waffles, pralines, chocolates and a special beer.
Tourist Attractions in Belgium:
There are a number of places to visit in this country. No wonder every year a number of tourists throngs this place. If you are looking to travel to Belgium and mingle with the local Belgians you just cannot miss the great tourist attractions some of which include:
Antwerp: It is known as the Diamond center of the world and has a repute of having some splendid architectural designed buildings belonging to past centuries.
Brussels: This cosmopolitan city is known for its composition of Gothic cathedrals and churches featuring different architectural designs. The Grand’ Place is the historic market in this city having splendid guild houses and a unique Town Hall, considered as the most beautiful town square in Europe.
Other interesting places in Belgium include Ghent, Spa, Bruges, Leuven, Waterloo and Liege.
As the much awaited FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Final 2015 is all set to commence from tomorrow, 20 June 2015 in Antwerp,
Everyone's responsibility is defined and we have to stand up to it: Vandana Kataria
As the Fintro Hockey World League Semi-Final 2015 is set to commence in a few days, India Men Hockey Team is gearing-up for the tournament at Antwerp in Belgium.
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India Men Hockey team beat France in their first practice match by 1-0, which was played in Belgium on 13 June 2015.
Indian Women Hockey Team takes off to Belgium for Fintro Hockey World League Semi- Final 2015
With the series already in their name, India played to add another win to their name while Japan looked at ending the series with one win in their name. It was finally India who stamped its dominance as they went on to win the match 4-0 and claiming the series 3-0.
Focus is on our first clash against China at the Hawke's Bay Cup. Will take each game at a time: Sushila Chanu
London, May 3 (IANS) Real Madrid won the Spanish soccer league title for the 32nd time, their first time in four years. It was also coach Jose Mourinho's first here and seventh in four different countries.
Johannesburg, May 2 (ANI): Nearly 15 percent of people worldwide believe the world will end during their lifetime and 10 percent think the Mayan calendar could signify it will happen in 2012.
London, Apr 30 (ANI): Researchers have come up with the first sheet of single-atom thick silicon - dubbed silicene - which shows promise to replace wonder material graphene.
Washington, Apr 27 (ANI): Five years of Mars Express gravity mapping data are offering unique insights into what lies beneath the Red Planet's massive volcanoes.
Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Hundreds of people are likely to take part in a three-km long march here Thursday evening to mark the 26th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, Ukraine.
London, April 25 (IANS) A mosquito from Asia that spreads tropical diseases, including dengue fever, may soon hit the shores of Britain because of climate change, experts have said.
London, April 25 (ANI): Amnesty International has released a report on discrimination against Muslims in Europe, which has highlighted cases of prejudice in education and employment sectors against the community.
Sheffield (England), April 24 (IANS) Jamie Jones became the fourth qualifier to reach the second round of the World Snooker Championship, pulling off a shock victory over World No.5 Shaun Murphy 10-8.
United Nations, April 24 (IANS) A sum of $3.2 billion is needed to finance the fight against malaria by 2015 in Africa, the source of 90 percent malaria cases in the world, a special representative for a global framework against malaria said here Monday.
London, April 23 (IANS) Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic won their reverse singles matches to take Serbia into the Fed Cup final for the first time, beating Russia 3-2.
Paris, April 22 (IANS) Here are key facts on France, where voting in the first round of the 2012 French presidential election took place Sunday.
Washington, Apr 20 (ANI): Researchers have successfully replicated the chemistry of life in synthetic versions of DNA and RNA molecules, thus indicating that the pair of nucleic acids are not unique in their capability to encode information and to pass it on through heredity.
London, Apr 19 (ANI): Although cosmic rays were discovered 100 years ago, their origin has mystified physicists since long.
London, Apr 19 (ANI): Online paedophiles are abandoning known grooming practices and striking up highly sexualised conversations with their prey within just two minutes, a new study has warned.
London, April 16 (IANS) In a bid to help childless women become mothers, a 42-year-old Dutch man launched a free "baby making" service nine years ago. The man has sex with 15 women every month, and has fathered 82 children so far.
Washington, Apr 15 (ANI): Women who donate their eggs are not harming their chances of becoming pregnant later, a new study has revealed.
New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) Back home, they are bankers, school teachers or dancers. But many young women have come to India from foreign shores like Ukraine, Russia, Belgium and Norway as cheerleaders for the Indian Premier League (IPL), attracted not by the money but by the country's culture and tradition.
London, Apr 11 (ANI): A memorial cruise to commemorate 100 years of the Titanic had to turn back after a cameraman on board suffered a suspected heart attack.
Hyderabad, April 10 (IANS) EBS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Belgium-headquartered Ogone, specialists in online payment services, has been awarded India's most valuable e-commerce company of 2012.
London, April 9 (ANI): A chocolate Easter egg weighing over four tons and towering over 27ft high and 16ft wide was unveiled to a crowd of chocolate lovers in Argentina.
Paris, April 5 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Christie's has sold a group of more than 400 books, paintings, letters and other items from personal collections of French writer Victor Hugo and his descendants for 3.2 million euros ($4.2 million), the auction house said in a media communique.
Moscow, April 5 (IANS/RIA Novosti) FIFA has granted Russia a budget of $699 million to host the 2018 World Cup, a similar amount to that received by South Africa for the 2010 tournament.
Bangalore, March 24 (IANS) Ninth seed Donna Vekic, the 15-year-old from Croatia, ranked 397, won the $25,000 QNet ITF Open women's tennis tournament beating fourth seed Andrea Koch Benvenuto of Chile 6-2, 6-4 in the final here Saturday.
Bangalore, March 24 (IANS) Leading European bank ING Belgium selected Infosys' software product Finacle to transform its core banking operations, the Indian IT bellwether said Saturday.
London, Mar 24 (ANI): Shamed former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn took part in a seedy orgy in the basement of a Paris restaurant, it has emerged.
London, March 23 (IANS) Doctors have discovered a way of identifying breast cancer patients likely to suffer life-threatening side effects from chemotherapy, the Daily Mail reported Friday.
Washington, March 23 (IANS) The United States has said it's "working hard" with India to see if it can help reduce its dependence on Iranian crude and find alternative sources of supply, but no decision has been taken on imposing financial sanctions.
Moscow, March 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia last year exported over 32 million carats of uncut rough diamonds worth $3.81 billion, the finance ministry said. India, Belgium and Israel were the major buyers.
Washington, Mar 20 (ANI): Tech giant Apple has announced that it has sold a whopping three million new iPad units since its sale began Friday.
Washington, March 17 (ANI): Patients with congenital heart disease floss, brush and visit the dentist less than their peers, and researchers say these poor dental hygiene behaviours could increase their risk of endocarditis.
Washington, March 17 (ANI): Patients with congenital heart disease floss, brush and visit the dentist less than their peers, and researchers say these poor dental hygiene behaviours could increase their risk of endocarditis.
London, Mar.16 (ANI): Survivors of a bus crash that killed 22 children and six adults in a tunnel in Switzerland, have reportedly told their families that the driver was helping to change a DVD seconds before the accident.
London, Mar.16 (ANI): Survivors of a bus crash that killed 22 children and six adults in a tunnel in Switzerland, have reportedly told their families that the driver was helping to change a DVD seconds before the accident.
London, Mar.13 (ANI): A 47-year-old imam has died while trying to extinguish flames in a mosque in Belgium that was attacked by an arsonist.
London, Mar.13 (ANI): A 47-year-old imam has died while trying to extinguish flames in a mosque in Belgium that was attacked by an arsonist.
London, Feb 29 (ANI): Hundreds of people in New Orleans took part in breaking the Guinness World Record for the highest number of human dominoes.
London, Feb 29 (ANI): Hundreds of people in New Orleans took part in breaking the Guinness World Record for the highest number of human dominoes.
London, Feb 20 (ANI): Hitler would have set up his headquarters in a sleepy Midlands market town in Britain if he had succeeded in invading the country.
The first out of three Hockey Olympic Qualifier Series for both men and women is set to begin at Major Dhyanchand National Hockey Stadium from February..........
Those suffering from sleeping sickness may get a relief. In a recent study researchers have used a bacteria, which naturally resides in the tsetse fly, to release antibody fragments that can act against the trypanosome that causes sleeping sickness.
Washington, Feb 15 (ANI): In a new study related to sleeping sickness, researchers have used a bacteria, which naturally lives in the tsetse fly, to release antibody fragments against the trypanosome.
Manama (Bahrain), Feb.15 (ANI): The commander-in-chief of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) has claimed that a coup was attempted on the government on the first anniversary of anti-government protests.
London, Feb 13 (ANI): Nicole Scherzinger, who is used to wearing some raunchy attire as a former 'Pussycat Doll' member, jetted off on a short tour wearing just a pair of lacy tights.
Washington, Feb 11 (ANI): A spacecraft orbiting Venus has revealed that Earth's cloud-covered neighbour is rotating a little slower than previously measured.
London, Feb 10 (ANI): Expecting mothers who suffer from cancer can finally breathe a sigh of relief as a recent study has found that chemotherapy treatment after the first trimester does not harm the unborn child.
London, Feb 10 (ANI): Expecting mothers who suffer from cancer can finally breathe a sigh of relief as a recent study has found that chemotherapy treatment after the first trimester does not harm the unborn child.
London, Feb 10 (ANI): Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp, who emerged as favourite to succeed Fabio Capello, is interested in taking charge of England for this summer's European Championships, but the Football Association will have to persuade him to lead the team into the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.
London, Feb 7 (ANI): Doctors have for the first time fitted a 3D printer-created lower jaw to an 83-year-old woman's face in the Netherlands.
London, Feb 7 (ANI): Doctors have for the first time fitted a 3D printer-created lower jaw to an 83-year-old woman's face in the Netherlands.
London, Feb 6 (ANI): To get a better understanding of brain evolution, researchers had humans and monkeys watch Clint Eastwood's film.
London, Feb 6 (ANI): To get a better understanding of brain evolution, researchers had humans and monkeys watch Clint Eastwood's film.
Washington, Feb 4 (ANI): In a new study, a group of psychological scientists have tried to explore the relationship between silence and memories.
Washington, Feb 4 (ANI): In a new study, a group of psychological scientists have tried to explore the relationship between silence and memories.
Washington, Jan 24 (ANI): A 33,000-year-old dog skull discovered from a Siberian cave presents some of the oldest known evidence of dog domestication and suggests modern dogs may be descended from multiple ancestors.
Washington, Jan 24 (ANI): A 33,000-year-old dog skull discovered from a Siberian cave presents some of the oldest known evidence of dog domestication and suggests modern dogs may be descended from multiple ancestors.
