Belgian racing pigeon sells for €1.6 million at auction

The pigeon, New Kim, was acquired by a wealthy Chinese buyer. Pigeon racing is an age-old working class hobby rooted in Belgian and Dutch life that has gained popularity in Asia as a gambling activity.

Long established in countries such as Belgium, France and China, pigeon racing only took off in Senegal over the past decade after hobbyist ornamental-bird breeders stumbled across the sport on the internet.

At least 26 residents of a Belgian care home have died of COVID-19 and dozens more are infected after a volunteer dressed as Father Christmas distributed presents.

Belgian fans in Brussels celebrate and react after their 2-1 victory over Denmark in Copenhagen on Thursday.

When 80-year-old Xavier Bouget goes for a ride on his bicycle, tinkers in his workshop, waters his garden or sits down to eat a biscuit, he has a constant companion: a white female pigeon called Blanchon. Bouget, a retiree from the northwest French region of Brittany, befriended the bird when it was a chick and now it tags along with him everywhere, sitting on his shoulder or walking along beside him.

Drone images show the extent of the floods in the Belgian city of Pepinster. The death toll in Belgium jumped to 23 with more than 21,000 people left without electricity in one region.

The Belgian city of Dinant has seen one of its districts devastated by violent torrents of water and mud, leaving residents to clear up the mess and cars destroyed. Robert Closset, the Deputy Mayor of Dinant, says "I really ask our Belgian government to send specialists to guide us towards what we should do for the population, because this must never happen again."

Five mixed raced women taken from their mothers in DR congo as children have gone to court after suing Belgium for crimes against humanity. The trial is the first of its kind. About 15 000 bi racial children were forcibly separated from their black mothers in the former Belgian colonies of DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. They were called children of sin and dumped in orphanages by the state.

After French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France and its European partners are to begin a military withdrawal from Mali after more than nine years fighting a jihadist insurgency, FRANCE 24 speaks to Belgium's prime minister. Alexander De Croo calls the French-led pullout "unfortunate" and insists it is "important to not break any ties with Mali. We are very concerned about the political developments, but the moment you break ties, we don't have any influence anymore. It's important for the Sahel region to get stabilised."

In Madagascar's south crops regularly fail due to drought and land erosion. For farmers like Kazy Zanapijo pigeon peas, a staple crop in India, are an answer.

Many Congolese people are hoping for an apology when Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde visit the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first visit of a Belgian royal couple in 12 years.

Ahead of a visit by Belgian King Philippe, some in Congo want to know if he'll apologize for the brutality of Belgium's colonial past and what the benefits are of such a visit.