Belgian government collapses over linguistic differences

Belgian Premier Yves Leterme’s government collapsed after negotiations broke down to resolve a long-simmering dispute between Dutch- and French-speaking politicians over a bilingual voting district.

Dutch-speaking Liberals, one of Mr Leterme’s five coalition parties, quit the Cabinet yesterday, accusing its Francophone counterparts of blocking a deal to break up the Brussels-area district the constitutional court ruled illegal in 2003.