Belgium

Floralia Brussels, the flower festival at its 23rd edition, has opened in Château de Grand-Bigard to showcase a garden with more than one million tulips of 400 varieties and an array of spring flowers

The Brussels citizens’ collective '40 Comités' in an open letter called on the Capital Region's new Minister-President to tackle insecurity and cleanliness, and to further step up the fight against poverty and homelessness

A medical crisis team will be set up in Flanders to help people during large-scale health and welfare emergencies; initially the new team will comprise around 100 medical volunteers, enabling the service to respond to a crisis situation in 48 hours

The number of vacancies requiring a university degree has fallen to an all-time low, -35% y-o-y with market losing 23% of job offers; administrative and IT are the less required jobs as experts say artificial intelligence is not the only cause

An investigation will clarify the incident aboard the M940 Oostende, a new minehunter, occurred at Zeebrugge docks in West Flanders, as smoke was noticed aboard the ship, though no fires were detected

Historic La Chapelle shunting station may be lost as its owners didn't secure investments for renovation; the iconic building is severely damaged and the Port of Brussels may order demolition even as the public calls for it to be used for the community

The number of families waiting for social housing in Brussels Region has risen from 50.000 to over 59.000 in one year; waiting time for securing social housing in the capital ranges from nine to thirteen years, depending on the type of housing requested

10.000 farmers from all EU Member States took to the streets of Brussels to denounce the impact of EU agricultural policy and the controversial EU trade agreement with Mercosur countries, now postponed to no sooner than 2027

A street dealer in Antwerp attempted to sell drugs to undercover police officers this weekend, according to local police; the man was arrested twice in two days for the offence, has been apprehended around 30 times this year and is irregular in Belgium

Brussels Airport’s announced that "to guarentee the safety of passengers and staff" and "prevent long queues" all 206 departing passenger flights will be cancelled on 26 November; the impact on inbound flights is expected less severe

A 29-year-old former secondary school teacher from Bredene has been found guilty of sexual offences, including the rape of minors that were his pupils; the 5-year prison sentence will be suspended on provision that he abides by the probation conditions

A new plan to combat antimicrobial resistance will be launched amid a global rise in infections resistant to common antibiotics; the WHO calls the occurrence a “silent pandemic”

46 people were arrested in Brussels in a police operation targeting drug trafficking and organised crime; the announcement comes after a violent weekend with shootings in Saint-Gilles and on Boulevard du Midi, prompting authorities to continue efforts