Belgium

After entering into 'light lockdown' mode last weekend, the country now sees the city authorities in Antwerp cancel three of the largest events from its “Winter in Antwerpen” festival: Christmas market, New Year’s Eve fireworks and New Years' Reception

The Belgian rail company NMBS has been forced to temporarily suspend around ten of its P-Train commuter services to and from Brussels due to staff shortages, mostly caused by illness and quarantine

Employers and unions are calling for maximum telework, where possible, at least until the end of the year

The fifth edition of the Bright Brussels festival ends today; postponed from February due to the pandemic, 2021 edition stretches along two routes for a total of some 15 highly immersive and artistic light installations on display

Government expands offshore wind zone: according to ministry plans, the North Sea development could be expanded to 3,5 GW and connected via an energy island

As of 1 January, the Brussels region will ban all diesel cars with the Euro 4 standard, which make up about 10% of the country's cars, with 38.009 units in Brussels alone

For the first time, contactless card payments in the shops of the country has overtaken the number of traditional card payments that require customers to insert their card and manually enter their PIN code

Carrefour Belgium has confirmed its supply difficulties: the chain is struggling to stock some of its shops in consequence of a strike by its logistics provider

About forty divers pulled out about five to six tonnes of rubbish from the bottom of the Ixelles ponds, near Place Flagey, including a dozen bicycles and many scooters, huge amounts of bottles, cans and glasses, mainly from the many bars in the area

Nineteen-year-old Zara Rutherford is making her solo flight around the world and she has just arrived in Panama City; she won't return home until November 4, when she expects to have landed in 52 countries, becoming the youngest woman in history to do so

A stretch of railway tracks in Flanders has been invaded by some dozens of 'Chinese beauty' snake; the animals are innocuous and human-shy but can be a threat to the environment

Wallonia adopted procedures to deal with the 155.000 tonnes of waste resulting from the floods: the refuse, collected beside the A601 motorway, will be processed using various methods in respect of the environment

The country leads the EU in terms of consumption of soft drinks, as one in five people above the age of 15 drinks sugary soft drinks at least once a day, the highest figure of all EU countries