More and more Flemings – around 44 per cent of the adult population -rarely or never drink alcohol. Four years ago, the figure was 36 per cent. The figure comes from a survey of 2,292 Flemings commissioned by the Stand Up to Cancer charity Kom op tegen Kanker. The organisation is announcing the results at the start of Sober October, an initiative to abstain from alcohol for a month.
The international drug network had been smuggling cocaine and cannabis via Brussels Airport for many years. In a major police operation in Belgium and France, 21 suspects were arrested and 27 properties were searched. The gang made use of cheap flight tickets to gain access to the baggage hall.
The Design Museum Gent, in the East Flanders' capital, is set to reopen this coming weekend after four years of renovations. The museum has been completely renovated and expanded to include an additional building. The façade features 82,000 bricks made in Ghent from construction waste. The refurbished Design Museum Gent will showcase 500 objects, nearly half of which the museum has never exhibited before.
Leuven University is warning students and parents about fraud relating to tuition fee payments. A number of parents received an invoice that looked genuine, but the account number had been altered to that of fraudsters. The university is now urging everyone always to check payment details before transferring any money.
Unia is preparing legal action against Nathan Cofnas, the controversial researcher at Ghent University. Unia is an independent Belgian public body that combats discrimination and promotes equal opportunities. According to the organisation, Cofnas ranks people on the basis of their origin or skin colour and uses scientific arguments to justify this. The organisation claims that as a result he may be in breach of Belgian anti-racism legislation and the UN convention against racial discrimination. Unia intends to take the matter to court.
The first artworks have arrived at Kanal in Brussels. The opening of Brussels’ new museum of contemporary and modern art on 28 November is fast approaching. Artworks are now being delivered on a weekly basis. These include both pieces from the museum’s own collection and loans from its partner museum, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, as well as from other Belgian museums and private collections.
Raïan Hachem, aged 23, has been arrested in Tourcoing, France, Belgium’s federal police have revealed. Hachem had been on the run since December 2025 and was on the Belgian and European Most Wanted lists. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in Belgium.
Starting from 1 October, energy suppliers will no longer be permitted to offer ‘deceptive discounts’ on energy contracts. Suppliers will also no longer be allowed to amend their contracts in the middle of the month and give these contracts an identical the same name. The changes have been confirmed by the federal energy regulator, CREG.
A political crisis has been averted: Flemish government parties, Flemish nationalist N-VA, Christian democrat CD&V and socialist Vooruit have approved next year’s budget as well as the related calculations. A political agreement had already been reached yesterday, but Flemish socialist Vooruit withdrew its support because the calculations did not correspond to what had been agreed.
In Hasselt (Limburg Province), on Tuesday, a nest containing around 2,000 Asian hornets was removed from the playground of a primary school. Given the location, pest control operator Nicky Torbeyns had to take extra care. An aerial platform and a special vacuum cleaner were used.
From 1 October, anyone visiting the dentist would be well advised to carry their identity card with them. From that date, dentists are obliged to verify their patients’ identities when using the electronic third-party payment scheme, under which the patient pays only their share of the cost.
The city of Bruges, capital of West Flanders, is continuing its crackdown on illegal holiday accommodation. Last year, more than 200 properties used for illegal holiday accommodation were discovered; this year, the figure has already reached 60. Officials hunt for illegal holiday homes by checking online listings. However, an increasing number of complaints are also being received from residents who notice unusual activity or are bothered by noise.
By the end of the year, Belgium will deliver three F-16 fighter-jets to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted plans of the delivery on social media site X. He intends to use an accelerated procedure to make this possible.
The former leader of the terrorist group Sharia4Belgium, Fouad Belkacem, has applied for asylum in Belgium. Far right lawmaker Francesca Van Belleghem (Vlaams Belang) brought the news to the attention of VRT NEWS. Belkacem could be released next year, after serving his sentence in a Belgian prison. As he has also lost his Belgian nationality, he must, in principle, be extradited to Morocco.
27.6 degrees Celsius was recorded at the Met Office in Ukkel (Brussels) on Tuesday, breaking the previous record for this day in September set in 2011.
Inflation, the figure that reflects the general rise in price levels, has risen further to 4.69 per cent. This rise is largely due to high energy and fuel prices linked to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Hackers have stolen personal data from 150,000 members of the Jims fitness chain. Parent company Colruyt has confirmed the breach. The data theft dates back to this summer, but its true scale has only now become clear. The chain is now trying to warn all members about potential phishing messages.
With hybrid attacks on the rise, Russia is attempting to undermine European support for Ukraine, both directly and indirectly, says Belgium’s Chief of Defence Frederik Vansina. “So far, Russia has always remained below the threshold set by Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, which equates an attack on one NATO country with an attack on all. But there is a fear that sooner or later they will cross that threshold.”
More electric bikes are now being sold than ordinary bikes, and 45 per cent of households in Flanders already own an electric bike according to figures from Fietsberaad, the advisory body on cycling policy. In terms of the total number of journeys, the electric bike is already more important than public transport. Moreover, users are getting younger and younger.
The Bioscape research campus in Edegem, near Antwerp University is not going ahead after all. Planning permission was revoked in August and now investors are pulling out reports daily Gazet van Antwerpen. The university has confirmed the news. “Young researchers will now have to develop their medicines and therapies elsewhere,” the university says. Employers’ organisation Voka Antwerp-Waasland is disappointed hundreds of jobs will be lost.
The City of Brussels intends to tighten the rules for businesses around the capital’s historic market square, the Grote Markt, in order to create greater diversity in the range of shops on offer. For example, the number of souvenir shops will be limited to a maximum of 20. Restrictions will also be imposed on the number of cafés and restaurants: in most streets, no more than one in three businesses will be permitted to be a hospitality venue.
The Leuven Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking up to 15 months’ imprisonment for four people accused of defrauding Prince Laurent, King Filip’s brother, and his half-British wife Princess Claire. The couple, who live in Tervuren (Flemish Brabant), fell victim to a phishing scam in 2021. More than 17,000 euros was withdrawn from their accounts.
Talks on next year’s Flemish government budget are not going smoothly and the stress is starting to tell. The budget should have been finalised today to allow Flemish PM Matthias Diependaele (Flemish nationalist N-VA) to deliver his annual policy statement, the September Declaration, to the Flemish Parliament. But many hours of stressful negotiations against the clock have taken their toll.
For the time being, Antwerp Cathedral will not be getting a second tower made of beams of light. A record number of 7,000 residents of the Antwerp City District voted on the matter. They selected 42 other projects that will receive funding from the district’s budget earmarked to promote participation by the public at large.
In Denderleeuw (East Flanders), the bodies of a 51-year-old woman and her 20-year-old daughter have been recovered from a property. The family’s 17-year-old son has been arrested. The public prosecutor’s office has launched a murder investigation.
A year’s study at a Flemish university or polytechnic has become almost 50% more expensive than 10 years ago. That is according to calculations by the Thomas More University of Applied Sciences. A student living in digs without a grant now has to fork out at least 18,000 euros. Expenditure for students who commute from home has risen to almost 12,000 euros per year.
Almost half of the people suspected of hate crimes against LGBT persons are aged under 18 according to daily Het Laatste Nieuws that makes the claim based on figures requested by MP Alexander Van Hoecke (far right Vlaams Belang). Last year, a total of 600 hate crimes against LGBT people were recorded.
Last Friday in Bertem (Flemish Brabant), an 18-month-old child died after spending the whole day in a car. The parents forgot to take the child to the nursery. Leuven Public Prosecutors have confirmed the news.
More than 50 of Flanders’ indoor public swimming pools have closed over the past 20 years as it becomes too expensive for local authorities to continue running them. As a result, people have to travel further to reach a pool, where they often pay a higher price as non-residents. The Flemish government is offering a grant for 40 new pools, but only four local authorities have taken up the offer.
Belgium is an international outlier when it comes to end-of-life care, according to euthanasia expert Wim Distelmans. His comments to VRT follow the death by euthanasia of French actor Arnaud Denis in Namur this week.
The water bill for an average household in Flanders has risen above €500 for the first time this year, according to a report by the region’s utilities regulator, VNR. A rise in water bills is being discussed during the Flemish government’s budget talks.
Ghent police have launched an investigation following an Instagram video shared by influencer Jonatan Medart, in which he and his boyfriend are harassed by a group of men. Medart himself may face punishment for identifying the men in the video.
Mona Mina Leon has become the first female Belgian actress to be nominated for an International Emmy Award. She has been recognised for her performance in the Streamz series Holy sh!t. The 32-year-old from Flemish Brabant is one of four nominees in the Best Performance by an Actress category, for her portrayal of a teacher with Tourette’s syndrome.
A three-year-old who choked while eating lunch at a school in Antwerp has died, police have confirmed. The child was taken to hospital on Tuesday in a life-threatening condition.
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