Belgium Yesterday looks back on an unsettled day, with a fire evacuating Brussels’ Étangs Noirs metro station as international tensions and disasters dominated the headlines. Closer to home, a giant tomato from Liedekerke offered a lighter moment, while the football market brought moves to England.
On the sidelines of a summit in Kyrgyzstan, Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a tense exchange on Tuesday. The Russian president pressed Yerevan to choose between an EU bid and membership in the Eurasian Union. Moscow considers the two paths incompatible. The discussion concerned Yerevan’s closer ties with Europe.
In Brussels, the Étangs Noirs metro station was evacuated after a fire broke out. Emergency crews responded in a tunnel, where a wooden sleeper caught fire. The operation directly involved the station’s underground infrastructure, while the evacuation kept passengers away.
The wreck of a capsized ferry has been found at a depth of 550 metres off the coast of Kyrenia, in northern Cyprus. There were 267 people on board, en route to the Turkish port city of Taşucu. At least eight people died and 20 others are still missing. The captain has been arrested.
Belgian-Latvian woman Julija Jakovicka, 47, remains missing after devastating mudslides near the Nepal-Tibet border. Her family is urgently seeking information about what happened during the disaster. Jakovicka, who had lived in Ghent for many years, was travelling with a group tour and is one of three Belgians currently reported missing.
New strikes have been reported in Iran. Iranian state television reports that several people were injured at a wedding. The account therefore places this family event during a new series of attacks in a country directly affected by the strikes mentioned in this news report.
This week, 48-year-old Olivier Geenens from Liedekerke harvested a 1.11-kilogram coeur de boeuf tomato. For years, he and his wife Nora, 50, have experimented with permaculture in their garden, where tomatoes, peppers and various fruits grow. The giant harvest coincides with their decision to get married; Geenens calls that symbolic. He gives his plants little water.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping discussed a possible trilateral summit with US President Donald Trump. The meeting could take place later this year during the APEC summit in Shenzhen. The economic gathering is scheduled for 18 and 19 November. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov announced this.
The final hours of the English transfer window saw two moves. Fuseini joined the English second tier, while Fofana signed a five-year deal with Sunderland. The transfers were among the last-minute deals covered in a roundup of changes at the clubs involved.
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