Belgium Yesterday was marked by shootings and major police responses in Antwerp and near Leuven, alongside arrests in a case involving a body found in Menen. Unions rejected a call to postpone planned actions, while international headlines included attacks disrupting Kyiv’s metro.
Police and other emergency services are present in large numbers on Van Stralenstraat in Antwerp following a reported shooting. The response is taking place in the street, where multiple emergency workers and police teams are at work. The services are handling the situation on site, while police continue to establish the circumstances of the incident.
The unions are rejecting Bouchez's call to postpone the planned actions. They are organising two national strike days on Friday, 9 October, and Monday, 12 October. Both actions therefore remain scheduled for those dates. Developments surrounding the national strikes will continue to be followed in an online live blog.
Shots were reported on Van Stralen Street in Antwerp, prompting a major police response. Officers went to the scene in large numbers, but were not yet able to confirm whether anyone had been injured. Checks were continuing at the scene.
A van drove into police at a parking area along the E40 in Heverlee, the Leuven public prosecutor’s office confirms. An officer then shot at the vehicle’s tyres. Police were at the parking area when the van drove into them. The incident took place in Heverlee, a district of Leuven.
The West Flanders public prosecutor’s office confirms that two suspects have been arrested for the murder of a 41-year-old man. His body was found in the boot of a car in Menen. They are a 49-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man, both from Egypt. The judicial investigation is ongoing.
The Kyiv metro was halted after attacks hit the power grid. A Russian politician was sentenced to four years in a penal colony. The two developments are part of the broader war in Ukraine and its political consequences. The live blog brings together further updates on the conflict in Ukraine and the region.
A 21-year-old man was rescued after a fall in Austria's Dachstein mountains, the Obertraun rescue service reports. Rescuers found him after his dog kept barking and drew their attention. The rescue service described the rescue in a Facebook post; the dog thus played a crucial role in locating its owner in the mountains.
French Education Minister Édouard Geffray has announced an emergency plan after days of violent student protests. Over the coming days, 3,000 extra teachers will be deployed at schools facing the most severe staff shortages. In Paris, calm returned only around 9:15 p.m. Nationwide, at least 48 police officers were injured and more than 500 people were arrested.
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