Belgium’s day was marked by political tensions, unrest and a major weapons seizure, alongside developments in football and cycling. Abroad, a powerful earthquake in Panama prompted a tsunami alert.
Lowiese Seynhaeve starts in goal for the Red Flames in the first leg against Poland, at Nicky Evrard's expense. Tessa Wullaert wears the captain's armband again. Belgium's women's team begin their two-match World Cup qualifying tie in Leuven, with qualification at stake. The return leg against Poland will come later in the campaign.
Filip Dewinter and Anke Vandermeersch were detained on Friday after an altercation with a family attending a wedding celebration at Antwerp’s Grote Markt. According to those present, the conflict began after Vandermeersch allegedly filmed the family. She is accused of then hitting the bride’s mother during the incident.
Trade unions are organising two national strike days, on Friday 9 October and Monday 12 October. The first demonstration in Brussels was initially peaceful, but troublemakers took over the protest afterwards. They went on a rampage in central Brussels while police tried to calm the situation, without immediate success.
Panama has been hit by a powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). A tsunami alert was subsequently issued in the surrounding region. The warning follows the strong seismic shock and is a precautionary measure for nearby coastal areas that could be reached by possible waves.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever and his senior ministers will not meet tonight. As a result, the planned talks within the federal government will not take place today. The political leadership will therefore not sit down together tonight. Many grim faces were seen among the government members involved as today’s political developments unfolded.
The Tour of Lombardy, the final Monument of the cycling season, takes place on Saturday. Jarno Widar will make his debut there and says he mainly wants to do his best, without putting himself ahead of Remco Evenepoel. Evenepoel has a chance to win now that five-time winner Tadej Pogačar is absent. The live blog follows the build-up and race.
Thibau Nys has announced his cyclocross schedule for the upcoming season. The 23-year-old Belgian champion will start in Oudenaarde with the Koppenbergcross, just as he did last year. The immediate question is whether Nys will be first up the Koppenberg again. That will mark the start of his cyclocross campaign for the new season.
A vast arsenal of weapons and explosives was seized in Wallonia on Wednesday during a large-scale police operation. The search targeted a criminal organization suspected of arms trafficking. Authorities found assault rifles, a rocket launcher and shells. The seizure was part of the operation against the alleged network.
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