OchtendKrant: news for Monday 2 November 2026
Five parties, no budget: Prime Minister places his government's fate in King Philippe's hands
After an overnight inner cabinet meeting with no compromise on taxes and savings, Bart De Wever appeared at the palace on Monday morning; a deal is needed by Tuesday noon to avoid an emergency budget.
Iran offers a faster plan for Hormuz while Trump keeps openly threatening new strikes
4 sources · La Libre, Business AM, RTBFTrouble with German regional trains sends Alstom shares down by more than 30 percent
2 sources · La Libre, Economie MatinOpenAI scales its capital raise back to 20 billion dollars as big investors hesitate
2 sources · TechCrunch, The Next WebThird place in Mexico is enough: Antonelli becomes Formula 1 champion at twenty as Verstappen wins the race
5 sources · Sporza, RTBF, Formula 1 +Belgium
All of BelgiumOpposition lambasts the failed budget round as CD&V urges its partners to get back to talks quickly
From Vlaams Belang to the PS, the opposition reacts sharply to the lack of a deal, while CD&V, the first majority party to speak out, warns that a government crisis solves nothing.
4 sources · La Libre, L'Avenir, VRT NWSClash between a nationalist group and youths at a Palestine vigil keeps Kortrijk police busy for hours
Nine people were detained on Saturday evening, 41 others will receive a municipal fine and three officers were injured; the mayor issued a ban on gatherings.
3 sources · VRT NWS, Focus-WTV, Krant van West-VlaanderenHalloween trip to Walibi ends with a shoved conductor and a train taken out of service at Brussels-North
A group of young people caused trouble on two trains on Saturday evening; rail operator NMBS/SNCB records an average of seven cases of aggression against its staff every day.
2 sources · VRT NWS, The Brussels TimesMajor banks' small print gives phishing victims fewer rights than the law, advisory committee finds
Minister Rob Beenders had the terms of the six largest banks reviewed and wants to discuss the problem with the banking federation Febelfin.
3 sources · VRT NWS, Business AM, Kabinet-BeendersWorld
All of WorldOn the eve of the midterms: record early turnout, an open fight for the Senate and unease within NATO
More than 52 million Americans have already voted; Trump headed to Iowa and Kansas on Sunday, while European diplomats fear the fallout of a Republican defeat.
5 sources · Al Jazeera, La Libre, RTBFBulgarians elect Iotova in the run-off, and the new president wants talks with Moscow on Ukraine
The acting president wins more than 57 percent according to the almost complete count and becomes the first woman elected head of state; turnout remained low.
3 sources · Business AM, VRT NWS, RTBFFake nuclear alerts sent through hacked warning apps in Ukraine and Russia, just after the Oleshky truce ends
Ukraine's government app reported an incoming nuclear missile and a chemical threat, and its Russian counterpart also sent false messages; meanwhile Moscow refused to extend the local ceasefire.
4 sources · VRT NWS, La Libre, RTBFEconomy
All of EconomyRyanair expects 2 billion euros more for jet fuel and seeks savings at airports and among crews
The Irish low-cost airline booked 15 percent less profit in the first half and is cutting winter flights; its finance chief does not rule out a pay freeze either.
3 sources · La Libre, Reformatorisch Dagblad, TrendsBrent slips below 110 dollars on hopes for Iran diplomacy as investors await the US vote
Oil loses more than 3 percent after reports that Trump wants to try the diplomatic route first; European stock markets and the Bel20 start the week with small losses.
6 sources · La Libre, Business AM, TrendsProximus and Scarlet raise their rates for 2027, with only a stripped-down entry bundle getting cheaper
From 1 January most bundles will cost 2 to 4 euros a month more; the most popular mobile plan and fibre internet also go up, while a few plans get cheaper.
2 sources · Trends, ITdailyTech
All of TechAI & LLMs
Oil giant ADNOC brings in OpenAI's AI agents as Abu Dhabi signs four agreements at once
The state oil company wants to use Frontier to scrutinise its entire chain, from reservoir to trading; the emirate's government and investor Mubadala are also teaming up with the ChatGPT maker.
3 sources · Arabian Business, The National, BörsvärldenFour in ten chatbot answers about the American midterm elections contain an error
On the eve of Tuesday's vote, research shows that AI assistants mostly go wrong on the practical side of voting, the AFP news agency reports.
3 sources · France 24, The Japan Times, The StarApple
Alibaba's Qwen becomes the language model behind Apple Intelligence on Chinese iPhones
Developers can test the integration from Wednesday; Chinese users get it in December with iOS 27.3, as an option they have to switch on themselves.
2 sources · Xinhua, Seoul Economic DailySince the switch to winter time, the dimmed screen on some Apple Watches has been running an hour fast
Apple acknowledges the bug in a support document and offers two quick fixes; anyone who does nothing will see the problem disappear on its own after midnight.
3 sources · Apple, iClarified, Android HeadlinesProgramming languages
Weak keys at certificate issuer eMudhra force Go and Java into emergency patches
The Go team looks back on its first ever emergency release; Java applications remain exposed as long as their list of trusted certificates has not been updated.
5 sources · Go Blog, InfoQ, CSO Online +Emacs marks fifty years, with mouse control in the Linux console as its latest addition
The editor that Richard Stallman shaped at MIT in 1976 was the starting point of the GNU project; its rival vi dates from the same year.
2 sources · MIT Technology Review, The RegisterScience
All of ScienceFour NASA volunteers return to the outside world after more than a year in a 3D-printed Mars base in Houston
The second crew of the CHAPEA programme lived in isolation for 378 days, with delayed communications and limited resources, to help prepare future missions to the Moon and Mars.
3 sources · NASA, Engadget, VRT NWSOctober stretches Uccle's run of warmer-than-usual months to twenty-one, with plenty of sun and a wet final ten days
According to the RMI, the average temperature was a full degree above normal, the sun shone more than a third longer than usual and a quarter more rain fell.
3 sources · KMI, Gazet van Antwerpen, KNMIShare of employees who keep working through every illness jumps from 4 to 27 percent in two years
A survey by prevention service Mensura also shows that fewer and fewer employees dare to raise mental health problems with their manager.
3 sources · VRT NWS, ZigZagHR, Business AMSport
All of SportTwo late Lommel goals cost Gent top spot as Club Brugge lead after ten matchdays
Gent lost their first league match of the season at the promoted side, while ten-man Union won at Beveren and Anderlecht swept Westerlo aside.
6 sources · Sporza, DH, WalfootDown twice and still the strongest: Nys beats Vanthourenhout on the Koppenberg as Brand rides away in the women's race
In his first cyclocross of the winter, the Belgian champion won in Oudenaarde for the third time after a chase and a duel on the final climb.
4 sources · Sporza, Cyclingnews, NOS