World
Belgian Audi factory closes, leaving thousands of workers jobless
Audi operations will be moved to China and Mexico due to high costs. Future uses for the site in the Brussels neighbourhood of Forest are being considered.
Audi Brussels factory is set to close in the Belgian capital, releasing its 3,000 workers who went in for their last shift on Friday.
Halfway through last year, production was already reduced, and between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs were cut. At the end of October, no serious investor or buyer had emerged, leading to the decision to close the factory this February.
“It just feels weird that it’s coming to an end,” one employee said. “When you’ve been coming here for 15 years, the factory is a big part of your life. Then, all of a sudden, it’s over. It’s like a whole part of your life is over.”
The factory in Brussels’ neighbourhood of Forest has been assembling luxury Audis since 2006, when the then-Volkswagen factory was saved from the brink of closure.
But almost 20 years later, there is no good news for the workers at Audi Brussels. At the start of 2024, it was announced that the factory’s car production would be moved to China and Mexico.
Audi’s profit margins were deemed too low, and the Belgian workers were too expensive.
‘It’s a bit like divorce’
Aurelien Duval has been working for Audi for almost ten years. He’s in charge of the maintenance department.
“It’s a bit like a divorce, in fact. You don’t know if you should blame management, if it’s your fault, if it’s… The emotions are a bit strange,” Duval said.
“Maybe I blame Audi’s top management, because it’s not a bankruptcy, they’re just leaving to make extra profits,” he added.
The announcements led to employees and trade unions going on strike and holding hundreds of car keys “hostage” in protest of the decision.
“I’ve been working here for 10 years,” said a worker in front of the factory on Friday. “I thought I’d make my whole career at Audi, but that won’t be the case.”
“I’m young, I think I’ll find work again easily, but unfortunately, the pay may not keep up. At Audi, we’re very well paid, so it’ll be complicated to find the same salary elsewhere,” he added.
The Belgian car industry has seen a sharp decline in the last thirty years. Once a leader in the field, Belgium’s vehicle manufacture has slid by 80% since the late 1990s.
Talking about the future of the Audi Brussels factory itself, Belgium’s Minister of Defence Theo Francken has touted the idea of turning the plant into a weapons production site.
This could create new jobs, Francken said, adding that there is an “urgent need for military materials”.
There are other options for conversion that could include different sectors, according to the Forest-Vorst Charles Spapens.
Additional sources • EBU
World
Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship arrives at Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands
TENERIFE, Spain (AP) — A hantavirus-stricken cruise ship with more than 140 people on board has arrived at Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa, where the passengers and some of the crew are to disembark.
The World Health Organization, Spanish authorities and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions have said that nobody on board the MV Hondius is currently showing symptoms of the virus. Three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are infected with hantavirus, which can cause life-threatening illness.
As a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship is set to arrive at Granadilla port in Tenerife, Spain on Sunday morning, the WHO, Spanish authorities and cruise company Oceanwide Expedition are coordinating the disembarkation of passengers and some crew on ground.
The ship will not dock but will remain at anchor, with people ferried off in small boats. Everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms, and will only be taken off the ship once evacuation flights are ready to fly them to their destinations.
There are currently people of more than 20 different nationalities on board.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, along with Spain’s health and interior ministers, were to be supervising the evacuation of the ship. Authorities have said the passengers and crew members who will disembark will have no contact with the local population.
Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn’t easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
World
North Korea updates constitution to require automatic nuclear strike if Kim Jong Un is assassinated: report
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North Korea has updated its constitution to require a retaliatory nuclear strike if leader Kim Jong Un is assassinated, according to a report.
The Telegraph reported the change comes amid heightened global tensions following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other officials during a recent conflict.
Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran as part of a coordinated U.S.-Israeli military operation earlier this year, Fox News Digital previously reported.
The constitutional revision was approved during a session of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, which opened March 22 in Pyongyang, the outlet said.
ISRAEL TARGETS IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER IN SWEEPING STRIKES AS US JOINS ‘OPERATION EPIC FURY’
North Korea launched two cruise missiles and three anti-ship missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon on Sunday, April 12, 2026, according to North Korean state media. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP)
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) briefed senior government officials this week on the update, according to the report.
The revised policy outlines procedures for retaliatory action if North Korea’s leadership is incapacitated or killed.
“If the command-and-control system over the state’s nuclear forces is placed in danger by hostile forces’ attacks … a nuclear strike shall be launched automatically and immediately,” the updated provision states.
KIM JONG UN CALLS SOUTH KOREA ‘MOST HOSTILE ENEMY,’ SAYS NORTH COULD ‘COMPLETELY DESTROY’ IT
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech at the inauguration ceremony of Saeppyol Street in Pyongyang on Feb. 15, 2026. (KCNA via KNS/AFP)
Reuters previously reported that North Korea revised its constitution to define its territory as bordering South Korea and remove references to reunification, reflecting Kim’s push to formally treat the two Koreas as separate states.
That marked the first time North Korea included a territorial clause in its constitution.
Last month, Kim pledged to further strengthen the country’s nuclear capabilities while maintaining a hard-line stance toward South Korea, which he has called the “most hostile” state.
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Kim Jong Un reportedly observed missile test launches in North Korea on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service)
Kim has also accused the United States of “state terrorism and aggression,” and signaled North Korea could take a more active role in opposition to Washington amid rising global tensions.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Iran warns US against attacks on tankers; Israel kills dozens in Lebanon
US-Iran ceasefire holds as Tehran warns Washington against attacks on tankers and Israel kills 24 people in Lebanon.
Published On 10 May 2026
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