Belgium acknowledged Thursday that its major rail gateway, the Brussels Midi Station, has become a festering sore of drug abuse, poverty and violence that is a major stain on a nation preparing to take on the presidency of the European Union. The government vowed to tackle the problem, but some critics say action is coming way too late, while others say that any cleanup operation will only push the big-city problems to other neighbourhoods. Belgium, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, with a major tourism industry, has neglected the once-stately Midi Station for decades. It has become a symbol of dysfunctional government as increasingly many of the 160,000 daily commuters and tourists no longer fully feel safe. The increasing spread of crack cocaine and open dealing and use of drugs in the neighbourhood over the past year have exacerbated an already bad situation to the point that petty theft, fights and harassment of tourists have become everyday headline news in the nation of 11.5 million. Belgium takes on the presidency of the 27-nation EU in January for six months. Governments who hold the presidency typically use the opportunity to bask in the global attention to promote their nation. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at a news conference Thursday that he felt he had to take action and no longer leave security at such a key time to a warren of local authorities who had proven they were not up to the task. “The challenge is one of security that we owe to everyone passing through Brussels. It is about the livable conditions in the neighbourhood, and of course, it is about the image of Brussels and the image of our nation,” he said Thursday. As an immediate measure, it was announced that a special police station will be set up at the existing station at the train station to make interventions easier. But far more fundamental issues are at stake, said historian, former politician and Brussels pundit Luckas Vander Taelen. “Nobody has done anything for years. So this problem gets always worse. And that’s what happens today — everybody seems concerned. But I wonder what is going to change here," he said. Vander Taelen blamed Belgium's Byzantine political structure of overlapping local, regional and national authorities who he said all too often blame each other instead of actually doing something in unison. “There are too many levels of power in Brussels and that paralyses everything,” he said. As criticism mounted, police organized highly publicized raids through the massive railway station, picking up and detaining several people while a cleaning team did away with much of the muck and dirt. Those are only stop-gap solutions though, said Ariane Dierickx of the l'Ilot aid group, which provides services for the homeless and needy. “It was shocking to see that all these people that have been rejected by society are being picked up by police vans while they are not criminals,” she said. “It shows how inadequate the response is.” Dierickx said it would only move the problem to other areas. Belgium's image is being soiled in other places too, De Croo's critics say, since problems at the Nord Station, another major train hub in the capital, haven't been much better. One of the major issues has been the rise of drug trafficking and its accompanying violence in Belgium. The northern port of Antwerp has turned into a main gateway for Latin American cocaine cartels into the continent and cocaine seizures there have more than doubled in the past half decade, according to customs officials. Because of that, relatively inexpensive cocaine has boomed in Brussels and crack cocaine has become a massive security issue, especially around the Midi station. Read More Carrasco dismisses criticism of human rights in Saudi Arabia after transfer to Al Shabab Swimmers enjoy sunshine and a dip at lido celebrating 100th anniversary World War I memorials in France and Belgium are vying again to become UNESCO World Heritage sites Belgium imposes a ban on shelter for single men seeking asylum to make place for families The Ukraine war, propaganda-style, is coming to Russian movie screens. Will people watch? The Ukraine war, propaganda-style, is coming to Russian movie screens. Will people watch?

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War-time president Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed the areas where Ukraine’s forces are facing a “challenging” time repelling Russian troops as air bombardments intensified over a strategic city in the east. Ukrainian forces repelled a total of eight attacks on the battered, strategic city of Avdiivka by Vladimir Putin’s troops in the past 24 hours, said Ukraine’s military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun. It was earlier reported that Mr Putin was going to make a third attempt at capturing the city known for its large coking plant after failing twice before. “Fighting is still going on. Over the last two days, the occupiers have increased the number of air strikes using guided bombs from Su-35 aircraft,” said Mr Shtupun. “The enemy is also bringing in more and more infantry. But when they tried to deploy armoured vehicles the day before yesterday two tanks and 14 other vehicles were burned out,” he said. Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration, also revealed Russia’s losses in its current drive for Avdiivka. A minimum 3,000-4,000 Russian troops were killed and a further 7,000-8,000 were wounded, he told state news agency Ukrinform. Russia has not commented on the claims of the casualties made by Kyiv. “Quite simply, Avdiivka and its strategic position is geographically located on heights and you can see Donetsk... from here,” he said, referring to the Ukrainian area occupied by Russia. He said Mr Putin’s troops “need” Avdiivka. “Not a single building” was intact in the city that now has just over 1,500 people remaining from its pre-war population of 32,000, Mr Barabash said. Some of the remaining civilians in Avdiivka include doctors and nurses. The town still has a shop and functioning hospital operating under every day shelling. In an evening update on the frontline on Monday, the Ukrainian General Staff of the Armed Forces said its troops repelled 15 Russian attacks near the long-contested town of Maryinka, east of Avdiivka. Kyiv said its troops also repelled another 11 strikes near Bakhmut to the northeast and six near Kupiansk in the northeast. Mr Zelensky, in a speech on Monday, said fighting along the frontline has been “challenging”. He named Avdiivka, Maryinka, Bakhmut front, Lyman front, Kupyansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as the areas where fighting has been the fiercest. He said he was grateful “for the fact that Ukraine knows and will know the enemy’s plans and how to respond to them – properly and powerfully”. “Both on the ground and in the Black Sea,” he said, referring to the area where Russia has concentrated its naval fleet. This was further corroborated by Ukrainian commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, who said Avdiivka, Kupiansk, and Maryinka fronts remain the “most intense”. “The situation is complicated, but remains under control,” he said. The top commander spoke with his American counterpart, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown, on Monday. He discussed Ukraine’s plans for the winter and urgent needs of the Ukrainian troops, such as ammunition, air defence and drones. In an interview earlier this month, Mr Zaluzhnyi said the war was entering a phase of attrition, leading to Mr Zelensky dismissing any notion that the conflict was headed towards a stalemate. Russian accounts said Moscow’s forces had repulsed five Ukrainian attempts to advance on villages outside Bakhmut that was captured by Moscow’s troops in May after months of fighting. Read More South Korea and members of the US-led UN command warn North Korea over its nuclear threat Russia-Ukraine war: Mystery as Putin’s state media removes update on forces - live South Korea's Yoon will warn APEC leaders about the risks of a Russia-North Korea arms deal Russian UN envoys shoot back at Western criticism of its Ukraine war and crackdown on dissidents From Gaza to Ukraine, China to the EU: The major issues facing Cameron in new role What has David Cameron been doing since resigning from government?

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