Brussels emerges from lockdown

A sense of normalcy returned to the Belgian capital on Wednesday as schools resumed lessons and public transportation services in Brussels gradually began normal operation. Around half of the city's metro lines were operating normally Wednesday.

However, the threat level for the Brussels region will remain at the maximum level of four until November 30, while the rest of the country is on "severe" alert at level three.

In Brussels, this means an increased presence of police and armed soldiers will remain in place, and public events will still be limited.

The threat level for the surrounding region was raised to its highest level on November 21 by the country's Coordination Unit for Threat Assessment (CUTA) in response to a "serious and imminent" threat of a Paris-style attack. Over the weekend, metro closures and a plea from the government that the public avoid large crowds of people led to mostly empty streets in the normally bustling European metropolis. The Brussels lockdown continued through Monday and Tuesday.

Since the threat level in Brussels was raised, authorities in Belgium have made 21 arrests in a number of raids. However, an international manhunt is still on for one of the suspected participants in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, whose alleged presence in Belgium was one of the triggers for the heightened state of security.