The small city of Veurne turned very quiet for a couple of hours yesterday. The annual religious procession of penitents floated through streets lined with people sitting silently on chairs or whispering to each other on cafe terraces. The only sound comes from fake Roman soldiers hitting the street with their javelin or by young […]
The yearly agriculture fair is taking place again in Libramont. One of the biggest of its kind in Europe, it attracts over 200,000 visitors enjoying the food (i.e. mostly meat), the tractors and machines designed for giants and endless wheat fields, the breeders’ competitions exhibiting ‘Blanc Bleu Belge’ bulls scoring more than 1,300kg, pigs with […]
Belgium celebrates its existence on July 21st. On that day in 1831, Leopold Saxe-Cobourg swore allegiance to the constitution and became the first king of Belgium, putting an end to a revolution and institutionalising a de facto independence gained from the Netherlands after rioters were joined by opera goers (shortened version of Belgian history). And […]
The ‘Foire du Midi’ or ‘Zuidfoor’, an annual fair located in the center of the city of Brussels has been going on since 1885, a few days before the celebrations of the Belgian Independence Day, allowing all those who cannot afford to go on a holiday to enjoy some entertainment. Besides bigger and scarier attractions, […]
The 5 opposition CNRP lawmakers who were arrested for incitement to violence following yesterday’s outbursts of violence (see HERE) during a demonstration requesting freedom of speech are being tried at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. About 500 CNRP supporters gathered at the blockade set up by the riot police to prevent access to the court, […]
The notoriously violent Municipal Security Guards for the first time took a serious beating today at a rallye called by the opposition CNRP requesting that ‘Freedom Park’, fenced off by barbed wire and a 24h presence of riot police since a violent crackdown of striking workers in the aftermath of the 2013 elections, be returned […]
Boeung Kak lake community members, some carrying model houses, held a demonstration in front of the Phnom Penh Municipality, seeking a final resolution for their 7-year-long struggle after a private company obtained a 133 hectares area and proceeded evicting 3000 of the 4000 families living there. This is a follow-up post on the ‘Quest for […]
Where is the fervour which was swelling the streets of Phnom Penh during the previous ceremonies around the passing away of King Norodom Shanouk? Where has it gone? Besides invited groups and boy-scouts which were provided with plastic flowers and small photographs of the late King, concentrated along Sihanouk and Sothearos Boulevards, the carefully choreographed […]