Footballers, ministers, robots, skylines and the Swiss. No, this isn't the start of Belgium's adaptation of "We Didn’t Start the Fire" but rather The Brussels Times' debut Weird and Wonderful week in review, where we bring you the five most striking pictures from Belgium for your entertainment, curiosity, and consternation.
A ministerial mixtape?
Credit: Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga.
Fire in the booth: it's the hot new single you didn't know you were waiting for from Belgium's unlikely talent, the mean mugging but impeccably dressed MC Quickie. Just kidding, here's Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) posing at the Forest prison, which will soon be closing down.
Red Devil-ishly handsome
Credit: Virginie Lefour/Belga.
Given the Red Devils' lacklustre 1-0 win over Canada on Wednesday, many fans will be relieved to learn that their country's star striker Romelu Lukaku has joined the rest of the squad in training. The eagle-eyed among you may have already spotted him – not on the pitch but on billboards across the city for a recent Calvin Klein campaign.
Antwerp's towering tensions about its skyline
Credit: ION/Facebook.
Built in 1931, the Boerentoeren skyscraper in Antwerp was the first of its kind in Europe and will soon be renovated. But a proposed extension on the top of the building (pictured above) has sparked anger from some local residents.
When direct democracy meets unelected royalty
Credit: Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga.
Despite Belgium being a constitutional monarchy and the Helvetic state (Switzerland) being a direct democracy, both countries know how convoluted multilingual politics can become. This may or may not have been a topic of conversation when Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde hosted Swiss President Ignazio Cassis and his wife Paola for a state banquet.
DigitALL, even for Belgian bot mascot
Credit: Hatim Kaghat/Belga.
On Monday 21 November, telecommunications group Orange presented their 'DigitALL' charter for improved digital inclusion, which includes nine commitments from companies, social organisations and governments to close the digital divide between generations, communities and even between humans and androids.
