FLEVOLAND | Lelystad

From December 2024, the Benelux train Brussels in Belgium to Amsterdam in the Netherlands will not terminate at Amsterdam Central Station, but at Amsterdam South (Zuid). There the Brusselaar or Amsterdammer will become a domestic train to Lelystad. An excuse for Danny and I to travel all the way to the province of Flevoland to…

ILGA WORLD | Despite more legal protections for LGBTI people, stark opposition has been a recurring theme in debates in every UN member State

‘Laws on Us‘ is the new landmark report by worldwide LGBTQIA+ advocacy organisation ILGA World, mapping laws affecting LGBTI communities across the world. Together with the ILGA World Database, it follows in the footsteps of previous landmark reports by the organisation, namely, the ‘State-Sponsored Homophobia‘ and the ‘Trans Legal Mapping Report‘, and equally encompasses issues…

UPDATE | 64 countries where gay sex is illegal

On 22 April 2024, the High Court of Dominica in the island nation of Dominica in the Caribbean struck down its ant-sodomy law. Time for an update. Both ILGA World and Erasing 76 Crimes count the countries and US states which have laws against gay sex. Spoiler alert: the number of countries criminalising gay sex…

Legoland Belgium in Gosselies, Charleroi by 2027

Belgium is set to host the fourth Legoland amusement park in Europe. In 2027, the town of Gosselies near Charleroi in the province of Hainaut in Wallonia. The site used to host the Caterpillar machinery factory. The Walloon Government foresees 1,000 new jobs. 

71 (68) countries where gay sex is illegal 

The 17th of May is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia and Transphobia. IDAHOBIT, or more commonly in Belgium, IDAHOT. As it falls on a Tuesday this year and Tuesday is one of our default publishing days with Thursday and Sunday, I’d thought I’d take a look at the state of affairs regarding state-sponsored…