Connect to share and comment

Where the turkey is called chompipe and other Thanksgiving stories

News DeskNovember 25, 2009 19:08Updated May 30, 2010 13:14

Two "rebirths" in Belgium

November 24, 2009 18:07
Much of the world has been fascinated by the “rebirth” of Rom Houben, the Belgian car crash victim believed to have been in a coma for more than 24 years now discovered to be conscious but trapped in a paralyzed body. In his homeland, however, headlines have been dominated by the political renaissance of Yves Leterme, who is expected to be sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday just over a year after he was forced to resign the premiership after a bungled bank bail out.

EU appointment leaves Belgium in the lurch

November 19, 2009 18:16
Belgium's prime minister is leaving to become president of the European Union and in all probability leaving his country headed for a mess. Herman van Rompuy took over as premier 11 months ago as a consensus candidate after the latest in a string of political crises left the country rudderless.

Herman van Rompuy, Catherine Ashton win EU leadership slots

November 19, 2009 18:01
Well, they did it! The EU now has a "permanent" president and a high representative (EU code for "foreign minister.") Whether Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy and Baroness Catherine Ashton are inspired or inspiring choices is another matter, but there are many sighs of relief in Brussels (and Stockholm) that the current Swedish presidency managed to bring all 27 member states in line behind the decisions.

The European School: a microcosm of EU integration

William EchiksonNovember 11, 2009 20:32Updated May 30, 2010 13:13
BRUSSELS, Belgium — When my 16-year old son Samuel started a new school year five years ago at the European School, he returned home with some news: His new classmates included five Czechs and two Slovaks. I was surprised. During the 1980s, I often visited communist Eastern Europe. None of my friends there could imagine having their children study in the West; few even managed to cross the Iron Curtain to visit Western Europe.

What feta and reindeer meat have in common

November 12, 2009 07:35Updated May 30, 2010 13:12
NIS, Serbia — In early autumn in southern Serbia markets are ablaze with the new crop of peppers and minds turn to the arduous task of making ajvar, a garlic-infused red pepper paste that is a beloved culinary treasure. This year, however, there was a shadow hanging over the ritual roasting, peeling and packing of the peppers. Rumors were rife that Serbia’s Balkan neighbors were seeking to claim ajvar as their own.

Opinion: How consumer choices can drive environmental change

Stephan Faris November 10, 2009 12:38Updated May 30, 2010 13:12
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands — Tempo Doeloe in Amsterdam is one of the city’s best known Indonesian restaurants. Waiters navigate sprays of tropical flowers and tightly-packed tables. The menu offers chicken skewers, chili beef, goat cooked in coconut cream, tamarind tarts, leafy greens in peanut sauce, pan-fried sole, jumbo shrimp and much more. What it doesn’t offer is tap water. “Do I have to explain myself?” said the restaurant’s owner when I asked why I couldn’t top off my meal with a glass filled from his faucet.

Europe's capital studies China

October 21, 2009 07:27Updated May 30, 2010 13:11
BRUSSELS, Belgium — This fall and winter, the capital of Europe has taken on a distinctly Asian feel as China takes center stage at what the organizers are touting as the continent’s largest cultural festival.

Belgium stunned by cycling champ’s death

October 14, 2009 19:33
Belgian newspaper tributes to Frank Vandenbroucke could hardly have been more complimentary or more poignant. In the opinion of most sports writers the young man known as VDB could have been the best since Eddy Merckx — the national hero generally judged to be greatest ever cyclist. It was not to be. Vandenbroucke was found dead Monday in a hotel in Senegal. He was 34. The death left fans stunned in a country where cycling rivals soccer as a national obsession. Three days after his body was found Vandenbroucke’s death remains a mystery.

It ain't over till Vaclav Klaus sings

October 9, 2009 20:10Updated May 30, 2010 13:10
BRUSSELS, Belgium — Anyone who figured the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty could cruise into force with Ireland’s “yes” vote last week must have forgotten about the eastern flank. Temporarily obscured behind the high drama of the second Irish referendum was the fact that the Polish and Czech governments have yet to formally ratify the treaty. EU leaders may have helped give an overly optimistic impression that the treaty, which is aimed at streamlining the 27-member bloc's bureaucratic processes, was good to go.
Syndicate content