WESTVLETEREN, Belgium — The news that two prestigious online guides declared your ale the world’s best beer would be cause for celebration at most microbreweries. The prospect of booming sales, bulging export orders and the glare of international media attention ought to be the perfect excuse to crack open a bottle or three. But Cistercian monks, dedicated to a life of silence, seclusion and manual toil, don’t quite see it that way, even when their work includes maintaining a centuries-old tradition of brewing heavenly ales.

BRUSSELS — When Mehdi Nobari, an Iranian-born businessman in Belgium, learned that Iraqi forces stormed an enclave of Iranian exiles known as Camp Ashraf in late July, killing nine of the 3,500 inhabitants and wounding or arresting hundreds more, he decided it was time to give up his comfortable summer. "I have a good life here," said Nobari, 42, who came to Belgium 20 years ago. "When I saw what was happening to my brothers and sisters, I thought it’s my responsibility to do something for these people.” 

AMSTERDAM — The idea behind Women on Waves could hardly have been more provocative. In 1999 the Dutch group launched a plan to send ships to countries that ban abortion so women could come aboard, sail into international waters and terminate their pregnancies under the liberal laws of The Netherlands. A decade on, the group’s vision of a fleet of floating abortion clinics never quite materialized. Now, changes to Dutch law mean the contentious voyages are currently suspended pending the results of a court battle.