Four Algerian immigrants on Thursday began a third day protesting atop a crane in Brussels, in a high-level campaign near to the municipal immigration office. Two of the men are seeking residency rights while the third, who has already been granted the right to stay, wants to become a naturalised Belgian.
Belgian bank KBC on Thursday stood accused of aiding the sale of military equipment to South Africa during the apartheid era. Jorge Pinhol, a former race-car driver turned businessman and self-proclaimed middle man in the deal, has filed a complaint against KBC and its Luxembourg unit KBL seeking -million in unpaid fees.
Soaring prices of basic foodstuffs could cause a "humanitarian tsunami" in Africa, European Union Development Commissioner Louis Michel warned on Tuesday. "A world food crisis is emerging, less visible than the oil [price] crisis, but with the potential effect of real economic and humanitarian tsunami in Africa," Michel said in a statement.
The prospect of France returning to Nato’s military command after more than four decades of estrangement is tilting the balance of transatlantic relations. The United States is courting France as a new partner in leadership, overshadowing Britain and Germany, diplomats and analysts say, even though President Nicolas Sarkozy is likely to skirt the reintegration issue at this week’s Bucharest summit.
China’s crackdown on protests in Tibet has left at least 135 people dead, 1 000 injured and 400 arrested, the head of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile said in Brussels on Wednesday. ”Information from Tibet is very difficult to get, but we have sources who are very reliable, who phone us at the risk of their lives,” parliamentary speaker Karma Chophel said.
Belgian political parties announced on Tuesday they had reached a deal to form a new national government, ending a nine-month political stalemate that had threatened to split the country apart. Prime Minister-designate Yves Leterme, whose Flemish Christian Democrats won elections in June, announced the deal after all-night talks.
France on Tuesday won European Union approval to give â,¬99-million to several companies hoping to build a European rival to United States internet search giant Google. The EU executive says this helped fill a funding gap for something that might not otherwise win financial support.
Zimbabwe’s crackdown on political dissent may need to be discussed by the United Nations Security Council, a prominent Southern African human rights activist declared this week. Opponents of President Robert Mugabe have reported large-scale harassment and intimidation in the tense period leading to elections due later this month.
No image available
/ 27 February 2008
The European Commission fined Microsoft a record €899-million on Wednesday for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust ruling against the United States software giant. The fine comes on top of the €497-million that Microsoft already had to pay after Europe’s top antitrust watchdog found the company guilty in 2004 of abusing its dominant market power.
No image available
/ 23 February 2008
Passengers travelling between European Union countries or taking domestic flights would have to hand over a mass of personal information, including their cellphone numbers and credit-card details, as part of a new package of security measures being demanded by the British government. The data would be stored for 13 years.
No image available
/ 13 February 2008
The European Commission unveiled on Wednesday a plan to fingerprint all foreigners visiting 24 European countries. The electronic register, similar to a policy adopted by the United States after the September 11 2001 attacks could go into effect by 2015 if governments and European lawmakers agree, the European Union executive said.
No image available
/ 23 January 2008
The European Union’s executive adopted landmark proposals on Wednesday that will make the 27-nation bloc a world leader in the fight against climate change, but trade-offs will include higher energy bills. The European Commission approved detailed plans to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions by one-fifth and set each EU state individual targets.
No image available
/ 22 January 2008
The European Union’s exective commission fine-tuned a blueprint to slash the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions amid lobbying on Tuesday over details which environmentalists said over indulged oil companies and airlines. The EU is trying to lead the global fight against climate change without harming a fragile economy.
No image available
/ 22 January 2008
Internet protocol (IP) addresses, a string of numbers that identifies a computer, should generally be regarded as personal information, the head of the European Union’s group of data privacy regulators said on Monday. Google insists an IP address merely identifies the location of a computer, not who the individual user is.
No image available
/ 21 January 2008
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf pledged on Monday to hold free elections as he began a four-country European trip aimed at winning international support. Musharraf’s popularity has slumped over recent months in Pakistan, which has been racked by militant attacks, and faces a parliamentary election on February 18.
No image available
/ 15 January 2008
Belgium’s main political parties sat down on Tuesday to thrash out a new power-sharing agreement and try to avoid any repeat of the political crisis that shook the kingdom last year. The forum is dubbed the ”Octopus”, as its 20 members are drawn from the eight principal parties.
No image available
/ 14 January 2008
The European Commission said on Monday it will propose tighter restrictions on biofuels next week amid mounting concerns that the energy source can cause unintended environmental and social problems. Biofuels are renewable and environmentally friendlier than fossils, but not completely clean.
No image available
/ 14 January 2008
European Union competition regulators said on Monday they would launch two new antitrust probes against Microsoft, opening fresh fronts in their battle against the United States software giant’s dominant market power. The European Commission said one investigation targeted the interoperability of a broad range of software with rival products.
The news business remained a dangerous profession in 2007 with 171 journalists killed while pursuing their work, nearing the record 177 deaths of 2006, the International Federation of Journalists said in a statement. Iraq accounted for nearly a third of the deaths, with 65 journalists and media staff killed, the Brussels-based organisation said.
No image available
/ 26 December 2007
When the newly created euro slumped to an all-time low in 2000, detractors lined up to predict a dark future for the young currency. The euro marks its ninth birthday on January 1, with detractors now warning of grave consequences on account of its strength.
No image available
/ 21 December 2007
Under a golden sun, Paolo Bettini capped a perfect day for cycling by outracing, outwitting and, finally, outsprinting everyone to win the world road race title. If ever there were a glorious highlight to a season, that was it. As the Italian crossed the line, though, there was little joy because he had been involved in a doping scandal.
No image available
/ 7 December 2007
Zimbabwe and three other African nations provisionally agreed on a regional free trade deal with the European Union (EU) on Thursday. The deal is part of EU efforts to meet a December 31 deadline set by the World Trade Organisation for replacing its trading system with former European colonies.
No image available
/ 6 December 2007
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Thursday defended inviting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to attend a European Union-Africa summit this weekend and vowed to make human rights the first point on the agenda. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is boycotting the Lisbon summit.
No image available
/ 29 November 2007
British and Irish efforts to retain their imperial measures of pints and miles while surrounded by the litres and kilometres of continental Europe moved a yard closer on Thursday as the European Union Parliament backed the moves. One imperial casualty, though, is the acre.
No image available
/ 27 November 2007
Britain has asked the European Commission to approve the aid it has provided to struggling mortage lender Northern Rock, a Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday. ”Last night [Monday], the British government notified us,” EU competition spokesperson Jonathan Todd said.
No image available
/ 16 November 2007
The European Union said on Thursday it had raised the troops needed for a planned peacekeeping force in Chad but still lacked helicopters vital for transport in tough terrain. French General Henri Bentegeat, the head of the EU’s Military Committee, said he was confident the 3 700-strong force could start deploying in a couple of weeks.
No image available
/ 7 November 2007
Long-running talks to form a new Belgian government were on the brink of collapse on Wednesday as tensions flared between Flemish and Francophone lawmakers over the sensitive issue of voting rights. Speculation has grown that political divisions could eventually lead to Belgium breaking up.
No image available
/ 7 November 2007
A Congolese player at FC Brussels who walked out after being racially abused by the Belgian club’s president Johan Vermeersch has agreed to return. Zola Matumona quit the club after he and his fellow players were lambasted by Vermeersch for a string of poor performances.
No image available
/ 6 November 2007
Europe’s trade chief accused Nigeria and South Africa on Monday of trying to block negotiations for new trade and investment deals between the European Union and scores of former colonies. The EU wants to sign new Economic Partnership Agreements with nearly 80 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries before December 31.
No image available
/ 29 October 2007
The man known as Belgium’s ”king of jailbreaks” hit the country’s headlines on Monday as his gang staged a spectacular helicopter crash to help him break out of high-security prison for the fourth time. The escape of 27-year-old Nordin Benallal, a convict with a long history of violent crimes, was launched soon after sunset on Sunday.
No image available
/ 26 October 2007
The Central African Republic’s President defended his country’s efforts to improve human rights at international donor talks on Friday meant to bolster much-needed economic and political reforms in his impoverished nation. Francois Bozize presented a new development strategy to European Union and United Nations officials.
No image available
/ 23 October 2007
Europe’s top court on Tuesday overturned a German law that protects Volkswagen against takeovers, allowing Porsche to tighten its grip on the wheel of the continent’s biggest carmaker. The European Court of Justice ruled against the "Volkswagen Law", thereby upholding Porsche’s claim to voting rights in line with its 31% stake in VW.