Alliance Bernstein crosses Delhaize share threshold
Pursuant to the Belgian Law of May 2 2007 relating to the publication of major shareholdings in listed companies Delhaize Group the Belgian international food retailer has received notification of the threshold of 3% being crossed by Alliance Bernstein L.P. by owning 2.92% of Delhaize Groups voting rights the company...

GDF SUEZ begins worlds largest desalination project
On 27 October GDF SUEZ will mark the commercial operation of the first power and desalination units of the Marafiq Independent Water and Power Project IWPP in the presence of HRH Prince Philippe of Belgium Vincent Van Quickenborne Minister of Economy and Reform Jean-François Cirelli Vice-Chairman and President of GDF...

ING Belgium to strengthen ATM network with NCR machines
ING Belgium recently decided to deploy the NCR SelfServ 34 automated teller machines ATM with cash-recycling module to equip its new-concept Proxi branches. NCR Corporation would be providing at least 1 200 automated teller machines with cash-recycling functionality according to a last weeks statement from the company. The Proxi branch...

Laboratory upgrading project in Ghana supported
A benevolent Belgium is now set to assist Ghana to upgrade its medical facilities. Laboratories and clinical technicians in 46 Ghanaian hospitals are set to benefit from a new Belgian scheme which would see the government imparting extensive training to the technicians and providing financial assistance to develop and modernise...

Delhaize Group continues acquisition spree
THE Belgian food retailer Delhaize Group recently entered into a non-binding letter of intent with BI-LO LLC to acquire a substantial majority of BI-LOs assets including associated inventory a statement from the company revealed last week. The deal was fixed at $425 million in cash. This announcement was made in...

Belgian diamond trade sparkles in September  
THE latest official figures on Belgian diamond trade showed that rough diamond trade totaled $1.37 billion in September as the market was seeing growing activity. Net exports stood at $127.54 million for 2.2 million carats of gem and industrial grade rough diamonds. Imports and exports peaked in September yet compared...

Solvay sells pharmaceutical business to Abbott
IN ORDER to accelerate the implementation of its sustainable and profitable growth strategy Solvay the Brussels-based international chemical and pharmaceutical group on 28 September announced the sale of its entire pharmaceutical business to Abbott a global broad-based healthcare company for €5.2 billion. This includes a purchase price of €4.5 billion...

Dexia plans to cut 602 positions
Reviewing the transformation plan announced on 14 November 2008 Dexias European Works Council EWC met on 24 and 25 September in Brussels chaired by Pierre Mariani CEO. These plans are reflected by the shedding of 602 positions including 445 in Belgium 14 in France and 143 in Luxembourg. They are...

GM workers protest against job cuts in Antwerp EU
Some 5 000 Opel workers from Belgium and Germany rallied 24 September in Antwerp to protest against possible job cuts at General Motors European plants. Participants included trade union officials from other European countries where Opel has factories including Britain and Poland. A similar protest was held in the Spanish...

Metal company buys three Tennessee zinc mines
Nyrstar NV a Belgian metal company last week announced it was buying three East Tennessee zinc mines with a view to reopening them. A Nyrstar statement announced that it would pay the Glencore Group USD $126 million for the Immel Mine in Mascot Young Mine in New Market and Coy...

E-invoicing can save companies billions
Belgian companies could save around €3.5 billion if they switched to electronic invoices the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium VBO .. The Federation is asking organizations and companiesto endorse electronic invoicing and to make the process as simple as using paper. Five years after the introduction of electronic billing in...

More than a bit of spilled milk
On the eve of the European Council Summit bringing together all European Member States heads of government and following meetings the week before between agriculture ministers that didnt seem to change much for farmers Belgian farmers followed by their German colleagues began spilling thousand of liters of milk onto fields...

Belgium takes Opel case to next level
The question of job safety amid the ongoing recession fears is seemingly brewing a bilateral row between Belgium and Germany. The Belgian authority last week heightened its resistance against German state aid to auto manufacturer Opels planned new owners. The Belgium government demanded that the slightest hint of protectionism should be...

Euroclear looks at direct dividend service
A new service designed to provide electronic payment of dividends for securities held in dematerialised physical and nominative forms would shortly be introduced in Belgium by Euroclear Belgium the company announced last week. Barring any regulatory objection the new service expected to commence in November will increase operational efficiency simplify...

ING Belgium website hacked
The websites of several banks including that of ING Belgium had recently been hacked through SQL injection it was revealed last week in a report on softpedia.com. These proof-of-concept attacks revealed poor security practices on behalf of institutions that people entrust with their life savings local media reports said. The security...

Belgians invest in East EU logistic park
Alinso Group a Belgian company recently entered into an investment partnership with Romanian businessman Petrica Usurelu founder and president of Piritex Group Romania eyeing the launch of a logistic park in southern Romania a joint statement revealed last week. The new logistic centre would be named Romania Ploiesti West Park....

Twittering to the world
The Brussels Twitter Festival is back and its bigger than ever for a second year running with too many charities to chose from theyre making visitors to the site chose bands galore and less than two weeks away be prepared to open the door to media in a way you...

Eco-vouchers boost green purchases
The Belgian Eco-cheques are doing well and are increasing in popularity recent reports indicated. This new kind of voucher that can exclusively be used for the purchase of ecological products and services are now offered by Belgian companies to their employees. This new initiative stemmed from an agreement led by...

Base to launch HSPA by year-end
The KPN Group subsidiary Base last week announced plans of introducing HSPA services in the Belgian market by the end of 2009. In a statement outlining the Base plans the company said that the HSPA upgrade would be systematically rolled out further in line with the increasing demand for mobile...

Westerschelde bill to go unpaid
A new row was brewing last week between Belgium and the Netherlands over a 300 million Euro bill. According to local news reports the Belgian government indicated that it would not be paying the Netherlands 300 million Euro it had agreed to hand over in compensation for environmental damage caused...

Gas demand on the up and up
Belgium will account for 5.98 percent of developed European regional oil demand by 2013 while making no appreciable contribution to supply the latest Belgium oil and gas report from Business Monitor International BMI forecasted reports as cited by pr inside. According to BMI estimate in developed Europe overall oil consumption reached...

Delhaize sizes up global carbon footprint for first time
Amid the ongoing global recession that has been continually tolling the retail sector the Belgium based international grocery chain Delhaize Group recently confirmed that apart from just profitability fulfilling corporate responsibility too remain a crucial goal for the company. The Belgian retailer that operates Food Lion and Hannaford supermarkets in...

All cages for egg production to be banned
The Belgian egg producers might have to change all laying-hen cage systems as from 2025 much later than the EU proposed deadline it was reported last week citing a ban advice given to the government by a consultative committee set up to address the issue. Millions of laying hens may...

Suzlon to divest stake in Belgian subsidiary
Suzlon Energy Indias biggest wind turbine maker would be divesting either fully or partially its stake in its Belgian subsidiary Hansen Transmission International local reports revealed last week citing company officials. The company recently appointed an independent directors committee which was negotiating with potential buyers as per Tulsi Tanti chairman...

110 mln Euro wind turbine contract for Deme
Within days after the festive inauguration of the farshore wind turbine farm at Thorntonbank Belgium the Antwerp-based marine and environmental engineering group Deme announced early last week its involvement in three more offshore windfarm projects in Europe. One is being executed a second contract was signed in the past days...

Galapagos awarded French Innovative Enterprise qualification
Galapagos NV a Mechelen-based drug discovery company last week has been granted the Innovative Enterprise qualification Entreprises Innovantes au titre des FCPI from the French governmental organisation OSEO that supports innovation and growth of SMEs. French private investors are eligible to receive significant tax advantages for participating in funds which...

Telenet buys elCompany Belgium
Macintosh Retail Group NV has reached agreement with Telenet on the sale of its BelCompany stores and points of sale in Belgium as well as its head office in Mechelen. The transfer took effect as from June 30 2009. The staff in the relevant stores and in head office will...

Pakistan premier seeks Belgian entry to European market
President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari during his recent visit to Belgium said Pakistan looked forward to Belgiums support in getting access to the European market. In a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuyat at his official residence Zardari said Belgium could play an important role in developing...

Avocats Sans Frontieres talks combating torture
Avocats Sans Frontieres ASF based in Brussels held its annual conference on The Role of the Legal Profession in Combating Torture and other cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment on the occasion of its 17th Annual General Assembly Meeting. The Conference explored some of the old as well as emerging challenges to...

OECD sees Belgian GDP fall of 4% in 2009
Amid the myriad dismal outlooks about the Belgian economy the OECD recently added its view. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD in a recent report forecasted that Belgiums economy would contract by four percent this year. The OECD had projected a modest decline of gross domestic product of...

Chocolate and diamonds rule Pavilion in Shanghai
Belgium has planned its pavilion for the Shanghai expo to lure visitors with a feast for eyes stomachs and even pockets. A mini chocolate factory is designed to make authentic Belgium chocolate and this is free for visitors. Also the sparkle of diamond would be there to dazzle the onlookers. The...

Innovations award goes to Belgacom et al
The Belgian telecom major Belgacom along with three of the worlds most innovative broadband equipment and semiconductor suppliers Alcatel-Lucent and Ikanos Communications Inc and Sagem Communications has been awarded the 2009 Innovations Award for Fixed Network Infrastructure by Global Telecoms Business magazine. Belgacoms Broadway Project includes the deployment of a high-speed...

Central Bank sees 2009 GDP growth at 0.4 percent
Cypruss Central Bank forecast on June 15 that the countrys economy would grow 0.4 percent in 2009. Governor Athanasios Orphanides told an economics conference the economy was still faring comparatively well compared with Eurozone peers. Taking that into account a forecast for a rate of growth of 0.4 percent in...

Solvay Indupa completes upgrade in Brazil
Solvay an international chemical and pharmaceutical Group with headquarters in Brussels announced on June 4 that Solvay Indupa successfully concluded the three-year and 150 million USD investment program to upgrade and expand the operations at its Santo André plant in Brazil by starting up a new membrane chlor-alkali unit MCA...

NBB says unemployment up 9.7% in 2010
Taking account of the deep and sustained decline in activity the number of persons employed is likely to decline progressively. As an annual average net job losses are forecast at 36 000 and 80 000 persons respectively in 2009 and 2010. The unemployment rate is set to rise from seven...

WDP to construct logistics platform for Ter Beke
Closed-end real-estate investment company Warehouses De Pauw WDP and Belgian fresh food group Ter Beke on June 9 have signed an agreement. WDP will construct a new state of the art value added logistics platform for the Dutch Ter Beke subsidiary Langeveld/Sleegers specialised in the slicing and packing of processed...

KBC net profit in Q1 at 465 million Euro
For the first quarter of 2009 KBC a large employer in Belgium and Central and Eastern Europe achieved an underlying net profit of 465 million Euro. This is significantly better than the level of 176 million Euro realised in the difficult previous quarter. Operating trends have turned positively across the...

Solvay issue 6-year 150 mln Euro bond
The Solvay Group an international chemical and pharmaceutical Group with headquarters in Brussels will issue through Solvay S.A. a six year bond for a minimum total amount of 150 million Euro in the form of a public offering in Belgium and Luxembourg maturing on June 12 2015. The bonds will...

Bekaert reports sales decline 12.7% in Q1
Bekaert a Belgium-based steel cord provider reported on May 13 that its first quarter consolidated sales were stable in comparison with the first quarter of an exceptional 2008 with strong differences between regions. Weak market demand in EMEA and North America drove an organic sales decline of 14.3 percent. This...

EBRD supports development of leading retailer
European bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD recently announced that it will grant 50 million Euro to Konzum the leading retailer in Bosnia and Herzegovina BiH . Konzum is owned by Croatias Agrokor the largest agribusiness company in south-eastern Europe operating in the food retail and food and beverage sectors...

EU Commissioner warns accession chances at stake
The European Unions Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn recently reiterated to visiting Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina Sven Alkalaj that the divided country must consolidate its central authorities or its accession to the EU might be at stake Fars news agency reported. The European Commission is committed to the transition from OHR...

UAEs humanitarian support praised
Ambassador of Bosnia Herzegovina to the UAE Radomir Kosic recently had talks with Sanaa al-Kitbi Advisor to H.H Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed al-Nahyan Deputy Prime Minister and President of RCA and officials of RCA Farsnews agency reported. In the course of talks the Bosnian envoy called on UAE Red Crescent...

ASEM 8 Summit in Brussels 2010
The Kingdom of Belgium will host the next ASEM Summit of Heads of State and Government ASEM 8 in Brussels on October 4 and 5 2010. In this respect Belgium is sounding out Asian and European partners on the global issues that should be dealt with at this Summit. Belgium...

SUEZ GDF and Publigas reoganise Fluxys shareholdings
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Mobistar puts social networks in youth offers
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IMEC expands partnership with Taiwanese firm TSMC
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The Towering Inferno - an investigation into the Berlaymont fire
As eurocrats scuttled away from the flames apocalyptic preachers roamed around Schuman quoting the more excitable passages from the Book of Revelations but the emergency services were feeling the pressure as one senior policeman said off the record Weve got to hush this up theres a lot at stake. Despite...

Michel outraged over Pope statement on condoms
Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation Charles Michel is outraged over the statement made by the Pope Benedict XVI that the distribution of condoms is not a solution for fighting the AIDS epidemic affecting the world. On the contrary the Pope added that it increases the problem. Popes statement came as...

20-year prison sentence to journalist
The Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht once more expressed his deep concern over the Afghan Supreme Courts decision to confirm the 20-year prison sentence handed down to journalist Sayed Pervez Kambaksh. The Minister is also disappointed that it took one month for this decision to...

Belgian police arrest NATO demonstrators
In Belgium police arrested around 100 people at a demonstration outside the National Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO s headquarters in the capital Brussels last week. The police intervened when the demonstrators tried to force their way into the organisations headquarters in an attempt to symbolically seal it off. They demonstrators...

Belgium News - New Europe News
Belgium News - New Europe News: The European News Source.

 

ING to sell off insurance following EU pressure
Dutch financial services group ING is to split off its insurance activities and continue as a bank following pressure from the European commission over state aid issues. ING announced early last week that it is to completely separate its banking and insurance operations. The structure and make-up of the board will...

Postal unions end opposition to TNT cuts
Postal unions said early last week that they now accept post office workers will have to choose between pay cuts and maintaining employment levels news agency ANP said. The unions set up their own investigation into the financial situation at TNT after union members voted against a preliminary agreement to...

NXP wins supply contract for Chinese ePassport chips
SmartMX security chip has been chosen by the Chinese government to power the countrys first ePassport scheme. Utilizing the latest developments in cryptography and security to protect the chip at both hardware and software level NXPs portfolio of SmartMX products enables data to be securely stored on the passport creating...

Commission grants extension to Fortis and ABN AMRO
The European Commission has decided to grant an extension of the deadline for the divestment of Fortis corporate banking business consisting of Hollandsche Bank Unie N.V. HBU two corporate client departments 13 Advieskantoren and ABN AMROs Dutch factoring activities IFN Finance BV to Deutsche Bank. The extension has been granted...

Doubleglazing subsidy scheme starts
THE temporary scheme subsidizing the installation of double glazing began on 1 October and will be retroactive to 1 July and will continue until 31 December 2010 unless the budget runs out sooner. Homeowners and Homeowners Associations Vereniging van Eigenaren VvE can apply for a voucher giving a discount of €35...

TomTom starts new entrylevel carnavigation solution 
PROVING that quality simplicity and style can mix Dutch navigation device maker TomTom NV introduced an entry-level car navigation solution TomTom Start in Europe on 6 October. The TomTom Start is specifically designed for occasional drivers and drivers who havent had a chance to experience the benefits of car navigation....

ANZ picks up Australia and NZ ING Insurance
THE Amsterdam-based global financial institution ING has reached an agreement to sell its life insurance and wealth-management venture in Australia and New Zealand to ANZ its joint venture partner. Under the terms of the agreement ING will sell its 51% equity stakes in ING Australia and ING New Zealand to...

TomTom and ATT to deliver LIVE Services
TOMTOM the Netherlands-based world-leading provider of navigation solutions and digital maps has announced a new agreement with ATT to provide the wireless connection to TomTom XL 340S LIVE the first mid-range portable navigation device to feature Local Search powered by Google real-time traffic information and TomTom Fuel Price Service. The...

55 000 jobs were lost in Q2 2009
IN THE second quarter of this year the number of employees fell by 72 000 relative to the second quarter of 2008. For the first time since 2004 the number of jobs is below the level of twelve months previously. For the second time in a row the number of...

One dead after train collision near Rotterdam
One man died and several others were injured as two cargo trains collided and hit a passenger train near Rotterdam Dutch police said 25 September reported Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa . The driver of one of the cargo trains died and according to police relatively few others were injured when...

Typo leads to loss of €43 000
A man lost €43 000 when he made a typo during an internet banking transaction Dutch media reported 24 September. In late June a typo led a man from the south-eastern town of Wageningen to mistakenly transfer €43 000 to the account of an unknown woman from Almelo instead of...

Shell to develop Gorgon LNG project in Australia
The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc Shell has taken the Final Investment Decision on the Gorgon liquefied natural gas LNG project signaling the start of initial construction on one of the worlds largest natural gas developments. Chevron will operate the project with a 50 percent stake with participants Shell...

Kardan sells 3% of indirect holding in GTC
The Amsterdam -based leading emerging markets player Kardan N.V. Kardan which is active in Real Estate Financial Services and Water Infrastructure in emerging markets announced on September 11 that it has sold three percent of its indirect holding in Globe Trade Centre SA GTC SA . After the sale Kardan...

SNV organises International Biogas Event
From November 10-12 the Netherlands Development Organisation SNV will organise in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank ADB the International Workshop: How to improve and scale up practices? in Kathmandu Nepal. Domestic biogas plants are a proven technology in providing clean gas for cooking and fertiliser for households raising livestock....

800 000 euros to combat honour crime
The Dutch Minister Van der Laan Housing Communities and Integration has concluded agreements with seven municipal authorities Eindhoven Arnhem The Hague Delft Hengelo Enschede and Deventer to tackle honour crime allocating 790 000 euros via the Municipalities Fund Gemeentefonds to support the initiatives. In their plans to tackle this phenomenon...

Queens Day attack was unstoppable
It would have been impossible to stop Karst Tates driving his car into the crowd watching the royal family during this years Queens Day celebrations the Volkskrant reports on September 3 quoting an official report due to be published on September 4. Nevertheless sources told the paper the reports are...

University growing 50 000 Marijuana plants
A plantation containing nearly 50 000 marijuana plants discovered in a sweetcorn field near Lelystad on September 2 belongs to Wageningen University news agency ANP reported on September 3 the Dutch news agency said quoting Ton van Scheppingen director of the universitys plant research unit. Police found the plantation after...

SNV likes Pakistans involvement in domestic biogas
SNV a Dutch development organisation announced on August 19 to assist in setting-up and implementing the Domestic Biogas Programme in Pakistan which may lift poor households out of poverty and can improve the livelihoods of rural farmers in Pakistan. Pakistan has the potential for the installation of approximately five million...

July passenger volumes down 6.4%
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol reported on August 20 that July saw upwards of 4.5 million passengers travelling to from or via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol which is 6.4 percent down compared with the same month in 2008. Moreover more than 108 000 tonnes of cargo were transported in July a decrease of...

Royal Aholds positive second-quarter results
Netherlands-based food retailer Royal Ahold NV did better in the second quarter of 2009 than analysts had expected. Releasing its quarterly results on August 20 the food retailer said sales went up 11 percent - four percent at constant exchange rates - in the second quarter. Net profit was 195...

Aegon 1 bln Euro equity issue to repay government loan
Aegon the Dutch insurance company has completed a one billion Euro equity issue and intends to use the proceeds to repay one billion Euro of the three billion Euro loan the company secured last year from the Dutch government at the height of the global financial crisis the company announced...

65 mln Euro banked on electric cars
The government has earmarked 65 million Euro to help make the Netherlands the international testing ground for electric cars. It has also drawn up a plan to speed up the introduction of electric cars onto the market the government press reported on July 3. By 2010 the price of electric...

Fortis Bank Netherlands redeems 34 bln Euro
Fortis Bank Netherlands has redeemed 34 billion Euro of its debt to the Dutch State. The redemption concerns the short-term loans that were granted after the acquisition of the Dutch parts of Fortis SA/NV. With this redemption Fortis Bank Netherlands fulfils its obligation to pay back the debt earlier than...

Eureko and ING agree on health insurance distribution
The Dutch insurance company Eureko and ING a global financial institution of Dutch origin announced on June 16 to collaborate on a distribution agreement by which ING Greece will distribute the Health insurance products provided by Eurekos Greek subsidiary Interamerican on a preferred provider basis. This agreement paves the way...

Schiphol wins ACI EUROPE Best Airport Award
During the 19th annual congress of ACI Europe held in Manchester Amsterdam Airport Schiphol was awarded the ACI Europe Best Airport Award. The jury awarded the prize to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in recognition of the way in which the airport maintains its relationship with the local community as part of...

Released journalists return home from Iran
Two Dutch journalists detained by the Iranian authorities in the wake of the countrys disputed election flew back home on June 15 after being released one of the pair reported via Twitter. On Sunday the Iranian authorities detained the two from Dutch current affairs television programme NOVA while they were...

GasTerra and GDF SUEZ extend contract to 2029
Reinforcing their long-term partnership GasTerra the international company trading in natural gas and GDF SUEZ the leading energy providers in the world announced on June 15 the the extension of their natural gas sale and purchase agreement up to 2029. The contracted volumes will allow GDF SUEZ to supply its...

Shell USD 15.5 mln trust settles Nigerian case
Making a humanitarian gesture the Royal Dutch Shell Plc on June 8 agreed to set up a trust fund to benefit the Ogoni people settling a court case in New York related to allegations in connection with the Nigerian military governments execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and others in 1995. The...

Parliament approves new pro-EU government
Montenegros parliament approved a new government headed by veteran Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic who wants to lead his country toward NATO and European Union membership. After a day-long debate 48 of 73 deputies present at the session voted for the new cabinet while 22 MPs were against. Three deputies abstained from...

Apollo Tyres begins acquiring Vredestein estein Banden BV
The Indian tyre company Apollo Tyres Ltd has concluded the formal process of acquiring a 100 percent stake in the premium European tyre manufacturer Vredestein Banden BV VBBV based out of the Netherlands. The acquisition is being made from the parent company Russias largest tyre manufacturer Amtel-Vredestein NV AVNV ....

AFM imposes administrative fine on Op Doorreis V.O.F.
The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets AFM imposed an administrative penalty of 6 000 Euro on Op Doorreis V.O.F. on April 27 2009 as Doorreis V.O.F. performed intermediary services relating to life insurance contracts between clients and a provider without having the required licence from January 2007 to May...

National budget will need oil monies to balance it
In its revised National Budget the Norwegian government proposed to increase the spending of oil revenues by a further 9.5 billion Norwegian crowns 1.07 billion Euro to a total of 130 billion crowns 14.75 billion Euro during the 2009 fiscal year in an effort to curb unemployment government officials said....

EDB wins a public sector contract in Sweden
Oslo-listed IT firm EDB Business Partner has secured a four-year contract to supply IT services to the Swedish Board for Study Support the company said. The 100 million Swedish crowns 9.53 million Euro contract which includes a three-year extension option runs from March 1 next year EDB said. This contract...

Dutch and Brits first to go to the polls
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PM calls for more and better supervision
Europe will have to emerge stronger from the current crisis with stricter rules more and better supervision and more powerful institutions the Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said following the European Council meeting in Brussels where the economic recession topped the agenda on March 20. Europe also needs to...

Court convicts Rwandan Hutu to 20 years for 1994 genocide
A Dutch court has convicted a Rwandan Hutu to 20 years for his part in the 1994 genocide. On March 23 a court in The Hague found Joseph M. 40 guilty of two counts of torture. M. a member of the Hutu majority led a party of Hutu extremists who...

Vodafone Netherlands announces 3000 job cuts
In efforts to remain successful in the worsening economic climate and the competitive elecommunications market Vodafone Netherlands announced early last week that it was to accelerate the execution of its existing strategy which will result in reducing its workers. In order to continue growth and retain the ability to invest...

Peace process in east Congo gets Dutch support
During his talks with the Dutch development minister Bert Koenders on March 16 the former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo the United Nations UN Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region has urged the Dutch government to help in the peace process in eastern Congo: The Netherlands plays an important...

Lebanon Tribunal in The Hague to investigate Hariris murder
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague has been established to prosecute the alleged perpetrators of the 2005 attack that resulted in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and to examine a number of terrorist attacks that took place in Lebanon around that time the government...

Extra 2 mln Euro in emergency aid for Palestinian territory
To prevent Gazas population from suffering further through lack of progress at political level the Netherlands has pledged an extra two million Euro in emergency aid. It will be distributed by UNRWA the UN agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The Dutch Foreign minister Maxime Verhagen who represented...

Airtricity to build wind turbine park
Airtricity is to build the Netherlandsrsquo; largest wind turbine park on sea the subsidiary of the British utility group Scottish amp; Southern Energy Plc SSE announced on February 25. The new wind farm Breeveertien 2 would be built 55 kilometres from the coast near IJmuiden in the north-west Netherlands. It would...

Highest benefits from EU enlargement in last 5 years
The Netherlands has benefited the most from EU enlargement during the last five years a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated. Since 2004 the Dutch economy has grown by an extra 1.8 percent on top of normally projected growth: in other words by an extra 11 billion...

Construction of 12 new basic healthcare centres in Uruzgan
Courses for Afghan students interested in a career in health care part of a national project to improve the delivery of health care in Afghanistan started this week. Uruzgans first health training centre has been officially opened the government press reported on February 20. The Netherlands is financing the construction...

Heinekens major cost saving operation set
Dutch beer brewer Heineken would embark on a major cost-saving operation that might include cutting jobs the company said after releasing its annual results on February 18. Turnover in 2008 amounted to 14.3 billion Euro USD 18.06 billion 27 percent more than in 2007. The company made an operational profit...

ABN Amro/Fortis Bank presents new management
Dutch ABN Amro/Fortis banks new management board was presented by its Chairman Gerrit Zalm to the media on February 19. Three of the seven new members originate from ABN Amro; Chris Vogelzang Wietze Reehoorn and Johan van Hall. Jan van Rutte from Fortis was appointed financial director and deputy chairman....

Fortis shareholders reject crisis nationalisation
Shareholders in Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis on February 11 rejected its emergency nationalisation throwing into chaos state plans to split up the crisis-hit lender reported Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa . In two votes 57 percent of shareholders rejected the sale of the Dutch parts of the bank to the Dutch state...

Legislator invited to Britain to show Fitna
Dutch legislator Geert Wilders recently received an invitation from a member of the British House of Lords to visit London to a show of his controversial political film Fitna which is highly critical of Islam and migrants said Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa . Media reports last week indicated that the...

Northern Ireland Minister promotes beef on Dutch visit
Enterprise Minister for Ireland Arlene Foster launched a new quality beef brand from Northern Ireland during her visit to the Netherlands. The Minister took part in the launch of the Shannon Matured Beef brand by CJ Meats of Kilmore Co Armagh and its Dutch partner Shannon Meats in Zoetermeer. `The...

Political support for Iraq invasion under investigation
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende on announced the establishment of an `independent committee? early last week to investigate the previous government`s political support for the US- led invasion of Iraq in 2003. In recent weeks opposition has mounted from opposition parties and within the government openly to question the...

ING to cut 7 000 full-time positions this year
The Dutch State is granting a back-up facility to the global financial institution of Dutch origin ING. This facility relates to the banks securitised mortgage portfolio which due to the exceptional circumstances on the financial markets is presently transferable to a very limited extent. Moreover ING also announced that it...

Netherlands News - New Europe News
Netherlands News - New Europe News: The European News Source.

 

EU will not extradite US death penalty suspects
LUXEMBOURG - The European Union finalized early last week an extradition deal with the United States that excludes suspects who may face the death penalty across the Atlantic. Extradition to the US will henceforth only be possible under the condition that the death penalty will not be imposed or if...

Corporate governance focus at Luxembourg Stock Exchange
Together with the Luxembourg Institute of Directors ILA the Luxembourg Stock Exchange held on its premises on 20 October a conference on The revision of the Ten Principles of Corporate Governance of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Presentations at the conference were given by Alain Georges chairman of the board of...

Goodyear to sell Luxembourg steel cord plant
A recent announcement from Goodyear confirmed market speculations that the company had already embarked on the process of disposing its Luxembourg steel cord factory. The company last week revealed that talks with four potential buyers were already underway including with Belgiums Bekaert global top supplier of steel cord. Observers noted...

3V takes Visa voucher to Luxembourg
Irish online payments company 3V has announced it is expanding into Europe. 3V Transaction Services is launching its pay-as-you-go Visa voucher product in the Benelux region with Luxembourg Banque Invik as banking partner. Banque Invik will work with a number of national distribution partners in different countries to make the...

Fortis sells Luxembourg Nonlife activities
THE Belgium-based Fortis recently announced the inking of an agreement with La Baloise for the sale of its Luxembourg Non-life activities Fortis Luxembourg IARD. The sale value had been fixed at €23 million according to a Fortis statement. Fortis Luxembourg IARD had Gross Written Premiums of €22 million in 2008....

Microfinance funds exempt from subscription tax
IN ITS proposal for the State Budget 2010 to be adopted by the Luxembourg Parliament in December the Luxembourg government has included an exemption from subscription tax for Microfinance Investment Funds following a recommendation issued by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry ALFI which has long considered that the...

New rules adopted at Lux Bourse
A REVISED version of the Ten Principles of Corporate Governance of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange was announced on 30 September which has been validated by the board of directors of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and entered into force on 1 October 2009. Two years following the implementation of the original...

ECJ overturns terrorist case
THE European Union was wrong to freeze the assets of Jose Maria Sison a Filipino national accused of heading a terrorist group in the Philippines the EU Court of Justice ruled on 30 September. Sison has lived in the Netherlands since 1987 but the authorities there have repeatedly refused to...

Indias BSNL eyes telecoms Sri Lanka unit
The Sri Lankan subsidiary of Luxembourg-based telecom operator Millicom International Cellular SA the telecom firm Tigo formerly Celltel Lanka Ltd might be bought by the Indian state owned telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd BSNL local media reports indicated last week. As part of its expansion plans BSNL had already submitted...

Illegal dumping stirs controversy Belgians
Marcan a Luxembourg construction company has been illegally transporting waste to Attert in Belgium depositing 15 000 tonnes for landfill for the past four years. 15 000 tonnes of waste have been illegally transported from Luxembourg to the Belgian town of Attert and equipment was seized according to information just...

Climate change and economy discussed
Croatia can continue its membership talks with the European Union regardless of the fate of the Lisbon Treaty aimed at reforming the blocs institutions the prime ministers of Sweden and Luxembourg said on August 14. Speaking at a joint news conference with Swedish Premier Fredrik Reinfeldt Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker...

Seattle-based investor new ambassador to Luxembourg
The new US ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg would be Cynthia Stroum a Seattle-based investor it was reported last week citing a revelation from the White House. Cynthia Stroum has been an angel investor in over 20 successful technology biotechnology and retail start-up companies including Starbucks Coffee Company...

Logwin sells land transportation activities
The Luxembourg-based international logistics service provider Logwin is repositioning its land transportation activities for Turkey and Greece. Against this background Logwin Road + Rail Leibnitz GmbH is selling the activities if its site in Leibnitz to NUN Overland GmbH Leibnitz with effect from 1 September 2009. All employees and the...

Stock Exchange gets new set of harmonized tick sizes
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange announced early last week that it was set to move to a new set of tick sizes. Tick sizes are the minimum increments by which the price of a financial instrument is allowed to move up or down. Prior to this initiative there existed around 25...

PT Luxembourg in IPTV HD upgrade
PT Luxembourg recently divulged plans of expanding its 80-channel IPTV service with the launch of linear HD channels. The telco is deploying ATEMEs Kyrion AM2101 encoder on the MPEG-4 transmissions that are expected to commence later this year a recent statement from the company revealed. PT Luxembourg is committed to...

Liechtenstein signs DTA
Luxembourg recently inked a double taxation agreement in line with OECD standards for tax transparency with Liechtenstein. Luxembourgs Finance Minister Luc Frieden and Liechtensteins Prime Minister Klaus Tschutscher signed the double taxation agreement in Vaduz the capital of the Alpine principality. Liechtenstein agreed in March to adopt OECD standards on...

Double taxation deal inked with Lichtenstein
Luxembourg and Liechtenstein announced on August 26 they signed a double taxation agreement in line with the transparency standards demanded by a group of developed nations. It was the first such transparent treaty that Liechtenstein a tiny principality nestled between Switzerland and Austria that depends heavily on its financial sector...

Luxembourg offices score Excellent
A green office building in Luxembourg recently scored Breeam Excellent after going through a post construction assessment it was revealed last week. The European Investment Banks new East building originally received the rating very good from Breeam for its design so it moved up a grade. The application of the...

Sharia bonds for Petronas at Stock Exchange
On August 12 the Luxembourg Stock Exchange admitted to trading a sukuk issue and a bond issue from Petroliam Nasional Petronas the state-owned oil and gas company of Malaysia for a total amount issued of USD 4.5 billion. Sukuk are Islamic fixed income securities that allow companies and other organisations...

Google to scan Luxembourg streets
Internet users would shortly be able to go on a virtual tour to Luxembourg as the US based Google is upgrading its street view service on the country. News reports last week revealed that the country would shortly be filmed and photographed to improve Google-Earths street view service. The website...

Noble European Holdings bought by ArcelorMittal
The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Dutch company Noble European Holdings B.V. a subsidiary of Noble International Ltd. Of the US by ArcelorMittal of Luxembourg. After examining the operation the Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in...

ECC establishes Luxembourg subsidiary
European Commodity Clearing AG ECC and the European Energy Exchange AG EEX recently decided to settle the issue of the input tax surplus through the establishment of ECC Luxemburg Sarl it was reported last week. The issue of the input tax surplus puts a considerable strain on the balance sheet...

Juncker vows to stay on as Eurogroup tete
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker vowed early last week to stay on as head of the influential eurogroup of nations that share the common European currency despite stepping down as his countrys finance minister. Attending a regular meeting in his homeland of the 16-nation bloc a day after leading his...

Men at home on the rise
Although previously the other way around today in about six percent of Luxembourg resident couples where only one spouse works it is the man who stays at home while woman is the bread-winner a recent study from the CEPS revealed. This share was three percent in 1997. Another trend which...

IFA to support demonstration on dairy income
Following an announcement by COPA a pan European farmers organisation that they are to mount a major demonstration in Luxembourg on June 22 at the Council of Agriculture Ministers meeting IFA have confirmed a strong delegation of Irish dairy farm representatives will attend to support the demand for immediate action...

USD 8.1 million go to aiding Vietnamese poor
The Grand Duchy recently agreed to provide USD 8.1 million to help eradicate poverty in three districts of central Nghe An Province in Vietnam Vietnamese media reports revealed last week. The Ambassador of Luxembourg to Viet Nam Marc Ungeheuer and Vietnams Deputy Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Bich Dat signed...

150 mln-Euro EIB loan for renewable energy efficiency
The European Investment Bank EIB is providing Dexia Bank a Belgian-French financial institution with a 150 million Euro loan to finance investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency in Belgium and Luxembourg. The purpose of the agreement signed on May 18 in Brussels by Philippe Maystadt EIB President and Jean-Luc...

Social protection expenditure recorded highest
In 2006 social protection expenditure per capita in PPS 4 Purchasing Power Standards which eliminates price level differences between countries was more than 10 times higher in Luxembourg 5 than in Romania according to a news release based on report three published by Eurostat the Statistical Office of the European...

Clearstream signs MoU with ECB
...

Logwin joins Wikestrom Krogius in China
Logwin a Luxembourg-based leading provider of international logistics services has announced on March 18 details of an agreement that has seen the company join forces with Finnish partner Wikestrom Krogius to establish and operate a state-of-the-art supply chain centre for the Wärtsilä Corporation in Shanghai China. Under the terms of...

Asylum requests from Serbia Bosnia and Iraq are in
Luxembourg was the 32nd-most preferred destination for asylum-seekers in 2008 according to a report published by the United Nations Commission for Refugees. The USA Canada France Italy and the UK received the most applications of the 51 developed countries covered in the report which counted 383 000 asylum applications an...

Whats all this fuss about gas?
Just as the recent problems with natural gas seemed to have calmed down a new highly scandalous turmoil has appeared. This time the focus has shifted to the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System GTS. What is wrong with it? Nothing except for the fact that almost all the facilities are from...

Luxembourg concede bank secrecy to OECD
After long wrangle the Luxembourg authority recently announced it would relax its bank secrecy rules. Luxembourgs Minister for the Budget Luc Frieden made the announcement ahead of the recent G20 summit. Following a similar statement from Switzerland earlier he confirmed that details would be provided to foreign tax authorities of...

ArcelorMittal changes South American CEO
ArcelorMittal announced on March 20 that as part of his original retirement plan José Armando Campos has stepped down. Management Committee member Campos 60 will retire from his executive duties on March 31. However he will continue with ArcelorMittal in an advisory capacity so that the companys Brazilian operations will...

Third worldwide in annual ITIF innovation
A recent survey on overall innovation and competitiveness globally found Luxembourg to be in the third place. The survey was conducted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation ITIF . Luxembourg was placed behind Singapore and Sweden ahead of Denmark South Korea the US Finland Britain Japan and the NAFTA...

Parliament passes Euthanasia legislation
Following a long-spanned debate the Luxembourg parliament during a recent session finally voted to legalise euthanasia becoming the third country in the European Union to do so. While the euthanasia bill has yet to pass the second reading it is anticipated that it will come into effect this summer unless...

Skype Nokia phone partnership begins
Skype Luxembourg-based firm operator of popular VoIP computer telephony program and Nokia announced a partnership early last week that will bring the worlds leading Internet communications experience to the Nokia range of mobile computers. Under the terms of the cooperation Skype will be integrated into Nokia devices starting with the...

Terniums net income falls 12% in 2008
During 2008 the Luxembourg-based manufacturer of flat and long steel products Ternium posted a net income o f USD 875.2 million a decrease of 12 percent when compared to the year 2007. This decrease was mainly due to the USD 632.7 million net foreign exchange loss and a decline of...

UBS defends CSSFs charge over Madoff fraud
Luxembourgs financial regulator the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier CSSF said on February 25 that bank UBS AG Switzerlands largest bank did not have enough checks in place to judge the risk of investing in the massive alleged Madoff fraud. UBS has three months to show it has put...

8 households out of 10 own a computer
The Luxembourg statistical office statec has presented the last EU inquiry about the use of ICTs by households and companies in 2008. According to data eight households out of 10 own a personal computer and 96 percent of the people aged 16 to 74 have used it every day or...

Cargolux agrees to pay Aussie fines for price fixing
The Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International S.A. among other cargo airlines agreed with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ACCC to pay pecuniary penalties for breaching the price fixing provisions of the Australian Trade Practices Act 1974. The ACCC and Cargolux will jointly submit to the Court that the penalty should...

Laying a foundation stone for the grand new pavilion
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg celebrated in Shanghai the laying of the foundation stone on the site of the Luxembourg Pavilion at the World Expo 2010. With this ceremony Luxembourg is one of the first countries in the world to start with the construction of their national pavilion. The ceremony...

VOXmobile`s mobile telephony customers rise 6.9% in 2008
At the end of the 2008 financial year the Luxembourg-based mobile operator and a subsidiary of Mobistar VOXmobile had 79 687 active customers for mobile telephony an increase of 6.9 percent compared to the 74 560 active customers one year earlier Mobistar announced early last week. The total turnover of...

Vietnam visit for the Grand Duke
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henry will pay an official visit to Vietnam from February 15 - 18 at the invitation of Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet the Luxembourg foreign ministry confirmed last week. This will be the first official visit to Vietnam by Grand Duke Henry as the head...

Regulator seeks liquidation of suicide`s hedge fund assets
The Luxembourg financial authorities last week announced plans to liquidate a Bernard Madoff-scarred hedge fund whose CEO was found dead an apparent suicide in December. The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier said on February 3 that it would ask a court to liquidate Access International Advisors` LuxAlpha Sicav-American Selection...

PM open to talks on bank secrecy clampdown
The Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker recently said he was open to considering limiting bank secrecy in Europe after the European Commission proposed tougher rules. `Of course Luxembourg which has a particular position on bank secrecy is ready to discuss? the issue he told journalists in a news conference with...

Path is cleared for energy firm merger
Luxembourgs Economics Minister Jeannot Krecke said on January 23 that the path was clear for the merger of three companies to form a national energy provider Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa reported. Under the plan Electricity Company Cegedel would merge with gas and electricity provider Soteg and Saar Ferngas Krecke said. Ownership...

Belgian RTL can operate under a Lux licence
Following a recent ruling handed down by the Belgian State Council Conseil dEtat the media company RTL can now operate its Belgian French language channels under a Luxembourg licence according to local news reports. Earlier the Walloon media authority CSA said the broadcasts were illegal without a Belgian licence and...

Luxembourgian ECOSOC President gets elected
Ambassador Sylvie Lucas of Luxembourg was elected on January 15 as the 65th President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council ECOSOC making her the second woman to lead the world bodys principal organ responsible for coordinating work in these critical fields ECOSOC announced in a news release. Lucas...

UBS compensates French brokerage for Madoff investment
Luxembourg authorities ordered UBS Luxembourg to compensate French brokerage Oddo et Cie early last week for 30 million Euro invested in funds managed by Wall Street swindle The Economic Times reported. Oddo had invested 30 million Euro USD 40 million in investment fund Lux Alpha for which UBS Luxembourg was...

Luxembourg News - New Europe News
Luxembourg News - New Europe News: The European News Source.

 

Belgium begins mass vaccination against swine flu
Belgium on Saturday officially launched a mass vaccination campaign against swine flu targeted at people considered most at risk.

UN in Afghanistan to evacuate 600 foreign staff
The UN insisted it was not abandoning Afghanistan, where 100,000 US-led foreign troops are battling a bloody insurgency eight years after the extremist Taliban regime was driven from power.

Belgium reluctant to see PM leave for EU president job
Belgian commentators on Friday voiced concern at a seemingly unstoppable wave of backing for their country's prime minister Herman Van Rompuy to be offered the new EU president's role.

Italy plays down safety concerns on planned nuclear plants
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government announced shortly after taking office last year that it would begin building nuclear power stations to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil and gas supplies.

World leaders descend on Berlin 20 years after Wall's fall
The celebrations will culminate in a gathering of luminaries past and present with an estimated 100,000 revellers at the Brandenburg Gate, a potent symbol of unity that was long on the fault line between East and West.

Brussels Accessible Art Fair - EU quarter 2009
The Brussels Accessible Art Fair is gearing up for its next event.

European stocks stage big gains
European stock markets staged a spirited rally this week, recovering from sharp falls a day earlier on reassuring economic data from the United States and positive corporate results.

Trial of coffee shop on Belgian border postponed
The drug trafficking trial of the owner of the biggest cannabis-vending coffee shop in the Netherlands has been delayed for further investigation, the court said Thursday.

GM plans 10,000 job cuts at Opel
The plant at Antwerp is among those scheduled for cutbacks in the restructuring of the car manufacturer's operations.

German Opel workers fear for their futures under GM
Workers at Opel's four German plants protested on Thursday to voice their anger at a shock decision by GM this week to back out of a planned sale of the firm.

Expatica - Belgian Headlines
Expatica - Belgian Headlines

 

7 flu deaths - hundreds of infections this week
Seven people have died and hundreds been hospitalised so far this week as a result of swine flu in the Netherlands.

Homes searched in housing company fraud case
Dutch fiscal police have raided a number of premises in the Netherlands and Spain, looking for evidence in the case of Hubert Möllenkamp, a former director of a housing corporation. The prosecutor's office confirmed that police confiscated a number of documents during the search.

Blasphemy law considered discriminatory
Three Dutch opposition parties are arguing that a ban on blasphemy is discriminatory, and want it scrapped.

Netherlands targets clients in draft prostitution law
Clients of unlicensed prostitutes in the Netherlands may in future risk prosecution under a proposed new law, the cabinet said on Friday.

UN in Afghanistan to evacuate 600 foreign staff
The UN insisted it was not abandoning Afghanistan, where 100,000 US-led foreign troops are battling a bloody insurgency eight years after the extremist Taliban regime was driven from power.

Italy plays down safety concerns on planned nuclear plants
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government announced shortly after taking office last year that it would begin building nuclear power stations to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil and gas supplies.

World leaders descend on Berlin 20 years after Wall's fall
The celebrations will culminate in a gathering of luminaries past and present with an estimated 100,000 revellers at the Brandenburg Gate, a potent symbol of unity that was long on the fault line between East and West.

Visiting illegal prostitutes to be made a crime
Dutch ministers want to make visits to illegal prostitutes punishable by law.

Dutch news in brief, Friday 6 November 2009
Read the roundup of today's Dutch press from Radio Netherlands.

Dutch crown prince gaffes in Mexico speech
Crown Prince Willem-Alexander unwittingly used a vulgar Spanish expression while speaking at an energy seminar in Mexico City.

Expatica - Dutch Headlines
Expatica - Dutch Headlines

 

Steelworkers Try to Force Their Way Into Meeting
Angry over reduced hours and heightened job insecurity, steelworkers tried to crash ArcelorMittal’s shareholder meeting in Luxembourg.

Waves of Change Splash Landlocked Luxembourg
Two pillars of Luxembourg’s identity are under attack: its liberal banking laws and Grand Duke Henri, the last grand duke anywhere in the world.

Tax Havens Likely to Be Target of G-20 Nations
Nations like Switzerland and Luxembourg, long considered tax havens, are coming under increasing pressure by European officials to divulge more information on potential tax evaders.

Netherlands Takes Over Fortis's Dutch Operations
Dutch government, in added sign of deepening European government efforts to address credit crisis, takes over operations in Netherlands of Fortis Bank in deal valued at 16.8 billion euros ($23.3 billion); new deal replaces rescue package by Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg; photo

Europe Moves to Calm Ripple Effect of Crisis
Several European governments went on the offensive Tuesday, bailing out a second Belgian bank in two days and promising to protect all bank depositors in Ireland.

Authorities Aid Banks in Europe
The turmoil that has rocked the United States banking system spread to Europe on Monday, buffeting institutions in at least four countries with a chain of new failures.

European Regulators Move Swiftly to Rescue Two Lenders
Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments, in latest sign of trouble to hit Europe from global credit crisis, announce partial nationalization of troubled Belgian-Dutch financial conglomerate Fortis; British regulators, following marathon weekend meetings, prepare to seize mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley after no private buyers emerge

Tiny Nation, Big Feat: Qualifier Keeps Going
Gilles Muller is the first player from Luxembourg to advance this far in a Grand Slam event and the lowest-ranked quarterfinalist in the U.S. Open since 1999.

Banking Scandal Unfolds Like a Thriller
One of the largest private banking scandals in years in Liechtenstein has brought to light a group of characters worthy of a spy thriller.

Tax Havens Face Pressure From Europe
The European Commission will propose expanding a directive to ensure that Europeans do not evade taxes on the interest from savings by opening accounts abroad.

Germany Breaks With Its Clubby Business Past
From the Siemens bribery investigation to the prosecution of illicit conduct at Volkswagen, the German business world is undergoing a painful national cleansing process.

Prosecutors in Germany Expand Tax Evasion Inquiry
German prosecutors said that they were investigating several hundred people on suspicion of tax evasion in a case that claimed the job of Klaus Zumwinkel, the chief executive of Deutsche Post.

Restarts Cited in Skype Failure
A two-day system failure that left millions unable to the popular Internet phone service was caused by an abnormally high number of restarts after people had downloaded a Windows security update.

Attracting Private Equity Becomes a National Sport in Europe
Private equity markets in Europe have faced the same issue of private equity taxation with fiery debate and quiet lobbying.

$45 Million Invested in Internet TV Venture
Joost, a start-up that delivers television programming over the Internet, said that it had received $45 million in financing.

NYT > Luxembourg
World news about Luxembourg, including breaking news and archival articles published in The New York Times.

 

Life of Drugs and Delusion Left Broken Hearts Along the Road
At the end of his squandered career, Frank Vandenbroucke, who died in a hotel in Senegal, was still aching to make a comeback that nobody was buying.

Waiting for the Chief
Who will be the first president of the European Union?

A Reformer in the NATO Henhouse
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliance's secretary general, is determined to reform the institution, big time.

Henin's Comeback Enriches Tennis
The real winner in the return of Justine Henin is women’s tennis.

A Chinese Spin on Baroque Opera
The artist Zhang Huan has staged Handel’s “Semele” for La Monnaie theater, in a production set in a 450-year-old Ming Dynasty temple.

Raikkonen Edges Fisichella to Win Belgian Prix for 4th Time
Kimi Raikkonen held off the Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella to win the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, the Ferrari driver's fourth triumph at the high-speed track in the past five years.

A Monument to Justice, Built for Easy Escapes
The ease of recent escapes from jails and courthouses has raised questions about the state of Belgium’s criminal justice system and its buildings.

The Machine or the Man: Which Makes a Team Win?
In a series like Formula One where the quality and style of both the cars and the tracks vary enormously, the answer is complex.

Troubled Belgian Bank Reshuffles Management
Under pressure from regulators and investors, KBC replaced the executive who oversaw a plunge into the securitized credit market.

A Bubble of Diplomats and Officials Is Set to Pop
The European Union has proposed a new development scheme, which it says will purge some of the urban sins it has committed with its fortresslike headquarters.

With a Nod to Ireland, European Union Lifts Hopes for a Treaty to Strengthen Itself
The 27-member organization removed an obstacle to enacting the Lisbon Treaty intended to enhance the bloc’s global role.

Arts Guide: Briefly
There are two new galleries now open in Europe: The Magritte Museum in Belgium and the Punta della Dogana in Venice.

Steelworkers Try to Force Their Way Into Meeting
Angry over reduced hours and heightened job insecurity, steelworkers tried to crash ArcelorMittal’s shareholder meeting in Luxembourg.

A Clean Energy Machine That Works Like the Sun
What could be the world’s most expensive clean energy project is getting under way in a quiet corner of southern France.

Takeover of Belgian Bank Sparks Anger at Meeting
Angry shareholders at Fortis, once Belgium’s biggest bank, pelted management with their shoes after failing to block the company’s takeover by a big French bank.

NYT > Belgium

Belgium has given the world Audrey Hepburn, René Magritte, the saxophone and deep-fried potato slices that somehow are called French.

But the back story of this flat, Maryland-size country of 10.4 million is of a bad marriage writ large — two nationalities living together that cannot stand each other. Now, more than three months after a general election, Belgium has failed to create a government, producing a crisis so profound that it has led to a flood of warnings, predictions, even promises that the country is about to disappear.

Radical Flemish separatists want to slice the country horizontally along ethnic and economic lines: to the north, their beloved Flanders — where Dutch (known locally as Flemish) is spoken and money is increasingly made — and to the south, French-speaking Wallonia, where a kind of provincial snobbery was once polished to a fine sheen and where today old factories dominate the gray landscape.

With the headquarters of both NATO and the European Union in Brussels, the crisis is not limited to this country because it could embolden other European separatist movements, among them the Basques, the Lombards and the Catalans.

Read More...

Since the kingdom of Belgium was created as an obstacle to French expansionism in 1830, it has struggled for cohesion. Anyone who has spoken French in a Flemish city quickly gets a sense of the mutual hostility that is a part of daily life here. The current crisis dates from June 10, when the Flemish Christian Democrats, who demand greater autonomy for Flanders, came in first with one-fifth of the seats in Parliament. Since then, no one has been able to put together a coalition government.

On one level, there is normalcy and calm here. The country is governed largely by a patchwork of regional bureaucracies, so trains run on time, mail is delivered, garbage is collected, the police keep order. Officials of the former government remain in office, making decisions as if they had not been ousted. But a new government will be needed to approve a budget for next year.-- Elaine Sciolino, Sept. 21, 2007

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Karadzic Gets Delay, and Lawyer, in War Crimes Trial
The decision of the international criminal tribunal will postpone the trial of Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader, until March to allow the defense time to prepare.

Karadzic Promises to Attend War Crimes Trial Tuesday
Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader, is defending himself but previously advised the tribunal that he was not ready for the trial.

Karadzic Trial Resumes Without Defendant
Radovan Karadzic refused to appear in The Hague and sent word once again that he wanted more time to prepare his defense.

Karadzic Refuses to Appear on First Day of His Trial
The Bosnian Serb leader refused to appear at The Hague and sent word once again that he wanted more time to prepare his defense.

Karadzic to Boycott Start of War Crimes Trial
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said he will not come to the start of his trial on Monday, insisting that he needs more time to prepare his defense.

Smuggling Europe’s Waste to Poorer Countries
Exporting waste illegally to poor countries is now a vast business, as companies try to reduce the costs of environmental laws.

Deutsche Pullout Threatens Dutch Bank Plans
Deutsche Bank has backed out of talks to buy a package of assets from the nationalized Dutch bank ABN AMRO under a deal mandated by the European regulators.

The Camel as Cow, a Cautionary Tale
A Dutch farmer sees an untapped market among immigrants from Somalia and Morocco, where camel’s milk has long been popular.

Breaking in New Sport, Dutch Sweat Small Stuff
Lock picking for sport, which sprang up over the last decade in the Netherlands and northern Germany, grew out of computer hacking.

400 Years Later, Another Dutch Island
With site-specific performances of all sizes and media, the New Island Festival on Governors Island invites New Yorkers to experience the culture of the Netherlands.

In Dutch Finance Minister, a Voice for the Little Guy
Wouter Bos is pushing hard for limits on bonus pay, and the famously egalitarian Dutch are applauding.

Setback in Dutch Girl’s Plans for a World Voyage
A district court ruled that social workers should assess the effects of a solo trip around the world on 13-year-old Laura Dekker.

Iceland to Repay Nations for Failed Banks’ Deposits
Iceland will repay Britain and the Netherlands the $5.7 billion it borrowed to compensate people who lost money in the collapse of an Icelandic Internet bank.

Dutch Treat for Spanish Tour Before the Heights of Home
The next Tour de France will start in Rotterdam, the next Giro d'Italia will start in Amsterdam and the next Vuelta a España will start Saturday in Assen, the capital of the Dutch province of Drenth.

Amsterdam as Hub for Globetrotting Conceptualists
“In & Out of Amsterdam: Travels in Conceptual Art, 1960-1976” explores the relationship between early Conceptual art and globetrotting, with Amsterdam as a way station.

NYT > Netherlands
World news about the Netherlands, including breaking news and archival articles published in The New York Times.

 

World Soccer: Spain taking efficient, brilliant national team for granted
If no news is good news, then it's tempting to conclude that good news is no news at all. Not when it's this familiar, anyway, because when it's this familiar, the extraordinary becomes ordinary.

Former Guantanamo detainees sent to Kuwait, Belgium
Two detainees released from the U.S. military's prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been transferred to Kuwait and Belgium, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

Guantanamo detainee to be moved to Belgium
A detainee at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be transferred to Belgium, officials announced Friday.

9 die in fire at Belgium home for elderly
Nine people died and three more were hospitalized after a fire ripped through an elderly home in northern Belgium Thursday night, a government spokeswoman said.

Inmates in chopper jail break on crime spree
Three men who escaped from prison in Belgium in a daring helicopter escape committed a string of robberies on Saturday, a police spokesman said.

Al Qaeda priority: Western targets
Between late July and early December of 2008 four members of a Belgian-French group returned to Europe from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.

Trio break out of Belgium prison in helicopter
Three prisoners -- including one considered to be among Belgium's most dangerous criminals -- have broken out of a prison near Bruges in a daring helicopter escape.

Strange brew: Beer and office democracy
New Belgium Brewing Co. likes to do things differently.

World Soccer: Nations prepare to duke it out for 2018, '22 World Cup bids
FIFA will decide who hosts the World Cups of 2018 and 2022 on the same day in December 2010. This is for two reasons: firstly, to give the ultimate hosts a more realistic time frame in which to undertake all the necessary preparations and, secondly, to guarantee television and sponsor revenue a long way in advance.

Belgian king in talks over govt. crisis
Belgium's King Albert II held urgent talks with political leaders Saturday after Prime Minister Yves Leterme offered his government's resignation amid a row over the break-up of the stricken Fortis bank.

Belgium: PM offers resignation over banking deal
Belgium's Prime Minister Yves Leterme has offered his government's resignation amid a row over the break-up of the stricken Fortis bank, according to national media reports.

Six al Qaeda suspects charged in Belgium
Belgian authorities charged six suspected al-Qaeda-linked extremists with membership in a terrorist group Friday, including a woman they called an "al Qaeda living legend," according to media reports.

Belgian police arrest 'al Qaeda legend'
Belgian police Thursday arrested a woman they called an "al Qaeda living legend" as part of an operation to thwart a terror attack being planned to coincide with an EU summit in Brussels, a Belgian police source told CNN.

Amid Financial Crisis, Belgians Go on Strike
As if the beleaguered country didn't have enough problems, now its roads are paralyzed and schools shut down

Dexia Bank Gets Multi-nation $9.2B Bailout
Dexia became the second Belgian bank this week to get a government and shareholder bailout Tuesday when Belgium, France and Luxembourg said they would inject almost $9.2 billion to keep it afloat

Terror suspect transferred from Belgium to Spain
Spanish police Friday transferred a suspected leader of an al Qaeda-linked group from Belgium to Madrid, where he was indicted last year for alleged Islamic terrorist activities, the Spanish Interior Ministry said.

Belgium paradise for beer lovers
The other night I found my way home, a little tipsy after an evening in the Belgian town of Bruges. I'd been at my favorite bar in town, the 't Brugs Beertje, where not only did I get schooled in the many varieties of local beer, but also learned a few things about modern-day Belgian life.

Mission Impossible: Leading Belgium
Differences between Dutch and French speakers have made this trim little nation at the heart of Europe literally uncontrollable

InBev Pushes Anheuser-Busch Offer
Brewer InBev SA on Wednesday pressed Anheuser-Busch for an answer on its $46 billion takeover offer, saying it had already secured financing for the deal

Jon Wertheim: Sizing up Henin's place in tennis history
Hopefully I am first off the blocks with this question: What is your opinion on Henin's retirement? As a long time fan (before she even won her first title), there is no doubt that she would be in the Hall of Fame. Do you consider her someone who has overachieved despite the physical nature of the modern game? Could she have won more titles or is she another by-product of the power game? How is the media taking it since she has finally opened up to you last year? -- Ed Chew, Melbourne, Australia

Morocco arrests alleged terror plotters
Moroccan security services have broken up an alleged al Qaeda-linked terrorist network planning attacks in the North African country and in Belgium, Morocco's state-run news agency reported Monday.

Belgians stop al Qaeda jail break
Police in Belgium arrested 14 Muslim extremists on Friday after uncovering a plot to free an al Qaeda suspect from prison using weapons and explosives.

Belgium Finally Gets a Government
After six months of deadlock, the country's factions formed an emergency coalition. But with security being stepped up, the hard work has already begun

Belgium remains without government
Political parties in Belgium have been unable to form a ruling coalition since the June 10 general election, leaving the country without a government for half a year.

Belgium at 5 Months With No Govt
Belgium heads for 149 days with no government unless the two winners of this year's elections suddenly resolve linguistic spats deadlocking their bid to form an alliance

Ethnic Politics in Belgium
French-speaking politicians see a better chance of claiming the top job in the country's upcoming election, but the favorites remain Flemish

The ties that bind
Could there be a bigger honor for an athlete than representing her country in competition?

One-two punch
Welcome back to Rankings-ville. For the first time in several installments, there hasn't been any Champions League action upon which we can base our rundown. And that's good news, because it forces us all to take a more critical eye at the local competition facing the world's best clubs.

Space oddity for a good night's sleep
Janjaap Ruijssenaars has always been interested in the concept of gravity.

Bodies of missing girls found
Police in Belgium say they have found the bodies of two stepsisters who went missing earlier this month in a case that shocked the country and sparked a nationwide search.

Antwerp Forum
The Scene spent the day in Antwerp with painter Luc Tuymans. Do you have a favorite hangout in the Belgian city? What's your favorite Luc Tuymans painting? Send us your suggestions and ideas and read your comments below.

Social unrest spreads to Belgium
After more than two weeks of nightly rioting and arson in France, unrest spread northeastwards to Belgium, where more than two dozen similar incidents took place overnight Saturday.

If you go ...
Tips for travel to Bastogne:

Deadly gas explosion rocks Belgium
At least 10 people were killed and 100 others injured when a leaking underground natural gas pipeline exploded in southern Belgium, officials said.

Child murderer jailed for life
A Belgium court has sentenced convicted murderer and child rapist Marc Dutroux to life imprisonment.

15 terror suspects held in Belgium
Working with Italian authorities, Belgian police have arrested 15 people, mainly of Arab and North African origin, in a series of raids early Tuesday morning, said Belgian's federal prosecutor dealing with terrorism cases.

Child sex abuse back in focus
The "trial of the century" of four people in Belgium on child kidnapping, abuse and murder charges has once again focused attention on child sex abuse and worldwide child pornography rings.

Belgium child killing trial opens
One of Belgium's most notorious men, alleged child-killer and pedophile Marc Dutroux, has arrived at a courthouse in Arlon where he is facing trial nearly eight years after his arrest.

Money Makes the World Go 'Round
"Here be dragons." That was the formulation that medieval mapmakers used to indicate the vast areas where they had to admit they had no clue as to what was out there. Today, the problem is not a la...

If I buy my ex-wife's share of our home, will I forfeit a major tax break?
Q. My wife and I are divorcing. Originally, I planned to buy my wife's share of the house for $300,000 and continue living there with our daughter. (We purchased the house for $200,000 but it's now...

GARCON! LAGER, S'IL VOUS PLAIT! FORGET WINE--TODAY'S FINE DINING CALLS FOR BEER.
Imagine a betoqued, heavily accented chef presenting an haute five-course feast--and eschewing his excellent wine cellar for beer. Try very hard, because it's becoming a common image in serious res...

A bold stroke in Belgium
While most Europeans have barely warmed to the notion of hostile takeovers inside their own countries, Carlo de Benedetti has turned up the heat. The hero of Olivetti is vying to take charge of Soc...

PUTTING A EUROPEAN ACCENT ON WHERE TO SEEK GLOBAL GAINS
The spectacular showing by international mutual funds over the past two years has taught many Americans that the world of investments doesn't begin and end on Wall Street. As the graph below shows,...

Belgium: News & Videos about Belgium - CNN.com
Find stories, videos, and photos about Belgium from CNN.com.

 

Jon Wertheim: Wozniacki 'scandal' should serve as end to on-court coaching
A few thoughts from the tennis world ...

Spanish protesters demand protection for jobless
Tens of thousands of protesters marched on the streets of Spain's capital Thursday to demand better protection for workers hit hard by the economic crisis.

Global markets thrash
Europe's major stock markets hovered around the break-even point Tuesday even as lingering concerns over the credit crisis continued to haunt world markets and financial institutions.

Dexia Bank Gets Multi-nation $9.2B Bailout
Dexia became the second Belgian bank this week to get a government and shareholder bailout Tuesday when Belgium, France and Luxembourg said they would inject almost $9.2 billion to keep it afloat

Uncovering the real Florence: A Florentine's view
Tanya Gray, 28, works at a preschool in Florence, where she has lived for the last two years. She first moved to the city seven years ago from her home in Luxemburg, when she and a friend decided to travel to Italy's cultural capital to enroll as students.

Enough With the New Countries
Now Kosovo has broken off from Serbia. A confused follower of world events asks: Are we really better off minting smaller and smaller nations?

French train smash kills 5
A passenger train collided head-on with a freight train in northeastern France on Wednesday, killing at least five people, rail officials said.

Does anyone out there believe in globalization?
The dispute over whether Dubai Ports should be able to buy a British company that operates several U.S. ports may be about national security; the rights of Congress; and the quality of decision-making about foreign investment, as the many critics of the deal say it is. But it is sure looking like a xenophobic catfight, too.

Steely Competition
In late January the world's largest steel producer, Mittal Steel of Rotterdam, launched a $23 billion hostile bid for Luxembourg's Arcelor, the world's current No. 2 in steel. The Arcelor board has...

Luxembourg steel maker files for US IPO
Luxembourg -based steel maker Ternium S.A. on Wednesday filed to raise about $434 million in an initial public offering of 24.8 million shares.

EU opens entry talks with Turkey
The European Union opened historic membership talks with Turkey, after Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul arrived in Luxembourg.

Anger over EU summit failure
European Union nations are struggling to find a way forward after the failure of a two-day summit that produced neither a budget for the years ahead, nor a clear sign that the EU constitution will ever be ratified.

Chirac seeks emergency EU summit
French President Jacques Chirac has called for an emergency summit to discuss the future of the European Union, reeling after French and Dutch rejections of is first constitution.

France, Germany in EU crisis talks
The leaders of France and Germany were set to hold crisis talks following the twin French and Dutch rejections of the proposed European Union constitution.

Juncker 'will quit' if EU rejected
In a sign of growing frustration over a voter backlash to a proposed European Union constitution, Luxembourg's prime minister has threatened to resign if his country rejects the charter in a referendum next month.

EU agonizes over fate of charter
Europe's leaders are agonizing over the future of the EU constitution after voters in the Netherlands joined the French in rejecting it.

EU anger at Britain's veto threat
EU leaders are urging Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to reconsider his threat to use the veto to protect Britain's multi-billion pound rebate.

Wolfowitz heads for EU meeting
Paul Wolfowitz, Washington's nominee to head the World Bank, will be in Brussels Wednesday to meet with European Union officials, diplomats said.

Experts: Cyber-crime bigger threat than cyber-terror
As David Perry left a cyber-security conference in Luxembourg in 2004, an airport terminal handling international flights was in chaos.

3-minute silence for dead, missing
Much of Europe fell silent for three minutes on Wednesday as busy rail stations, stock exchanges, offices and shops paused to mourn the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.

G8 nations 'plan debt relief'
The world's richest nations are likely to agree to freeze debt repayments for nations devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami, according to Britain's treasury chief.

If you go ...
Tips for travel to Bastogne:

Latvia, Malta cast EU ballots
Voters in Latvia and Malta have begun casting ballots in their first European Parliament elections.

J.K. Jain Founder and chairman, Jain TV Group
A former member of the Indian Parliament, Jain now runs a news and current affairs satellite TV channel that reaches 26 million homes in India, as well as 36 other Asian countries.

Le Comeback Kid Globalist Jean-Marie Eveillard has turned around one fund and is starting another.
Value investing demands plenty of patience. For proof, look no further than well-known fund manager Jean-Marie Eveillard. From 1995 through 1998, the outspoken French native saw SoGen International...

Money Makes the World Go 'Round
"Here be dragons." That was the formulation that medieval mapmakers used to indicate the vast areas where they had to admit they had no clue as to what was out there. Today, the problem is not a la...

Tiremaking Technology Is On A Roll An industry with sprawling plants, fat inventories, and long cycle times is turning to speedy
Up on a catwalk in a hospital-clean factory in Milan, research director Renato Caretta of Italy's Pirelli waves his hands happily as he points out features of a new robot-based production line. Wit...

Net Stocks and the Countries They Can Buy
When Amazon.com announced in mid-November that it would sell videos online, its stock soared 22 1/4 points, and its market cap rose by $1.2 billion. That and a three-for-one stock split gave Amazon...

ALL'S WILD ON THE EASTERN FRONT
Ever since the Berlin Wall came down, people have been talking about the possibility of making big money in Eastern Europe. Now at least some investors are. A little-known mutual fund, Vontobel Eas...

FORTUNE GLOBAL 500 RANKED WITHIN COUNTRIES
FORTUNE'S GLOBAL

CHOLESTEROL CAGES Scientists are building traps to snare cholesterol in arteries, where it can kill by forming plaques
If you could see the molecules of cholesterol in your blood, they'd appear as soapy blobs shaped like hot dogs -- diabolically well suited to clog your arteries and give you a heart attack. Doctors...

SWISS BANKS FEEL COMPETITIVE HEAT
Swiss banks are struggling to hold on to clients in the face of new competition from tiny Luxembourg (pop. 390,000). The reason: In a series of controversial decisions, the Swiss voted to stay out ...

WON'T SHARE OFFICE WITH HER HUSBAND
Critics are gushing over the 1989 Chateau Haut-Brion Bordeaux. But don't expect enological excess from the vineyard's president. ''I think it's a little boring when people start talking about the p...

EUROCONDOM TREATY
Europe may be riven over the weighty issues of monetary policy, federalism, and agricultural subsidies, but continental unity has at last been reached in one area. Yes, folks, there will be a Euroc...

PUTTING A EUROPEAN ACCENT ON WHERE TO SEEK GLOBAL GAINS
The spectacular showing by international mutual funds over the past two years has taught many Americans that the world of investments doesn't begin and end on Wall Street. As the graph below shows,...

Luxembourg: News & Videos about Luxembourg - CNN.com
Find stories, videos, and photos about Luxembourg from CNN.com.

 

World's weirdest hotels
On your next trip, you could be checking into a wine cask, a salvaged 727 airplane, or a room where the furniture defies the law of gravity.

UK, Netherlands vote in Euro elections
Voters in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands became the first European Union citizens to go to the polls Thursday to elect a new European Parliament.

Take your taste buds on a European tour
Eating and drinking in Europe is sightseeing for your taste buds. Every country has local specialties that are good, memorable, or both. Here are many of the fun experiences that stick in my mind after 30 years of travel. Seek out any of these on your next trip.

Dutch 'royal attack' death toll rises
The death toll from the suspected attack on the Dutch royal family has continued to rise as more details emerged about the man who slammed his car into a crowd during a holiday parade.

Driver dies after suspected Dutch royal attack
The man suspected of trying to attack the Dutch royal family by crashing his car near their bus has died, Dutch police said Friday.

Attempted attack on Dutch royal family leaves 5 dead
Five people were killed Thursday after a man tried to attack the Dutch royal family during a Queen's Day celebration by crashing his car near the royal family's bus, Dutch police said.

FBI: Wanted professor bought plane ticket to Netherlands
A former University of Georgia professor, wanted in the fatal shootings of his wife and two other people over the weekend, purchased a plane ticket to the Netherlands for May 2, authorities said Monday.

John Rolfe: Great sports-themed album covers
With cd sales tanking (by nearly 50 percent since 2000) along with the economy and record stores going under by the score, album artwork ought to be placed on the endangered species list. So let us give thanks for the modest revival of the vinyl LP record.

Tom Verducci: Netherlands shocks the world and puts WBC on map
1. The World Baseball Classic arrived Tuesday night. Baseball became a truly global game when the Netherlands, the international baseball version of Buster Douglas, the 1980 U.S. hockey team and the Milan Indians rolled into one, put the tournament on the map by upsetting the heavily favored, star-studded Dominican Republic team, 2-1. Talk about shocking the world. Go crazy, Rotterdam, go crazy.

Buoyant market: Are floating homes the future of housing?
From the Epic of Gilgamesh, composed in Mesopotamia 4,000 years ago, to Evan Almighty -- Hollywood's 2007 take on the Noah's Ark story -- floods and their catastrophic effects have long provided inspiration for storytellers.

Dutch move on $10 billion rescue program
The Dutch government on Friday approved an economic stimulus package worth up to 8 billion euros ($10 billion) to help the country cope with the global financial crisis.

Science in Search of the Top Banana
It's not easy to keep a banana yellow

Winter blackout results in Dutch baby boom
A small cluster of villages in eastern Netherlands has found itself in the midst of a mini-baby boom -- nine months after a power outage plunged its residents in darkness for two chilly days.

World Soccer: Once-proud Dutch league is struggling to compete
Holland gave everything to Euro 2008. The team played dazzling soccer against France and world champion Italy. Pundits swooned over an updated version of total football and praised the individual skills of Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart & Co.

Alexander Wolff: Dutch baseball's cool Tjerk
If you want to know how a kid with a fantasy-league baseball team realizes a baseball fantasy-come-true, you could do worse than the story of Tjerk Smeets, a backup catcher on the Dutch Olympic team.

An American Pastime: Smoking Pot
A global survey finds that Americans are most likely to have tried illegal drugs

Gavin Hamilton: Van Basten on what's next for him, Dutch soccer
Marco van Basten came up short of his dream ending as Netherlands manager when Russia upset the Oranje in the quarterfinals of the 2008 European Championship. The former Dutch legend decided long before the Euros that this would be his last stint as national-team manager. I spoke with van Basten just before the tournament about what's next for him and Dutch soccer.

Gabriele Marcotti: From Austria to Zlatan, the best of Euro 2008 so far
ZURICH, Switzerland -- From top to bottom, here is an A to Z of the best and worst of the European Championship through two weeks of action.

Gabriele Marcotti: Death of 4-4-2 at Euro 2008 signals changing times
BASEL, Switzerland -- Remember 4-4-2? That basic formation you most likely played when you were kids? Four defenders in a line (maybe one of them might drop off to sweep), four midfielders in a line (the wide guys acting, effectively as wingers) and two forwards, also pretty much playing alongside each other.

Gabriele Marcotti: Euros have been a display for coaching performances
BASEL, Switzerland -- Eight days in and there's plenty of interesting stuff to admire at this European Championship. What struck me most was the tactical diversity on display. In fact, while the quality of the play has been roughly on par with expectations, the coaching has, in my opinion, surpassed them. There really are managers doing new and interesting things.

Euro 2008: the Hosts' Fates Diverge
While the Dutch continue to reinvent 'The Beautiful Game', France's woes continue. And it's mixed fortunes for the tournament's hosts

First Blood Drawn at Euro2008
Germany, Holland and Spain set the pace in Europe's classic football championship

Gabriele Marcotti: Five-minute guide to Euro 2008
SI.com's Gabriele Marcotti is in Switzerland and Austria for the 2008 European Championship. Here's his primer for the tournament.

Gavin Hamilton: History shows a surprise in lurking in the Euro field
Euro 2008 is almost upon us, and the excitement is mounting. In England, however, you could be forgiven for thinking the tournament has been canceled.

Soccer America: Is Ruud Gullit the man to revive the L.A. Galaxy?
There are more pounds around the middle and less hair up top these days as perhaps the most powerful yet graceful player ever produced in Europe slides toward his 46th birthday, his playing days long past and an oft-aborted coaching career in its fourth phase.

Live in luxury by pampering the rich
You've probably heard the old lament that good help is hard to find. Carol Scudere has a place where the help can be found -- by the rich.

The future of transport: Your views
What is the future of transport? What role will cars play? What will we use to get around? Send us your thoughts and we'll print the best ones here.

Aditi Kinkhabwala: Villanova's big drive
Andy Talley was afraid Michael Holland might tackle the neurologist.

Jonah Freedman: Sevilla soldiers on amid Puerta death, jumps to No. 2
OK kids, let's get this over with -- we're all looking ahead to the loads of international action this weekend. The bell may be tolling for England as far as qualification for Euro 2008, and Spain and the Netherlands face uphill battles.

Carroll dismisses Holland from Trojans
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jamere Holland, one of USC's fastest players, has been dismissed from the team by coach Pete Carroll.

Dutch Consider Magic Mushroom Ban
After several bad trips by foreigners, there's talk -- but just talk -- of a crackdown

Renal-ity TV in the Netherlands
In a new Dutch program, three desperately ill candidates will compete for a single donor kidney. Lifesaving reality, or a new low for reality TV?

Tagged for Growth
While U.S. retailers like Wal-Mart are still struggling to put radio-frequency ID tags on boxes and pallets so they can track merchandise in bulk, Dutch bookseller Selexyz may be the first merchant...

7 ways to avoid employees from hell
Bill Demeza, a partner at the Holland & Knight law firm, specializes in defending companies from employee lawsuits. Roxanne Davis, principal of Davis Gavsie in Los Angeles, represents employees. Here are their suggestions for avoiding the courtroom.

Employees from hell
How do you know that you've hired the wrong employee - or waited too long to fire him? If you find two duffel bags full of semiautomatic weapons under his desk , that's a pretty good sign. No, that's not a hypothetical example, although the small-company CEO who told us the story asked that we not use his name. (We can't say we blame him.)

Delta force holds back rising tide
At the end of August 2005 Hurricane Katrina swept up through the Gulf of Mexico battering the coastline of the southern United States.

The green sailor
Bill Joy is wearing bright-red sneakers and a boyish grin that belies his 52 years. Although dusk has settled over the Netherlands' Royal Huisman shipyard and hunger pangs are surely gripping the l...

Q & A: Anton Corbijn
The Scene talks to photographer Anton Corbijn about how Amsterdam's artistic traditions and liberal culture have influenced his work.

4 Algerians held on terror charges
A Spanish judge ordered four Algerian nationals remain in custody Tuesday on charges of collaborating with a terrorist group linked to al Qaeda, a National Court spokeswoman said.

Holland copes with threat of flood
Flat, surrounded by water, and like New Orleans, largely below sea level, Holland lives with the threat of flooding from the North Sea.

Scientists grow brain cells in a dish
American scientists have discovered a way of creating new brain cells in a dish -- a breakthrough that could lead to treatments for conditions such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

Schroeder vows EU fight
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has vowed to keep on fighting for the proposed EU constitution.

Dutch reject EU constitution
The Netherlands has become the second country to reject a proposed constitution for the European Union, three days after the French turned the proposal down, leaving the EU in disarray over what steps to take next.

Human mad cow case in Netherlands
A patient in the Dutch city of Utrecht has been diagnosed with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a human form of mad cow disease, the Dutch Health Ministry said.

Dutch ponder 'mercy killing' rules
Dutch health officials are considering guidelines doctors could follow for euthanizing terminally ill people "with no free will," including children, the severely mentally retarded and patients in irreversible comas.

Flowers as Dutch film man cremated
On the day of his cremation, hundreds of people laid flowers, candles and notes at the spot where controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was killed.

To a pollster, less is more
Despite the plethora of public opinion polls coming out this election year, few Americans ever answer questions from a pollster. CNN polling director Keating Holland explains why in this week's "How It Works."

A Website as Big (and Cheap) as the Great Outdoors Thanks to its stingy, ski-bum culture, BackcountryStore.com has become the se
Backcountry skiers, those intrepid types who forsake chairlifts and well-groomed runs for the challenge of blazing their own way down a mountain, have to get by without the comfort of an obvious ro...

What's Roiling The Market? Three experts look past daily volatility to find the long-term trends.
If you're a close observer of the stock market, you may have suffered a bad case of whiplash in recent weeks. Earnings warnings, the Enron effect, off-balance-sheet blues and the New York attorney ...

What's roiling the market?
If you're a close observer of the stock market, you may have suffered a bad case of whiplash in recent weeks. Earnings warnings, the Enron effect, off-balance-sheet blues and the New York attorney general's investigation into brokerage practices have created an atmosphere of some insecurity.

Money Makes the World Go 'Round
"Here be dragons." That was the formulation that medieval mapmakers used to indicate the vast areas where they had to admit they had no clue as to what was out there. Today, the problem is not a la...

Secrets From The Vault AN ENTREPRENEUR TURNED BANKER OFFERS TIPS FROM THE OTHER SIDE.
In the spring of last year, entrepreneur Pete Holland did the unthinkable: He put away his $350 banana suit--for good. Holland, now 30, wasn't just making a bold fashion statement. He was making a ...

Classic
Leather has long been the city slicker's armor of choice--it's lean, it's mean, it rarely needs to be cleaned. Problem is, everyone has a leather coat. It's just not special anymore.

Valley of the Dollars The young, wealthy Netheads of San Francisco and Silicon Valley protest that it's not about the money. Giv
In early July, before the heat wave enveloped my hometown of New York City, I set out for San Francisco to spend the summer exploring how big money has changed life for Internet people there and in...

Say It in Pinstripes
One of the many sartorial hurdles facing today's moneyed executive is how to strike that perfect balance of understated elegance and bald ostentation. Monogrammed cuffs? Please. No, what's needed i...

Bye-Bye, Tie? We Don't Think So
In December, 73-year-old Prince Claus set off a fashion revolution--in the Netherlands, at least--when he ripped off his tie before a show of African fashions. According to reports, the prince toss...

America Vs. The New Europe: By The Numbers
With European monetary union only a couple of weeks away, the time has come to take stock of one of the world's great postwar transformations. The euro, of course, marks not the first but one of th...

WHERE TO? SHOTGUN VETTING
Spain is the place for sherry, olives, and fine Cordovan leather, yes--but fine shotguns? Some of the world's best are indeed made there, and six premier shotgun makers are within walking distance ...

SMART PLASTIC THE FUTURE OF MONEY IN AMERICA?
In October, 50,000 New Yorkers on Manhattan's Upper West Side will finally get a shot at the next great wave of technology--fresh off the boat, unbelievably, from the Old World. In much-delayed tri...

EXTREME SHOPPING SNIFF SNIFF, BANG BANG
In a blow to gun-control advocates, Holland & Holland, a 161-year-old British company that manufacturers the .700 Nitro Express, the largest shoulder-fired weapon in the world (excluding military i...

A NEW, IMPROVED CHEMICAL STOCK AT HALF-PRICE
Bedeviled by overcapacity and sluggish demand, chemical shares are in the dumps. Yet Akzo, a Netherlands-based company with $9.9 billion in annual sales, is popping up on the buy lists of savvy bar...

WHAT TO DO ABOUT DRUGS The U.S. needs a new policy: more toughness in fighting the hard stuff, more compassion in treating addic
DRUGS ARE dangerous. Even users agree on that. Yet the U.S. seems to be getting nowhere in its war against them. In frustration, large numbers of Americans, including academics, members of Congress...

THE DUTCH MONEY SEEMS TO GROW ON TULIPS
For a country with a tax-heavy, welfare-state economy, Holland has a surprising concentration of private wealth. Five Dutch families have blossomed to billionaire dimensions in the country's waterl...

Netherlands: News & Videos about Netherlands - CNN.com
Find stories, videos, and photos about Netherlands from CNN.com.