cafebabel.com

Kosovo discontent in Serbia

Sarah Gray — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:00:00 -0000

Feeling that they are nothing more than a transition generation, young Serbs are losing interest in politics. But the lively debate goes on in bars and restaurants. Final diary from a three-part travel series

Make your bed, lie in it

Nabeelah Shabbir — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0000

Why the Germans have to eat their soup and the Poles have to drink the beer they brew - weekly selection of common proverbs across Europe

Hosting the Olympics won't improve your life

Catherine Neilan — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:30:50 -0000

Enthusiastic as preparations may appear on the world stage, the positive economic and human rights impact of the August Olympic Games will be minimal in China

Homophobia in the Olympic games: ‘deaf discrimination’

Nabeelah Shabbir — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:30:00 -0000

The co-founder of ‘Eurogames 2008’ in Barcelona and a member of Hong Kong gay forum 'Horizons' provide a European-Chinese perspective on the gay community in sport, ahead of the Olympics on 8 August

Maurizio Crosetti: ‘Using English words in Italian is a basic lack of respect’

Mary Maistrello — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:47:14 -0000

The Turin-born sports journalist at national daily 'La Repubblica', 46, on how Europe has changed Italian journalism and a ‘provincial’ tendency to use so many English terms

Dublin: why 862, 415 Irish voted no to the Lisbon treaty

Matthew Pagett — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:00:00 -0000

Courtesy call in Dublin, two months after the ‘no’ on the Lisbon treaty. The Irish response seems to have been motivated by a lack of knowledge on what the document was and by a fear of change. But perhaps Europe has not sufficiently proven its case?

Videos: EU’s powerful but arrogant leaders

mani sharpe — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:00:00 -0000

The relationship between EU leaders and the cameras is often an unstable one. It is a way of gaining huge popularity. But it can also bring out the worst side in the leaders - or, to put it simply, display the arrogance of those in power

Krysztof Komeda, Nino Bravo - deaths of music legends

Gemma Smith — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:22:06 -0000

The death of Europe's talents like John Lennon and Rino Gaetano have left behind a gaping hole in society. Plus: the French Frank Sinatra and the Swedish prime minister's murder suspect

Sport in August: more than football or Olympics

Matthew Pagett — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:11:09 -0000

Skate, cycle, marathon and surf – sport crosses Europe’s alps, streets and waves this summer. Monthly event guide

Green transport: hype over the hybrid car

Francesca Reinhardt — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0000

The environmentally-powered model is well established in the USA and Japan. Can it make the transition in Europe as well?

Fisherman, the end of a profession in Europe?

Kate Stansfield — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:30:25 -0000

‘Fresh home-caught fish!’ Will we still be hearing this cry in a few years’ time? There certainly seems to be reason to worry, judging by the situation of the European fishing industry

EU reporting bad Belgian news

jonathan mellor — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:49:12 -0000

Belgian national media is not impressed by the European coverage of political crisis. The presence of the European institutions, it believes, is impeding its autonomy

If Belgium became the new Czechoslovakia

Roman Moravcik — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:21:58 -0000

Are the Flemish and Walloons against a split like the Slovaks and Czechs were in 1992? Would it be down to politicians to decide a split? Economic repercussions, language problems and sports ratings – a Slovak perspective on how a country dissolves

Yves Leterme: good things come in three’s

Nabeelah Shabbir — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:42:13 -0000

Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme threw the towel in for the third time on 15 July after his Flemish Christian democrat party CD&V failed to make political reforms. But King Albert II refused to accept the resignation. What is happening in Belgium?

Little boy’s room

Sarah Truesdale — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:55:25 -0000

Toilet, lavatory, restroom: what do you call the 'loo' in your language?

Halma literature network in central, eastern Europe

Nabeelah Shabbir — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:17:33 -0000

In 2006, a network of cultural foundations came together to build a basis for European literature. Their website has just been launched

Serbia in the EU: at what cost?

jonathan mellor — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:00:00 -0000

On 30 July captured war criminal Radovan Karadzic was extradited to the Hague. It’s just one sign of Serbia’s desire to be in the European Union, in the hope of better times to come for its wounded pride

Pan-EU couples to divorce easier

Nabeelah Shabbir — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0000

Harmonising the first divorce regulation, bad airlines and fishermen aid – your weekly news from Brussels

Michelin stars: Europe’s gourmet ratings

Susannah Readett-Bayley — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:05:58 -0000

Each year the Michelin guide selects the best European restaurants. In 2008, France holds onto its lead. An altogether too-French attitude?

Italy: operation ‘soldiers in the city’

Mary Maistrello — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:07:45 -0000

Can the army control the streets alongside the police? The situation is being debated in today’s insecure Italy

Fabienne Bruguière: ‘the agricultural world can be hostile to women’

brigid hannis — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:21:46 -0000

The forty-something winemaker from the Pic St. Loup commune in France’s Langeudoc region on love, green fingers and the increasing role of women in wine-making

‘I didn’t see the war’ – Serb travel diary, part II

Sarah Gray — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:47:53 -0000

Between a war of information and the disinformation of war – how to judge the effects of the war in the former Yugoslavia. Second in our three-part series

Interview: the success of Greek-Turkish Cypriot Radio May

Mana Livardjani — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:45:00 -0000

Founder Hassan Kahvecioglu on a radio created in 2004, as Cyprus joined the EU, to encourage the union of the Turkish Cypriot side with Europe

Serbia’s Radovan Karadzic, prisoner bus line number 73

Nabeelah Shabbir — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0000

How the war criminal was arrested in Belgrade on 21 July, and happens in Serbia now

Kick the bucket

Sarah Truesdale — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:44:29 -0000

'Stow your feet' in Spanish, 'throw away the spoon' in German or 'break the pipe' in French - European expressions on 'dying' in the office pre-holidays

Vesna Goldsworthy: 'Radovan Karadzic is related to me'

Nabeelah Shabbir — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0000

The Belgrade-born journalist and author of ‘Chernobyl’s Strawberries’, 47, on fighting cancer, the traumas of war, her eccentric grandmother and her war criminal cousin

Defence Europe

Nabeelah Shabbir — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0000

With the Union for the Mediterranean, Europe has once again demonstrated its attachment to diplomatic life. Can EU foreign policy limit it to being a soft power? Interview with Swedish EU representative Jesper Haglund

Irish ‘no’: not a no to EU candidate Croatia

Sergej Zupanic / Nabeelah Shabbir — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0000

The historical vote against the Lisbon treaty after a referendum on 13 June puts a halt to further expansion in the European Union. But we will be meeting the EU’s 28th member in 2010

French EU presidency: vox-pop on the streets of Paris

Sarah Meleleu — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:56:49 -0000

What do Europeans (and not just Europeans) think of the French European Union presidency’s journey through Paris? Will it be able to solve the European Union’s current problems?

New EU immigration directive: ‘policy of shame’

Kate Stansfield — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:44:57 -0000

Will a Romanian in Spain be forced to learn the paella recipe off by heart? The new EU immigration policy has been branded as xenophobic by some of the countries concerned

Lisbon strategy: how does Europe fit into today’s world?

Gemma Smith — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:39:00 -0000

Europe’s privileged geopolitical situation is under threat. In the context of globalisation, climate and demographic change and the high cost of energy and food, Europe has to rethink its strategies

Political stalemate in Belgium

Ed Saunders — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0000

After Belgian king Albert II rejected the prime minister’s offer of resignation on 17 July, Yves Leterme will have to find new ways to guide Belgium through its identity crisis. The latest news from the EU in Brussels

Cyprus, reunite?

Andrew Burgess — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:27:55 -0000

34 years after the unrest that led to its division, the most outlying country in the European Union is once again hopeful. The resumption of talks may finally provide a viable solution

Music in July: Carla Bruni, E-Quad, Ari Koivunen

mani sharpe — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0000

French First Ladies, Dutch idealists, Italian poets-cum-abrasive rockers and Finnish 'Rock Idols' – it's Europe's monthly music picks

Almost Dead in Spain and other weird summer festivals

Sarah Truesdale — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:43:37 -0000

Mobile phone throwing championships in Finland, the Almost Dead Festival in Spain, pig calling contests in France and the swamp diving champs in Wales; this summer, any extravagance is allowed

Solúcar: renewable energy platform in Andalusia

Gemma Smith — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:30:00 -0000

Taking advantage of a potential of an average of almost 3,000 hours of sun a year, the Spanish region is a pioneer in the ‘third economic revolution’

Photos: the China dream in Shanghai and Guanghzou

Nabeelah Shabbir — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:22:48 -0000

As preparations for the Beijing Olympics in August gain momentum, spectacular urban facilities are taking shape across China. View through the keyhole

Chinese textile workers use internet points in Prato

Graeme Johanson / Tom Denison — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:54:52 -0000

Of the 35 million Chinese who live outside China, 180,000 are in Italy. An investigation into whether internet use in cafes by the Chinese community in a province of Tuscany hinders as an integrative tool

Migration in Paris’ Chinatown: a reality in Europe

Delphine Lawrance — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:15:00 -0000

With Chinatowns sprouting in every major European city, immigrants travel more between one country to the next. Does it make them more European than ‘real’ Europeans?

Bronislaw Geremek brought Europe back to Europeans

brigid hannis — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0000

The former adviser to Lech Walesa and MEP since 2004 was a European and a convinced democrat. On 13 July, he died in a car accident in his native Poland. This tribute was written by one of his former students at the College of Europe

Napoleon's Chinese whispers

Sarah Truesdale — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:24:28 -0000

How western Europeans use the word 'China' to express being stressed, arrogant or insignificant

Football: more local players

David Robinson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:07:54 -0000

On 30 May FIFA passed a resolution requiring clubs to have at least six national players on the pitch at the start of a match. There has been an outcry from MEPs in defence of the freedom of movement of workers

Recipe: the Russian salad which is French

jonathan mellor — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0000

Easy to make, this dish is one of the most distinctive flavours of summer, served in bars or at home. Turns out it’s actually French; so what’s with the Russian moniker?

Dj Miguel Picasso: 'Europe is the main source of house music worldwide'

Nabeelah Shabbir — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:24:08 -0000

The Spanish DJ, musician and composer from Malaga teaches in a music academy in Fuengirola. A successful remix has helped him hit the top of the world house music charts, in a genre becoming ever-popular in Europe

Fiesta: French graduates on the road in Belgrade

Sarah Gray — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:15:00 -0000

After finishing their studies and work placements, three French friends head to Serbia to meet their Balkan counterparts. What is it like to embark on your adult life at the other end of Europe? Partying - the first in a series of three of our Serbian travel diary

Vodka off a duck's back

Ed Saunders — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0000

Linguistic play of the week: how vodka, malt and whiskey become the French 'water of life' or Italian 'lukewarm water'

G8 summit: whilst Brown meets Medvedev, the British build Russia

Ed Saunders / Tatiana Shramchenko — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0000

As the British and Russian prime ministers meet for the first time since the latter's March election in Japan between 7 – 9 July, a look at the foundations of a new renaissance in British-Russian relations

Manu Chao, Sex Pistols at Serbia's EXIT (Miloševic) festival

Francesca Reinhardt — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0000

As various legends take to the stage from 10-13 July, a local fan on how the ancient city of Novi Sad plays host to the most remarkable musical event in Europe

Betancourt’s release: the media picks its winners and losers

Chris Yeomans — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:15:00 -0000

Only last February, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced he was ready to address, “a life or death matter” and go to Colombia to free Ingrid Betancourt. But now she is released the European press and citizen journalists wonder how much credit Sarkozy and others can take for what has happened, and wonder who are the big political winners and losers of the dramatic rescue.

Finding the ‘human’ in human trafficking

anna patton — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:49:55 -0000

The European commission estimates that 100, 000 people per year are victims of trafficking in the EU; 80% of these are women and girls. Conversation with Barbara Eritt, a Polish-born social worker in Germany