Belgium

In "Moscow, Belgium," a minor car accident in a supermarket parking lot leads to love - or, barring that, a tryst or two in the sleeper of a semi. At any given moment in this Belgian romantic comedy, it's impossible to say how Matty (Barbara Sarafian), a stressed-out 41-year-old postal clerk, feels about Johnny (Jurgen Delnaet), the scraggly, impossibly sweet younger truck driver who won't leave her alone until she accepts his compliments. On that fateful afternoon, she backs into his truck - or his truck hits her car. After their shouting match, he tries to get together with her. She agrees, then it's the same thing...

Favorite Marcel Kittel of Germany defeated Tyler Farrar of the United States to win the centennial edition of the Scheldt Prize in a mass sprint in rain that caused several crashes. Theo Bos of the Netherlands took third place in the 125-mile classic through the flat lands of northern Belgium, which traditionally ends with a mass sprint. Crashes have often marred the closing stages of the race and a sudden shower on the final stretches of cobblestones and asphalt again caused accidents on Wednesday.

BRUSSELS - The US national soccer team lost to Belgium, 1-0, yesterday, leaving Jurgen Klinsmann without a win in three games since he was hired as the Americans' coach. This was the first road game for the US since Klinsmann came aboard. The Americans earlier tied Mexico and lost to Costa Rica. Nicolas Lombaerts's half volley in the 55th minute was the only goal in an exhibition game dominated by the Belgians on the rain-soaked field. "It was an interesting game for both sides," Klinsmann said.

Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark made four birdies and an eagle for a 5-under 67 to lead the Sicilian Open by three strokes on Saturday heading to the final round. Olesen, who was runner-up three times in his debut season on the European Tour last year, superbly managed the 16 mph gusts off the Mediterranean. With the halfway lead shared by six overnight, only Olesen broke clear in the testing conditions. For the eagle on the par-5 14th, he reached the green in two before sinking a difficult putt from 15 feet.

Trains and public transport are paralyzed across Belgium during a day of nationwide strikes to protest austerity measures that have in part been imposed through European Union pressure. Hours before the start of Monday's European Union summit in Brussels that aims to seek more growth and jobs, Belgium's three main unions served warning that efforts to reinvigorate the European economy should center on taxing multinationals instead of slashing public services and imposing a pension reform that forces people to work longer and cuts payments in some cases.

BRUSSELS — The Catholic church in Belgium said yesterday it is willing to pay compensation to victims of sexual abuse by clergy to help those abused restore their dignity. Belgium’s bishops and religious leaders said in a statement they are “deeply touched and distraught’’ by revelations over the past year, as more than 500 witnesses have come forward with accounts of molestation in the country by Catholic clergy spanning decades. But the leader of a group of survivors said she would put her faith only in actions, not in anything the bishops said “Whatever the...

BRUSSELS — Hundreds of sex abuse victims have come forward in Belgium with harrowing accounts of molestation by Catholic clergy that reportedly led to at least 13 suicides and affected children as young as 2, a special commission said yesterday. Professor Peter Adriaenssens, chairman of the commission, said the abuse in Belgium may have been even more rampant than the 200-page report suggests. “Reality is worse than what we present here today because not everyone shares such things automatically in a first contact with the commission,’’ he told reporters.

LIEGE, Belgium - A man with a history of run-ins with the law lobbed three hand grenades and opened fire at a crowded central bus stop here yesterday, killing several people, wounding scores, and creating a panic before killing himself, officials said. No motive was immediately established, though the Interior Ministry said it was not related to terrorism, for which European cities have long been on alert. Three victims died on the spot and at least one died later at a hospital, Belgian news reports said.

BRUSSELS - Belgium hit a new milestone yesterday - 450 days without a government - but still no one appears to be in any big hurry to resolve the situation. Europe's financial crisis and feeble economic growth may scare governments from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean Sea, but in Belgium it is a sideshow. Talks on a new Belgian government, which have been going on since the June 13, 2010, election, were at a standstill yesterday for a third day running. Why? Because Green Party negotiator Jean-Michel Javaux - also the mayor of Amay, a small...

Belgium’s defense minister is proposing to withdraw half of the nation’s 580 troops from Afghanistan by next year. Defense Minister Pieter De Crem said Sunday the pullout would be in line with President Barack Obama’s announcement of the start of the U.S. withdrawal next month. Washington intends to cut a third of its 100,000 troops by next summer. Belgium joins a growing number of NATO nations intending to recall large numbers of troops from Afghanistan. America’s NATO European allies and several partner countries contribute about 40,000 troops to the NATO...

King Albert II and thousands of mourners on Wednesday remembered the 28 victims of last week's bus crash in a Swiss tunnel during a memorial service centering on the 22 schoolchildren whose promise of youth was shattered by sudden death. Under a sparkling sky, soldiers took part in a solemn procession that carried 15 coffins into a 5,000-capacity hall. The brown casket contained the remains of a teacher, the 14 white ones held the bodies of children who were on the cusp of their teenage years.

Beer is the perfect accompaniment to pizza, a refreshing punctuation mark at the end of a day. But a growing number of academics see it as something more — a substance that can tell us important things about the world. In many ways, brewing and human society grew hand in hand. Beer was the choice of generations long past — in China, people were drinking beer as long ago as 7000 BC — and today is the most-consumed alcoholic beverage globally. Historically speaking, beer and the business of brewing have shaped everything from trade to national tastes.

A strike over pension reforms by harbor pilots has largely paralyzed traffic to the Belgian ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge. The pilots who have to lead ships into the two ports demand that their profession be exempted from the government plans to add two years to the retirement age. Some sixty ships were blocked by the all-night strike and go-slow actions on Monday and Tuesday. Antwerp, one of the biggest ports in the world said it was costing about euro1 million (euro1.3 million)

Tom Boonen of Belgium won his fourth Tour of Qatar title on Friday, beating American Tyler Farrar. Boonen led the race since the opening stage last Sunday, and topped Farrar by 28 seconds overall. Boonen and his Omega-Pharms Quick Step were careful to protect his lead on the sixth and last stage, 75 miles from Sealine Beach Resort into Doha Corniche. He also won the event in 2006, 2008 and 2009. The stage was won by Arnaud Demare, the under-23 road world champion, for his first pro victory.

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium won in straight sets Saturday, leaving this opening-round Fed Cup series tied after the first day. Jankovic, once ranked No. 1, beat Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 7-5. Wickmayer then downed Bojana Jovanovski 6-4, 6-4. Kim Clijsters decided to sit out the opening round for Belgium in her farewell season. Serbia is without former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic. Jankovic showed her experience late in the opening set, forcing a first break of serve against the 176th-ranked Flipkens.

Trains and public transport are paralyzed across Belgium during a day of nationwide strikes to protest austerity measures that have in part been imposed through European Union pressure. Hours before the start of Monday's European Union summit in Brussels that aims to seek more growth and jobs, Belgium's three main unions served warning that efforts to reinvigorate the European economy should center on taxing multinationals instead of slashing public services and imposing a pension reform that forces people to work longer and cuts payments in some cases.

Favorite Marcel Kittel of Germany defeated Tyler Farrar of the United States to win the centennial edition of the Scheldt Prize in a mass sprint in rain that caused several crashes. Theo Bos of the Netherlands took third place in the 125-mile classic through the flat lands of northern Belgium, which traditionally ends with a mass sprint. Crashes have often marred the closing stages of the race and a sudden shower on the final stretches of cobblestones and asphalt again caused accidents on Wednesday.

HASSELT, Belgium - A storm swept through an open-air music festival yesterday, killing at least three people and injuring 71, an official said. Concertgoers described scenes of panic as the sky darkened, winds whipped, rain poured, hailstones pelted the crowds, and concert structures buckled. "It was frightening. It looked terrible. All the structures collapsed," said Brinnie Gardner, 20, of Auckland, New Zealand. Hugo Simons, Hasselt's head of emergency medical planning, told VRT radio three people died, 11 were severely injured, and 60 had light injuries.

Branden Grace of South Africa fell into a tie for the lead at the Volvo Golf Champions with Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium after shooting a 2-over 75 Saturday in a wet and windy third round. Grace had two double bogeys on his back nine, wasting his four-stroke lead after two rounds. Colsaerts shot a 69. Grace and Colsarets head into the final round at 10-under 209. South African pair Retief Goosen (70) and Charl Schwartzel (68) are a stroke back. After two days of benign weather, the Links course showed a glimpse of its fearsome reputation as the wind and intermittent rain...

The European Commission has criticized Belgium's 2012 budget as too optimistic, indicating that the country has to adopt more austerity measures or risk sanctions. The country's finance minister quickly reacted to the Commission's intervention, saying Friday that the government was determined to meet its fiscal targets this year. Belgium has promised to cut its budget deficit to 2.8 percent of economic output this year, from around 3.6 percent in 2011. But the Commission, the European Union's executive, believes the Belgian government won't be able meet this target unless tax...