Media Reporter: Belgiens Stolz in Not - Frittüren sterben aus

Von Kelly Trio (18), Ter Duinen Campus Heist, Belgien

Die belgischen Frittüren sind weltweit bekannt und geachtet. Wer einen Ausflug nach Belgien macht, hält ohne Zweifel an einem der traditionellen Häuschen. Aber warum gibt es immer weniger Frittüren? Was ist die Ursache? Die belgischen Frittüren haben schon eine eigene Geschichte. Die ersten Pommesstände mussten abends in den Stall. Erst seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg können Frittüren auf der Straße stehen. Es gibt viele verschiedene Typen von Pommesständen. Zuerst haben wir den Baracktyp, ein ineinander gebautes Häuschen. Später wurde es Mode, einen Caravan oder einen Bus für den Verkauf der Pommes zu gebrauchen. Aber der Frittürwagen ist der bekannteste Typ. Besser gesagt: heute ist der Frittürwagen der belgische Stolz! Es gibt viele Diskussionen und Unruhen in Bezug auf die Frittüre. Nicht allein Touristen, auch belgische Leute finden die Schließung von Frittüren sehr schade. «Auch der belgische Stolz verschwindet mit dem Rückgang der Frittenbuden!», sagt der Innenminister. «Wir müssen dringend etwas machen.»Der Anlass für die Schließungen ist eigentlich sehr einfach. Die meisten Pommesbuden wollen erneuern, aber das ist sehr teuer. «Es ist für uns sehr schwierig eine Genehmigung zu bekommen», erklärt Danny, Besitzer einer Pommesbude. Folglich ziehen viele Besitzer von Frittenbuden um in ein Gebäude.Nach einer Umfrage hoffen 70% der Leute auf neue Pommesbuden. Die Regierung verspricht, die Sache zu untersuchen und mögliche Lösungen einzuführen.Sei mal ehrlich, ein Belgier hat seine Pommes nötig!

Refit P&O's Norcape (Zeebrugge-Tilbury) finished

A&P Tyne, part of the A&P Group, has completed the annual refit of the 14,087gt ro/ro cargo ferry Norcape for P&O Ferries. She arrived at the Hebburn yard on March 26th and left May 23rd. At peak times, over 100 personnel were employed with all contract work completed in line with the original schedule. She will return to service between Tilbury and Zeebrugge. A significant part of the project involved using SPS Overlay to reinstate 2,300m² of the upper, lower and tank top decks after the removal of 1,825m² of existing doubler plates using arc air gouging. SPS Overlay used the existing steelwork to form the underside of a composite. After being blasted and cleaned, perimeter bars and new plates were welded in place to create cavities, which were then injected with a fast-setting elastomer. The result is stronger decks with enhanced resistance to corrosion, fatigue, fire, impact and vibration. Work also included steel insert renewals on various areas of the upper deck with a total of approximately 170m². The project also involved the renewal of the crankshaft of the Mitsui 12V42M starboard main engine. This was a unique experience for A&P to work with only two of four existing Mitsui 12V42M engines in the world. The engine was dismantled and reassembled under the supervision of the main engine manufacturer’s representative, however special care and attention was required when removing the running gear, ie Cylinder Heads Pistons and Liners.
It was necessary to remove the exhaust manifold assembly including turbo chargers and coolers to allow sufficient height clearance for lifting the Engine to allow the crankshaft to be removed.

"De Lijn overdrijft met haar aantal reizigers"

De Vlaamse openbare vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn vervoert per jaar 100 miljoen reizigers minder dan ze beweert. De maatschappij hanteert immers berekeningsnormen voor een abonnement die bijna dubbel zo hoog liggen als in Nederland. Dat zeggen Open Vld'ers Sven Gatz en Annick De Ridder. Op basis van de Nederlandse criteria overschat De Lijn haar reizigersaantal met 90 tot 150 miljoen. Op een totaal van 480 miljoen is dat 20 à 30 pct. Ook de bezettingsgraad van vele bussen van De Lijn is maar pover. In de evaluatie 2007 van de lijnen zijn bezettingsgraden van 15 tot 25 pct geen uitzondering. In de Antwerpse Kempen zijn er zelfs twee lijnen die niet één percent halen, aldus de Open Vld'ers. Ze eisen een externe doorlichting van de maatschappij. Het aantal reizigers is wel gestegen, maar vooral met mensen die niet betalen. Slechts 60 pct betaalt nog het volledige tarief. Daardoor is het aandeel van de eigen inkomsten van de maatschappij gezakt naar 16 pct, zo weet de krant. Tien jaar geleden haalde De Lijn nog bijna 30 pct. Het budget van De Lijn is sinds 2000 bijna verdriedubbeld. De Lijn kost nu bijna een miljard en verzekert slechts 6 pct van de totale mobiliteit in Vlaanderen, zeggen Gatz en De Ridder.

Een geïntegreerd maritiem beleid voor de EU

Het EP heeft op dinsdag een verslag van Willi PIECYK (PES, DE) aangenomen over een geïntegreerd maritiem beleid voor de Europese Unie. Volgens de rapporteur kent de EU door haar kusten en ultraperifere regio's unieke mogelijkheden voor innovatie, onderzoek en biodiversiteit. Het verslag werd aangenomen met 587 stemmen voor, 20 tegen en 38 onthoudingen. Tevens werd de 'Europese Maritieme Dag' gevierd in aanwezigheid van Commissievoorzitter Barroso en de voorzitter van de Raad Janez Janša. Het initiatiefverslag van PIECYK steunt een geïntegreerd maritiem beleid voor de EU, dat volgens de rapporteur een zeer belangrijke rol kan spelen met betrekking tot de bescherming tegen criminele handelingen zoals illegale immigratie, terrorisme en mensensmokkel. PIECYK is van mening dat de Europese zeeën en oceanen de schoonste ter wereld moeten worden, met de meest stabiele biodiversiteit, de meest winstgevende economie en de meest moderne en milieuvriendelijke scheepvaart. Het verslag ondersteunt de doelstellingen van de Europese Raad van maart 2007 om tegen 2050 de uitstoot van broeikasgassen te halveren, waarbij het bevestigt dat het maritiem beleid een aanzienlijke bijdrage moet leveren aan een vermindering van de uitstoot van broeikasgassen. Hiervoor moet onder andere de scheepvaart op worden genomen in het systeem van de emissiehandel. Ook moet er volgens de rapporteur meer onderzoek plaatsvinden naar het gebruik van de zeeën als hernieuwbare energiebron en de ontwikkeling van nieuwe en schonere technologieën voor de aandrijving van schepen. Het verslag wijst er eveneens op dat de verontreiniging van zeeën vanaf het land een belangrijk aandeel heeft in de totale verontreiniging van de zeeën. Het verzoekt daarom de Commissie opnieuw om een actieplan ter vermindering van deze verontreiniging voor te stellen. Ook zouden de lidstaten deze wetgeving in hun nationale wetten moeten opnemen en zouden oude munitiën uit eerdere oorlogen uit de Noordzee en Baltische zee moeten worden verwijderd. Het verslag verzoekt verder de Commissie om ambitieuzer te werk te gaan bij de bestrijding van zwavel- en NOx-emissies en van de uitstoot van vaste afvalstoffen door schepen. Het dringt in dit verband nogmaals aan op nauwere samenwerking met de IMO (Internationale Maritieme Organisatie). De Parlementsleden zijn van mening dat de belangrijkste doelstelling van het geïntegreerd maritiem beleid voor de Europese Unie op het gebied van de visserij moet zijn de bevordering van de modernisering en de duurzame, evenwichtige en rechtvaardige ontwikkeling van deze bedrijfstak in de hele Unie. De sociaaleconomische levensvatbaarheid en de duurzaamheid van de visserijbestanden moeten daarbij worden verzekerd, evenals de levering van vis aan de consument, het behoud van arbeidsplaatsen en de verbetering van de levensomstandigheden van vissers. Het verslag verwelkomt de inventarisatie door de Commissie van de uitzonderingssituatie van zeelieden met betrekking tot diverse onderdelen van de Europese sociale- en arbeidsveiligheidsregels. Europese Maritieme Dag De EU heeft besloten het potentieel van Europa's oceanen en zeeën luister bij te zetten door 20 mei als speciale 'Europese Maritieme Dag' uit te roepen. Vandaar werd er een officiële ceremonie in Straatsburg gehouden, waar Commissievoorzitter BARROSO, de voorzitter van de Raad Janez JANŠA en EP-Voorzitter Hans-Gert PÖTTERING een tripartiete verklaring ondertekenden. De Europese Maritieme Dag biedt een gelegenheid om de aandacht te vestigen op de cruciale rol die de zeeën en oceanen spelen in het dagelijks leven van niet alleen de bewoners van de kustregio's, maar van alle EU-burgers. Het zal daarom een beter beheer van de kustzones, zeeën en oceanen door alle burgers en betrokkenen aanmoedigen en de bijzondere betekenis van oceanen en zeeën voor de duurzame groei en de werkgelegenheid in het algemeen in Europa zal worden onderstreept. Tegelijkertijd zullen verschillende regio's in EU zelf evenementen organiseren die verband houden met de Europese Maritieme Dag. In Heist gebeurt dat op zondag 1 juni. EP-Voorzitter Hans-Gert PÖTTERING liet bij de lancering van de Europese Maritieme Dag weten dat 22 van de 27 lidstaten eilanden of kuststaten zijn. "De territoriale wateren van de 27 lidstaten zijn zelfs groter dan de continentale gebieden; we moeten daarom zorgen voor de verbetering van het concurrentievermogen van de Europese zee-gerelateerde sectoren en tegelijkertijd zorgen voor een gezond en duurzaam milieu." In de toekomst wil de EU op 20 mei ook een Open HavenDag organiseren.

Ventura maiden trippers may sue P&O over Zeebrugge dash

As Dame Helen Mirren cracked a bottle of champagne across the bows of the £300million cruise ship Ventura, it appeared that everything was going to be plain-sailing for her maiden voyage. As she set sail from Southampton, a band played on the quay and corks popped amid a spectacular fireworks party. But disgruntled passengers, who had booked their luxury cabins a year in advance just for the prestige of being on the superliner's first trip, are seeking compensation after discovering it was not the maiden voyage after all. The gleaming ship, with 15 passenger decks, had been delivered early by its Italian builders to P&O, which had then quickly slipped in a two-night 'party cruise' to Zeebrugge. Although it cost from only £350 – compared with the £1,500 starting price of the official first cruise to the Mediterranean – aficionados say the fact that passengers paid for the Zeebrugge trip turned that into the maiden voyage. "We paid a premium to be on the maiden voyage," said passenger Robin Oliver, 58, who says he will take P&O to court if he does not get compensation. "This would have been my third maiden voyage but now it has been ruined for me. It is just pure greed on the part of P&O, who wanted to make some extra cash." Mr Oliver and his wife Christine, from Liphook, Hampshire, were also angry that chef Marco Pierre White, who has a restaurant on board, was on the ship for the party cruise but not the Mediterranean trip last month.

P&Os new £300 million liner VenturaHertfordshire property developer Ronnie Duis, 75, who had paid £4,000 for the cruise, said: "My wife Catherine and I do a lot of cruises and this was supposed to be our first maiden voyage. "It was just the thought of going on a virgin ship that appealed to us. We wanted to use facilities that had not been used before and sleep in beds that had not been slept in. "I don't care what P&O say, as far I'm concerned it is misrepresentation. I shall be standing beside Mr Oliver when he goes to court." A spokesman for P&O said: "Technically and in every respect the Mediterranean cruise was the maiden voyage because the maiden trip is the first trip after the naming ceremony. We made every effort to make this a truly memorable holiday for our passengers."

Casino Knokke has fourth largest chandelier in the world

The Casino Knokke has the fourth largest chandelier in the World. It no longer occupies first place according to the Indian newspaper Deccan Herald in it's edition on Friday May 16th. The largest chandelier known in the world is now in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Oman, and weighs 8.5 tonnes.

Here are the Top 7 chandeliers in the world

7th place - Rialto Square Theatre, Joliet, Illionois The smallest-biggest chandelier in the world (!) is in the United States, in the Rialto Square Theatre, Joliet, Illionois. The chandelier in the Theatre is known as the 'Duchess' — took two years for ‘her’ to be born, and cost one and a half million dollars before her birthday. That was one and a half million, back in the 1920s’ … when you could buy a house for a person's weekly wage nowadays.

6th place - The Jai Vilas Palace, India The Jai Vilas Palace houses two chandeliers, each one weighing 3.5 tonnes. To test whether the roof would take their weight, ten elephants were used to stamp on the roof, to make sure! The palace was designed by a British colonel during colonial times in India, and has survived until now. The gold paint used in the room the chandeliers are in, is estimated to weigh 58 kg — enough gold to make a fit and healthy woman!

5th place - Dolmabahçe palace in Istanbul, TurkeyA 4.5 tonne chandelier resides at the Dolmabahçe palace in Istanbul. It contains 750 lamps, and is made of Bohemian crystal. It was a gift from Queen Victoria of Britain, to the Ottoman Empire in the late 1800s. The building also houses the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat chandeliers in the world, with even the staircases being made of Baccarat crystal!

4th place - Knokke Casino, Belgium. Knokke-Heist, in Belgium, is a seaside resort close to the Dutch border, and is home to one of Belgium's ten casinos, and also one of the world's seven biggest chandeliers. The Belgians are so fascinated by their chandeliers that they even have a word for 'chandelier room' – Kroonluchterzaal. The chandelier is made of Venetian crystal, 22,000 pieces of it to be exact, and includes 2,700 lamps creating light for the crystals to refract. It has a diameter of 8.5m and a height of 6.5m. The entire structure weighs 6 tonnes.

3rd place - Palais Garnier Opera, France The chandelier in the Palais Garnier in France, a country known for its fascination with things beautiful, objets d'art, also weighs 6 tonnes. It is in a fitting setting. The building, which is home to France's traditional operas, is very ornate, decorated with marble friezes, columns, and statues around its interior. Napoleon began its construction in 1858, and it stands even today. The huge chandelier is actually in the auditorium where the operas are played out.

2nd place - Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara, Turkey 'God' has always been the source of man's greatest inspiration to create — so many beautiful cathedrals and churches have been designed and created for religious purposes — and the chandelier at the Kocatepe Mosque, in Ankara, Turkey, holds to that tradition. It weighs 7.5 tonnes, is 5.5m in diameter, has 32 sidelights and 4 corner lights. The mosque is used by around 80,000 worshippers, and the building itself, along with the chandelier, is considered one of the great triumphs of Turkish architecture. The skeleton of the chandelier is only gold plated — pure gold would have stretched and broken long before now — and the smaller chandeliers which make up the whole, are made of small crystal balls with connecting chains.

1st place - Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Oman The largest chandelier known in the world is in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Oman, and weighs 8.5 tonnes. The actual chandelier is made of Swarovski crystal, has gold-plated metalwork, and hangs down for a length of 14 metres. It has a diameter of 8m to go with this height, making the size of the chandelier comparable to a five-storey apartment block or block of flats. It contains staircases and platforms necessary for maintenance, and has 1,200 dimmable halogen lamps triggered by more than 36 switching circuits. Given that the height of the ceiling in the main minaret is 90 metres, this huge chandelier is probably actually the most efficient way of lighting up the entire space!

Belgium – more than chocolates and Poirot!

Een artikel uit de Bromley Times:

Belgium is most familiar to us through its cosmopolitan cities such as Brussels and Bruges, but as you head for the coast you feel your whole body step down a gear as you relax into the laid-back atmosphere of the Flemish coast, writes Marina Soteriou.The ferry crossing from Dover to Dunkerque is a pleasurable way to begin the break. And on arrival you are a just an hour's drive away from the charming town of De Haan which is an ideal base to begin exploring this beautiful coast. More than a dozen towns and resorts dot the coastline - and are all linked by one of the worlds' longest tramlines, the Kussttram(!). They run every ten to twenty minutes, and various day and multi-day passes are available. Tranquil De Haan is packed with fascinating architecture made up of Art Deco mansions and thatched cottages, which were once home to Albert Einstein, for five months. You can walk past his former home and gaze at the door buzzer which still bears his name. The proud residents of the town even erected a bench in one of the many town squares, on which a statue of the physicist sits with a wry smile. The town is served by the long tram route which runs along the coast. Nearby is the only sea-side city Oostende where you can get a fix of culture and nightlife. In 1811 Napoleon had a fort constructed in the dunes of Oostende because he feared an attack from England. As the attack never came, the fort only ever served as an ammunition depot and accommodation for the French army.Now the magnificent building has been transformed into a monument housing exhibitions, concerts and a diner. The neo-gothic church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul's in the city centre is home to the mausoleum of the first queen of Belgium Louise-Marie, who died in Oostende. A stroll along the beach brings you to the fish market where you can sample the fresh seafood caught that morning in the North Sea. A must-try are their famous shrimps. Whilst indulging in local produce there is a wide selection of local beers available in most establishments.It can be daunting choosing one from the long menu lists but the Trappist selection, made by the monks of the Cistercian order - called Westmalle, Westvleteren and Achel - are a good place to start. The locals take their beers seriously and each one comes in its own glass. In one Gwent bar customers ordering a Kwak beer must hand over one of their shoes as a deposit as the glass it is served in is mounted on a wooden frame sought after by collectors.

Further north on the coast things get seriously sophisticated. The exclusive resort of Knokke-Heist, close to the Dutch border, boasts three Michelin starred restaurants and a strip of designer shops.The beach even has a small army of cleaners who come out in the early morning to ensure the beach is spotless. It is lined with private galleries and antique shops, a world away form what British holidaymakers are used to. However don't be put off by businessmen and their sports cars as Knokke-Heist can offer some holiday gems. The Zwin nature reserve stretches more than a mile long across the coast. Here, storks fly above you and nest in the trees and the chimney tops. Over the hill, between the sea and the forest is a stark salt lake, home to many birds.

The resort of De Panne, known as the green pearl of the Belgian coast, offers something slightly more varied than the more well-heeled resorts. It seems younger and has a wider variety of restaurants offering something more than the ubiquitous sea food. Landscapes here are unique as it is the only place on the Belgian coast which has the sea, beach, dunes, forests and polders. Luckily enough, there are good walking and cycling routes to explore them all.Here, they know how to get the most out of their wide beaches. Activities include kite-surfing, land yachting, horse ridding and kite-buggying. The hills overlooking the beaches between De Panne and Dunkirk still accommodate tanks and artillery from the battles on the beaches. In the past, only rich people built in De Panne but after World War Two, there was a vision to make the place accessible to families, children and disabled people. There are even piers which allow disabled people to have fun in the sea too. Families in search of fun can visit the comically named theme park of Plopsland. Next time you are planning your holiday remember airport chaos, long-haul flights and delays do not need to dominate your planning.Instead why not try the gentle, relaxed pace of the Flemish coast.
marina.soterou@archant.co.uk