Belgium Restaurant

Cuba is a source country for children trafficked internally for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced child labor. Trafficking victims from all over Cuba are exploited in major cities and tourist resorts. There are no reliable estimates available on the extent of trafficking in the country; however, children in prostitution is widely apparent, even to casual observers. These children are sometimes trafficked into prostitution by their families and exploited by foreign tourists. Anecdotal evidence suggests that workers at state-run hotels, travel company employees, taxicab drivers, bar and restaurant workers, and law enforcement personnel are complicit in the commercial sexual exploitation of minors. Cuban forced labor victims include children coerced into working in conditions of involunt ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

Brussels’ many good restaurants offer Belgian cooking (based on French cuisine), as well as Italian, Chinese, Serbian, Spanish, Middle Eastern, African, and other specialties. Prices range from very expensive at some outstanding restaurants to reasonable at smaller establishments. Dining out is a Belgian national pastime. Numerous small cafes do a brisk beer business day and night, and sidewalk cafes flourish in good weather. Belgian folk festival traditions with celebrations of every kind are some of Europe’ richest. Especially colorful and exciting are those of the pre- Lenten season. The Carnival of the Gilles in Binche, a Shrove Tuesday event, dates from the 16th century when Spain ruled Belgium. It features the Gilles, those men and boys of the town entitled to wear the brilliant costumes topped with towering Inca-inspired feathered hats. With carnival enthusiasm, the Gilles dance through the town in Indian rhythm, beating drums, shaking bells, and tossing fresh oranges to the spe ... [Read More]

Appendix A -- Chronology of Significant Terrorist Incidents, 2003

In Casablanca, one of five near-simultaneous bombs exploded in the street outside the Belgium Consulate and next to a Jewish-owned restaurant, killing two police officers and injuring another, according to press reports. The restaurant, Positano, could have been the target. A Positano employee said a colleague stopped three suspects as they entered the restaurant. One of the suspects fled, and the other two died in the blasts. Belgian security cameras showed the bombers tried but failed to enter the restaurant. Belgian officials, including Foreign Minister Louis Michel, said the restaurant was probably the target. According to press reports, about 14 persons (ages 18-22) took part in the five attacks, killing a total of 42 persons and injuring at least 100. Several of those arrested were cooperating with police. According to press reports, the group al-Sirat al Mustaqim—with possible links to al-Qaida—is responsible. [Read More]

(F) Europe Overview

The Breton Resistance Army (ARB) claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in April that damaged a McDonald's restaurant at Pornic, but the group denied involvement in another attack the same month against a McDonald's restaurant near Dinan that killed a French employee. French police arrested four members of the Breton nationalist group Emgann (Combat) on charges of involvement in the Dinan bombing. ... [Read More]

July-December

1111--10/27/04   Remarks at Iftar Banquet for Jordanian Media Officials; David M. Hale, U.S. Charge d’Affaires; Tawahin al Hawa Restaurant; Amman, Jordan ... [Read More]

2004

1111--10/27/04   Remarks at Iftar Banquet for Jordanian Media Officials; David M. Hale, U.S. Charge d’Affaires; Tawahin al Hawa Restaurant; Amman, Jordan ... [Read More]

Appendix A -- Chronology of Significant International Terrorist Incidents, 2003 (Revised 6/22/04)

On 14 April 2003, in Sergy, France, militants set fire to a car parked outside the rear entrance of a McDonald's restaurant. The blaze partially destroyed the restaurant. No one claimed responsibility. ...

On 5 April 2003, in Dowra, Lebanon, at 4:40 PM, 500 grams of TNT placed in the men's room trash receptacle of a McDonald’s restaurant exploded, according to media and U.S. Embassy reports. Victims included ten wounded. The restaurant also sustained considerable damage. Five to ten seconds later a minor explosion took place in a vehicle adjacent to the building. The explosion was a partial detonation of a three-stage improvised explosive device (IED) that consisted of three timers, 50 kilograms of TNT, an unidentified quantity of C-4, and three gas-filled containers. No one claimed responsibility. ... [Read More]

Norway

CRIME INFORMATION:  Norway has a relatively low crime rate.  Most crimes involve the theft of personal property.  Residential burglaries, auto theft, and vandalism to parked cars can also occur.  Most high-end value vehicles, especially in Oslo, have visible alarm system indicators to discourage joy riders or thieves.  Persons who appear affluent or disoriented may become targets of pickpockets and purse-snatchers, especially during the peak tourist seasons (May-September).  Thieves frequently target tourists in hotels, particularly lobby/reception and restaurant areas.  Often such thieves work in pairs, and use distraction as a method to steal purses or briefcases.  While passports are frequently stolen in the course of these thefts, money, credit cards and jewelry ... [Read More]

USIA Electronic Journals 11/96 - Satcher

Satcher: Early detection is critical in the control of emerging infectious diseases. I can give you an example. The E. coli 0157- H7, which recently affected Japan, comes from eating under cooked ground beef. We had an outbreak in this country in 1993 in which about 500 people were infected at a restaurant in the Pacific Northwest. A few children died. We now know that outbreaks occurred in various parts of the country in the early 1980s but were not immediately recognized. Had they been, we probably could have prevented the outbreaks that took place later. ... [Read More]

USIA, U.S. Society and Values, January 1997 - The Statesand Social Responsibility: The North Carolina Experience

Through Work First, businesses, and communities and churches arejoiningwith local Departments of Social Services to fill job openingsand to helpwelfare families become self-sufficient. The North CarolinaCitizens forBusiness and Industry, North Carolina's leading businessorganization, haspledged to work with the state in that regard. Specific industrygroups arejoining in the movement to help welfare recipients form anattachment to thelabor force. For example, the North Carolina RestaurantAssociationoperates a program which trains its members to be mentors forpeople onwelfare as they work their way up in the industry. ... [Read More]