While an October exhibition of Macedonian medieval manuscripts in Brussels incited protests from the government in Sofia over historical issues, there is another collection of texts in the country about which relatively little is known- that is, Macedonia’s Islamic manuscript collection, a legacy from Ottoman times. In this intriguing new interview, Balkanalysis.com Director Chris Deliso gets the insights of Prof. Dr. Mesut Idriz, an expert on the subject who has done considerable research on the history, identity and preservation possibilities of Islamic manuscripts from Macedonia.

...over 120 Chinese students took part in a special educational exchange with local government and community leaders and European students in the famous port city of Antwerp, Belgium to commemorate EU Youth Week and the "EU-China Year of Youth".

What was Joseph Kabila thinking? According to Congolese and Belgian press, President Kabila gave Queen Paola of Belgium a diamond necklace, earrings, and bracelet on the occasion of Congo's 50th anniversary celebrations. A bit of a PR catastrophe.

Olivier Chastel, the Belgian secretary of state for EU affairs...raised the possibility of the opening of a new chapter in negotiations with Turkey in the coming months after Spain, which currently holds the EU presidency, backed Ankara's bid despite resistance from France and Germany.

APDS Blogger: Paul Rockower

With the recent earthquakes that devastated Haiti and Chile, the concept of aid diplomacy has arisen in the global consciousness. Aid diplomacy is predicated on the notion that in times of crisis, nations can do well in public diplomacy terms by doing good works for those in need.

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme says the creation of a European Union foreign minister — the job currently held by the U.K.'s Catherine Ashton — has freed him up to conduct what he calls "economic diplomacy."

THE Smurfs, the Little Mermaid, Bollywood stars, tenor Andrea Bocelli and the acrobats of Cirque du Soleil are part of a colourful diplomatic offensive to win Chinese hearts at this year's World Expo.