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"It was an attractive, sand-colored building that was modern but had wooden, Islamic-style windows that gave it lots of atmosphere," she says. "Inside, there were stacks of papers and books everywhere, and you could see a lot of work and research was going on."

But her trip there last Tuesday for Friday's story ( see story) presented a very different scene. "The center was a mess," she says. "Construction materials were lying around, furniture had been thrown outside, and it had been completely trashed. Ibrahim said the center was looted right after he was released from prison. But he is in the process of fixing it up and plans to reopen it June 30."

• CONCRETE JUNGLE: Monitor correspondent Peter Ford found out after he had thought of his lead for Friday's story ( see story) that the construction work in Brussels has been used as a metaphor for European Union developments before - particularly by opponents of the EU who refer to the Commission's headquarters, the massive Berlaymont Complex, as the 'Berlaymonster' Complex.

Nearing the end of a lengthy remodelling to remove asbestos, the building is sometimes referred to as a symbol of the rotten dangers at the heart of Europe. Of more concern to local people is the fact that all the new glass and concrete EU buildings going up in the 'Europe' district of Brussels are completely empty at the weekends, making the neighborhood a depressing desert outside office hours.

Amelia Newcomb
Deputy World editor

Cultural snapshot

		MOODY BLUES: A nun in Brussels takes in 'Art on Cows,' an exhibit will that will display 187 bedecked bovines around the city for the next three months. YVES HERMAN/REUTERS

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