Potter PM

Brussels, June 6 (Reuters): Belgium is trying to work its magic to soothe the anger of the Dutch Prime Minister after the Belgian foreign minister compared him to Harry Potter.

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt apologised to Dutch leader Jan Peter Balkenende for the remark made by his notoriously blunt foreign minister, Karel De Gucht. Many have likened Balkenende to Harry Potter with his round glasses, mop of brown hair and youthful looks.

But the Dutch government has not fallen under Verhofstadt’s spell and has summoned the acting Belgian ambassador for an explanation. De Gucht described Balkenende as “a mix between Harry Potter and a brave rigid bourgeois” with no charisma, in an interview published on Saturday in the Belgian daily Het Laatse Nieuws.

Giant gems

London (Reuters): A tightly guarded collection of some of the planet’s rarest gems goes on show in London next month, billed as the world’s biggest diamond exhibition. From the giant yellow Incomparable ? at 407.48 carats the third largest diamond ever cut ? to De Beers’ flawless white Millennium Star and the vivid orange Pumpkin, the diamonds have never before been seen together. The stones, many classified as priceless, are being gathered from 13 different countries ranging from Austria to Belgium and South Africa.