Failed attempt at Brexit agreement 'nothing short of farcical', says Theresa May's former advisor
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The Future Is Here Today
Where Business, Nature and Leisure Provide An Ideal Setting For Living
March 31, 2019
March 30, 2019
The Netherlands: Will the Netherlands’ Rising Far-Right Star Survive the Scrutiny of Success? - by Frida Ghitis
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| Will Thierry Baudet, Far-Right Populist eventually survive? |
The outcome deprived Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s governing coalition of a majority in the Senate, giving the largest share of seats to a relatively new far-right party led by an ostentatious pseudo-intellectual, Thierry Baudet.
The victory by Baudet’s Forum for Democracy party, or FvD, however, is not proof that the Netherlands has taken a sharp rightward turn. The parliament is highly fragmented, and the political landscape is in flux, but the Netherlands remains a nation characterized by compromise. The question going forward is whether Baudet will manage to persuade more Dutch voters to follow him to the right, or whether his new celebrity status will make them look more closely at his views and turn away after discovering they do not share them.
After his party jumped from just two seats to 13, Baudet declared in his victory speech, “We stand here in the rubble of what was once the most beautiful civilization,” adding, “Minerva’s owl spreads its wings at dusk.” An allusion to imagery used by the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, the term promptly started trending on social media in the Netherlands. To some, it was another preposterous display by the 36-year-old former academic, who has accused the government led by Rutte’s center-right Freedom and Democracy party, or VVD, of allowing “people with cultures completely different from ours” to enter the country. To others, it was a sign of a renewed nationalist push in a struggling European Union.
To be sure, Baudet scored an impressive victory. But a significant portion of his support came from former backers of another populist figure, Geert Wilders, who saw his Party for Freedom drop from nine to five seats in the upper house.
Rutte’s VVD lost just one seat, for a second-place finish, but his four-party coalition, which had only a thin majority in the Senate, lost seven. The other big winner was the Green Left party, which jumped from four to nine seats. Rutte retains a majority in the lower house and, with it, the prime minister’s office. But it is clear that Dutch politics is changing and becoming far more fragmented. The new upper house will comprise a record number of political parties, diminishing the power of the traditional political formations.
Baudet’s support was notably weak in some major cities, which remain bastions of the tolerance for which the Dutch are known. In Amsterdam, Baudet’s FvD finished in an embarrassing sixth place, behind the animal rights formation, Party for the Animals. The Green Left remains the largest there.
One reason for Baudet’s surprise win was the way he brazenly leveraged a deadly attack in the city of Utrecht two days before the elections. The attack by a Turkish-born man who killed three people is being investigated by police as a possible act of terrorism. Other parties suspended campaigning, but Baudet saw an opportunity to make his case. Without conclusive information on the motive for the shootings, Baudet immediately blamed the government’s immigration policies. His FvD did not fare well in Utrecht, interestingly, but it finished first in Rotterdam, a city with a large Muslim population.
Read more at: Will the Netherlands’ Rising Far-Right Star Survive the Scrutiny
March 29, 2019
Global warming: Mosquito spread diseases due to climate change increasing
Mosquito-spread diseases may endanger millions in new places due to climate change
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March 28, 2019
White Supremacy banned: Facebook bans white nationalism from their platform after pressure from civil rights groups - by David Ingram and Ben Collins
The social media giant said in a blog post Wednesday that conversations with academics and civil rights groups convinced the company to expand its policies around hate groups.
“Today we’re announcing a ban on praise, support and representation of white nationalism and separatism on Facebook and Instagram, which we’ll start enforcing next week,” the company wrote in the post. “It’s clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services.” Scrutiny of Facebook reached new heights in the past two weeks after a gunman in Christchurch, New Zealand, used Facebook to livestream his attacks on two mosques that killed 50 people.
Note EU-Digest: Bravo, let's hope Twitter does the same, which would ban Donald Trump and his Populist buddies in Europe and other areas of the world from using both Facebook and Twitter, to spread their white supremacy nationalist ideology.
March 27, 2019
EU: European MPs vote to end summer time clock change
European MPs vote to end summer time clock changes
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March 26, 2019
Britain-Brexit-Revolt: MPs seize control of Brexit process by backing indicative votes amendment - by Heather Stewart and Jessica Elgot
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| A second referendum - the best way to go |
An amendment tabled by former Tory minister Oliver Letwin passed, by
329 votes to 302, defeating the government, as MPs expressed their
exasperation at its failure to set out a fresh approach.
Government sources confirmed that three ministers resigned from government in order to back the Letwin amendment: foreign affairs minister Alistair Burt, health minister Steve Brine and business minister Richard Harrington.In all, a total of 30 Tory MPs rebelled to vote for it.
After gathering Brexit-backing grandees at her country retreat of
Chequers over the weekend and consulting DUP leader, Arlene Foster, and
the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, on Monday, May concluded she could not
yet win sufficient backing for her twice defeated deal.The cross-party group – led by Letwin and Labour’s Hilary Benn – gave MPs a series of votes on the alternatives to May’s deal, such as a second referendum, softer Brexit or revoking article 50.
MPs seize control of Brexit process by backing indicative votes amendment
March 25, 2019
The EU Commission: Who will become the next EU President of the Commission?
European Parliament elections 2019: who are the candidates for the EU’s top job?
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March 24, 2019
BRITAIN ANTI BREXIT PROTEST: Hundreds of thousands join referendum protests
Brexit march: Hundreds of thousands join referendum protest
March 23, 2019
Syria: Trump statement on Golan Heights: EU, Syria, Turkey reject Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights
EU, Syria reject Trump's statement on Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights
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March 22, 2019
EU - British relations: petition to revoke article 50 passes more than 1 million signatures
The
British population emotionally, but not properly informed about the
consequences, voted for Brexit with a razor thin majority three years
ago. It is time for the British Political establisment to swallow their
pride and say they made a mistake, revoke article 50, and return to the
safety and economic prosperity of the EU. It would certainly be a
showing of great statesmanship.
See also:
http://www.ladbible.com/news/uk-petition-calling-to-revoke-article-50-passes-million-signature-mark-20190321?source=facebook
See also:
http://www.ladbible.com/news/uk-petition-calling-to-revoke-article-50-passes-million-signature-mark-20190321?source=facebook
March 21, 2019
Britain - the Brexit Saga: E.U.Officials Agree to Brexit Delay, but with Conditions - by Stephen Castle
Top officials of the European Union tossed Prime Minister Theresa May a
lifeline on Wednesday, saying they would allow Britain to push back its
departure date from the bloc, but only if Parliament endorsed her
withdrawal plan.
Lawmakers have twice already rejected Mrs. May’s plan emphatically, but in the unlikely event they changed their minds, Britain would still need an extension. The March 29 deadline is so near, there is no way lawmakers can pass the supporting legislation needed to put any withdrawal plan into effect.
In offering an extension but tying it to a vote in Parliament, the European Union officials appeared to be trying to strengthen Mrs. May’s position and pressure British lawmakers to fall into line behind her plan, which would allow Britain to exit the bloc but maintain its trade ties until at least the end of 2020.
If they don’t, the alternative may be an outcome many of the lawmakers like even less than the prime minister’s plan: a break from the bloc with no provisions for cushioning its economic impact — a so-called no-deal Brexit — or an even lengthier delay. And that could potentially mean no withdrawal from the bloc at all.
Given the chaos and dysfunction of British politics, it was not at all clear Wednesday that the gambit by the European Union officials would pay off. The showdown between Britain and the European Union, it seems, may be destined go right down to the wire
The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, did offer a bit of encouragement in an otherwise bleak landscape.
Click here to read more
Lawmakers have twice already rejected Mrs. May’s plan emphatically, but in the unlikely event they changed their minds, Britain would still need an extension. The March 29 deadline is so near, there is no way lawmakers can pass the supporting legislation needed to put any withdrawal plan into effect.
In offering an extension but tying it to a vote in Parliament, the European Union officials appeared to be trying to strengthen Mrs. May’s position and pressure British lawmakers to fall into line behind her plan, which would allow Britain to exit the bloc but maintain its trade ties until at least the end of 2020.
If they don’t, the alternative may be an outcome many of the lawmakers like even less than the prime minister’s plan: a break from the bloc with no provisions for cushioning its economic impact — a so-called no-deal Brexit — or an even lengthier delay. And that could potentially mean no withdrawal from the bloc at all.
Given the chaos and dysfunction of British politics, it was not at all clear Wednesday that the gambit by the European Union officials would pay off. The showdown between Britain and the European Union, it seems, may be destined go right down to the wire
The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, did offer a bit of encouragement in an otherwise bleak landscape.
Click here to read more
March 20, 2019
Italy: the country is in a state of democratic emergency
Wake up, Italians – our country is in a state of democratic emergency
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March 18, 2019
Netherlands, U.S. agree on use of Curacao as possible aid hub for Venezuela
The Netherlands and the United States reached an agreement on Friday to use facilities on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao for possible distribution of aid to nearby Venezuela, Curacao’s prime minister said.
Theisland will only be used for civilian operations to deliver aid, such as food and medicines, to Venezuela if the Venezuelan government explicitly allows it, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said last month.
Note Almere Digest: A good idea, as long as the US does not use it as a "stepping stone" for a US "sponsored" military invasion.
Read more: Netherlands, U.S. agree on use of Curacao as possible aid hub for Venezuela | Reuters
Theisland will only be used for civilian operations to deliver aid, such as food and medicines, to Venezuela if the Venezuelan government explicitly allows it, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said last month.
Note Almere Digest: A good idea, as long as the US does not use it as a "stepping stone" for a US "sponsored" military invasion.
Read more: Netherlands, U.S. agree on use of Curacao as possible aid hub for Venezuela | Reuters
March 17, 2019
Radicalism and Terrorism - Time to call a spade a spade:Radical right-wing white supremacists who kill people are terrorists just like radical Muslims who kill people - by RM
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| Populism is dangerous and destructive and the wrong way to go |
What a horrible and despicable act of terrorism it was, committed by this white supremacist on innocent Muslim worshipers in New Zealand
This has to stop.
The fact is that right-wing, white supremacists radicalism, based on Islamophobia, race, culture and adversary-immigration policies, is just as radical as Muslim radicalism, but unfortunately not defined as such, or confronted and fought openly by governments and the press, in the same way as Muslim radical extremism is.
Both extremists groups, once they get involved in violent acts, whereby innocent people get killed, are terrorists. There is no difference between the two.
In Europe and the US, radical right-wing, white supremacists movements are usually still labeled as either nationalist, or populist movements by the media and politicians, including Donald Trump in the US, Marianne Le Pen in France, Geert Wilders and Thiery Baudet in the Netherlands, Victor Orban in Hungary, Jörg Meuthen and Alexander Gauland, in Germany, Matteo Salvin in Italy, Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson in United Kingdom, Michał Marusik in Poland, and Ulrich Schlüer and Pascal Junod in Zwitserland.
In this context let us also not forget that all of the European politicians mentioned in the paragraph above are being cheered on by their "big brother", Donald Trump on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, and sad to say, the "love" is mutual.
Unfortunately, this political right-wing alliance has resulted in some extremely negative effects on the well-being of many people around the planet, causing racial and religious tensions, a lack of direction in the area of the environment (the Paris Agreement), nuclear proliferation (the Iran Nuclear Deal framework), a British political debacle (Brexit), and tariff wars..
Democracy, as we knew it, is just about non-existent anymore. The Populist radical charade needs to be exposed for what it really is, before many more people lose their lives, as a result of terrorist acts committed by these white supremacists.
It is high time for Governments, politicians, and the press to take their heads out of the sand and call a spade a spade.A terrorist is a terrorist, if he is white, black, brown, or yellow, Christian, or Muslim, or whatever religion he or she professes.
EU-Digest
March 15, 2019
EU-Britain Brexit Negotiations: EU Negotiator Michael Barnier says: "Negotiations are over"
Euronews exclusive: ‘Negotiations are over,’ says Michel Barnier on Brexit deal
March 14, 2019
EU-Russian Relations: Russia will meddle in European elections, keep prepping for war with NATO says Estonian Secret Service Report
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| The Big Bad Bear From The East is Eyeing the EU Elections |
All this becomes very clear in an exclusive 70-page report, which provides a window into the activity and goals of the Russian intelligence services from next door in Estonia.
"Russia is very likely to try to intervene in the European Parliament elections to secure as many seats as possible for pro-Russian or eurosceptical political forces," writes the report's author Mikk Marran, director general of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service.
The report says Russian intelligence services will also continue
the extensive cyberespionage campaign against the West that they have
pursued for years, with the military intelligence service, called the
GRU, and Russia's spy agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB)
directing most operations.
Cyber espionage groups APT28 and Sandworm are the most active of the Russian-backed groups, usually exploiting simple online tools and tactics, like phishing campaigns and "most likely to blur the line between clearly state-sponsored attacks and the activities of online activists and profiteering cyber criminals," the report says.
SNAKE APT, a group tied to the FSB, operates more covertly, according to the report. "Most cyber and information operations originating from Russia are led by the special services, particularly the FSB and GRU," who often enlist cybercriminals to do the work for them.
According to the report, Russian intelligence and special services use human, cyber and signals intelligence — electronic and radio signals — to gather information, including tapping into civilian communication services inside and outside the country.
All Russian communications service providers are required to give the FSB access their networks and information," says the report. Russian authorities force service providers operating in Russia to disclose their decryption keys, while the FSB works to decrypt communications from foreign service providers.
The report also tracks Russia's military activities. Last year, says the report, the Russian military expanded its military build-up along the western border, placing seven new maneuver regiments less than 50 km (31 miles) from the border.
Most units are based near Ukraine and Belarus, but one division, the Pskov Air Assault Division, near the Estonian border "became the first division of Russian Airborne Troops to be reinforced with a third regiment."
"Russian armed forces are preparing for a possible war along a wide front," the report says.
Analyzing Russia's most recent exercises, the report finds that "Russian armed forces are consistently practicing for an extensive military conflict with NATO." Leadership in Russia fears the spread of democracy and Russian armed forces leaders believe a military conflict with NATO will be sparked by a "colored revolution" in one of Russia's neighboring countries, in other words Western intelligence services encouraging democratic uprisings.
If crisis breaks out, Russia is most likely to attack the Baltic States first, but a conflict between Russia and NATO would involve attacks on Western Europe, says the report.
Vladimir Putin continues to focus attention on Belarus and moving both the leadership and population closer to Russia and away from any western influences, according to the report. "If anything unexpected should happen to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka personally or to his regime, there will be a great risk of swift military action by Russia to prevent Belarus from becoming a pro-Western democracy," the report finds.
A new trend identified by the report is the Russian state enlisting civilian ships and vessels to carry out activities on behalf of the government. The report identities "provocative behavior" of Russian civilian ships, including entering territorial waters without permission and carrying out research on a nation's submarine communication's networks. Shipowners and crews must at all times be ready to perform national assignments, regardless of geographical location, the report warns.
"The Russian civilian fleet and its activities are a potential security threat," it says. "More attention should be paid to Russian civilian vessels sailing under the Russian flag."
For the complete Estonian report click here.
For the complete Estonian report click here.
March 13, 2019
Britain - Brexit: British MPs reject Brexit deal by 391 to 242 despite May securing changes to backstop - by Alice Tidey & Rachael Kennedy
British lawmakers on Tuesday rejected May's Brexit deal for a second time with 391 votes against, 242 in favour.
MPs first rejected the deal on January 14 by a margin of 230, handing May the worst defeat of any sitting government in British parliamentary history.
The prime minister said immediately after the vote that MPs now face "an unenviable choice" and said she still believes that her deal is the best and only deal available.
May said if lawmakers backed a no-deal Brexit on Wednesday, it would become government policy.
A division list released by the Commons website shows that 75 Conservative MPs rebelled against May.
They were joined by 232 Labour MPs, 17 independent MPs, and every single MPs from Scotland's National party (35), the Liberal Democrats (11) and Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (10)
Bottom ine: the Brexit deal is clearly dead - and to make any sense of what the British really want, specially now the British Public has become more familiar with what breaking away from the EU and the Common Market would eventually mean to the economy and them, and the danger of becoming totally subservient to the US, is to have a second referendum.
This is the only way to stop this chaos, after the political establishment totally failed the people. It is high time to put the control of the future of Britain back in the hands of the British people, before the country implodes.
Read more: British MPs reject Brexit deal by 391 to 242 despite May securing changes to backstop | Euronews
MPs first rejected the deal on January 14 by a margin of 230, handing May the worst defeat of any sitting government in British parliamentary history.
The prime minister said immediately after the vote that MPs now face "an unenviable choice" and said she still believes that her deal is the best and only deal available.
May said if lawmakers backed a no-deal Brexit on Wednesday, it would become government policy.
A division list released by the Commons website shows that 75 Conservative MPs rebelled against May.
They were joined by 232 Labour MPs, 17 independent MPs, and every single MPs from Scotland's National party (35), the Liberal Democrats (11) and Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (10)
Bottom ine: the Brexit deal is clearly dead - and to make any sense of what the British really want, specially now the British Public has become more familiar with what breaking away from the EU and the Common Market would eventually mean to the economy and them, and the danger of becoming totally subservient to the US, is to have a second referendum.
This is the only way to stop this chaos, after the political establishment totally failed the people. It is high time to put the control of the future of Britain back in the hands of the British people, before the country implodes.
Read more: British MPs reject Brexit deal by 391 to 242 despite May securing changes to backstop | Euronews
March 11, 2019
March 10, 2019
The Netherlands : Solaroad introduced in the Netherlands
The Netherlands: Solaroad - introduced in the Netherlands
March 9, 2019
International Women's Day - The 10 worst countries in the world for women and the ten best - by Lia Ryerson
The index measures women's well-being — based on factors such as justice, security, and inclusion — in 153 countries.
Here are the 10 worst countries in the world for women to live in:
Britain -- Brexit: May on course of another BREXIT defeat after Barnier says NO to more changes to the agreement
'A slap in the face': Barnier sets May on course for Brexit defeat
March 8, 2019
EU needs to take positives from populism not just fight it
‘Europe needs take the positives from populism, not just fight it’
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March 7, 2019
The Netherlands: Russian money laundering machine shifted millions through the Netherlands
In total, almost €1bn of the money ended up in the Netherlands, some of which was used to buy two luxury yachts, said the research project, which includes Trouw and the Groene Amsterdammer magazine plus Dutch investigative journalism collective Investico.
The OCCRP says Troika Dialog, once Russia’s largest private investment bank, channeled billions of dollars out of Russia from 2004 via a network of 70 offshore companies with accounts in Lithuania. The two Lithuanian banks were closed down in 2011 and 2013.
The scheme was discovered in a collection of 1.3 million banking transactions and other documents obtained by OCCRP and the Lithuanian news site 15min.lt, which stem from the two Lithuanian banks.
Some of the money was channeled into the Netherlands via the Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB) and Turkey’s C. ATB, part of Russia’s Alfa Bank, is already involved in corruption investigations.
Smaller amounts were moved through ING and ABN Amro, the Groene Amsterdammer said. ‘The million euro payments came from the Troika Bank and had many signs of money laundering,’ the magazine said.
In addition, €43m went to the Rabobank account of luxury yacht builder Heesen, according to Dutch investigative news collective Investico.
‘How could all this happen under the watchful eye of the central bank DNB?’ the magazine asked. ‘Banks are banned from carrying out transactions if they don’t know who profits, but, the central bank says, banks often have no idea who is really hiding behind anonymous companies.’
The central bank declined to answer specific questions about the claims, the Groene Amsterdammer said.
EU-Digest
March 6, 2019
The Netherlands: Amsterdam is the most dangerous municipality in the Netherlands- by Mina Solanki
According to the 18th edition of AD’s annual crime monitor, Misdaadmeter, Amsterdam is once again the most dangerous municipality in the Netherlands, with the highest crime rates. Dinkelland in Twente is the safest.
In order to rank municipalities according to safeness, the AD crime monitor looks at 10 different types of crimes and offsets them against the number of residents. The crimes, such as domestic burglary, assault, pickpocketing and robbery, carry different weights depending on the impact they have on the victim.
In 2018, the number of crime reports submitted to the Dutch police decreased by six percent compared with the previous year. Domestic burglaries went down by 13 percent and the number of victims of pickpocketing dropped by 28 percent. There was also an 18-percent drop in thefts from garages and sheds. Despite this decrease in certain types of crimes, robberies increased by four percent and muggings only saw a reduction of two percent.
In Amsterdam, as in the rest of the country, the number of domestic burglaries and reports of pickpocketing decreased. However, the number of robberies rose from 184 in 2017 to 226 in 2018, an increase of 23 percent.
The number of victims of muggings also went up to 1235. These crimes have a greater impact on victims than, say, pickpocketing, and this is the reason why Amsterdam is still number one on the list of the most dangerous municipalities.
Close to Amsterdam, and catching up in terms of crime, is Diemen, which rose from 26th place in 2017 to 8th last year. Diemen experienced an upsurge in the number of burglaries, mainly due to a gang of burglars who were active at the start of 2018. The number of burglaries, however, diminished once the gang was caught.
Eindhoven comes in second according to the crime monitor, with more robberies than last year. Three of the other four municipalities in Limburg that made the top 10 also experienced a rise in robberies.
The top 10 most dangerous Dutch municipalities are:
In order to rank municipalities according to safeness, the AD crime monitor looks at 10 different types of crimes and offsets them against the number of residents. The crimes, such as domestic burglary, assault, pickpocketing and robbery, carry different weights depending on the impact they have on the victim.
In 2018, the number of crime reports submitted to the Dutch police decreased by six percent compared with the previous year. Domestic burglaries went down by 13 percent and the number of victims of pickpocketing dropped by 28 percent. There was also an 18-percent drop in thefts from garages and sheds. Despite this decrease in certain types of crimes, robberies increased by four percent and muggings only saw a reduction of two percent.
In Amsterdam, as in the rest of the country, the number of domestic burglaries and reports of pickpocketing decreased. However, the number of robberies rose from 184 in 2017 to 226 in 2018, an increase of 23 percent.
The number of victims of muggings also went up to 1235. These crimes have a greater impact on victims than, say, pickpocketing, and this is the reason why Amsterdam is still number one on the list of the most dangerous municipalities.
Close to Amsterdam, and catching up in terms of crime, is Diemen, which rose from 26th place in 2017 to 8th last year. Diemen experienced an upsurge in the number of burglaries, mainly due to a gang of burglars who were active at the start of 2018. The number of burglaries, however, diminished once the gang was caught.
Eindhoven comes in second according to the crime monitor, with more robberies than last year. Three of the other four municipalities in Limburg that made the top 10 also experienced a rise in robberies.
The top 10 most dangerous Dutch municipalities are:
- Amsterdam
- Eindhoven
- Rotterdam
- Heerlen
- Maastricht
- The Hague
- Sittard-Geleen
- Diemen
- Roermond
- Schiedam
- Dinkelland
- Olst-Wijhe
- Dalfsen
- Lopik
- Staphorst
- Vijfheerenlanden
- Loppersum
- Tubbergen
- Wierden
- Borsele
March 5, 2019
ISIS: Danish political parties want to strip foreign fighters of citizenship – but US Trump threatening the EU they will release them in Syria if they don't take them back
This week it emerged that the UK had decided to revoke the British
citizenship of Shamima Begum, a so-called Islamic State (IS) bride who
wants to return to the UK after leaving London four years ago to join
ranks of the jihadist organisation in Syria.
Now, several parties in Denmark are looking to follow suit following a proposal from Dansk Folkeparti (DF) that aims to strip the Danish citizenship of people who travelled abroad to fight alongside IS.
So far, government parties Venstre and Konservative have supported DF’s proposal, although they are not in favour of doing anything that might be in breach of international conventions.
But despite this, the justice minister Søren Pape Poulsen said today that Denmark would likely have to accept the foreign fighters back.
“This is a complex problem and there is no perfect or simple solution. The fact is we can’t deny Danish citizens returning to Denmark,” said Poulsen.
The news comes after the US president Donald Trump urged European countries to bring back its foreign fighters the US are detaining in Syria. Otherwise, the US would have to simply release them.
But despite this, it looks as if some areas of the political spectrum will be doing their best to avoid such a scenario.
“We don’t want to breach conventions, but we will take it to the limit. We must send a clear signal that they are not welcome and we don’t want them back in Denmark – they also present a serious security risk,” Michael Aastrup Jensen, Venstre’s spokesperson on foreign affairs issues, told DR Nyheder.
Read more: Danish parties want to strip foreign fighters of citizenship – The Post
Now, several parties in Denmark are looking to follow suit following a proposal from Dansk Folkeparti (DF) that aims to strip the Danish citizenship of people who travelled abroad to fight alongside IS.
So far, government parties Venstre and Konservative have supported DF’s proposal, although they are not in favour of doing anything that might be in breach of international conventions.
But despite this, the justice minister Søren Pape Poulsen said today that Denmark would likely have to accept the foreign fighters back.
“This is a complex problem and there is no perfect or simple solution. The fact is we can’t deny Danish citizens returning to Denmark,” said Poulsen.
The news comes after the US president Donald Trump urged European countries to bring back its foreign fighters the US are detaining in Syria. Otherwise, the US would have to simply release them.
But despite this, it looks as if some areas of the political spectrum will be doing their best to avoid such a scenario.
“We don’t want to breach conventions, but we will take it to the limit. We must send a clear signal that they are not welcome and we don’t want them back in Denmark – they also present a serious security risk,” Michael Aastrup Jensen, Venstre’s spokesperson on foreign affairs issues, told DR Nyheder.
Note EU-Digest: It is unbelievable how subservient
the EU and its member states seem when reacting to US threats, even if
it goes against their own principles. Aren't they all aware by now that
the US Trump Administration has no respect for the EU, or cares about
anything the EU does or says. Come on EU show some backbone.
Read more: Danish parties want to strip foreign fighters of citizenship – The Post
March 4, 2019
Italy: Venice introduces entry fee for tourists to increase income for City upkeep
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| Venice starts charging tourist fees to pay for increasing cost city maintenance |
Beginning on May 25 the visitors of the city of canals will begin paying a €3 entry fee, which will later rise to €6 in 2020.
The Venetian government eventually plans to create a variable entry fee ranging from €3-to-€10 depending on the number of tourists in the city. Visitors who attempt to avoid paying the entry fee will face a stiff €450 municipal fine.
The plan is to exempt hotel guests, as they already pay a city tax, and children under the age of 6,
Over the past decade, Venice has been so inundated with tourists that local residents have had difficulty coping with the increasing crowds and sky-high property prices that continue to climb. Local residents that have lived in Venice for generations have been forced to leave the city as scores of cruise ship visitors and day=trippers have effectively taken over.
An estimated 14 million tourists visit Venice just for a day, which brings little-to-no benefit to the local economy. Instead, tourism burden local authorities are left with excessive costs for the cleaning and maintenance of the city’s centuries-old infrastructure.
Read more: Venice introduces entry fee for tourists
March 3, 2019
Britain - Brexit - USA: Britain is getting the shaft by USA by having to accept chlorine treated Chicken and meats
UK-US trade deal: Envoy attacks 'myths' about US farming
Read more at:
March 2, 2019
Spain: British residents Living in Spain will be allowed to stay in Spain after a no-deal Brexit
Brexit: Spain to give 400,000 Britons rights under no deal
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