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July 31, 2019

The Netherlands: smoking banned on railroad stations

EU webshops generate €390 million in the Netherlands

In Q1 2019, Dutch consumers purchased around 390 million euros (excl. VAT) worth of products from foreign EU webshops. This is  15 percent up on the same period last year. Online purchases from EU  webshops have increased by over 150 percent in the span of five years.  Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of ongoing research.

Turnover generated by EU webshops represents online purchases of goods by Dutch consumers from companies located within the European Union but outside the Netherlands. Figures have been calculated on the basis of a method which is still under development and are therefore provisional.

Read more at EU webshops generate €390 million in the Netherlands

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July 30, 2019

Bacteria: Drug resistant superbug spreading in Europe

Drug-resistant superbug spreading in Europe's hospitals

Read more at:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49132425

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July 29, 2019

EU-Migration Policies: Tragedy is inevitable if we fear migration rather than celebrate its benefits : by Jonathan Portes

Migrants don’t steal jobs or bring down wages. Rather, they’re more likely to bring dynamism and prosperity

our years ago, Europeans were shocked by the photograph of the drowned three-year old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi. Now, Americans are similarly horrified by pictures of El Salvadorans Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter, Angie Valeria, dead on the banks of the Rio Grande. Meanwhile, in the UK we are struggling with what our immigration policy should look like after Brexit, with Boris Johnson trying to have his cake and eat it with the promise of an “Australian-style points system”.
 
Few subjects are more politically charged than immigration. However, like free trade, it unites most economists, regardless of their politics. Immigrants don’t take our jobs, nor do they have much impact on wages. Just look at the UK, where sustained high levels of immigration have coincided with unemployment falling to its lowest level in 40 years.

More importantly, immigration makes economies more dynamic and is generally positive for productivity and prosperity. Even legitimate concerns about “brain drain” from developing countries turn out to be exaggerated, with such countries often gaining from remittances and new economic connections.

The economic and political forces driving immigration are only likely to intensify, in both Europe and the rest of the developed world. They will be powered by “demand” – demographic pressures, with every single country in Europe having a fertility rate below replacement level – and “supply” – population growth in developing countries, especially in Africa, and perhaps climate change. So the number of people seeking to move countries, whether through economic migration, refugee flows or a mix, will continue to grow. At the same time, we will need migration; even Japan, long resistant, has recently begun to liberalise policy.

If the economic benefits are clear, what explains the recent political backlash? What is the connection between the election of Donald Trump, the Brexit vote and the rise of far-right populists in continental Europe? A decade on from the financial crisis, the political foundations of the postwar (and post-cold-war) liberal order appear to be crumbling.

But while anti-immigrant rhetoric and sentiment are common themes, the circumstances of individual countries are very different. In the US, Trump’s focus is on irregular migration from Mexico and Central America and its supposed impact on crime and security, although there is little or no evidence, in the US or elsewhere, to substantiate his claims. In the UK, the ostensible focus of the Brexit campaign was on EU free movement, predominantly by white eastern Europeans, although future migration from Turkey and points farther east was also a strong theme. In western European countries such as Sweden, Germany, France and Italy, rightwing populists were boosted by public reaction to refugee and migrant flows from Syria and Africa. And in Poland and Hungary, while immigrant flows are extremely small, parties in power have successfully appealed to nationalist sentiments by focusing on the threat of Muslim immigration overrunning “Christian” Europe.

Twitter is full of lunatics who talk about “race replacement” or “white genocide”. But more respectable versions of much the same argument can be found in the mainstream press. London’s population is no longer majority “white British”, but most of us were born in the UK and even more identify as British (white, black, Asian or mixed) and have British citizenship. Nevertheless, the eminent economist Paul Collier claims that the “indigenous British [have] become a minority in their own capital”. Spectator writer Douglas Murray, who argues for reducing or eliminating Muslim immigration, says London has become a “foreign country”. Eric Kaufmann, a political scientist and author of Whiteshift, suggests that we should favour immigrants from ethnic or cultural backgrounds who are easier to “assimilate” into the white majority. The favourite philosopher of some Conservatives, Roger Scruton, thinks it’s impossible for the (British-born) children of Muslim immigrants to be loyal British citizens. So the view that only white people can be “really” British, and that black or Asian Britons are still somehow alien and threatening, remains prevalent in some elite circles.

Some argue that if progressive politicians fail to accommodate these views, they will drive their traditional voters to the populist right. But there’s little evidence that this will help those most vulnerable to the lure of rightwing populism or improve public perceptions of immigration. Instead, countries such as Ireland, Canada, and Spain have combined relatively open policies with public consent by building a pro-migration coalition across much of the political spectrum.

Germany offers a particularly striking example. Amid the panic about the refugee influx in 2015, I wrote that it was an opportunity more than a threat. But many argued that it would be impossible, economically, socially or politically, to absorb so many people from supposedly “alien” cultures. But three years on, while far from perfect, the balance sheet appears mostly positive. Refugees are learning German and getting jobs. Although the far right continues to try to whip up anti-immigrant hysteria, crime is at its lowest level in almost 30 years.

Brexit, paradoxically, offers a window of opportunity. The most illiberal and restrictionist prime minister in living memory is about to depart. Public concern about immigration has fallen sharply and attitudes towards its effects are more positive than for many years. Both Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, as well as the home secretary, Sajid Javid, have signalled that they want an immigration policy better attuned to the needs of the UK economy.

Politicians could make the case for liberal policy not just on economic grounds but much more broadly, defending the rights of immigrants, eg EU citizens resident in the UK, UK-born children of immigrants who are denied British citizenship, UK citizens who marry people from abroad, and so on. This would also include a more positive approach to the impacts of immigration on communities and services at a local level – by promoting integration and channelling funding to areas where there are pressures resulting from population growth. There is a chance for a “reset moment” not just in policy but in our wider public and political attitudes to immigration and immigrants: we should not let it slip away.  

Read more: Tragedy is inevitable if we fear migration rather than celebrate its benefits | Jonathan Port

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July 28, 2019

July 27, 2019

Pollution: More plastic than fish on the ocean by 2050

Fact Check: The Liberals' complicated claim that plastics will outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050 

Read more at:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ocean-plastic-liberals-fact-check-1.5212632

The Netherlands: Nato assembly document confirms US nuclear bombs are in NL

One of the worst kept Dutch military secrets, that US nuclear weapons are being stored at the Dutch airbase in Volkel, has been been confirmed in a draft report to the Nato parliament.

The information is contained in a document drawn up for discussion in the Nato parliamentary assembly on June 1, entitled ‘A new era for nuclear deterrence? Modernisation, arms control and allied nuclear forces.’

The report was written by a member of the Nato parliamentary assembly’s defense committee and is not an official Nato document, the organisation told DutchNews.nl.

‘Nato PA reports are public documents based soley on open source information,’ the Nato PA press service said. The report’s compiler discovered the slip and has removed the sentence in a new version of the report which was published on July 11.

The original document states that the US forward deploys 150 nuclear weapons for use by US and allied aircraft.

These, it says, are stored at six US and European bases, including Volkel in the Netherlands and Kleine Brogel in Belgium as well as bases in Germany, Italy and Turkey.

Note EU-Digest: This will make Europe an immediate target for any attack from a foreign aggressive military source. As someone suggested: "lnstead of storing these weapons in Europe, why not keep them in the basement of the White House in the US"

Read more at:
Nato assembly document confirms US nuclear bombs are in NL - DutchNews.nl

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July 26, 2019

Britain - EU Relations: EU negotiator Michel Barnier calls Boris Johnson′s Brexit stance ′unacceptable′

Since taking office on Wednesday and filling his Cabinet with hard-line Brexiteer politicians, Boris Johnson has insisted on striking a new deal with the European Union that would omit the so-called backstop for preventing a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and the British territory of Northern Ireland.

In an email to national governments on Thursday, EU negotiator Michel Barnier wrote that Johnson's demand was "of course unacceptable and not within the mandate of the European Council."

"No deal will never be the EU's choice, but we all have to be ready for all scenarios," Barnier wrote. The EU had to be ready for  Johnson giving "priority" to planning for a no-deal exit, "partly to heap pressure on the unity" on the remaining 27 member states, he added.

Current President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker confirmed Barnier's comments he spoke with the new British premier on Thursday. "President Juncker listened to what Prime Minister Johnson had to say, reiterating the EU's position that the Withdrawal Agreement is the best and only agreement possible — in line with the European Council guidelines," Juncker's spokeswoman said after the telephone conversation.

"President Juncker reiterated that the Commission remains available over the coming weeks should the United Kingdom wish to hold talks and clarify its position in more detail," she said.

A spokesman for Johnson's office said the prime minister had told Juncker the backstop would have to be abolished to avoid a no-deal Brexit. Johnson also stated that the withdrawal agreement made between Prime Minister Theresa May and the US would not pass parliament in its current form.

Britain-EU Relations: EU negotiator Michel Barnier calls Boris Johnson′s Brexit stance ′unacceptable′ | News | DW | 25.07.2019

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July 25, 2019

The Netherlands - Cinema: Rutger Hauer, star of Blade Runner, dies aged 75 - by Andrew Pulver

Rutger Hauer
Rutger Hauer, the Dutch actor best known for his role as android Roy Batty in seminal sci-fi film Blade Runner, died at the age of 75. His website announced the news, saying that Hauer had died on Friday “after a very short illness… Rutger passed away peacefully at his Dutch home”.

Director Guillermo del Toro was among those paying tribute, calling him “an intense, deep, genuine and magnetic actor that brought truth, power and beauty to his films”.

Hauer’s appearance as the blond-haired “replicant” Batty in Ridley Scott’s 1982 film remained his signature, with Hauer writing much of the dialogue for his memorable final speech.

Dutch Actor Rutger Hauer, star of Blade Runner, dies aged 75 | Film | The Guardian

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July 24, 2019

Britain - EU relations: EU welcomes Johnson by rebuffing his Brexit plans - by Eszter Zalan

The EU has welcomed Boris Johnson, the next UK prime minister, with scepticism as the new Conservative leader promised his party peers to deliver Brexit by the end of October.

The former mayor of London and ex-foreign minister Johnson won 66 percent of the votes in the Conservative party leadership race to succeed Theresa May, against foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, party officials announced on Tuesday (23 July).

French president Emmanuel Macron and the next president of the EU commission, Ursula von der Leyen, immediately congratulated Johnson, and said they looked forward to constructive talks with him.

"I'm looking forward to having a good working relationship with him," von der Leyen told a joint news conference with Macron in Paris.

"We have the duty to deliver something which is good for people in Europe and in the UK," she said.

Von der Leyen has earlier stated that she would be open to an extension of the Brexit deadline, currently 31 October, but that would have to be decided by EU leaders at their summit in mid-October.

While EU leaders want to avoid a no-deal Brexit, most of them are frustrated with the ongoing political crisis in the UK.

Read more at: EU welcomes Johnson by rebuffing his Brexit plans

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July 20, 2019

Middle East Crises - Consequences of the Trump Administration dysfunctional Middle East policy: U.S. military has begun reoccupying Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia - by Courtney Kube

"In June the U.S. military began moving equipment and hundreds of troops back to a military base in Saudi Arabia that the U.S. deserted more than 15 years ago, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the deployment.

Over the coming weeks the deployment to Prince Sultan Air Base, intended to counter the threat from Iran, will grow to include fighter jets and Patriot long-range missile defense systems, the officials said. The Patriots have already arrived at the base and should be operational in mid-July, while the aircraft are expected to arrive in August.

Several hundred U.S. service members are already on site preparing the facility south of Riyadh, which is controlled by the Royal Saudi Air Force, a number that will grown to more than 500 after the arrival of an air squadron.

The US officials said the deployment focuses on defensive capabilities, with Patriot batteries for missile defense and the fighter jets intended to defend U.S. forces on the ground. But they acknowledged the aircraft could be used offensively as well."

Note EU-Digest:  It seems that the wheels are coming off the Trump's Administration dysfunctional Middle East foreign policy, which, unfortunately, is getting very little in-depth scrutiny, by either the Press, or government sources, specially those in Europe. 

The fact is that the US, by unilaterally getting out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, Germany, and the EU, back in 2015, is the direct cause of the present crisis in the Middle East.  

Read more: U.S. military has begun reoccupying Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia

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July 19, 2019

Iran-US relations:Trump Blew Up The Iran Nuclear Deal. Now He Wants Allies To Help Him Get An Iran Nuclear Deal. - by S.V. Date

Having estranged allies with threats and false accusations, President Donald Trump now faces dealing with the latest crisis he has generated, Iran, without any allies at all.

Trump prepares to meet Thursday and Friday with leaders of the world’s largest industrial economies at the G-20 summit in Japan with the idea, according to the White House, of gaining their cooperation in lowering tensions with Iran. “This is a chance for the president to engage with a number of different international leaders, among our closest partners and allies, to obtain their support and to have discussions about how we can encourage Iran to enter into negotiations,” a senior administration official said this week on condition of anonymity.

Read more :Trump Blew Up The Iran Nuclear Deal. Now He Wants Allies To Help Him Get An Iran Nuclear Deal. | HuffPost

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July 18, 2019

Global Economy: Central Bankers Are Sick of Rescuing the World Economy Alone - by William Horobin and Simon Kennedy

Global central bankers are again in the driving seat when it comes to propping up the world economy, but many are demanding governments join them in the rescue effort.

Amid slowing global growth, the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and perhaps even the Bank of Japan are all set to ease monetary policy in coming months. But with less room to act than in the past, their leaders are telling politicians they will need to assist if a downturn takes hold.

The pressure could be applied in person on Wednesday when central bankers and finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations meet for talks north of Paris. They convene at a hazardous juncture for the global economy, as an unpredictable trade war risks precipitating a deeper downturn, and some bond markets hint at a growing possibility of a recession.

G-7 host nation France may even offer a reason to take note. President Emmanuel Macron’s 17 billion euros ($19.2 billion) of support for consumers in response to the Yellow Vests protests may have been contrary to his deficit-reduction mantra, but is proving fortuitous amid a global slowdown. French growth in 2019 is expected to outpace the euro-area average for the first time in six years.

“We are seeing political risks rising everywhere, so addressing the lack of growth that benefits all is quite urgent,” said Laurence Boone, chief economist at the OECD. “That cannot be achieved only through monetary policy.”
 
France’s GDP is expected to be more resilient than peers this year.

While Powell of the US has warned the U.S. fiscal position is unsustainable in the long-run, he said last week it’s “not a good thing to have monetary policy being the main game in town.”

The U.S. got a boost in 2018 from President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax overhaul, but that effect is fading.

Read more at: Central Bankers Are Sick of Rescuing the World Economy Alone - Bloomberg

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July 16, 2019

Israel: Netanyahu - "Europe might ignore Iran threat until the nuclear missiles"

Netanyahu: 'Europe might ignore Iran threat until nuclear missiles hit'

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The Netherlands: Dutch PM Rutte to visit Trump for talks on trade. As to US Defense requests : "NO WAY JOSE" - by Mike Corder

"No Way Jose"
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is visiting U.S. President Donald Trump next week, but said Friday he can't yet give the president a response to American requests for assistance in Syria and the Strait of Hormuz.

Rutte will meet Trump at the White House next Thursday to discuss bilateral relations, international trade and defense and security cooperation, the Dutch government announced.
But Rutte said the visit comes too soon for him to say whether the Netherlands will agree to U.S. requests for assistance in Syria and the Gulf, because his government is still discussing them.

"I can't have a conversation with the American president about it if the procedures in the Netherlands have not been completed," Rutte said. "So that is not a point we are putting on the agenda."

He said that if Trump raises the issue, "I will tell him we are carefully evaluating it."

Last month, acting U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said after a meeting in Brussels that NATO allies gave him no firm commitments that they will participate in a global effort to secure international waterways against threats from Iran.

Since then, Dutch media, citing unnamed sources, have reported that the government in The Hague is considering sending a frigate to the Gulf. Rutte declined to give details of possible Dutch involvement, saying no decision has been made.

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, said Tuesday that Washington will move ahead with plans to build a coalition of nations to monitor and deter Iranian threats against commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf area and in a busy waterway between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

Note EU-Digest: Donald Trump created the problem with Iran, which has stirred up unrest within the Middle East, after the US stepped out of the Iran Nuclear Treaty. Hopefully PM Rutte of the Netherlands will tell Trump during his visit to the White House, that as to Trump's request for Dutch troops in Syria, or Dutch Navy support in the Persian Gulf, the answer is " NO WAY JOSE".   

Read more: Dutch leader to visit Trump for talks on trade, defense - San Antonio Express-News

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July 14, 2019

EU-Mercosur deal: Is the agreement a threat to European agriculture? - by Sofía S.Manzanaro

Twenty years after negotiations began, the European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur reached a free-trade agreement on Friday. Deemed "historic" by European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker, both sides currently trade over €88 billion in goods and €34 billion in services each year.

However, the treaty has not satisfied all member states. While French President Emmanuel Macron said it was a "good agreement" that met key French demands, other factions in France did not agree.

France is the EU's largest farming power. French farmers' groups and environmentalists have regularly raised concerns about the risk of a surge in South American agricultural exports to Europe. In addition, critics argue there are lower standards for produce in the Mercosur countries and insist that they would oppose the deal unless they see proper traceability and good livestock practices in the beef sector.

"We won't have an accord at any price. The story isn't finished," agriculture minister Didier Guillaume told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Read more at: 
EU-Mercosur deal: Is the agreement a threat to European agriculture? | Euronews

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July 11, 2019

USA - Radical Right Wing Social Media group to meet today at secretive right-wing social media summit at White House, hosted by US President Donald Trump

Unfortunately :"Facisme is 
alive and well in the US"
Radical right-wing media personalities will be at the White House on Thursday (7/11) for a social media summit hosted by President Donald Trump to tackle perceived anti-conservative bias on online platforms.

The attendee list is being kept secret by the White House, but a range of right-wing activists, both online and offline, have announced they will be attending.

These include Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe, who has attempted to plant fake stories in the Washington Post to undermine its credibility, and radio host Bill Mitchell who has promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory.

While Facebook and Twitter are reportedly still waiting for their invites, President Donald Trump has invited a cartoonist accused of creating “a blatantly anti-Semitic” illustration to  this Social Media Summit at the White House.

The Guardian a British newspaper noted in an Op-Ed : "Donald Trump borrows from the old tricks of fascism". 

Artist Ben Garrison, whose work often display alt-right themes and is a favorite of the popular pro-Trump Reddit community The_Donald, tweeted a picture Friday of his invitation to the White House for the summit the following week.

Donald Trump wrote in one of his Tweets today: "A big subject today at the White House Social Media Summit will be the tremendous dishonesty, bias, discrimination and suppression practiced by certain companies. We will not let them get away with it much longer. The Fake News Media will also be there, but for a limited period."

The president has previously accused Google of rigging its search results against him, giving greater prominence to negative stories about him while suppressing positive articles from conservative news organizations.

Google denied the allegation, which was not substantiated by independent research.

The media figures attending the White House summit on Thursday will be sharing stories of "how they have been affected by bias online" according to a press secretary.

One of the individuals invited to the summit, Ben Garrison, had been accused of drawing an antisemitic cartoon portraying frequent Jewish liberal philanthropist George Soros as a puppetmaster.

Read more at: Trump hosts secretive right-wing social media summit at White House | Science

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Funerals: Make your final farewell a more "Eco-Friendly" one

Graveyards: A toxic pollution problem
Link TV  recently reported on how toxic graveyards really are.

Yes indeed, death is a messy business. In America alone, 1.6 million tons of cement and over 870,000 gallons of embalming fluid — commonly containing formaldehyde — are buried along with 2.5 million caskets every year.

“What you have here is a landfill … a toxic landfill,” says Glen Ayers of the Green Burial Committee as he looks around a traditional graveyard in Massachusetts.

Proponents of natural burial want to reduce the pollution and resource waste associated with funerals, which also includes burying masses of hardwood and steel.

One solution is to use eco-friendly biodegradable coffins made out of cardboard or even banana leaves. Campaigners also hope to increase the number of natural burial sites, where plots blend in with the natural surroundings.

There are currently fewer than 40 in the US.

Maybe it is time for people to start writing in their "final will and testament" that they want their "final farewell" to be a more eco-friendly one....and you will be doing a good deed for humanity, even after you have died.

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July 10, 2019

EU-USA relations: The EU must wake-up to the fact that the "erraticly" acting US Trump Administration is not a friend of the EU, and must act accordingly

"I am the greatest - Trust me it's real"
Donald Trump is "inept," "insecure" and "incompetent," a UK government official reported Saturday to CNN.
And many  diplomats stationed in Washington, although they are not openly saying it, consider the British Ambassador  hit the nail right on the head.

Mr. Trump’s order to attack Iran recently in retaliation for its downing of a spy drone, and his abrupt reversal minutes before American forces carried it out, have intensified global doubts about the president’s judgment and the power wielded by the United States.

The appearance of erratic decision-making “adds to the confusion of his allies and adversaries,” said Nigel Sheinwald, a former British ambassador to Washington who once conducted hostage negotiations with the Iranian government. But it is also part of “a continuing picture of American uncertainty about the use of power,” Mr. Sheinwald said. “It is the leitmotif that runs throughout U.S. history.”

If leaders of Britain, France and Germany — America’s main European allies — saw Mr. Trump’s aborted attack as a point of no return for his own reputation, or for the United States’ global standing, they did their best to hide it.

The public response of Western politicians has been largely cautious, sometimes confused — but only implicitly critical..

Another sore point for the EU is that the United States is also intensifying its trade fight with the European Union over aircraft subsidies, proposing new tariffs on EU goods worth $4 billion.

The tariffs, announced late Monday by the United States Trade Representative, cover 89 products including meat, cheese, pasta, fruits, coffee and whiskey.

They could be added to a list of EU exports worth $21 billion that the USTR said in April would be subject to tariffs.

The threat to target more European goods comes just days after the United States and China agreed to resume talks on a trade deal. President Donald Trump said he would hold off imposing new tariffs on China.

Washington has also been locked in a dispute with the European Union for years over two of the world's biggest airplane manufacturers — Boeing (BA) and Airbus.

It is high time the EU starts calling a spade a spade and, starts playing hard-ball with the US. They have a lot of cards they can play and should not scare away from doing so.

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July 9, 2019

German - US relations: Germany rejects US demand for ground troops

Syria: Germany rejects US demand for ground troops.

It was also reported recently that the Netherlands will also not provide ground troops as requested by the US for Syria. 

Polls in Europe show that there is very little "appetite" in Europe for more, or additional military involvement in Syria or anywhere else in the Middle East, specially since the US pulled out of the multi-national nuclear agreement with Iran, and as such, created more unrest in the region.
The Netherlands will not provide ground troops for the new US mission in Syria, defence minister Ank Bijleveld told news agency ANP on Friday, following the weekly cabinet meeting.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

Read more at
https://p.dw.com/p/3LkP3

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July 7, 2019

Women's Soccer world cup: U.S. Wins Record Fourth World Cup Title against Holland 2-0 - by Andrew Das

Tthe United States, who needed more than an hour to solve a tenacious defensive effort by the Netherlands. Rapinoe broke the dam with a penalty kick in the 61st minute, and Lavelle sealed the victory with a driving run up the center in the 69th.

It was the second straight World Cup title for a dozen of the American players, who claimed their first championship in Canada four years ago. It also cemented their status as the gold standard in women’s soccer, even as Europe — led by teams like the Netherlands — mounts a sustained assault on their crown.

The Netherlands was the only team to hold the United States off the scoreboard in the first half in France but they, like all the other teams before them — Thailand, Chile, Sweden, Spain, France and England — could not hold them off forever.

Dutch Goal Keeper Van Veenedaal, who almost singlehandedly kept the game scoreless in the first half with several diving, sprawling saves, was named the tournament’s outstanding goalkeeper. Rapinoe won the Golden Boot as the top scorer as well as the Golden Ball as the tournament’s outstanding player.

Read more at: U.S. Wins Record Fourth World Cup Title - The New York Times

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The Netherlands: Left wing parties demand climate deal changes

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July 6, 2019

The Netherlands - Cancer; still the main cause for death

Cancer: the  main cause of death in the Netherlands:

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July 5, 2019

EU Presidency; Where does Ursula von der Leyen form EU to Trump

From the EU to Trump: Where does Ursula von der Leyen stand?


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July 3, 2019

EU Commission: Ursula von der Leyen nominated to lead EU Commission

Germany's Ursula von der Leyen nominated to lead EU Commission

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July 2, 2019

EU-Mercosur: Farmers , environmentalists slam "sell-out" deal

Farmers, environmentalists slam ‘sell-out’ EU-Mercosur trade deal European farmers and environmentalists have denounced a historic trade deal signed between the EU and South American countries as a "dark moment", warning of unfair competition and dire consequences for the climate.

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July 1, 2019

EU Presidency: Timmermans frontrunner as EU leaders decide against Weber for Commission president

EU leaders have agreed that conservative German candidate Manfred Weber will not become president of the next European Commission, Germany’s Die Welt daily reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the decision. Instead, Dutch Socialist Frans Timmermans is now the frontrunner for the EU’s top job.

The decision was reached during talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Die Welt said.

According to Bloomberg, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had endorsed Weber and  Timmermans from the Netherlands as the only candidates left in the race to lead the EU executive.

Without mentioning them by name, Merkel made clear that the centre-right German, from her political family, the EPP, and the centre-left Dutchman, are the official and only contenders to head the Commission. That leaves liberal Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s antitrust chief, out of the race.

Read more at: Timmermans frontrunner as EU leaders decide against Weber for Commission president – EURACTIV.com

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