Netherlands Announces Plan To Give People Up to Six Doses of COVID Vaccine

Hugo de Jonge, health minister of The Netherlands, has indicated the country could be preparing another three coronavirus booster vaccines.

De Jonge wrote a letter to his country's parliament Wednesday suggesting the Netherlands should consider additional rounds of booster vaccines to fight new variants, with two of these in 2022 and another shot in 2023.

Read more at: Netherlands Announces Plan To Give People Up to Six Doses of COVID Vaccine

Global Energy Supplies: Europe needs an energy policy independent of US interference

It is no secret to the world that the US government has been obstructing the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for many years by imposing all types of political and economic sanctions on related parties. The stake is high behind the US' suppression of the project, because the pipeline could enable more cheap gas supplies from Russia to Europe, depriving US suppliers of a prime export market.

Whether the Nord Stream 2 will promote energy cooperation between Russia and Europe, or become a trigger of tensions across the Atlantic will remain to be seen. While the US doesn't really care about Europe's energy security, Washington won't tolerate anything that threatens its energy trade.

What the US government wants is to preserve its global hegemony in the energy sector. The US energy hegemony is one of the important pillars of American global hegemony. So, the US will do everything in its position to ensure global energy supply patterns are in line with its global geopolitical power play. If the energy cooperation between Russia and Europe were allowed to unfold without any complications, it is conceivable that many things would be out of the control of the US.

If anything, the energy crisis is another example demonstrating why Europe needs to have the ability to independently form its own political and economic policies including energy security. Europe needs to be clear that its interests are not the same as the US', and it cannot completely follow the US lead on many issues, or it will end up hurting itself.

Read more at: GT Voice: Europe needs an energy policy independent of US interference - Global Times

The Netherlands: Omicron now dominant in NL, new coronavirus cases fall 11% in a week

The Omicron variant of coronavirus is now dominant in the Netherlands, public health institute RIVM said on Tuesday. The variant now accounts for over than 50% of new cases, the RIVM said in its latest weekly update. The number of positive coronavirus cases reported to the RIVM fell 11% to 84,400 in the past week, but experts say this is likely to rise as Omicron spreads.

Read more at: Omicron now dominant in NL, new coronavirus cases fall 11% in a week - DutchNews.nl

Coronavirus - isolation period: US cuts recommended isolation period

US health authorities on Monday announced that quarantine periods for asymptomatic coronavirus patients would be shortened from 10 to five days.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cited evidence that those infected with the virus were most infectious during the two days before and then three days after symptoms developed.

Read more at: Coronavirus: US cuts recommended isolation period | News | DW | 27.12.2021

The Netherlands: Dutch streets deserted as snap Christmas COVID lockdown starts

Dutch urban centres were largely deserted on Sunday as the country bega a snap lockdown that, aimed at stemming an expected COVID-19 surge caused by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, left people's Christmas plans in disarray.

Read more at: Dutch streets deserted as snap Christmas COVID lockdown starts | Reuters

Suriname: IMF board approves 3-year, $688 mln program for Suriname

The International Monetary Fund approved on Wednesday a three-year, $688 million program for Suriname, with some $55 million enabled for immediate disbursing.

“The program aims to rebuild Suriname’s foreign reserves, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement. “The authorities’ decision to move to a market-determined exchange rate will strengthen the economy’s resilience to external shocks. This step, together with the program’s catalytic effect on external financing, will address external imbalances and contribute to increasing foreign reserves to prudent levels.”

Read more at: IMF board approves 3-year, $688 mln program for Suriname | Financial Post

A Blessed Christmas Story: Church agency describes how missionaries escaped their captors after 2-month ordeal in Haiti

Captive missionaries in Haiti found freedom last week by making a daring overnight escape, eluding their kidnappers and walking for kilometres over difficult, moonlit terrain with an infant and other children in tow, officials with the agency they work for said Monday.

The group of 12 navigated by stars to reach safety after a two-month kidnapping ordeal, officials with the Christian Aid Ministries (CAM), the Ohio-based agency that the captive missionaries work for, said Monday at a news conference.

The detailed accounting of their journey to safety comes after news Thursday that the missionaries were free.

Read more at: Church agency describes how missionaries escaped their captors after 2-month ordeal in Haiti | CBC News

The Netherlands: Covid: Dutch go into Christmas lockdown over Omicron wave

The Netherlands has announced a strict lockdown over Christmas amid concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Non-essential shops, bars, gyms hairdressers and other public venues will be closed until at least mid-January. Two guests per household will be allowed - four over the holidays.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the measures were "unavoidable".

Countries across Europe have been tightening restrictions as the heavily mutated variant spreads.

The new rules in the Netherlands - the strictest to have been announced over Omicron so far - come into force on Sunday.

"I stand here tonight in a sombre mood And a lot of people watching will feel that way too," Mr Rutte told a news conference on Saturday. "To sum it up in one sentence, the Netherlands will go back into lockdown from tomorrow."

Read more at: Covid: Dutch go into Christmas lockdown over Omicron wave - BBC News

Dutch health experts advise a full lockdown to slow Omicron

The health experts advising the Netherlands' government on COVID-19 strategy have recommended the country go into a "strict" lockdown, Dutch media reported on Friday, just days after a partial lockdown was extended through January.

Read more at: Dutch health experts advise a full lockdown to slow Omicron -media | Reuters

The Netherlands to build new nuclear plants under coalition deal – by Karl Mathiesen

The Netherlands will build two nuclear power stations in a bid to hit more ambitious climate goals, according to the new government's coalition agreement, published Wednesday.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s liberal VVD, the centrist D66, the Christian Democratic CDA and the Christian Union reached a coalition deal on Monday, ending nine months of coalition talks and paving the way for Rutte to serve a fourth term.

Read more at: The Netherlands to build new nuclear plants under coalition deal – POLITICO

WHO warns of 700,000 more COVID deaths in Europe by March 2022

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Europe remains “in the firm grip” of the coronavirus pandemic and the continent’s death toll could top 2.2 million this winter if current trends continue.

Another 700,000 Europeans could die by March 1, the WHO said on Tuesday, in addition to the 1.5 million who have already succumbed to the virus.

Read more at WHO warns of 700,000 more COVID deaths in Europe by March | Coronavirus pandemic News | Al Jazeera

Grand Prix Auto Racing: Dutch Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to F1 title on last lap

ed Bull driver Max Verstappen won a dramatic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to clinch the F1 world title in a remarkable conclusion to the season.

Hamilton had seemed on course for victory and an eighth world title in total, but a late safety car allowed Verstappen to pit for fresh tires as he snatched the lead from the Mercedes man on the last lap.

Read more: Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to F1 title on last lap — RT Sport News

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte Set to Clinch Coalition Deal - by Diederik Baazil-

March’s general election consolidated Rutte’s VVD as the Netherlands’ biggest party bufragmented parliament complicated the coalition math. Negotiations have dragged on ever since, amid a coronavirus crisis that hit the country hard.

The government will likely be sworn in this January.

Traditionally, the second-largest party takes the finance ministry, meaning that Christian Democrat Wopke Hoekstra won’t keep his job as finance minister.

Read more at: Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte Set to Clinch Coalition Deal - Bloomberg

The Dutch style of government: good for dykes, bad for covid

The Netherlands has not decided yet if it will join a U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Knapen said on Tuesday.

Read more at: Netherlands undecided on diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics -government | Reuters

EU: The Netherlands and Australia find the omicron variant as curbs spread

The Netherlands confirmed 13 cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus on Sunday and Australia found two as the countries half a world apart became the latest to detect it in travelers arriving from southern Africa.

A raft of curbs being imposed by nations around the world as they scramble to slow the variant's spread also grew, with Israel deciding Sunday to bar entry to foreign nationals in the toughest move so far.

Confirmed or suspected cases of the new variant have already emerged in several European countries, in Israel and in Hong Kong, just days after it was identified by researchers in South Africa. The "act first, ask questions later" approach reflected growing alarm about the emergence of a potentially more contagious variant nearly two years into a pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people, upended lives and disrupted economies across the globe.

Read more at: The Netherlands and Australia find the omicron variant as curbs spread : NPR

The Netherlands holds off on restrictions for the unvaccinated — for now – by Thibault Spirlet

The Dutch government on Monday decided not to move ahead with imposing restrictions on people who haven't been vaccinated against COVID-19 amid political opposition to the move and pressure on the country's health care system.

The cabinet was on December 14 due to discuss the measures, known as 2G, which would require people to show a certificate to prove they are vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 to access the hospitality industry and public events.

Critics of 2G say it is aimed at creating an incentive to get vaccinated but is not effective at limiting the spread of COVID-19, as even people who have been jabbed can suffer a breakthrough infection and infect others. Those who have previously been infected with COVID-19 also appear to be vulnerable to the new Omicron strain, designated a variant of concern by the World Health Organization.

Read more at: The Netherlands holds off on restrictions for the unvaccinated — for now – POLITICO

The Netherlands: Former Dutch queen Beatrix tests positive for coronavirus

Princess Beatrix, the 83-year-old former Dutch queen, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the royal house announced Saturday.

In a statement, the royal house said Beatrix got tested after feeling “mild cold symptoms.” It said she is in isolation at home and abiding by rules for people who have tested positive. The princess lives in a castle in the central Netherlands.

Read more at: Former Dutch queen Beatrix tests positive for coronavirus - ABC News

The Netherlands: Dutch say 14 air passengers from S. Africa with Omicron were vaccinated - by Toby Sterling

Dutch health authorities on Thursday said most of the 62 people who tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving on two flights from South Africa last week had been vaccinated, lending weight to a call for pre-flight testing regardless of vaccination status.

In addition, all 14 passengers who were later found to have been infected with the Omicron variant were vaccinated, health officials said on Thursday.

Read more at: Dutch say 14 air passengers from S. Africa with Omicron were vaccinated | Reuters

Coronavirus: Omicron was in Netherlands before South Africa raised alarm about new coronavirus variant - Perry Stein

The omicron variant had a foothold in multiple countries in Europe before travel restrictions were imposed, new genetic sequencing data has revealed.

Dutch officials said Tuesday that they had detected the variant, with its unusually high number of mutations, in a sample collected on Nov. 19 and another on Nov. 23 — well before Dutch authorities panicked over two flights from South Africa carrying infected passengers.

The earliest known cases are still from southern Africa. The first identified samples were collected Nov. 9, from a 34-year-old man and a 23-year-old man in Johannesburg, according to the GISAID global database. On Nov. 11, five

Read more at: Omicron was in Netherlands before South Africa raised alarm about new coronavirus variant - The Washington Post

Coronavirus: Big Pharma can’t be trusted to solve coronavirus - by Nick Dearden

People might think that pandemics are great levellers: in a crisis, no matter how rich you are, you are as likely to die from a contagious disease as anyone else.But this is far from true, and while deadly diseases are of course a major worry for us all, the impact on those who are poorer is much heavier.

Fead more at: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/3/10/big-pharma-cant-be-trusted-to-solve-coronavirus