Eurovision - the Netherlands: Italy's raucous glam rock takes Eurovision by storm - by Stephanie van den Berg

Italy's entry, glam rock band Maneskin, won the Eurovision song contest, as the world's most popular live music event was held in the Netherlands after being canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Italian's raucous "Zitti E Buoni" beat out professional jury favourites Switzerland and France, sweeping the public vote which counts for half the points. Victoria de Angelis of Maneskin told a press conference the win was an important boost for Italy, one of the European countries worst hit by COVID-19.

Read more at: Italy's raucous glam rock takes Eurovision by storm | Reuters

Malware: New Android malware targeting banks in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands

A new Android trojan has been identified by security researchers, who said on Monday that once it is successfully installed in the victim's device, those behind it can obtain a live stream of the device screen and also interact with it via its Accessibility Services.

The malware, dubbed "Teabot" by security researchers with Cleafy, has been used to hijack users' credentials and SMS messages to facilitate fraudulent activities against banks in Spain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Read more at: New Android malware targeting banks in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands | ZDNet

EU -Vaccines - Oxford/AstraZeneca: Spain joins France, Germany and Italy in pausing Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine

France, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Cyprus announced they will stop administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine pending an assessment by the EU’s medicine regulator. Spain said it will stop using the AZ vaccine for at least two weeks.

The benefits of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid outweigh the risks of side effects, the European Medicines Agency said in a statement. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said there is no proven link to blood clots and that people should not panic.

Read more at: Spain joins France, Germany and Italy in pausing Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine – as it happened | World news | The Guardian

EU - US relations: US Nuclear Weapons stockpiled in Europe: The New Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Will Be an Early Trial for Biden - by Miles A. Pomper

With support from nearly half the world’s nations, a new United Nations treaty banning the possession and use of nuclear weapons will take effect early next year. The U.N. confirmed last month that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, or TPNW, had been ratified by the required 50 countries. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called it “a tribute to the survivors of nuclear explosions and tests, many of whom advocated for this treaty.”

Many non-nuclear-armed states, as well as pro-disarmament activists and organizations like the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, have celebrated the agreement, which they see as a milestone in global efforts to prevent nuclear war. However, it has drawn strong opposition from nuclear-armed states, especially the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Trump administration has called on the treaty’s 84 signatories to back out of it. Its entry into force on Jan. 22, 2021, will pose a thorny diplomatic challenge for the incoming Biden administration.

Still, the treaty could pose a political problem in the future for NATO members and other countries that shelter under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, given the TPNW’s call not to support actions inconsistent with the treaty. That challenge is especially acute for the five NATO members that host an estimated 150 forward-deployed U.S nuclear weapons: Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. German, Dutch and Belgian disarmament advocates, in particular, enjoy strong mainstream political support among center-left parties in all three countries. And 56 former world leaders, including many from NATO countries, argued recently in an open letter that the new nuclear ban treaty can “help end decades of paralysis in disarmament.”

Note EU-Digest: Five NATO members, including, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey still shelter large numbers of US Nuclear weapons on their soil. Hopefully the UN TPNW Treaty will force the disarmament of these weapons from these countries, which presently makes them a major target for massive destruction and death in case of war.

Read more at: The New Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Will Be an Early Trial for

Soccer: Italy 1-1 Netherlands: Improved Oranje earn point in Bergamo - Italy

The Netherlands kept their chances of progressing in the Nations League alive with a well-earned point against Italy in Bergamo.

Frank de Boer is still searching for his first win after four games as manager, but his team looked far more assured and incisive than they did in the goalless draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday.

Read more at:
Italy 1-1 Netherlands: Improved Oranje earn point in Bergamo - DutchNews.nl

Italy: Mike Pompeo Denied Audience With Pope Francis | HuffPost

The Vatican denied U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s request for an audience with Pope Francis this week, saying the pope would not see Pompeo in the midst of the ongoing American election.

“Yes, he asked,” Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told The Associated Press as Pompeo is in Europe for a weeklong visit. “But the pope had already said clearly that political figures are not received in election periods. That is the reason.”

Pompeo will still meet with Parolin and other top Vatican officials during the visit, but the refusal was seen by some as the latest example of a political rift between the United States and the Vatican. During a religious freedom conference this week, Pompeo issued a strong denouncement of a deal the Catholic Church signed two years ago with China related to the appointment of bishops, which it is considering extending.President Donald Trump has taken a hard line against China, as has Pompeo, in the leadup to the U.S. election in November. The secretary of state has also taken unusual efforts to use his political authority to promote religious freedom.

Read more at:

 Mike Pompeo Denied Audience With Pope Francis | HuffPost

The Netherlands: Two more die of coronavirus in Netherlands, total stands at 265

Two more patients in the Netherlands have died as a result of contracting coronavirus, according to latest figures from the public health institute RIVM. In its latest update on Sunday the RIVM said the number of confirmed infections stands at 265, a rise of 77 since Saturday.

The figure is the biggest increase for a single day, although in percentage terms it is smaller than Saturday’s rise (41.0% compared to 46.9%).

The latest casualties are an 86-year-old man who was admitted to the Bernhoven Hospital in Uden, Noord-Brabant, and an 82-year-old man who was being treated in the Zuyderland Medical Centre in Sittard-Geleen, Limburg. The source of both infections is being investigated.

The RIVM said 144 of the 265 patients who had tested positive for coronavirus had travelled abroad, 131 of them to northern Italy. In 47 cases the source of the infection is not yet known.

 Read more at: Two more die of coronavirus in Netherlands, total stands at 265 - DutchNews.nl

Passports: Italy has 'world's fourth most powerful passport'

An Italian passport is one of the world's most useful to have, according to an index that ranks how many countries each passport allows its holders to visit without applying for a visa in advance.

Almere-Digest

Italy: For the first time ever, a US cheese is named best in the world - by Katia Hetter

Rogue River Blue has taken the top prize at the 2019 World Cheese Awards, marking the first time a US cheese has ever been named World Champion Chees

 Some 260 judges from 35 different countries judged the cheeses, narrowing the list down to a final 16. An international "super jury" of experts chose the winners.

Coming in second place was an Italian cheese, the 24-month aged Nazionale del Parmigiano Reggiano Latteria Sociale Santo Stefano. It was followed by a Spanish raw ewe's milk cheese, Torta del Casar D.O.P. Virgen Del Prado made by Queseria Doña Francisca.

Read more at:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/foodnews/for-the-first-time-ever-a-us-cheese-is-named-best-in-the-world/ar-AAJH2Fr

European Migration Agreement:

Key EU countries agree on sea migrant redistribution scheme

Read more at:
https://p.dw.com/p/3Q6GI

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Italy: Venice introduces entry fee for tourists to increase income for City upkeep

Venice starts charging tourist fees to pay 
for increasing cost city maintenance

The legendary northern Italian city of Venice moved closer to cementing its status as an open-air museum than a functioning urban landscape with permanent residents after it introduced a programme where visitors to the city must now be issued a ticket to visit.

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

The Netherlands: Dutch newspaper AD uses misleading headline which could favor populist, nationalistic - anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies - by RM

A recent headline by Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD) which stated "Fuss in Germany about proposal to change English language courses in primary schools to Turkish". is misleading, especially if you just read the headline and not the whole story.

If you take the time to read the whole story - however - you quickly realize the heading is misleading.

This change of language from English to Turkish will in reality never happen in Germany or in any other country in the EU.

These kinds of headlines, however, are obviously  "grist to the mill" for the nationalist, anti-immigration, populist parties in the Netherlands and Europe, which are mainly supported by people, who do not want to look any further "than their noses are long", to see the dangers of populism.

This regardless of the fact that there are plenty of examples of populist inspired and created political chaotical disasters in the world, including the emergence of a Trump in America, Orban in Hungary , Giuseppe Conte in Italy, and the Brexit drama, the supporters of the populist movement still have their head in the sand.

As the European parliamentary elections this coming May are quickly approaching, it is good to remember that famous saying  "A warned person counts for two". 

It is high time, that we the people of the EU stop this so-called "populist movement", before they destruct our future, and that we take our purpose of being a democratic counter-balance to the many evil forces surrounding us, more seriously 

For the original AD newspaper report in Dutch click on this link  Ophef in Duitsland over voorstel om Engels op basisschool te vervangen door Turks | Buitenland | AD.nl

EU: European experience with migration shows that border walls don't stop migration

Aging Europe needs immigration, but in order to achieve this in an organized and orderly way it needs unity of purpose, better planning, and certainly no border walls

Read more at:
https://www.socialeurope.eu/border-walls-dont-stop-migration

Middle East - Idlib - EU: Eight EU countries call for protection of civilians in Idlib

Eight EU member states in the UN Security Council have called on Russia and Iran to maintain a previously agreed ceasefire and avoid military escalation in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib to avoid "catastrophic humanitarian consequences for civilians".

The statement was signed by the UK, France, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, together with Germany, Belgium and Italy, who recently sat in the Council or will soon be sitting. 

Read more: Eight EU countries call for protection of civilians in Idlib

EUROPEAN UNITY UNDER ATTACK: FAR RIGHT PLAYERS TEARING EUROPE APART

For the complete report click on link below;

The dark clouds of the ultra right and facism are once again gathering over Europe

USA - NATO: Trump sends sharply worded letter to NATO leaders to pay more or else

Note EU-Digest: Trump says he is losing his patience with NATO allies, whom he finds should be paying more for the upkeep of NATO. 

Why don't his NATO Allies finally get the guts to tell this narcissist to go to hell, and have the Trump Administration pay for his own disastrous military adventures around the world.  

Fortunately there has been a good counter-move by Europe, which is presently setting up their own united military defense force, combining all the EU Nations military forces into one.

For the complete report click on link below

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-sends-sharply-worded-letters-nato-leaders-says-he-losing-patience-1005779?spMailingID=3670208&spUserID=MTI0NzM2NDgxNDcS1&spJobID=1070120163&spReportId=MTA3MDEyMDE2MwS2

EU Summit: Migrant Processing, Cooperation: as EU Members reach a deal on migrants early Saturday 29/6 morning

'Italy is not alone anymore': EU leaders reach agreement on migrant processing

Read full report at::

CBC News Report EU Migrant deal

Shared via the CBC News Android App

EU Immigration Deal: EU leaders seek migration deal in Brussels

European Union leaders are huddling together in Brussels on Thursday, where over the next two days they will discuss security, trade and, most importantly, migration.

Stakes are high after German Chancellor Angela Merkel described irregular migration as an issue that could "make or break" the EU. At home, she is under pressure to secure a bloc-wide deal or face the possible collapse of her government.

Some of the measures Merkel is hoping to clinch during the summit include bolstering Frontex, the EU's border management agency, establishing a "solidarity-based agreement" to share the burden of hosting asylum-seekers and shoring up support for returning migrants under the Dublin system.

"Defense of our external borders is something which unites Europe. (We will talk about ) the issues of Frontex, border protection, secondary migration. The countries that are receiving a lot of refugees need support. But the refugees and migrants can't choose in which country they request asylum," Merkel said at the summit.

Several nations, including France, Hungary, have told reporters at the summit that they are open to bilateral agreements with Germany.

But by Thursday evening, Italy had vowed to block progress on any issue to pressure fellow members into action on migration. Leaders had hoped to pass joint statements on a range of issues and then come to an agreement on migration.

A French diplomatic source said on Thursday evening that France, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands and Spain had agreed on the wording of a draft summit text on immigration.

Read  more: EU leaders seek migration deal in Brussels | News | DW | 28.06.2018

French - Italian relations: MIGRATION DISPUTE HEATS UP

Via euronews: Migration dispute escalates between France and Italy

For the full report go to:

http://www.euronews.com/2018/06/13/migration-dispute-escalates-between-france-and-italy

EU: POPULISM IS EUROPE'S MAJOR PROBLEM

Opinion: The problem is populism, not just Italy

For the complete report go to:

http://p.dw.com/p/2yflE