Turkey: Investigate Ankara Abductions, Disappearances says Human Rights Watch

Turkish authorities should urgently investigate the abduction and possible enforced disappearance of at least four men in Ankara since March 2017, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül.

One of the abducted men, a former teacher, was located in official police custody after 42 days. At least three others were abducted in similar circumstances but their whereabouts remain unknown. The similarities between the abductions and the fact that one of the men was subsequently found in police custody are credible grounds to believe that the men may be victims of enforced disappearances by Turkish security forces or law enforcement agents.

“There are credible grounds to believe that government agents forcibly disappeared the missing men,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Turkish authorities should promptly uphold their obligation to locate the missing men, who may be in grave danger, secure their release and if they are in custody give them immediate access to a lawyer, and let their families know where they are.”

An enforced disappearance occurs when a person is taken into custody, or otherwise deprived of their liberty by the state or its proxies, but authorities subsequently deny it or refuse to provide information about the person’s whereabouts, placing the victim outside the protection of the law.

The victim who was located in official custody is Önder Asan, a former teacher. A witness saw men who said they were police officers abduct Asan in Ankara in April, forcing him out of a taxi and bundling him into a Volkswagen Transporter van. After his family received a call from a police station 42 days later, they located him in police custody. He was taken before a judge on May 17 and sent to detention pending trial for alleged terrorism links.

Read more: Turkey: Investigate Ankara Abductions, Disappearances | Human Rights Watch

The Netherlands: Princes day: a well kept Dutch political tradition

King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima

Today was Prinsjes Dag (Princes day) in the Netherlands.

The day on which the reigning monarch of the Netherlands addresses a joint session of the Dutch Senate and House of Representatives to give the speech from the throne (Dutch: Troonrede); setting out the main features of government policy for the coming parliamentary session.. It is somewhat similar to Britain's ceremony Re: opening of parliament.

Basically it has become a ceremonial day of the King reading a speech written by the PM and a lot of "pomp and glamour" with the ladies showing off their hats and a large public turnout.

Today was not any different, specially the great sunny weather made it fun to watch.

Almere-Digest

The Netherlands - Almere: NDIC clebrates its 10th.anniversary: "How Great Thou Art"

Pastors - van der Meijdens and the Sisks

This past Sunday, September 17th , was a festive occasion for the New Day International Church located at the Almere Filmwijk, as it celebrated it's 10th anniversary.

Jointly participating in this special event, organized by the NDIC Pastorial team of  John  and Joy Sisk, were also the founders of the NDIC church, Pastors Peter and Nancy van der Meijden.

Unfortunately, Pastors Melvin and Louise, who came after Pastors Peter and Nancy van der Meijden had left, and before Pastors John  and Joy Sisk.became the present pastors for NDIC, could not be there to join in the celebration,  as they were away on a new assignment.    

Pastor Peter "back home"

It was a great event, which included an introduction by Pastor Sisk of the van der Meijdens, an outline of the day's program, and a brief history of NDIC.

This was followed by a touching sermon of Peter van der Meijden, entitled  - "How Great Thou Art"  - highlighted by Joy Sisk singing the beautiful Christian song from which the title of the Sermon  was derived at the end of the sermon

New Day Cafe: an international culinary delight

Following the blessing of the congregation, concluding Pastor Peter van der Meijden's sermon, Pastor Sisk noted : "keeping up with the tradition of NDIC to not only feed the soul, but also the stomach of the congregation, you are now all invited to our delicious New Day cafe "Pot Luck Lunch", with food representing the many nationalities attending New Day International Church".

It was a blessed event of friendship, fellowship and a great opportunity for "the old timers" to reflect on the years gone by.

NDIC anniversary:A blessed event of friendship and fellowship

NDIC opened its doors in Almere at the beginning of September 2007,  all because of a vision its first Pastor Peter van der Meijden had to start an international church in Holland, while he and his American wife Nancy were living in the US

A vision which eventually led them back to the Netherlands

So when the couple returned to the
Netherlands and settled in Almere, one of Europe's most modern, functional and multi-cultural cities, "it was obvious", says Peter, "the vision God gave me in America was becoming a reality".

"Yes indeed", said Peter: "In Gods plan all things always fit together for the good".

Almere, situated east of Amsterdam, was created only about 40 years ago as part of a major Dutch land reclamation project, which eventually resulted in a new Dutch Province called Flevoland

This huge land reclamation project certainly has been a successful venture so far.  In those 40 years Almere has attracted over 200,000 residents and 15,600 businesses, with new residents moving in daily..

In God's plan all things always fit together for the good

Almere today is the largest city in the Province of Flevoland, and the 8th largest city in the Netherlands, closing in rapidly on Groningen, to the North of Almere., to overtake her ranking as number 7.

Paster Peter noted  "What made Almere particularly interesting for us to start an international English language church was the fact that  more than 27% of Almere's citizens come from non-western cultures, in addition to a large contingent of "Expats" , who work in and around Amsterdam, known as the industrial Randstad".

A megalopolis in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities and their surrounding areas

"One of our primary goals has always been to be sensitive to multi-national cultures and provide a spiritual home for people from all around the globe living in this city and surrounding areas".

"Obviously we also have our doors wide open for Dutch folks who prefer to listen to sermons in English", said Pastor John Sisk.

Over the past years NDIC has become the Church home to many people from all over the world, with or without a previous church background.

As one father with two young children, who moved from Poland to Holland said "we like it here at NDIC because it feels like family, and we find the International environment to be very inspiring to exploring your faith, whereby God can be encountered in new and creative ways. It is very refreshing and stimulating."

Everyone is welcome to attend the Sunday meetings of NDIC, which start at 10.30 a.m. If you are a first time visitor please come a little earlier so you can be welcomed properly. NDIC is located at the Walt Disney Plantsoen 76/78, in the Almere Filmwijk Center, and faces a Vomar supermarket

Netherlands: First eco-friendly residential district made by residents opened in the Netherlands - by Mina Solanki

Housing in the Netherlands may be becoming more sustainable, but it’s not there just yet. There are however, communities which are making sustainable housing possible.

Together, residents, who are members of the Groene Mient association in The Hague, took on a project development role and have created an energy neutral residential district, which opened on September 12.

The eco-friendly residential area is situated in the Vruchtenbuurt in The Hague, where, the school, the Maris College once stood. There are 33 houses in the Groene Mient area, which surround an ecological garden.

The design of the residential area was created by Architektenkombinatie and FilliéVerhoeven, agencies in The Hague, in close collaboration with the residents, and was built by Sprangers, a construction company from Breda. All companies involved have experience with sustainable construction and collective private commissioning projects.

The residents of the area want to look after each other and the district, and they do this is part by using energy, resources and food in a sustainable manner. They refer to the project as a social ecological project, encompassing the social aspect as well as the eco-friendly goal. The residents share a communal area as well as the communal garden.

Read more: First eco-friendly residential district made by residents opened in the Netherlands

Climate Change: EU, Canada, China to jointly fight climate change

The European Union, Canada and China are joining forces to strengthen global action in the fight against climate change, co-hosting a Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action on September 15-16 in Montreal, Canada.

This gathering, a first of its kind, seeks to galvanise global momentum for the implementation of the Paris Agreement and will bring together ministers and high-level representatives from 34 economies that are part of the G20 and other invited countries, the Commission said.

Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are leading lead the roundtable discussion on climate action and clean growth.

Cañete stressed that the EU remains committed to the Paris Agreement and its full and swift implementation. “Domestically, we are progressing steadily with the finalisation of the measures to reduce our emissions by at least 40% by 2030. Internationally, we are strengthening our existing partnerships and seeking new alliances.

Our aim is to raise global climate ambition, follow through with concrete action and support our partners, in particular the most vulnerable countries,” Cañete said.

The meeting in Montreal takes place only days after this year’s State of the Union Address by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker where he underlined that he “wants Europe to be the leader when it comes to the fight against climate change.

Set against the collapse of ambition in the United States, Europe will ensure we make our planet great again. It is the shared heritage of all of humanity”.

Two months before the next United Nations climate conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany, the meeting will also provide the space for discussions on the expected outcomes of upcoming UN climate talks, the Commission said.

Read more: EU, Canada, China to jointly fight climate change

The Netherlands - Economy - Individual Wealth: More millionaires in the Netherlands - by Mina Solanki

According to a report by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) based on asset figures from 2007 to 2015, the number of millionaire households in the Netherlands rose by 500 to 106.000 in 2015. The report did not look at the value of the millionaire’s residence or mortgage debt.

Of the 106.000 millionaire households, two-thirds reported employment as their main source of income. The majority of millionaires work in the agricultural industry, financial services, trade, specialised business services, or in the care industry.

About 80 percent of millionaires are entrepreneurs in one way or another, with half taking the title of managing director or major shareholder and a third being self-employed.

Coming in first with the highest percentage, 19 percent of millionaire breadwinners work in the agricultural industry, half of which are active in dairy farming businesses. Many people in this industry are self-employed, and often their money is tied up in their business, for example, in land and equipment.

Financial services came second as the industry in which the most millionaires work.

In 2015, there were 94 Dutch municipalities with 2,5 percent or more residents who had millionaire status. However, in 5 municipalities, 6 percent or more of the residents were millionaires.

The greatest number of millionaires lived in Laren, followed by Bloemendaal, Blaricum, Wassenaar and Rozendaal.

Dutch Millionaires are often married, with 71 percent having tied the knot compared to 45 percent of non-millionaires. Few, 7 percent, had also gone through a divorce, as opposed to 14 percent of non-millionaires.

Read more: More millionaires in the Netherlands

EU: How some migrants are switching to Romania in their bid for Europe - by Chris Harri

Migrants have seemingly changed tack in their bid to reach Europe, it’s emerged.

More than 150 people – mainly from Iran and Iraq – crossed the Black Sea from Turkey and were rescued at Midia on Romania’s eastern flank on Tuesday August 12th.
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It’s part of a new trend over the last month that has seen around 470 migrants arrive in the EU country.

It comes as EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker called for Romania to be part of the Schengen Area, potentially making it easier for migrants to move westwards once in Europe.

The route has been used in the past.

It hit a five-year high in 2014 with around 430 arrivals but numbers then dropped off, falling to 68 in 2015 and just one last year.

Gabriela Leu, a spokeswoman for UNHCR’s office in Romania, told Euronews: “Sea crossing are dangerous and the fact people are putting children on these boats shows they have to be very desperate.

Read more: How some migrants are switching to Romania in their bid for Europe | Euronews