The Netherlands: Foreign Minister Blok to review travel advice to US in wake of Trump's ban

The Dutch government is to review its travel advice to the US after president Donald Trump imposed a 30-day travel ban on all 26 countries in the Schengen zone, including the Netherlands.

The ban will take effect from 5am on Saturday and apply to all non-US citizens. Some tour operators, including TUI, cancelled trips immediately because of concerns that their customers would not be able to return home. Foreign affairs minister Stef Blok, who is in Indonesia with the king and queen on a state visit, said the ban on travel from Europe was ‘potentially very disruptive’. 

‘We have a lot of traffic in terms of people and trade,’ he said. ‘We are now assessing whether we need to adjust our travel advice to the United States’.

Read more: Foreign Minister Blok to review travel advice to US in wake of Trump's ban - DutchNews.nl

EU-US Relations: U.S. to Ban Travel From EU for 30 Days with the exception of Britain due to coronavirus -

In a televised address 0n Wednesday 11th of March  Trump said travel from 26 European countries would be suspended for the next 30 days.Britain would be excluded/

But he said the "strong but necessary" restrictions would not apply to the UK, where 460 cases of the virus have now been confirmed.

here are 1,135 confirmed cases of the virus across the US, with 38 deaths.

"To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe," Mr Trump said from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening.

"The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight," he added. The travel order does not apply to US citizens.

Note Almere - Digest : Unbelievable, what a confusing message. No details of the fundamentals in his speech. No empathy, no common sense advice, just blaming other countries, and band-aid solutions.It sounded more like a man who was unhappy that it was raining on his parade. What is next? Marshall law, so Trump can become the first official US dictator?

Almere-Digest

Coronavirus Update (Live): 119,220 Cases and 4,299 Deaths from COVID-19 Wuhan China Virus Outbreak

Read more at: 
Coronavirus Update (Live): 119,220 Cases and 4,299 Deaths from COVID-19 Wuhan China Virus Outbreak - Worldometer

US Economy Meltdown: Dow plunges over 2,000 points, oil collapses amid price war and coronavirus - by Jonathan Garber

U.S. equity markets tumbled Monday after an oil price war broke out between Saudi Arabia and Russia and amid new cases of coronavirus, especially in America.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	23851.02	-2,013.76	-7.79%
SP500	S&P 500	2758.65	-213.72	-7.19%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	7985.59538	-590.02	-6.88%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over 2,000 points lower, coming back from a point drop of more than 2,150 points, or 8.2 percent, at session lows while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were lower by 7.9 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

Monday's sharp selloff, which caused the major averages to be temporarily halted due to volatility, caused the New York Federal Reserve to increase its daily cash injections into the banking system to $150 billion from $100 billion.

The stock-market's steep slide comes after a production dispute between OPEC members, led by Saudi Arabia, and Russia sent West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, plunging by as much as 33.8 percent, the most since the outbreak of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, to a low of $27.34 a barrel in overnight trading. The energy component finished the day down 24.59 percent at $31.13 a barrel.

Note EU-Digest: This is what happens when the US elects a President who is a complete "ignoramas", lies like there is no tomorrow, says he knows more about the Corona Virus than the medical profession, brags he is the best deal maker in the world, wants only "yes men" in his cabinet, and unfortunately, that is "only the top of the Trump iceberg drama".

Read more at: Dow plunges over 2,000 points, oil collapses amid price war and coronavirus | Fox Business

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

Spain-Coronavirus: Spain confirms almost 400 cases as death toll jumps to eight

There have now been eight deaths connected to the coronavirus in Spain, authorities confirmed late on Friday, as the number of confirmed cases continues to rise. Here's the latest news.

Read more at:
https://www.thelocal.es/20200307/spain-reports-first-coronavirus-death

Construction starts in Netherlands on longest cycling bridge in Europe

Construction has started in the Netherlands on what will be Europe’s longest bridge for cyclists and pedestrians –stretching over a lake, canal, motorway and nature reserve – to connect a new village to its closest town.

he so-called “Blue carpet bridge”, or Blauwe Loper, will be 800 metres long, but there are plans to ultimately extend it to 1km in length. The first phase is scheduled for completion by next Christmas.

The €6.5m ($7.00 m) bridge, which rises at a comfortable 2.5% gradient at its steepest, will connect Winschoten, in Groningen province, with Blauwestad, a new village being built on reclaimed land.

The bridge will only be accessible to cyclists and pedestrians – and bats. Its LED lighting has been designed to assist the creatures in finding their way from the nearby nature reserve to the Oldambtmeer lake. The bridge will also be painted in “bat-friendly” green.

Read more Construction starts in Netherlands on longest cycling bridge in Europe | World news | The Guardian