Denmark: Government seeking to tap mobile phones of rejected asylum-seekers "program should also be adopted in the Netherlands and other EU countries"

The government is aiming to obtain data from the mobile phones of rejected asylum-seekers in a bid to hasten their repatriation.

The measure is one of seven proposals that are part of a new repatriation law,

According to the immigration minister, Mattias Tesfaye, many asylum seekers in Denmark have used YouTube and Snapchat to discuss routes and destination countries.

The new law aims to provide clear direction on the treatment of asylum seekers – from the moment they are rejected residence until the time they are sent home.

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Government seeking to tap mobile phones of rejected asylum-seekers - The Post

USA: Trump’s Turn From Immigration to the Enemy Within - by Ryan Devereaux

Trump’s shift from demonizing immigrants to targeting leftists is straight out of the fascist playbook.

Read more at: Trump’s Turn From Immigration to the Enemy Within

The Netherlands one of the most sustainable destinations for expats

In the first-ever Environment and Sustainability Ranking published by InterNations - a network of expats around the world - the Netherlands has been ranked 12th out of 60 destinations for expats when it comes to sustainable living.

The data for the ranking was gathered via InterNations’ annual Expat Insider Survey, one of the most extensive surveys about living and working abroad, in which participants were asked to rate, on a scale of one to seven, their personal satisfaction in eight separate areas: air quality, the natural environment, water and sanitation, the availability of green goods and services, energy supply, local waste management and recycling infrastructure. The rating also covers perception of local government support for environmental policies and how invested the local population is in environmental issues.

Over 15.000 expats took part in the Expat Insider 2020, representing a total of 173 nationalities and living in 181 different countries or territories. For a country to be included in the ranking, a sample size of at least 75 respondents was necessary - this year, 60 countries met this requirement. The survey covers a number of issues, including making friends as an expat and the best cities around the world for expats.

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The Netherlands one of the most sustainable destinations for expats

The Netherlands: Government has wishy washy poicy in wearing masks

Some things are hard to get your head around, even in 2020. The Dutch reluctance to don face masks is one of them. When I brought my daughter to get tested for Covid-19 recently, I was shocked to find that most people waiting in line weren’t wearing face masks. The medical professionals taking the swabs were in full gear, but even the workers checking our details were maskless. This was, after all, a place you could (in theory) only walk into if you had symptoms. Even more shocking was the man who checked-in my other daughter and I at the drive-thru testing centre at Amsterdam RAI. I asked him why he wasn’t wearing a mask. He said he had been, mostly to protect himself against the car fumes, but his bosses told him to take it off. Why has the Netherlands been virtually alone among its European neighbours—and much of the world—in its reluctance to mandate masks? Read more at: Despite the government u-turn, the Dutch are still unwilling to wear masks - 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.

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 Mike Pompeo Denied Audience With Pope Francis | HuffPost

Netherlands: Hundreds of UK firms turn to Netherlands with Brexit transition wrapping up

 Hundreds of British companies are working on opening a branch in the
Netherlands by the end of this year, when the Brexit transition period
ends. The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) is receiving
daily requests for information from British companies, AD reports.



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Hundreds of UK firms turn to Netherlands with Brexit transition wrapping up | NL Times

The Netherlands (finally) considers nationwide face mask obligation

Following the Netherlands’ announcement of the stricter
measures against the coronavirus on Monday, calls for a national face
mask obligation in the country are rising.

The Dutch government’s current measure
– that shopkeepers in the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague
should only allow customers wearing a face mask to enter their shops –
is perceived as unclear, according to the Dutch Lower House.

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The Netherlands considers nationwide face mask obligation