EU-France-Turkey relations: France recalls envoy after Turkey scolds Macron over Muslims -by Daren Butler, Geert De Clercq

France recalled its ambassador on Saturday after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his counterpart Emmanuel Macron needed mental help over his attitude towards Muslims.

The French leader this month declared war on “Islamist separatism”, which he believes is taking over some Muslim communities in France.

Read more at: France recalls envoy after Turkey scolds Macron over Muslims | Reuters

US Presidential elections: Biden leads Trump by 10 points nationally in new Quinnipiac poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden maintains a wide national lead over President Trump heading into the final 12-day stretch before Election Day, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday.

The Democratic nominee has a 10-point advantage in the race, garnering the support of a slight majority of likely voters — 51 percent — while Trump lagged behind him at 41 percent, according to the latest poll. That margin is virtually identical to the lead Biden held in two Quinnipiac polls from September that showed the former vice president ahead of Trump 52 percent to 42 percent.

Read more at: Biden leads Trump by 10 points nationally in new Quinnipiac poll | TheHill

The Netherlands: Last Dutch municipality without coronavirus confirms first infected resident

The municipality of Schiermonnikoog, located on the Dutch island of the same name, reported its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on Sunday. The island was the last of 355 municipalities in the Netherlands without an infection.

The infection was not reported to the GGD in time to be included in Sunday’s data from public health agency RIVM. The organization announced 8,184 new infections in the Netherlands with the data, a single-day record.

Read more at: Last Dutch municipality without coronavirus confirms first infected resident | NL Times

Dutch economy outperforming others because of “intelligent lockdown”

While the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic dealt an unprecedented blow to the Dutch economy, the Netherlands is still doing better than many other European countries, Statistics Netherlands reported on Tuesday. This may have to do with the Netherlands' "intelligent lockdown" keeping more sectors open than in other countries with stricter lockdowns.

In the second quarter, the Dutch economy contracted by 8.5 percent compared to the previous quarter. "This was the strongest contraction ever recorded," the stats office said. But compared to other European countries, the Dutch economy came off favorably. Germany's economy shrank by 9.7 percent, Belgium's by 12.1 percent, and France's by 13.8 percent

Read more at: Dutch economy outperforming others because of “intelligent lockdown” | NL Times

The Netherlands: Churchgoers in Dutch 'Bible Belt' defy coronavirus instructions

Hundreds of Dutch worshippers from a deeply conservative branch of Protestantism gathered in churches across the Netherlands on Sunday, defying government instructions to limit indoor groups to 30 to try to contain surging coronavirus infections.

Although Dutch churches are exempt on constitutional grounds from the government order, almost all church associations had said they would follow the rules, after massive gatherings in some Protestant churches last week had sparked outrage.

Reformed Protestant churches in what is known as the Dutch Bible Belt had made it clear they would continue to receive considerably more than 30 faithful at a time, despite the heavy criticism.

Read more at: 
Churchgoers in Dutch 'Bible Belt' defy coronavirus instructions | Reuters

The Netherlands: Coronavirus leads to increased risk of extremist attack in the Netherlands - by Victoria Séveno

The Dutch counter-terrorism unit (NCTV) has warned in its quarterly threat assessment that, while there is no indication that an attack is imminent, there is nonetheless an increased risk of attack in the Netherlands from radicalised right-wing extremists. 

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NCTV: Coronavirus leads to increased risk of extremist attack in the Netherlands

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