Dozens injured after train derails in Netherlands: emergency services

The HAGUE, Netherlands  — At least 30 people were injured after a passenger train derailed in the southern Netherlands on Tuesday, emergency services said.

The train derailed after colliding with construction equipment on the line near the village of Voorschoten, between The Hague and Amsterdam, it said.

"At least 30 people were injured and are being treated at the spot. The seriously injured are being taken to hospital, while 11 are at homes of nearby residents," Hollands Midden emergency services said.

"Specialists are working to secure the train."

The accident happened at around 3:30 am (0130 GMT) when the double-decker intercity train smacked into the building material on the tracks at Voorschoten, about eight kilometers (five miles) north of The Hague.

Images from the scene and news reports showed a front carriage derailed and plowing into a field, while a second derailed carriage landed on its side.

A third carriage remained upright, while a fourth caught fire, the ANP news agency said.

Around 60 people were on board at the time of the accident.

Ambulance services rushed to the scene en masse, including a trauma helicopter, to take the most seriously injured passengers to the hospital.

It was not immediately clear how serious their injuries were.

"We heard a loud bang and suddenly the lights went out," an unidentified witness told the local Omroep West television news.

"We couldn't initially get out of the train because there was no electricity," said the man, who appeared in a state of shock.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Netherlands coach Van Gaal says cancer treatment behind him

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Netherlands football coach Louis van Gaal insisted Monday that he was fit enough to lead his nation to the World Cup finals saying his prostate cancer treatment has been successful.

Van Gaal, 70, said ten days ago he had been receiving treatment since being diagnosed in 2020, but still plans to lead his team at the World Cup in Qatar in seven months' time.

"I had 25 sessions of chemotherapy. Then I had to wait five or six months to see if that had worked. It has," he told the ANP press agency.

The former Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United coach also underwent surgery. 

The no-nonsense Van Gaal managed the Oranje between 2000-2002 and 2012-2014, when they finished third at the World Cup in Brazil.

He then returned to the Dutch national team after the resignation of Frank de Boer in the aftermath of the country's last-16 exit from Euro 2020.

The Netherlands were placed in Group A with hosts Qatar, Ecuador and Senegal in Friday's draw.

Agence France-Presse

Sex workers back in business as Dutch COVID-19 curbs ease

AMSTERDAM - Sex workers will go back to work in the Netherlands this week under an easing of COVID-19 curbs, health minister Hugo de Jonge said on Monday.

Authorities will also let parks, zoos, gyms and outdoor swimming pools reopen on Wednesday, after the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations eased pressure on hospitals, the minister told reporters.

Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, but the government barred it in mid-December under restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Sex workers protested in Amsterdam in March, saying they were being discriminated against as the authorities allowed other "contact businesses" including hairdressers and masseurs to reopen.

During the lockdown, the government offered limited financial support to sex workers who had a valid working contract and could prove that the pandemic had cost them at least 20% of their revenue.

De Jonge said vaccination and infection levels had now reached a point where the government could go ahead with plans for a measured easing of restrictions.

Public libraries will reopen on Thursday and further steps, including reopening museums and allowing indoor service at restaurants, are expected in the next three weeks, he added.

"This a responsible step at this moment, but we have to stay very careful", De Jonge told reporters, referring to the broader relaxation.

"We see a significant contribution from vaccinations. But we're not there yet," he added.

Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands have dropped by more than a quarter this month, after climbing to their highest levels of the year in April.

This has cut the number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals by more than 10% in the past week, as new admissions fell more than 20%.

Since the start of the pandemic, around 1.6 million coronavirus infections have been confirmed in the country of 17 million people, with more than 20,000 deaths.

-reuters

Netherlands ban flights from UK after detecting new coronavirus strain

Netherlands will ban flights carrying passengers from the United Kingdom from Sunday as Britain detected a new coronavirus strain.

A travel ban will remain in place until Jan. 1, the government said in a statement early Sunday, adding that it is monitoring developments and is considering additional measures regarding other modes of transport.

Netherlands added that in early December, sampling of a case in the country had revealed the same virus strain as that found in the UK.

In measures to control the spread of virus, government issued a “do not travel” advisory, unless it is absolutely essential.

The ban came after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and scientists announced on Saturday that the new strain of coronavirus identified in the country is up to 70% more infectious.

Johnson also said London and southeast England, which are currently in the highest level of a three-tier system of rules, would now be placed in a new Tier 4 level.

-reuters

1.6 billion people on social networks - study

WASHINGTON DC - An estimated 1.61 billion people, more than one in five globally, will log in to social networking sites at least monthly this year, the research firm eMarketer said Tuesday.

The study said the number was up 14.2 percent from a year ago and growth will push that number up to 2.33 billion by 2017.

The highest penetration of social network users, according to eMarketer, is in the Netherlands, at 63.5 percent. Norway was second at 63.3 percent, followed by Sweden (56.4 percent), South Korea (54.4 percent), Denmark (53.3 percent), the United States (51.7 percent), and Finland (51.3 percent).

A majority of residents were also on social networks in Canada (51.2 percent) and Britain (50.2 percent, according to the report based on data from research firms, government agencies, media outlets and company reports.

The 1.61 billion figure represented 22 percent of the world's estimated population, the survey said.

The report said India is seeing the highest growth this year of 37.4 percent, though only 7.7 percent of the population uses social networks. Indonesia's numbers will climb 28.7 percent and Mexico will grow by 21.1 percent. eMarketer said.

All three of those countries are also high-growth areas for Facebook, the world's largest social network with more than one billion users.

The US remains the country with the greatest number of Facebook users, at 146.8 million, but with India's large population and expected growth rate, it will have the largest Facebook population of any country by 2016, according to the report.

source: interaksyon.com

Pinays in The Netherlands celebrate Intl Women's Day

Filipino women gathered in Utrecht, The Netherlands on March 17 for the “Pilipina sa Holland: Ipagdiwang Natin ang Ating Kalakasan,” an event celebrating International Women’s Day.

The event aimed to help Filipino women in The Netherlands become economically independent.

In The Netherlands, 50% of Dutch women are economically independent but only 33% of non-western migrants are, said Diana Oosterbeek-Latoza, coordinator and social cultural worker of Bayanihan, a group that advocates for women's welfare.

Oosterbeek-Latoza said the event aims to "show that the economic position of the women is not yet strong. So the challenge for us, especially to those women who have achieved that level of independence, is to unite and lobby the position of the women in The Netherlands."

"We have to integrate, participate and hold hands together. That is not to say that we, Filipinas, should only join Filipino Women’s Organizations but Women’s Organizations in general," she added.

Philippine Ambassador to The Netherlands Lourdes Morales said much has already been done to make women equal to their male counterparts in the workplace but much still remains to be achieved.

She noted that the United Nations has been crucial in pushing for gender equality worldwide.

Morales said the theme of this year's International Women's Day celebration — Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty — "recognizes that gender equality and empowerment of women has not been fully reached by rural women and girls who comprise one quarter of the global population.”

She said the international community should give more attention to women in rural areas in their struggle for gender equality and empowerment.

She cited an aphorism or pithy observation from Mahatma Gandhi: "Woman is the companion of man, gifted by equal mental capacities. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior." - VVP, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com