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Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence

Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof saved his governing coalition on Friday despite threats of an exodus by cabinet members over the right-wing government's response to violence against Israeli soccer fans last week. (AFP/File)
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Updated 16 November 2024
Reuters
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Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence

Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence
  • Junior Finance Minister Nora Achahbar unexpectedly quit the cabinet on Friday to protest claims by some politicians that Dutch youths of Moroccan descent attacked Israeli fans
  • “We have reached the conclusion that we want to remain, as a cabinet for all people in the Netherlands,” Schoof said
Updated 16 November 2024
Reuters
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AMSTERDAM: Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof saved his governing coalition on Friday despite threats of an exodus by cabinet members over the right-wing government’s response to violence against Israeli soccer fans last week.
Junior Finance Minister Nora Achahbar unexpectedly quit the cabinet on Friday to protest claims by some politicians that Dutch youths of Moroccan descent attacked Israeli fans in Amsterdam around the Nov. 7 match between Dutch side Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Her resignation triggered a crisis cabinet meeting at which four ministers from her centrist NSC party also threatened to quit. If they had, the coalition would have lost its majority in parliament.
“We have reached the conclusion that we want to remain, as a cabinet for all people in the Netherlands,” Schoof said at a news conference late on Friday in The Hague.
Last week’s violence was roundly condemned by Israeli and Dutch politicians, with Amsterdam’s mayor saying “antisemitic hit-and-run squads” had attacked Israeli fans.
The city’s police department has said Maccabi fans were chased and beaten by gangs on scooters. Police also said the Israeli fans attacked a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag.
Achahbar, a former judge and public prosecutor who was born in Morocco, felt comments by several political figures were hurtful and possibly racist, De Volkskrant daily reported.
“Polarization in the recent weeks has had such an effect on me that I no longer can, nor wish to fulfil my position in this cabinet,” Achahbar said in a statement.
Schoof, a former civil servant who does not have a party affiliation, denied any ministers in the cabinet are racist. Details of the cabinet discussion were not disclosed.
The coalition is led by the anti-Muslim populist party PVV of Geert Wilders, which came top in a general election a year ago. The government was installed in July after months of tense negotiations.
Wilders, who is not a cabinet member, has repeatedly said Dutch youth of Moroccan descent were the main attackers of the Israeli fans, although police have not specified the backgrounds of suspects.
Schoof said on Monday the incidents showed that some youth in the Netherlands with immigrant backgrounds did not share “Dutch core values.”

Topics: War on Gaza Amsterdam Dick Schoof Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv Moroccan

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Egypt, Pakistan call for ceasefire in Gaza as foreign ministers meet on D-8 summit sidelines

Egypt, Pakistan call for ceasefire in Gaza as foreign ministers meet on D-8 summit sidelines
Updated 8 min ago
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Egypt, Pakistan call for ceasefire in Gaza as foreign ministers meet on D-8 summit sidelines

Egypt, Pakistan call for ceasefire in Gaza as foreign ministers meet on D-8 summit sidelines
  • D-8 summit in Cairo will see gathering of leaders from eight countries to promote economic cooperation
  • PM to attend special session on Gaza where Israeli offensive has killed over 46,000 people since last year
Updated 8 min ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Egypt have called for a ceasefire in Gaza and expressed “unequivocal support” for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as they met on the sidelines of a summit of the D-8 developing group of nations to be held today, Wednesday, in Cairo.

Pakistani deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar, who is also the country’s foreign minister, on Tuesday held a meeting with the Egyptian foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, on the sidelines of the 21st Session of the D-8 Council of Ministers.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will also leave for Egypt today, Wednesday, to participate in the Eleventh Summit of D-8 countries, during which Israel’s military offensive on Gaza and the humanitarian crisis and reconstruction efforts in the besieged enclave as well as in neighboring Lebanon are expected to be at the center of discussions.

“The two Foreign Ministers discussed regional developments including the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and atrocities in the West Bank, highly criticizing the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement. “They called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to prevent further loss of innocent Palestinian lives.”

Dar appreciated the role played by Egypt to facilitate humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza and its diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire in Palestine.

“The two Foreign Ministers also expressed unequivocal support for establishment of a viable, contiguous and independent Palestinian state based on pre-June 1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” the foreign office said.

Health officials in the Gaza Strip said on Monday the death toll from the 14-month war between Israel and Hamas had topped 45,000 people. 

The Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The theme of this year’s D-8 Summit is “Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs: Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy.”

“At the Summit, the Prime Minister will underline the importance of investing in youth and SMEs for building a strong and inclusive economy; creating jobs; advancing innovation; and promoting local entrepreneurship,” the foreign office said.

“He will express Pakistan’s strong commitment to the ideals of D-8; underscore the importance of fostering partnerships for mutual benefit and prosperity; and promoting cooperation in agriculture, food security and tourism. He will also underline Pakistan’s incentives for youth empowerment and financial development.”

Sharif will also attend a special session on the war in Gaza and Lebanon.

Topics: Pakistan Egypt ties D8 summit

Pakistani PM says grateful UAE visa facility being ‘opened again’

Pakistani PM says grateful UAE visa facility being ‘opened again’
Updated 16 min 21 sec ago
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Pakistani PM says grateful UAE visa facility being ‘opened again’

Pakistani PM says grateful UAE visa facility being ‘opened again’
  • Sharif’s remarks come after months of widespread media reports of a decline in visas for Pakistanis by the UAE
  • Last month, foreign office said it did not subscribe to “impression” of a ban on UAE visas for Pakistani nationals
Updated 16 min 21 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed gratitude to the UAE for working to streamline visas for Pakistanis wanting to travel to the Emirates, home to more than 1.5 million expatriates from the South Asian nation and its second-largest source of remittances after Saudi Arabia.

Sharif’s remarks come after months of widespread media reporting on a decline in visas for Pakistanis by the UAE and a decrease in overall overseas employment for nationals of Pakistan, allegedly due to their lack of respect for local laws and customs and for participating in political activities and sloganeering while abroad.

On Tuesday, the issue came up as Sharif addressed a ceremony in Islamabad to commemorate UAE’s National Day. 

“We are very grateful [to UAE] for being host to a large number of Pakistanis and I am very grateful that the visa facility is being opened again and facilitated by the ambassador and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed’s personal love for Pakistan,” Sharif said.

Last week, Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi, the ambassador of the UAE to Pakistan, called on Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and briefed him on steps being taken to streamline visas for Pakistanis. Previously, the foreign office has repeatedly said Islamabad did not subscribe to the “impression” that there is a ban on UAE visas for Pakistani nationals.

“If there are any issues that arise with respect to issuance of visas and stay of Pakistani nationals in the UAE, that are important agenda items between Pakistan and the UAE and we continue to discuss them,” the foreign office spokeswoman told reporters last month.

“STRATEGIC PARTNER”

The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE ministry of foreign affairs. Trade volume between the two countries rose to $7.9 billion in 2023, up 12 percent from 2022. 

In May this year, Sharif said the Emirates had committed $10 billion to invest in promising economic sectors in Pakistan. The Pakistan Business Council (PBC), set up this September at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also aims to increase Pakistan’s bilateral trade volume with the UAE to $40 billion in three years.

“We are waiting anxiously for the visit of the President of UAE very soon and we are absolutely deeply engaged to promote investment, and trade,” Sharif said, thanking the UAE for its economic support to Pakistan, especially in helping meet external financing gaps that paved the way for the approval of an IMF loan program in September. 

“Without UAE’s support, this program could not have been achieved,” the Pakistani PM said. 

Speaking at the event, President Asif Ali Zardari said bilateral relations between the two countries had flourished into a “trustworthy strategic partnership across political, economic, and social dimensions.”

“The UAE remains one of Pakistan’s most significant economic partners and stands as one of the largest investors in Pakistan, and our bilateral trade continues to grow steadily,” the president said. 

“We are eager to enhance cooperation with the UAE in key areas including the Pakistan Stock Exchange, renewable energy and other promising sectors … I am sure that the recent signing of multiple agreements in diverse sectors including maritime legislation and aviation will further deepen our bilateral cooperation.”

UAE’s ambassador also addressed the ceremony and said the Emirates was committed to strengthening its partnership with Pakistan “as we see huge potential for collaboration in various sectors, including renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and agricultural innovation.”

Topics: Pakistan UAE ties uae national day Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan postpones vaccine drive in province with highest number of cases this year

Pakistan postpones vaccine drive in province with highest number of cases this year
Updated 24 min 46 sec ago
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Pakistan postpones vaccine drive in province with highest number of cases this year

Pakistan postpones vaccine drive in province with highest number of cases this year
  • Of 63 cases confirmed in Pakistan this year, 26 are from southwestern Balochistan province
  • Pakistan has launched nationwide drive to vaccinate 44 million children from Dec. 16-22
Updated 24 min 46 sec ago
SAADULLAH AKHTER

QUETTA: Authorities in Pakistan’s Balochistan on Tuesday cited a lack of preparedness as they announced that a planned polio vaccine campaign in the province was being postponed until Dec. 30, a staggering blow for a region that has reported the highest number of cases of the crippling virus this year. 

Pakistan on Monday launched the latest nationwide drive to vaccinate 44 million children in 143 districts from Dec. 16-22 amid a surge in polio cases compared to previous years, with the 2024 tally reaching 63 last week.

In Balochistan province, which has reported the highest number of polio cases this year, 26, the anti-polio drive was first postponed by a day on Monday due to security reasons.

However, the campaign was not launched on Tuesday as planned, with the Provincial Emergency Operation Center (EOC) saying it would now start on Dec. 30 in all 36 districts of the remote, impoverished province that has for decades been plagued by an insurgency by separatist militants who frequently attack government officials, security forces and investment projects.

“The campaign will now start on December 30th,” the EOC said in a statement. “The latest nationwide anti-polio campaign in Balochistan has been postponed due to required preparations at the district level.”

Dr. Aftab Kakar, a senior health official in Quetta, said provincial authorities had decided to delay the vaccination drive due to a boycott by the Grand Health Alliance Balochistan, an umbrella organization representing health care workers in the province.

“Paramedical staff was involved with us [previously] … but we have prepared a new strategy now,” he told Arab News. “We won’t hire those paramedics who boycotted the latest anti-polio drive in Balochistan, and a decision has been made to hire private staff who will serve in the next campaign starting from Decc. 30.”

Jamal Shah, a representative of the alliance, said the paramedics had not boycotted the campaign but were registering their protest against the involvement of “medically unskilled” people locally hired by deputy commissioners to take part in the campaigns.

“Balochistan has the highest number of polio cases in Pakistan this year due to the participation of non-technical government staff in anti-polio campaigns,” he told Arab News. “Negligence of unskilled staffers defames the provincial health department.”

Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to provide high immunity against the virus.

Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts have faced several challenges in recent years, including militant attacks and misinformation spread by militants and conservative clerics.

Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. In the early 1990s, the country reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.

Topics: anti-polio campaign POLIO VACCINE Polio Vaccination Anti-polio drive Polio cases in Pakistan

Saudi ties ‘vital pillar’ of Pakistani foreign policy, PM tells Shura Council chairman

Saudi ties ‘vital pillar’ of Pakistani foreign policy, PM tells Shura Council chairman
Updated 35 min 19 sec ago
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Saudi ties ‘vital pillar’ of Pakistani foreign policy, PM tells Shura Council chairman

Saudi ties ‘vital pillar’ of Pakistani foreign policy, PM tells Shura Council chairman
  • Sharif meets Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, head of Saudi legislative body that advises king and his regulatory authority
  • Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are longtime allies and Islamabad is seeking closer economic and security ties with the Kingdom
Updated 35 min 19 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday evening met the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Shura council and reiterated that Islamabad’s longstanding ties with Riyadh were a “vital pillar” of its foreign policy as it sought to expand economic cooperation.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are longtime allies, and Islamabad has been seeking ever closer economic, defense and security ties with the Kingdom, which is home to approximately 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates and the second largest source of remittances for the cash-strapped South Asian nation. Saudi Arabia has come to the rescue of Pakistan’s ailing economy multiple times in the past through loans, debt rollovers, oil on deferred payments and investment deals. This year, the two countries signed several memorandums of understanding and agreements worth $2.8 billion in multiple sectors.

“Our enduring ties with Saudi Arabia are a vital pillar of our foreign policy,” Sharif said during a meeting in Islamabad with Dr. Abdullah Muhammad Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, who heads the Saudi legislative body that advises the king and his regulatory authority.

“We are actively working to expand our economic and financial relations with the Kingdom.”

The Pakistani PM congratulated Saudi Arabia for securing the hosting rights of the FIFA World Cup 2034 and praised Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his leadership in amplifying demands for peace in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Pakistan will continue to fully support all efforts to address the suffering of the people of Gaza and Lebanon and to combat human rights violations,” Sharif added.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Arabia Pakistan Saudi Arabia ties Saudi Shura Council Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

Sudan’s doctors bear brunt of war as healthcare falls apart

Women with children wait for medical care at the Italian Paediatric Hospital in Port Sudan on October 8, 2024. (AFP)
Women with children wait for medical care at the Italian Paediatric Hospital in Port Sudan on October 8, 2024. (AFP)
Updated 18 December 2024
AFP
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Sudan’s doctors bear brunt of war as healthcare falls apart

Women with children wait for medical care at the Italian Paediatric Hospital in Port Sudan on October 8, 2024. (AFP)
  • The violence has turned the country's hospitals into battlegrounds, placing health workers like Moussa on the frontlines
Updated 18 December 2024
AFP

CAIRO, Egypt: Sudanese doctor Mohamed Moussa has grown so accustomed to the constant sound of gunfire and shelling near his hospital that it no longer startles him. Instead, he simply continues attending to his patients.
"The bombing has numbed us," the 30-year-old general practitioner told AFP by phone from Al-Nao hospital, one of the last functioning medical facilities in Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum.
Gunfire rattles in the distance, warplanes roar overhead and nearby shelling makes the ground tremble, more than a year and a half into a grinding war between rival Sudanese generals.
Embattled health workers "have no choice but to continue", said Moussa.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The war has killed tens of thousands and uprooted 12 million people, creating what the International Rescue Committee aid group has called the "biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded".
The violence has turned the country's hospitals into battlegrounds, placing health workers like Moussa on the frontlines.
Inside Al-Nao's overwhelmed wards, the conflict's toll is staggering.
Doctors say they tend to a harrowing array of injuries: gunshot wounds to the head, chest and abdomen, severe burns, shattered bones and amputations -- even among children as young as four months.
The hospital itself has not been spared.
Deadly shelling has repeatedly hit its premises, according to medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) which has supported the Al-Nao hospital.
Elsewhere, the situation is just as dire. In North Darfur, a recent drone attack killed nine at the state capital's main hospital, while shelling forced MSF to evacuate its field hospital in a famine-hit refugee camp.

Sudan's healthcare system, already struggling before the war, has now all but crumbled.
Of the 87 hospitals in Khartoum state, nearly half suffered visible damage between the start of the war and August 26 this year, according to satellite imagery provided and analysed by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab and the Sudanese American Physicians Association.
As of October, the World Health Organization had documented 119 confirmed attacks on healthcare facilities across Sudan.
"There is a complete disregard for civilian protection," said Kyle McNally, MSF's humanitarian affairs advisor.
He told AFP that an ongoing "broad-spectrum attack on healthcare" includes "widespread physical destruction, which then reduces services to the floor -- literally and figuratively".
The national doctors' union estimates that in conflict zones across Sudan, up to 90 percent of medical facilities have been forced shut, leaving millions without access to essential care.
Both sides of the conflict have been implicated in attacks on healthcare facilities.
The medical union said that 78 health workers have been killed since the war began, by gunfire or shelling at their workplaces or homes.
"Both sides believe that medical staff are cooperating with the opposing faction, which leads to their targeting," union spokesperson Sayed Mohamed Abdullah told AFP.
"There is no justification for targeting hospitals or medical personnel. Doctors... make no distinction between one patient and another."

According to the doctors' union, the RSF has raided hospitals to treat their wounded or search for enemies, while the army has conducted air strikes on medical facilities across the country.
On November 11, MSF suspended most activities at Bashair Hospital, one of South Khartoum's few functioning hospitals, after fighters stormed the facility and shot dead another fighter being treated there.
MSF officials say they believe the fighters to be RSF combatants.
In addition to the endless stream of war casualties, Sudan's doctors scramble to respond to another threat: mass starvation.
In a paediatric hospital in Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, malnourished children arrive in droves.
Between mid-August and late October, the small hospital was receiving up to 40 children a day, many in critical condition, according to one doctor.
"Every day, three or four of them would die because their cases were very late stage and complicated, or due to a shortage of essential medicines," said the physician, requesting anonymity for safety concerns.
Sudan has for months teetered on the edge of famine, with nearly 26 million people -- more than half the population -- facing acute hunger, according to the UN.
Adnan Hezam, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said there must be "immediate support in terms of supplies and human resources to medical facilities".
Without it, "we fear a rapid deterioration" in already limited services, he told AFP.
To Moussa, the doctor, some days feel "unbearable".
"But we can't stop," he said.
"We owe it to the people who depend on us."
 

Topics: Sudan conflict

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