Dutch face prospect of longer lockdown amidst rising COVID-19 infections

AMSTERDAM - The Dutch government is expected to extend most pandemic lockdown restrictions including a nighttime curfew in an announcement later on Tuesday, due to stubbornly high COVID-19 infection rates that are putting pressure on hospitals.

The office of Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Sunday "it is still too early" to allow more people to gather in public places.

Authorities had hoped to reopen outdoor cafes and restaurants next week, but roughly six months after they shut, infection rates remain high and intensive care admissions are on the rise.

Current measures in the Netherlands, which has seen 1.3 million coronavirus cases and more than 16,700 deaths, include the first nighttime curfew since World War Two and a ban on public gatherings of more than two people.

Rutte is due to announce his cabinet's latest decision during a televised news conference at 1900 CET (1700 GMT).

Nearly 70% of Dutch intensive care beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, leading to warnings from care professionals that a third wave may not yet have peaked.

At the same time, opinon polls show support for lockdown measures waning, in particular a ban on outdoor dining spaces at restaurants and cafes. Hospitality associations and mayors from major cities have argued it has little point, citing large numbers of people gathering in parks.

"If the weather is getting a bit warmer people will get together in the parks or next to the canals, so actually if you open the terraces it would be more controlled," said bar owner Omar Abadi, 45, in Amsterdam.

As of April 4, roughly 12% of Dutch people had received at least one COVID-19 shot, according to Our World in Data.

The Dutch National Institute for Health (RIVM) said on Tuesday new cases rose by 6 percent in the week through April 13 to 51,240, resuming an upward trend in place since January. 

-reuters

US women win World Cup on their own terms

Megan Rapinoe left early, her work done for the day. The celebration came early, too, for a U.S. team determined up until the final minute to win this Women’s World Cup on its own terms.

No excuses. Certainly no apologies.


Just dominant soccer from a team that embraced the moment both on the pitch and in front of the microphones in France.

The argument about equal pay ends now. These women deserve more, much more, than anyone on the perennially underachieving U.S. men’s team.

And give them an extra pat on the back for doing it their own way.

“An amazing group of players but even better group of people,” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. “They put their hearts and soul into this journey and I can’t thank them enough.”


There should be thanks all around for this team, and not just because they won another World Cup. That was almost expected — the U.S. has now won four of the eight Women’s World Cups — but not many thought that it would play out in this fashion.

They kicked off the tournament by preening and posing with each goal — all 13 of them — in a rout of Thailand. They spoke out about parity in their paychecks and equal rights, and their pink haired captain got into a tiff with President Donald Trump over a possible White House visit.

And when their 2-0 win over the Netherlands was over, the message had gotten through. Fans dressed in red, white and blue chanted “Equal Pay” in support of their lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation.

“Give the people what they want,” Rapinoe said.

The equal pay will come, if not for this team then maybe for the next. It has to, because not only are the U.S. women more successful than the men, they are far more entertaining.

That showed when Rapinoe posed dramatically after putting the U.S. ahead for good with a second half penalty shot. It showed with some final match head banging that put one player out of the final and left another bloodied.

It showed all tournament long whenever controversy threatened to interfere with the mission of a group of very talented players and a coach not afraid to push all the right buttons.

“We’re crazy, that’s what makes it special,” Rapinoe said. “We have no quit in us, we’re so tight and we’ll do anything to win.”

They may not end up visiting the White House, but that doesn’t mean there’s not more celebrating to do. The final had barely ended when they were invited to a parade Wednesday in New York City, and there will be the obligatory late night TV appearances for Rapinoe and her teammates.

What it means for the future of women’s soccer is less clear, if only because great breakthroughs that were predicted from earlier World Cup titles never quite happened. The good news is there were some encouraging signs this week with ESPN agreeing to televise National Women’s Soccer League games the rest of the season and Budweiser announcing on Sunday it was signing on as a multi-year national sponsor of the league.

Still, in one final indignity, the women didn’t even have the day to themselves in soccer. For some reason international soccer officials not only played the Copa America final on the same day, but the 2019 Gold Cup, too.

This was a day to celebrate, though, not to complain about what should be. That can come later, though the fact FIFA is looking to expand from 24 to 32 teams for the 2023 World Cup is further evidence that world soccer is beginning to take the women’s game more seriously.

What is also evident is that the rest of the world is catching up to the U.S., though the Americans never trailed in any match. With European countries in particular devoting more resources to the women’s game there’s going to be a World Cup in the not so distant future in which the U.S. isn’t an overwhelming favorite.

It won’t help that those future teams will also likely be without the 34-year-old Rapinoe, who was the unquestioned star of this World Cup, on the field and off. She scored goals in bunches, wasn’t afraid to tangle with both her own president and the ruling soccer elite, and was the center of attention everywhere.

And when she posed majestically after scoring the only goal that would be needed against the Netherlands?

Well, let’s just say she did it better than any man.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Netherlands beats host Brazil 3-0 to finish 3rd

BRASILIA, Brazil — When it was all over, it was the Netherlands receiving a standing ovation from the Brazilian crowd. Brazil walked off the field to boos, after another demoralizing loss to end its home World Cup.

The Netherlands’ remarkable campaign ended on a high note after Robin van Persie and Daley Blind scored early goals to help give the team a 3-0 win over Brazil in the third-place game on Saturday.

“We can look back at a very successful tournament,” Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal said. “I’m proud of my players.”

The Netherlands finishes a World Cup unbeaten in regular play for the first time, having lost to Argentina on penalties in the semifinals. After finishing runner-up in 2010, the third place is the best position for the Dutch squad since it lost the final in 1974 and 1978.

The Brazilian fans loudly greeted the Dutch players after they received the third-place medals, applauding on their feet.

“I would like to thank all people in Brazil for their great support,” Arjen Robben said. “For us it was the best way to end this tournament. We fully deserved third place the way we played. It’s a very big achievement.”

The loss added to Brazil’s frustration at the home tournament following the disastrous 7-1 defeat to Germany. After the final whistle, the team was loudly booed by the nearly 70,000 fans that attended the match at the National Stadium in Brasilia. Many had already left even before the late third goal by the Dutch. It’s the first time since 1940 that Brazil lost two consecutive competitive games on home soil.

“It’s a terrible feeling, I don’t know what to say,” Oscar said. “After a huge loss to Germany, today we tried our best from the beginning to win third place but it wasn’t our day. We have to see what went wrong so we can improve for the future.”

Brazil conceding 14 goals in the tournament, the most ever for the team. The previous worst had been 11 goals in the 1938 World Cup. Now it conceded 10 in its last two games.

“It was supposed to be an even match but after the early goal things started going their way,” Scolari said. “I don’t think we played that bad. The players fought hard from the start. They created chances, so it’s difficult to lose 3-0. But they deserve all the credit in the end, they reached the semifinals.”

Van Persie converted a penalty kick three minutes into the match after Robben was brought down by Brazil captain Thiago Silva on the edge of the area. Blind added to the lead in the 17th with a shot from near the penalty spot after defender David Luiz made a mistake while trying to clear a cross in front of the goal. Georginio Wijnaldum rounded off the win in injury time with a shot inside the near post.

“The most beautiful was our resilience. We were knocked out but we came back and finished third,” Wijnaldum said. “We wanted to close it out well.”

Brazil looked lost from the start, making many of the same defensive mistakes that marked the historic defeat to the Germans four days ago. The Netherlands took advantage with quick passes and speed in the attack.

Silva had to foul Robben after being beaten on the run, leading to van Persie’s firm left-foot shot into the right upper corner to put the Dutch ahead.

The Dutch wanted a red card for Silva for a professional foul, but Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi only gave him a yellow. Silva had missed the semifinal against Germany because of a yellow card suspension.

Blind added to the lead after Luiz failed to clear a cross, heading the ball right back to the Dutch defender for an easy goal.

Wijnaldum closed the scoring in injury time with a goal from inside the area after a cross by Daryl Janmaat.

“It’s frustrating,” Silva said. “We didn’t deserve to have it end like this. But unfortunately it’s football. I have to apologize to our people. The fans supported us even during the 7-1 loss and again today. They booed in the end, but it was normal. They have feelings too.”

It was the fourth time Brazil played in a third-place match. It beat Sweden in 1938 and Italy in 1978, and the only other loss had come against Poland in 1974.

The Netherlands had played in the third-place match one other time. It fell to Croatia 2-1 in 1998 after being beaten by Brazil in the semifinals.

Van Gaal, in his final match with the Netherlands before joining Manchester United, had to play without midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who was injured while warming up for the game.

Scolari made six changes from the team that started in the loss against Germany, the national team’s worst defeat in its 100-year history.

___

Lineups:

Brazil: Julio Cesar; Maicon, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Maxwell; Luiz Gustavo (Fernandinho, 46), Paulinho (Hernanes, 57), Ramires (Hulk, 73), Willian, Oscar; Jo.

Netherlands: Jasper Cillessen (Michel Vorm, 90); Dirk Kuyt, Ron Vlaar, Stefan de Vrij, Bruno Martins Indi, Jordy Clasie (Joel Veltman, 90), Daley Blind (Daryl Janmaat, 70); Georginio Wijnaldum, Jonathan de Guzman; Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Netherlands looking to finish World Cup unbeaten

BRASILIA, Brazil — Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal is trying to motivate his players for the third-place match against Brazil by giving them the mission of becoming the only Dutch squad to finish a World Cup unbeaten in regular play.

After being eliminated by Argentina on penalties, the Netherlands has the chance of ending the tournament without a loss in seven matches. The Dutch won its first four games, then drew Costa Rica 0-0 in the quarters and Argentina 0-0 in the semis.

Van Gaal had been saying the third-place game was pointless and he would rather not play it, but “we are realizing that there is something else we need to defend and we have to go for it. Never a Dutch team returned home unbeaten, and that has to be the next target.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Dutch and Chile to battle for Group B top spot

RIO DE JANEIRO — The Netherlands and Chile may have already qualified for the World Cup’s round of 16, but both still want to win Group B and avoid the likely prospect of facing host nation Brazil in their next match.

Two of the tournament’s early high-fliers meet on Monday at Sao Paulo’s Itaquerao Stadium with the Netherlands requiring only a draw to top the group thanks to superior goal difference.

“If you look ahead a bit, in theory you are better off than if you come second,” Netherlands captain Robin van Persie said.

In part, that is because Brazil should win Group A — it is currently top and faces already-eliminated Cameroon in its final match — and will be the opponent for the runner-up in Group B. However, Van Persie said there are other tough nations on the horizon for the second-placed team.

“I’d really like to play them,” he said of Brazil, “but a little bit later” in the tournament.

The group winner also gets an extra day of rest before its next match.

Van Persie, who has scored three goals so far, is suspended for the game against Chile after picking up a yellow card in both matches so far — the stunning 5-1 destruction of Spain and a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Australia.



Van Persie is confident he won’t be too badly missed, given the depth of the Dutch squad. PSV Eindhoven forward Memphis Depay came on as a substitute against Australia and provided an assist before scoring his first international goal for the match winner. Schalke striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who has scored 34 goals in 62 internationals, is also waiting in the wings.

“The boys for the front positions train fantastically,” Van Persie. “We have a lot of good players.”

One of them already has three strikes to his name in Brazil, lightning fast winger Arjen Robben.

“Robben is very fast and the team is playing well,” said Chile midfielder Francisco Silva. “To counter their speed we’ll have to have a balanced game and close spaces.”

The Netherlands could also be missing central defender Bruno Martins Indi, who suffered a concussion after a late challenge by Australia’s Tim Cahill sent him tumbling heavily to the turf.

There is speculation that Chile might not be at full strength, either.

Coach Jorge Sampaoli could bench Juventus star Arturo Vidal and Charles Aranguiz, who scored one goal and set up the other in Chile’s 2-0 win against Spain.

Vidal, who underwent knee surgery last month and is still trying to regain his form, has hurt his right Achilles tendon, while Aranguiz has a minor sprain on his right knee. Both players also have a yellow card to their name.

In between beating Australia and Spain, Chile has clearly been studying the Dutch style of play — solid defense, pressure in midfield and passing quickly to their potent strike force.

“Based on what we saw, they’ll stay in the back, will try to press in the middle and, when they get the ball, will try to get it quickly to their strikers,” said Atalanta midfielder Carlos Carmona. “We have several days to work on ways to stop them from doing that.”

In good news for Dutch football purists, the Netherlands will pull on their traditional orange jerseys for the first time at this World Cup, having played in their blue away strip for the first two matches.

The Netherlands’ mantra ahead of its match against Australia — the lowest-ranked team at the tournament — was that the team would not underestimate the opponent. There’s no danger of underestimating Chile — a team ranked one place above the Dutch by FIFA.

“I saw bits of Chile against Spain and they looked very good. They looked fit, they looked strong, they played together,” Van Persie said. “So we’ve got a big task. It will be very hard to at least draw against them.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Dutch government collapses after far right pulls plug

(CNN) -- Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte resigned Monday after a far-right party withdrew its support for his government, a government spokesman said.

The move may clear the way for early elections in the Netherlands, possibly as soon as this summer, the government said.

The resignation came after the far-right party withdrew from talks about an austerity package worth €14.2 billion, the equivalent of $18.6 billion, according to a news report reprinted on a parliamentary website.

Lawmakers are scheduled to meet Tuesday to decide how to go forward.

Queen Beatrix asked Rutte and his ministers to stay in their positions until new elections.

Rutte's government had depended on the support of Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom, which came in third in parliamentary elections two years ago.

No party won enough seats to govern alone in 2010, so Rutte cobbled together a coalition with another center-right party.

But even that alliance did not command a majority in parliament, so they relied on the support of Wilders' anti-Muslim party.

The Party for Freedom did not get control of any government ministries, but the coalition agreement included elements it pushed for, such as a burqa ban.

No ban has been put in place.

Wilders' Party for Freedom defied predictions by taking 24 seats in parliament in June 2010, more than doubling the number of seats it held before the vote.

Wilders himself has been in and out of court for years, accused of inciting hatred against Muslims with his controversial film "Fitna."

The movie, which he released online in March 2008 to international outcry, features disturbing images of terrorist acts superimposed over verses from the Quran in an apparent attempt to paint Islam as a threat to Western society.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/23/world/europe/netherlands-politics/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Dutch prince suffers brain damage after avalanche

(CNN) -- Johan Friso, the 43-year-old Dutch prince who was injured in an avalanche at an Austrian ski resort last week, has suffered brain damage, his doctor said Friday.

"After the latest neurological test we conducted yesterday it became clear that the lack of oxygen (to) the brain of the patient caused massive damage," Dr. Wolfgang Koller told CNN affiliate SBS NL.

"Fifty minutes of reanimation is a very long time. One could also say too long," he added. "Our hope was that the relatively moderate level of hypothermia might have protected the brain somewhat. Unfortunately this was not the case."

Friso, a son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, had been airlifted to hospital in Innsbruck after the incident.

He was skiing outside the bounds of the ski resort with friends at the resort of Lech am Arlberg when he was hit by an avalanche, a spokesman for the state of Vorarlberg said.

No one else in the group was injured.

source: CNN