International
The Netherlands plans to reintroduce border controls in November to curb migration
The Dutch Government agreed on Friday on a package of “emergency measures” to “relieve the pressure” on the asylum system, by which it plans to reintroduce border controls from the end of November to return to Germany and Belgium irregular migrants and refugees who have requested asylum in another European country.
The Dutch cabinet, a four-party coalition that includes the radical right of Geert Wilders, considers that the Netherlands is “in an asylum crisis” and the current regime is “unsustainable,” which makes it “necessary to act immediately with a package of measures to relieve and reduce the pressure on the asylum system.”
“From the end of November, border controls will be carried out based on article 25 of the Schengen Borders Code.
Irregular migrants, including asylum seekers who have already applied for asylum in other European countries, will be returned to Germany and Belgium,” the government said in a letter to Parliament.
The Executive will present “as soon as possible” a new rule, the “Law of Emergency Measures for Asylum,” and its entry into force “will be immediately after its publication” in the Official Gazette.
“The accommodation capacity is overwhelmed, requests cannot be processed on time, generating long waiting lists, and some of the applicants cause great inconvenience. People entitled to protection cannot advance in the process, and some asylum seekers who do not have the right to stay do not leave the country,” the cabinet argued.
Temporary asylum
The government will eliminate the indefinite residence permit for refugees and reduce the duration of the temporary leave to three years, instead of five, “thus generating awareness that it is temporary,” said Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who promised that “entries will decrease and exits will increase,” since the possibility of regrouping adult children or an unmarried couple will also be ended.
Likewise, next year, it will enable 50 to 100 additional cells for “the detention of foreigners,” which will be “intended for asylum seekers who have exhausted their process or are in an illegal situation, to be deported to their country of origin.”
Syria, key
The asylum policy for Syria, a country at war since 2011, will “be significantly tightened,” warned the cabinet, which will temporarily limit the refugees that the Netherlands will receive as part of the resettlement agreements under the UN framework to a maximum of 200.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will publish a report before the end of the year identifying “safe areas” in Syria, and asylum seekers from those areas will no longer be eligible for asylum and must return to the Arab country, while the possibility of revoking the residence permit of refugees already legally settled is evaluated.
Wilders’ PVV and the Christian Democratic party NSC, the two partners with the most differences within the coalition, have agreed on these measures in meetings they have held in recent weeks, and on Wednesday they have been joined by the other two partners, the liberals of the VVD and the party of farmers BBB, who have given their approval to the agreed package of measures.
Wilders has had to renounce the application of a controversial national emergency law, with which he intended to suspend part of the Aliens Law and jump to Parliament to apply a heavy hand with refugees, but even so, he now hopes that these “extreme” measures will please his electorate, to whom he has promised “the strictest asylum regime in history” in the Netherlands.
International
Thirteen cuban military members missing after explosion at arms warehouse
Thirteen members of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) have been reported “missing” following an explosion at an arms and ammunition warehouse in the eastern part of the island, the military institution announced.
“As a result of the explosions at an arms and ammunition warehouse in the Melones community… in the province of Holguín, 730 km east of Havana,” two officers, two non-commissioned officers, and nine soldiers are reported as “missing,” according to a statement from the Ministry of the Armed Forces released by Cuban state television.
The statement specified that “investigations are still ongoing at the site,” which led to the evacuation of more than 1,200 residents from areas near the warehouse of a military unit where “aged ammunition was being classified.”
Neither the official press nor Cuban state television have provided images of the explosions at the military unit, but independent media outlets published photos online showing a massive column of smoke and police officers deployed in the streets of the Melones community.
International
Trump considers declaring National Economic Emergency to justify universal tariffs
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may be considering declaring a national economic emergency in order to justify implementing a package of universal tariffs on both allied and adversary countries, according to CNN.
The proclamation of these measures would grant the incoming U.S. president the freedom to create a new tariff program using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
This move would give the president the authority to manage imports during a national emergency.
According to the report, Trump has a penchant for this law as it provides broad jurisdiction on how tariffs are implemented without strict requirements to prove they are necessary for national security reasons.
International
Venezuelan opposition candidate Enrique Márquez detained ahead of Maduro’s inauguration
Enrique Márquez, a minority opposition candidate in Venezuela’s July 28 elections, was “arbitrarily detained,” denounced a political coalition he is part of and his wife, who described the action as “kidnapping.”
Since Tuesday night, there has been a wave of reports of detentions, with at least a dozen arrests just over 48 hours before President Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration for a third six-year term, following a controversial reelection.
“We inform that yesterday, 07.01.25, Enrique Márquez was arbitrarily detained,” stated the Popular Democratic Front (FDP).
“He was kidnapped by paramilitary groups who, using force as their law, aim to silence and intimidate those of us who want a better country and have a different vision,” said his wife, Sonia Lugo de Márquez, on the leader’s X account.
Thirteen cuban military members missing after explosion at arms warehouse
Trump considers declaring National Economic Emergency to justify universal tariffs
Venezuelan opposition candidate Enrique Márquez detained ahead of Maduro’s inauguration
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
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