A Ghanaian native recently celebrated obtaining Dutch citizenship by securing all the required documentation. Kofi Gabs, also known as Presido Gabs, a digital content creator, has resided in the Netherlands for several years.
Gabs recognized Ghana’s contribution by issuing the passport that facilitated his travel to the Netherlands.
He shared his formal transition from Ghanaian to Dutch citizenship in a video on his social media platforms (X and Facebook), stating, “As of 12 o’clock today, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, I am no longer a citizen of Ghana.”
“But I want to say a very big thank you for giving me this book (Ghana passport) which paved the way for me to get my new citizenship, I thank you, God bless you.”
The majority of social media commentators are extending their congratulations to him for obtaining his new nationality. Following the acquisition of his new citizenship documents, he has shared photos and videos.
Among them is footage of a celebratory gathering he hosted in honor of his official Dutch citizenship status.
The accident in Lochem happened when the ropes broke on a bridge part being lifted into place, and it fell to the ground.
Two more people got hurt and are getting help at the hospital.
Authorities are calling the bridge collapse an “industrial accident” and are currently investigating what caused it.
Authorities told the Dutch broadcaster NOS that one of the workers who died was from Belgium and the other was from Poland. No more information about their names or ages was given.
One person saw the arch moving and then heard a loud bang.
They are going to build a bridge over a big canal in Lochem, a city in the eastern part of Gelderland, as part of a new road.
The mayor, Sebastiaan van ‘t Erve, told the AFP news agency that everyone was very surprised by the accident on the new road that people had been waiting for.
We have been working on building for five years. “And then all of a sudden, everything falls apart in just one day. It killed two people and hurt two more,” he said.
The mayor said they didn’t know why the building collapsed, and that they were still looking into it.
The local police said that the two hurt people were brought to the hospital and are expected to get better.
“They were trying to raise the bridge, but something went wrong. ” You can look at the wires. The bridge started to spin. “The bridge part fell to the ground,” said Andre Meilink from the regional safety authority to NOS.
An individual who fathered at least 550 children in the Netherlands and other nations and deceived prospective parents about the number of children he contributed to conception has been prohibited by a Dutch court from contributing any more of his sperm.
A judge at The Hague District Court ordered the halt in an injunction on Friday brought by the mother of a child conceived with the donor’s sperm and a foundation representing other parents.
The mother, identified by the foundation only as Eva, welcomed the court’s decision.
“I hope that this ruling leads to a ban on mass donation and spreads like an oil slick to other countries. We must stand hand in hand around our children and protect them against this injustice,” Eva said in a statement.
The court noted under Dutch guidelines, sperm donors are allowed to produce a maximum of 25 children with 12 mothers, and the donor lied to prospective parents about his donation history.
The donor, identified as Jonathan M under Dutch privacy guidelines, provided sperm to several Dutch fertility clinics and to a clinic in Denmark, as well as to many other people he connected with through advertisements and online forums, the court said.
The donor’s lawyer said in a court hearing he wanted to help parents who would otherwise be unable to conceive.
Video Duration 47 minutes 45 secondsSperm Smugglers – Al Jazeera World
‘Negative psychosocial consequences’
The judge who heard the civil case said the donor “deliberately lied about this in order to persuade the parents to take him as a donor”.
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“All these parents are now confronted with the fact that the children in their family are part of a huge kinship network, with hundreds of half-siblings, which they did not choose,” the court said, adding this “could possibly have negative psychosocial consequences for the children”.
The case was about “conflicting fundamental rights. On the one hand, the right to respect the privacy of the parents and the donor children … and on the other hand the same right of the donor”, it said.
The court ruled “the interests of the donor children and their parents outweigh the interest of the donor in continuing to donate sperm to new prospective parents”.
Jonathan M was ordered to immediately halt all sperm donations and pay 100,000 euros ($110,000) per case if he breaches the ban.
Lawyer Mark de Hek called the ruling “a clear signal and, as far as I am concerned, a final warning to other mass donors”.
The case is the latest in a series of fertility scandals to hit the Netherlands.
In 2020, a deceased gynaecologist was accused of fathering at least 17 children with women thinking they were receiving sperm from anonymous donors.
The year before, it emerged a Rotterdam doctor fathered at least 49 children while inseminating women seeking treatment.
In relation to the downing of Flight MH17 in 2014, the European Court of Human Rights is about to say whether it will hear a Dutch case against Russia.
Russian misinformation regarding Moscow’s part in the incident, according to the Dutch government, violates the human rights of the relatives.
The accusations are rejected by Russia.
The decision will be read out at 14:30 local time (13:30 GMT).
The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was hit by a surface-to-air missile in July 2014 during a conflict between pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
The Netherlands argues that Russia played a key role in the air disaster and the case hinges on whether or not Moscow had “effective control” over the area of Ukraine where the missile was fired from.
At this stage, the ECHR will only rule on whether the criteria has been met for it to deal with this application.
Even if it decides to hear the Dutch case, it could be years before a ruling is issued. However, if the ECHR issues a guilty verdict against Russia, Moscow could be obliged to pay damages to the victims’ relatives.
Last September, Russia stopped being party to the European Convention on Human Rights, but the court can still deal with claims against Russia regarding actions up until that date.
In November, a Dutch court at the Schiphol Judicial Complex found three men – two Russians and a Ukrainian – guilty of murder in absentia for their part in the downing of MH17.
The court concluded that the missile had been fired deliberately to bring down a plane, even if the target had been military rather than civilian.
The three men were sentenced to life in jail but are all thought to be in Russia.
Since Moscow condemned the verdict as scandalous and politically motivated it is extremely unlikely that they will be handed over to face justice.
Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the attack.
The European Court of Human Rights is set to announce whether it will hear a Dutch case against Russia over the downing of flight MH17 in 2014.
All 298 people on the Malaysia Airlines flight were killed when it was shot down by a Russian-made missile fired by Moscow-backed Ukrainian separatists.
The Dutch government argues that Russian disinformation about Moscow’s role in the incident is a violation of the relatives’ human rights.
Russia denies the allegations.
The decision will be read out at 14:30 local time (13:30 GMT).
The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was hit by a surface-to-air missile in July 2014 during a conflict between pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
The Netherlands argues that Russia played a key role in the air disaster and the case hinges on whether or not Moscow had “effective control” over the area of Ukraine where the missile was fired from.
At this stage, the ECHR will only rule on whether the criteria has been met for it to deal with this application.
Even if it decides to hear the Dutch case, it could be years before a ruling is issued. However, if the ECHR issues a guilty verdict against Russia, Moscow could be obliged to pay damages to the victims’ relatives.
Last September, Russia stopped being party to the European Convention on Human Rights, but the court can still deal with claims against Russia regarding actions up until that date.
In November, a Dutch court at the Schiphol Judicial Complex found three men – two Russians and a Ukrainian – guilty of murder in absentia for their part in the downing of MH17.
The court concluded that the missile had been fired deliberately to bring down a plane, even if the target had been military rather than civilian.
The three men were sentenced to life in jail but are all thought to be in Russia.
Since Moscow condemned the verdict as scandalous and politically motivated it is extremely unlikely that they will be handed over to face justice.
Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the attack.
The Dutch media discovered evidence that “overseas service stations,” which promise diplomatic services, are being used to silence Chinese dissidents in Europe.
The existence of the unofficial police outposts, according to a spokeswoman for the Dutch foreign ministry, is illegal.
The Chinese embassy says it is not aware of their existence.
The investigation was sparked by a report entitled Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild, by the Spain-based NGO Safeguard Defenders.
According to the organisation, the public security bureaus from two Chinese provinces had established 54 “overseas police service centres” across five continents and 21 countries. Most of them are in Europe, including nine in Spain and four in Italy. In the UK, it found two in London and one in Glasgow.
The units were ostensibly created to tackle transnational crime and conduct administrative duties, such as the renewal of Chinese drivers’ licences. But, according to Safeguard Defenders, in reality, they carry out “persuasion operations”, aimed at coercing those suspected of speaking out against the Chinese regime to return home.
RTL News and the investigative journalism platform Follow the Money shared the story of Wang Jingyu, a Chinese dissident who said he was being pursued by Chinese police in the Netherlands.
Speaking in English, Wang told Dutch journalists he received a phone call earlier this year from someone claiming to be from one such station. During the conversation, he said he was urged to return to China to “sort out my problems. And to think about my parents”.
Since then, he described a systematic campaign of harassment and intimidation, which he believes is being orchestrated by Chinese government agents.
In response to the revelations, the Chinese embassy told RTL News it was not aware of the existence of such police stations.
Dutch foreign ministry spokeswoman Maxime Hovenkamp told the BBC: “The Dutch government wasn’t made aware of these operations through the diplomatic channels with the Chinese government. That is illegal.”
She said it would have to investigate and decide the appropriate response. “It is very worrying a Chinese national has apparentlybeen subjected to intimidation and harassment here in the Netherlands. Police are looking into options to offer him protection,” she added.
Services such as passport renewals or visa requests are usually handled by an embassy or consulate. Diplomatic rules apply in these locations, as laid out in the Vienna Convention, of which both the Netherlands and China are signatories.
Policing outposts like the ones China is accused of running could violate the territorial integrity of a host country by circumventing national jurisdictions and the protections afforded under domestic law.
Safeguard Defenders said China’s policing tactics were “problematic” as they targeted suspects without firmly establishing links to crime or adhering to due process in host countries.
This is primarily done by coercing or making threats against the family members of alleged fugitives, as a method to “persuade” them to return home, the organization said.
On 2 September, a national Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law were adopted in China, establishing a claim of extraterritorial jurisdiction over all Chinese nationals worldwide suspected of these types of fraud.
The pressure is now on the Dutch government to ensure critics of the Chinese government who are granted asylum can be protected, and that in the Netherlands, Dutch law prevails.
A Dutchman was condemned to 13 years in prison for sexually extorting a teenage Canadian girl who later committed suicide.
Prosecutors in British Columbia said that Aydin Coban, 44, will serve his sentence in the Netherlands.
In August, he was found guilty of child luring, child pornography, extortion, and harassment of Amanda Todd.
Amanda, who was 15 at the time, produced a video in 2012 documenting her ordeal with the cyber-stalker.
Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find upsetting.
The YouTube video was watched millions of times and sparked a national debate about online bullying.
Coban was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Dutch court in 2017 for blackmailing and harassing dozens of young women on the internet, some as far away as Britain, Canada, and the United States.
He was later extradited to Canada where he faced additional charges. He was not, however, charged with Amanda’s death.
The 13-year sentence handed down on Friday will begin after the term imposed by the Dutch court has expired, said the British Columbia Prosecution Service.
Coban showed no remorse in court in New Westminster as he learned his fate.
Amanda killed herself five weeks after uploading her widely watched YouTube video, and after explicit photos of her were leaked online.
Coban harassed the girl for nearly three years online using 22 separate fake social media accounts.
He sent messages to her between 2009, starting when she was 13 and 2012. In some, he threatened to send explicit images of her to her friends, family, and school staff if she didn’t agree to give him a webcam “show”.
Cobanhid his IP address, so police were not able to trace the messages back to him at the time.
During Coban’s sentencing hearing this week, prosecutors argued for a 12-year prison term to protect other young people from his “repugnant” abuse. They said they believed Coban was at high risk of offending again.
Coban’s defence lawyers had pushed for a two-year sentence, arguing a longer punishment would be “disproportionate” to the crimes he committed.
British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin read the sentence in court on Friday.
She said that although Coban’s behaviour was not the “dominating factor” in the girl’s suicide, she did find that the “profound harm” he caused her aggravated mental health and substance abuse issues, according to CBC News.
“Ruining Amanda’s life was Mr Coban’s expressly stated goal and was, sadly, one that he achieved,” she said.
His sentencing hearing in Canada began shortly after the 10th anniversary of Amanda’s death. Her mother, Carol, has since become an outspoken advocate against online bullying and sex extortion.
“We need to talk about it,” she said. “We need to make sure there is justicefor Amanda.”
Netherlands and Silkeborg IF defender, Kees Luijckx, has said he is optimistic that Black Stars forward Mohammed Kudus will enjoy a successful stint with Ajax Amsterdam.
The Ghana forward has today wrapped up a 9 million Euros move from Danish side FC Nordsjaelland to the Dutch Eredivisie giants on a 5-year deal.
Though Kees Luijckx believes the fee for the winger will put pressure on him to perform at Ajax, he has also indicated that he sees the teenager excelling at the club because of his abilities.
“It is a huge amount for Nordsjaelland. That amount will put pressure on Ajax for Kudus himself. Anyway, there is always pressure when you play at a top clubâ€, Kees said.
“I saw a statistic pass that he has made the most successful dribbles in all of Europe. Then you can think: well, in the Danish league. But on the other hand: many teams play defensive here. He always takes the initiative, which makes him an attractive player for the publicâ€.Kees Luijckx concluded.
Dutch-born Ghanaian forward Patrick Joosten has commenced training with FC Utrecht ahead of the upcoming Eredivisie season.
FC Utrecht is one of the few clubs in the Netherlands that have started sharpening their rough edges ahead of the 2020/21 Dutch Eredivisie campaign.
The Red and White outfit began the session at their Sports Complex Zoudenbalch with a large number of their squad present.
Dutch-born of Ghanaian descent Patrick Joosten was among the players who showed up at the training complex on Monday.
The Press and fans were not welcomed as the club are still working from a bubble to minimize the chance of coronavirus infections. The measures will however be relaxed a little in the coming weeks.
Coach John van den Brom is expected to put his squad up to speed before engaging in friendly games ahead of the start of the season.
Joosten, who returned from a successful loan stint at Sparta Rotterdam, will be keen to impress the technical bench within these short periods in order to seal a position at the club in the forthcoming campaign.
Watch Patrick Joosten and his FC Utrecht teammates train below;
Dutch born Ghanaian defender Jeremie Frimpong has won his first Scottish Premier League title with Celtic F.C in his first season with the club.
The trophy is the 20-year old right-back’s second major title of the season after winning the Scottish League Cup last December.
Celtic were confirmed champions of the Scottish Premier League on Monday with Hearts of Midlothian relegated following a decision at a board meeting after the 12 clubs agreed at the end of last week that completing the campaign was unfeasible.
An average points per game played has been used to determine final placings.
The only change to the table from when football was halted on 13 March is that St Johnstone go sixth, above Hibernian.
The Champions were 13 points ahead of nearest challengers Rangers – having played a game more – when the season was put on hold. There were eight more games to be played.
This is the ninth Scottish Premier League title on a row for Celtic and Frimpong’s first, having joined from Manchester City last summer.
Dutch born Ghanaian defender Derrick Luckassen has incurred the wrath of the PSV supporters chairman for comments about closing the door on a return to his parent club.
Harrie Timmermans, chairman of Supportersvereniging PSV, is annoyed with the statements of Derrick Luckassen.
The on loan defender at Anderlecht (24) slammed the door to a return in Eindhoven this week.
“I keep all options open to myself, except going back to PSV. That is no longer an option for me,” Luckassen told De Telegraaf about his future. “I tried it there twice and it didn’t work out. I don’t feel at home with PSV and I have seen it there.”
Timmermans read the statements of Luckassen, who is still under contract for two years in Eindhoven, with increasing surprise. “If he also hands in his contract, it is a dude,” said the chairman of the Supporters Association PSV in the Eindhovens Dagblad.
Belgium giants Anderlecht are set to the extend the loan deal of Dutch born Ghanaian defender Derrick Luckassen at the end of the season.
The 25-year old defender is currently on loan from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, and has impressed markedly forcing the former Belgium champions to trigger an extension of his stay. Anderlecht can make a permanent move by paying five million Euros for the defender.
Luckassen has made eighteen Jupiler Pro League appearances this season and has made an assist as a defeander.
His partnership with ex-Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany is solid rock in the heart of defence for Anderlecht.
It is yet to be known if PSV will recall the towering defender back but the player in previous interviews revealed he is happy in Belgium.
Luckassen has spent most of his time away from his parent club after a loan spell in Germany last season before moving to Belgium at the beginning of the campaign due to limited play time.
Dutch born Ghanaian defender Jeremie Frimpong made his injury return to the Celtic squad after being out injured for some weeks now.
The 19 year old was stretchered off in Celtic’s game against Kilmarnock after a nasty tackle and for the first time since his injury started training with his team mates on Thursday.
Frimpong was included in the squad that beat Aberdeen 2-1 at Pittodrie although he was an unused substitute for the away side.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Kristoffer Ajer’s late winner settled it late for Celtic after an equalizer from Ash Taylor after McGregor’s opener.
It stretched Celtic’s winning run to nine games in the Scottish league which they sit comfortably atop.
Frimpong was delighted with his recovery and tweeted with the caption back in the squad.
