“linguicide” of the Dutch language
Hague: Dutch education officials said Monday they aim to rein in the spread of courses taught in English in the country´s universities and slow the flood of foreign students.
The move comes amid a growing outcry at the infiltration of English language courses in Dutch higher education institutions, with many warning that Dutch students are being disadvantaged and the language is under threat.
Even if “the internationalisation of higher education brings added value… there must always be a place for Dutch students” at the country´s 14 universities, the education ministry insisted.
The report comes after the largest lecturers´ union, known as BON, warned of the looming “linguicide” of the Dutch language if the trend continues.
Even though about 65 percent of bachelor´s degrees are taught in Dutch, only about 15 percent of master´s degrees are. And almost a quarter of students obtaining a master´s are foreigners.
Britain´s exit from the European Union next year has only accelerated the phenomenon, with international students flocking to the Netherlands drawn by the large number of English-taught degree courses.
“The clauses in the law pertaining to the choice of language in higher and vocational education must be revised,” the ministry said.
Greater accent must be placed on “accessibility to education for Dutch students”.
BON has launched a lawsuit accusing Twente University and the University of Maastricht of killing the Dutch language through the “Anglicisation” of courses as they both offer two master´s degree courses in psychology exclusively in English.
They termed the offers by the two universities as an “impoverishment” and a “dangerous abandonment” of the Dutch language.
But Education Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven also cautioned against becoming too inward-looking.
“I represent an open Dutch society in which we dare to look beyond the borders,” she said, quoted in the statement.
“We must not let ourselves be scared by stories in which internationalism is something negative which is swamping us,” she added.
Media agencies
US & NK meet on June12, Singapore
With hectic preparations are on for a summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were going well, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Monday, and the two were tentatively scheduled to meet at 9 AM Singapore time (6 AM PST) on June 12.
After having cancelled the summit on Friday, Trump said the meeting was back on after he received the North Korean delegation bearing a letter from Kim.
Asked about the contents of Kim’s letter, Sanders declined to “get into the specifics” but added: “We feel like things are continuing to move forward and good progress has been made.”
“The president has been receiving daily briefings on North Korea from his national security team,” she added.
After meeting a senior official from Pyongyang at the White House on Friday, Trump said North Korea was being more cooperative and that although sanctions would remain in place, he would hold off on imposing new ones.
Trump said he didn’t want to use the term “maximum pressure” any more, because the two sides were “getting along”.
On consisting to the question at a news briefing on Monday whether the “maximum pressure” campaign would continue, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters: “We have sanctions on, they are very powerful and we would not take those sanctions off unless North Korea denuclearized.”
The Trump administration has credited its “maximum pressure” campaign, supported by the United Nations and major world powers, for helping bring North Korea to the table to negotiate giving up its nuclear weapons.
Top Senate Democrats on Monday told Trump not to make a deal that leaves North Korea with nuclear weapons and threatened to maintain or toughen sanctions on Pyongyang if that condition is not met.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and ranking Democrats from national security committees released a letter to Trump laying out demands for any pact, which they said must be permanent.
They also urged him to lean hard on Kim’s ally China to ensure it “will do all it can to help secure an agreement and then insist on strict North Korean compliance with such an agreement”.
Easing sanctions under a deal would likely need approval from Congress which has passed sanctions on North Korea.
Since most legislation needs 60 votes to pass the 100-member Senate and Trump’s fellow Republicans hold only 51 seats, that would require Democratic support.
29th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square 115 Ks turnout
Participants lit candles in memory of the victims of the fatal crackdown on pro-democracy activists, many of whom were students.
The demonstrators demanded that the Chinese government re-evaluate the incident, which it says left 319 people dead.
Critics say the number was far larger.
The organizers displayed a bust of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo at the rally. Liu was a symbol of the pro-democracy movement in the country. He died last year.
The demonstrators protested against the Chinese authorities’ continued surveillance of his widow, Liu Xia, and called for her release from house arrest.
They also criticized what they see as an intensifying crackdown on human rights lawyers in mainland China, as President Xi Jinping moves to solidify his one-person rule.
A 61-year-old participant said that people in Hong Kong need to make their voices heard in the international community about the deterioration of human rights and democracy in China.
About 100 people also held a rally in the Taiwanese city of Taipei on Monday night to remember the victims of the incident.
Wu Renhua, a former university lecturer, told the crowd what he saw when he joined the student-led protest on June 4th 29 years ago. Wu now lives in exile in the United States.
Wu said more than 200,000 troops were mobilized against the protest. He said troops fired at crowds randomly and tanks charged into them. He said children and medical staff giving first aid were among those killed.
Wu emphasized that the impact of Tiananmen continues. He said Chinese authorities still threaten veterans of the protest at home and abroad. He called on people at the rally to stand up and continue saying “no” to the Chinese government and Communist Party.
A man in his 20s said people in Taiwan need to sustain interest in how Chinese authorities persecute dissidents. Otherwise, he said Taiwan could lose its democracy just like what is happening in Hong Kong.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivered a message to people in mainland China on her Facebook page, using simplified Chinese characters.
She wrote that China is haunted by the 1989 tragedy. But she said it can be turned into a foundation to move toward a society that embraces freedom and democracy if Beijing faces up to history and admits using state violence on its citizens.
Tsai said she hopes the universal values of freedom and democracy can be enjoyed by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Hani Mulki has resigned
Jordan’s Prime Minister Hani Mulki has resigned following widespread protests against plans to raise income tax. King Abdullah accepted Mulki’s resignation on Monday.
Media reports say the King has asked Omar al-Razzaz, the education minister, to form a new government as prime minister.
Mulki’s government sparked protests with a reform plan, backed by the International Monetary Fund, which included a steep tax hike.
Thousands of protestors have taken to the streets in the capital Amman since last week, clashing with security forces.
It is unclear whether Mulki’s resignation will end demonstrations. Labor unions have vowed to continue protesting until the authorities give up the planned tax hike.
Jordan’s economy has been hit hard by regional insecurity in recent years, in particular due to conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq. Jordan has accepted nearly 700,000 refugees from Syria.
Merkel: Iran is a ‘concern’ for Israel’s security
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that she agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran’s activities in the Middle East are a concern, particularly for Israel’s security. She made the statement after a meeting in Berlin. “We agree that the question of Iran’s regional influence is worrying, especially for Israel’s security,” the chancellor said. Netanyahu’s European tour this week follows the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal which France, Germany and Britain have said they will continue to respect. The Israeli leader is also expected to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and possibly British Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss ways to stop what Netanyahu called “Iran’s nuclear ambitions and regional expansionism,” Reuters said.
Groupe PSA begins suspending joint ventures in Iran
Groupe PSA has begun to suspend its joint venture activities in Iran, the French carmaker said on Monday, following the withdrawal of the US from a nuclear pact signed with the country, Reuters reports. European signatories are scrambling to save the accord, by protecting trade with Iran against the re-imposition of US sanctions to dissuade Tehran from quitting the deal. “The group has begun to suspend its joint venture activities, in order to comply with US law by August 6,” PSA said in a statement. “With the support of the French government, the Groupe PSA is engaging with the US authorities to consider a waiver.” The suspensions do not alter PSA’s current financial guidance, the group said, adding that its Iranian activities accounted for less than 1 percent of revenue.
Putin is set to visit Austria on Tuesday
Putin is set to visit Austria on Tuesday – a country that traditionally has good relations with Moscow. His trip, however, might have wider implications for a Europe that seems to be at a crossroads.
Austria has had constructive and pragmatic –if not friendly– relations with Russia and its predecessor, the Soviet Union, since the establishment of the Second Republic back in 1955. Vienna has also strived to keep it that way through the recent turbulent years, marked by increased tensions between Russia and Europe.
Even though it had to join anti-Russian sanctions after Russia’s reunification with Crimea and the start of the Ukraine crisis, Austria repeatedly called for easing or even lifting the restrictions, pointing at their ineffectiveness and utter futility.
Austria was the first European country Putin visited in summer 2014, after the outbreak of the European conflict put a strain on Russia’s relations with the EU.
Now seems the right time to give these good relations a boost. Last month, the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz praised Russia as a “superpower” as he expressed Vienna’s desire to “keep the channels of communication with Russia open.”
In his interview with the Russian media ahead of Putin’s visit this week, he said he sees a “positive dynamic” in the development of bilateral relations, adding that they have “enormous potential.” Kurz also chose Russia as a destination for his first visit to a non-EU country after he took up the chancellor’s post in what could also be described as a positive sign.
His Austrian People’s Party’s coalition partners, the right-wing Freedom Party (FPO), hold an even more favorable view of Moscow. The FPO called for the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions on numerous occasions throughout these years and even vowed to fight for it as part of the Austrian government.
The FPO members also visited Crimea in 2017. Austria maintains strong economic ties with Russia, even though bilateral trade between the two nations has been severely hit by a series of sanctions and counter-sanctions imposed by Moscow and Brussels against one another over the course of the Ukraine crisis.
Economic ties seem to be recovering: In 2017, the trade turnover between Russia and Austria grew by 40 percent, compared with the previous year. Some 60 percent of Austria’s gas supply also comes from Russia. Since the start of 2018, the Alpine nation has increased its gas imports by an impressive 77.2 per cent, compared to the same period of the already record-breaking previous year.
The Russian president’s visit also conveniently coincides with the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Soviet gas supplies to the Alpine nation. The Austrian OMV energy company became the first western enterprise to sign a gas supply agreement with the Soviet Union in 1968.
Against such a positive backdrop, Putin’s visit to Austria, his first foreign visit since re-election in March, is poised to be beneficial for both sides in terms of both political and economic relations. However, the two leaders might have some bigger plans in mind than just a bilateral agenda. Austria, which takes pride in its neutrality and geographical location “at the heart” of the European continent, apparently strives to fill a role as a ‘bridge’ in relations between Moscow and the EU, which Kurz says he wants to normalize.
One has to admit that a small Alpine nation could hardly be called a political heavyweight in the current European political landscape. Neither is Austria likely to single-handedly undo the damage done to Russian-European relations by the years-long bickering over the conflict in Ukraine, the Syrian war and some other issues.
Still, it might be able to influence the situation at a time when the future of European foreign policy seems to be left in a sort of limbo. Kurz has already said that his government would seek to “bridge” the rift between Brussels and some opportunist Eastern European governments, which has been plaguing the bloc for quite some time.
