'We missed you': Dutch bars, cafes, museums to reopen

THE HAGUE - The Netherlands will this week lift some of Europe's toughest COVID restrictions with bars, restaurants and museums allowed to reopen their doors, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Tuesday.

Rutte said the move, which takes effect from Wednesday, was in response to "great tensions" with the catering and cultural sectors over a virtual lockdown imposed days before Christmas.

"The Netherlands has missed you," Rutte told a news conference.

"Today we are taking a big step to further unlock the Netherlands. That feels contradictory while the contamination figures are going through the roof, and we have to be clear that we are taking a risk," he added.

Anger mounted after Dutch shops, gyms, hairdressers and sex workers were allowed to resume business on January 15, but other venues had to stay shut.

Cafes in several cities opened in defiance of the restrictions the weekend before last, while dozens of museums even opened as beauty salons for a day in protest.

Rutte said that the government was "consciously looking for the limits of what is possible, because of the great tensions and cries for help in recent days".

While new infections are running at around 60,000 a day, fueled by the Omicron variant, intensive care admissions and deaths have been falling in the Netherlands.

Health Minister Ernst Kuipers warned that it was "not the flu" and the situation remained sensitive, with hospitalizations rising again this week after a long period of decline.

But he said relaxing the curbs was important.

"Living for longer with restrictive measures harms our health and our society," said Kuipers.

Cafes bars and restaurants can open again until 10 pm from Wednesday, so long as patrons have a Covid pass, wear masks when not seated, and capacity is reduced, the government said.

Cinemas, theatres and museums may also welcome back customers, but nightclubs must stay closed for the time being.

Fans can also return to football matches and other professional sports, but stadium capacity will be limited. 

Quarantine rules for schools will also be relaxed, with classes no longer having to shut if three or more cases are confirmed, and children under 18 need no longer isolate after contact with an infected person.

But the government is still urging people to work at home and limit the number of visitors to four.

The current measures will remain in place until at least March 8.

Agence France-Presse

Dutch police arrest Turkish man suspected of killing 3 in tram shooting

UTRECHT, Netherlands - Dutch police arrested a Turkish man suspected of shooting dead 3 people and wounding 5 on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht on Monday.

Police said the suspect, 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis, had been taken into custody after an hours-long manhunt and had earlier run-ins with authorities in the Netherlands.

The city was put into lockdown after the shooting, shortly after the morning rush hour, which authorities initially said was an apparent terrorist attack. Police conducted raids in several locations after issuing an image of Tanis and warning the public not to approach him.

But hours after the shooting, the gunman's motive remained unclear. A prosecutor said it could be for "family reasons" and Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency, quoting relatives of the gunman, said he had fired at a relative on the tram and had then shot at others who tried to help her.

The Turkish intelligence agency said it is investigating whether the attack was personally motivated or an act of terrorism, President Tayyip Erdogan said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Dutch authorities had raised the terrorism threat in Utrecht province to its highest level, schools were told to shut their doors and paramilitary police increased security at airports, other vital infrastructure and at mosques.

The threat level was reduced by one notch to where it had been after the suspect was arrested, the National Counter-Terrorism Agency said.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte convened crisis talks immediately after the incident, which came 3 days after a lone gunman killed 50 people in mass shootings at 2 mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

"Our country has today been shocked by an attack in Utrecht... A terrorist motive cannot be excluded," Rutte said. "The first reports have led to disbelief and disgust. Innocent people have been struck by violence."

The mayor of Utrecht, Jan van Zanen, said 3 people had been killed and 5 injured, 3 of them critically.

CRIMINAL RECORD

The suspect had previously been arrested, regional prosecutor Rutger Jeuken told reporters, without giving further details.

The shooting took place in Kanaleneiland, a quiet residential district on the outskirts of Utrecht with a large immigrant population.

"It's frightening that something like this can happen so close to home," said Omar Rahhou, who said his parents lived on a street cordoned off by police. "These things normally happen far away but this brings it very close, awful."

Witness Daan Molenaar, who said he had been sitting at the front of the tram when the shooting started, told national broadcaster NOS he did not believe it was a terrorist attack.

"The first thing I thought was, this is some kind of revenge or something, or somebody who's really mad and grabbed a pistol," he said.

Utrecht, the Netherlands' fourth largest city with a population of around 340,000, is known for its picturesque canals and large student population. Gun killings are rare in Utrecht, as elsewhere in the Netherlands.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

One feared dead in Dutch tram shooting in possible terrorist attack - authorities

UTRECHT, Netherlands -One person was feared dead while several suffered gunshot wounds on Monday in a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht and a hunt was underway for the gunman in an incident authorities said appeared to be a terrorist attack.

Dutch broadcaster NOS said police had surrounded a building where the suspected gunman was believed to be holed up. There was no immediate word on who the gunman was or on the precise number or identity of the victims.

Authorities raised the terrorism threat to its highest level in Utrecht province, schools were told to shut their doors and paramilitary police increased security at airports and other vital infrastructure. Security was also stepped up at mosques.

"Several shots were fired in a tram and several people were injured. Helicopters are at the scene and no arrests have been made," said police spokesman Joost Lanshage. He was not immediately able to provide further details.

Local broadcaster RTV Utrecht quoted a witness as saying he had seen a woman lying on the ground amid some kind of confrontation and several men ran away from the scene.

A reporter for NOS said a white sheet had been placed over a body near the tram where the shooting had taken place.

NOS quoted Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, head of the Netherlands' counter-terrorism agency, as saying the shooting "appears to be a terrorist attack", echoing an earlier comment by police.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte convened crisis talks, saying he was deeply concerned about the incident, which came three days after a lone gunman killed 50 people in mass shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Utrecht, the Netherlands' fourth largest city, is known for its picturesque canals and large student population. Gun killings are rare in Utrecht, as elsewhere in the Netherlands.

Utrecht police said the tram station stop in a square outside the city center had been cordoned off. Emergency services were at the scene. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila extended its sympathy to the Netherlands.

"The Philippines is greatly saddened that such an incident has occurred in a peaceful country such as the Netherlands. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Dutch people and government during this difficult time," the DFA said in a statement.

Philippine officials are also checking on the Filipino community in Utrecht to verify whether there were any Filipinos among those injured.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling and Anthony Deutsch; Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

source: news.abs-cbn.com