AMSTERDAM // Two centre-right parties have agreed to ban the burqa in the Netherlands as a price for parliamentary support from the anti-Islam Freedom party for their minority government.
The pact, presented on Thursday, envisages 18 billion euros ($24 billion) in budget cuts and aims to bring the deficit within European Union limits by 2013. It tightens the rules on immigration, boosts the number of police officers and makes coffee shops closed clubs.
The size of parliament and the senate will be cut by a third, there will be fewer ministries and local government levels and spending on culture and the public broadcaster will be cut. Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders said the measures would cut non-Western immigration by half. The pact still needs approval by a Christian Democrat (CDA) congress on Saturday after the party failed to resolve divisions on whether to rely on support from the Freedom Party during 15 hours of talks on Wednesday.
If the coalition deal is rejected by the CDA, it could prolong a policy deadlock on how to cut the budget deficit from 5.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Prominent members of the CDA have spoken out against working with Wilders, who is on trial for inciting hatred against Muslims, but some now expect the CDA congress to approve the deal -- even though the outcome is far from certain. "I am filled with enormous fear that the congress will vote in favour," former Dutch prime minister Dries van Agt told Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.
Former CDA health minister Ab Klink, who withdrew from the talks because of concerns over the Freedom Party's stance on immigration, urged CDA members to vote against the deal. While he said in the Dutch media that the agreement was "not good for the Christian Democrats and also not for the country", he too thought the party would support it. CDA leader Maxime Verhagen, whose political future rests on the approval of the government deal he helped broker, told reporters he was confident an "overwhelming majority" would approve the deal.
* Reuters
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar