The museum Beelden aan Zee (BAZ) celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with three special exhibitions. The summer exhibition, which will take place from June 22 to September 22, will be dedicated to Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa, a versatile artist known for his large sculptures that are exhibited mainly in public spaces.
He has completed over thirty large projects in cities such as Chicago, Dubai, London, Liverpool, Nice, Tokyo, Toronto and Vancouver, and he has received many awards, including the Medal de Chevalier des Arts et Lettres and the Velázquez Prize for the Arts in 2013.
The relationship between Jaume Plensa and the museum Beelden aan Zee started a long time ago. In 1985, Theo and Lida Scholten, founders of Beelden aan Zee, bought one of his first works, titled “Home”. Last year, Jaume Plensa created the fountain titled “Love”, one of the eleven fountains made for Leeuwarden-Frylân European Capital of Culture 2018.
More information about the exhibition can be found at the website of museum BAZ.
Tiffany & Co. brings its radiance to Shanghai with a novel exhibition: ‘Vision and Virtuosity’. It shall celebrate the most pulchritudinous masterpieces of the legendary jewellery brand.
In September, Tiffany & Co. moves to Shanghai. ‘Vision and Virtuosity’ is a true journey that traces the brand’s incredible journey in design and craftsmanship.
The exhibition is divided into six chapters: “Blue is the colour of dreams” paying tribute to the signature colour of the brand’s creations, with the presence of stones such as sapphire, its decoration and packaging; “Le monde de Tiffany”, which reflects the brand’s representation in popular culture; “Le BlueBook de Tiffany”, where visitors can discover the art and innovation behind the flagship BlueBook collection. “Tiffany’s Love”, shows the role of the brand and its jewellery in the most beautiful declarations of love.
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” is a celebration of the cult film of the same name and its actress Audrey Hepburn. One shall discover behind the scenes, photographs, and exclusive objects such as the original scenario. And finally “Diamonds: miracles of nature”, a room entirely dedicated to the most precious of stones.
‘Vision & Virtuosity’ shal be held from 23 September to 10 November 2019 at the Fosun Foundation in Shanghai.
Monday, 8 July 8 2019, London, UK: This year Ralph Lauren continued its partnership, and private suite venue in the framework of The Championships, Wimbledon, the world’s oldest tennis tournament.
The Polo Ralph Lauren Suite and Derek Blasberg welcomed guests to the tournament that is held since 1877. Ralph Lauren treated its celebrity, and aristocratic guests to a drinks reception, seated lunch and afternoon tea whist enjoying the matches of Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and 15-year-old American rising star Cori Gauff.
Ralph Lauren Company’s luxury brands include Polo Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Ralph Lauren Childrenswear, Denim & Supply Ralph Lauren, Chaps, and Club Monaco.
During the meeting of the Working Group Europe of Germany’s Public Prosecutors General at Eurojust’s premises in The Hague, their support and appreciation for Eurojust’s operational support to cross-border investigations was reaffirmed.
They stressed the need to safeguard the role of Eurojust for the future. In a resolution of 10 June 2019, the Public Prosecutor Generals expressed their grave concerns that the proposed financial resources for Eurojust in the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027) are far too limited to meet the growing demand for practical, on-call support to judicial authorities.
This situation risks weakening the EU security chain, when other law enforcement agencies are being considerably strengthened.
The Working Group Europe of Germany’s Public Prosecutors General visited Eurojust on 15 and 16 July under the leadership of Dr Frank Lüttig, the Public Prosecutor General of Celle. The Federal Public Prosecutor General, Dr Peter Frank, and the Public Prosecutors General of Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Munich and Naumburg were present.
The delegation met with Mr Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust, and Mr Klaus Meyer-Cabri, Vice President of Eurojust and National Member for Germany. Recent developments around e-evidence and the future increase in workload for Eurojust after the European Public Prosecutor’s Office becomes operational were also discussed.
The Working Group discussed current issues with the acting Deputy Director General (DG JUST) of the European Commission and the Executive Director of Europol.
‘Eurojust has become a very important partner in our fight against serious cross-border crime’, said Dr Lüttig. ‘In the past four years, the support requested through the German Desk at Eurojust has in fact risen by 350%. With cross-border crime on the rise, we expect that German prosecutors will turn even more often to Eurojust in the future. We want them to be able to count on the swift, useful service they have been getting until now. With the resolution, we also stress the importance of proper funding for the opportunities in the new Eurojust Regulation to deepen judicial cooperation at EU level, including a rapid introduction of an EU-wide Digital Justice infrastructure.’
Mr Meyer-Cabri confirmed that the demand for services from German prosecutors via the German Desk at Eurojust is steadily increasing. ‘By mid-July 2019, we have already reached the number of cases we had registered by September 2018. This represents an increase of 83% compared to last year. Through our 24/7 services and strict focus on the needs of the local prosecutors, the German Desk, and Eurojust as a whole, are ready to help when it really matters.’
‘As Eurojust’s quick analysis of the EAW ruling on Germany clearly shows,we are very well placed to help practitioners find their way in an increasingly complex EU legal environment’, said Mr Hamran. ‘I warmly welcome the outspoken support of the German Prosecutors General concerning our budgetary needs and proper funding for the future. The steady rise in cases referred to us, including from German prosecutors, is for me the best indicator that our pragmatic, decentralised cooperation model, with national representatives united under one roof, works well and needs to be safeguarded. It is agile and fosters considerable trust. We want to continue serving each prosecutor that knocks on our door without no to future requests due to budgetary reasons.’
In the picture H.E. Mr. Alexander Shulgin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to The Netherlandswith the team Russian experts at a press conference of the Russian embassy in The Hague on July 12th.
By Eric van de Beek.
The alleged poison gas attack in the Syrian city of Douma in April 2018 may have been staged, an engineering sub-team of OPCW’s fact finding mission in Syria concludes in an unpublished, leaked report.
On April 14, 2018, the US, France, and Great Britain launched a missile attack on Syria, in retribution for an alleged poison gas attack on the terrorist stronghold Douma for which they held the Syrian government responsible. Just before the attack, the Russian ambassador in Lebanon and the chief of Russia’s general staff warned Russia would respond to a US strike on Syria if the lives of Russian servicemen were threatened, targeting any missiles and launchers involved.
What could have ended in World War III eventually ended with a hiss. No Russian targets were hit and for Syria the damage from the attack was limited, partly because Syria’s Soviet-era air defence systems intercepted many incoming missiles.
Uncertainty has settled
However, it is still unclear what exactly happened on April 7th, 2018 in Douma. Until recently it was widely believed a helicopter from the Syrian army had dropped two cylinders of chlorine on the city, at that time occupied by Army of Islam aka Jaysh al-Islam. The cylinders were found by inspectors of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on a roof terrace and on a bed under a hole in a roof.
Environmental samples from the scene contained chlorinated organic compounds, consistent with release of chlorine. The final report of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission concluded that there are “reasonable grounds that the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon took place”, and that the cylinders had been dropped from the sky. Although OPCW did not identify any culprit in the report, this would implicate the Syrian military.
In May of this year an internal document was leaked from OPCW. The author, Ian Henderson, concluded that there was a “higher probability that both cylinders were manually placed at those two locations rather than being delivered from aircraft”. From the damage to the two cylinders and from other data, Henderson’s engineering assessment concludes that the cylinders must have been placed manually. For example, the hole in the roof turned out to be smaller than the cylinder found in the bedroom below.
Not included in final report
The findings of Henderson and his engineering sub-team were not included in the final report issued by the OPCW on March 1st, 2019. The findings of the sub-team were published on May 13th on the website of the “Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media” (WGSPM). This group consists of mainly British academics, including David Miller, Piers Robinson and Paul McKeigue, who claim to be in contact with whistleblowers from OPCW and state that the engineering assessment was suppressed. The OPCW Director-General has confirmed that the document is genuine, that it was part of the investigation, and that he has ordered an investigation into how it was leaked.
Chemical attack staged?
The British WGSPM that published the leaked OPCW report argues that it is now established “beyond reasonable doubt” that the supposed poison gas attack in Douma was staged, not only because of the findings of the OPCW engineering assessment, but also because of the images of children in a hospital, presented to the world by representatives of the White Helmets as evidence of a poison gas attack. According to WGSPM it is no longer seriously disputed that this hospital scene was staged.
Clouds of dust
British Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk interviewed a doctor from the hospital on April 16th 2018. He stated that although the video of the White Helmets was real, and that the filmed patients were struggling with breathing problems, these breathing problems were not the result of a poison gas attack, but of dust clouds caused by bombardments that had occurred earlier in the day. While the patients were being brought in, there was a member of the White Helmets calling out “gas!” – which caused people throwing water over each other in panic.
Witnesses who told their story in The Hague on April 28th, 2018 at a press conference of the Russian delegation to the OPCW roughly confirmed the statement of the doctor interviewed by Fisk. None of the witnesses, including several people who were seen in the video of the White Helmets, say they have noticed anything of a poison gas attack.
Real deaths
Nevertheless, several photos and videos report deaths in the building where one of the cylinders was found. These images were posted on social media on April 8th and 9th, 2018. A total of 35 bodies can be seen. The OPCW did not perform an autopsy. The dead were already buried before the inspectors arrived in Douma. Although the researchers at WGSPM assume that these people are the victims of poison gas, they do not think the cylinder on the roof terrace of the apartment building poisoned them.
“In a real chemical attack with chlorine or any other irritant gas, most victims would try to escape and non-fatal cases requiring prolonged hospital treatment would far outnumber fatal cases,” WGSPM argues. “The images of the victims seen at Location 2 show that they were evidently exposed to an irritant gas but were unable to escape.” The WGSPM argues that these images also show that the victims must have been hung upside down during the exposure to poison gas, with their eyes apparently protected by something like swimming goggles.
At a press conference of the Russian embassy in The Hague on July 12th, interviews were shown of people living in the building where the 35 bodies were found. None of them recognized the deaths from the videos and photos, apart from one man who recognized his brother, who had died, he said, from artillery shelling elsewhere. Some interviewees declared they had seen fighters bringing dead bodies into the apartment building.
In May this year the author of this article invited OPCW to comment on the unpublished report of the engineering sub-team, but received no answer.
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This article was previously published in Dutch by Novini.nl. Photography by Eric van de Beek.
Speaker Wolfang Sobotka and Premier Armin Laschet accompanied by Ambassador Dr. Peter Huber – Picture by Land NRW
Friday, 12 July 2019, Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia: NRW Premier Armin Laschet received the Speaker of the Austrian National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, for a bilateral meeting at the State Chancellery. Following Speaker Sobotka’s signing NRW dignitaries’ guest book, both sides exchanged views on the current situation in their countries, and in Europe at large in the aftermath of the European elections, and the constituency of the new legislature.
As per statement below Premier Armin Laschet remarked: “The Speaker of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, and I agree that it is important that the European Union has a Commission capable of acting quickly. This Commission must effectively address pressing issues such as climate and energy policy, digitisation, internal and external security and sustainable development”.
Further topics in the talks between the Premier Laschet and Speaker Sobotka were the domestic political situations in both countries as well as digitisation, and broadband expansion in North Rhine-Westphalia and Austria.
As Speaker of the National Council, the Chamber of Deputies of the Austrian Parliament, Wolfgang Sobotka is the fourth highest representative of the Republic of Austria. In addition to Wolfgang Sobotka, Dr. Peter Huber, Austrian Ambassador to Germany, Martin Eichtinger, Minister for Housing, the Labour Market, Europe and Regional Policy, and Karl Wilfing, Speaker of the Lower Austrian Diet, partook in the meeting in NRW.
The Austrian delegation visited Düsseldorf on the fringe of a trip to the Rietberg, Bad Driburg and Hombroich Island Museum garden show parks in North Rhine-Westphalia. The latter are partner gardens in the Europe-wide garden network EGHN (European Garden Heritage Network) of more than 190 gardens, which was initiated by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and is managed by the foundation Stiftung Schloss Dyck.
President Alojz Kovšca and President pro tempore of the Bundesrat, Premier of Schleswig-Holstein, Daniel Günther.
26 June 2019, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany: The President of the National Council of Slovenia Alojz Kovšca paid an official visit to his counterpart pro tempore, the President of the German Bundesrat -assembly of federal states- and Premier of Schleswig-Holstein Daniel Günther.
Alojz Kovšca likewise paid a courtesy call upon the Speaker of Schleswig-Holstein’s Diet, Klaus Schlie, and held a commercially focused meeting withthe Head of International Department at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kiel, Werner Koopmann.
As a guest of honour President Kovšca addressed the audience (among which members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Germany) during the official reception held for the Kieler Woche, the largest summer festival in Northern Europe.
President Alojz Kovšca addresses the Kieler Woche’s dignitaries reception.
In Slovenia the National Council is a consultative, representative assembly of social, economic, professional and local interest groups in the country. It has a mere semi-legislative function working on corrections for bills approved by the National Assembly. President Alojz Kovšca serves as the upper house’s chief since 12 December 2017.
Summer is just around the corner. The weather is getting warmer and the days are getting longer. Summer is the perfect time to take a break from regular commitments and try something new! Why not use this time to start learning a language or improve the language skills that you already have?
Taking an intensive language course is a great way to see big improvements in a short time. At Kickstart School, we offer a range of intensive Dutch and English summer courses during July and August to help you improve or maintain your language skills. The daily format means that you learn something new and get the opportunity to use the language every day.
Intensive Dutch Courses are available from beginner to intermediate. The Starterpack and Stepping Stone Courses are planned one after the other, with daily lessons every morning for one or two weeks. This means that you can complete one or more courses in a shorter time frame, and the frequency of the lessons means that you are continuously reinforcing what you’ve learnt. This year we will also be offering an intensive NT2 Programme II preparation course.
Kickstart also offers Intensive English summer courses for pre-intermediate to advanced learners to enhance their English in a fun and engaging way. Focusing on communication, with a foundation of grammar and vocabulary, these courses run for two weeks from Monday to Thursday.
These courses are offered at Pre-Intermediate to Intermediate, and Upper-Intermediate to Advanced levels – we have group courses available for adults and teens. Additionally, this summer we will be offering an intensive IELTS preparation course and a short Business English course for those with more specific goals.
A summer course is a great way to start or continue your language learning journey and our students seem to agree…
“I found this course had an intense pace but this was expected. It seems like a good way to get started with learning and speaking Dutch and being less afraid to try.” – Colin, Stepping Stone I student, Summer 2017
“It was the greatest experience for me! I’ve met new people from another countries and had a professional teacher who was always ready and prepared for any of my questions.
Thank you Kickstart School for most enjoyable 2 weeks.” – Tomas, Upper-Intermediate/Advanced English for Teens, Summer 2018
Are you interested in improving your language skills? Don’t hesitate to get in touch, sign up for a course (or two) and let Kickstart take you further this summer!
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Visit our website www.kickstartschool.nl, call us on 070-3607860, email us at info@kickstartschool.nl to find out more!
President of the National Council of Slovenia, Alojz Kovšca being greeted by German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in the company of Ambassador Franc But.
27-28 June 2019, Berlin, Germany: the President of the National Council of Slovenia, Alojz Kovšca during his official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany was received by the Vice-President of the German Bundestag Wolfgang Kubicki, the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Oliver Wittke, and enjoyed a luncheon hosted by the President of the Group of Friendship Northern Adriatic in the German Bundestag Oliver Luksic.
Bilateral meeting held with the Head of the Bavarian Chancery, Dr. Florian Herrmann. Picture by Bavarian State Chancery.
On the last day of the visit, the President Kovšca met with the Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community Horst Seehofer.
At the Bundesrat, he once more was received in Berlin by thePresident of the German Bundesrat and Premier of Schleswig-Holstein Daniel Günther as well as Head of State Chancellery of Bavaria and Minister of State for Federal, European and Media Affairs, Dr. Florian Herrmann.
The Director of the Bundesrat and State Secretary Dr. Ute Rettler moreover hosted him for a lunch wherein topics of European, and bilateral affairs were discussed.
With the assistance of Eurojust, the Italian authorities seized almost EUR 84 million after unravelling a VAT fraud scheme involving the marketing of technological and computer products in the region of Campania.
A total of 49 suspects are under investigation for tax crimes committed through so-called ‘carousel fraud’ by collecting the VAT for themselves rather than remitting it to the Italian tax authorities.
A joint investigation team, supported by Eurojust, coordinated the investigation by working together with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Naples North and the Specialized State Prosecution Office of the Republic of Slovenia. Two coordination meetings were held at Eurojust.
Searches were carried out in six companies in Italy. As part of these actions, two European Investigation Orders (EIOs) issued by the Slovenian Judicial Authority were executed to allow the transnational collection of evidence.
According to the prosecution’s reconstruction of the offences, also confirmed by the preliminary investigation judge, the fraud consisted of the fabrication of a large number of invoices for non-existent transactions, amounting to almost EUR 500 million. For these activities, bogus companies were created, administered by figureheads.
Further investigations, using EIOs and telephone intercepts, were carried out in Slovenia and Estonia, two of the countries in which the bogus companies were located.
The investigation was initially conducted by the Lucca Public Prosecutor’s Office and later transferred by territorial jurisdiction to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Naples North. The Guardia di Finanza of Naples and Lucca actively supported the investigation.
