At least seven injured after Rotterdam police fire at protesters during COVID-19 riots
At least seven people have been injured – including police – during riots in Rotterdam against COVID-19 restrictions.
It comes as the Netherlands re-imposed some lockdown measures in a bid to curb a fourth wave of the coronavirus.
Police confirmed they fired warning shots after a demonstration broke out on Friday night, with the injuries “related to the fired shots”.
Police fired warning shots and a number of people have been injured. Pic: AP
“We fired warning shots and there were also direct shots fired because the situation was life-threatening,” said police spokesperson Patricia Wessels.
She added the injuries were “probably a result of the warning shots, but we need to investigate the exact causes further”.
Law enforcement issued an emergency ordinance in the city, shutting down public transport and ordering people to go home. Riot police also used a water cannon in an attempt to drive hundreds of rioters from a central street in the port city.
Videos posted on social media showed burnt out police cars, with rioters throwing fireworks and rocks at officers.
At 1.30am local time, police said units from all over the county had arrived to “help restore order” adding: “The situation is currently manageable”.
Rotterdam police added: “Dozens of arrests have now been made, it is expected that more arrests will follow.
“Unfortunately, around seven people were injured, including on the side of the police.
“Warning shots were fired several times. At one point the situation became so dangerous that the officers felt compelled to fire at a moment’s notice.”
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Last week, the Dutch government announced a three-week partial lockdown, in which restaurants and shops must shut early.
No spectators are allowed at sporting events, and people are only allowed four visitors to their homes.
Daily infections in the Netherlands have remained at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic.
On Saturday, 15 people were arrested after similar protests broke out in the Dutch city Leeuwarden. Riots also broke out in January after the government announced a curfew to rein in soaring infection rates.
Friday’s demonstrations took place after the government said it wants to introduce a law that would allow businesses to restrict the country’s coronavirus pass system to only include people who are fully vaccinated or who have recovered from COVID-19.
Protesters are demonstrating against COVID-19 restrictions. Pic: AP
Local political party Leefbaar Rotterdam condemned the violence in a tweet.
“The center of our beautiful city has this evening transformed into a war zone,” it said. “Rotterdam is a city where you can disagree with things that happen but violence is never, never, the solution.”
A British tourist has been stabbed to death outside a nightclub near Barcelona.
The incident happened at about 4am this morning in Calella, about 30 miles away from the city.
Police have confirmed that there was a fatality, and another person was injured and taken to hospital.
According to El Caso, there was a fight outside the Oxygen nightclub and the tourist died at the scene.
In a statement, Catalan police said it is “investigating the violent death of a 31-year-old man”.
Another man has been arrested in connection with the incident, and footage from security cameras in the area is being checked.
Sky News has contacted the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office for comment.
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World
Roberto Baggio: Former Italian football star robbed at gunpoint while watching Italy-Spain game
Retired Italian football star Roberto Baggio has been robbed at gunpoint while watching the national team play Spain at Euro 2024.
At least five armed robbers burst into Baggio’s villa near the northern city of Vicenza around 10pm local time (9pm BST) on Thursday, according to Italian media reports.
One intruder hit the 57-year-old on the head with the butt of a gun when the former player confronted them.
Roberto Baggio in 2015. File pic: AP
The robbers locked him and his family in a room while they stole jewellery, watches and cash during the raid, which reportedly lasted 40 minutes.
Baggio was taken to hospital and received stitches for the wound. None of his family were harmed.
Italian sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport said Baggio had a “very brief” scuffle with one of the intruders and he suffered a “deep wound” after being hit on the forehead with the weapon.
Baggio, it said, broke down the door of the room he and his family were locked in before calling police.
He was, the paper said, “very scared”, but was not seriously hurt.
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Known as ‘The Divine Ponytail’ during his playing career, Baggio was a gifted attacking midfielder who played 56 games for Italy, scoring 27 goals and starring in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.
Widely regarded as an all-time great, he played for Vicenza in his youth, going on to star for other Serie A clubs such as Fiorentina, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.
Spain won Thursday night’s Euro 2024 match, beating Italy 1-0 and securing their place in the knockout stages of the tournament in Germany.
Helicopters, rescue dogs and drones have continued to scour the holiday island of Tenerife for a missing British teenager as concerned family and friends endure a “living nightmare”.
The hunt for 19-year-old Jay Slater from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, is now in its fifth day.
The apprentice bricklayer was holidaying with friends on Tenerife before he disappeared on Monday.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
He was last heard from when he called a friend to say he was setting off on an 11-hour walk to get home, after he missed his bus.
It came as new photographs showed the property where he was last seen in the northwestern mountain village of Masca after attending the NRG music festival.
In a post on the Facebook page “Jay Slater Missing”, the administrator of the group Rachel Louise Harg said family and friends were “drained beyond words”.
She said: “There isn’t an update for anyone unfortunately.
“Struggling to find words at this time but all I can say is we are looking still and everyone is doing all they can.
“We are drained beyond words – I just can’t say no more, I wish I could.
“I wish this would end now, this living nightmare.
“Searches are ongoing and we remain positive.
“Thanks to you all supporting and helping we can’t thank you any more, much love.”
Read more on Sky News:
British tourist stabbed to death outside nightclub
Italian football legend robbed at gunpoint
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
On Friday, search and rescue personnel joined officers from the island’s Guardia Civil near Masca to comb an area of overgrown terrain.
Teams also paid close attention to a river called Barranco Madre del Agua at the bottom of a ravine, where emergency workers carefully picked their way through fallen dead palm trees.
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Mr Slater’s friend Lucy Law, who attended the music festival with him, said he called her at about 8.30am on Monday and told her he was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%”.
Meanwhile, members of the local community rallied together at a church service in his home town to express their hope of his safe return.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”
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