Politics News in English

Increasing number of young people recruited as drug retrievers

The number of underage drug extractors in the Netherlands has surged, rising from 1% of arrests in 2020 to over 22% last year. This data, reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS), highlights a signifi...

Amsterdam has relatively the fewest electric cars

According to CBS data, Amsterdam has the lowest relative number of electric vehicles per 1,000 residents among Dutch cities, despite having the highest absolute total of 40,000 cars. The city maintain...

Symbion Vastgoed accepts municipality's refusal: no new supermarket at Bakkerspleintje

Symbion Vastgoed has decided not to appeal the municipality's decision to deny permission for a new supermarket in Castricum's old village center. This means the plan for a second grocery store at the...

Subsidy funds nearly empty, Heemskerk events at risk. Council blames budget shortfall, not bias

The local government of Heemskerk clarified that several events, including the Festi4all festival, are being cancelled due to a lack of subsidy funds rather than arbitrary decision-making. This statem...

Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington next week

Israel and Lebanon are scheduled to hold negotiations next week at the U.S. State Department in Washington. The upcoming talks were announced by the American State Department.

Putin announces Ukraine ceasefire for Orthodox Easter

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine to coincide with the Orthodox Easter holiday this coming weekend. The pause in hostilities is intended to mark the relig...

Melania Trump denies ties to Epstein

Melania Trump has denied ever having any connection to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She stated that the rumors regarding a relationship between them are an attempt to damage her re...

Noa-Lynn van Leuven (29) no longer welcome at PDC women's tournaments

The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) has announced that 29-year-old Dutch trans player Noa-Lynn van Leuven is no longer permitted to compete in women's tournaments. Under the new rules effective i...

Lebanon seeks ceasefire for negotiations with Israel

Lebanon is demanding a ceasefire as a prerequisite for entering negotiations with Israel, according to reports from a Lebanese official. The proposed talks would be mediated by the United States and l...

Operation Hellfire succeeds as a ruthless satirical dissection of Dutch impotence and incompetence

Pregnancy discrimination not declining: nearly half are likely victims

Nearly 44 percent of women who worked or sought employment while pregnant likely experienced pregnancy discrimination, a figure that has remained largely unchanged for 14 years. The issue is most prev...

Foundation has defended village character for 50 years. ‘This is Santpoort, Haarlem is over there. We must keep this open’

The Santpoort Foundation is celebrating 50 years of advocating for the preservation of the village's character, landscape, and cultural history. Originally formed to protest the demolition of a histor...

High energy prices continue to hurt: ‘Companies struggle to pass on costs’

High energy prices and geopolitical instability in the Middle East are negatively impacting Dutch businesses and consumer confidence. While many companies struggle to pass on increased costs, those ex...

Railway safety systems aging faster than expected, billions needed

The Dutch railway safety system is aging faster than anticipated, with critical components requiring replacement between 2035 and 2040. State Secretary Annet Bertram informed Parliament that this urge...

Rutte: NATO willing to assist Hormuz coalition if desired

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has stated that the alliance is prepared to assist in efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if requested. He emphasized that NATO is ready to support the security of...

Netanyahu orders negotiations with Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his cabinet to initiate negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible. The move comes as Israel continues military operations in the neighborin...

IJmuiden fishing company holds government liable for years-long port fishing ban

A fishing company from IJmuiden is holding the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Nature liable for a multi-year ban on fishing in the region's ports and coastal waters. The ...

Rare event: provincial legislator ejected from meeting after making accusation

Provincial board member Debora Fernald was removed from a meeting at the South Holland Provincial House after a heated debate. The removal occurred after she accused a staff member from another politi...

Strict asylum laws or not, Mayor Wienen remains committed to children in harrowing situations

Haarlem Mayor Jos Wienen has announced that the city administration will continue to support undocumented children in distressing situations, regardless of strict national asylum laws. Wienen stated h...

Impatient Parliament wants to lower household energy bills

The Dutch House of Representatives is urging the government to take faster action to lower household energy bills. While opposition parties advocate for immediate energy tax reductions, coalition part...

Iranian Amsterdammers have mixed feelings: ‘All those young people killed in Iran, was it for nothing?’

Pakistan condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned Israel's ongoing military actions in Lebanon. In a statement on social media, Sharif expressed his condolences to Lebanese Prime Minister...

Aid organizations sound alarm over ‘nightmare’ for civilians in Lebanon

International aid organizations, including CARE, are warning of a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon following heavy Israeli attacks. Civilians are facing severe shortages of food, water, and medicine, wh...

IMF expects $20 to $50 billion in post-war aid requests

The IMF expects requests for financial assistance ranging from $20 billion to $50 billion in the short term due to the conflict in the Middle East. The organization emphasized that its 191 member coun...

Budget cuts reach boiling point at Yes We Can Clinics

Budget cuts in the Dutch youth mental healthcare sector are increasingly driving patients toward private facilities like Yes We Can Clinics. The clinic, previously known for a positive documentary ser...

Fewer students get into preferred school for third year in a row

For the third consecutive year, the percentage of Amsterdam eighth-graders placed in their first-choice secondary school has declined, falling below 75% for the first time. Data from the Association o...

Fewer speed camera fines issued: Amsterdam remains in top 3 with 104,177 fines

Raid on independent Russian news outlet Novaya Gazeta

Russian security agents conducted a raid on the offices of the independent newspaper Novaja Gazeta. Masked officers were reported carrying out investigations at the site, which was confirmed by the ne...

Strait of Hormuz toll condemned worldwide: 'Passage is a right'

Iran plans to impose a toll of one dollar per barrel of oil, payable in bitcoin, on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The European Commission has criticized the proposal, stating that the ...

Sources: US demands concrete commitments for Hormuz mission in coming days

U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking firm commitments from countries to assist in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for international shipping. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reportedly relay...