Tuesday 20 August 2019

Former Forum senator Henk Otten forms new splinter party

Former Forum senator Henk Otten forms new splinter party

Henk Otten, the former Forum voor Democratie senator thrown out of the party for alleged financial impropriety, has launched a new party and is taking two other Forum senators with him, the Telegraaf said on Monday. Otten’s decision to start a new splinter party means the nationalist party’s weight in the upper house of parliament has now been cut to nine, three fewer than the right-wing VVD. Forum emerged as the biggest party after the local elections in March. The... More >

Uyghurs lodge formal protest against China

Uyghurs lodge formal protest against China

A group of Dutch Uyghurs have lodged a formal protest against the Chinese government to highlight the plight of their people and Chinese intimidation in the Netherlands, broadcaster NOS reports. The Uyghurs, some 1,500 of whom are currently living in the Netherlands, are an ethnic minority people concentrated in the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang. Human rights organisations say around one million Uyghurs are currently being detained in camps where they are being tortured and brainwashed. The Chinese government describes... More >

Dutch warn travellers to avoid Kashmir

Dutch warn travellers to avoid Kashmir

The Dutch foreign affairs ministry has warned travelers not to visit the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir following the government’s decision to strip the region of its autonomy. People are being warned to avoid the entire border area between India and Pakistan because of the risk of protests. The situation is particularly acute in the Kashmir valley and Dutch diplomats would only be able to offer limited assistance if travelers get into difficulty, the foreign ministry said in its... More >

Dijsselbloem fails in bid to be IMF chief

Dijsselbloem fails in bid to be IMF chief

Former finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has lost out to Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva in the race to become the next head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Dijsselbloem and World Bank chief Georgieva were the only contenders remaining after Finnish central bank governor Olli Rehn and Spanish economics minister Nadia Calvino dropped out earlier in the day. Dijsselbloem congratulated his rival on Twitter when it became clear she had won the ballot of Europe’s 28 finance ministers, who voted by email.... More >

Dijsselbloem to learn IMF fate on Friday

Dijsselbloem to learn IMF fate on Friday

Former finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem will learn on Friday if he is to succeed Christine Lagarde as head of the International Monetary Fund. The 53-year-old Labour (PvdA) politician is one of four contenders to take over the job, which has always been held by a European. The others are Spanish economics minister Nadia Calvino, Finnish central bank governor Olli Rehn and Bulgarian head of the World Bank Kristalina Georgieva. Portugal’s Mario Centeno, head of the committee of eurozone finance ministers... More >

Motorway lights to be switched back on

Motorway lights to be switched back on

More stretches of motorway are to be lit up at night from the autumn as part of the cabinet’s plans to improve road safety. Around 550km of motorway have been unlit at night since 2013 for a combination of environmental and cost-saving reasons, but the current coalition agreement includes a pledge to review the situation. Highways operator Rijkswaterstaat will spend the next few months analysing which stretches of road should have the lights switched back on after research showed that... More >

Marianne Thieme out of favour

Marianne Thieme out of favour

The popularity of Marianne Thieme, leader and founder of the pro-animal Partij voor de Dieren, has taken a sharp knock, according to a poll of party supporters by television programme EenVandaag. Last September Thieme had the confidence of 88% of party supporters but that has now plunged to 61%, the research showed. ‘This is a major drop,’ researcher Jeroen Kester said. ‘Confidence in most opposition party leaders is around 90%.’ PvdD supporters who have lost faith in Thieme are critical... More >

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Features

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