Friday 07 May 2021

50Plus's only MP leaves party, stays in parliament as an independent

50Plus's only MP leaves party, stays in parliament as an independent

Liane den Haan, the only MP for pensioners party 50Plus, has resigned as a member but will remain in parliament as an independent ‘I will continue to give seniors a powerful voice, but no longer under the 50Plus flag,’ she said. The party board blames Den Haan for 50Plus’s poor performance in the March general election, when three of its four seats were lost. The party, which first won seats in 2012 under the leadership of Henk Krol, has been... More >

Criticisms of Rotterdam 'floating farm'

Criticisms of Rotterdam 'floating farm'

Concerns about animal welfare have again been raised after two cows on an experimental ‘floating farm’ in Rotterdam’s harbour fell into the water. The local Partij voor de Dieren, which campaigns for animal rights, told DutchNews.nl that it had tried and failed to get a majority in the city council to withdraw the farm’s operating permit, calling the project ‘madness’. In 2019, the experimental farm opened in Rotterdam harbour, claiming to be the world’s first floating platform housing a herd... More >

Amsterdam shares vision of 'erotic centre'

Amsterdam shares vision of 'erotic centre'

A sex show, bars, 100 small rooms and 5,000 square metres of space will form Amsterdam’s new erotic centre, according to a council report. The ‘market consultation’ document, to be discussed with both sex workers and interested commercial parties, suggests the shape of the future erotic centre and nine possible locations from the edge of the Oud Zuid/Rai exhibition centre to Hamerkwartier in Amsterdam North. It is part of a plan, voted for by the city council in January, to... More >

Ministers contrite in 15 hour debate

Ministers contrite in 15 hour debate

Prime minister Mark Rutte has told parliament he is ‘not proud’ of the comments he made about critical MPs in cabinet meetings, during a 15 hour debate which ended in the early hours of Friday morning. Parliament was debating the minutes of one meeting in 2019 in which MPs were criticised for asking probing questions about the child benefit tax office scandal. The minutes were published on Monday after RTL said they showed ministers had tried to make CDA parliamentarian... More >

Ministers were irritated by critical MPs

Ministers were irritated by critical MPs

Cabinet meeting minutes published on Monday evening in the latest twist to the childcare benefit cover-up show that several ministers were critical of MPs who wanted more information about the unfolding scandal. Thousands of families were wrongly accused of trying to defraud the childcare benefits system between 2012 and 2017, leaving some financially ruined. But the scandal was only fully exposed by the work of a small number of MPs, who persistently questioned ministers and called for total transparency. RTL... More >

Navalny aide: Kremlin was behind deepfake

Navalny aide: Kremlin was behind deepfake

The Kremlin was probably behind the ‘deepfake’ used to trick Dutch politicians into believing they were holding a meeting with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s campaign chief, the real aide has told NOS. A group of MPs took part in a Zoom conference with a man who they believed to be Leonid Volkov, the chief of staff for the jailed Russian opposition leader, last week. In fact they were talking to an impersonator using image manipulation to pass off as... More >

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