Germany pressed on tanks for Ukraine; Kyiv airs frustration
Germany faces mounting pressure to supply battle tanks to Kyiv and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is airing frustration about not obtaining enough weaponry as Western allies confer on how best to support Ukraine nearly 11 months into Russia’s invasion.
Dutch nitrogen mediator advises buying out biggest polluters
An independent expert appointed to mediate in the bitter dispute between the Dutch government and the nation’s farmers over plans to drastically slash emissions of nitrogen and ammonia has presented a report that includes a suggestion that the government buy out hundreds of the heaviest polluters.
Dutch government under fire in debate over emissions cuts
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says that members of his Cabinet have enough confidence in each other to keep working together as Dutch lawmakers broke into their summer vacations to debate the government’s contentious plans to slash nitrogen emissions that have sparked angry protests by farmers.
Farmers' group: Talks with Dutch govt delivered 'too little'
The leader of the Netherlands’ top agricultural lobby group says a first round of talks with a delegation led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte about the government’s nitrogen emissions reduction goals delivered “too little” for thousands of farmers living in uncertainty.
'Teflon' Mark Rutte is longest-serving Dutch prime minister
Mark Rutte has become the longest-serving Dutch prime minister and the 55-year-old leader known by some as “Teflon Mark” because scandals don’t stick to him is showing no sign of slowing despite unrest gripping his nation and his party’s popularity sliding in polls.
Dutch king unveils Holocaust name monument in Amsterdam
King Willem-Alexander officially unveiled a new memorial in the heart of Amsterdam's historic Jewish Quarter on Sunday honoring more than 102,000 Dutch victims of the Holocaust, and the Dutch prime minister vowed that it would remind citizens today to be vigilant against antisemitism. Designed by Polish-Jewish architect Daniel Libeskind, the memorial is made up of walls shaped to form four Hebrew letters spelling out a word that translates as “In Memory Of.” The walls are built using bricks, each of which is inscribed with the name, date of birth and age when they died of one of the more than 102,000 Jews, Roma and Sinti who were murdered in Nazi concentration camps during World War II or who died on their way to the camps.
news.yahoo.comDutch COVID-19 infections soar by 500% in a week
Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands skyrocketed by more than 500% over the last week, the country's public health institute reported Tuesday. The surge follows the scrapping of almost all remaining lockdown restrictions and the reopening of night clubs in late June. The weekly update showing that nearly 52,000 people in the Netherlands tested positive for COVID-19 over the past week came a day after caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized for the June 26 lockdown relaxation and called it “an error of judgment.”
news.yahoo.comDutch leader says easing lockdown was 'error of judgment'
The Dutch leader apologized Monday for what he called “an error of judgment” in relaxing the Netherlands' coronavirus lockdown, a move that has led to a sharp surge in infections. Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government scrapped most remaining restrictions just over three weeks ago amid declining infection numbers and hospital admissions. Since then, infections have skyrocketed.
news.yahoo.comClash Over Hungary’s Anti-LGBTQ Law Sparks EU Identity Crisis
Hungary is coming under fire from other EU member states over a controversial anti-LGBTQ law passed in the country, which will see the banning of children’s content considered to “promote homosexuality.”This week, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte reportedly asked the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, to respect LGBTQ laws or withdraw from the bloc altogether. The drama has unleashed a larger debate about what the EU should—or can—stand for, and whether it should take action against member
news.yahoo.comAllies irritated as Germany and France try to follow Biden with Putin summit
Germany and France want European Union leaders to host a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but other allies aren’t hearing much justification for a meeting beyond the fact that President Joe Biden did it first.
news.yahoo.comEU leaders vow to bring Hungary ‘to its knees’ over anti-LGBT law
Western leaders have said they will bring Hungary "to its knees" over a law banning the promotion of homosexuality in schools at a bitter EU summit on Thursday. Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands, said Hungary either "must leave" the EU or repeal the law, which bans TV shows and other content seen as championing LGBT lifestyles for the under-18s. However, some eastern European governments refused to join 17 of the bloc's 27 countries in a rare joint statement condemning a fellow m
news.yahoo.comDutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his entire Cabinet resign over child welfare scandal
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his entire Cabinet resigned Friday to take political responsibility for a scandal involving investigations into child welfare payments that wrongly labeled thousands of parents as fraudsters. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte rides a bicycle as he leaves a press conference in The Hague on January 15, 2021, following the resignation of his government over a scandal in which thousands of parents were falsely accused of benefit fraud. If he succeeds in forming a new coalition, Rutte would most likely again become prime minister. Ministers were to decide on their reaction to a scathing report issued last month, titled "Unprecedented Injustice," that said the tax office policies violated "fundamental principles of the rule of law." One of those parents waited near parliament as the Cabinet met and said she wanted it to resign.
cbsnews.comDutch government resigns after childcare benefits scandal
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives on his bike before the Council of Ministers at the Binnenhof in The Hague. LONDON — The whole Dutch government collectively resigned on Friday after a scandal involving the mismanagement of childcare funds, which drove thousands of families into financial hardship. An investigation revealed in December that tax officials wrongly accused thousands of working families of fraud and ordered them to repay childcare benefits between 2013 and 2019. The government led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in power since 2017, decided on Friday to accept responsibility and collectively leave office on the back of the scandal. Rutte, speaking at a press conference, said it would continue to lead the Covid-19 emergency response with a caretaker status.
cnbc.comEU ministers seal deal on half a trillion euro coronavirus rescue plan
European Union finance ministers agreed on Thursday on half-a-trillion euros worth of support for their coronavirus-battered economies after weeks of wrangling that exposed painful divisions in the bloc headed for a steep recession. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Europe has agreed the most important economic plan in its history. She said she and Conte agreed on the "urgent need for solidarity in Europe, which is going through one of its most difficult hours, if not the most difficult". Merkel made clear Berlin would not agree to jointly issued debt, but said other financial avenues were available. The package would bring the EU's total fiscal response to the epidemic to 3.2 trillion euros ($3.5 trillion US), the biggest in the world.
cnbc.comPowerful Trump supporters urge donors to shun John Bolton's super PAC after bombshell book revelations
Bolton runs a super PAC and a PAC that are currently backing five Republican lawmakers: Sens. The PACs were originally created in 2013 to support candidates who favor strong national security policies. Onetime major Trump backer Robert Mercer spent millions investing in Bolton's super PAC. None of these donors gave to Bolton's PAC or super PAC since he departed the administration, Federal Election Commission filings show. Schwartz contributed $50,000 in 2018 to America First Action, a super PAC pushing Trump's reelection effort.
cnbc.comDemocrats demand Bolton testify after report his book says Trump tied Ukraine aid to Biden probe
NBC News has not seen a copy of the manuscript or verified the report, which cited multiple sources familiar with Bolton's account. The contents of the manuscript were described as a rough account of how Bolton would testify should he be called as a witness in the Senate trial. "I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book," Trump said. "It's up to four Senate Republicans to ensure that John Bolton, Mick Mulvaney, and the others with direct knowledge of President Trump's actions testify in the Senate trial," Schumer tweeted.
cnbc.comBolton wanted White House lawyers alerted to Ukrainian efforts, called it 'drug deal,' witness tells Congress
National Security Advisor John R. Bolton listens as President Donald J. Trump meets with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday, July 18th, 2019 in Washington, DC. Former national security adviser John Bolton was so disturbed by the efforts to get the Ukrainians to investigate President Donald Trump's political opponents that he called it a "drug deal," former White House official Fiona Hill reportedly told Congress on Monday. Hill, the former top Europe expert in Trump's White House, testified that Bolton told her he wanted no part of the effort that involved acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, a person in the room for Hill's testimony told NBC News. Hill told lawmakers she considered what was happening to be a clear counterintelligence risk to the United States, the individual in the room for Hill's testimony told NBC News. It's really ironic that John Bolton is calling anyone else a hand grenade.
cnbc.comBullet-riddled U.S. flag that survived D-Day comes home 75 years later
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Shot through by German machine gun bullets and tattered by the wind, an American flag that flew on the first U.S. invading ship on D-Day came home on Thursday in a White House ceremony. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueThe flag handover was a main part of the visit to the White House by Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, who held Oval Office talks with President Donald Trump. I need to give it back, Kreuk said in a telephone interview ahead of the ceremony, at which he spoke. The LCC 60 was the only one of the three to complete its mission in the chaos of D-Day. Kreuk said his donation of the flag is aimed at remembering World War Two.
feeds.reuters.comBullet-riddled U.S. flag that survived D-Day coming home 75 years later
The flag handover will be a main part of the visit to the White House by Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, who is to have talks with President Donald Trump. The 48-star flag was on the U.S. Navys LCC 60, which was one of three advance ships directing troops onto Utah Beach on the Normandy coast on June 6, 1944. The LCC 60 was the only of the three to complete its mission in the chaos of D-Day. To Kreuk, 54, the flag represented the liberation effort that saved his family from Nazi rule during World War Two. Trump attended ceremonies in Normandy on June 6 marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
feeds.reuters.comObama: Rembrandt masterpiece "most impressive background I’ve had"
Obama: Rembrandt masterpiece "most impressive background I’ve had" Visiting the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, President Obama joined Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for remarks before Rembrandt’s "The Night Watch," which he called "the most impressive backdrop I’ve had."
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