Dutch News

Storm Ciaran arrived this week and proved so fierce that even the organisers of the headwind cycling championships were forced to to back-pedal. In the election campaign there was a sense of calm before the storm as Frans Timmermans and Pieter Omtzigt engaged in a bit of light sparring while Dilan Yesilgöz gave an interview that was dominated by her dog and her wardrobe. The Dutch cricket team notched up their second win of the World Cup, while Ajax moved off the bottom of the Eredivisie. And while the human population edges towards 18 million, scientists raise the alarm about the declining number of seals in the Wadden Sea.

As the Netherlands cricket team prepares to face Afghanistan in a win-or-bust showdown at the ICC Cricket World Cup in India, DutchNews speaks to all-rounder Logan van Beek about the team's progress so far. A dramatic tournament has included a historic win against South Africa, a record defeat by Australia and some eye-catching individual performances with bat and ball. Plus Van Beek reflects on his cricketing heritage and his Super Over heroics against the West Indies.

The election campaign moves into top gear with the first TV debate, Pieter Omtzigt's manifesto launch and the first candidate to resign in disgrace for abusive tweeting. Mark Rutte meets Israeli and Palestinian leaders to discuss the conflict in Gaza, while safety concerns prompt the cancellation of a speech on genocide and a march commemorating Kristallnacht. The safety board criticises the government's pandemic control plan for being too narrowly focused on healthcare and calls for better communication. The cricket team come down to earth with a crash against Australia. Maurice Steijn's ill-starred reign as Ajax coach comes to an end. And a rare turtle that went even further off course than Ajax's first team is said to be recovering well in Blijdorp.

The conflict in the Gaza strip dominates this week’s news in the Netherlands. Prime minister Mark Rutte repeated the Dutch government’s support for Israel and stressed it must stay within the boundaries of international laws and proportionality, but a similar statement by Frans Timmermans caused the first friction between the two party alliance he’s leading into the November general election. We take a first look at the results of a survey in which DutchNews readers were asked who they would vote for and what their main concerns are – spoiler: Vincent van Gogh Pokémon cards is not one of them. Energy minister Rob Jetten is investing billions to improve the Dutch electricity grid, the Tweede Kamer wants to throw the surcharge on disposable plastics in the trash and Joran van der Sloot finally admitted he murdered American teenager Natalee Holloway on the island of Aruba in 2005. The Dutch cricket team sensationally beat South Africa at the World Cup with the help of mysterious hats and oars, and Ajax is finall

The runners and riders are declared for the election and it's looking like a three-horse race with six weeks to run. There's a row about flags as councils deliberate over how to commemorate the victims of the violence in Israel and Gaza. Max Verstappen completes his procession towards the F1 title in infernal conditions in Qatar while Sifan Hassan prevails on the streets of Chicago. Extinction Rebellion suspends its blockade of the A12 motorway after MPs order the government to review fossil fuel subsidies. And we bring you up to speed on the Dutch men's cricket team's progress and the football team's injury list ahead of the Euro 2024 qualifier against France.

The loudest skeleton in the Dutch royal closet fell out this week with the discovery of Prince Bernhard's Nazi party membership card. As one resistance hero fell from grace, another had his honour restored as Tula was formally rehabilitated 228 years after being put to death for demanding freedom from slavery in Curacao. And Ajax will hope that their talismanic former coach Louis van Gaal can steady the ship after appointing him as an advisor to the board. Wopke Hoekstra becomes an unlikely crusader for green causes to land a top job at the European commission. And we preview the Dutch cricket team's first World Cup appearance in 12 years. Video of the Harderwijk wolf: https://twitter.com/ton_aarts/status/1707424461404737746

Rotterdam was in shock this week after three people were shot dead in an apparent revenge attack by a medical student who had been taken to court for mistreating animals. In the election campaign, Pieter Omtzigt unveiled his list of candidates for his Nieuw Sociaal Contract party, while Esther Ouwehand stepped aside as PvdD leader for the good of the party. There are fireworks at Ajax but no celebrations as the Klassieker is postponed, fans go on the rampage and director of football Sven Mislintat is sent packing. A US chemical company faces a huge bill after it is held liable for high levels of pollution near Dordrecht. And one of the most unlikely mashups of recent years goes down a storm as Pokémon fans catch all the merchandise at the Van Gogh Museum.

Prinsjesdag, the ceremonial presentation of the annual accounts, went down with a whimper rather than a bang, as well as plenty of bells and whistles for the royal household. Sigrid Kaag delivered a caretaker budget of minor tweaks ahead of a debate that failed to ignite the election campaign but covered plenty of ground, from the moon landings to the N35 regional road. Questions are asked after a Dutch tourist has an extended stay in Spain courtesy of the intelligence services. Feyenoord and PSV have contrasting fortunes in the Champions League. And a Frisian wool merchant who went to the ends of the earth and beyond to prove a point makes it onto Unesco's world heritage list.

The animal rights party PvdD completed its metamorphosis into a fully fledged Dutch political party this week with a bloody, bare-knuckled power struggle. Esther Ouwehand emerged as top dog in her battle with the party's management board, but will it knock the PvdD off their electoral perch? We discuss that, as well as the squabbles over D66's candidate list and the quickfire dismissal of Pieter Omtzigt's spokesman. In other news, public transport fares are going up, spending power is going down and the Dutch men's teams have something to celebrate. And a missing Van Gogh is recovered in an Ikea bag, which makes a nice change from pictures of bicycles on canal bridges.

This week the main political parties set out their stalls as the campaign for the first Rutte-free election in 20 years gathers momentum. Asylum minister Eric van der Burg loses yet another court case, this time on third-country nationals fleeing Ukraine. Denzel Dumfries dispatches Greece in Eindhoven while Max Verstappen sets yet another record in Monza. We look at why souped-up speed merchants on two wheels are threatening Amsterdam's status as a cycling haven. And could herring give way to squid and mullet as sea temperatures rise?

As is tradition in September, the cabinet’s plans for the coming year will strategically leak in the weeks before the budget is officially presented by king Willem-Alexander on Prinsjesdag. This week, it was revealed that the caretaker cabinet is planning to allocate 2 billion euros to combat the cost of living crisis, following the news that more than a million people would plummet into poverty if no action is taken. Meanwhile, prime minister Mark Rutte, finance minister Sigrid Kaag and foreign affairs minister were embroiled in a Macchiavellian scheme to find a replacement for out-going European Commissioner Frans Timmermans – it will most likely be Hoekstra, but not if it’s up to the green MEPs who promised to grill him at his upcoming hearing by the European Parliament. The Sociaal-Cultureel Planbureau concluded that low-level corruption might occur more often than you’d have thought and a report by Wageningen University showed that nitrogen-based pollution has to be reduced even further than initially th

The podcast returns to chew over the latest developments in the election campaign. Pieter Omtzigt steps into the fray, Dilan Yesilgöz steps into Mark Rutte's shoes, Wopke Hoekstra shuffles off to Brussels and Caroline van der Plas says she won't be standing anywhere in high heels. Nobody seems alarmed that the economy is in recession, while the dancing is over for Janssen's vaccine developers in Leiden. Sifan Hassan and Femke Bol recover from their stumbles to win medals in Budapest as Max Verstappen seems unstoppable in Zandvoort. And researchers go to the ends of the earth to identify a wartime resistance fighter after a 12-year search.

A special edition of the DutchNews podcast focuses the collapse of the cabinet, the end of the Rutte era and the upcoming election. Will immigration dominate the campaign, will Vincent Karremans get back on his high horse and will Pieter Omtzigt team up with the farmers? And what about the game of Tweede Kamer musical chairs, as several parties hold leadership contests before the election in November?

As we recorded this week's podcast, it was unclear if Mark Rutte was going to a step further than Vladimir Putin and stage a mutiny against his own government. The king apologised for the Dutch slave trading past and said the law could never be used to justify crimes against humanity. Dutch museums begin the process of repatriating hundreds of thousands of cultural artefacts taken during the colonial era. The head of national railways is widely mocked for his failure to understand the point of timetables. And there are calls for a statue to be erected to Bas de Leede after his exploits with bat and ball earn the Netherlands cricket team a place in the World Cup for the first time 12 years.

Justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz lends the far right a veil of respectability by backing a PVV proposal to ban police from wearing headscarves. Farmers Defence Force are roundly condemned for circulating MPs' phone numbers ahead of a debate on the stalled talks on agriculture reform. RIchard de Mos is at the centre of more chaos in The Hague as the coalition is unable to agree on how to rehabilitate him after his acquittal on corruption charges. The inquiry into the government's pandemic response is sidelined by a row over how many conspiracy theorists should sit on the committee. And the Netherlands raise their hopes of qualifying for the cricket world cup by snatching a dramatic win against the West Indies.

In an explosive week for education, schools minister Dennis Wiersma's short fuse detonated for the last time and universities erupted in protest against Robbert Dijkgraaf's "Dutch first" plan for bachelor degrees. The farmers' lobby pulled out of talks on funding a transition to sustainable agriculture, leaving the government's nitrogen strategy in the mire. More details emerge of how the government wasted millions of euros buying substandard face masks from coathanger magnates and car salesmen during the pandemic. A 4,000-year-old burial site emerges in Brabant just in time for the solstice. And we have news of mixed results for Dutch sportsmen in cricket, football and tennis.

The king announces he'll be taking regular train services after the decision to retire the royal carriage. He'll be able to travel to with NS, QBuzz or Arriva, but not Eurostar, who are furious about being shunted into a siding by the Dutch government. Also stuck in a rut are D66, who have been frozen out of provincial coalition talks by the BBB. Farmers are told whether they qualify for Christianne van der Wal's "wildly attractive" bonus scheme for peak polluters. Talks on a New Deal for farmers continue at the pace of a tractor protest after the lobby group LTO grudgingly agrees to stay on board. As the Netherlands confirms plans to train Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots, we explain how Dutch intelligence tipped off Washington about a potential attack on the Nordstream pipeline. And while the football team are run ragged by Croatia and the ageless Luka Modric in the Nations League, there is better news for the nation's cricketers and ten pin bowlers.

It's a bad week for European connections as the eurozone slips into recession and Eurostar trains to Amsterdam face being suspended for seven months. Prime minister Mark Rutte faces a barrage of criticism over the thorny issues of migration and the Groningen gas field earthquakes. The ICJ in The Hague is deluged with terrible Russian excuses in a case brought by Ukraine. Bad water management is causing drought and threatening the future of native bees and the butterflies. And talking of endangered species, we have news of a successful Dutch men's sports team.

The new Senate is sworn in after the coalition parties emerge as the winners of the three-dimensional game of horse trading for the final seats. But not before the outgoing chamber rubber-stamps the outcome of 16 years of talks to reform the pension system. Councillors in The Hague swiftly remove signs proclaiming glory to Ukraine just as councillors in Zeeland put signs up banning hedonism in the dunes. Police, prosecutors, protesters and Amnesty International are all unhappy with the handling of the latest Extinction Rebellion protest on the A12. KLM hits back at a report that claims it failed to honour the conditions of its €3.4bn coronavirus bailout. And in an otherwise gloomy season for Ajax, the title-winning women's team have another reason to celebrate as Edwin van der Sar bows out as CEO.

Amsterdam bans smoking joints in public in the latest stage of the capital's 12-step plan to kick its drug tourism dependency. The political agenda is dominated by the long-running pension talks and fears of another asylum system meltdown this summer. Wopke Hoekstra flies to Beijing to reassure the Chinese that little things like war, genocide and industrial espionage won't spoil a €73bn trade partnership. One football coach abruptly quits, another unexpectedly stays, while Ajax's women have their league title celebrations cancelled so as not to humiliate the underperforming men's team. And armed forces personnel face a grilling over claims that they used a training fund to procure luxury barbecues.