Latest Netherlands government News

Dutch police arrest three suspects after the theft of a priceless golden helmet from Romania

Jan. 29, 2025 14:08 PM EST

BRUSSELS (AP) — Dutch authorities on Wednesday arrested three suspects after the theft of a priceless ancient golden helmet that is considered a cultural icon of Romania and had been on display in a small museum in the Netherlands. There was no sign that the intricate helmet dating back some...

Full-scale replica of Anne Frank's hidden annex opens in NYC

Jan. 27, 2025 20:32 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — A full-scale replica of the secret annex where Anne Frank penned her famous diary opened in New York City on Monday as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The exhibit at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan represents the first time the...

Indonesia showcases returned artifacts it had sought for decades from the Netherlands

Jan. 24, 2025 11:38 AM EST

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Centuries-old stone Buddha statues and precious jewelries repatriated by the Dutch government to its former colony are on display at Indonesia's National Museum, providing a glimpse into the country's rich heritage that the government had struggled to retrieve. ...

Dutch court orders government to meet pollution reduction targets or face millions in fines

Jan. 22, 2025 07:56 AM EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered the country’s government to meet its own goals for reducing overall nitrogen emissions by 2030, a decision that could have major economic and political consequences. The District Court of The Hague criticized the...

Dutch delve into family pasts as the names of accused Nazi collaborators released

Jan. 14, 2025 02:08 AM EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — On Dutch Openness Day, this year’s release of secret documents from state archives suddenly left Peter Baas with fundamental questions about his father’s stature as a World War II resistance fighter. While many were cleaning up the mess from New...

Desi Bouterse, a dictator convicted of murder who twice ruled Suriname, has died at 79

Dec. 25, 2024 15:06 PM EST

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) — Desi Bouterse, a military strongman who led a 1980 coup in the former Dutch colony of Suriname then returned to power by election three decades later despite charges of drug smuggling and murder, has died. He was 79. Suriname's President Chan Santokhi on...

Amsterdam court sentences 5 men over violence linked to Ajax-Maccabi soccer game

Dec. 24, 2024 12:55 PM EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An Amsterdam District Court on Tuesday sentenced five men to up to six months in prison for violence that erupted around a UEFA Europa League football match between the Dutch club Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv in November. The riots, which...

Dutch court rejects lawsuit from rights groups seeking to halt arms sales to Israel

Dec. 13, 2024 11:09 AM EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court on Friday rejected a bid from human rights groups to block weapons exports to Israel and trading with the occupied territories, after finding there were sufficient checks already in place to comply with international law. The ten...

NATO chief warns that Putin wants long-term confrontation with Europe after Ukraine

Dec. 12, 2024 14:01 PM EST

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to “wipe Ukraine off the map” and could come after other parts of Europe next, as he urged Europeans to press their governments to ramp up defense spending. “It is...

An explosion destroys an apartment block in a Dutch city, killing at least 3 and injuring others

Dec. 07, 2024 11:45 AM EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An explosion and fire rocked a neighborhood in the Dutch city of The Hague on Saturday, killing three people and injuring other people and destroying several apartments, according to authorities. The cause of the disaster was unclear. Mayor Jan van...