The United States Senate has approved approximately $70 billion in funding for the Trump administration's immigration policies. According to reports, the budget will be allocated to agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol.
The City of Amsterdam is permanently implementing a permit requirement for tourist shops in the city center to combat criminal activity and screen business owners. The initiative follows a successful pilot program and is part of a broader strategy to revitalize the area for residents by purchasing and transforming commercial properties.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the European Union must demonstrate its capability and willingness to expand. He intends to discuss this objective at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Montenegro.
Jaap van Dissel, the former head of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT), stated that advice requests from the Dutch Ministry of Health were sometimes too specific to answer. He noted that these detailed inquiries occasionally caused frustration within the team during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Protesters gathered at Dam Square in Amsterdam to demonstrate against the government's refusal to block an upcoming performance by Kanye West in the Netherlands. Despite the rapper's history of antisemitic remarks and cancellations in other European countries, Dutch authorities and courts ruled there were no legal grounds to prevent his show.
Former RIVM director Jaap van Dissel stated that national COVID-19 measures in 2020 were not implemented too late. He explained that these actions followed logically once it became clear that individuals without symptoms could also spread the virus.