Politics News in English

Months-long Grote Houtstraat saga continues: new bicycle parking spaces still too big

New bicycle parking spaces on the south side of Haarlem's Grote Houtstraat will be reduced in size by half after they were deemed too large. Alderman Robbert Berkhout announced the change following cr...

Ukraine attacks tanker and oil facility deep in Russia

Ukraine has launched attacks on several Russian oil targets, including an oil facility in Perm located approximately 1,500 kilometers from the border. The Ukrainian security service reported that the ...

Stalinist terror depicted in Two Prosecutors: ‘We love to believe one hero can save the world’

UN: Iran executed at least 21 people since start of war

The United Nations reports that Iran has executed at least 21 people and arrested over 4,000 individuals since late February. Human rights chief Volker Türk stated that many detainees have been subje...

Gorinchem re-election turnout at 10 percent at 11 am

By 11:00 AM, 10% of eligible voters in Gorinchem had participated in the city's municipal council re-election. The rerun was scheduled after the previous March election results were voided due to susp...

France urges its citizens to leave Mali

France has urged its citizens to leave Mali immediately following a series of coordinated attacks by Islamic jihadists and Tuareg separatists. The security situation in the former French colony has wo...

Churches from Beverwijk to Akersloot make noise at 4:20 PM for 420 ‘rooted’ children

Churches across the Netherlands will ring their bells at 4:20 PM on Wednesday to support 420 "rooted" children facing residency uncertainty. The nationwide initiative aims to draw attention to childre...

Heirs of football agent Mino Raiola buy Verweyhal in Haarlem

The heirs of late football agent Mino Raiola have purchased the monumental Verweyhal building in Haarlem from the local municipality. The city council approved the sale of the historic Grote Markt pro...

Trump issues another threat to Iran

US President Donald Trump has issued a new threat against Iran on Truth Social, citing the absence of a peace deal. He urged the country to take swift action in his social media post.

Meta reprimanded: Children under 13 join Instagram and Facebook too easily

The European Commission has criticized Meta for failing to adequately prevent children under the age of 13 from accessing Facebook and Instagram. Despite the company's own terms and conditions, its la...

France announces deadlines for phase-out of coal, oil, and gas

France has introduced a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, becoming the first country to present such a plan at a dedicated conference. The country aims to eliminate coal by 2030, followed by oil in 2...

Business owners take legal action to speed up Food Center development: 'City fails to intervene'

58 municipal notices on construction, tree felling and traffic in Haarlem last week

The Haarlem municipality processed 58 permit applications last week concerning construction, tree felling, and traffic issues. Of these applications, 56 were specific to Haarlem while two related to t...

Brussels pushes for rapid rollout of age verification app in European countries

The European Commission has advised member states to implement an EU age verification app for websites and social media platforms by the end of the year. The app is intended to provide a standardized ...

Videos replace tanks at Moscow’s annual military parade

The annual military parade in Moscow will proceed without tanks or other major attractions this year. The Russian military is reportedly too preoccupied with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine to include...

Why Europe seeks protection against cheap Chinese imports with new laws and tariffs

Europe is implementing import levies and new legislation to protect its domestic industries from a surge of cheap Chinese products, such as electric vehicles and solar panels. These measures aim to sa...

Former South Korean president sentenced to 7 years for resisting arrest

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has had his prison sentence increased to seven years on appeal for obstructing justice. The conviction stems from his resistance to arrest during an investi...

The Green Heart doesn't want wind turbines, but the province is pushing ahead anyway

Following the failure of community-led consensus efforts in South Holland, the provincial government has decided to designate specific locations for wind farms despite local opposition. The decision c...

Dutch minimum wage among highest in EU, rose 33 percent over past five years

The Netherlands has one of the highest minimum wages in Europe, trailing only Luxembourg and Ireland. Recent data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) shows a slight decrease in the number of w...

Lars (16) and Julia (18) dropped out like 70,000 others: bullying, fear of failure and large classes drive children out of school

Approximately 70,000 children and young people in the Netherlands drop out of school annually due to issues like bullying, anxiety, and large class sizes. Despite being a long-standing problem, a solu...

Haarlem launches second investigation into sinkhole at Donkere Spaarne

The municipality of Haarlem has launched a second investigation into sinkholes at the Donkere Spaarne quay as final repairs take place this week. While the damage is not severe enough to require movin...

Crisis

The text illustrates a pervasive sense of crisis by listing various concurrent challenges, including fuel and gas shortages, environmental pollution, and a housing deficit. It metaphorically compares ...

First polling station in Gorinchem opens for re-vote

The first polling station in Gorinchem opened at 7:00 AM on Wednesday for a municipal council re-election. Over 31,000 eligible voters in the municipality are called to cast their ballots.

Leen Prins saw Telstar almost vanish, now the club is the flagship of Velsen-Zuid. 'Without the new building we would no longer exist'

Leen Prins reflects on how the football club Telstar survived the threat of closure twenty years ago to become a symbol of Velsen-Zuid. He credits the club's continued existence to essential new const...

From afterthought to necessity: Hans Kaljee fought for 35 years for more space for trees in the city

Hans Kaljee, Amsterdam's first city tree consultant, is retiring after a 35-year career dedicated to increasing growth space and improving maintenance for urban trees. He reflects on the shift from tr...

Number of strikes limited in the Netherlands: 'We remain a polder country'

The number of strikes in the Netherlands remained stable last year, with an average of 23 occurrences consistent with the past 25 years. Despite unrest in sectors like education and industry, the figu...

Minimum wages rose faster than collectively agreed wages over the last five years

In 2025, approximately 610,000 workers in the Netherlands earned the minimum wage, accounting for 6.7% of all jobs. Data shows that minimum wage increases have outpaced average collective labor agreem...

UNICEF: loss of thousands of female teachers in Afghanistan

A UNICEF analysis warns that Afghanistan could lose up to 20,000 female teachers and 5,400 healthcare workers by 2030 if current restrictions on girls' education and women's employment persist. This s...

Haarlem's only motorhome site to close as municipality buys land along Randweg

The municipality of Haarlem has purchased the land occupied by Urban Camperspot Haarlem & Zandvoort, which will result in the closure of the city's only motorhome site at the end of the year. This acq...

WSJ: Trump wants long-term blockade of Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered his administration to prepare for a long-term blockade of Iran. The information was reported by The Wall Street Journal, which cited several U.S. off...