Category Archives: Netherlands

Court tells Uber to reinstate five UK drivers sacked by automated process

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Ruling in Amsterdam overturns company’s decision to exclude operators for alleged sharing of account details

Uber has been ordered to reinstate five British drivers who were struck off from its ride-hailing app by robot technology.

The five drivers, backed by the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) and the campaign group Worker Info Exchange, argued that they had been wrongly accused of fraudulent activity based on mistaken information from Uber’s technology, and that the company had failed to provide the drivers with proper evidence to support the allegations.

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‘This is all we could get’: Dutch tourists arrive in Rhodes for locked-down holiday

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In experiment organised by Dutch government, travellers will have to take regular Covid tests and are barred from leaving resort

A regime that might, in more normal times, resemble a boot camp has been happily embraced by 189 Dutch tourists who traded lockdown in the Netherlands for eight days of voluntary confinement at a Greek beach resort.

In an experiment devised by travel industry experts determined not to lose another season to Covid-19, the tourists arrived on the Aegean island of Rhodes on Monday as part of a test run to see if safe holidays can be arranged during the pandemic.

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Twelve crew rescued from cargo ship adrift in huge seas off Norway

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Four crew jump off stern as Dutch ship listed dangerously, while remaining eight airlifted off deck

A Dutch cargo ship is adrift in the Norwegian Sea after all of its crew members were airlifted, with some having to jump into the rough waters to be rescued.

The Eemslift Hendrika, which was carrying several smaller boats from Bremerhaven in Germany to Kolvereid in Norway, made a distress call Monday, reporting a heavy list after stormy weather displaced some of its cargo.

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From bikes to booze, how Brexit barriers are hitting Anglo-Dutch trade hard

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A new survey of UK and Netherlands firms shows two-thirds think our departure from the single market has had a negative effect

It is now three months since Boris Johnson declared that his Brexit deal would be unalloyed good news for UK businesses and consumers alike. But the true picture is graphically illustrated by a new survey of 125 UK and Dutch firms that do business between the two old and close trading nations.

Whether it be trade in chocolate bars, electric bicycles or malt whisky distilled in Scotland, the reality for exporters, importers and customers infuriated by orders being delayed is mostly negative.

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Nigel Farage appointed to advisory board of green finance firm

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Dutch Green Business, which plants trees for carbon capture, says ex-Ukip leader will ‘facilitate introductions’

He has criticised Greta Thunberg for “alarmism” and wind power as “economic insanity” – but Nigel Farage appears to have made a U-turn on climate change, after signing up as a lobbyist for a Dutch green finance firm, in his first commercial role outside frontline politics.

Dutch Green Business Group, which is listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange, said it had appointed Farage to its new advisory board. The eurosceptic and former Ukip leader will “facilitate introductions to politicians and business leaders in the UK and around the world” while also acting as a spokesman for the company, it said in a press release.

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EU leaders push back against bloc’s plans to halt Covid vaccine export

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More sceptical member states hope ‘stick will never be used’ amid concerns over supply chain

EU leaders are likely to shy away from supporting the use of new powers to block Covid vaccine shipments to countries such as the UK with better jab coverage than the bloc, according to a draft statement ahead of a meeting of EU leaders today.

The European commission has increased its scope for blocking vaccine exports but disquiet among capitals is set to be reflected in a muted statement at the end of the virtual summit on Thursday evening.

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‘It is humbling’: Mark Rutte claims fourth term in Netherlands election – video

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Mark Rutte has claimed an 'overwhelming' victory in national elections in the Netherlands, vowing to use a fourth term in office to rebuild the country after the coronavirus pandemic.

Exit polls on Wednesday night suggested the VVD party had won 35 of the Dutch parliament's 150 seats, two more than in the previous election, while the pro-European D66 party finished second with 27 seats, up eight and the party’s best ever result.

The far-right, anti-Islam Freedom party (PVV) of Geert Wilders, meanwhile, lost three seats compared with the 2017 election, finishing third, equal with the Christian Democrats (CDA)

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Netherlands election: Mark Rutte claims fourth term with ‘overwhelming’ victory

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Exit polls suggest the prime minister’s VVD party increased its share of seats as it won a national ballot seen as referendum on handling of Covid crisis

Mark Rutte has claimed an “overwhelming” victory in national elections in the Netherlands, vowing to use a fourth term in office to rebuild the country after the coronavirus pandemic.

Following a dull campaign fought during the pandemic and seen as a referendum on the government’s performance during the crisis, exit polls suggested the VVD had won 35 of the Dutch parliaments 150 seats, two more than in the previous election.

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Netherlands election: Mark Rutte set to win big – but what next?

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Analysis: PM is on course for fourth term in office. What is his secret and how is next coalition government likely to look?

The outgoing prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, appears headed for a comprehensive victory and fourth successive term in office as the Dutch go to the polls in national elections on Monday, with voting spread over three days due to coronavirus restrictions.

Polls predict Rutte, who has headed three coalition governments of different political complexions since 2010, and his centre-right People’s party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) will win twice as many parliamentary seats as his nearest rival.

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How Covid derailed the great hope of the Dutch far right | Joost de Vries

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In 2019 Thierry Baudet looked like a plausible contender for power. Now, as the Netherlands heads for the polls, he’s reduced to mimicking Trump

On 20 March 2019, Thierry Baudet provided Dutch television viewers with two surprises. The first was news of his landslide victory in that day’s senate elections. Baudet’s far-right Forum for Democracy (FvD) was a newcomer in parliament, holding just two seats out of 150 in the lower house. But that day, from scratch, Forum gained 12 of the senate’s 75 seats, putting it on a par with the governing liberal party (the VVD) led by prime minister Mark Rutte.

The second surprise was Baudet’s victory speech. “The owl of Athena spreads her wings as evening falls,” he started, and across the country, jaws dropped and drinks were spilled. The Netherlands is not a country noted for oratory. Our politicians would rather downplay their intellectual prowess than borrow from Greek mythology.

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‘Shocked by the uproar’: Amanda Gorman’s white translator quits

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International Booker winner Marieke Lucas Rijneveld will not translate inaugural poet’s work into Dutch after anger that a Black writer was not hired

The acclaimed author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld has pulled out of translating Amanda Gorman’s poetry into Dutch, after their publisher was criticised for picking a writer for the role who was not also Black.

Related: 'My family are too frightened to read my book': meet Europe's most exciting authors

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Covid has ‘taken wind out of Dutch politics’, analysts say as elections loom

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Mark Rutte enters final leg of race in dominant position despite ‘difficult phase’ of pandemic

Coronavirus has “completely taken the wind out of Dutch politics”, analysts say, predicting little change in the makeup of the coalition government after March elections as the prime minister, Mark Rutte, begins cautiously easing restrictions.

Despite three nights of rioting and 400 arrests after a night-time curfew, the first since the second world war, was imposed in January, and one of Europe’s slowest vaccine rollouts, Rutte enters the last two weeks of the election race in a dominant position.

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Engine parts drop from Boeing 747 cargo plane in Netherlands

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Longtail Aviation cargo plane scatters small metal parts over Meerssen, injuring woman

Dutch authorities are investigating after a Boeing 747-400 cargo plane dropped engine parts shortly after takeoff from Maastricht airport.

The Longtail Aviation Flight 5504 cargo plane scattered mostly small metal parts over the southern Dutch town of Meerssen on Saturday, causing damage and injuring a woman.

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Dutch court reinstates Covid curfew minutes before its start time

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Earlier ruling that emergency powers were wrongly used is overturned, with full hearing due on Friday

A Dutch appeals court has ruled that the government’s controversial coronavirus curfew must stay in place until a hearing later this week to decide whether the measure is legal.

The government had been stunned when a lower court judge ruled earlier that it must immediately lift the Netherlands’ first curfew since the second world war because it had wrongly used emergency powers to invoke it.

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Storm Darcy brings heavy snow and travel disruption to Europe – video

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Authorities in the Netherlands declared a rare 'code red' emergency for the entire country as it was hit by its first proper snowstorm in more than a decade.

In the UK, amber and yellow weather warnings for snow were issued by the Met Office with widespread travel problems expected

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Storm Darcy: Netherlands declares ‘code red’ emergency as rare snowstorm hits

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The worst weather for a decade causes all trains to be cancelled but raises hopes of first traditional ice-skating marathon for 24 years

Authorities in the Netherlands declared a rare “code red” emergency for the entire country as it was hit by its first proper snowstorm in more than a decade.

Storm Darcy, which has also sent temperatures plummeting across Germany, packed winds of up to 90km (55 miles) an hour and sent temperatures as low as 5C (23F).

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‘We want our riches back’ – the African activist taking treasures from Europe’s museums

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Mwazulu Diyabanza has been fined and jailed for entering museums and forcibly removing ‘pillaged’ African artefacts. He tells our writer why the British Museum is now in his sights

Mwazulu Diyabanza makes no secret of why he is in France. If coronavirus had not closed most of Europe’s museums, the Congolese activist would probably be inside one right now, wresting African objects from their displays to highlight what he sees as the mass pillaging of the continent by European colonialists.

And it’s not just the mighty museums. Diyabanza and his supporters also plan to include smaller galleries, private collections and auction houses in their campaign. “Wherever the riches of our heritage and culture have been stolen,” says the 42-year-old, “we will intervene.” As the leader of a pan-African movement called Yanka Nku (Unity, Dignity and Courage), Diyabanza is on a mission is to recover all works of art and culture taken from Africa to Europe. He calls his method “active diplomacy”.

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A quarter of people in France, Germany and the US may refuse Covid vaccine

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Survey finds hesitancy related to trust in government, and more acute in younger people

Nearly four in ten people in France, more than 25% of those in the US and 23% in Germany say they definitely or probably will not get vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a survey that underlines the challenge facing governments.

Hesitancy was markedly lower in Italy (12%), the UK (14%) and the Netherlands (17%), according to the seven-country survey, which revealed a close correlation between people’s reluctance to be vaccinated and their trust in central government.

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From lockdowns to pool parties: how Covid rules vary around the world

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Countries have adopted different rules on business activity, education, socialising and travel

Curfews and lockdowns Restrictions have largely been relaxed in most of Brazil’s 26 states, although several continue to limit opening hours for bars, restaurants and shops. A round-the-clock curfew was imposed this week in Brazil’s biggest state, Amazonas, after hospitals were overwhelmed.

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Germany to push on with Covid travel ban plan as EU tries to coordinate rules

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Berlin planning to ban travel from UK, Portugal, Brazil and South Africa to stop spread of variants

Germany is planning a near-total ban on travellers from Britain, Portugal, Brazil and South Africa as European governments increasingly move to bar entry from countries where more contagious Covid-19 variants are rampant.

Berlin’s initiative came as EU interior ministers met to discuss a more coordinated approach to international travel restrictions.

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