Rob Jetten: anti-Wilders, ‘yes we can’ candidate poised to be next Dutch PM

As liberal-progressive D66 party makes huge gains in election, former junior athlete with ‘positive story’ and ‘vision’ leads race for power

Rob Jetten, a former junior athlete, was pictured last month in a sports magazine running merrily past the Dutch prime ministerial office in The Hague. The 38-year-old could be forgiven on Thursday for wondering when he will get the keys.

Such is the nature of Dutch politics that confirmation will not come for weeks or even months. But after a general election in which Jetten’s liberal-progressive D66 party made huge gains, he appears almost certain to be the Netherlands’ next prime minister.

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European far right follows Trump in calling for antifa to be declared terrorists

Netherlands and Hungary move towards designation as draft resolution reportedly backed by 79 MEPs in 20 countries

Where Donald Trump leads, Europe’s nationalists and far right follow. After a Truth Social post last month, when Trump announced the US would designate antifa, the decentralised anti-fascist movement, “a major terrorist organisation”, his international allies swung into action.

That same day, the Dutch parliament, where the largest party is Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV, passed a resolution, noting the US decision and calling on the government to declare antifa a terrorist organisation in the Netherlands.

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Dutch police clash with anti-immigration protesters in The Hague

Thirty arrests made and two officers injured as teargas and water cannon deployed against violent protesters

Dutch police have used teargas and a water cannon to disperse violent anti-immigration protesters in The Hague on Saturday, a local government spokesperson has said.

Thirty people have been arrested and two police officers were injured. Authorities did not rule out additional arrests in the coming days as they review camera footage.

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Amsterdam’s answer to its rubbish crisis? Remove some of the litter bins

Problems have arisen in Dutch capital since introduction of a deposit scheme for small bottles and cans

City leaders in Amsterdam are taking a novel approach to keeping its streets clean – by taking away litter bins to combat rubbish in part blamed on people rifling through them to obtain refund deposits on some discarded items.

There has been a surge in complaints about litter in the Dutch capital since the introduction of a deposit scheme for small bottles and cans. Last year, a quarter of residents described their neighbourhood as dirty or very dirty, rising to two in five in the city centre.

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Old master painting looted by Nazis recovered a week after being spotted in Argentinian property listing

Portrait of a Lady by the Italian master Giuseppe Ghislandi handed over by daughter of the late Nazi financier Friedrich Kadgien

Authorities in Argentina have recovered an 18th-century painting stolen more than 80 years ago by the Nazis from a Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam, a week after it was spotted by chance in a real estate listing.

The painting, the long-lost Portrait of a Lady (Contessa Colleoni) by the Italian master Giuseppe Ghislandi, was looted in the second world war. It was handed over on Wednesday to the Argentinian judiciary by the daughter of the late Nazi financier Friedrich Kadgien, Patricia Kadgien, who has been under house arrest with her husband since Tuesday.

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‘Most of this is symbolic’: the new wave of anti-migrant vigilantes in Europe

‘Citizen patrols’ and self-styled protective forces are fuelling social fears and the far right, say experts

Sporting black shirts emblazoned with an iron cross, a dozen or so men marched through the centre of Reykjavík, courting attention on a buzzy Friday night. In Poland and the Netherlands, vigilantes thronged along the German border, ready to turn back any asylum seekers they came across. In Belfast, they roamed after sunset, demanding to see the identity documents of migrants and people of colour.

Each of the groups, who are part of a renewed wave of anti-migrant vigilantes that have sprung up in recent months across Europe, have sought to cast themselves as a sort of protective force. But those who have studied vigilantes warn that their actions often exacerbate security concerns, sow fear and fuel the far right.

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Old master painting looted by Nazis disappears from home in Argentina

Search for artwork seen in estate agent’s photo continues after police raid on house finds tapestry hanging in its place

Argentinian police have said they will continue hunting for an old master painting looted by the Nazis and spotted by chance in an estate agent’s listing after a search of the property in the seaside town of Mar del Plata failed to uncover the work.

“The painting is not in the house … but we’re going to keep searching for it,” the federal prosecutor Carlos Martínez told local media. He said items that could be useful for the investigation, including two firearms, engravings and prints, had been seized.

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Old master painting looted by Nazis spotted in Argentinian property listing

Dutch newspaper AD says it has traced Giuseppe Ghislandi’s Portrait of a Lady to house near Buenos Aires

More than 80 years after it was looted by the Nazis from a Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam, a portrait by an Italian master has been spotted on the website of an estate agent advertising a house for sale in Argentina.

A photo shows the painting, Portrait of a Lady (Contessa Colleoni) by the late-baroque portraitist Giuseppe Ghislandi, also known as Fra’ Galgario, hanging above a sofa in the living room of the property, in a seaside town near Buenos Aires.

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Dutch foreign minister quits over failure to secure sanctions against Israel

Caspar Veldkamp resigns after cabinet reaches deadlock on adopting harsher measures over situation in Gaza

The Dutch foreign minister, Caspar Veldkamp, has resigned after a cabinet meeting failed to secure sanctions against Israel, weakening the Netherlands’ already fragile caretaker government.

Veldkamp’s colleagues from the centrist New Social Contract (NSC) party also walked out after the cabinet debate late on Friday reached an impasse over adopting harsher measures against Israel.

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Zelenskyy’s European ‘bodyguards’: which leaders joined Trump talks in Washington?

Presidents, PMs and heads of Nato and European Commission accompany Ukraine’s leader at White House

European leaders gathered in Washington on Monday for Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, in a show of support for the Ukrainian president. Their presence came amid expectations that Trump would try to bully Zelenskyy into accepting a pro-Russia “peace plan” that would include Kyiv handing territory to Moscow. The Europeans have been described as Zelenskyy’s “bodyguards”, with memories fresh of the mauling he received in February during his last Oval Office visit. So, who are they?

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Activists in Netherlands protest on roof of Microsoft site storing Israeli military data

Demonstration follows revelation firm’s servers holding huge collection of intercepted Palestinian phone calls

Activists have staged a protest on the roof of a Microsoft datacentre in the Netherlands after revelations the Israeli military is storing large volumes of data in the country.

Images posted on social media showed some of the activists blocking access to the large Microsoft facility in the north-west of the country on Sunday, while others scaled the building’s roof and lit flares.

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Amsterdam nightclub scheme becomes flashpoint in Dutch city planning rows

Heritage concerns overruled as developers say planning approvals too slow in nation aiming to build 1m more homes

Amsterdam was once famous for its alternative nightlife but now a planned new multi-storey building that will be home to a club, cafe and apartments has become a flashpoint in the battle between preserving heritage buildings and rowdy entertainment.

In the latest urban planning tussle to hit one of Europe’s most densely populated countries, neighbours of Amsterdam’s planned “Institute for Night Culture” (INC) fear it will shake their foundations.

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Smartphone bans in Dutch schools have improved learning, study finds

After initial concerns, pupils are said to be more focused and have better social interactions with each other

Bans on smartphones in Dutch schools have improved the learning environment despite initial protests, according to a study commissioned by the government of the Netherlands.

National guidelines, introduced in January 2024, recommend banning smartphones from classrooms and almost all schools have complied. Close to two-thirds of secondary schools ask pupils to leave their phones at home or put them in lockers, while phones are given in at the start of a lesson at one in five.

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Change in Nato mindset brought on by Vladimir Putin as much as Donald Trump

Allies agreed to raise defence spending to counter likely prospect of Russian remilitarisation if Ukraine war ends

The price was high, but for now, at least, a crisis in Nato has been averted. Donald Trump may like to take the credit for almost all of the 32 allies agreeing to a sharp increase in defence spending, but the reality is that the dramatic change in the Nato mindset was as much brought on by Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was the first jolt, but there is a second uncomfortable reality. If there is a sustainable ceasefire in Ukraine, it will mean the deployment of a European-led peacekeeping force in the country – and after a while, Russia’s military might will inevitably recover.

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The Netherlands’ world-leading postnatal care facing crisis, unions warn

Kraamzorg system, where care assistants visit new mothers at home, is threatened by labour shortage and competition

A key pillar of Dutch maternity services that has led to the Netherlands being hailed as a world leader in postnatal care is under threat, healthcare unions in the country have warned.

The Netherlands has long prided itself on its unique system of kraamzorg (maternity care), whereby a maternity care assistant comes to a new family’s home for eight days after a baby’s birth, caring for mother and infant.

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France to use UK drama Adolescence to teach teenagers about toxic masculinity

French education ministry follows Britain and Netherlands in incorporating Netflix hit into school curriculums

France has followed the UK and the Netherlands in allowing the Netflix drama Adolescence to be used in secondary schools as part of efforts to teach teenagers about toxic masculinity and online harms.

The French education ministry will offer schools five classes based on excerpts from the critically acclaimed mini-series, which has provoked a global debate about the impact on young boys of misogynistic content online and on social media.

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Thursday briefing: How Geert Wilders’ exit from Dutch coalition might set up his own comeback

In today’s newsletter: The Dutch government collapsed after Wilders pulled out of the coalition – leaving renewed political uncertainty as parties scramble to redefine their positions

Good morning. The Dutch government dramatically collapsed on Tuesday after far-right politician Geert Wilders pulled out of the coalition, citing his frustration over immigration and asylum policy.

Shortly afterwards the prime minister, Dick Schoof, handed in his resignation to King Willem-Alexander. Fresh elections are expected in October. Until then ministers will remain in place in a caretaker capacity.

US news | Donald Trump has signed a sweeping order banning travel from 12 countries and restricting travel from seven others, reviving and expanding the travel bans from his first term. Security concerns and visa overstays, the US president said, justified the move.

Fuel poverty | Bereaved families of tens of thousands of dead pensioners could be pursued by tax officials to recoup winter fuel payments under a new system being explored by the Treasury, the Guardian has learned.

Israel-Gaza war | The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has detailed the harrowing account of one of its paramedics, Asaad al-Nasasra, 47, who told the organisation he heard Israeli troops shoot first responders. The attack on a convoy of emergency vehicles killed 15 others.

UK economy | Keir Starmer has said he hopes a trade deal struck last month with the US can come into effect “in just a couple of weeks”, as the White House has signalled that the UK will be spared the 50% steel and aluminium tariffs that came into force on Wednesday.

Global health | A cure for HIV may be closer after researchers discovered a new way to force the virus out of hiding in human cells. This “overwhelming” breakthrough could help overcome one of the biggest obstacles to a cure: the virus’s ability to lie dormant in certain white blood cells.

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Dutch government collapses as far-right leader pulls party out of coalition

Coalition leaders call decision by Geert Wilders to withdraw from alliance over immigration policy ‘irresponsible’

The Dutch government has collapsed after the far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his party out of the ruling coalition in a row over immigration and asylum policy.

The prime minister, Dick Schoof, on Tuesday handed in his resignation and that of his 11-month-old cabinet to King Willem-Alexander. Remaining ministers will stay on in a caretaker capacity until new elections, most likely in October.

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Dutch museum to display 200-year-old condom probably made from sheep’s appendix

Rijksmuseum exhibition includes contraceptive featuring erotic etching of a nun and three clergymen

A 200-year-old illustrated condom will go on display with Dutch golden age masters in Amsterdam this week, after the 19th-century “luxury souvenir” became the first-ever contraceptive sheath to be added to the Rijksmuseum’s art collection.

The condom, which was probably made of a sheep’s appendix circa 1830, is thought to have come from an upmarket brothel in France, most likely in Paris. It features an erotic etching depicting a partially undressed nun pointing at the erect genitals of three clergymen, as well as the phrase Voila, mon choix (“There, that’s my choice”).

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Paris races to top of European rankings of cycling-friendly cities for children

French capital overtakes Amsterdam, where there are concerns about rising road speeds under rightwing government

Paris was once notorious for speeding traffic and a parking technique involving gently nudging cars to squeeze into a spot – but now it has topped a European ranking of cycling-friendly cities for children, leaving Amsterdam in second place and Copenhagen in the dust.

Analysing 36 European cities in terms of their cycling infrastructure’s suitability for children, the report found that the French capital had raced to the top thanks to investments for the 2024 Olympics and a €250m (£210m) initiative to build 112 miles (180km) of cycling lanes under Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo.

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