Politics

SP parliamentarian Sadet Karabulut wants the Netherlands to boycott the G20 summit in Saudi Arabia next year. The Saudi regime is too controversial, Karabulut said, referring to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, among other things. The D66 thinks the Netherlands should go and address these issues, RTL Nieuws reports.

Blockade protests for more action against climate change on Stadhouderskade and elsewhere in Amsterdam on Monday ended at around 9:00 p.m., the Amsterdam police said on Twitter. A total of around 90 people were arrested, around 30 of whom were still in custody on Monday night. The rest were sent home with a fine of 380 euros for not following police orders. On Tuesday the protesters are planning a demonstration in Vondelpark, they said on Twitter. 

State Secretary Raymond Knops of Home Affairs is very doubtful that the large-scale renovation of the Binnenhof in The Hague can start as planned next year, he said in a letter to parliament. He is considering postponing the major redo of the political heart of the Netherlands by one year, starting in the summer of 2021, NOS reports.

Around 50 protesters were arrested at a climate blockade on Stadshouderskade near the Rijksmuseum on Monday, the Amsterdam police confirmed to NOS at around 10:15 a.m. The protest for more action to be taken against climate change by action group Extinction Rebellion is still ongoing. The atmosphere is friendly, despite the arrests, three of the protesters said to NL Times. 

Hundreds of environmental activists are demonstrating for more measures against climate change in Amsterdam on Monday morning. Action group Extinction Rebellion is blocking access to the Stadhouderskade at the Rijksmuseum, NOS reports.

A package of import taxes ordered by the Trump Administration will affect the prices of half of all Dutch cheese exports to the U.S. Once the tariffs are in place, Americans can expect to pay 25 percent more when they purchase the cheeses.

The PvdA will vote against the government's justice budget if Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security does not structurally commit extra money to fighting organized crime, labour parliamentarian and justice spokesperson Attje Kuiken said to NPO Radio 1 program 1 op 1.

Drug crime has become so big in the Netherlands partly because of inconsistent policy regarding the police, National Police Chief Erik Akerboom said in an interview with the Volkskrant.

"The up and down policy of successive cabinets means we cannot build a good position in the neighborhood. That you cannot build, stable long-term intelligence positions because you are always being asked to do something else", Akerboom said. As a result, the police lost sight of young criminals that start out as drug runners and grow into drug lords. 

A corruption scandal in the city council of Den Haag has led to the collapse of that city's governing body. On Tuesday, prosecutors revealed that the homes and offices of two aldermen from political faction "Groep de Mos/Hart voor Den Haag" (GDM) were raided by officials in a bribes-for-permits investigation.

The cannabis involved in the Netherlands' regulated cultivation experiment will be sold in "unattractive" and plain packaging. This is to make sure that people "who weren't planning" to use cannabis aren't tempted into trying it by interesting wrappers, NRC reports based on a proposal that contains the rules for the experiment.

The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, wants a further investigation into the role Ukraine played in the MH17 disaster, focused specifically on the country not closing the airspace above eastern Ukraine despite fighting in the area. A motion filed by CDA and SP to that extent received the support of all parties that attended a debate on the matter on Tuesday evening, NOS reports.