Italy

The Netherlands and eight other European countries are calling on the European Union to implement a tax on air travel. The governments of the nine countries signed a manifesto calling on the European Commission to come up with a proposal on this front, which will be handed to European Commissioner Frans Timmermans.

A Dutch man was one of three people killed in a speedboat accident in Venice. The speedboat crashed into a dam. Three of the four people on board were killed. The fourth was taken to hospital. The Dutch victim is 54-year-old motorboat technician Erik Hoorn, his brother confirmed to NOS.

The accident happened at around 9:05 p.m. on Tuesday, local time, according to the local fire department Vigili del Fuoco. 

A 30-year-old man from Barneveld drowned while vacationing in Pisogne in northern Italy. His body was found in Lake Iseo on Saturday, five days after he disappeared in the water. "Five terrible, debilitating days of uncertainty have come to an end", his parent's wrote on Facebook. "Today they found our son Henry."

In four of the five most popular holiday destinations for Dutch tourists, food is more expensive than in the Netherlands. Only in Spain will Dutch pay less for groceries than at home, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday.

A controversial penalty in the 90th minute of the Dutch women's national football team match against Japan handed Oranje a 2-1 victory at the Stade de la Route de Lorient in Rennes, France on Tuesday night. The victory in the last Round of 16 match in the 2019 World Cup sends the OranjeLeeuwinnen through to the quarterfinals, where they play Italy on Saturday.

Striker Lieke Martens scored both of the Dutch team's goals. She was named Player of the Match for her efforts in front of a packed stadium that included thousands of orange-clad Dutch fans. 

The Italian authorities allowed dozens of migrants rescued by aid organization Sea-Watch ashore in Lampedusa on Sunday, apparently against the will of Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. The ship, the Sea Watch 3, was confiscated by the Italian police.

The Sea Watch 3 sails under the Dutch flag. Sea-Watch said on Twitter that Italy allowed the 47 migrants still on the ship to go ashore on Sunday, along with a short video showing people boarding an Italian coast guard ship. 

Sixteen Dutch students were hospitalized in the Italian city of Milan to be treated for an unknown virus. All of them have since been discharged. It is not yet known what caused the students to fall ill, team leader Stephan Wiele of the Amsterdam Wood- and Furnishing College said to NU.nl.

A criminal case is being prepared against Dutch oil and gas giant Shell. The company is suspected of paying bribes for the exploitation rights of an oil field off the coast of Nigeria, Shell said on its website and the Dutch Public Prosecutor confirmed to NOS.

The Prosecutor told NOS that the investigation is almost complete and they are working on the criminal prosecution of Shell.

This case involves the acquisition of the rights to oil field OPL-245. Shell, together with Italian energy group Eni, paid 1.3 billion euros for these rights in 2011.

A total of 90 people arrested in a large international action against the Italian mafia clan 'Ndrangheta on Wednesday morning, was announced at a press conference at European judicial cooperation body Eurojust in The Hague. As part of 'Operation Pollino', the police and judiciary in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium raided various locations. 

At least 11 hikers were killed in a sudden flood in the southern Italian region of Calabria. They were in the Raganello gorge when a river overflowed due to heavy rainfall. Local reports say that one Dutch was injured, NOS reports.

Many of the hikers were dragged along by the strong currents. The victims include at least four men and four women. Two people are still missing. 23 people were brought to safety, of whom seven were taken to hospital.

The Italian police believe that 17-year-old Koen van Keulen from Soest died in a fatal accident at Lake Garda. His family saw camera footage that confirm this conclusion, a spokesperson for the family said to RTL Nieuws.