PVV

The VVD distanced itself from controversial pictures shared in a WhatsApp group group created in October last year to exchange ideas about the party's 70th anniversary celebrated at the time. The party will investigate which members of its youth organization JOVD shared these images, and if any VVD members are among them, action will be taken, NOS reports.

Children play a negligible role in the transmission of Covid-19, Jaap van Dissel of public health agency RIVM told parliament during a debate on the government's response to the pandemic on Wednesday. According to Van Dissel, who directs the Center for Infectious Disease Control wing of the RIVM, there are several studies which indicate that children become ill from contracting the coronavirus very infrequently, and they seldom pass it along to adults when they do.

Politicians in The Hague were surprised by Bruno Bruins' resignation as Minister for Medical Care. Many complimented him on his hard work and wished him well and good recovery.

Parliamentarians from both coalition and opposition parties are worried about the government's decision to keep schools open for the time being. 

Another 111 people in the Netherlands were diagnosed with coronavirus Covid-19, public health institute RIVM announced on Thursday. This brings the total diagnoses to 614, up from Wednesday's 503. 

Noord-Brabant is still the most affected province in the Netherlands, with 273 of the Covid-19 patients living in the province. Utrecht is second most affected with 80 patients, followed by 68 patients in Zuid-Holland, 53 in Limburg, and 48 in Gelderland. 

The D66 wants to temporarily bring migrants from African countries to work in the Netherlands. According to the coalition party, this can help fill shortages on the labor market. And if there is a legal route to follow, migrant workers can come to the Netherlands without risking their lives by crossing the Mediterranean Sea in the "floating coffins" of people smugglers, D66 parliamentarian Maarten Groothuizen proposed, AD and NOS report.

The Public Prosecutor and PVV leader Geert Wilders clashed hard in an appeal hearing on the hate speech trial against Wilders on Wednesday. Wilders said the advocates general on his case should be ashamed of how they damaged citizens' trust in the system. Advocate general Gerard Sta accused Wilders of an "undisguised attack" on the Public Prosecution Service (OM), NU.nl re ports.

A package of urgent measures to reduce the level of nitrogen emissions and ground contamination was approved during a Tuesday night vote by senators in the Eerste Kamer, the upper house of Dutch parliament. The bill allows for tighter nitrogen regulations on construction projects, the reduction of nitrogen emissions from livestock, and the accelerated improvement and restoration of Natura 2000 nature sites.

State Secretary Ankie Broekers-Knol of Justice and Security is struggling to talk to Morocco about taking back Moroccan nationals whose asylum application in the Netherlands had failed. She wanted to visit the country to discuss this matter, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed her that she "would not speak to the right people", she said to parliament on Thursday, NOS reports.

Activists seek personal protection: Protest organization Kick Out Zwarte Piet has scrapped its public schedule after a violent attack on its activists in Den Haag, wrote Nu.nl, and a threat of rioting at the group's planned roundtable discussion in Hengelo. The Hengelo event set for Monday was cancelled by city politicians at the last minute, according to Tubantia.

The court has jurisdiction, the Public Prosecution Service is independent, there are ample grounds to convict PVV leader Geert Wilders of hate speech, and no reason to drop the case against him, the Advocate General said on Friday in the appeal in the hate speech trial against Wilders. The PVV leader himself was not present in the court room, Het Parool reports.