PVV leader Geert Wilders expressed his doubts about the neutrality of judge Jeanne Gaakeer, the president of the court of law in The Hague, who is handling the appeal of the hate speech trial against him. According to Wilders, Gaakeer is chairman of a foundation that previously awarded a prize to Sinead Wendt, a left-wing activist involved in anti-Wilders protests.
Ronald Plasterk
Oct 25 '17 08:20
Oct 23 '17 08:44
Sint Maarten prime minister William Marlin rejected the Netherlands' conditions for emergency aid to the island following hurricane Irma, Trouw reports. In a letter to Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, Marlin wrote that Sint Maarten can not agree to the conditions by the deadline of October 31st, but that he is open to come to the Netherlands to discuss other conditions .
Oct 18 '17 10:00
Sint Eustatius politician Clyde van Putten apologized for threatening to kill Dutch soldiers in a speech he made last week. Van Putten said that his previous comments were reprehensible and that he does not want to call for violence. Though he added that his comments were taken out of context by people "with a political agenda" to damage his reputation, NOS reports.
Oct 13 '17 15:50
Clyde van Putten, leader of political party PLP on the Dutch island of Sint Eustatius, threatened to kill and and burn Dutch soldiers in a speech he made on the island. The Dutch government is going to file a declaration with the police against him, Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations announced, the Telegraaf reports
Oct 5 '17 16:50
Nearly a quarter of Dutch mayors have been threatened by criminals, according to a survey of 4 thousand mayors, aldermen and officials by Pro Facto on behalf of the Ministry of Security and Justice. The researchers add that there is no sign of large-scale criminal influence on local governments, NOS reports.
Sep 27 '17 16:10
Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs decided to put an end to political party SP's unique payroll arrangement in which the salaries of all SP politicians are paid into the party's account. The Minister agreed with the Dutch municipalities and provinces that they will pay SP salaries directly to the politicians, and he will discuss this with the Eerste Kamer and Tweede Kamer as well. The SP itself is furious about this, RTL Nieuws reports.
Sep 22 '17 09:18
Rebuilding Sint Maarten after the devastation Hurricane Irma left behind, will cost hundreds of millions of euros at least, Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations said in the Tweede Kamer on Thursday. From next week Friday, the Dutch government will work on starting an aid fund for the island, NU.nl reports.
Sep 21 '17 15:30
The Dutch government is trying to find shelter for 25 Sint Maarten residents. They flew to the Netherlands and asked for help after Hurricane Irma destroyed their homes, RTL Nieuws reports.
Sep 19 '17 11:10
As the time for the Rutte II cabinet to hand over to a new government approaches, the confidence the Dutch public has in the departing government increases. The VVD and PvdA government hasn't enjoyed as much confidence from the voters since its inauguration in 2012, according to EenVandaag's Budget Day poll. The same goes for Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Sep 19 '17 09:16
Shocked and sad reactions met Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan's announcement that he is stepping down due to his metastasized lung cancer. Van der Laan (PvdA) announced on Monday afternoon that he is resigning, based on the advice of his doctors. One Amsterdam city council member described the news as "a punch to the face", RTL Nieuws reports.
Sep 18 '17 13:20
Rob Verkerk, Commander of the Dutch Armed Forces, and Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs called critical statements by Sint Maarten Prime Minister William Marlin about Dutch soldiers on the island "complete nonsense". In an interview with NRC, Marlin said that Dutch soldiers did nothing to stop looting on the island after Hurricane Irma.
Sep 15 '17 09:23
At 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations officially launched the national fundraising action for Sint Maarten, Saba and Eustatius, who were all hit by devastating Hurricane Irma last week. The action "The Netherlands helps Sint Maarten" is a collaboration between the Red Cross and Dutch broadcasters RTL, NPO and SBS.
Sep 12 '17 11:10
Dutch King Willem-Alexander is overwhelmed by the devastation Hurricane Irma left on Sint Maarten, one of the Caribbean islands that form part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. "I've never seen anything like this, everywhere you look you see destruction and upheaval", the King said from the island on Tuesday, NU.nl reports.
Sep 12 '17 08:01
King Willem-Alexander and Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations arrived on Sint Maarten on Monday afternoon, local time. They landed on a battered Princess Juliana International Airport, where they were immediately faced with the devastation Hurricane Irma left in its wake.
Sep 11 '17 08:33
King Willem-Alexander will visit Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba on Monday to see the aftermath of Hurricane Irma with his own eyes, Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations said on Curacao on Sunday afternoon, ANP reports.
Sep 8 '17 08:26
The emergency aid for Sint Maarten is finally on its way after Hurricane Irma caused devastation on the island on Wednesday. A plane managed to land at the battered Princess Juliana International Airport and the first Dutch navy ship unloaded its emergency supplies.
Sep 7 '17 11:57
The Kingdom of the Netherlands was hit hard by Hurricane Irma, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a press conference after a crisis meeting about emergency relief for the islands of Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius on Thursday morning, NU.nl reports. The government is very concerned about Hurricane Jose, which may hit the Dutch islands on Saturday.
Sep 7 '17 08:51
The Netherlands islands of Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius were struck by Hurricane Irma on Wednesday. All three islands were hit hard, but Sint Maarten sustained the most damage. As more and more photos and footage surface from the islands, the extent of the damage is becoming clear.
Sep 6 '17 07:43
Hurricane Irma is expected to hit the islands of Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba, all part of the Dutch Kingdom, at noon on Wednesday (Netherlands time), according to NU.nl. The hurricane is considered a class five hurricane, the fiercest category on the Saffir-Simmpson scale. With wind speeds of 295 kilometers per hour measured, Irma is in the top 5 of fiercest Atlantic hurricanes, RTL Nieuws reports.
The hurricane will hit Antigua and Barbuda on Wednesday morning. The authorities on the two Caribbean islands called on residents to seek shelter.
Aug 8 '17 16:20
Former National Police Chief Gerard Bouman was buried in Rotterdam on Tuesday. Hundreds of police officers formed an honor guard along the route Bouman's coffin was taken, NOS reports.
Bouman died last week at the age of 64 from the consequences of a heart attack.
Jul 12 '17 10:41
A majority in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, voted for implementing a new data mining law that will give the Dutch intelligence services the authority to intercept data on a large scale. The new law was drawn up by Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk and will take effect on January 1st, NOS reports.
Jul 6 '17 14:15
Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs decided to pull the plug on the modernization of the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP), previously called the population register. According to the Minister, the project turned out to be much more expensive and time-consuming than estimated and is not worth pursuing. He called it a "sad conclusion" on Wednesday night, ANP reports.
Jul 4 '17 09:14
Former PvdA parliamentarian Ahmed Marcouch will be the new mayor of Arnhem. The intention is that he will take office on September 1st. The former MP will be succeeding Herman Kaiser, who stepped down on June 1st, NOS reports.
Jun 20 '17 12:55
A massive 8,700 votes from the municipalities Boxmeer and Bergeijk were not counted in the parliamentary election in March due to human error at the main polling station in Den Bosch, Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs revealed after receiving a report from Mayor Ton Rombouts, Brabants Dagblad reports.
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