Netherlands

AMSTERDAM, July 24 (Reuters) - Law enforcement from five countries have disrupted an intercontinental criminal network that was smuggling migrants from Cuba to the European Union, with the move leading to the arrest of 62 people, Europol and Interpol, who coordinated the international investigation, said on Monday.

A Europol statement said the criminal network focused on Cubans in vulnerable situations, and that for 9,000 euros ($9,969.30), it would organise their journey to Europe and provide false documentation.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans said Thursday he wants to lead a combined campaign by two center-left parties that are joining forces ahead of Dutch parliamentary elections in late November.

Timmermans is a vice president of the EU’s executive commission in charge of climate policy. He told Dutch national broadcaster NOS he has put himself forward as a candidate to lead the Labor Party and Green Left into the elections. The parties agreed Monday to form a united front on the left of the splintered Dutch political landscape.

AMSTERDAM, July 7 (Reuters) - The Dutch government collapsed on Friday after failing to reach a deal on restricting immigration, which will trigger new elections in the fall.

The crisis was triggered by a push by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservative VVD party to limit the flow of asylum seekers to the Netherlands, which two of his four-party government coalition refused to support.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government collapsed Friday because of irreconcilable differences within the four-party coalition about how to rein in migration, a divisive issue that has split nations across Europe.

The resignation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the longest-serving premier of the nation, means the country will face a general election later this year. Rutte and his government will remain in office in a caretaker capacity until a new ruling coalition is chosen.

AMSTERDAM, July 7 (Reuters) - The Dutch government on Friday collapsed after failing to reach a deal on restricting immigration, junior coalition partner Christian Union said, a move expected to trigger new elections in the fall.

"The four parties decided that they cannot reach an agreement on migration. Therefore they decided to end this government," party spokesman Tim Kuijsten said, confirming media reports that Prime Minister Mark Rutte would tender the resignation of his government.

AMSTERDAM, July 5 (Reuters) - A rare summer storm with winds of up to 145 kilometres (90 miles) per hour hit the Netherlands on Wednesday, causing at least one death as people across much of the country were told to stay indoors and travel was severely disrupted.

A 51-year old woman died in Haarlem after a tree fell on the car she was in, local police said.

In Amsterdam, several people were injured as dozens of trees were toppled by the storm, damaging cars and houseboats along the city's canals.

THE HAGUE, July 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent comments about payments to the Wagner group was "like direct evidence" that Wagner's mercenaries were an illegal arm of the Russian army in the war, Ukraine's top prosecutor told Reuters this week.

Putin said last week that Wagner and its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had received almost $2 billion from Russia in the past year.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An international center opened Monday at the Hague to support those building cases against senior Russian leaders for the crime of aggression resulting from the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is the latest step in concerted worldwide efforts to hold the Russian leadership criminally responsible for its war against Ukraine last year, triggering Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

AMSTERDAM, July 1 (Reuters) - Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Saturday apologised for the Netherlands' historic involvement in slavery and the effects that it still has today.

The king was speaking at a ceremony marking the 160th anniversary of the legal abolition of slavery in the Netherlands, including its former colonies in the Caribbean.

"On this day that we remember the Dutch history of slavery, I ask forgiveness for this crime against humanity," he said. He said racism in Dutch society remains a problem and not everyone would support his apology.

AMSTERDAM, June 27 (Reuters) - European policing agency Europol said on Tuesday that the takedown of Encrochat, an underground company that offered criminals supposedly secure encrypted communications, led to more than 6,500 arrests and 900 million euros ($980 million) in seized assets.

The system had an estimated 60,000 users when it shut down abruptly in June 2020, and Europol revealed the following month that law enforcement officials had been intercepting users' communications for months.