The Dutch immigration service has defended the deportation of three women to Afghanistan, despite a European court ruling that the Taliban's treatment of women amounts to persecution. The IND says it can imagine scenarios in which women can live under Taliban rule. www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/dutc...

The mayor of Terneuzen, in the deep south of Zeeland, has resigned after alleging councillors were intimidated ahead of a vote on an asylum seekers' centre. Protests were held outside the town hall and a book depicted councillors who voted for the plan as rats. www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/b...

In a case that will surely end up at the European Court of Human Rights, Dutch broadcaster RTL went to Italy and asked locals for their views on tiramasu pizza. www.rtl.nl/nieuws/video...

Russia, 2005: "Hey, Westerners, look: cheap gas!" Westerners: "Great! I can't see this having negative repercussions or compromising us in any way." China, 2025: "Hey, Westerners, look! Cheap electric vehicles!"

Latest @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social podcast: D66 and CDA press on with the coalition talks, Margraten war cemetery will not restore a panel commemorating Black Liberators, and Dick Advocaat is the unlikely fairy godmother in Curaçao's World Cup story. soundcloud.com/dutchnewsnl/...

The village of Moerdijk will be demolished over the next 10 years to make room for an industrial plant, after the local council approved the plan last night. Negotiations will now begin to relocate and compensate its 1,100 inhabitants. www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/moer...

Panel on segregation in US army will not return to Margraten www.dutchnews.nl?p=260147

“The unprecedented step which I hastily took which triggered a minor geopolitical crisis was obviously the right thing to do, which is why I’m reversing it”

Ya dancer!

A SCOTTISH FOOTBALLER JUST DID A FUCKING BICYCLE KICK WHILE PLAYING FOR SCOTLAND!!!

There are now 19 parties in the 75-seat Dutch Senate. And JA21, that beacon of stability, has lost one, so the proposed "centre-right" cabinet would only have 23 votes in the upper house.

Thank goodness Britain has left the woke EU and can be more like Australia, which doesn't have to worry about spurious human rights claims. Hang on a minute … what's that, Skippy?

Trump's ambassador to the Netherlands, Joe Popolo, visited Margraten cemetery yesterday in the wake of the controversy about the removal of two panels featuring black American soldiers. He honoured “the ultimate sacrifice made by many brave African-American soldiers”. But … nos.nl/artikel/2590...

Can't quite believe I'm typing this, but for 20 seconds there Donyell Malen looked like Arjen Robben in full flight.

Absolutely no surprises here as the Binnenhof restoration is expected to take twice as long and cost almost six times as much as originally planned. www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/cost...

Relatives outraged at removal of Black Liberators at Margraten www.dutchnews.nl?p=260051

New blog: “We’re going to party tonight” was the remarkable reaction of Dilan Yesilgöz to leading the VVD to its worst election result since Johan Cruyff was playing for Ajax. How did she manage to put a positive sheen on the outcome, and will it last? wordsforpress.wordpress.com/2025/11/16/d...

A special episode for @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social patrons to mark Amsterdam's 750th birthday. Learn about the tax evasion scheme that became the city's founding document, the medieval sex boas who patrolled the docks and the unfathomable Hook and Cod wars. www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-...

This week's @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social podcast: coalition talks begin with the now traditional resignation, stricter border checks trigger a net rise in immigration, Limburg wants to commemorate its Black Liberators, and can Dick Advocaat lead Curacao to World Cup glory? soundcloud.com/dutchnewsnl/...

Update: Hans Wijers has now resigned, not because of things somebody else said at a party, but because of things he actually did say in a private app group that haven't been made public. This is all going swimmingly well and I'm sure we'll have a new government by Christmas. nos.nl/artikel/2590...

Hard-right party JA21 sees no problem restarting gas drilling in Groningen province, calling the decision to shut the gas fields down the mistake of the century. Groningen province just replied. www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/gron...

Yesterday it looked like coalition negotiator Hans Wijers' number was up when he was reported to have called VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz “a liar” at the D66 election night party. Today a journalist came forward and said he made the comments. So Wijers gets to keep his job. nos.nl/liveblog/258...

Donald Trump cancelled a visit to Margraten war cemetery in Limburg in June for undisclosed reasons. He had been invited to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands while he was in the country for the Nato summit. nos.nl/regio/limbur...

The American Battle Monuments Commission published with this weaselly statement about the removal of two panels at Margraten cemetery honouring Black soldiers who helped liberate the Netherlands. It says the changes were part of a "schedule for periodic rotation to include new content for visitors".

Moerdijk, a village of 1,100 people just outside Rotterdam, will be completely demolished over the next 10 years to make space for power plants and energy facilities, if plans by the local council are approved by the government. www.nu.nl/321485/video...

The Netherlands introduced border checks last December to great fanfare to cut illegal immigration as part of its “harshest asylum regime ever”. The result? More people were sent back from Germany and Belgium than the Dutch rejected and 80 people claimed asylum. www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/hund...

The governor of Limburg, Emile Roemer, and local mayor Alain Krijnen have called for two panels commemorating Black American soldiers to be restored to the visitor centre at the Margraten military cemetery. www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/mayo...

The provincial assembly in Limburg wants to establish a permanent memorial to Black American servicemen who took part in the liberation of the Netherlands, after two panels were found to have been removed from an exhibition at the US military cemetery in Margraten. www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/call...

This week's @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social podcast: Coalition talks get under way with three parties going in search of an eligible fourth partner. A sell-off of student flats is aggravating the housing crisis, Egypt gets its sculptures back and Ajax show Heitinga the door. soundcloud.com/dutchnewsnl/...

Eleven of the parties in the provincial parliament of Limburg have now requested the Limburg government to look into the possibility of creating a (temporary) memorial for our Black American liberators in cooperation with Eijsden-Margraten (where the cemetery is located). www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...

Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Blog: What would Rutte do? Four days into the coalition forming process in the Netherlands, the actual negotiations haven't even begun and the word "impasse" has already been used. wordsforpress.wordpress.com/2025/11/08/w...

Dit zijn alle partijen die tijdens de campagne hebben aangegeven niet met de PVV te willen samenwerken. Daar heeft 65% van de kiezers op gestemd. Lijkt mij een sterk democratische basis.

Vincent Karremans, tipped as a potential successor to VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz, has given his leader a resounding vote of confidence: “Dilan is firmly in the driving seat.” nos.nl/liveblog/258... One of those situations where following football can help you decipher what's going on in politics.

What game is this? Klaveryessen? www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/d66-...

Ajax v Benfica on November 25. That's not a football match, it's a wake.

De laatste tijd zie ik bepaalde Nederlandse uitdrukkingen uit de gratie raken. "Een na laatste" verliest terrein aan "tweede laatste". Steeds vaker kom ik "zes maanden" tegen in plaats van een half jaar. Apestaartje (@) hoor je nauwelijks meer: het is bijna altijd "et" (oké, is wel handiger).

Dilan Yesilgöz is making a lot of noise about keeping GL-PvdA out of a cabinet with the VVD, but the leader who holds the key is Henri Bontenbal of the CDA. Playing his cards very close to his chest, but without his party there's no chance of a right-wing cabinet either. www.nu.nl/formatie/637...

Je kunt ook een "links" kabinet voorkomen door tegenwicht te bieden binnen een coalitie. Alleen populisten snappen dat niet. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCHh...

Confession time: I'm a closet fan of Dutch agrorockers Normaal, mainly because my late wife played their records a lot when we were first dating. Fully deserve cultural heritage status in my view. youtu.be/7Y_wUu99E7M

D66 stay on 26 seats after overseas votes are counted. The vibe in The Hague is a centre-right coalition is likeliest as VVD is in a stronger position than GL-PvdA. But Jetten is likely to demand a high price from Yesilgöz now it doesn't have a majority. Not a done deal. www.ad.nl/politiek/ste...

GroenLinks-PvdA can't afford to hang around: they've installed Jesse Klaver, former GL leader, as the replacement for Frans Timmermans without a contest. On the face of it this will make it even harder to overcome the VVD's objections to a centre cabinet. www.nu.nl/tweede-kamer...

Done some rough working and I think it's pretty nailed on that D66 will take a seat off the SP when the overseas votes are counted. In fact I'd bet a year's supply of stroopwafels on it. #TK2025 #DutchElection

The Dutch radical right maintained its vote share this election. One election pledge was to deport the “children and grandchildren” of migrants. No amount of integration will ever be enough for some, because their policies are just a thin veil for bigotry My piece www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...

Catch our early reactions to the Dutch election results in this week's @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social podcast so you can quote them back to us in a few months with a "this you?" Plus the latest on Vitesse Arnhem, Amsterdam's birthday bash and an unlikely terrorist group. on.soundcloud.com/8gC7dQPvYmAp...

D66 leader Rob Jetten declares victory in the election after press agency ANP says there is no chance of the PVV overtaking his party with one municipality and overseas votes still counting. nos.nl/artikel/2588...

Eddy van Hijum: 'Ben beschikbaar als ze eventueel weer partijloze premier zoeken'

This Christmas, spare a thought for senior citizens who face a bleak festive period in The Hague, abandoned by friends, family and former coalition leaders. www.rtl.nl/nieuws/polit...

D66 or PVV as biggest? Final Dutch election votes trickle in www.dutchnews.nl?p=259344

D66 may yet win an extra seat when the overseas votes are counted on Monday, most likely at the expense of the Socialists (SP). That would give a centre-right coalition with VVD, CDA and JA21 a fragile majority of 76 seats. Adding GL-PvdA instead of JA21 would give it 87. www.rtl.nl/nieuws/polit...