All posts tagged: Dutch

Dutch court allows rapper Ye concerts in the Netherlands

Dutch court allows rapper Ye concerts in the Netherlands

Published by Sam Flores

AMSTERDAM (AP) — A judge in Amsterdam on Wednesday rejected an appeal by a Jewish organization to block two performances by the rapper Ye, formerly Kanye West, ruling that the concerts are not a threat to public order. Ye has drawn widespread controversy in recent years for a series of antisemitic remarks, leaving Dutch authorities under mounting pressure to cancel the gigs on June 6 and 8. The Central Jewish Council filed the emergency lawsuit on Tuesday, arguing that Ye should be banned from the country for voicing admiration for Adolf Hilter and selling T-shirts featuring swastikas. According to the Amsterdam District Court, there were no grounds to bar Ye from performing. “There are no indications that West’s presence in the coming days will lead to concrete public order dangers,” the court said in a statement. The Central Jewish Council expressed disappointment with the ruling. “The feeling we are getting is that it is okay if you are antisemitic,” Chanan Hertzberger, the organization’s chair, told The Associated Press. Lawmakers in the Netherlands supported a motion …

Breeze: Can a Dutch app save Brits from swiping past our dismal dating scene?

Breeze: Can a Dutch app save Brits from swiping past our dismal dating scene?

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Ruben knew as soon as he met Liv that his single life was over. He left their first date in Rotterdam and ran immediately to tell his friends he’d met the one. Six weeks later, they were official and have been inseparable ever since; scuba diving in Egypt, island-hopping in the Philippines, wine tasting in Champagne. “We never get bored together,” he says. This July, the couple will get the keys to the home they’ve bought together. “What may the future hold? We don’t know yet,” Ruben says. “Who knows, maybe getting married?” The Dutch couple are one of many success stories spawning from the dating app Breeze, which launched in Europe in 2020 before landing in London in 2025. Breeze promises date nights …

U.S. is right to ask allies to spend more on defense, Dutch DPM says

U.S. is right to ask allies to spend more on defense, Dutch DPM says

Published by Sam Flores

Netherlands’ Deputy Prime Minister VVD party leader Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius speaks during a weekly press conference following the Council of Ministers in The Hague on April 10, 2026. (Photo by Robin Utrecht / ANP / AFP via Getty Images) / Netherlands OUT Robin Utrecht | Afp | Getty Images The U.S.’ call for allies to step up defense spending is legitimate, according to Dutch deputy prime minster Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius. Speaking to CNBC’s Sri Jegarajah on the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Yesilgoz said that before the Ukraine war broke out, the Netherlands had relied a lot on allies. “So I think this is a very clear message, and it’s very important that every NATO ally has to make sure that we invest enough the 5% we agreed upon during the Hague summit. The Netherlands is doing this, and I urge also other countries to do so,” she added. Back in June 2025, NATO countries — except Spain — had committed to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense, split into 3.5% for direct …

Dutch government gives green light to establish migrant ‘return hubs’ outside EU – POLITICO

Dutch government gives green light to establish migrant ‘return hubs’ outside EU – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Return hubs are a controversial element in a major migration reform presented last year by the European Commission under pressure from right-wing governments around the bloc. The idea is to avoid having migrants remain in a country where they have been refused asylum for extended periods because their host country won’t readmit them or for other reasons. Setting up centers to process asylum applications outside the EU follows a similar logic — prioritizing migrants for entry whose applications have been approved. The first non-EU return hub, whose location has yet to be announced amid ongoing talks with several non-EU governments, would likely be used not just by the Netherlands but also by Greece, Germany, Austria and Denmark, all countries that have backed a push to crack down on migration into the EU. The Netherlands is working with Denmark, Malta and Sweden on options for processing asylum applications outside Europe, per an EU diplomat who was granted anonymity to discuss the plans. Italy has had a similar arrangement with Albania since late 2023, but Rome’s setup …

These Dutch students are bringing a world champion solar car to the 2026 Electrek American Solar Challenge

These Dutch students are bringing a world champion solar car to the 2026 Electrek American Solar Challenge

Published by skeptic

This July, the 2026 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) and American Solar Challenge (ASC) head north to Minnesota, and one of the 46 registered teams is making the trip for the very first time. The Delft Solar Team is flying in from the Netherlands, and they aren’t exactly showing up empty-handed. I caught up with Rosa Van Wijngaarden, who runs PR for the team, to talk about who they are, what they’re driving, and what it’s like to prep for a race on a continent the team has never set wheels on. A small group of students with big dreams “I always say that we’re just like a small group of students,” Rosa told me. And she means small. The team is just 14 people this year, each of whom takes a full gap year off from their studies to work on a solar car built from scratch. Everyone has their own discipline too. One does electrical, one does aerodynamics, Rosa does PR, and so on. I knew immediately from our video call that …

Looted Portrait Surfaces in Home of Descendants of Dutch SS Leader

Looted Portrait Surfaces in Home of Descendants of Dutch SS Leader

Published by José Betancourt

A painting stolen by the Nazis from the Goudstikker collection has surfaced in the home of descendants of a Dutch SS collaborator, according to an art detective. Portrait of a Young Girl, by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, was allegedly displayed for decades by the family of Hendrik Seyffardt, a general who aided the Nazis during their occupation of the Netherlands before being killed by the Dutch resistance. As previously reported, a man claiming to be a descendant of Seyffardt contacted the detective Arthur Brand after discovering the painting in his family’s possession. The source, who requested anonymity, told Brand he’d only recently learned of his familial relation to Seyffardt, and later saw the work hanging in the hallway of Seyffardt’s granddaughter.  Related Articles The man’s grandmother reportedly told him that it had been purchased during World War II, and that it was “Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker. It is unsellable. Don’t tell anyone.” The family member told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that the admission left him “stunned speechless.” “It is true that I …

Dutch Commission Proposes New Guardians for ‘Orphaned’ Nazi-Looted Art

Dutch Commission Proposes New Guardians for ‘Orphaned’ Nazi-Looted Art

Published by Jenni Sidey

A committee appointed by the Dutch government has come up with a plan for a state-owned collection’s controversial holdings, reports the New York Times. The Netherlands Art Property Collection (known as the NK Collection) comprises thousands of priceless objects, including paintings worth millions by Dutch Golden Age masters, repatriated by the Allies from Germany to the Netherlands after World War II. Most of these objects were looted from Jews who were killed, deported, or forced to sell their holdings by the Nazis. While provenance research overseen by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science remains ongoing, the items’ rightful owners have yet to be located. Related Articles The collection is currently under the custodianship of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, which oversees its storage and makes loans of art to museums and government buildings. Under a proposal issued by the Committee on Heirless Jewish Looted Art, the guardianship of these “orphaned” objects would be given over to a Dutch Jewish foundation, preferably one housed at the Jewish Museum in Amsterdam, where the …

A Priceless Golden Helmet, Heisted from a Dutch Museum, Is Recovered

A Priceless Golden Helmet, Heisted from a Dutch Museum, Is Recovered

Published by José Betancourt

Romanian culturati and historians, as well as Dutch museum officials, were shocked in January 2025 when thieves blew up a wall at a Netherlands museum to get at one of the great treasures of the National Museum of Romanian History: the golden Cotofenesti helmet, which dates to the 5th–4th centuries BCE. The thieves were seen on surveillance video opening a museum door with a crowbar before an explosion occurred.  But at a press conference in Assen on Thursday, police wearing balaclavas revealed that the helmet was returned, along with two of three golden bracelets dating to the second half of the first century BCE that were also stolen. Related Articles The treasured Cotofenesti helmet dates back about 2,500 years, and originated with the Dacia people. It was on view at the Drents Museum, in the Dutch city of Assen, in the show “Dacia: Kingdom of Gold and Silver.” “We are incredibly pleased,” Corien Fahner of the prosecution service told reporters, according to ABC News. “It has been a roller coaster. Especially for Romania, but also …

Getty Museum Acquires Two Significant Dutch Still Lifes

Getty Museum Acquires Two Significant Dutch Still Lifes

Published by José Betancourt

The Getty Museum in Los Angeles has acquired two Dutch still lifes of note—including one that the institution said it “has been seeking over two decades,” according to a press release announcing the news. Jan Davidsz. de Heem’s Glass Vase with Flowers and Fruit (ca. 1673–74) is one of nine similar paintings that demonstrate the artist’s “skill of illusionism and accurate botanical and entomological observations,” per the release, and was unrecorded until it came out of a private collection in Germany in 2022. The arrangement includes flame tulips (“still a highly prized flower in the Netherlands”) as well as plums, berries, roses, morning glory, milk thistle, and honeysuckle. Related Articles Look closely and you will also see insects going about their business at minuscule scale. “Butterflies and caterpillars, associated with metamorphosis, represented the transience of life and the soul freed from greed and desire,” the Getty’s release reads. “And, according to literary tradition, ants were respected as hardworking and symbolized diligence and frugality.” De Heem’s painting is already on view in the Getty Center’s West …