Hollanda kralı (2013–günümüz)
Two foreign women detail multi-day ordeal of alleged kidnapping, extortion, assault during Pakistan visit
LAHORE: In a testimony recorded before a judicial magistrate at cantonment courts, two foreign women detailed a multi-day ordeal involving their alleged kidnapping, million-dollar extortion, physical assault and sexual abuse, it emerged on Saturday. The two foreigners recorded their statements on Thursday, the same day police booked five suspects over alleged abduction and sexual assault after the two women were rescued. Four of the suspects, including a close relative of a senior political personality, were arrested and later sent on a five-day physical remand. The complainant-victim, a citizen of the Netherlands, provided her voluntary statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) following an investigation registered under a first information report (FIR) filed at the Defence C Police Station. The charges include severe offences under sections 375-A (rape) and 365-A (kidnapping for extortion) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). According to the victim’s sworn statement, she and her friend, who is a Venezuelan citizen, arrived in Pakistan on June 26, 2026 at the invitation of a local business partner whom they said they had originally met in Singapore in October 2025. The primary suspect, who claimed to be well-connected to influential government figures, arranged their visas under the guise of setting up meetings with high-profile investors for the victim’s company, the Dutch woman said. After spending three days at a hotel in Islamabad — during which they made sightseeing trips to Nathia Gali and attended business presentations — the group travelled to Lahore by car on the afternoon of June 29. The suspect allegedly lured the victim and her companion to a modern house in Lahore under the pretext of celebrating a relative’s birthday. However, upon entering the residence, they found it empty. Within 15 minutes, four men armed with firearms and ropes stormed the premises. The captors immediately tied the victims’ hands behind their backs and subjected both women to physical assault, the complainant alleged. While the primary suspect initially acted as a fellow victim to mask his complicity, it later became evident he was working in tandem with the armed group, she further claimed. She alleged that the captors demanded exorbitant ransom amounts, starting at $2 million, threatening to kill the women and sell their organs if they did not comply. The victims were separated, the complainant said, recalling she was held downstairs under armed guard while her companion was kept upstairs. During the night, she said, the prime suspect and an accomplice referred to as “the boss” forcibly took the victim’s phone and electronically transferred $17,000 in cryptocurrency from her accounts. The woman said she was repeatedly coerced into sending frantic voice notes to her family and friends begging for money. However, she managed to slip a pre-established distress code word—“CARLITOS”— into her messages, prompting her family in Europe to immediately alert international and local law enforcement authorities. On June 30, she said, an armed assailant dressed in a black local suit sexually assaulted her in the bedroom. On July 1, the key suspect drove the women away, claiming he was taking them to the airport, she said. However, tracking the route on a hidden mobile phone, the Dutch woman said she realised he was deliberately lying and stalling, driving slowly while communicating suspiciously with “the boss”. Fearing they were being driven to another secondary location, the women began screaming for him to stop. Seizing a moment of chaos when their vehicle slightly collided with a car ahead, the women jumped out of the moving vehicle and ran screaming into a nearby mechanic’s shop for safety. A local traffic police officer spotted the women and immediately summoned emergency backup, the Netherlands citizen said. Suffering from severe trauma, the women initially panicked and fled the first police response vehicle out of fear. However, senior police officials arrived shortly after alongside a female officer, successfully calming the victims and presenting evidence that law enforcement had actively been tracking their kidnapping case for the past 48 hours. The victims were safely escorted to the police station, where their official statements were secured. Following the victim’s explicit confirmation that she gave her statement voluntarily and without outside coercion, the magistrate formally sealed the testimony to proceed with aggressive legal action against the perpetrators. The other victim woman, a citizen of Venezuela, also recorded a separate testimony, which was similar to the Dutch woman’s and endorsed her version.
Pakistan'da Yabancı Kadınlara Kaçırma ve Milyon Dolarlık ŞantajNetherlands confirms it will host Nuremberg-style tribunal for Russia
"The decision will make it possible to hold Russia's senior political and military leadership to account specifically for the crime of aggression, not merely for its consequences," Zelensky said.
Europe heatwave linked to 3,700 excess deaths
France, Belgium and the Netherlands warn toll may rise as climate change blamed for extreme temperatures
Fransa ve Belçika'da rekor sıcak hava dalgası 3 binden fazla can aldıAt least 3,700 excess deaths reported during heatwave in France, Belgium, Netherlands
PARIS — France, the Netherlands and Belgium have recorded 3,700 excess deaths during the June heatwave that sent temperatures soaring across Europe, with authorities warning that the numbers are preliminary and could rise.
Batı Avrupa'da Haziran Sıcak Dalgası En Az 3.700 Kişinin Ölümüne Neden OlduAt least 3,700 excess deaths reported during heatwave in France, Belgium and Netherlands
PARIS, July 3 - France, the Netherlands and Belgium have recorded 3,700 excess deaths during the June heatwave that sent temperatures soaring across Europe, with authorities warning that the numbers are preliminary and could rise.
Batı Avrupa'da Haziran Sıcak Dalgası En Az 3.700 Kişinin Ölümüne Neden OlduLahore police get custody of 4 suspects arrested for alleged abduction, sexual assault of two foreign women
LAHORE: A court on Friday granted police five-day physical remand of four suspects arrested for the alleged abduction and sexual assault of two foreign women. On Thursday, police had booked five suspects on charges of kidnapping for ransom and sexually assaulting two foreign women, who were nationals of the Netherlands and Venezuela. Subsequently, four of them were arrested. According to the FIR, the women were abducted by five suspects, including a close relative of a senior political personality, who demanded ransom and subjected them to sexual assault during their captivity. On Friday, the investigating officer from the Defence C police station produced four of the suspects, with their faces covered with masks, before Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mehmood at the Cantonment Courts. At the outset of the hearing, the magistrate instructed the suspects to remove their masks. A public prosecutor asked the magistrate to grant police 14-day physical remand of the suspects. He said the prime suspect had been identified by the victims. He added that the incident had brought disrepute to Pakistan. The magistrate, however, granted police physical remand of the suspects for five days. The relative of a senior political personality was among the suspects handed over to the police. He also directed the investigating officer to produce the suspects before the court on July 8 upon the completion of their remand. According to the FIR, the suspects had allegedly demanded $1.5 million in ransom before sexually assaulting the foreigners.
Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs recommends sending military to Ukraine
The body that advises the Dutch government and parliament on foreign policy says the Netherlands should take part in a potential international military mission to Ukraine when a ceasefire agreement is reached
Lahore police register case against five suspects over abduction, sexual assault of two foreign women
LAHORE: Police in the provincial capital on Thursday registered a case against five suspects on charges of kidnapping for ransom and sexually assaulting two foreign women. The Police Emergency Helpline 15 received a call from Spain, made by the father of one of the women, reporting the incident. The alleged victims, who are nationals of the Netherlands and Venezuela, had come to Pakistan to visit their ‘friends’. DIG Faisal Kamran told Dawn that police acted accordingly, dispatched a team of senior officials, recovered the women, arrested four suspects and lodged an FIR. He said the suspects had been tracked and apprehended with the help of the Punjab Safe City Authority’s cameras installed in the city. The recovered foreign women were later produced before a judicial magistrate at Cantonment Courts to record their statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. A women’s counsel for the victims was also present in the courtroom during the recording of their statements. The victims narrated the incident before the magistrate in a closed-door hearing. “We took into confidence the Dutch Embassy officials and updated them about the criminal proceedings of the case, recovery of the victims”, the DIG said, adding that the travel documents were completed and the women would fly at the earliest from Pakistan. He said a security guard had escaped from the scene, and police teams were trying to trace his location. DIG Kamran said investigations were underway, adding that those who committed crimes against the women must be brought before a court of law and punished under the law of the land. According to the FIR, the women were abducted by five suspects, including a close relative of a senior political personality, who demanded ransom and subjected them to sexual assault during their captivity. The suspects allegedly demanded $1.5 million in ransom before sexually assaulting them. The Punjab government said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz took immediate notice of the abduction of foreign women, following which Lahore police launched a swift operation and rescued the victims within two hours, arresting four suspects. According to a handout, the chief minister directed the police to recover the women within two hours of being informed about the incident. It said police immediately launched a rescue operation after receiving a report from the victim’s father. It said the suspects were traced with the assistance of the Safe City Authority, leading to the recovery of the abducted women. The rescued women underwent medical examinations, and further legal proceedings are under way in light of the available evidence, it added. Despite the presence of anti-rape laws — with punishment for rape either resulting in the death penalty or imprisonment of between 10 and 25 years — cases continue to prevail in the country. The Islamabad police registered at least 432 cases of “sexual assault” and “kidnapping” in the federal capital under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) during the first five months of this year.
Russia ‘mounted drone surveillance of European nuclear sites over 18 months’
Researchers say Moscow acted with ‘substantial impunity’ in 144 incidents, including over RAF Lakenheath The Kremlin orchestrated a concerted surveillance campaign using drones launched from shadow fleet vessels over an 18-month period which targeted nuclear sites in the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, researchers have said. Analysis by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) of 144 incidents in more than a dozen countries beginning in late 2024 concluded Russian intelligence had operated with “substantial impunity”, leaving authorities across Europe flat-footed and confused. Continue reading...
Çernobil’de nükleer yakıt tesisine Rus drone saldırısı: Ukrayna ‘kasıtlı’ diyorSudan: UN Human Rights Council Convenes Urgent Debate On El Obeid
[Dabanga] Geneva -- The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an urgent debate on Friday, July 3, to "address the human rights situation in and around El Obeid, North Kordofan in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Sudan." The debate in the Assembly Hall at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Friday morning, is being convened following an official request submitted on Monday, 29 June 2026 by a core group of countries - Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom.
BM İnsan Hakları Konseyi Sudan'ın El Obeyd Krizi İçin Acil ToplanıyorAt least 3.3m people were victims of Dutch enslavement, research claims
Figure is more than five times the widely used 600,000 figure widely cited in apologies by king and politicians At least 3.3 million people were enslaved in the Netherlands during the transatlantic slave trade, research claims – more than five times the 600,000 figure widely used in history books and cited in apologies by the king and politicians. King Willem-Alexander referred to the more than 600,000 people who were brought from Africa on Dutch ships to be sold as enslaved people when he apologised three years ago for the role of the Netherlands in the transatlantic slave trade. Continue reading...
Russia says Netherlands provides no evidence to go along with hacker accusations
"The Hague's goal is to fabricate another ridiculous reason to intimidate Europe with an imaginary Russian threat," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said
Immigration to Netherlands declines for third straight year, statistics show
Lower numbers of asylum seekers, non-EU skilled workers account for most of decline
Germany, Netherlands establish NATO tactical headquarters in Estonia
The 1 German-Netherlands Corps will take over the organization and coordination of military exercises as well as the provision of security in the region
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan met with David van Weel, Minister of Justice and Security of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 1 April 2026, Ankara
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan met with David van Weel, Minister of Justice and Security of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in Ankara. ##dinamik:gallery:gla|src=/images/enformasyon/gg/sayin-bakanimizin-hollanda-adalet-ve-guvenlik-bakani-david-van-weel-ile-gorusmesi-1-nisan-2026-ankara-1/##
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan met with Tom Berendsen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 9 April 2026, Ankara
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan met with Tom Berendsen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. ##dinamik:gallery:gla|src=/images/enformasyon/gg/sayin-bakanimizin-hollanda-disisleri-bakani-tom-berendsen-ile-gorusmesi--9-nisan-2026--ankara-1/##
International rail services to UK disrupted after cable duct fire in Netherlands
Eurostar services between London, Brussels, Paris affected until July 3
German, Dutch Militaries Take Command on NATO’s Eastern Flank
Germany and the Netherlands established a military command center in the Baltic region to deter Russia as part of a broader effort to take on responsibility within NATO ahead of a summit of the alliance next week.
Philippines Becomes World's Top Solar Panel Buyer
Philippines to the highest in the world since the Iran war began, according to customs data cited by Reuters. Amid soaring electricity prices and a supply crunch in fossil fuels, many Filipinos have opted to install rooftop solar panels over the past three months. The spending on solar panels in the Southeast Asian country, which has been one of the worst-hit Asian economies in the energy supply crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict, topped $407 million between March 1 and May 31, per China customs data compiled by Reuters. The Netherlands…
Filipinler, Enerji Krizinde Dünyanın En Büyük Güneş Paneli Alıcısı OlduCommission calls on the Netherlands to improve competition for international rail passenger services
European Commission Press release Brussels, 29 Jun 2026 The European Commission has informed the Netherlands that the rules for the allocation of capacity on the Dutch main railway network may be in breach of EU antitrust rules.
Russia could attack Nato one year after Ukraine war – Dutch govt
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Russia could launch a “limited” military campaign against a Nato country just one year after the war in Ukraine ends, the Dutch defense ministry warned on Monday. In its annual defence policy strategy document, the ministry said Europe stood in a “grey area” between war and peace, vowing to bolster Dutch defense
BM Güvenlik Konseyi AL-HARAMAIN: THE NETHERLANDS BRANCH kuruluşunu yaptırım listesine ekledi
Birleşmiş Milletler Güvenlik Konseyi, AL-HARAMAIN: THE NETHERLANDS BRANCH adlı kuruluşu konsolide yaptırım listesine ekledi (referans QDe.114). Yaptırım rejimi: Al-Qaida.
BM Güvenlik Konseyi AL-HARAMAIN: THE NETHERLANDS BRANCH kuruluşunu yaptırım listesine eklediOFAC NETHERLANDS CARIBBEAN BANK N.V. kuruluşunu yaptırım listesine ekledi
ABD Hazine Bakanlığı Yabancı Varlıklar Kontrol Ofisi (OFAC), NETHERLANDS CARIBBEAN BANK N.V. adlı kuruluşu Özel Olarak Belirlenmiş Vatandaşlar (SDN) listesine ekledi. Yaptırım programı: CUBA.
OFAC, Aralarında Aerocaribbean'ın da Bulunduğu 20 Küba Kuruluşuna Yaptırım GetirdiOFAC AL-HARAMAIN : THE NETHERLANDS BRANCH kuruluşunu yaptırım listesine ekledi
ABD Hazine Bakanlığı Yabancı Varlıklar Kontrol Ofisi (OFAC), AL-HARAMAIN : THE NETHERLANDS BRANCH adlı kuruluşu Özel Olarak Belirlenmiş Vatandaşlar (SDN) listesine ekledi. Yaptırım programı: SDGT.
ABD, El-Haramain'in Hollanda Kolunu Terör Yaptırım Listesine Ekledi‘Too late’: why some Malukans say a Dutch apology isn’t enough
A recent apology by the Dutch prime minister to the Netherlands’ Malukan community for systemic mistreatment by the state has met with mixed responses; some welcomed the remorse while others demanded concrete action over symbolic words. On June 21, Rob Jetten formally apologised to members of the 75,000-strong Malukan community for the state’s mistreatment of the first generation of Malukans who arrived in Europe 75 years ago from the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, historically known as the Spice...
Why demining the Strait of Hormuz will be difficult – but also presents an opportunity
Why demining the Strait of Hormuz will be difficult – but also presents an opportunity Expert comment thilton.drupal 26 June 2026 Clearing the busy international waterway of mines is a complex challenge that will take time and international coordination. But it could help to build trust between the US and Iran during negotiations. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has begun to increase following the US-Iran deal. Yet for the Strait to fully reopen, it will need to be cleared of sea mines that put ships at risk. This will be a difficult and lengthy task that will put the ceasefire to the test. But it also offers an opportunity to for Iran to work with others to demonstrate its commitment to de-escalation. Mines in the Strait of Hormuz Iran has not publicly confirmed how many mines it laid in the Strait of Hormuz or their precise location. Estimates suggest there are about 80 mines in the Strait. These are primarily Maham 3 and Maham 7 high-explosive blast mines. Importantly, Maham mines resist detection by deviating sonar waves used by minesweepers, making them extremely difficult to detect and remove. Before the war, Iran had an estimated stock of about 5,000-6,000 sea mines, a significant amount of which are produced domestically. Some analysts believe that Tehran has retained 80-90 per cent of its small boats and minelaying vessels, but there is no official confirmation of these numbers. Iran previously declared an area that covered the established traffic lanes as a ‘hazardous area.’ There are currently four suspected but unconfirmed minefield areas around these lanes. These are likely around the western entrance to the Strait, the central eastbound shipping lane, the central westbound shipping lane, and the eastern exit toward the Gulf of Oman. — Made with Natural Earth data. Why demining will be difficult as shipping restarts Demining the Strait of Hormuz will be extremely complicated, in part because it will have to take place amid changing shipping traffic patterns and potentially dangerous congestion in the narrow waterway. Since the main central route through the Strait became effectively closed by Iranian mines, there are now two passable routes through the Strait. Iran has established a northern route closer to the Iranian coast, putting ships at risk of being seized and potentially enabling Iran to charge tolls or ‘service fees’ in future. Meanwhile, the US has established its own southern route that hugs the Omani coast, which it says ships can ‘freely and safely transit.’ Both routes push shipping to the shallow edges of the Strait, increasing the risk of ships running aground. Both are also narrow; in recent days only an average of 25 ships have transited daily, compared to the pre-war daily average of around 125. There are around 500-600 ships still stranded in the Persian Gulf. Traffic cannot be effectively restored to pre-war levels without reopening the main central channel. — Traffic lanes are approximations based on maps from the Associated Press (accessed June 25, 2026) and the Institute for the Study of War and AEI’s Critical Threats Project, updated June 25, 2026. The ‘hazardous area’ is based on a map from Iran’s National Security Commission accessed via Lloyd’s List, 9 April, 2026. Mine clearing will also be difficult to manage safely due to ships turning off their AIS location signals. This has helped ships avoid detection from Iranian forces while traversing the southern route, but also prevents them from communicating their location to other nearby ships, increasing risks of collisions. Turning off AIS signals or ‘going dark’ is also a practice used by ships participating in sanctions evasion and illicit activity at sea, including many Iranian ships and vessels within the shadow fleet. Today, ships may be reluctant to use their AIS signals for fear of becoming targets if hostilities restart. Likewise, GPS jamming has also been used widely across the Gulf in missile defences; GPS jamming disrupts AIS signals, making it impossible to navigate effectively and safely. Demining and traffic management will be further complicated by Iran’s new claims of sovereignty across the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s recently established Persian Gulf Strait Authority has warned that any ships not using ‘unauthorised routes’ would not be guaranteed safe passage. On Thursday, the International Maritime Organization announced it was pausing its efforts to evacuate stranded seafarers from the Persian Gulf after an attack on a cargo ship off the coast of Oman, which the US blamed on Iran. The IMO mission also presents an additional cause of congestion in the Gulf that will need to be managed alongside mine clearing. Who will clear the Strait of mines? Point 5 of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) seems to place the responsibility on Tehran to demine the Strait of Hormuz: ‘The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start, and considering the need for removing the tactical and military obstacles and demining by the Islamic Republic of Iran will be instated within 30 days.’ However, while Iran does have some mine clearing capabilities, its forces are optimized for laying mines rather than removing them. Iran alone may also not be able – or trusted – to clear the mines in the Strait by itself. Ultimately, reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a shared global necessity. But its role cannot be discounted altogether. Given that Iran laid the mines, it could have crucial information about the location of mines, mine types and arming settings. Iran’s participation in demining operations could also provide an opportunity for Tehran to signal its commitment to the peace process and decreases the incentive for it to place more mines in the future. While the US has an arsenal of drones, explosive-laden robots and helicopters for mine detection, it also cannot do the job alone. Mine-clearing through deactivation or detonation still requires highly skilled crews and advanced equipment. The US has historically relied on its NATO allies to cover these areas in an implicit division of labour; it currently only has one ship available for mine clearing in the Middle East. As a result, the US will have no choice but to depend on and coordinate with its allies and partners to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Other countries have a willingness to join a Hormuz mine-clearing mission, with some publicly offering forces. The UK-France proposed multinational coalition includes several European navies that have specialist mine countermeasure forces. The UK has offered some of its newer unmanned mine warfare capabilities for mine detection, which would be paired with HMS Dragon for escort and force protection. Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and the European Union’s EUNAVFOR Operation Aspides among others could all contribute too. Ultimately, reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a shared global necessity. Mine clearing can only effectively and practically happen through international cooperation and coordination. Iran has not only agreed to play a role as per the MoU, but it must also be stakeholder in the reopening of the Strait if the world is to avoid another chokepoint closure in the future. The need for a political solution Mine clearance is often considered a technical challenge, but in the Strait of Hormuz the greater obstacle may be political. Clearing mines is a slow, deliberate and resource-intensive process that requires specialized vessels operating predictably in confined waters. These forces cannot work effectively unless all parties have confidence that they will not become targets. For that reason, a sustained cessation of hostilities between the US and Iran is a prerequisite for any meaningful demining effort. Both sides would need to commit to not attacking each other, but also to protecting mine-countermeasure vessels, support ships, and civilian traffic transiting through the Strait. At present, the ceasefire and accompanying MoU provide only limited guarantees, while large-scale mine clearance has yet to begin. If demining operations are to succeed, these guarantees will likely need to be extended well beyond the current timeline.
Ateşkes Kağıt Üzerinde: Lübnan ve Gazze'de Can Kaybı SürüyorNetherlands activates nationwide protocol amid soaring temperatures
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute issues code orange heat warning for 9 provinces from noon, while water and infrastructure authority expands heat protocol to cover entire country
Major power outage in France as Europe wilts under record heat
Europe braced on Wednesday for another day of a sweltering heatwave that has smashed records, left tens of thousands of people without power and sent air conditioner sales zooming in a continent unused and ill-equipped to handle searing heat. The extreme weather is being driven by atmospheric patterns that keep hot air trapped in place for days, with these factors worsened by global warming, experts say. France’s national temperature indicator — an average of daytime and nighttime temperatures across 30 stations — reached 29.8 °C on Tuesday, the hottest since measurements began in 1947. With four more French departments being put under the highest heat alert category on Wednesday, around 44 million people are affected, according to AFP calculations. Added to the 31 departments currently on orange alert, more than 90 per cent of the French population is exposed to extreme heat, with temperatures of 39°C to 41°C expected on Wednesday from Brittany to the Paris region, and in much of the southwest. The heatwave caused the country’s first major power outage of the latest bout of extreme weather, after a heat-related incident with a transformer left around 68,000 households on Wednesday without electricity in the northwestern Finistere department, the authorities said. While teams worked through the night to fix the issue, which took place late Tuesday, power is not expected to be restored in full until the end of Wednesday at the earliest. Up to 106,000 clients of the French power network were left without power by late Tuesday, as the scorching temperatures strain infrastructure built for the days before man-driven climate change made heatwaves longer, more frequent and more intense, according to scientists. Sales of fans and air conditioners skyrocketed in a country where most buildings are not designed to cope with extreme heat. On Monday, hypermarket operator Carrefour had sold 30,000 units by 6:30pm — “a thousand times more than on a normal day”, CEO Alexandre Bompard said. Sales on Amazon nearly doubled last week compared with the same period in 2025, while the electronics outlet Fnac Darty reported double-digit growth. Thierry, an electrician in southwest France, said he was overwhelmed by requests for “emergency” air-conditioning installations. “In theory, you have to submit a request to the owners’ association general meeting” in residential complexes, “but people don’t want to wait”. “It’s difficult to live alone and without air conditioning,” said Martine Belloc, a 62-year-old retiree in Bordeaux, who on Tuesday went to La ManuCo, a coworking site that mobilised to welcome elderly people. ‘We’re suffocating’ John Beeler, a 45-year-old American engineer, said he and his wife were baking in the French capital. “Visiting Paris in this heat is awful,” he told AFP, wearing a fisherman’s hat and holding a small fan. “We’re suffocating in the streets, we’re suffocating in the subway and we’re even suffocating in our rental,” he said, adding that they would be moving to an air-conditioned hotel room. Italy’s health ministry declared a red heatwave alert in 16 cities on Wednesday, including Milan and Rome. The heatwave is expected to extend into eastern Europe in the coming days. Poland’s weather service issued high-level heat warnings for the western part of the country from Thursday to Saturday, forecasting temperatures could break the record of 40.2°C set in 1921. Croatia’s popular Adriatic coast was also put under red alert for Friday and Saturday. Hungary, already under a second-level heat alert, said it was raising that to the maximum level from Saturday to Tuesday as temperatures continued to rise. The current heatwave is “significantly exacerbated by human-induced climate change”, without which the current temperatures would have been 2 to 4°C cooler, according to a scientific study published this week. But some relief could start to come from the west on Wednesday, when Spain’s national weather service said temperatures would drop in most of the country. No quick relief But no quick temperature drop is in sight across much of the rest of western Europe. From Wednesday until at least Friday, the central and southern Netherlands will be under a code orange for extreme heat. Anyone living in Amsterdam with a city pass may swim for free in six city outdoor pools, while the national rail company NS will run fewer trains on a number of routes starting Wednesday. In Britain, James Bowen, assistant general secretary at the National Association of Head Teachers, told AFP that “pretty much every school up and down the UK will be having to make some form of adaptation this week in light of the extreme heat. “I think it’s fair to say that the school estate in the UK is not well prepared for this level of heat,” he said. After some of France’s most visited sites, such as the Louvre museum and the Eiffel Tower, decided to limit visiting hours, the management of one of Belgium’s best-known monuments, the space-age Atomium in Brussels, said it would close earlier to visitors from Wednesday to Friday.
Rekor Sıcak Dalgası Avrupa'yı Kilitledi: Fransa'da Büyük Elektrik KesintisiEurope heatwave live: UK braces for record-breaking temperatures; Italy issues red alert for 16 cities
Temperatures expected to hit 40C in parts of the UK, as extreme heatwave spreads slowly eastwards, sparking warnings in Italy and the Netherlands France records hottest day ever as 40 people drown across country Tell us: how is the heatwave in the UK and across Europe affecting you? Europe is braced for another day of an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed records in many countries. Italy’s health ministry has declared a red heatwave alert in 16 cities for Wednesday, including Milan and Rome, and in the UK, temperatures are expected to reach 40C in some areas. Continue reading...
Avrupa'da Rekor Sıcaklıklar: İngiltere'de 40 Derece, İtalya'da Kırmızı AlarmParliamentary budget office
WHILE the budget session in the federal and provincial assemblies is in progress, some members of the two Houses of parliament have again raised the need for an independent office within parliament to provide an unbiased analysis of the annual budget to the legislators. The argument is that if members of parliament have to debate various aspects of the budget as informed legislators and exercise oversight on the executive’s produced budget, they need support from an entity which is outside the control of the executive so that the numbers produced by the Ministry of Finance for the budget and by the Ministry of Planning and Development for the Public Sector Development Programme can be scrutinised and independently verified before the parliamentarians provide their feedback and input during the budget debate. In fact, a member of the National Assembly had introduced a private member’s bill titled the ‘Parliamentary Budget Office Bill, 2025’, in the Assembly last year. The bill was referred to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance which asked its sub-committee chaired by Dr Nafisa Shah to examine the proposal in depth. As one can gather from media reports, the bill was strongly opposed by the representatives of the finance ministry who complained to the sub-committee that the bill granted excessive powers to the proposed budget office. The ministry also objected to the suggested direct reporting relationship of the proposed office to parliament without taking the ministry into confidence. While the bill was not passed in its original form, it was agreed that the ministry’s finance and revenue divisions would come up with an amended draft for consideration of the sub-committee and the full committee. As the debate on the 2026-27 budget commences, there is no sign that such a draft has been placed before the committee or that the committee has taken that into consideration. A parliamentary budget office is not a novel idea; a number of countries around the world have established such offices to support the independent character of their respective parliaments but most of them are mature democracies in the developed world. Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, South Korea and US are among those with independent budget offices within their respective parliaments. Some developing or mid-level countries like Kenya also have a parliamentary budget office. The only exception seems to be Afghanistan during the pre-Taliban period when USAID and development agencies from many developed democracies were working hard to transform Afghanistan into a democracy. USAID supported the establishment of a parliamentary budget office in Afghanistan in 2007, which continued to function right up to the Taliban takeover in 2021. In keeping with the overall democracy project in Afghanistan, there is no evidence that the Afghan parliamentary budget office reported any meaningful success. A typical office of this kind requires highly skilled and professional staff ranging from 15 to 45 members — depending on the scope of work. The cost of establishing a typical parliamentary budget office ranges from $3 million to $10m with an annual operational cost ranging from $5m to $10m for a country like Pakistan. In comparison, America’s Congressional Budget Office employs hundreds of professional staff and its operational cost is in the vicinity of $65m. The Netherlands spends around $8m to $10m per year. Many countries have parliamentary budget offices to support parliament’s independence. It is normal to expect that there will be some level of tension or even confrontation between the parliamentary budget office and government. For example, Canada’s parliamentary budget officer recently released the highly scrutinised Economic and Fiscal Outlook — June 2026 that revealed that the federal deficit had essentially doubled to 72 billion Canadian dollars in the last fiscal year, putting the government’s fiscal targets in jeopardy. The office’s reports have frequently challenged the government’s financial management as the nation approached an election, embarrassing the ruling party and putting at risk its electoral prospects. It is, therefore, understandable that the government in Pakistan has resisted the idea of such an independent institution. Confrontations are not limited to those with governments. The Canadian parliamentary budget office, in the past, has also crossed swords with the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons and defied his explicit instructions to submit its reports to the Speaker’s office or the finance committee before making it public. There was a long-standing confrontation between the first parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page and the Speaker at the time. This writer witnessed the state of relations between the two while conducting three study visits of Pakistani parliamentarians to the Canadian parliament from 2009 to 2011. This example could serve as a reminder to all concerned that when an ‘independent’ entity is created, it may not accept dictation even from its creator. All those advocating for an independent parliamentary budget office may read the book Unaccountable: Truth and Lies on Parliament Hill authored by Kevin Page. While Pakistani legislators may continue to seek the creation of an independent parliamentary budget office, a practical compromise solution may be to strengthen the staffing of the Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, both quantitatively and qualitatively. By inducting qualified professionals on the basis of merit, the committee can significantly enhance its research and analytical capacity, while avoiding endless argument with the government. Sadly, our standing committees relating to various divisions of the federal government lack the capacity to undertake any meaningful oversight of the concerned ministries and divisions. In fact, the entire committee system may need to be strengthened by providing it with dedicated researchers and analysts in addition to physical infrastructure such as offices and dedicated meeting rooms. Compared to the creation of a parliamentary budget office, it may be more practical and attainable to strengthen parliamentary committees. The writer is president of the Pakistan-based think tank Pildat. president@pildat.org X: @ABMPildat Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2026
Pakistan Milletvekillerinden Bağımsız Bütçe Ofisi ÇağrısıTen years on, has the Brexit vote helped or hindered the EU?
Some said Britain’s departure would bring down the union, but countries are still queueing to join On the night of 23 June 2016, a storm broke out over Brussels. Rain poured and lightning flashed over the European Union headquarters. The next day dawned grey and calm, but the political weather was raging. Britain had voted to leave the EU. Nigel Farage, then leader of the UK Independence party (Ukip), declared the EU “finished” and “dead”. France’s Marine Le Pen, the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders and Italy’s Matteo Salvini were among the far-right leaders who called for their countries to have a referendum. Continue reading...
Dutch to return 2,000 artefacts to Ghana as Reparatory Justice Conference secures major commitments
Ghana has secured commitments from several European countries to return looted cultural artefacts and support efforts toward reparatory justice, with the Netherlands announcing plans to return 2,000 artefacts catalogued in its possession.
14,971 WordPress Sites Cleaned in Global SocGholish Takedown
Operation EndGame disrupted SocGholish, taking down 106 servers and cleaning 14,971 WordPress sites used to spread fake-update malware. On June 18, 2026, law enforcement agencies from the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, and Germany, coordinated through Europol, executed a joint action week against SocGholish, one of the most persistent and widely deployed malware distribution networks […]
Europol Koordinasyonunda SocGholish Zararlı Yazılım Ağına Büyük DarbeNetherlands redirects frigate to Strait of Hormuz for possible mission
AMSTERDAM, June 19 - The Netherlands said on Friday it had redirected a frigate towards the Strait of Hormuz, in order to be able to join a possible international mission there.
What did we learn from the hantavirus cruise ship scare?
As the hantavirus scare comes to an end with the last cruise ship passengers set to leave quarantine, what did the world learn from this sudden outbreak of a previously little-known virus? The deaths of three people who had been onboard the MV Hondius sparked a global health alert in early May, prompting fears the ship’s many international passengers could spread the rodent-borne disease across the world. Many nations responded by putting the passengers and contact cases in quarantine or isolation for the disease’s six-week incubation period. There were no further deaths during the outbreak — and all 12 confirmed hantavirus cases were passengers on the ship. With the last remaining passengers soon to leave quarantine, AFP answers key questions about an episode that again highlighted the risk viruses in animals pose to humans. Is it over? Almost all the passengers of the Dutch-flagged ship quarantined in the Netherlands have been allowed to return home, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday. In France, four people quarantined in a hospital are set to be released on Sunday. A fifth passenger who became seriously ill will stay in intensive care; however, her condition has improved, according to French health authorities. In other countries, people are also set to leave quarantine — in Australia, six passengers are scheduled to be set free on Tuesday. There have been no new cases reported in the outbreak for more than three weeks. Given the incubation period for the virus has passed, “the episode can likely be considered over,” Nicole Tischler, president of the International Society of Hantaviruses, told AFP. What did we learn? The 12 confirmed cases — and another considered likely — pale in comparison to the tens of thousands of hantavirus infections recorded worldwide every year. However, most of those cases involve humans getting infected while in close contact with a rodent. The concerning factor about the cruise ship outbreak was that the virus was transmitted between humans. The Andes strain that spread on the ship is the only form of hantavirus known to do this; however, documented outbreaks have been very rare. This raised the spectre that the nearly 150 people on the ship could spread the disease in their home countries. This did not happen. The only instances of human-to-human transmission were in the tight confines of the ship — and even then appear to have been limited. “The conditions were really an accelerator for virus particles,” French infectious disease specialist Xavier Lescure told a press briefing on Thursday. This was evidence that the risk of transmitting hantavirus between humans remains “low,” he added. The cases also did not show any “particular novelty” compared to the infections regularly recorded in parts of the Americas, Lescure said. What remains unknown? The sudden global spotlight on hantavirus has, however, spurred some progress in understanding the virus, for which there is no treatment. “The event highlighted how little is known about the precise timing of infectiousness; specifically, whether transmission occurs only after symptom onset or may begin in the days beforehand,” Tischler said. She hoped more would be revealed about how the infected people came in contact on the ship. Perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle still missing is how the first person became infected. It had been thought that a passenger on the ship caught the virus while travelling in regions of Argentina where it is endemic. However, the country’s health ministry announced last week that an investigation in a second Argentine province had failed to find any virus-carrying rodents. The right response? With memories lingering of the Covid-19 pandemic, some countries swiftly enforced a strict six-week quarantine for the ship’s passengers and contact cases. Other nations, such as the UK, allowed passengers to isolate at home. Some of those placed in mandatory quarantine have spoken out. In the United States, passenger Angela Perryman told CNN this week she felt like a “hostage” after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy overruled an expert’s recommendation to release her. Experts have observed that this episode has again illustrated the risks of zoonotic diseases, which are transmitted from animals to humans. Some other examples include Covid and mpox, as well as mosquito-borne scourges such as malaria, chikungunya and dengue.
MV Hondius'taki Hantavirüs Salgını Küresel Sağlık Dersleri VerdiQuarantine over for almost all hantavirus ship passengers, crew
GENEVA: Almost all the passengers and crew of the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak who had to quarantine in the Netherlands are now allowed to return home, the WHO chief said Thursday.
Zelenskyy thanks Netherlands for €500m package for drones and air defence systems, says it comes at just the right time
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that the Netherlands will provide Ukraine with a new €500 million military aid package to purchase drones and support an air defence programme.
Panel on NATO's future in transforming global security environment held in Netherlands ahead of Ankara summit
Panel co-organized by Türkiye’s Communications Directorate, Turkish Embassy in The Hague, and Dutch-based Clingendael Academy
Netherlands to allocate 500 million euro for weapons to Ukraine — minister
Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius said that air defense is more important than ever for the Ukrainians
Hollanda Ukrayna'ya 500 Milyon Euroluk Silah Yardımı Taahhüt EttiNetherlands Pledges $580 Million for Weapons for Ukraine
The Netherlands pledged €500 million ($580 million) in weapons support for Ukraine, Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius said Wednesday.
Hollanda Ukrayna'ya 500 Milyon Euroluk Silah Yardımı Taahhüt EttiDutch MoD and Naval Group Ink F21 Torpedo Procurement Contract
On 16th June 2026, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence represented by Vice Admiral Jan Willem Hartman from COMMIT and Naval Group signed the contract for the supply of new-generation F21 heavyweight torpedoes to equip the Orka-class submarines. With this contract, the Royal Netherlands Navy will become the first NATO SSK fleet to operate the F21. ... The post Dutch MoD and Naval Group Ink F21 Torpedo Procurement Contract appeared first on Naval News.
NPT Review Conference Falls at Last Hurdle
NPT Review Conference Falls at Last Hurdle Tue, 06/16/2026 - 14:00 June 16, 2026 The April 28-May 22 nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference failed to adopt a final consensus document on May 22 after conference president Ambassador Do Hung Viet withheld the final document for debate due to unresolvable disagreements over how to address Iran’s nuclear program and the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. This marks the third straight failure of the NPT review process. The conference, which takes place every five years, involved some 130 states-parties. The review conferences aim to review NPT commitments, reaffirm support for the treaty, and create a concrete action plan for the next five years. The conference took place during a time when each of the three pillars of the NPT – nonproliferation, disarmament, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy – are under severe strain. Viet said at a news conference May 22 that, “No one [state] blocked consensus because I realized there was not consensus, and so I did not put the document forward.” The exchanges at the conference also revealed the discord among the nuclear five on how and whether to reduce nuclear risks and nuclear arsenals. The U.S. delegation sought to focus attention on China’s nuclear buildup and said it had proposed “multilateral strategic stability talks” on “transparency, risk reduction, and nuclear testing.” China and Russia expressed regret that the United States had failed to take up opportunities to negotiate a follow-on to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired in February. They urged Washington to actively consider Moscow’s proposal to respect that treaty’s numerical limits for one more year and explore a follow-on agreement “in a responsible manner.” On April 29, China’s director-general for disarmament, Sun Xiaobo stated that “China has no interest in [strategic stability talks],” because China views the proposed talks as a way for the United States “to shift the responsibility for nuclear disarmament to other countries.” After the conference, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also rejected the premise of the talks, stating, “the conditions for launching a substantive, equitable, and mutually acceptable strategic dialogue, which could include a discussion of arms control, are currently fundamentally lacking.” Later this month, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation Christopher Yeaw, who appeared at the review conference to briefly lead the U.S. NPT delegation, will testify June 30 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Europe subcommittee to discuss U.S. plans for “Arms Control and Nonproliferation in an Era of Great Power Competition.” –LIBBY FLATOFF, XIAODON LIANG, and MIA CLARKE For more on the outcome of the NPT Review Conference, see this month’s ACT news report: “2026 NPT Review Conference Stymied by Disputes.” NPT President Viet: NPT Failure “Not Surprising” Addressing the Arms Control Association’s Annual Meeting on June 2, Vietnamese Ambassador Do Hung Viet, the president of the 2026 nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, said the inability of states-parties to reach consensus was “disappointing, but it was not surprising.” Viet addressed the annual meeting by live video, days after completing duties as president of the review conference, to share his reflections on the third consecutive failure by states-parties to agree on a final document. Viet called for a broadening of the international understanding of “risk” as a necessary next step. He suggested that the “growing attractiveness” of nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence have placed pressure on key norms, seriously affecting nuclear risk reduction efforts. Expressing cautious optimism, the ambassador shared his belief that “common ground has narrowed but has remained,” and that the NPT remains a foundation for peace and security even in the face of new challenges. He also stressed the importance of sustained dialogue among the nuclear weapons states to navigate new disagreements, conflicts, and challenges. Viet concluded by emphasizing that “a safer future will not emerge automatically,” and that today’s efforts to reduce nuclear risks and increase cooperation will profoundly shape the future security environment. A full video recording of the Arms Control Association Annual Meeting, including Ambassador Viet’s remarks, is available online. Trump Claims “Denuclearization” Proposal Presented to China U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters May 15 that he had discussed “denuclearization” with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during a May 14-15 state visit. Although Trump received “a very positive response,” the Chinese side made no commitments on the subject, according to the president. Trump noted that he would meet Xi three more times in 2026, suggesting the president hopes for a resumption of talks on the strategic nuclear relationship later this year. For more on the status of U.S.-China nuclear talks, see the June issue of Arms Control Today. SIPRI: Deployed Weapons and Stockpiles Grow The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released June 8 its 2026 annual yearbook on disarmament, including a detailed assessment of the forces, doctrines, and modernization efforts of the nuclear-armed states. The assessment, which draws on the open-source research of the Federation of American Scientists, concludes that the “world’s nuclear arsenals expanded and upgraded” during 2025, according to a press release. Although the total inventory of nuclear forces around the world likely declined due to the dismantlement and retirement of older warheads, the size of active stockpiles and the number of deployed warheads increased in 2025. Additionally, all nuclear-armed states are believed to be conducting modernization or upgrade programs to various degrees. The most notable changes occurred in China and India. China has pursued advances in missile defense and launch-on-warning systems, and has begun deploying some missiles at heightened levels of readiness in silos. Additionally, China’s number of deployed missiles increased by between 24 and 34 between January 2025 and 2026. Coupled with new deployments of warheads on missiles with mobile battalions and near-constant SSBN deterrence patrols, these changes may signal China’s transition away from the strictest interpretation of a “no-first use” policy and toward an “early warning counter strike strategy” as it seeks to reinforce its second-strike capability. India appears to have changed its policy of storing warheads and missiles separately and has begun loading missiles in canisters and deploying warheads on an SSBN conducting deterrence patrols. SIPRI reported that in January 2025 India was believed to have no warheads regularly deployed on missiles, but by January 2026, it had twelve. In conjunction with the May 2025 conflict between India and Pakistan, which included conventional strikes on Pakistani sites housing components of Islamabad’s nuclear weapons program, this policy change may indicate increased escalation risks within the region. The yearbook also details a growing coordination and collaboration between the UK and France. Both countries are seeking to supplement and stabilize deterrence of the perceived risk of Russian aggression as the Trump administration’s anti-NATO rhetoric has intensified. Looking forward, the yearbook predicts that increases in stockpiles and deployed weapons, as well as decreases in transparency and data-sharing, will continue. France Talks Nuclear Planning with Allies With the addition of Norway and Finland, the number of NATO countries that are consulting with Paris on supporting French nuclear forces in contingencies has increased to ten. The dialogues follow the announcement in March by French President Emmanuel Macron of a new strategy of “forward” deterrence that could allow for the temporary deployment of nuclear strike aircraft outside of France. Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Sweden have also expressed an intention to discuss cooperation with France. Norway’s involvement in the scheme advanced May 27 with the signing of a mutual defense agreement with France and the announcement of further consultations on participation in a “process to determine how France’s nuclear weapons can contribute to security and deterrence in Europe,” according to a Norwegian government press release. Finland’s involvement remains at a preliminary stage, with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo informing Finnish news agency STT on June 4 that Macron’s government had transferred further details regarding the proposed arrangement, which is now under discussion in Helsinki. The shift in French policy responds to perceptions in Europe of a weakened U.S. commitment to the defense of the continent. The Financial Times reported June 2 that the United States has held talks through NATO channels with several states on potentially hosting U.S. nuclear weapons under an expansion of the existing NATO nuclear sharing arrangement. The newspaper reported that sources indicate the talks were intended to demonstrate a willingness to provide a greater nuclear commitment to Europe while Washington draws down conventional forces. U.S. to Return Intermediate-Range System to Japan Japan will host U.S. intermediate-range ground-launched missiles for military exercises in June, the Japanese newswire Kyodo News reported May 21. A ground-launched Tomahawk cruise missile unit will deploy to Kanoya Airbase in Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, as part of the Valiant Shield and Orient Shield joint exercises, the newswire reported. This marks the second deployment of the Typhon mid-range capability system to Japan after a unit participated in exercises last September. Although the report said that the missiles and launchers would remain in storage in Japan following the exercises, the Russian news agency TASS reported May 22 that the Japanese Embassy in Moscow had informed press the unit would be gone “by mid-October.” The Russian government criticized the move as “seriously detrimental” to the “stability and security of the Asia-Pacific region.” The missile unit is intended to contribute to long-range land- and maritime-attack capabilities of U.S. military forces in the Asia-Pacific, mirroring similar long-range conventional weapons in the Chinese arsenal. A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson described the Tomahawk ground-launcher as “a strategic offensive weapon [that] will harm the legitimate security interests of other countries,” at a May 22 press conference. Comment Period on U.S. Plutonium Pit Production Plan Closes July 15 The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will continue receiving written public comments on its draft programmatic environmental impact statement for plans to expand plutonium pit production until July 15. The agency invites comments from state and local governments, public interest groups, businesses, and individual members of the public. The draft programmatic environmental impact statement assesses the likely consequences of three production alternatives, none of which include no expansion of plutonium pit production capacity. The draft ultimately endorses the NNSA’s plans to produce 80 pits per year at Los Alamos National Laboratories and the Savannah River Site, as mandated by Congress. Vatican Calls for Nuclear Disarmament, Limits on Autonomous Weapons In a major May 15 theological statement, the Catholic Church called for limits on autonomous weapons and decried the “erroneous belief that nuclear deterrence is an indispensable prerequisite for security.” The statement, an encyclical promulgated by Pope Leo XIV, comes after months of rhetorical clashes with the White House over the church’s promotion of peace and disarmament. The encyclical primarily addresses the implications of artificial intelligence technologies, but also touches on other peace and security issues. In a brief section on nuclear weapons, it criticizes the belief that lower-yield “miniaturized” nuclear weapons can be “a more viable option” for use in warfare. It laments that a shared “recognition of the threat posed by weapons capable of destroying all of humanity” has been “left behind,” contributing to a new arms race. The encyclical also acknowledges the 2021 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, but notes that major nuclear powers have not acceded to the treaty. The new theological statement calls for accountability built into and responsible human control over autonomous weapons, as well as an international regime to “curb the technological arms race and ensure robust protection for civilians and the infrastructures necessary for their survival.” For further coverage of the Papal encyclical, please look forward to the July/August edition of Arms Control Today. In Case You Missed It: “2026 Adopted Resolutions: Urging the United States to Lead a Global Effort to Halt and Reverse the Nuclear Arms Race,” U.S. Conference of Mayors, June 2026. “Premeditated: 2025 Global Nuclear Weapons Spending,” Alicia Sanders-Zakre and Susi Snyder, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, June 2026. “Friendly Proliferation: Assessing U.S. Perceptions on Proliferation Among Allies and Partners,” Astrid Chevreuil, Center for Strategic International Studies, June 9. “Mitigating Miscalculation: The Role of Pre-Launch Notifications in Strategic Stability,” William Alberque et al., Pacific Forum, May 2026. “Contriving Imaginary Gaps in Nuclear Deterrence,”Jay Tilden, War on the Rocks, May 29. “Trump's Nuclear Review,” Madelyn Creedon et al., RealClearDefense, May 26. “Restrain and Hedge: A New U.S. Nuclear Strategy for a Two-Peer World,” Tyler Bowen, War on the Rocks, May 15. “The “Karaganov Debate”: How Policy Entrepreneurs Shape Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine,” Alexander Graef and Gabriela Iveliz Rosa Hernandez, Global Studies Quarterly, April 24. “Future-Proofing U.S. Nuclear Policy: Forecasting Outcomes of the Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile,” Amy J. Nelson and Mariam Kvaratskhelia, New America, Feb. 26. On the Disarmament Calendar July 7: 9th anniversary of the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons July 16: 81st anniversary of the Trinity test August 6 and 9: 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 29: International Day Against Nuclear Tests September 24: 30th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Nov. 30- Dec. 3: First Review Conference of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, New York
2026 NPT Konferansı İran ve ABD-İsrail Anlaşmazlıklarıyla ÇöktüAmbassador Massari aboard the Great Lagos, the Grimaldi Group’s giant in Amsterdam
(ANSA) - BRUXELLES, 15 GIU - In Amsterdam, along one of the routes connecting Europe to Africa and South America, an Italian story of global expansion is unfolding. Aboard the Great Lagos, part of the Grimaldi Group’s new, state-of-the-art G5 class, the Italian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Augusto Massari, celebrated a business model capable of combining growth, innovation, and sustainability. He was welcomed by the General Manager of Grimaldi Netherlands, Ivan Tessitore, along with the ship’s captain, Angelo Corrao, and the Port of Amsterdam terminal director, Paul Brink. Ambassador Massari reaffirmed Italy’s commitment to promoting its businesses abroad, particularly in light of the reform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, and highlighted the intensified efforts of the embassy in The Hague to support those operating in the Netherlands. Grimaldi has been present in the Port of Amsterdam for over 25 years and aims to develop it as its main logistics hub for Northern Europe, leveraging its road, rail, maritime, and river connections. This strategy gained momentum in 2023 with the acquisition of a 20-year concession covering over 200,000 square meters within the Dutch port. This is “a shining example of Italian entrepreneurship, demonstrating the ability to establish itself in global markets through competitiveness, long-term strategic vision, and a constant focus on technological innovation and sustainability,” Massari noted. Another highlight of the visit was the Great Lagos, named after the Nigerian metropolis that is home to the largest port terminal in West Africa operated by Grimaldi. The ship represents the most advanced face of the new generation of the fleet: CO₂ emissions per ton transported are reduced by up to 43% compared to previous vessels thanks to exhaust gas abatement technologies, low-friction hull coatings, and systems that enable shore power during port calls. With over 130 ships, 140 ports served, 17,000 employees, and 97 offices worldwide, the group thus reaffirms its commitment to Amsterdam as a gateway to Northern Europe and a strategic hub for ocean routes to emerging markets. Read article...
Europe is starting to break up with US big tech. But it’s still abiding by the Silicon Valley rulebook | Max von Thun
The European Commission has unveiled its plans for digital sovereignty. Its proposals betray a disappointing lack of vision Beti Hohler is a Slovenian national who lives in the Netherlands. Like tens of millions of other Europeans, she uses Apple’s app store and has an Amazon account. When she travels for work or leisure, she may want to book a place on Airbnb or Booking, using a credit card issued by Visa or Mastercard, perhaps through PayPal. But when the Trump administration sanctioned her last year for her work as a judge at the international criminal court (ICC), her ability to use any of these services vanished overnight. Her credit cards, her accounts with US companies – all gone. The sanctions against Hohler and some of her colleagues mean they live in “constant uncertainty”, she said. Max von Thun is the director of Open Markets Institute Europe, an anti-monopoly thinktank Continue reading...
Palestinian children, journalists killed in Gaza commemorated in Netherlands
Thousands of children's shoes displayed during memorial event in Den Bosch
Ateşkes Kağıt Üzerinde: Lübnan ve Gazze'de Can Kaybı SürüyorMan convicted in France after pit bull killed pregnant girlfriend
SOISSONS: A French court on Thursday convicted a man of involuntary manslaughter after the pit bull he had illegally imported and trained to bite mauled to death his pregnant girlfriend. The court in the northern town of Soissons handed Christophe Ellul, 51, a suspended four-year sentence, and ordered the dog put down. Ellul in November 2019 found his girlfriend dead in a forest outside the town, her body covered with 50 bites. Elisa Pilarski, a 29-year-old who was six months pregnant, had been out walking their two-year-old dog, an American pit bull terrier named Curtis. Minutes before she died, she had called him at work at an airport outside Paris some 50 kilometres (30 miles) away to say she had been bitten and she could not control their dog, the investigation showed. It is illegal in France to import pit bulls, which have been classified as dangerous. Ellul long argued that his dog, which he brought from the Netherlands, was not aggressive. He said that hounds taking part in a deer hunt in the forest must have been responsible. But DNA tests showed that the culprit was the pit bull. Sixty-two hunting hounds and the couple’s other five dogs were also tested to exclude their involvement. The dog Curtis, now aged eight and a half, has spent more than six years locked up in a kennel since the incident. Animal activists have called for his pardon, with one petition on change.org with more than 80,000 signatures urging Curtis instead be transferred to an animal shelter. Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2026
Fransa'da Hamile Kadını Öldüren Pitbull Sahibine Ertelenmiş Hapis CezasıAmb. Massari meets with the Director of the Trust Fund for Victims at the ICC
(ANSA) - ROMA, 11 GIU - The Italian Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Augusto Massari, met at the International Criminal Court with the Executive Director of the Trust Fund for Victims, Deborah Ruiz Verduzco, to discuss the Fund’s activities and future priorities in support of victims of international crimes. The talks provided an opportunity to explore the role of the Trust Fund for Victims, established in 2004 by the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute and considered one of the fundamental instruments of restorative justice within the International Criminal Court. During the meeting, the results achieved by the Fund in 2026 and the main lines of action planned for the near future were presented. Through programs providing physical, psychological, and social assistance, as well as reparations, the Fund supports victims of crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and crimes of aggression, making a concrete contribution to improving their living conditions and those of their families. The meeting also provided an opportunity to reaffirm Italy’s ongoing commitment to the activities of the Trust Fund, of which our country is one of the main supporters. “Victims are at the heart of the International Criminal Court’s mission. Ensuring they receive assistance and reparations means giving concrete expression to the principles of justice, dignity, and accountability that inspire the Rome Statute system,” Ambassador Massari stated, noting the renewal of Italy’s voluntary contribution to the Trust Fund for Victims through 2026. Read article...
İtalya Büyükelçisi Massari, ICC Mağdurlar Fonu Direktörü ile Faaliyetleri DeğerlendirdiPew poll: Negative vibes for Israel in 36 countries
After more than three years of waging war against its neighbors, Israel appears to be more negatively regarded not only in the United States, where Israel’s image has been sinking since shortly after the outbreak of its war in Gaza in October 2023, but in the rest of the world as well. According to a new poll released, majorities — in some key cases overwhelming majorities — of respondents in most of the three dozen countries surveyed by the Pew Research Center between early February and mid-May said they held an unfavorable view of Israel and had little or no confidence in its long-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. A median across the 36 countries of 67%, or two thirds, of the more than 44,000 respondents said they had either a “very” or “somewhat unfavorable” opinion of Israel, while a median of 25% said their views were either “very” or “somewhat favorable.” The poll found that views of Israel were most negative among respondents in predominantly Muslim countries; among younger adults, especially in North America and Europe; and among those who identified themselves as being on the left side of their countries’ political spectrum. Respondents who considered themselves on the right tended to be more favorable. Included in the survey were 10 European countries, 12 across Asia (including Australia), four in sub-Saharan Africa, six in Latin America, as well as Turkey, the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem, Canada, and the U.S. itself. The results for the U.S. respondents of the new international survey, part of Pew’s annual Global Attitudes Project, were released in a separate report two months ago. It found that 60% of U.S. adults have an unfavorable view of Israel, an increase from 53% in 2025 and 42% in 2022. Conducted in the last week in March, it also found that majorities of respondents under 50 in both parties – albeit more among those who identified as Democrats or Independents than Republicans — viewed Israel negatively. While the global survey began interviewing respondents roughly three weeks before Israel and the U.S. launched their war against Iran February 28, Pew said most of the interviews took place after that date Views were most negative among mostly Muslim countries, led by Turkey, where 99% of respondents said they held unfavorable views (91% “very unfavorable”); Pakistan, 95% unfavorable (87% “very unfavorable”); Malaysia, 89% unfavorable (79% “very unfavorable”); Indonesia, 86% unfavorable (79% “very unfavorable); and the West Bank/E. Jerusalem 85% unfavorable (80% “very unfavorable”). In Indonesia, “unfavorable” views increased by 6% compared to 2025; in Turkey, the increase was 4%. Elsewhere in Asia, “unfavorable” views in South Korea rose by 10 points — from 60% to 70% over the past year, the biggest increase for all countries that were surveyed in both 2025 and 2026, according to the survey. In Japan, “unfavorable” views were held by 93% of respondents. The only country on the continent where favorable views of Israel were greater than unfavorable views was India: 32% favorable, 28% unfavorable. Strong majorities in every European country surveyed by Pew also voiced unfavorable views of Israel. Spain and Sweden led the pack with 78% of respondents saying their opinion was negative. They were followed closely by the Netherlands (76%), Italy (75%), Germany (73%), and Poland (70%). The biggest year-to-year increase in the percentage of respondents who voiced unfavorable views were found in Italy (9 percentage points), Germany (9 percentage points), and Poland (8 percentage points). Even in Hungary, which had long cultivated close relations with Netanyahu under long-standing but recently ousted prime minister, Viktor Orban, a 54% majority of respondents said they held unfavorable views of Israel, compared to only 32% who expressed more positive opinions. Similarly, majorities of respondents – ranging from Chile (60%) to Brazil (52%) in five of the six Latin American countries – voiced unfavorable opinions of Israel. In the sixth, Peru, a 50% plurality agreed, while 28% of Peruvian respondents said they had either “somewhat” (22%) or “very” favorable views. Particularly notable were the results in Argentina, whose right-wing president, Javier Milei, has visited Israel three times since his inauguration in 2023 and who has declared himself to be “the most Zionist president in the world.” Fifty-five percent of respondents there described their views of Israel as “unfavorable” (34% “very unfavorable”). That marked an increase of 9 points from one year ago. The only continent in which pluralities of respondents said they held “somewhat” or “very favorable” opinions of Israel were found in sub-Saharan Africa. Half of Kenyan respondents said they held favorable views, as did 49% of Ghanaians, and 47% of Nigerians. Nigeria showed a sharp increase in unfavorable views compared to 2025 – from 32% to 41%. A 58% majority of respondents in South Africa, with which Israel has had a somewhat contentious relationship since the end of apartheid, said they had unfavorable views, 44% “very unfavorable.”
İran Savaşı Sonrası 36 Ülkede İsrail'e Yönelik Negatif Algı Zirve YaptıThe Chain of Peace: Do Supply Chain Chokepoints Deter War?
The next war over Taiwan may be deterred not by aircraft carriers or nuclear arsenals, but by a Dutch lithography machine. ASML, headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, is the sole manufacturer of the extreme ultraviolet lithography systems required to produce the world’s most advanced semiconductors. Without its machines, the most sophisticated foundries on earth — including those of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) — cannot operate. This fact should be at the center of how the United States thinks about deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. Currently, it is not.The conventional wisdom holds that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry acts as a “silicon The post The Chain of Peace: Do Supply Chain Chokepoints Deter War? appeared first on War on the Rocks.