Dutch election set for October 29 after government falls

Dutch election set for October 29 after government falls
Far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled out of the ruling coalition, bringing down the government and sparking a snap election. (ANP/AFP)
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Updated 06 June 2025
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Dutch election set for October 29 after government falls

Dutch election set for October 29 after government falls
  • Far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled out of the ruling coalition, bringing down the government
  • The vote in the EU’s fifth-largest economy and major global exporter will be closely watched in Europe

THE HAGUE: The Netherlands will hold snap elections on October 29, authorities announced Friday, after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled out of the ruling coalition, bringing down the government and sparking political chaos.

“We have officially set the election date: the... elections will take place on Wednesday 29 October 2025,” Interior Minister Judith Uitermark wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“In the coming period, I will work with the municipalities and other stakeholders to prepare so that this important day in our democracy goes smoothly,” added the minister.

The vote in the European Union’s fifth-largest economy and major global exporter will be closely watched in Europe, where far-right parties have made significant electoral gains.

Polls suggest Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV) is running neck-and-neck with the Left/Green group of former European Commission vice president Frans Timmermans.

The liberal VVD party stands just behind in the polls, suggesting the election will be closely fought.

The election was prompted by the dramatic withdrawal of Wilders and the PVV from a shaky ruling coalition in a row over immigration policy.

Wilders grumbled that the Netherlands was not fast enough to implement the “strictest-ever” immigration policy agreed by the four-way coalition – and pulled out.

He had stunned the political establishment in the Netherlands by winning November 2023 elections by a significant margin – clinching 37 seats out of the 150 in parliament.

The fractured nature of Dutch politics means no one party is ever strong enough to win 76 seats and govern with an absolute majority.

Wilders persuaded the VVD, the BBB farmers party, and the anti-corruption NSC party to govern with him – but the price was to give up his ambition to become prime minister.

The PVV has apparently lost some support since that election, with recent surveys suggesting they would win around 28 to 30 seats.

But the issue after the coming election will be: who will enter into a coalition with Wilders and the PVV?

There was widespread fury with the far-right leader for bringing down the government over what many saw as an artificial crisis.

Far-right parties have been on the rise across Europe. In May, the far-right Chega (“Enough“) party took second place in Portugal’s elections.

In Germany, the anti-immigration far-right AfD doubled its score in legislative elections in February, reaching 20.8 percent.

And in Britain, polls show the anti-immigration, hard-right Reform UK party of Nigel Farage is making significant gains following a breakthrough in local elections.


Macron calls Putin ‘predator’ and ‘ogre at our gates’

Macron calls Putin ‘predator’ and ‘ogre at our gates’
Updated 19 August 2025
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Macron calls Putin ‘predator’ and ‘ogre at our gates’

Macron calls Putin ‘predator’ and ‘ogre at our gates’
  • Emmanuel Macron: Putin, ‘including for his own survival, needs to keep eating. That means he is a predator, an ogre at our gates’
  • Macron: This did not mean that France would ‘come under attack tomorrow, but of course this is a threat to Europe (...) let’s not be naive’

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday warned European allies not to trust Russian President Vladimir Putin whom he called “an ogre at our gates.”

Macron’s remarks came as Russian and Ukrainian presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky looked set for a peace summit after fast-moving talks Monday between Donald Trump and European leaders that focused on the key issue of long-term security guarantees for Kyiv.

“Putin has rarely honored his commitments,” Macron told the LCI broadcaster. “He has constantly been a force for destabilization. He has sought to redraw borders to increase his power.”

Macron said he did not believe that Russia would “return to peace and a democratic system from one day to the next.”

Putin, “including for his own survival, needs to keep eating,” Macron said. “That means he is a predator, an ogre at our gates.”

This did not mean that France would “come under attack tomorrow,” Macron said, “but of course this is a threat to Europe (...) let’s not be naive.”


Somalia faces diphtheria surge amid vaccine shortages and aid cuts

Somalia faces diphtheria surge amid vaccine shortages and aid cuts
Updated 19 August 2025
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Somalia faces diphtheria surge amid vaccine shortages and aid cuts

Somalia faces diphtheria surge amid vaccine shortages and aid cuts
  • Diphtheria, a bacterial disease that causes swollen glands, breathing problems and fever and mostly affects children, is preventable with a widely available vaccine
  • More than 1,600 cases, including 87 deaths, have been recorded, up from 838 cases and 56 deaths in all of 2024
MOGADISHU: Diphtheria cases and deaths have risen sharply this year in Somalia, where the response has been curtailed by vaccine shortages and US aid cuts, Somali officials said.
More than 1,600 cases, including 87 deaths, have been recorded, up from 838 cases and 56 deaths in all of 2024, said Hussein Abdukar Muhidin, the general director of Somalia’s National Institute of Health.
Diphtheria, a bacterial disease that causes swollen glands, breathing problems and fever and mostly affects children, is preventable with a vaccine that became widely available in the mid-20th century.
Childhood immunization rates in Somalia have improved over the past decade, but hundreds of thousands of children are still not fully vaccinated.
After fleeing fighting between government forces and Islamist militants in the central Somalia town of Ceeldheere three months ago, all four of Deka Mohamed Ali’s children, none of whom was vaccinated, contracted diphtheria. Her 9-year-old daughter recovered, but her 8-year-old son died and two toddlers are now being treated at a hospital in the capital Mogadishu.
“My children got sick and I just stayed at home because I did not know it was diphtheria,” she told Reuters from the bedside of her 3-year-old son Musa Abdullahi whose throat was swollen to the size of a lemon from the infection.
Health Minister Ali Hajji Adam said the government had struggled to procure enough vaccines due to a global shortage and that US aid cuts were making it difficult to distribute the doses it had.
Before President Donald Trump cut most foreign assistance earlier this year, the United States was the leading humanitarian donor to Somalia, whose health budget is almost entirely funded by donors.
“The US aid cut terribly affected the health funds it used to provide to Somalia. Many health centers closed. Mobile vaccination teams that took vaccines to remote areas lost funding and now do not work,” said Adam.
Muhidin separately echoed his comments about the closures.
Overall US foreign assistance commitments to Somalia stand at $149 million for the fiscal year that ends on September 30, compared with $765 million in the previous fiscal year, according to US government statistics.
“The United States continues to provide lifesaving foreign assistance in Somalia,” a US State Department spokesperson said when asked about the impact of its aid cuts in the country.
“America is the most generous nation in the world, and we urge other nations to dramatically increase their humanitarian efforts.”
Aid group Save the Children said last month that the closure of hundreds of health clinics in Somalia this year due to foreign cuts has contributed to a doubling in the number of combined cases of diphtheria, measles, whooping cough, cholera and severe respiratory infections since mid-April.
Besides the US, Britain, France, Germany and other major Western donors are also cutting aid budgets.
Somalia’s government has also faced criticism from doctors and human rights activists for its limited funding of the health sector. In 2024, it allocated 4.8 percent of its budget to health, down from 8.5 percent the previous year, Amnesty International said.
The health ministry did not respond to a question about that criticism. It has said it is planning to launch a vaccination drive but has not given details when.

Air Canada to resume service as flight attendants’ union end strike

Air Canada to resume service as flight attendants’ union end strike
Updated 19 August 2025
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Air Canada to resume service as flight attendants’ union end strike

Air Canada to resume service as flight attendants’ union end strike
  • First strike by its cabin crew in 40 years that had upended travel plans for hundreds of thousands of passengers
  • The carrier said it would gradually resume operations and a full restoration may require a week or more

MONTREAL/TORONTO: Air Canada’s unionized flight attendants reached an agreement with the country’s largest carrier on Tuesday, ending the first strike by its cabin crew in 40 years that had upended travel plans for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

The strike that lasted nearly four days had led the airline that serves about 130,000 people daily to withdraw its third quarter and full-year earnings guidance.

The carrier said it would gradually resume operations and a full restoration may require a week or more, while the union said it has completed mediation with the airline and its low-cost affiliate Air Canada Rouge.

“The Strike has ended. We have a tentative agreement we will bring forward to you,” the Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a Facebook post.

Air Canada said some flights will be canceled over the next seven to ten days until the schedule is stabilized and that customers with canceled flights can choose between a refund, travel credit, or rebooking on another airline.

“Air Canada’s Q3 just taxied back to the gate with hundreds of canceled flights that could take up to 10 days to make up for,” said Michael Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital.

Even though stranded passengers expressed frustration as many were forced to sleep in airports or scramble for alternate flights, they sympathized with the workers on strike.

The carrier had earlier offered a 38 percent increase in total compensation for flight attendants over four years, with a 25 percent raise in the first year, which the union deemed insufficient.

The flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday after contract talks with the carrier failed. They had sought pay for tasks such as boarding passengers, which are not remunerated. They are now paid for time when the plane is moving.

The CUPE, which represents Air Canada’s 10,400 flight attendants, wanted to make gains on unpaid work that go beyond recent advances secured by their counterparts at US carriers like American Airlines.

In a rare act of defiance, the union remained on strike even after the Canada Industrial Relations Board declared its action unlawful.

Their refusal to follow a federal labor board order for the flight attendants to return to work had created a three-way standoff between the company, workers and the government.

Jobs Minister Patty Hajjdu had urged both sides to consider government mediation and raised pressure on Air Canada, promising to investigate allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector, a key complaint of flight attendants who say they are not paid for work on the ground.

Over the past two years, unions in aerospace, construction, airline and rail sectors have pushed employers for higher pay, improved conditions and better benefits amid a tight labor market.

Air Canada’s flight attendants have for months argued new contracts should include pay for work done on the ground, such as boarding passengers, but neither the union nor the airline disclosed whether that issue was addressed in the deal.

Its CEO had on Monday in a Reuters interview stopped short of offering plans to break the deadlock, while defending the airline’s offer of a 38 percent boost to flight attendants’ total compensation.


At least 25 rescued after boat capsizes in Nigeria, dozens presumed dead

At least 25 rescued after boat capsizes in Nigeria, dozens presumed dead
Updated 19 August 2025
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At least 25 rescued after boat capsizes in Nigeria, dozens presumed dead

At least 25 rescued after boat capsizes in Nigeria, dozens presumed dead
  • The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said 25 people were still unaccounted for and presumed dead

MAIDUGURI: At least 25 people have been rescued and 25 others are still missing two days after a boat carrying about 50 passengers capsized in Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto State, emergency services said on Tuesday.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said 25 people were still unaccounted for and presumed dead. No bodies had been recovered as of Tuesday morning, the agency said in a statement.

The vessel, which was transporting women, children, and motorcycles to Goronyo market, a hub for food produce in the region, overturned on Sunday, officials said.

Boat accidents are common in Nigeria during the rainy season, due to poor safety regulations and overloaded vessels. Authorities blamed Sunday’s accident on overloading and poor road infrastructure, which forces many residents to rely on water transport.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by strong water currents from a nearby dam, said Zubairu Yari, chairman of Goronyo local government.


Russian strategic bombers fly over Sea of Japan, Russian defense ministry says

Russian strategic bombers fly over Sea of Japan, Russian defense ministry says
Updated 19 August 2025
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Russian strategic bombers fly over Sea of Japan, Russian defense ministry says

Russian strategic bombers fly over Sea of Japan, Russian defense ministry says
  • The flight lasted more than six hours and the bombers were escorted by Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets

MOSCOW: Russian Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers carried out a scheduled flight over neutral waters in the Sea of Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The flight lasted more than six hours and the bombers were escorted by Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets, it said.

The latest Russian military maneuvers over the Sea of Japan come amidst heightened geopolitical tensions in Northeast Asia. Moscow has been steadily increasing its strategic bomber patrols and naval drills in coordination with China, moves widely seen as a challenge to U.S. and allied influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Japan, which has grown more assertive in strengthening its security ties with Washington and regional partners, views such incursions as both provocative and destabilizing.