DutchNews podcast – The Exploding Sluices and Vanishing Statues Edition – Week 12 2022

The Netherlands said 'tot ziens' to coronavirus restrictions this week. Photo: ANP/HH/ Peter Hilz
The Netherlands said ‘tot ziens’ to coronavirus restrictions this week. Photo: ANP/HH/ Peter Hilz

Disgrace and disappointment dominate a week in which Hugo de Jonge again dodged questions about his part in a deal to buy substandard face masks that made three enterprising young lobbyists €20 million richer. His successor as health minister, Ernst Kuipers, warned that the pandemic isn’t over but we’re going to remove all the restrictions anyway. A book that accused a Jewish notary of betraying Anne Frank’s family is withdrawn from sale after an independent report dismantles its central claims. The war in Ukraine prompts a startling change of tone in how Dutch politicians talk about refugees, which doesn’t go unnoticed. And there’s plenty of sporting ophef as Louis van Gaal lashes out against FIFA and disgraced football director Marc Overmars is welcomed with open arms and overt amnesia in Antwerp.

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Ophef of the week: Backlash in Antwerp as Marc Overmars is named technical director

News

Hugo de Jonge under fire again as more details of ‘Sywertgate’ face mask deal emerge

Netherlands abandons face masks despite more than 40,000 cases a day

Rutte meets Erdogan on first trip to Ankara since 2012 to discuss war in Ukraine

MPs call for more compensation for low-income families as inflation rises

High energy prices sparked by invasion drive down Dutch consumer confidence

Ukrainian war adds to pressure on overburdened refugee shelters

Ukrainians welcome here: are the Dutch applying double standards to refugees?

Andrii Degeler looks back on a month of war and devastation in Ukraine

Book on betrayal of Anne Frank withdrawn after historians publish rebuttal

Sport

KNVB lines up Ronald Koeman to take over from Van Gaal after World Cup

Van Gaal blasts decision to host World Cup in Qatar as ‘ridiculous’

‘Fascist’ statue removed from outside Amsterdam’s Olympic Stadium

 

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