Tag: netherlands

Former Dutch Prime Minister and Wife Die Together in Dual Euthanasia Procedure

Former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt and his wife committed legally assisted suicide by simultaneous euthanasia this week, the non-profit organisation founded by the ex-Dutch leader has revealed.

Public broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) reported on Friday that former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt (93), who led the Netherlands from 1977 to 1982, and his wife Eugenie van Agt (93) opted on Monday to take their lives in a joint act of euthanasia, which is legally permitted under medical supervision in the Western European nation.

Gerard Jonkman, the director of The Rights Forum non-profit founded by Van Agt in 2009, said that the former prime minister had discussed the option of assisted suicide after suffering a brain haemorrhage in 2019, saying that he said it was an “option if life and suffering became unbearable.”

Since then, Van Agt’s health, as well as his wife’s, steadily declined, according to Jonkman, who said: “His health became more and more fragile, and he wanted to focus his attention on his wife, children and grandchildren.” He said that their decision to commit assisted suicide hand in hand came from a feeling that they “couldn’t live without each other”.

The couple, who were married for seven decades, were buried together on Thursday. The Dutch public broadcaster noted that assisted suicide was a curious decision by Van Agt, given that he was a lifelong Roman Catholic — a faith which preaches against suicide — and a former member of the socially conservative Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).

However, Jonkman noted that the former prime minister was always “idiosyncratic” and that Van Agt “never checked whether his own views are completely in line with those of a party or institution.”

Jonkman went on to note that Van Agt had also become more “progressive” in his later years, even going so far as to cancel his membership in the CDA over the party’s support for Israel in the conflict with Hamas, and in his view ignoring the “immense suffering inflicted on the Palestinian people”.

Keep reading

Fears ‘woman with the flower tattoo’ Rita Roberts’ murder could be linked to serial killer known as The Scalp Hunter and The Canal Murderer


The family of “the woman with the flower tattoo” has been told her murder may be linked to a serial killer known as The Scalp Hunter and The Canal Murderer.

John Sweeney dismembered two former girlfriends before dumping their bodies in canals in Rotterdam and London.

He was known to be living in Belgium and Holland at the same time as the body of Rita Roberts was found washed up at a water treatment plant in Antwerp.

Police say she met with an extremely violent death – similar to Sweeney’s two victims who were about the same age as Cardiff-born Rita.

Interpol are already looking at Sweeney who is serving a whole life sentence for hacking to death Melissa Halstead, 33, and Paula Fields, 31.

The remains of Miss Halstead, whose head and hands were missing, were found in the Westersingel canal in Rotterdam after she vanished from her Amsterdam flat in 1990.

She was only identified in 2008 after Dutch detectives carried out a cold case review and matched familial DNA.

Keep reading

Mystery over ‘the woman with the flower tattoo’ deepens as friend reveals she’d been told of her death 30 years ago – as Rita Roberts’ body was identified this week

The mystery around a British woman murdered in Amsterdam 31-years-ago deepens as an old school friend has come forward with new information. 

31-year-old Rita Roberts, know as the ‘woman with the flower tattoo’, was violently killed and her body was dumped in the Het Groot Schijn river in Antwerp, Belgium, on June 3, 1992.

However, she remained nameless for over three decades until an international appeal for information from Interpol lead to her identification this year because of her distinctive flower tattoo. 

Now an unnamed person has come forward saying they were told she drowned in a canal in Amsterdam thirty years ago. 

‘I was confused to see the stories about Rita because I was told she had drowned in a canal in Amsterdam 30 years ago,’ the school friend told the Mirror.

‘I got on with my life not thinking anything other than it was a tragedy. 

‘I don’t know why this has only come out now.’

This friend is now working with the police to see if it will help catch Ms Roberts killer.  

Ms Roberts had moved there from Cardiff and her last known correspondence was a postcard sent home in May 1992. 

When an appeal to uncover her identity began in May this year, detectives described her as being aged between 20 and 50 years old, around 170cm in height and of a stout build.

She had light-skin and had mid-length dark hair, and was wearing a t-shirt and dark blue Adidas training trousers.

Keep reading

Netherlands euthanizing autistic and intellectually handicapped people, researcher finds

Netherlands programs have euthanized otherwise healthy individuals with autism and intellectual handicaps in recent years, researchers have found. 

Five individuals under the age of 30, who cited autism as a factor in their decision to seek legal euthanasia, are among the cases reviewed by specialists at the U.K.’s Kingston University. 

“Factors directly associated with intellectual disability and/or ASD were the sole cause of suffering described in 21% of cases and a major contributing factor in a further 42% of cases,” Kingston University’s report on the issue found. 

The study noted that in many cases, doctors determined there was “no prospect of improvement” for intellectually challenged individuals because there is no treatment for their handicap.

“Reasons for the EAS [euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide] request included social isolation and loneliness (77%), lack of resilience or coping strategies (56%), lack of flexibility (rigid thinking or difficulty adapting to change) (44%) and oversensitivity to stimuli (26%). In one-third of cases, physicians noted there was ‘no prospect of improvement’ as ASD and intellectual disability are not treatable,” the study reads.

Keep reading

Dutch unveil 4,000-year-old ‘Stonehenge’-like discovery

Dutch archaeologists on Wednesday revealed an around 4,000-year-old religious site—dubbed the “Stonehenge of the Netherlands” in the country’s media—which included a burial mound serving as a solar calendar.

The burial mound, which contained the remains of some 60 men, women and children had several passages through which the sun directly shone on the longest and shortest days of the year.

“What a spectacular archaeological discovery! Archaeologists have found a 4,000-year-old religious sanctuary on an industrial site,” the town of Tiel said on its Facebook page.

“This is the first time a site like this has been discovered in the Netherlands,” it added in a statement.

Keep reading

10,000 Dutch Farmers Protest Govt’s Crippling Nitrogen Emissions Target In The Hague

Thousands of Dutch farmers protested on Saturday against the government’s policies to reduce nitrogen emissions, warning they will put farms out of business and affect food production.

Hundreds of tractors from across the Netherlands could be seen driving to the event in The Hague ahead of regional elections this week, and more than 10,000 farmers were in attendance, according to the Reuters news agency.

Protesters accused the Dutch government of forcing farmers off of privately owned land in order to appease Brussels, and carried banners reading “No farmers, no food” and “There is no nitrogen ‘problem.’”

Tens of thousands of people turned up for the Dutch farmers protest.

Stand for freedom. pic.twitter.com/lAUW1QuqhV

— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) March 11, 2023

“We are fighting against a corrupt and unjust government,” Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a prominent campaigner in defense of the farmers, told attendees. She spoke of a government that “drives our farmers from their land” and which has “turned on its own population.”

“For centuries, our farmers have produced food for millions of people worldwide. And instead of what those liars in The Hague claim, they have done so in a responsible and sustainable way.”

🇳🇱Our farmers are fighting against the worst kind of injustice: a government that has turned on its own people.

The government created a lie to rob our farmers of their land. But we won’t let it happen. Our #DutchFarmers are an example to the world.

My speech with 🇬🇧 subtitles. pic.twitter.com/QYiFbkR2zM

— Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@EvaVlaar) March 11, 2023

“But our cabinet doesn’t care about nature. They have simply created a lie to steal our farmers’ land,” she added.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s administration has vowed to take radical action to meet its ambitious target of halving the country’s nitrogen emissions by 2030, and has identified the country’s large agriculture sector as being the main culprit due to its large livestock count and use of fertilizers.

Last year, the government announced plans to reduce livestock numbers by a third, while farmers have also been told their land could be subject to compulsory buyouts.

Agricultural workers have staged several demonstrations against the government policy, blocking motorways and supermarket distribution centers in mass protests last year.

Keep reading

Netherlands to close up to 3,000 farms to comply with EU rules

The Dutch government plans to buy and close down up to 3,000 farms near environmentally sensitive areas to comply with EU nature preservation rules.

The Netherlands is attempting to cut down its nitrogen pollution and will push ahead with compulsory purchases if not enough farms take up the offer voluntarily. 

Farmers will be offered a deal “well over” the worth of the farm, according to the government plan that is targeting the closure of 2,000 to 3,000 farms or other major polluting businesses.

Earlier leaked versions of the plan put the figure at 120 per cent of the farm’s value but that figure has not yet been confirmed by ministers. 

“There is no better offer coming,” Christianne van der Wal, nitrogen minister, told MPs on Friday. She said compulsory purchases would be made with “pain in the heart”, if necessary. 

Keep reading

Netherlands to ban laughing gas from January

The Dutch government is banning the use of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, amid concerns over the health risks for the growing number of young people using it.

The ban, which starts in January, makes it illegal to buy, sell or own the gas.

However, the authorities say it can still be used for medicinal purposes and in the food industry.

The government also hopes the ban will reduce the number of road traffic accidents involving the drug.

According to road safety monitor TeamAlert, laughing gas has played a role in 1,800 accidents across the Netherlands over the past three years.

“Almost two a day, figures that really shocked us,” Maartje Oosterink of TeamAlert told AD newspaper earlier this month.

Keep reading

Dutch Farmers Block Highways with Manure and Burning Hay to Protest Globalist Climate Agenda

In an escalation of actions taken in protest against the governments plans to shut down vast swaths of farmlands, Dutch farmers dumped manure on highways across the Netherlands on Wednesday morning.

The Netherlands was left scrambling trying to clear dozens of road blockades, consisting of manure, hay, tyres, and other waste heaped on the roads by supporters of the Dutch farmer protest movement against the globalist government of PM Mark Rutte trying to impose draconian EU-based regulations on nitrogen that could see up to 30 per cent of farms disappear in the country.

As of this reporting there has been no police action taken, despite several of the piles of hay or other blockades being set on fire. According to public broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), a police spokesman said that it would be difficult to ascertain who exactly left the manure or other waste on the highways and that the ministry for public works would be responsible for clearing the roads, so therefore no police action would be taken.

Keep reading

Bill Gates-Funded Picnic Grocery Store Burned to Ground in Netherlands Amid Dutch Protests

A grocery facility funded by globalist Bill Gates caught fire in the Netherlands, as Dutch farmers protest against the government’s mandatory carbon-cutting scheme.

Video from Monday night shows the online-only supermarket Picnic facility in Almelo going up in flames.

Picnic, which specializes in delivery services via electric vehicles and reportedly promotes sustainability practices, received €600 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust last year to expand across Europe.

The fire comes as farmers in the Netherlands have been staging demonstrations protesting the government’s new climate rules that force them to reduce fertilizer use and livestock numbers in purported efforts to cut nitrogen and ammonia emissions.

Keep reading