Outgoing Health Minister Ernst Kuipers (D66) is leaving The Hague politics with immediate effect and has been honorably discharged by King Willem-Alexander. Kuipers, known for his role during the corona crisis, will take up a position abroad and will be temporarily replaced by outgoing minister Conny Helder (VVD) for long-term care.
Record Number of Ministers Leave Dutch Goverment in Just Two Years: Early Departures Continue to Plague Rutte IV Cabinet
Former lawyer of Bouterse, Irvin Kanhai, has been notified by the prosecutor-general according to Starnieuws. However, the new legal team of Bouterse had their request to stop the execution of the ruling in the December murders case rejected by the Surinamese OM.
Over a thousand villages and towns in Ukraine are without electricity due to low temperatures and high demand. Ukrenergo calls for frugality and imports electricity to fill the shortages.
Palestinian refugees pay thousands of euros to middlemen to get out of Gaza via the Rafah border, where they are trapped by the war. Journalists speak with men living in the Netherlands and the United States who are desperately trying to secure their families.
The expectation for 2024 is that it will continue the trend of record-breaking temperatures, with January and February expected to be more than 1.5 degrees warmer than the average for 1850-1900. This is due to factors such as increasing greenhouse gas concentrations and the delayed impact of the recent El Niño, with scientists still debating potential explanations for the 2023 heat record.