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The Netherlands

A far-right Dutch politician who once railed against Islam now spends his time defending it

Religion

Anti-Muslim policies are a key tenet of the Dutch far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) led by Geert Wilders. Many of those policies were devised by former lawmaker and once close confidante of Wilders, Joram van Klaveren. Today van Klaveren dedicates his life to defending Islam.

This club in the Netherlands offers a much-needed break from technology

Internet

As Dutch residents struggle to find housing, some are trying new initiatives

Economics
fish underwater

You can ring this ‘fish doorbell’ to help marine life in the Netherlands

Environment
Dutch white people in blackface and colorful costumes

In year of Black Lives Matter protest, Dutch people again wrestle with tradition of Black Pete

Culture
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Putin holds his passport in front of an election official

Putin scores victory in ‘gameshow’-like vote; Myanmar mine collapse; Ethiopian singer’s death sparks protests; Botswana’s mysterious elephant die-off

Top of The World

Vladimir Putin scored an apparent victory in a week-long constitutional referendum that had the trappings of a gameshow. A large landslide struck the Hpakant jade mining site in Myanmar. The killing of Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, an Ethiopian singer and activist, has sparked days of protest. A mysterious die-off of elephants in Botswana has stumped scientists. And, Amsterdam’s red-light district is reopening after the coronavirus shutdown.

Alongside tulips and windmills, the global image of Amsterdam is one of a city entwined with water.

Amsterdam’s coronavirus recovery plan embraces ‘doughnut economics’ for people and the planet

The Big Fix

A key part of “doughnut” economic thinking is no longer using the gross domestic product as a proxy for society’s success. 

Cyclist ride in front of a bus shelter with flowers planted on the roof.

A Dutch city is turning bus shelters into bee sanctuaries

Environment

More than 300 bus shelters have been transformed into bee-friendly green hubs to support biodiversity in the Dutch city of Utrecht.

Commander Jeff Schoep of the National Socialist Movement, one of the largest white nationalist type groups in the country, speaks during a rally at the state capital in Little Rock, Arkansas,

White nationalism, born in the USA, is now a global terror threat

As more people embrace a xenophobic and anti-immigrant worldview, it is fueling hostility and violence toward those deemed “outsiders” — whether because of their religion, skin color or national origin.

Nuria at My Red Light, a social project in the form of a brothel in Amsterdam. Nuria plans to retire from sex work later this year and work full-time in an administrative role at My Red Light.

A Dutch brothel where women work for themselves

Women & Gender

My Red Light in Amsterdam is almost entirely run by former or current sex workers. And it’s designed to ensure that those who rent rooms there aren’t being trafficked or exploited. But some maintain that the work itself is inherently exploitative.

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