Dutch Prime Minister Gives Resignation, Takes Caretaker Role
By and Katharina Rosskopf
Updated on
Save
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof tendered his resignation and will continue in a caretaker role, setting the stage for a snap election.
Far-right Geert Wilders pulled his Freedom Party out of the Dutch government earlier Tuesday over the refusal of his three coalition partners to agree to his plans to curb migration. His demands included closing the border to asylum seekers, temporarily halting family reunification and returning asylum seekers to Syria.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
34 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Pope meets with child protection advisory board amid survivor calls for zero tolerance on abuse
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Vatican's child protection advisory commission on Thursday for the first time amid questions about his past handling of clergy sex abuse cases and demands from survivors that he enact a true policy of zero tolerance for abuse across the Catholic Church. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which is made up of religious and lay experts in fighting abuse as well as survivors, called the hourlong audience a 'significant moment of reflection, dialogue, and renewal of the church's unwavering commitment to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable people.' The group said it updated history's first American pope on its activities, including an initiative to help church communities in poorer parts of the world prevent abuse and care for victims. The Vatican did not provide the text of Leo's remarks or make the audio of the audience available to reporters. Pope Francis created the commission early on in his pontificate to advise the church on best practices and placed a trusted official, Boston's then-archbishop, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, in charge. But as the abuse scandal spread globally during Francis' 12-year pontificate, the commission lost its influence its crowning recommendation — the creation of a tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for predator priests — went nowhere. After many years of reform and new members, it has become a place where victims can go to be heard and bishops can get advice on crafting guidelines to fight abuse. O'Malley turned 80 last year and retired as archbishop of Boston, but he remains president of the commission and headed the delegation meeting with Leo in the Apostolic Palace. It has often fallen to O'Malley to speak out on egregious cases that have arrived at the Vatican, including one that remains on Leo's desk: The fate of the ex-Jesuit artist, the Rev. Marko Rupnik, who has been accused by two dozen women of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse over decades. After coming under criticism that a fellow Jesuit had apparently received preferential treatment, Francis in 2023 ordered the Vatican to waive the statute of limitations on the case and prosecute him canonically. But as recently as March, the Vatican still hadn't found judges to open the trial. Meanwhile, the victims are still waiting for justice and Rupnik continues to minister, with his supporters defending him and denouncing a 'media lynching' campaign against him. Leo, the Chicago-born former Cardinal Robert Prevost, has been credited by victims of helping to dismantle an abusive Catholic movement in Peru, where he served as bishop for many years. But other survivors have asked him to account for other cases while he was a superior in the Augustinian religious order, bishop in Peru and head of the Vatican's bishops' office. The main U.S. survivor group, SNAP, has also called for Leo to adopt the U.S. policy calling for any priest who has been credibly accused of abuse to be permanently removed from ministry. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Wall Street Journal
42 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Ireland's Economy Grew Much Faster Than Expected on Tariff Stockpiling
Ireland's economy grew three times as rapidly as first estimated in the first quarter, driven by stockpiling of pharmaceuticals and other goods by U.S. businesses ahead of threatened tariffs. The huge revision in output announced by the country's statistics agency Thursday means the eurozone economy likely grew much faster than previously estimated, with new figures for growth in the three months through March to be released Friday.
E&E News
44 minutes ago
- E&E News
EU's top Russian LNG buyers refuse to back Brussels' gas ban
BRUSSELS — The European Union's two biggest buyers of Russian liquefied natural gas are refusing to endorse Brussels' plan to ban Moscow's gas, arguing they need more reassurances on the economic and legal consequences of the move before making a decision. France, the bloc's top buyer, told POLITICO it prefers a strategy of hunting for alternative supplies. Belgium, in second place, wants a report detailing the economic fallout before making a decision. 'What we're defending is a European strategy of diversification … which is already on the table,' French Energy Minister Marc Ferracci told POLITICO, referencing France's plan to replace Russian supplies with Qatari products. Advertisement The hesitation runs counter to the EU's other major Russian LNG importers: Spain and the Netherlands. Both told POLITICO they are eager to back the upcoming legislation, which would end Russian gas contracts, banning short-term purchases this year and long-term contracts by 2027. In theory, that would help the countries escape contracts which will otherwise will keep them buying Russian LNG for years.
