Latest news with #TheNetherlands
Edinburgh Reporter
4 days ago
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
Dutch test for Scots hockey women ahead of Euros
Scotland's senior women's squad face a challenge game from the world's top team, The Netherlands, in Germany on Thursday as the continue their build-up for the EuroHockey Championships in Germany. Several of his squad are in the Great Britain set-up and have played the Dutch, but others have not, but Scotland head coach, Chris Duncan looks forward to the test. The match is in Monchengladbach, the venue for the Euro championships which begin for the Tartan Hearts, ranked No 15 in the world, on Sunday when they square-up to England, ranked No 8, in their opener at 9.15am. Then, just over 24-hours later, Scotland face Spain (12.30), ranked No 7 in the world, a match which has a particular twist as the Scots edged Spain 2-1 two years ago in the last competition also held in Monchengladbach. Their final pool game is on Wednesday, August 13 against Belgium (11.15), a country rated no 3 in the world, before the cross-over ties which decide the finishing positions in the tournament. Duncan, now based in West Lothian, said that his squad as prepared well for the competition in which several players – Sarah Jamieson, Jen Eadie, Fiona Burnet and Millie Steiger – will reach significant milestones in their careers. The party touched down in Dusseldorf on Wednesday night and head coach Duncan said his players were, generally, used to preparing for big tournaments like this one. He added: 'We are used to the tournament scenario, and, from a staff perspective, we are pretty diligent in our preparation, we have done our homework on all three sides we are going to play, but all our narrative is focused on game No 1 in the tournament and getting off to a good start. 'We have done some work during the last few weeks on the other teams, apart from England, but, in the next few days it is all about what we can do in game No 1 and what we can do against England.' He added: 'We are also used to the different weather in Europe. We have processes we have here at home to make sure that we land on the ground, but there is no way of replicating European summer. 'We would, I presume, all wish that a Scottish summer would be a bit warmer, but we have done diligent work in saunas and with clothing and with heat preparation in the last few weeks to ensure we are as ready as we can be.' Duncan has been keeping a close eye on the thermometer and it has been showing lower temperatures than his players have experienced in the past in tournaments in Europe and one which they experienced in Chile in the Nations Cup a few months ago. The venue is also not new to most of the current Scotland squad, and that is a bonus according to the coach who said: 'That brings with it a lot of calmness in terms of planning. 'We know what we are going to, we know what the surroundings are and we know what not to expect and what to expect. That has really helped us in our planning phase, in terms of knowing where we are staying and where we can eat, so we feel pretty settled. 'The other thing that we know is that the tournament is going to be really hard, we are playing against some of the world's top teams. It will be difficult, but the reason we train is to test ourselves against the best.' With that in mind, Duncan said there was no better way of preparing for this tournament than to be playing the best team in the world in a friendly game before a hard training session on Friday and then a light session on Saturday. He added: 'Everybody has done the work off the pitch and everyone has a shared understanding of what they want to achieve when they walk out onto the pitch and also what our plans are from a tactical perspective, the way that we want to play the game. 'Overall, every time we go on the pitch we want to show the world what we are capable of and show the developments we have made. We also want to try and imprint our style against the opposition and the next few days are an opportunity to sharpen the squad ahead of Sunday morning.' MILESTONE AHEAD: Fiona Burnet (left) about to reach a significant milestone for Scotland. Picture Nigel Duncan Like this: Like Related
The Australian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Australian
European countries announce $1 bn purchase of US weapons for Ukraine
The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark will buy $1 billion of US weapons under a new NATO scheme to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, the countries announced Tuesday. The purchases from US stockpiles are the first under the so-called Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a mechanism launched by US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last month. More are expected. The Dutch government said it would buy 500 million euros ($577 million) of weapons, and the three Scandinavian countries will jointly donate $500 million. All the governments highlighted the need to help Ukraine, which has faced mounting military pressure from Russia in recent months. "By supporting Ukraine with determination, we are increasing the pressure on Russia to negotiate," Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans posted on X. Brekelmans called near-daily Russian air strikes "pure terror" and warned that Moscow's advance into Ukrainian territory could pose a broader threat to Europe. "The more Russia dominates Ukraine, the greater the danger to the Netherlands and our NATO allies," he said. "Ukraine is not only fighting for its own security, but also for our security," Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson told a press conference to announce the Scandinavian initiative. Sweden will give $275 million towards the total. The Dutch package includes US Patriot missile parts and other systems for Ukraine's badly stretched front-line requirements, according to the defence ministry. The Swedish government said in a statement that the "support will include air defence systems, including munitions to Patriot, anti-tank systems, ammunition and spare parts". Washington is releasing weapons and military hardware for Ukraine from its stockpiles in $500 million tranches under the PURL mechanism. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the donations as "a very strong initiative that significantly boosts our ability to protect lives". "These steps are a new, real foundation for long-term security across all of Europe. Russia will never turn Europe into a continent of war," Zelensky said on X. Zelensky spoke with Trump on Tuesday, three days ahead of a deadline the US leader has set for Russia to make an initiative to halt the war. He said in a social media post that the two had discussed sanctions against Russia and "bilateral defence cooperation" but did not give details. The NATO secretary general praised the Netherlands for being the first country to announce funding to the new scheme and also welcomed the Scandinavian move. "Since the earliest days of Russia's full-scale invasion, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine. I commend these allies for their quick efforts to get this initiative off the ground," Rutte said in a statement. jll/mmp/jc/tw/js
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
European countries announce $1 bn purchase of US weapons for Ukraine
The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark will buy $1 billion of US weapons under a new NATO scheme to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, the countries announced Tuesday. The purchases from US stockpiles are the first under the so-called Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a mechanism launched by US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last month. More are expected. The Dutch government said it would buy 500 million euros ($577 million) of weapons, and the three Scandinavian countries will jointly donate $500 million. All the governments highlighted the need to help Ukraine, which has faced mounting military pressure from Russia in recent months. "By supporting Ukraine with determination, we are increasing the pressure on Russia to negotiate," Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans posted on X. Brekelmans called near-daily Russian air strikes "pure terror" and warned that Moscow's advance into Ukrainian territory could pose a broader threat to Europe. "The more Russia dominates Ukraine, the greater the danger to the Netherlands and our NATO allies," he said. "Ukraine is not only fighting for its own security, but also for our security," Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson told a press conference to announce the Scandinavian initiative. Sweden will give $275 million towards the total. The Dutch package includes US Patriot missile parts and other systems for Ukraine's badly stretched front-line requirements, according to the defence ministry. The Swedish government said in a statement that the "support will include air defence systems, including munitions to Patriot, anti-tank systems, ammunition and spare parts". Washington is releasing weapons and military hardware for Ukraine from its stockpiles in $500 million tranches under the PURL mechanism. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the donations as "a very strong initiative that significantly boosts our ability to protect lives". "These steps are a new, real foundation for long-term security across all of Europe. Russia will never turn Europe into a continent of war," Zelensky said on X. Zelensky spoke with Trump on Tuesday, three days ahead of a deadline the US leader has set for Russia to make an initiative to halt the war. He said in a social media post that the two had discussed sanctions against Russia and "bilateral defence cooperation" but did not give details. The NATO secretary general praised the Netherlands for being the first country to announce funding to the new scheme and also welcomed the Scandinavian move. "Since the earliest days of Russia's full-scale invasion, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine. I commend these allies for their quick efforts to get this initiative off the ground," Rutte said in a statement. jll/mmp/jc/tw/js
LBCI
6 days ago
- Business
- LBCI
Netherlands uses new NATO channel to pay for US arms for Ukraine
The Netherlands said on Monday it will contribute 500 million euros ($578 million) to purchase U.S. military equipment for Ukraine, becoming the first NATO country to contribute to a new mechanism to supply Kyiv with American weapons. President Donald Trump said last month the U.S. would provide weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, but he did not provide details on how this would work. "As the first NATO ally, the Netherlands will deliver a €500 million package of US weapon systems (including Patriot parts and missiles)," Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said in a post on X. Reuters
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: Netherlands to buy €500m of US arms for Kyiv in first for new Nato supply line
The Netherlands has said it will contribute €500m ($578m/£500m) to buy US military equipment for Ukraine, becoming the first Nato country to contribute to a new mechanism to supply Kyiv with American weapons. The Dutch defence minister, Ruben Brekelmans, said on X on Monday that the package would include Patriot parts and missiles. Nato's chief, Mark Rutte, welcomed the announcement and said he had encouraged other alliance members to participate in the new mechanism, called the Nato prioritised Ukraine requirements list (Purl) initiative. 'This is about getting Ukraine the equipment it urgently needs now to defend itself against Russian aggression,' Rutte – a former Dutch prime minister – said in a statement, adding that he expected 'further significant announcements from other allies soon'. President Donald Trump said last month the US would provide weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, without providing details on how this would work. The US ambassador to Nato said he expected many more countries to announce over the coming weeks that they would participate. 'We're moving as fast as possible,' Matthew Whitaker told Reuters on Monday. Asked about a timeline for getting US deliveries to Ukraine under the new mechanism, he said: 'I think we'll see it moving very quickly, certainly in the coming weeks, but some even sooner than that. The Dutch are just the first of many.' Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the Netherlands' decision. 'Ukraine, and thus the whole of Europe, will be better protected from Russian terror,' the Ukrainian president said on X. 'I am sincerely grateful to the Netherlands for their substantial contribution to strengthening Ukraine's air shield.' Donald Trump's special envoy is expected in Moscow days before Donald Trump's deadline on Friday for Russia to make progress on ending the Ukraine war or face increased US sanctions, reports Shaun Walker. The US president said Steve Witkoff would visit Moscow on Wednesday or Thursday. When asked what message Witkoff would take to Russia and what Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, could do to avoid new sanctions, Trump: 'Get a deal where people stop getting killed.' Sources in Kyiv said they expected Keith Kellogg, Trump's Ukraine envoy, to visit the country towards the end of the week, possibly to coincide with Witkoff's visit to Moscow. Ukraine said on Monday it had charged six people, including a lawmaker and a government official, for embezzling funds in the purchase of drones and jamming equipment for the military. Anti-corruption authorities said on Saturday they had uncovered a scheme offering kickbacks for purchases at inflated prices and that it allegedly involved a legislator, one current and one now-sacked official, a National Guard commander and two businessmen. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau alleged the bribes totalled about 30% of the contracts' value and that the drone contract was worth $240,000, with an inflation of about $80,000. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had visited Ukrainian troops holding the line in the Kharkiv region bordering Russia and discussed how drones were used in fighting. 'Our warriors in this sector are reporting the participation of mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and African countries in the war,' the Ukrainian president said on a social media on Monday. 'We will respond.' Donald Trump said on Monday he would substantially raise tariffs on goods from India over its Russian oil purchases. 'India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. 'Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.' Trump earlier announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods starting last Friday, while New Delhi said it would safeguard its interests and called its targeting 'unjustified'. Russia's Ryazan oil refinery has halted around half its refining capacity since 2 August after a Ukrainian drone attack last week, three industry sources told Reuters. Two primary oil refining units at the Rosneft-operated refinery – about 180km south-east of Moscow – were stopped after the attacks, they said.
