By , AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Appellate judges ruled on Tuesday that a night-time curfew would remain in place in the Netherlands pending a government appeal of a lower-court ruling that found the measure lacked legal justification.Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s coronavirus policy was dealt a major blow earlier in the day when a district court in The Hague said his government had failed to make clear why it was necessary to use emergency powers at this stage of the pandemic.The government requested and was granted an injunction, or emergency order, in which the three-judge appellate panel in The...…By , AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Appellate judges ruled on Tuesday that a night-time curfew would remain in place in the Netherlands pending a government appeal of a lower-court ruling that found the measure lacked legal justification.Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s coronavirus policy was dealt a major blow earlier in the day when a district court in The Hague said his government had failed to make clear why it was necessary to use emergency powers at this stage of the pandemic.The government requested and was granted an injunction, or emergency order, in which the three-judge appellate panel in The...WW…

By , AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -A debate that could seal the political fate of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was set to go on well past midnight on Friday, after politicians from all sides of parliament accused him of lying over remarks made during talks to form a Cabinet.Rutte faced the biggest challenge to his leadership in a decade as the opposition presented a no-confidence motion, with a vote to directly follow the debate.Rutte was the clear winner of last month’s parliamentary elections, seen as a referendum on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.Losing a vote of confidence would...…By , AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -A debate that could seal the political fate of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was set to go on well past midnight on Friday, after politicians from all sides of parliament accused him of lying over remarks made during talks to form a Cabinet.Rutte faced the biggest challenge to his leadership in a decade as the opposition presented a no-confidence motion, with a vote to directly follow the debate.Rutte was the clear winner of last month’s parliamentary elections, seen as a referendum on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.Losing a vote of confidence would...WW…

By , AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Global health experts came under increasing pressure on Tuesday to clear up questions over the safety of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot, as Sweden and Latvia joined countries suspending their use in a further blow to Europe’s vaccination rollout.The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it was investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood disorders out of 5 million recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In total, 45 million COVID shots have been delivered across the region.The EU regulator will release its findings on Thursday but its head, Emer Cooke, said she...…By , AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Global health experts came under increasing pressure on Tuesday to clear up questions over the safety of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot, as Sweden and Latvia joined countries suspending their use in a further blow to Europe’s vaccination rollout.The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it was investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood disorders out of 5 million recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In total, 45 million COVID shots have been delivered across the region.The EU regulator will release its findings on Thursday but its head, Emer Cooke, said she...WW…

By , AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Elderly and vulnerable Dutch voters on Monday began casting ballots at bike-thru polling stations, churches and conference centres as three days of socially-distanced elections got underway in the Netherlands.Prime Minister Mark Rutte, one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders, is widely expected to gain enough support to secure a fourth term.Polls indicate Rutte’s conservative VVD taking 21-26% of the vote, compared with 11-16% for its closest rival, Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party, which leads the parliamentary opposition.Without large face-to-face public...…By , AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Elderly and vulnerable Dutch voters on Monday began casting ballots at bike-thru polling stations, churches and conference centres as three days of socially-distanced elections got underway in the Netherlands.Prime Minister Mark Rutte, one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders, is widely expected to gain enough support to secure a fourth term.Polls indicate Rutte’s conservative VVD taking 21-26% of the vote, compared with 11-16% for its closest rival, Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party, which leads the parliamentary opposition.Without large face-to-face public...WW…

By AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Blood samples taken from Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny confirmed the presence of a nerve agent from the banned Novichok family, the global chemical weapons watchdog said on Tuesday.The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a statement that the biomarkers in his blood and urine had “similar structural characteristics as the toxic chemicals belonging” to the Novichok group.The findings confirm results released by Germany, where Navalny was treated after falling ill on a flight in Siberia on Aug. 20. Berlin asked the OPCW to take samples...…By AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Blood samples taken from Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny confirmed the presence of a nerve agent from the banned Novichok family, the global chemical weapons watchdog said on Tuesday.The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a statement that the biomarkers in his blood and urine had “similar structural characteristics as the toxic chemicals belonging” to the Novichok group.The findings confirm results released by Germany, where Navalny was treated after falling ill on a flight in Siberia on Aug. 20. Berlin asked the OPCW to take samples...WW…

By AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Blood samples taken from Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny confirmed the presence of a nerve agent from the banned Novichok family, the global chemical weapons watchdog said on Tuesday.The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a statement that the biomarkers in his blood and urine had “similar structural characteristics as the toxic chemicals belonging” to the Novichok group.The findings confirm results released by Germany, where Navalny was treated after falling ill on a flight in Siberia on Aug. 20. Berlin asked the OPCW to take samples...…By AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Blood samples taken from Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny confirmed the presence of a nerve agent from the banned Novichok family, the global chemical weapons watchdog said on Tuesday.The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a statement that the biomarkers in his blood and urine had “similar structural characteristics as the toxic chemicals belonging” to the Novichok group.The findings confirm results released by Germany, where Navalny was treated after falling ill on a flight in Siberia on Aug. 20. Berlin asked the OPCW to take samples...WW…

By , THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Over half the member states of the International Criminal Court defended the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal on Tuesday in a diplomatic response to a U.S. threat of sanctions against its employees earlier this month.Slideshow A joint statement drafted by Costa Rica and Switzerland was backed by 67 out of 123 of the ICC’s members, the first effort to show a united front among members from all continents.“We reconfirm our unwavering support for the court as an independent and impartial judicial institution,” it said. The ICC was an “integral part” of the...…By , THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Over half the member states of the International Criminal Court defended the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal on Tuesday in a diplomatic response to a U.S. threat of sanctions against its employees earlier this month.Slideshow A joint statement drafted by Costa Rica and Switzerland was backed by 67 out of 123 of the ICC’s members, the first effort to show a united front among members from all continents.“We reconfirm our unwavering support for the court as an independent and impartial judicial institution,” it said. The ICC was an “integral part” of the...WW…

By (Reuters) - Syrian Arab Air Force pilots flying Sukhoi Su-22 military planes and a helicopter dropped bombs containing poisonous chlorine and sarin nerve gas on a village in the country’s western Hama region in March 2017, a new team at the global chemical weapons watchdog concluded in its first report.The special investigative unit was established by members of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in 2018 to identify perpetrators of illegal attacks. Until now the OPCW had only been authorised to say whether chemical attacks occurred, not who perpetrated...…By (Reuters) - Syrian Arab Air Force pilots flying Sukhoi Su-22 military planes and a helicopter dropped bombs containing poisonous chlorine and sarin nerve gas on a village in the country’s western Hama region in March 2017, a new team at the global chemical weapons watchdog concluded in its first report.The special investigative unit was established by members of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in 2018 to identify perpetrators of illegal attacks. Until now the OPCW had only been authorised to say whether chemical attacks occurred, not who perpetrated...WW…