By AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Mink with the coronavirus have infected two people in the Netherlands in what are probably the first such cases of transmission during the epidemic, government and health authorities said on Monday.Mink carrying the virus were found on four of the 155 farms in the country where they are bred for their fur, Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten said in a letter to parliament that detailed the two cases.She said the risk of such animal-to-human transmission of the virus outside the farms was “negligible.”On three of the four infected farms, the source of infection has...…By AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Mink with the coronavirus have infected two people in the Netherlands in what are probably the first such cases of transmission during the epidemic, government and health authorities said on Monday.Mink carrying the virus were found on four of the 155 farms in the country where they are bred for their fur, Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten said in a letter to parliament that detailed the two cases.She said the risk of such animal-to-human transmission of the virus outside the farms was “negligible.”On three of the four infected farms, the source of infection has...WW…

By AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - As EU negotiations over a coronavirus recovery fund and a new budget for the bloc ran into an impasse, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte was singled out by one leader this weekend as the “man responsible for the whole mess”.Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused him of that, while Spanish and Italian diplomats have taken to calling him “Mr. No No No!”.Standing up for not spending money on European projects requires a naysayer, and Rutte has taken on the role with calculated determination as leader of a group of smaller “frugal” nations.While he may cut a...…By AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - As EU negotiations over a coronavirus recovery fund and a new budget for the bloc ran into an impasse, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte was singled out by one leader this weekend as the “man responsible for the whole mess”.Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused him of that, while Spanish and Italian diplomats have taken to calling him “Mr. No No No!”.Standing up for not spending money on European projects requires a naysayer, and Rutte has taken on the role with calculated determination as leader of a group of smaller “frugal” nations.While he may cut a...WW…

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/LONDON (Reuters) - All the talk was of Frankfurt or Paris luring London’s financial business as Britain peeled away from the EU. Yet it is Amsterdam that is proving the most visible early winner.Data last week showed the Dutch capital had displaced London as Europe’s biggest share trading centre in January, grabbing a fifth of the 40 billion euros-a-day action, up from below a tenth of trading pre-Brexit.Yet that is just one of several areas the city has quietly stolen a march on its rivals as it attracts businesses from Britain, evoking memories of its history as a...…By , , , AMSTERDAM/LONDON (Reuters) - All the talk was of Frankfurt or Paris luring London’s financial business as Britain peeled away from the EU. Yet it is Amsterdam that is proving the most visible early winner.Data last week showed the Dutch capital had displaced London as Europe’s biggest share trading centre in January, grabbing a fifth of the 40 billion euros-a-day action, up from below a tenth of trading pre-Brexit.Yet that is just one of several areas the city has quietly stolen a march on its rivals as it attracts businesses from Britain, evoking memories of its history as a...WW…

By AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday denounced what he called intolerable threats to freedom of expression, after a Rotterdam teacher was forced into hiding following a classroom discussion on the killing of French teacher Samuel Paty.Police said they had arrested a teenager on suspicion of inciting threats against the Dutch teacher.It was not clear if the unidentified 18-year-old woman, who police said posted messages on social media, was a student at the city’s Emmauscollege high school, where the class debate took place.Police did not detail the content of...…By AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday denounced what he called intolerable threats to freedom of expression, after a Rotterdam teacher was forced into hiding following a classroom discussion on the killing of French teacher Samuel Paty.Police said they had arrested a teenager on suspicion of inciting threats against the Dutch teacher.It was not clear if the unidentified 18-year-old woman, who police said posted messages on social media, was a student at the city’s Emmauscollege high school, where the class debate took place.Police did not detail the content of...WW…