Dutch Police Use Water Canon Against Anti-Immigration Protesters

A police car is set on fire during a protest against the current asylum policy on the Malieveld, in the Hague, the Netherlands, 20 September 2025. (EPA)
A police car is set on fire during a protest against the current asylum policy on the Malieveld, in the Hague, the Netherlands, 20 September 2025. (EPA)
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Dutch Police Use Water Canon Against Anti-Immigration Protesters

A police car is set on fire during a protest against the current asylum policy on the Malieveld, in the Hague, the Netherlands, 20 September 2025. (EPA)
A police car is set on fire during a protest against the current asylum policy on the Malieveld, in the Hague, the Netherlands, 20 September 2025. (EPA)

Dutch police used a water cannon to disperse anti-migration protesters in the Hague who began throwing rocks and bottles at police officers, a spokesperson for the Hague local government said.

She added the protesters hit with the police water cannon had broken away from the main demonstration to block the highway.

The anti-immigration protest, held just over a month before the Dutch national elections, was organized by a right-wing activist who calls herself Els Rechts and campaigns against asylum seekers and for a fair housing policy in the Netherlands.

Local media reported that thousands of people joined the protest and that some of them had set a car on fire. The ANP press agency reported that protesters had attacked police cars.

Geert Wilders, who heads the far-right Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, had been invited to the protest by Els Rechts but did not attend, Els Rechts said in a post on social media platform X.

Wilders condemned the violence on X: "Blocking the highway and using force against the police is completely, utterly unacceptable."



NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
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NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File

Ukraine is still getting essential defense equipment despite the war in the Middle East, which is depleting stockpiles in Europe and the United States, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Thursday.

"The good news is that essential equipment into Ukraine continues to flow," he told reporters. That included American-made Patriot missile interceptors, which Ukraine desperately needs, he added, AFP reported.

The PURL program, launched last year, allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries.

Some 75 percent of the missiles used by Patriot batteries in Ukraine have been supplied through the program, and 90 percent of the munitions used by other air-defense systems, Rutte added.

Rutte called on European countries to increase their own production capacity.

"They need to produce more extra production lines, extra shifts, opening new factories. The money is there," he said.


Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
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Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)

Germany's foreign minister Thursday said it was encouraging if the United States was talking directly to Iran to end the war in the Middle East, but Washington should make its intentions clear.

"I hear that there are signs that the US is speaking directly to Iran. I think that this is encouraging and this is welcome," Johann Wadephul told reporters before heading into the meeting of G7 foreign ministers outside Paris, AFP reported.

With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to join the discussions from Friday, he added: "For the German government it is of great importance to know precisely what our American partners are intending."


US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The United States has sent Iran a "15-point action list" as a basis for negotiations to end the current conflict, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, adding that there are signs that Tehran was interested in making a deal.

 

Witkoff, speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, said that the nascent talks could be successful if the Iranians realize there were no good alternatives - a realization Tehran might be coming to, he argued, Reuters reported.

 

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction," Witkoff told reporters.

 

"We have strong signs that this is a possibility."

 

Witkoff said Pakistan had been acting as a mediator, confirming statements from Pakistani officials.