Geert Wilders

Dutch PM Rutte's conservatives see 4th straight election win

By Mike Corder Mar. 18, 2021 04:45 AM EDT

Dutch caretaker Prime Minster Mark Rutte casts his vote in a general election in The Hague, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Polling stations have opened opened across the Netherlands from Monday in a general election that has been spread over three days to allow people to vote safely during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool)

Caretaker PM Rutte seen as winning most seats in Dutch vote

By Mike Corder And Raf Casert Mar. 17, 2021 03:11 AM EDT

A ballot box is brought to a polling station inside the Van Gogh museum during a demonstration for the media in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Polling stations opened across the Netherlands early Monday and Tuesday in a general election that has been spread over three days to allow people to vote safely during the coronavirus pandemic. The Van Gogh museum is closed because of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch parties make last push for votes in general election

By Mike Corder Mar. 16, 2021 05:01 AM EDT

A voter walks towards a volunteer at a polling station wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with a yellow heart and the text "keep your distance" while holding an arrow measuring out the 1.5-meter social distance in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, March 15, 2021. Polling stations opened across the Netherlands early Monday in a general election that has been spread over three days to allow people to vote safely during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Voting underway in coronavirus-affected Dutch election

By Mike Corder Mar. 15, 2021 07:06 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sunday Feb. 28, 2012 file photo, demonstrators hold a Dutch flag with it's center cut out as another man, rear, holds a banner during a demonstration of several hundreds of people who protested against the coronavirus lockdown and curfew on Museum Square in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch vote next week in a general election. Many voters approve of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s handling of the crisis but his popularity has waned in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Coronavirus pandemic casts long shadow over Dutch elections

By Mike Corder Mar. 13, 2021 04:43 AM EST

Two people pass election posters in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. After more than a decade in power, a recent scandal that forced him to resign and a year battling the coronavirus, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's popularity, heightened by his handling of the pandemic, remains high less than a month before a general election. But it is showing signs of eroding along with support for his country's tough COVID-19 lockdown as the vote approaches. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch PM's popularity high but eroding as election looms

By Mike Corder Mar. 02, 2021 03:38 AM EST

The deserted Damrak street is seen during curfew in the heart of Amsterdam, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. The Netherlands entered its toughest phase of anti-coronavirus restrictions to date, imposing a nationwide night-time curfew from 9 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. in a bid to control the COVID-19 infection rate. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch parliament approves new coronavirus curfew law

By Mike Corder Feb. 18, 2021 04:08 AM EST

Police officers block a road during a nation-wide curfew in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. The Netherlands entered its toughest phase of anti-coronavirus restrictions to date, imposing a nationwide night-time curfew from 9 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. which started Saturday Jan. 23, 2021, in a bid to control the COVID-19 infection rate. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

131 arrested on 'calmer' night during Dutch virus curfew

By Mike Corder Jan. 27, 2021 07:02 AM EST

In this grab taken from video on Monday, Jan, 25, 2021, rioters throw stones at police, in Haarlem, Netherlands. Groups of youths have confronted police in several Dutch cities defying the country’s coronavirus curfew and throwing fireworks. Police in the port city of Rotterdam used a water cannon and tear gas in an attempt to disperse a crowd of rioters Monday night. (Mizzle Media via AP)

Dutch police deployed in force to curb rioting, looting

By Mike Corder Jan. 26, 2021 08:56 AM EST

FILE- In this Tuesday Dec. 15, 2020, file photo, A skull is glued onto a traffic light on the near-empty Dam Square with the Royal Palace, seen center rear, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch government said Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, that it wants to impose a curfew as part of beefed-up restrictions to rein in the spread of new more contagious variants of the coronavirus that already accounts for at least one in every 10 Dutch infections.(AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Dutch lawmakers back coronavirus curfew despite criticism

By Mike Corder Jan. 21, 2021 07:01 AM EST

FILE- In this March 15, 2019, file photo, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte waves as he waits for European Council President Donald Tusk to arrive for a meeting at Catshuis residence in The Hague, Netherlands. The Dutch Cabinet was set to meet Friday Jan. 15, 2021, amid strong speculation that Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government will resign to take political responsibility for a scandal involving child benefit investigations. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

The buck stops here: Dutch govt quits over welfare scandal

By Mike Corder Jan. 15, 2021 03:53 AM EST

Shoppers and vendors mingle amid the COVID-19 pandemic in an informal street market selling gifts for Three Kings Day in central Mexico City, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. In Mexico, it is customary for people to give gifts on the Jan. 6 religious holiday of Epiphany, celebrated as Three Kings Day, to commemorate the arrival of the Magi, or three wise men bearing gifts for the baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Pandemic haunts new year as virus growth outpaces vaccines

By Danica Kirka And Angela Charlton Jan. 05, 2021 09:04 AM EST

In this Thursday Oct. 26, 2017, photo Health Minister Hugo de Jonge poses for the official photo of the new Dutch government on the steps of Royal Palace Noordeinde in The Hague, Netherlands. The Dutch government came under fire Tuesday from lawmakers for its COVID-19 vaccination policy, with the country only scheduled to begin administering the first shots on Wednesday, making it the last European Union nation to start vaccinations against the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch government criticized for late start to vaccinations

By Mike Corder Jan. 05, 2021 08:30 AM EST

Dutch lawmakers criticize government's coronavirus measures

By Mike Corder Aug. 12, 2020 10:06 AM EDT
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The leader of one of the parties in Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's ruling coalition joined opposition lawmakers Wednesday in...

Facebook: Pandemic hurt enforcement on suicide, child nudity

By Barbara Ortutay Aug. 11, 2020 03:45 PM EDT

FILE - This April 26, 2017, file photo shows the Twitter app icon on a mobile phone in Philadelphia. Twitter says an elected Dutch official was among 36 account holders whose direct message inboxes were accessed by hackers in a recent cyberattack. The politician, anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, said Thursday, July 23, 2020, he was informed by Twitter that his account was compromised by a hacker, who posted tweets on his account and sent false direct messages in his name. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

A world in isolation, a surge of new users for Twitter

By Kelvin Chan Jul. 23, 2020 07:46 AM EDT

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte smiles during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. Weary European Union leaders are expressing cautious optimism that a deal is in sight as they moved into their fifth day of wrangling over an unprecedented budget and coronavirus recovery fund. (Stephanie Lecocq, Pool Photo via AP)

Dutch 'Dr. Superstrict' Rutte influential in EU virus deal

By Mike Corder Jul. 21, 2020 07:47 AM EDT