Do you hit the road? Here you will find an overview of the activities. Check the railway schedule here.
What do you expect today?
- Outgoing Prime Minister Rutte will speak with his new ministers and ministers of state. Five future ministers and one state minister are visiting The Hague. At 09:00 AM, Wopke Hoekstra, the new foreign minister, will be the first to act.
- The big question for education: Will schools open again next week? Fearing an Omicron type of coronavirus, schools went on Christmas holidays a week ago. The school closing meeting will begin at 2 pm.
- A hearing is also scheduled in the case against Britain’s Prince Andrew. A secret 2009 settlement between Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Jeffrey is expected to be announced. In doing so, the American businessman at that time was able to avoid being sued for sexual abuse of a minor. Andrew was sued by Giuffre, who allegedly abused her when she was 17 years old.
What did you miss?
US President Biden had promised his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky in a phone call that the US and its allies would “respond decisively” in the event of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He also made it clear that no agreements with Russia would be concluded without consulting the Ukrainians.
Relations between Russia on the one hand and Ukraine and the West on the other have been under pressure for some time. The Russians sent tens of thousands of troops to the border with Ukraine, and Moscow demanded that NATO stop supplying Ukraine with weapons, and that the neighboring country not join the alliance.
Other news from the night
- Paleontologist and conservationist Richard Leakey (77) died: He provided evidence of the origin of humans in Africa and campaigned to combat the ivory trade and protect the African elephant.
- Schools want to reopen, but a quarter do not have proper ventilation: in primary education this relates to 27.9 percent of buildings and in secondary education it relates to 26.4 percent.
Then this:
Police in Arnhem believe they found a cannabis plantation yesterday thanks to a thief who “had good intentions”. In the afternoon, the police received a report of a burglary on Zijpendaalseweg, stating that there was a surprise upstairs.
At the scene, the police found an open front door and a house that had been looted. A working cannabis farm was found on the top floor of the building, which has since been destroyed. A “right amount” of medication was also found. Police say they strongly suspect the thief reported the burglary, which he committed himself.
