Good morning! Victims of the benefits scandal are being heard by the parliamentary committee of inquiry on Fraud Prevention and Services. And in Dordrecht there is further discussion about the PFAS pollution by the Chemours chemical plant.
First the weather: It will be sunny again. This afternoon it will be tropically warm in many places. It will be a maximum of 26 degrees on the Wadden to 31 degrees in Limburg.
Are you going on the road? Here you will find an overview of the activities. And here you can see where work is being done on the track.
What can you expect today?
- The parliamentary committee of inquiry that investigates fraud prevention and government service provision begins with public hearings. Victims of the benefits scandal are the first witnesses to be heard by the committee. Tomorrow Mark Rutte will also be heard as former State Secretary for Social Affairs (2002-2004).
- The Provincial Council of South Holland will continue its hearing on the Chemours chemical plant this morning. This is followed by a debate about PFAS pollution in the region.
- In Nairobi it is the last day of the first African climate summit. President Ruto of host country Kenya yesterday denounced big spenders such as China, the US and the EU who “refuse to pay their bill”. He pushes for funding for a green future for developing countries.
- The European Court of Justice rules whether the European border guard Frontex is guilty of ‘pushbacks’ of asylum seekers. Syrians who were returned to Turkey in 2016 are demanding compensation.
What did you miss?
The number of children and unaccompanied minors in emergency shelters continues to rise, UNICEF reports. At the end of August, there were almost 4,000 children in emergency shelters in the Netherlands, about 700 more than a month and a half earlier.
UNICEF says that the children have little prospects, usually cannot go to school and often live in unsanitary conditions. This puts the safety and development of these children at risk, according to the UN organization. UNICEF asks the House of Representatives to deal with the distribution law quickly so that the children can go to regular, safe reception locations.
Other news from the night:
- Proud Boys frontman Tarrio gets 22 years in prison for role in Capitol storming: it is the highest sentence imposed so far for the storming in January 2021. Enrique Tarrio was already found guilty of “incendiary conspiracy” in May. He himself was not at the storm, as he was ordered by the judge to stay away from the city, but prosecutors say he directed the attack from a distance.
- Still about a hundred Dutch travelers to Syria and Iraq: these are mainly adults who joined the terrorist group Islamic State. A small proportion joined jihadist groups in northwestern Syria, according to figures from the AIVD. About a hundred travelers have died and about ninety have returned to the Netherlands, the intelligence service says.
- Amsterdammers feel less safe in traffic than other Europeans: Four out of ten inhabitants in the capital feel unsafe in traffic, especially due to electric bicycles, steps and scooters. Amsterdam is fifth in the Urban Road Safety Index 2023 of European cities with high road safety, after Istanbul, Rome, Milan and Prague.
And then this:
The warm late summer weather leads to heat in schools, crowded beaches and dogs in the swimming pool. With temperatures approaching 30 degrees, it’s fun for one and puffing for the other.
Happy Wednesday!
