🇳🇱Week of October 26

Representatives of the United States and Cuba clashed in the UN General Assembly. US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz attacked the Cuban regime sharply in a speech. The Cuban delegation, including Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, pounded on the tables and shouted in response.1

The confrontation between Waltz and the Cuban delegation drew wide attention in Dutch media, with reports describing it as a shouting match at the UN. Coverage also linked the episode to a separate US decision to expel a diplomat, and to a dispute over a photograph of a 40,000-dollar Rolex watch.234

Cuba accused Washington of pressuring countries ahead of a UN vote, according to Nieuws.nl. Other accounts called on Belgium to speak out against what they described as a US threat of war against Cuba, and said the international community demands the lifting of the embargo on Cuba.567

De Wereld Morgen, a left-leaning outlet, described Trump's blockade of Cuba as a silent genocide and argued that solidarity makes a difference. The same outlet carried the reports of the UN shouting match and the expelled diplomat.4

President Trump called for the Democratic Senate candidate in Alaska to withdraw from the race, saying the candidate should leave the ballot over what he described as a deception trick. Dutch outlets reported the demand on Wednesday, tying it to a newspaper article about the state's candidate list.12

The New York Times reported that Democrats arranged a 'fake candidate' in the closely watched Alaska Senate race, the development that set off the dispute. Dutch coverage described the race as crucial and the developments as bizarre.21

Attributed claim: Trump's demand was reported in different terms: AD.nl said he cited an 'illegal conspiracy', while De Telegraaf said he acted after the newspaper article on the candidate list. De Volkskrant cast the demand as removing the Democrat from the ballot over a 'deception trick'.21

De Telegraaf, a right-leaning outlet, placed the Alaska episode in a long American tradition of dirty election tricks and described it as the opening of a mudslinging fight for power. DVHN wrote that Trump was already throwing up a fog bank in Alaska.34

HLN aired comments from correspondent Greet De Keyser, who said of the Alaska election row that 'this is not simply coincidence'.5

An animal keeper at the Beekse Bergen safari park has died after being attacked by a leopard. The park is in the Dutch province of North Brabant, and the animal involved was identified as a Persian leopard.123

The keeper was grabbed by the leopard and died of her injuries, according to the regional broadcaster Omroep Brabant. NOS and NU reported the death as following a leopard attack at the safari park.143

De Telegraaf specified that the keeper died of her wounds after the attack by a Persian leopard. AD.nl and the other outlets reported the death without naming the subspecies in their headlines.52

Groups of minors deliberately set out to cause unrest and violence during Walibi Fright Nights, the amusement park said. Calls to stage fights at the event appeared online beforehand. Riot police intervened in fights during the night.123

The park's Fright Night event turned into what one outlet described as a Fight Night, with attention turning to how it could go wrong again at Walibi. Visitors returned the following evening despite the chaos, with some saying the ticket was too expensive not to go.45

The Dutch cabinet has invited seven opposition parties to negotiations over its tax plan, and will bring a new proposal to those talks. The coalition is seeking support worth 100 seats in parliament, and the opposition parties are expected to set out what they want in return.1234

Failure to reach a deal would hit fuel costs, with the prospect of extra pain at the pump. De Telegraaf reported that outcome as the risk hanging over the negotiations.14

By Thursday the cabinet was considering 350 million euros in tax relief to rescue the tax plan.5

Trouw described tensions rising as the talks between cabinet and opposition began.6

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has refused to grant a licence for Zwanenberg's planned purchase of Unox, blocking the sale by Unilever. The regulator reached the decision after a follow-up investigation into the proposed deal.12

The ACM's concern is that the takeover would leave Zwanenberg as roughly the only large supplier of smoked and knak sausages in Dutch supermarkets. Outlets reported the risk that rookworst prices would rise for shoppers if the deal went through.134

Unilever responded to the block with disappointment, with AD reporting the company was "very disappointed" at the outcome. Zwanenberg, the intended buyer, is based in Almelo.56

Anthropic has filed a prospectus with the US market regulator and will go to the stock exchange in November after all, NRC reported. The AI company's filing sets out its finances ahead of the listing.12

The prospectus shows Anthropic deep in the red. Tweakers reported a net loss of 80.7 billion dollars in the filing for the stock exchange listing.3

Attributed claim: RTL.nl put the loss at 145.8 billion dollars, against the 80.7 billion dollars reported by Tweakers. Both outlets describe a large loss at the company as it prepares to list, but they give different figures for it.34

Alongside the filing, Anthropic warned that AI could become a safety problem for the world. NOS reported the warning as the company moves toward its listing.5

AI optimism in the United States carried over to the stock markets in Japan and South Korea, De Telegraaf reported in its live coverage.2

Tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are travelling back to Israel to vote, among them a man named Guy who is flying home to cast his ballot against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Dutch-based voters described the trip as costly, with one saying the vote would be an expensive one. Another said Israel shapes daily life in the Netherlands and that this was the reason to go back and vote.123

The election is being held with the country described as strongly divided over the course it should take. Younger Israelis are shifting further to the right, and in the words of one account they hardly use the word peace anymore.45

The outcome is framed as a question about Israel's democracy and about whether Netanyahu can keep changing it. One voter wrote that Tuesday might be the day she no longer has to feel ashamed of the country that once felt like a second home.67

The fate of the Palestinians receives little attention in the campaign, according to de Volkskrant, which wrote that the soul of Israel is at stake while the Palestinian question goes unaddressed.8

Audi will build its first factory in the United States. The announcement drew sharp criticism from Germany, where the decision was described as giving in to pressure from President Trump.12

The criticism focused on Audi's CEO after a meeting with Trump. Critics in Germany called the executives "puppets in propaganda," according to the reports.34

De Standaard reported that the Audi CEO allowed himself to be harnessed to Trump's election campaign, and that this went down badly in Germany. De Volkskrant framed the factory decision as Audi yielding to pressure from the president.25

The Audi CEO defended the plan, saying an American factory is good for the brand.4