🇳🇱Week of November 2

Activists broke through the fence of the Microsoft data centre site in Amsterdam and occupied the construction area. Riot police (ME) used pepper spray against the actioneers and arrested dozens of demonstrators on the occupied building site.12345

The protest against the data centre escalated into a confrontation with police after the fence was breached. Het Parool reported the arrests of dozens of demonstrators on the occupied site, while NU and AT5 described the action as breaking through the fence with police intervening.124

De Telegraaf and NOS both identified the site as a Microsoft data centre in Amsterdam where activists occupied the construction ground. The action targeted the building project itself, with demonstrators entering the fenced terrain before police moved in.35

KLM is cutting 5,000 jobs. The airline's leadership said the measure is needed because the company's survival cannot be taken for granted.123

KLM chief executive Rintel said the airline's continued existence is "not a given" and that it needs "more fat on the bones."41

News of the cuts set off alarm among staff. KLM employees' app groups erupted after the announcement, and doubt and panic spread at Schiphol, with one worker quoted saying it causes a lot of unrest.51

The Flight Academy Eelde said it will not train fewer pilots as a result of the KLM reorganisation.6

A fresh wave of bomb threats struck European flights on Thursday, with more than ten flights affected, according to AD.nl. It followed repeated bomb threats against flights earlier in the week, during which no explosive was found, De Telegraaf reported.123

An Aer Lingus aircraft flying from Dublin to Rome diverted after a bomb threat and landed safely at the French military base at Évreux, NOS reported. The flight was redirected to France, AD.nl reported.45

Multiple passenger aircraft faced bomb threats on Thursday morning, and planes across Europe were hit again, NU reported. No explosive was found in the earlier threats this week, De Telegraaf reported.16

Grid congestion is threatening to block new electricity connections for tens of thousands of households, with experts warning that consumption cannot be kept up with. Gelderland has been partly closed to new grid connections, a measure described as a bitter pill.123

Authorities in Utrecht province warned of an exciting winter and intervened to relieve pressure on the electricity grid. In Flevoland, new-build homes in Almere and Zeewolde will still receive power connections.45

After a power stop, the mayor and businesses in the affected area were united in their message to buyers: do not buy a plot here for now.3

The cabinet is allocating millions of euros for industry, with Dutch companies set to pay substantially less for electricity.6

Washington is making a fresh attempt to restart the peace process between Ukraine and Russia, with talks between the United States, Ukraine and Russia scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi next week. The Dutch reports describe the effort as a renewed push to get negotiations moving again.12345

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US wants Russian gas delivered to Europe through Ukraine, with an American intermediary handling the arrangement. The proposal is reported alongside the planned Abu Dhabi talks.6

Separately, an air strike on a Ukrainian emergency aid point killed 24 people, an attack described as a "terrorist attack." The strike was reported as the war continued.7

Iliana Jotova has won Bulgaria's presidential election, according to exit polls that give the pro-Russian candidate 56 to 58 percent of the vote. She becomes the country's first elected female president. Her opponent, the pro-European Andrej Gjoerov, received 38 to 40 percent and congratulated her on the victory. The official result is expected the following day, once all votes are counted.1

Jotova campaigned as the pro-Russian candidate and had been serving as interim president. Bulgarian voters chose a new head of state while the drone war in the Black Sea was escalating, a backdrop outlets placed alongside the vote. The result also carries support for Prime Minister Radev.234

Early reporting on the night described Jotova as leading in the exit polls rather than as the confirmed winner, with the count still to be completed. The same counts put her at 56 to 58 percent against 38 to 40 percent for Gjoerov, and Gjoerov's concession was reported alongside those figures.31

The FBI has said North Korea is behind a multibillion-dollar hack at the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, described as the largest crypto theft to date. Dutch outlets reported the attribution on Monday, with the figure put at $6 billion.123

Binance has resumed dollar withdrawals, and bitcoin withdrawals have also restarted, with other cryptocurrencies to follow in phases. The platform had halted payouts after the theft.456

A North Korean hacking group took three times in a single hit what it stole in the whole of last year, according to reporting carried by Dutch outlets. Security commentary on the case advised users to keep quiet about what they own.178

Attributed claim: North Korea has denied responsibility for the Binance hack. Kim Jong-un's sister called the FBI's accusations a "serious political provocation," according to reports on Thursday.910

An investigation by Samen Veilig Midden-Nederland has brought more details of abuses at Huize Soria, a family home in Spain where Utrecht children were placed, to light. The findings cover the youth protection workers' handling of the placements at the home.1234

The assessment of Samen Veilig is damning, citing group pressure, intimidation and physical violence. De Volkskrant reports that youth protection workers acted in a tunnel vision when rules on youth care abroad were broken.56

Trouw reports that youth protection services insufficiently weighed signals about unsafety at the Spanish family home. The signals reached the agency but were not given the value they warranted, the investigation found.7

NOS carried the Huize Soria placements in its Nieuwsuur broadcast of 2 November, alongside reports on hacked refrigeration systems and a dispute between farmers and a church over land.8

President Trump has asked for voter data, taken ballots, redrawn districts and filed lawsuits in the run-up to the midterm elections, and last week added that he would accept the result only "if it is fair", NOS reported. Dutch outlets framed the vote as a test of how far Trump will go to contest an outcome he does not accept.1

NU argued that legal chaos after the midterms is a bigger risk than ICE agents at polling stations, and NRC focused on how dependent the world economy has become on Wall Street and how the midterms hold the markets in their grip. EenVandaag asked what the result could mean for the Netherlands, while AD wrote that a political reckoning threatens Trump but that Democrats also face a major dilemma.2345

Trouw wrote that after two years of Trump no American still trusts the midterm elections, and Noordhollands Dagblad quoted Dutch-based Americans calling the process "increasingly less democratic". NOS reported that American voters mainly fear what comes after the vote rather than the vote itself.671

De Morgen interviewed US-watchers Björn Soenens and Bert De Vroey, who asked what Trump could still be blackmailed with and said he knows no shame. The same outlet group carried NU's warning about post-election legal chaos.82

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now killed more than 5,000 people, with more than 10,000 infections recorded. Dutch outlets reported the toll passing that threshold on Monday.123

Attention is turning to how close a new Ebola vaccine is, given that infections have passed ten thousand. That question was the focus of reporting carried alongside the death-toll figures.45