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Anti-Islam Geert Wilders seeks coalition partners after Dutch election win

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Anti-Islam Geert Wilders seeks coalition partners after Dutch election win

Geert Wilders’s far-right, anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) has won most seats in the Dutch parliamentary elections, with 98 percent of votes counted.

The PVV won 37 seats out of 150, well ahead of 25 for a joint Labour/Green ticket and 24 for the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the partial results showed on Thursday.

“The Rutte era ends with a right-wing populist revolt that shakes [The Hague] to its foundations. The historic election victory that the PVV achieved on Wednesday exceeded all expectations,” Dutch centre-right daily NRC said.

The populist party now moves to form a coalition with at least two other parties to take the majority and appoint a prime minister.

A coalition of the VVD and the New Social Contract (NSC) party of centrist lawmaker Pieter Omtzigt would have 81 seats combined, making it the most obvious combination but which could still take months of difficult talks.

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“The voter has spoken,” Wilders said on TV on Wednesday evening as the outcome of the election became apparent. He made clear his intention to govern, saying “under no circumstances” should the will of the voters be ignored.

“I am confident we can reach an agreement,” Wilders said in his victory speech. “We want to govern and … we will govern.”

Opposition coalition

The extreme right-wing ideals of the PVV have raised an alarm among some Dutch opposition. None of the parties he could form a government with shares his anti-European Union ideas.

Despite the electoral triumph, a total victory through the necessary support for a broad enough coalition to form a stable government may prove elusive, but not impossible.

The leaders of the three other top parties had previously ruled out serving in a PVV-led coalition.

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Leader of the Green/Labour left-wing bloc, Frans Timmermans, seemed to refuse a coalition, saying: “Now is the time for us to defend democracy.”

The VVD said it was not ruling out a coalition with Wilders, however.

Yet, the VVD’s top candidate, Dilan Yesilgoz, who is aiming to become the first woman to head the government, insisted that she will not enter a government with Wilders as prime minister.

Pieter Omtzigt, whose NSC party was expected to win 20 seats according to the exit poll, appeared to soften his position as well, saying he was “available”, although coalition talks would “not be easy”.

Wilders has acknowledged the coalition challenge, saying “I call on the parties … Now we will have to look for agreements with each other.”

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He assured cheering supporters on Wednesday, “The PVV can no longer be ignored.”

Parties are set to meet each on their side on Thursday to discuss what to do next. On Friday, party leaders will meet to decide on an “explorer”, a political outsider who will hear from each party what possibilities they see and prefer in coalition talks.

Fear and concern

The election marked a sharp turn to the right for the country, making the PVV the first right-wing populist party to ever win parliamentary elections.

Wilders has often been compared with former US President Donald Trump in his political position, and his party’s anti-Islam, anti-EU platform ran on an anti-immigrant campaign with a hardline stance, including closing the borders and deporting undocumented immigrants.

“The Dutch hope that the people can get their country back and that we will ensure that the tsunami of asylum seekers and immigration is reduced,” Wilders said, stressing a position which struck a strong cord with many voters.

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Islamic and Moroccan organisations expressed concerns about Wilders’s victory. Muslims make up about 5 percent of the population in the Netherlands.

“The distress and fear are enormous,” Habib el-Kaddouri, who heads an organisation representing Dutch Moroccans, told Dutch news agency ANP. “We are afraid that he will portray us as second-class citizens.”

The PVV manifesto clearly states what future Wilders imagines for the Netherlands, declaring: “Asylum seekers feast on delightful free cruise-ship buffets while Dutch families have to cut back on groceries.”

It proposed a ban on Islamic schools, Qurans and mosques. Headscarves would be banned from government buildings.

A “binding referendum” would be held on a “Nexit” – the idea of the Netherlands leaving the EU.

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The PVV also called for an “immediate halt” to development aid and pursue a “Netherlands first” foreign policy.

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The Cleaning Lady Renewed for Season 4 at Fox Amid Backstage Shakeup

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The Cleaning Lady Renewed for Season 4 at Fox Amid Backstage Shakeup


‘The Cleaning Lady’ Renewed for Season 4 at Fox



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Police bust finds over 700 pounds of drugs inside Transformers statues

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Police bust finds over 700 pounds of drugs inside Transformers statues

Thailand authorities made a startling discovery when they busted open lifesize Transformer robot statues and retrieved over 700 pounds of ketamine. 

“Currently, we are facing a drug trafficking problem with transnational crime networks hidden in all regions, using Thailand as a base to smuggle drugs to third countries continuously through international shipments via air or sea,” Police Lt. Gen. Phanurat Lhakbun told reporters of the bust, which happened on April 25. 

Australian authorities found around 220 pounds of methamphetamine that an unidentified woman tried to smuggle inside a food processing machine on March 12, and they kept an eye on her activities in the following weeks, Viral Press reported. 

She allegedly tried to smuggle an even bigger batch of drugs inside the bases of lifesize statues of the Transformers characters Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Greenlight and others. The statues ostensibly were to go to a movie exhibition in Taiwan, Channel News Asia reported.  

THAILAND’S PRIME MINISTER MOVES TO OUTLAW MARIJUANA 2 YEARS AFTER ITS DECRIMINALIZATION

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Police seized hundreds of pounds of ketamine hidden inside lifesize Transformer robots in Thailand. (Viral Press)

The woman allegedly paid around $4,800 to the shipping company to help her transport the statues. Authorities said she had received instructions from another unidentified woman in Laos who would receive the drugs. The narcotics board claimed that the drugs originated in Cambodia, and they have agents working to track down any accomplices in Taiwan. 

FOUR FLIGHT ATTENDANTS ACCUSED OF USING TSA CLEARANCE TO SMUGGLE DRUG MONEY

Thailand narcotics bust

The Thailand Narcotics Suppression Board presents the seized drugs, totaling around 700 pounds of ketamine. (Viral Press)

“The ONCB has cooperation projects with the Airport Interdiction Task Force to suppress and intercept drugs in airports and the Seaport Interdiction Task Force for intercepting drug imports to the inner part of the country and exports to third countries,” Phanurat said. 

VIRGINIA FIRST LADY, AG TEAM WITH RECOVERING ADDICT TO LAUNCH INITIATIVES TARGETING STATE’S FENTANYL CRISIS

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Narcotics Suppression Board

A Thai SWAT team, working with Thailand’s Narcotics Suppression Board, seized guns at a property in the Chinatown neighborhood of Bangkok on Jan. 17, 2018. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

The Thai authorities have intercepted more than four tons of crystal meth, two tons of ketamine and over 580 pounds of heroin in busts. 

The narcotics board claimed that the drugs would otherwise end up in lucrative markets in nearby areas of Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong, Newsflare reported. 

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Ukraine’s military chief admits ‘difficult situation’ in Kharkiv region

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Ukraine’s military chief admits ‘difficult situation’ in Kharkiv region

General Syrskii says situation in northeastern oblast ‘significantly worsened’ this week as Russian forces continue to advance.

Ukraine’s military chief has admitted his forces are facing a “difficult situation” in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, where thousands more people have fled their homes as Russian forces continue to advance.

“This week, the situation in the Kharkiv region has significantly worsened,” Oleksandr Syrskii wrote on Telegram on Sunday. “There are ongoing battles in the border areas along the state border with the Russian Federation.”

While admitting that the situation is “difficult” and Russian attackers had achieved “partial successes” in some areas, he said, “Ukrainian defence forces are doing everything they can to hold defensive lines and positions.”

The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw, leaving behind more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested “grey zone” along the Russian border.

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By Sunday afternoon, the town of Vovchansk, among the largest in the northeast with a pre-war population of 17,000, emerged as a focal point in the battle.

Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, said Russian forces were on the outskirts of the town and were approaching from three directions. “Infantry fighting is already taking place,” he said. A Russian tank was spotted along a major road leading to the town, Tymoshko said, illustrating Moscow’s confidence to deploy heavy weaponry.

Evacuation teams worked non-stop throughout the day to take residents, most of whom were elderly, out of harm’s way.

At least 4,000 civilians have fled the Kharkiv region since Friday when Moscow’s forces launched the operation, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a social media statement. Heavy fighting raged Sunday along the northeast front line, where Russian forces attacked 27 settlements in 24 hours, he said.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said Sunday that its forces had captured four villages on the border in addition to five villages reported to have been seized on Saturday. These areas were likely poorly fortified due to the dynamic fighting and constant heavy shelling, easing the Russian advance.

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Ukraine’s leadership has not confirmed Moscow’s gains. But Tymoshko said Strilecha, Pylna and Borsivika were under Russian occupation and it was from their direction the Russians were bringing in infantry to stage attacks in the embattled villages of Hlyboke and Lukiantsi.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that there were intense battles across parts of the region.

“Defensive battles and fierce fighting continue on a large part of our borderline,” Zelenskyy said, adding: “The idea behind the attacks in the Kharkiv region is to stretch our forces and undermine the moral and motivational basis of the Ukrainians’ ability to defend themselves.”

The gains are “significant not just because of the territory but also because in 10km (6 miles) or so they will be at a shelling distance of Kharkiv city, the second largest city in Ukraine,” Al Jazeera’s John Holman said, reporting from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

“It also means that Ukraine is so stretched paper thin on different sides of the front, and it will probably have to divert soldiers from other areas and send them to the Kharkiv region,” he added.

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Analysts said the Russian push is designed to exploit ammunition shortages before promised Western supplies can reach the front lines. Ukrainian soldiers said the Kremlin is using the usual Russian tactic by launching a disproportionate amount of fire and infantry assaults to exhaust their troops and firepower.

By intensifying battles in what was previously a static patch of the front line, Russian forces threaten to pin Ukrainian forces in the northeast while carrying out intense battles farther south, where Moscow is also gaining ground.

The advance comes after Russia stepped up attacks in March, targeting energy infrastructure and settlements, which analysts predicted was a concerted effort to shape conditions for an offensive.

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