The Dutch parliament has formally endorsed a general pardon for an estimated 25,000 illegal asylum seekers. A motion aimed at widening the amnesty was rejected. The proposal was designed to include immigrants who left the country, voluntarily or not, before being sent back to the Netherlands. The plan was put forward by the governing Labour Party together with the opposition Socialist Party Coalition, Green Left and the democrat party D66. Deputy Justice Minster Nebahat Albayrak, the driving force behind the amnesty, said an expansion was not feasible and undesirable. The scheme has been condemned by parties on the right. The...