Free Republic

Zimbabwe will return dozens of foreign-owned farms seized more than two decades ago during a land reform drive, but is not reversing the contested policy, the agriculture minister said Friday. The land grab was launched by longtime ruler Robert Mugabe in 2000, with thousands of white farmers evicted, often violently, and their land redistributed to black Zimbabweans The government will return 67 farms covered by bilateral investment pacts "but which remained un-occupied" to the investors, Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka said in a statement. The investors are from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. More than 400 white farmers would be...

IRAN AWARDS ENERGY BIDS TO WESTERN MAJORS NICOSIA [MENL] -- Iran has decided to award energy development contracts to Western majors. An Iranian state oil firm said the Oil Ministry would grant Total, Royal Dutch Shell and Repsol upstream development contracts in the South Pars gas field in the Gulf. The Pars Oil and Gas Co. said the three Western contractors would develop phases 11 and 13 of South Pars. France's Total was expected to be awarded the contract to develop Phase 11 of South Pars, regarded as the largest reservoir of natural gas in the world. Iran wants Total...

Patient Zero in the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak has been identified as ornithologist Leo Schilperoord, whose passion for birds may have cost him his life. The 70-year-old man and his wife, Mirjam Schilperoord, 69, were on a five-month trip to South America. They first landed in Argentina on Nov. 27, and traveling through Chile, Uruguay and then back to Argentina in late March, where they went on a fateful birdwatching adventure. The couple — from Haulerwijk, a small village of 3,000 people in the Netherlands — were identified in obituaries published in their monthly village magazine. They co-authored a study...

The YouTube video titled "76 Americans Fled Trump — ALL Of Them Are Now TRAPPED In Refugee Camps With Fences And Tents" (from channel context implying a conservative or commentary-style outlet) highlights a group of 76 Americans who left the U.S. after Donald Trump's election/victory, claiming political persecution. Key points: They applied for refugee status in the Netherlands. All 76 claims were denied by Dutch authorities. The Netherlands officially recognizes the United States as a safe country, making asylum/refugee claims from Americans invalid on those grounds. As a result, the individuals are now stuck in Dutch refugee camps (described as...

Militaries around the world spend countless hours training, developing policies, and implementing best operational security practices, so imagine the size of the egg on the face of the Dutch navy when journalists managed to track one of its warships for less than the cost of some hagelslag and a coffee. The security snafu was reported by Dutch regional broadcaster Omroep Gelderland. In a Thursday report, Omroep Gelderland journalist Just Vervaart said the broadcaster was able to track HNLMS Evertsen, a Dutch air-defense frigate deployed to help protect France’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle against missile threats, by mailing a Bluetooth...

In UN Watch's press release, the NGO cited the UN's Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) recent nomination of Iran to the UN’s Committee for Program and Coordination. UN Watch demanded an explanation on Saturday from democratic countries for why they'd allowed "serial abusers of human rights" to be elected to key positions in the United Nations. In UN Watch's press release, the NGO cited the UN's Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) recent nomination of Iran to the UN’s Committee for Program and Coordination, which would include an active role in shaping policy on women's rights, disarmament, and terrorism prevention, as...

The Dutch police have recovered the Helmet of Cotofenesti, a Romanian treasure stolen from the Drents Museum in Assen in January last year, art detective Arthur Brand announced on X. Sources also told Dagblad van het Noorden and RTL Nieuws that the stolen treasures have been recovered.The Dutch authorities have not confirmed this, but the Public Prosecution Service (OM) has announced a press conference at 2:00 p.m. to announce "new developments" in the case. The Drents Museum's website states that the museum is closed today due to "unforeseen circumstances."During the early hours of January 25, 2025, thieves set off an...

🚨BREAKING: Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Greece have formed a 'deportation coalition' They say they want plans to have migrant deportation return centres developed before the end of 2026 Something is finally happening!

“I’m the Prime Minister of Spain. This Is Why the West Needs Migrants,” Pedro Sanchez headlined his New York Times op-ed. “The West needs people. Currently, few of its countries have a rising population growth rate. Unless they embrace migration, they will experience a sharp demographic decline.” Spain’s demographic decline is helped along by the nearly 1,000 euthanasia cases a year. Those who die are replaced with the growing flood of Muslim championed by Sanchez. The West needs people, but only certain kinds of people, and it euthanizes the wrong kind. Spain’s population is set to shrink by one more...

The Western European NATO allies of the United States appear to be celebrating what they mistakenly believe is the discomfort the Americans and Israelis are now encountering in the Iran war. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has unctuously announced that this war is not a NATO responsibility since NATO is a defensive alliance. He has at least had the decency to recognise that “The United States and Israel are doing the world’s dirty work for it.” President Trump has made it clear that he does not need the assistance of any other country in clearing the Hormuz Strait, but he considers...

Serbia has sharply condemned Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, for what it described as “unacceptable interference in internal affairs,” after she criticized the Balkan country’s military cooperation with Israel. The diplomatic dispute follows Albanese’s visit to Belgrade this week, during which she accused Serbian authorities of collaborating “without shame” with Israel, claiming Serbia is among its strongest allies and that Serbian weapons are being used in Gaza. “We consider the statements made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Albanese, to be unbalanced and activist in nature, and as such inappropriate to the mandate she...

LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Leading ⁠nations ⁠in Europe ⁠said in a joint statement ​with Japan on Thursday they would ‌take steps to stabilise ‌energy markets and were ⁠ready ⁠to join "appropriate efforts" to ensure safe passage ​through the Strait of Hormuz. The statement from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the ​Netherlands and Japan, condemned attacks by ⁠Iran and ⁠called on it ⁠to ​halt its actions immediately. It also said ​they would ⁠work with certain energy producing nations to increase output and stabilise markets. "We express our readiness ⁠to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe ⁠passage through the Strait," the...

[Catholic Caucus] PHOTOS: Dutch Cardinal Eijk celebrates first public Traditional Latin MassCardinal Eijk’s Pontifical High Mass is particularly significant because the Latin Mass is rare in the Netherlands and it comes despite Vatican officials’ hostility to the traditional liturgy.6, 2026 - 5:24 pm EDTTue Mar 17, 2026 - 7:05 am EDT Listen to this article4 minOSS, Netherlands (LifeSiteNews) — Dutch Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, the metropolitan archbishop of Utrecht, celebrated his first public Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at the historic Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday.The packed March 15 Laetare Sunday Mass, viewable at the link...

A special report by the National Center for Combating Antisemitism in Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry on Monday morning revealed the existence of a new militant organization called "Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya" (Ashab Al-Yamim). The group has claimed responsibility for a series of coordinated attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe in recent days. According to the report, the organization is behind an explosion near a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, an attack on a Jewish site in Greece, the arson of a synagogue in Rotterdam, and the detonation of an explosive device outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam. Although most of the...

14 March 2026, 8:50 am Share 1 The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right claims responsibility for this morning’s attack on a Jewish school in Amsterdam, publishing a video that appears to show the detonation of an incendiary device. The newly formed extremist group has also been linked to several other antisemitic attacks in recent days, including a similar explosion yesterday outside a synagogue in Rotterdam that caused a brief fire and damage to the building, in which four suspects were arrested by Dutch police.

Dutch police have arrested a man carrying a gun in his hand luggage as he checked in for departure at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, a police spokeswoman said. The weapon was found during standard safety checks on Wednesday, the spokeswoman said, adding Schiphol's police had started an investigation and questioned the man. The spokeswoman would not comment on a statement by airline Air Malta, which said the detainee was a Maltese man who was due to board a flight to Malta. "At this moment we won't give further details," she said. Air Malta said that after the discovery of the revolver,...

CDC Update: Tularemia Outbreak in Prairie Dogs in Texas Tuesday, August 06, 2002 4:15 PM Eastern US http://www.videonewswire.com/CDC/080602/event.html?id=7237

A Dutch cheese has claimed top honours at one of the world’s most respected dairy competitions, winning the title of World Champion Cheese 2026 in a field of thousands of international entries. Beemster Royaal Grand Cru, a rich, cow’s‑milk cheese produced by CONO Kaasmakers in Westbeemster, The Netherlands, was named the best cheese in the world at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin, this week. With an outstanding score of 98.68 out of 100, the cheese topped a competitive field of 3,375 entries from 25 countries and 34 U.S. states. The World Championship Cheese Contest, organised by the...

Millions of acres of farmland across the country are privately owned, but a small share of it is foreign-owned land sitting idle in many areas. That’s according to new U.S. Department of Agriculture data which shows just how much of the nation’s agricultural land is owned by other countries. The USDA‘s online portal reveals that more than 45 million acres of land are owned by foreign countries, with an original purchase value of over $38 billion. Our neighbor to the north, Canada, has the most agricultural acreage in the United States, at 15.35 million acres. John Hewlett, a farm and...

Bungled link handed over sensitive docs, and when recipient didn't cooperate, police opted for cuffs iconDutch police have arrested a man for "computer hacking" after accidentally handing him their own sensitive files and then getting annoyed when he didn't hand them back. The Politie said on Monday that a 40-year-old man from Ridderkerk was arrested on Thursday after he wound up with confidential documents thanks to what officers acknowledge was their own cock-up. The chain of events reads less like a breach and more like an own goal. In connection with a separate investigation, the man contacted the police...