Mark Rutte

‘Quantum leap’: Nato chief to urge 400 per cent rise in air defence

9 Jun 2025 - 6:26PMvideocam

Ukraine invited to Nato summit as peace talks make little headway

Trump ‘open’ to meeting leaders of Ukraine and Russia to push for a ceasefire.

3 Jun 2025 - 11:42AM

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Vilnius, Lithuania on Monday. Photo: AP

Britain

‘Message to Moscow’: UK boosts military spending amid threat from Russia.

‘The threat we face is more serious, more immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War,’ PM Keir Starmer said.

3 Jun 2025 - 12:43AMvideocam

Nato targets 5% defence spending to appease Trump

The transatlantic security alliance is reportedly eyeing the biggest military spending increase since the Cold War.

14 May 2025 - 2:05PMvideocam

Marco Rubio says US committed to Nato but tells allies to spend more

Trump has demanded Nato more than double its current spending target to five per cent of GDP – more than any, including the US, spend now.

3 Apr 2025 - 7:39PMvideocam

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (right) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting of Nato’s ministers of foreign affairs, at Nato’s headquarters in Brussels on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

Opinion | Why are so many countries rethinking their relations with China?

With the pandemic waning and global conflicts reshaping geopolitics, some nations are reassessing their relationship with China. This rethink could threaten China’s global influence and further divide the world into opposing camps like in the Cold War.

21 Mar 2024 - 9:01PMvideocam

Dutch far-right firebrand Geert Wilders says won’t be PM

The far-right politician, whose anti-Islam, anti-migrant rhetoric swept him to a shock election victory, does not have support of all parties in his coalition.

14 Mar 2024 - 10:56AM

Semiconductors

Netherlands seeks to prevent ASML expansion abroad, report says

The Dutch government is exploring ways to keep ASML from expanding outside the Netherlands after the chip-machinery maker raised concerns about the country’s business climate.

7 Mar 2024 - 3:07PM

Zelensky calls for more Western air defence systems to ‘save lives’

‘We need to strengthen the Ukrainian air shield to add more protection for our people from Russian terror.’

2 Mar 2024 - 8:39PMvideocam

Rescuers in Odesa carry a body on Saturday at the site of a heavily damaged apartment building, following a Russian drone attack. Photo: AFP

Macron does not rule out Europeans sending troops to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron opened the door to European nations sending troops to Ukraine, although he cautioned that there was no consensus at this stage.

27 Feb 2024 - 11:26AMvideocam

US, UK back outgoing Dutch PM Rutte to become Nato chief

Mark Rutte is the only official candidate to replace Jens Stoltenberg as secretary general of Nato, which appoints its leader by consensus, requiring the support from all its members.

22 Feb 2024 - 9:34PM

Nato to hold biggest war games since Cold War with 90,000 troops

The exercise will span from North America to Nato’s eastern flank, close to the Russian border, and will involve 50 naval vessels, 80 aircraft and over 1,100 combat vehicles.

19 Jan 2024 - 1:31PM

Nato plans to mobilise 90,000 soldiers for a manoeuvre aimed at deterring Russia. Photo: Reuters

European Union

As Danish monarch abdicates, more queens in store for Europe amid Gen Z rise

Belgium’s Elisabeth, Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands and Spain’s Leonor are among the monarchs who will be ascending to thrones in the coming years.

14 Jan 2024 - 4:00PM

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe (left), Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary receive the diplomatic corps at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen on January 3. Photo: AP

EU grants Ukraine membership talks but can’t agree financial aid

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked €50 billion in EU aid for Ukraine, after leaders sidestepped his opposition to agree to open talks with Kyiv on joining the bloc.

15 Dec 2023 - 4:09PM

Semiconductors

Dutch giant ASML, Samsung sign deal to build chip plant in Korea

The agreement comes during South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s tour of the Netherlands, as he becomes the first Korean leader to visit the European nation since 1961, in hope of forging a ‘chip alliance’.

13 Dec 2023 - 10:56AM

Netherlands far-right’s Geert Wilders scores massive election win

Geert Wilders and his far-right Freedom Party have pulled off an extraordinary political bombshell, a shock result that will resound across Europe.

23 Nov 2023 - 5:10PM

Dutch vote in tight election as far-right jostles to replace PM Rutte

The Netherlands will get its first new prime minister in over a decade in a vote dominated by immigration and climate change.

22 Nov 2023 - 7:11PM

Mark Rutte seizes lead in Nato job race as he exits Dutch politics

Mark Rutte is wrapping up 13 years as the Netherlands’ longest-serving premier. Estonia’s Kaja Kallas and Latvia’s Krisjanis Karins are also possible contenders for the Nato top job.

22 Nov 2023 - 1:27PM

Dutch PM Mark Rutte signals interest in Nato’s top job

Dutch PM Mark Rutte said the role as secretary general of would be ‘interesting’, but acknowledged the ‘very big chance’ that the job would go to a female European leader.

28 Oct 2023 - 10:04PM

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks after the weekly Council of Ministers in The Hague on May 12. Photo: EPA-EFE

Semiconductors

Advanced chip in Huawei smartphone produced on ASML machines: sources

SMIC used ASML’s less-advanced DUV machines together with tools from other companies to make the chip used on Huawei's new 5G smartphones, according to people familiar with the matter.

26 Oct 2023 - 1:48PM

Huawei Technologies’ Mate 60 series smartphones displayed at the company’s flagship store in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Israel-Gaza war

Biden holds calls with key Western allies about Israel-Gaza war

The US president held calls with the leaders of Canada, France, Britain, Germany and Italy, after speaking to Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. He also spoke to Pope Francis.

23 Oct 2023 - 8:23AMvideocam

Gunman in combat gear kills 3 at Rotterdam house and hospital

Dutch police were investigating the motive of a gunman who went on a shooting rampage at a house and a hospital in Rotterdam, killing a 14-year-old girl, her mother, and a teacher.

29 Sep 2023 - 4:55PM

US-China relations

China to send vice-president – and not top diplomat Wang Yi – to UN meeting

Han Zheng, whose role is largely symbolic, will take part in UN’s annual policymaking sessions in New York next week, but Wang could still make separate US trip.

15 Sep 2023 - 9:10PMvideocam

Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng’s duties include representing the country at ceremonies and events overseas and receiving foreign guests in China. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ukraine’s Zelensky hails ‘historic’ decision to supply F-16 jets

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s unannounced quick trips to the Netherlands and Denmark resulted in a significant haul of F-16 fighter jets, expected to improve Kyiv’s capabilities in the sky.

21 Aug 2023 - 11:32AMvideocam

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) takes a selfie with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte during a visit to the Eindhoven Military Air Base in Eindhoven on Sunday. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/AFP