Femke Halsema
Dutch mayor of Amsterdam and former political leader of GroenLinks
Photo: Harold Pereira, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons, cropped)
- Oct 4
Amsterdam residents sue city over viral Fabel Friet chip shop crowds
Nineteen residents in Amsterdam have taken the city to court over the operating licence of Fabel Friet, arguing that tourist queues have brought litter and pests to Runstraat.
- Jul 28
Thousands gather at Amsterdam's Homomonument to mourn Berlin Pride attack, defiantly vowing visibility
A vigil at the Homomonument on Tuesday evening honored the Polish woman killed and 29 people injured when a van plowed into Berlin's Christopher Street Day parade on Saturday, as speakers urged the queer community to remain visible during the ongoing WorldPride in Amsterdam.
- Jul 27
Berlin Pride van attack suspect killed by police in Spandau garden shed after opening fire
The man suspected of driving a vehicle into the crowd at Berlin's Pride march on Saturday was tracked to a garden shed in the Spandau district and killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers, while Belgian and Dutch officials condemned the attack and Belgium's threat assessment body saw no reason to raise its alert level.
- Jul 26
Queen Máxima becomes first royal to open WorldPride as Amsterdam hosts global LGTBIQ+ festival
The Dutch queen interrupted her holiday to inaugurate the two-week event in Vondelpark, 25 years after the Netherlands staged the world’s first full-rights same-sex marriages.
- Jul 1
Grapperhaus emotional over curfew signature, Van Dissel takes blame for herd immunity controversy at Dutch corona inquiry
Former justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus broke down recalling his reluctant signature on the 2021 curfew, while ex-OMT chair Jaap van Dissel admitted fault for the herd immunity uproar and called the government's COVID rules a 'spaghetti mess'.
- Jun 29
Halsema questioned on 'disproportionate' curfew as Dutch corona inquiry turns to unrest
The parliamentary inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic hears Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema and former police chief Henk van Essen on Monday, focusing on the controversial curfew of early 2021 and the unrest it sparked.
- May 29
Hungarian police approve Budapest Pride for June 27, reversing last year's ban under Orbán
Hungarian police said Friday there were 'no grounds' to ban next month's Budapest Pride parade, a sharp reversal from 2025 when the event was officially barred under former prime minister Viktor Orbán.
