The Netherlands: Around 90% of newly built homes erected last year in the Netherlands are gas-free – by Emiliano Bellini

Netbeheer Nederland, the Dutch association of national and regional power network operators, has revealed that approximately 90.1% of new buildings erected last year are not connected to the gas network in the service areas of grid operators Liander, Enexis Netbeheer and Stedin.

A year earlier, this percentage had reached around 87%. “The number of applications to disconnect existing homes from natural gas is also increasing,” the organization said. “For example, households are switching to all-electric as a sustainable alternative.”

Netbeheer Nederland specified that the 10% of new homes built last year that were still linked to the gas grid were granted this possibility as their environmental permit was filed before 1 July 2018. “In addition, municipalities still have the option of granting an exemption for new construction projects after 1 July 2018, for example when solutions other than natural gas are technically impossible,” it added.

Read more at: Around 90% of newly built homes erected last year in the Netherlands are gas-free – pv magazine International

EU: Time to make new alliances? European diplomacy in the Ukraine crisis

The Ukrainian parliament witnessed an unusual scene this week. A group of representatives gathered around the lectern and held up flags of NATO and allied countries for the cameras — a demonstration of gratitude for foreign support for Ukraine in the confrontation with Russia. The flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Jack, featured twice.

It was also on display in the streets of the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, when the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, visited Kyiv. Ukraine is clearly grateful to the beleaguered Johnson, who is under considerable pressure on the domestic front. His government supplied Ukraine with anti-tank weapons in recent weeks, the British army is training Ukrainian soldiers, and now the British Conservative leader is holding out the prospect of financial support equivalent to 100 million euros to assist Kyiv in the current crisis.

Read more at: Time to make new alliances? European diplomacy in the Ukraine crisis | Europe | News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 04.02.2022

The Netherlands-Ukraine Relations: Dutch PM, in Kyiv, urges justice for MH17 victims, dialogue in Ukraine crisis

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged dialogue to defuse a crisis with Russia on Wednesday during a trip to Kyiv in which he also reaffirmed his resolve to secure justice for families of the victims of an airliner downed over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Rutte is the latest leader - following in the tracks of the British and Polish premiers - to visit Kyiv in a show of solidarity after Russia massed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine's borders in a standoff that has alarmed the West.

The Ukraine crisis is closely watched in the Netherlands, where Dutch prosecutors have sought the convictions of four men charged with murder over the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Read more Dutch PM, in Kyiv, urges justice for MH17 victims, dialogue in Ukraine crisis | Reuters

The Netherlands: How the Dutch Built the Netherlands to Protect it from Flooding

through the building of dikes, drainage canals, and pumping stations. Today, there are more than 3,000 polders throughout the nation. This wasn't enough though, and in 1916, they suffered from severe flooding.

That's when the Dutch decided to work on the Afsluitdijk to protect low-lying areas and the wall off the Zuiderzee from the sea. The seawall was one of the largest engineering feats of its time, spanning 20 mi (32 km) and a final height of 23 ft (7 m) above sea level. More impressive was the fact that it was topped off by sand and clay, and held together by grass.

Read more at: How the Dutch Built the Netherlands to Protect it from Flooding

Netherlands, Ukraine take Russia to European rights court - by Mike Corder

The Netherlands and Ukraine argued Wednesday that a top European court should hear their cases that seek to hold Russia responsible for human rights violations in eastern Ukraine including the 2014 downing of a passenger jet that killed all 298 people on board.

Lawyers representing the Dutch government told the European Court of Human Rights in the French city of Strasbourg that Russia had effective control over rebel forces in eastern Ukraine when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014.

The preliminary hearing into whether the Ukraine and Dutch cases against Russia are admissible opened amid soaring tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow’s huge troop buildup near the border with Ukraine and fears of conflict.

Read more at: Netherlands, Ukraine take Russia to European rights court | The Seattle Times

NATO allies put forces on standby as tensions rise over Ukraine crisis - by Eliza Mackintosh

NATO announced on Monday that some member countries are putting forces on standby and sending additional ships and fighter jets to eastern Europe as the United Kingdom and the United States ordered diplomats' families to withdraw from Ukraine amid concerns of a Russian invasion.

The developments underscore growing fears of a possible Russian incursion, following months of military maneuvering by Moscow that has set off a tit-for-tat series of escalations with NATO, a military alliance of Western powers.

Read more at: NATO allies put forces on standby as tensions rise over Ukraine crisis - CNN

Ukraine Crises: Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will not open if Russia invades Ukraine, says US - by Martin Farrer and Kate Connolly

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany will not move forward if Russia invades Ukraine, the US state department has said, in a significant strengthening of the west’s previous position on the strategically vital gas supply.

Read more at: Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will not open if Russia invades Ukraine, says US | Ukraine | The Guardian