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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 11 OctOber 2017
From tax cuts to pot plantations: New Dutch coalition plans

owners welcomed the Among measures aimed at
idea, but said it needs to achieving that target the
see more details before government wants to halt
giving further comment. natural gas connections
IMMIGRATION AND CITI- to new homes, shutter the
ZENSHIP: The coalition country’s coal-fired power
wants more deals similar to stations by 2030 and make
the one between the Eu- more space available to
ropean Union and Turkey build wind farms at sea.
aimed at slowing the flow SECURITY AND DEFENSE: The
of migrants to Europe. It new government will invest
also plans to cut the length 267 million euros ($315 mil-
of initial residency permits lion) in the national police
for successful asylum seek- force, 95 million euros ($112
ers from five years to three, million) in cybersecurity
and do more to compel and 13 million euros ($15
asylum seekers to better in- million) extra per year in
tegrate into Dutch society. counterterrorism measures.
In an effort to promote Investment in the Dutch
Dutch national identity, military will rise to more
all school children will be than 1.5 billion euros ($1.8
taught the words and his- billion) per year.
In this Sunday, March 5, 2017 photo, the Political party leaders Geert Wilders (PVV), Emile Roemer torical context of the na- EUTHANASIA: Rutte’s for-
(SP), Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD), Lodewijk Asscher (PVDA), Alexander Pechtold (D66) tional anthem. mer government agreed
and Sybrand Buma (CDA), from left to right, pose for a group picture during a visit to De Telegraaf CLIMATE: The government last year to allow legisla-
newspaper. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) aims to reduce carbon tion that would permit eu-
By MIKE CORDER administration — his third — ther steps. emissions by 49 percent thanasia for some elderly
Netherlands (AP) — The is cutting taxes for citizens The union of coffee shop by 2030 from 1990 levels. people. q
Netherlands’ new center- and businesses.
right, four-party coalition Rutte said that the Neth-
led by Prime Minister Mark erlands is thriving, “but too
Rutte published its policy many people are not yet
blueprint Tuesday for the feeling it.”But Geert Wilders,
coming four years, includ- the anti-Islam lawmaker
ing everything from a raft whose Party for Freedom is
of tax cuts to an experi- the second largest in Dutch
ment with state-sanctioned Parliament, accused the
cannabis plantations.The new government of de-
document set out a wide ceit, saying the tax cuts
range of policies agreed were balanced out by tax
between Rutte’s People’s rises elsewhere.
Party for Freedom and GROWING WEED: In an ex-
Democracy, the Christian periment aimed at getting
Democrats, the centrist a grip on the huge illegal
and pro-European Union cannabis growing industry
D66 party and the faith- supplying the world famous
based Christian Union. Dutch cafes allowed to
A look at some of the co- sell small amounts of pot,
alition’s policies that the the government wants to
government — which has sanction a small number
only a one-seat majority in of officially-tolerated can-
the 150-seat lower house nabis plantations. Experi-
of Parliament and has yet ments will be carried out in
to be sworn in — will try to between six and 10 munici-
implement: palities “to see if and how
CUTTING TAXES quality-controlled weed
After tough austerity mea- can be delivered to coffee
sures helped the economy shops.” The experiments
rebound strongly from the will then be evaluated be-
financial crisis, one of the fore the government de-
major aims of Rutte’s new cides whether to take fur-
Greece sees a rise in refugee,
migrant arrivals in September

THESSALONIKI, Greece recorded to have illegally
(AP) — Police in northern entered Greece over the
Greece are reporting a rise land border in September,
the number of refugees compared to 1,497 in Au-
and migrants illegally en- gust.The uptick matches
tering the country’s land increased arrivals by sea
border with Turkey during from Turkey, which in Sep-
September. tember reached 4,886, ac-
Police in Thessaloniki said cording to the United Na-
Tuesday 2,428 people were tions refugee agency. q