In a letter to the Dutch parliament, the country's trade minister has said exporters of chip technology will have to ask for licences to do business abroad, citing concerns over international security. The Netherlands is home to one of the leaders in chipmaking equipment, ASML.

Due to its intensive agriculture, the Netherlands has the highest nitrogen emissions in Europe. As a result, Dutch forests and rivers are among the most polluted in the world. EU environmental standards dictate that the Dutch government must reduce the presence of this chemical element in the soil.

The two countries are asking the International Court of Justice both to examine torture and other crimes against humanity committed during Syria's civil war, and to order Damascus to halt any such mistreatment.

In 1953, a gigantic storm swept across the North Sea and caused a tidal wave in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. Many dykes controlling water levels were simply swept away as the water spread far inland. While more than 300 people died in the UK, more than 1,800 lost their lives in the Netherlands. At the time, around a fifth of the Netherlands was below sea level. More than 2,000 square kilometres of land were flooded there, including almost the entire province of Zeeland.

A violent summer storm swept across the Netherlands, severely affecting air and train traffic. At least one person died in the town of Haarlem.

The Dutch government has decided to return some 478 highly valuable and culturally significant artworks, which had been looted during the Dutch colonial era.

An electric car aboard the Fremantle Highway carrier is believed to have caught fire, according to Dutch media. The ship was carrying nearly 3,000 cars en route from Germany to Egypt.

Southwesterly winds mean it's not yet possible to safely tow the ship further away from the environmentally sensitive location it is in now. It is carrying over 3,780 vehicles, including some 500 electric cars.

The fire on a freighter loaded with thousands of cars appears to have burnt itself out. Although the vessel seems stable, there are still concerns over potential risks.

After several days of continued burning in the North Sea, the Fremantle Highway has been towed to port. Salvage work is slated to begin shortly.

Officials in the Netherlands found €600 million ($661 million) worth of cocaine from Ecuador in containers alongside bananas. Rotterdam is one of the main ports for drug traffickers bringing the drug to Europe.

According to its defense ministry, a Russian warship fired warning shots at a vessel headed to Ukraine in the Black Sea. It is the first such incident since Moscow exited the UN-brokered grain deal.