The Netherlands

fish underwater

You can ring this ‘fish doorbell’ to help marine life in the Netherlands

Environment

The World’s Carol Hills spoke to Anne Nejs, an urban ecologist for the city of Utrecht, who worked on creating the doorbell back in 2021. She says mid-April is the best time of the season to go fish-doorbelling.

Dutch white people in blackface and colorful costumes

In year of Black Lives Matter protest, Dutch people again wrestle with tradition of Black Pete

Culture
Putin holds his passport in front of an election official

Putin scores victory in ‘gameshow’-like vote; Myanmar mine collapse; Ethiopian singer’s death sparks protests; Botswana’s mysterious elephant die-off

Top of The World
Alongside tulips and windmills, the global image of Amsterdam is one of a city entwined with water.

Amsterdam’s coronavirus recovery plan embraces ‘doughnut economics’ for people and the planet

The Big Fix
Cyclist ride in front of a bus shelter with flowers planted on the roof.

A Dutch city is turning bus shelters into bee sanctuaries

Environment
Commander Jeff Schoep of the National Socialist Movement, one of the largest white nationalist type groups in the country, speaks during a rally at the state capital in Little Rock, Arkansas,

White nationalism, born in the USA, is now a global terror threat

As more people embrace a xenophobic and anti-immigrant worldview, it is fueling hostility and violence toward those deemed “outsiders” — whether because of their religion, skin color or national origin.

Nuria at My Red Light, a social project in the form of a brothel in Amsterdam. Nuria plans to retire from sex work later this year and work full-time in an administrative role at My Red Light.

A Dutch brothel where women work for themselves

Women & Gender

My Red Light in Amsterdam is almost entirely run by former or current sex workers. And it’s designed to ensure that those who rent rooms there aren’t being trafficked or exploited. But some maintain that the work itself is inherently exploitative.

Rie van de Mueren (r) used to be a professional ballroom dancer. She's with Dieuwer Duijf at the Music Salon, which holds dance parties for the elderly in north Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is tackling loneliness one dance party at a time

Music

Public health experts now say loneliness is a growing health threat. Amsterdam is taking the subject seriously.

At Mountainoak Cheese in rural Ontario, their Gouda is winning awards. The owners support Canada's tariffs on cheese imports.

What turns some law-abiding Canadians into smugglers? The high price of imported cheese.

Economics

Canada has tariffs and quotas on imported cheese, which results in higher prices and limited availability. So some Canadians resort to cheese smuggling.

Dolphins

A Dutch nonprofit uses virtual reality to let disabled people ‘swim’ with dolphins

Lifestyle

The Dolphin Swim Club is the realization of a more than two-decade journey by artist Marijke Sjollema, who had her first chance encounter with a dolphin in 1993 while snorkeling off the coast of Mexico.