Drie mannen zijn in een volle bus bij bushalte Zuidplein (Rotterdam-Charlois) in elkaar geslagen door een groep van vier mannen. De slachtoffers werden geschopt en geslagen en raakten daarbij gewond. Ook een vrouw die ernaast zat werd geraakt. De politie kon later vier verdachten aanhouden.

De coalitiebesprekingen tussen PRO. D66, VVD en Denk zijn mislukt. De VVD brak deze ochtend de gesprekken af, schrijft informateur Diederik Samsom in een brief aan de gemeenteraad.

Irish Rail has quietly written off €50 million on a troubled train traffic management system that now appears headed for the same graveyard as many ambitious public-sector IT projects before it. The State-owned rail operator no longer has confidence the new Traffic Management System can be rolled out across Ireland’s rail network as originally planned, according to reporting by The Irish Times. The system was supposed to modernize how train movements are managed nationwide as part of the wider National Train Control Centre project. Instead, the project has become the latest addition to Ireland’s increasingly crowded museum of expensive state IT mishaps. Irish Rail has now reportedly reduced the carrying value of the asset by €50 million in its 2025 accounts, after years of delays, technical concerns, and apparent doubts over whether contractor Indra can deliver a workable system at all. The system was initially expected to cost less than €20 million and launch last year, before the usual gravitational forces affecting large public sector IT projects took hold. The controversy quickly landed before Ireland’s Public Accounts Committee, where lawmakers sounded distinctly unsurprised to discover another large public-sector technology project eating tens of millions of euros. John Brady, chair of Ireland’s Public Accounts Committee, called the situation “quite simply unbelievable” and questioned how the project had been allowed to “slowly drift, with more and more public money being spent every single day.” Brady also warned the failure could have broader implications for Ireland’s rail expansion plans, raising “massive questions about the governance, ministerial oversight and financial control in place on the project.” Aiden Farrelly, an Irish Social Democrats politician who sits on the PAC, said the debacle created “a growing sense of Groundhog Day” around Irish public sector IT projects. “While more information has yet to emerge about this specific case, it’s fair to conclude that, when it comes to IT projects, the State simply can’t manage them,” Farrelly said in a statement. Farrelly also called for greater involvement from Ireland’s Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, arguing the agency should play a more hands-on role overseeing major state technology projects rather than leaving accountability entirely to individual public bodies. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein’s Pearse Doherty called the writedown a “national scandal” and accused the government of treating taxpayer money “as if it were Monopoly money” during a heated Dáil exchange. The Public Accounts Committee is now expected to summon Irish Rail, the National Transport Authority, and government officials for further questioning over the potential collapse of the project. The timing is awkward for Ireland’s broader rail expansion ambitions, which already face mounting scrutiny over costs, delays, and delivery risks across projects including MetroLink, DART+, and the perpetually delayed Navan rail line.®

Labour’s emerging leadership contest is reopening the EU debate. But if we want to rejoin, Britain needs a more European voting system first

Nowhere is an anniversary more relished than in newspapers. As we approach the 10-year mark since Britain voted for Brexit, countless column inches would no doubt have been reserved for this purpose anyway. Yet the prospect of a Labour leadership contest, at a time when polls are showing four-fifths of the party’s voters at the last election and an even higher proportion of its members want to reverse that June 2016 referendum decision, is transforming what might have merely been melancholic reflection into a more active debate.

Keir Starmer last week made a belated nod to one of his party’s deepest desires by saying that he, too, wants to put the UK back at “the heart of Europe”, even if it was still unclear exactly what he meant. Then Wes Streeting sought to revive faltering ambitions to be the next prime minister with a call for full re-entry into the EU, although he was similarly vague about when that might happen. Meanwhile, Andy Burnham was busy rowing back from a previously expressed hope of rejoining at some undisclosed point in his lifetime, perhaps because he won’t get a shot at Downing Street unless he first wins next month’s byelection in Makerfield, where a majority supported Brexit a decade ago.

Tom Baldwin is the author of Keir Starmer, The Biography

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Resolution backed by 141 states hailed as ‘new chapter’ that could improve climate diplomacy and litigation efforts

When the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a landmark climate crisis ruling on Wednesday, the Pacific island of Vanuatu’s prime minister hailed the result as the start of “a new chapter” in climate action.

“The task before all of us now is to translate legal clarity into meaningful action, stronger cooperation, and greater protection for present and future generations,” said Jotham Napat.

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HELSINGBORG (ANP) - NAVO-chef Mark Rutte voert een "intens" gesprek met de defensie-industrie om die aan te sporen de wapenproductie op te voeren. Dat gaat volgens hem lang niet snel genoeg.

De NAVO-landen hebben vorig jaar op de top in Den Haag afgesproken honderden miljarden euro's meer in hun verdediging te steken, maar het bedrijfsleven grijpt die kansen volgens Rutte nog te weinig. Hij sprak dinsdag topmannen van defensiebedrijven en woensdag bankiers en andere geldschieters om daar verandering in te brengen. De NAVO-top in Ankara over zes weken moet in dat teken staan, zei Rutte vrijdag vóór overleg met de NAVO-buitenlandministers.

NAVO-landen willen zich sinds de oorlog in Oekraïne en de twijfels over de Amerikaanse bescherming haastig herbewapenen, maar de benodigde wapens en munitie worden niet snel genoeg gemaakt. Overheid en bedrijfsleven wachten en wijzen op elkaar, ziet Rutte. Hij prijst de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump, die topmannen te verstaan gaf dat het anders moet.

Takao Iwata has added a photo to the pool:

Kameido Tenjin Shrine