Two suspected letter bombs explode in the Netherlands
Two suspected letter bombs went off on Wednesday in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam and Kerkrade but no one was injured, police have confirmed. The first explosion was reported shortly before 8am CET at a postal sorting centre on Bolstoen, in northwestern Amsterdam. Police said in a statement that one of the employees heard a “hissing sound” emitting from a letter and threw it away.
Sturgeon talks up Scotland’s place in post-Brexit Europe
On her first visit to Brussels following Brexit, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon insisted on Scotland’s place in the European Union, as a sovereign independent state. Her remarks were made during a speech at a Brussels-based think tank
EU’s von der Leyen seeks ‘unique’ trade deal with UK
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU is “all set” for trade talks with the UK and seeks a unique and unprecedented deal. “We will enter these negotiations with the highest ambition because good old friends like the UK and us shouldn’t settle for less,” she told MEPs. But she said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson would have to accept a “level playing
field” on rules and standards. Mr Johnson has insisted the UK has “no need” to follow EU trade rules.