A painting by Dutch painter Van Gogh, stolen from a museum three and a half years ago during the coronavirus outbreak, was found.

Art detective Arthur Brand said: “Confirming that the painting was the stolen Van Gogh was one of the best moments of my life.”

Richard Bronswijk from the art crimes unit of the Dutch police said, “Arthur Brand solved this problem in cooperation with the Dutch police. The painting is absolutely real, there is no doubt about it.”

Detective Brand received the lost painting “Parsonage Garden in Nuenen” dated 1884 at a house in Amsterdam.

The painting, estimated to be worth three to six million Euros, was stolen from the Singer Laren Museum on March 30, 2020.

In the video published by the Dutch police shortly after the robbery, it is seen that a thief broke the glass door of the museum near Amsterdam at midnight and ran away with the painting hidden under his arm.

‘The Indiana Jones of the art world’

Dubbed the ‘Indiana Jones of the art world’, Brand made a name for himself by retrieving stolen works of art, including bronze statues of “Hitler’s Horses”, a Picasso painting and a ring belonging to Oscar Wilde.

The whereabouts of the Van Gogh painting were unknown until two weeks ago. However, one person called the detective and said he wanted to return the painting.

Brand noted that an unidentified man delivered the painting to him in a blue IKEA bag and a pillowcase.

A video the detective released shows him “opening the painting in the living room and being stunned by the discovery.”

Thief sentenced to 8 years in prison

In April 2021, police arrested a man identified by Dutch media as Nils M. on charges of theft. Nils M. was later sentenced to eight years in prison.

Nils M. was also found guilty of stealing Frans Hals’s “Two laughing children” in another robbery.

Brand said that a few months after the theft, he learned from a source in the criminal world who had bought the Van Gogh painting from Nils M.

The art detective said the man is currently in prison on a separate case involving the import and export of cocaine. Dutch media announced that this person was Peter Roy K., who was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and that he asked for a reduction in his sentence by using the painting as collateral. Confirming the identity of Peter Roy K., Brand noted that “there will be no agreement to reduce the sentence.”

The Van Gogh painting was returned to the director of the Groningen Museum, who had loaned it to the Singer Karen Museum.

Pakistani international cricketer Khalid Latif, who put a bounty on his head for the murder of Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the Netherlands.

Hz. A court in the Netherlands held a trial in absentia against former cricketer Latif, who placed a 21 thousand euro bounty on Wilders’ head for organizing a cartoon contest on the subject of Muhammad.

In its decision on Monday, the Hague District Court said, “The court ruled that the suspect’s statements should be considered as an attempt to incite, incite and threaten murder. The words used by the suspect are clear: He promises a significant amount of money to perform a certain action and kill Wilders.” he said.

Prosecutors stated in the indictment that the leader of the Freedom Party accused people of the Prophet Muhammad in 2018. It was reported that Latif offered a cash reward to those who would assassinate Wilders after he organized a contest calling for submissions of Muhammad caricatures.

Latif, who lives in Pakistan, was not present at the hearing and did not retain a lawyer. According to local media, this is the first time a court in the Netherlands has convicted a non-Dutch person living abroad. There is no extradition agreement between the two countries.

‘If there was more, I would give it’

Geert Wilders’ Hz. The cartoon contest on Muhammad caused reactions from Muslims around the world.

Latif, a well-known figure in Pakistan, promised 3 million Pakistani rupees to “the person who will kill the person who planned this game” in a video he shared on social media and said, “If it was more, I would give it.” he said.

Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands at the time, condemned the cartoon contest as “provocative” and emphasized that Wilders was not part of the government. Wilders later canceled the contest.

In the Netherlands, 500 people were detained on the second day of the protests of climate activists opposing the government’s fossil subsidies. On the first day of the protest yesterday, 2,400 people were detained. 

The action started yesterday by the environmentalist group ‘Extinction Rebellion’ against the Dutch government’s fossil subsidies continued today. 

Activists demanded an end to the use of fossil fuels by closing the last part of the A12 main road leading to parliament in The Hague. 

Despite the warnings of the police, security forces intervened in the crowd that gathered on the road in the afternoon. In the statement made by the police, it was announced that 500 activists were detained. 

Activists say they will continue their actions until the country changes its fossil fuel policy and state that they will continue their protests every day.

While 10 thousand demonstrators gathered on the first day of the protests that started yesterday, the police intervened in the group two hours later and detained 2,400 people.

In England, the model named Eliza Rose Watson appeared on the billboards of the OnlyFans page, causing controversy. The UK regulator, which started an investigation after complaints that it was not suitable for children to see, approved the ads.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 30 complaints in June and July that posters appearing in Harrow, Tottenham, Lambeth and Edgware were inappropriate and adult content.

One of the billboards used was located about 450 meters from a school.

Complainants argued that the ad was excessively sexual and objectified women.

The ASA said that although Watson’s clothes are open, there is no nudity in the image and Watson’s pose “does not go beyond light sexuality”.

“While we acknowledge that the image of Ms. Watson and references to OnlyFans may be offensive to some, we conclude that, as the ad is not overtly sexual and does not objectify women, it is unlikely to cause serious or widespread discomfort,” the agency said in a statement. took

Environmental organization  Global Witness then took over three of the boards and turned them into ‘OilyFans’ billboards to comment on the salary package of BP CEO Bernard Looney, whose earnings rose from £4.5m to £10m last year.

OnlyFans is a social media platform that offers a subscription service to adult sexual content.

Watson, 34, told British tabloid newspaper The Sun last month that he earns around £200,000 a month by selling explicit images on OnlyFans. 

He said he spent around £18,000 on the ad campaign, including billboards in the UK and two in New York’s Times Square.

Regarding the reactions to the billboards, Watson said: 

“If people are offended by my ad, I’m assuming they’re also complaining about Ann Summers and Jack Daniels ads. You see ads for gambling, alcohol, sex toys, underwear, there’s no difference between these types of adult ads and my adult ads.”

“This is real business – if a gambling or alcohol company can run ads with far more disruptive effects, why not?”

The ASA concluded that the posters were not placed irresponsibly and decided that no further action was necessary.

The Dutch Supreme Court has ruled that two ex-servicemen, including former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, are exempt from civil prosecution in the Netherlands in the case of the death of six Palestinians in an airstrike.

The decision was made in December 2021 by the Hague Court of Appeals, with retired military politician Gantz and former Air Force Commander Amir Eshel as senior Israeli officials conducting government policy “regardless of the nature and extent of the behavior imputed against them” in the Netherlands. upheld his decision that he could not be held liable in a civil action.

This means that the Dutch Supreme Court “exempted the Israeli military from prosecution in the Netherlands under civil action and dismissed the claim for compensation”.

Ismail Ziada, a Dutch citizen of Palestinian origin, filed a war crimes compensation lawsuit against former Israeli Chief of Staff Benny Gantz on the grounds that he was responsible for the death of his family.

Ziada had lost her mother, three siblings, aunt and nephew in the Burayj Refugee Camp as a result of Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza on July 20, 2014.

In her application, Ziada had sought damages against Gantz under the ‘Dutch rules of universal jurisdiction’ that allow countries to prosecute serious crimes committed elsewhere.

The lawyers of Ziada, who is of Palestinian origin, argued that these two senior Israeli soldiers do not have immunity because their actions constitute war crimes.

However, since it is the highest judicial authority, there is no other appeal against the Dutch Supreme Court’s decision.

According to UN figures, approximately 2,200 Palestinians, including 1,500 civilians, were killed in these conflicts. 

According to Israeli military and health officials, 67 Israeli soldiers and 6 civilians lost their lives.