Arrival of Sinterklaas • Netherlands-Hungary in Nations League

NOS News•today, 07:22

Good morning! Today is the national arrival of Sinterklaas in Vianen. And the Dutch national team plays against Hungary in the Nations League.

First the weather: today it is cloudy with occasional drizzle. More rain will follow from the northwest later this afternoon and evening. With a moderate to fairly strong southwest wind it will be 8 to 11 degrees. It will remain changeable in the coming days and the temperature will drop slightly.

• Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands today. About 20,000 visitors are expected at the national arrival in Vianen. At 12 noon the steamboat arrives in the Passantenhaven, after which Santa starts a route through Vianen.
• Marianne Vaatstra’s murderer, Jasper S., is released. He has served two-thirds of his prison sentence. S. confessed to the murder of 16-year-old Vaatstra years later and was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2013. He receives an area ban for the entire Northern Netherlands.
• US President Biden meets with Chinese President Xi in Peru. They are there at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. It will be one of Biden’s last meetings with international leaders as US president.
• The Dutch national team plays against Hungary for the Nations League in Amsterdam. Both countries are on 5 points. With a win, the Dutch team is assured of second place and the quarter-finals of the Nations League. The match starts at 8:45 PM and can be followed live via NPO1, NOS.nl, the NOS app, the NOS Live app and NPO Radio 1.

After the hours-long crisis meeting in the Catshuis, the Schoof cabinet continues. Without State Secretary Achahbar, but with the rest of the NSC ministers. “There is and was no racism in the Council of Ministers and the coalition factions,” Prime Minister Schoof said firmly after the crisis meeting. When asked whether it was true that words such as ‘cunt Moroccans’ and ‘halal eaters’ were used on Monday, he did not answer.

VVD Finance Minister Heinen is said to have made a comparison on Monday in the discussion about combating anti-Semitism with a pimple that had to be squeezed, although there are different interpretations of what exactly he said. But Schoof remained silent. “I do not make any statements about what was said in the Council of Ministers,” he said. “That must remain a secret.”

The big question for everyone who wants to welcome Santa in Vianen: will he arrive safely? And of course: does it stay dry? Our weatherman Marco Verhoef rhymed the weather forecast:

The arrival of Saint Nicholas: sun, rain or wind?