The Netherlands armed forces are the military forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The armed forces consist of four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Netherlands Army, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. The service branches are supplemented by various joint support organizations. In addition, local conscript forces exist on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao. These operate under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Netherlands Marine Corps. The armed forces are part of the Ministry of Defence.
The foreign policy of the Netherlands is based on four basic commitments: to the Atlantic cooperation, to European integration, to international development and to international law. While historically the Kingdom of the Netherlands was a neutral state, since 1945 it has become a member of NATO, the United Nations, the European Union and many other international organizations. The Dutch economy is very open and relies on international trade. During and after the 17th century—its Golden Age—the Dutch built up a commercial and colonial empire. It was a leading shipping and naval power and was often at war with England, its main rival. Its main colonial holding was Indonesia, which fought for and achieved independence after 1945. The historical ties inherited from its colonial past still influence the foreign relations of the Netherlands. Foreign trade policy is handled by the European Union. The Dutch have been active in international peacekeeping roles.
Carice Anouk van Houten is a Dutch actress. Her first leading role in the television film Suzy Q (1999) won her the Golden Calf for Best Acting in a Television Drama; two years later, she won the Golden Calf for Best Actress for Miss Minoes (2001).
Halina Reijn is a Dutch actress, writer and film director.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in the Netherlands are among the most advanced in the world. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1811 after France invaded the country and installed the Napoleonic Code, erasing any remaining sodomy laws. No more sodomy laws were enacted after the country received independence. An age of consent equal with that of heterosexual activity was put in place in 1971. During the late 20th century, awareness surrounding homosexuality grew and society became more tolerant of gay and bisexual people. The changes eventually led to homosexuality's declassification as a mental illness in 1973 and a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation in the military. The Equal Treatment Act 1994 bans discrimination on account of sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, and other areas. This was extended in 2019 to include discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics. After the country began granting same-sex couples registered partnerships benefits in 1998, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. Same-sex joint and stepchild adoption are also permitted, and lesbian couples can access IVF as well.
Dutch FilmWorks B.V. is the film distributor and producer of the Netherlands founded in 1998, based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, focusing on Benelux rights mainly to release films theatrically, on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. They are also a publisher and distributor of books and magazines.
The Caribbean Netherlands is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, as they are also known in legislation, or the BES islands for short. The islands are officially classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas territories of the European Union; as such, European Union law does not automatically apply to them.
Sari van Veenendaal is a Dutch former professional footballer. She was part of the Netherlands squad that won UEFA Women's Euro 2017.
Talpa TV is a Dutch commercial broadcasting company owned by John de Mol's Talpa Network.
Sarina Petronella Wiegman OON CBE, also known as Sarina Wiegman-Glotzbach, is a Dutch football manager and former player who has been the manager of the England women's national team since September 2021.
Renée Fokker is a Dutch television and film actress. She is known for her roles in the television series Vrouwenvleugel and De zomer van '45. Fokker also won the Golden Calf for Best Actress award for her role in the 1996 film Blind Date.
The Promise of Pisa is a 2019 Dutch drama film directed by Norbert ter Hall. The film is based on the autobiographical novel by Mano Bouzamour.
Art Rooijakkers is a Dutch television presenter. He is best known as the presenter of the popular television show Wie is de Mol? from 2012 to 2018.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands has resulted in 8,644,223 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22,986 deaths.
I Can See Your Voice is a Dutch television mystery music game show series based on the South Korean programme of the same name. It premiered on RTL 4 on 29 October 2020, and has been aired for five seasons.
Men at Work: Miami is a 2020 Dutch comedy film directed by Johan Nijenhuis. The film is a sequel to the 2016 film Men at Work. It won the Golden Film award after having sold 100,000 tickets. It was the second highest-grossing Dutch film of 2020. It was also the third best visited Dutch film of 2020.
The Marriage Escape (Dutch: De Beentjes van Sint-Hildegard is a 2020 Dutch comedy-drama film directed by Johan Nijenhuis. The film is an adaptation of the 2016 Czech film Tiger Theory, and it is the first cinema film predominantly spoken in the Tweants variety of Low Saxon, although the title is in Dutch.
Life as It Should Be is a 2020 Dutch film directed by Ruud Schuurman. The film is based on the book of the same name by Dutch model, writer and host Daphne Deckers.
De Grote Sinterklaasfilm is a 2020 Dutch film directed by Lucio Messercola. The film won the Golden Film award after having sold 100,000 tickets. It was the tenth highest-grossing Dutch film of 2020.
