Dutch police quell lockdown protests

Protesters in Amsterdam and other cities set fires, threw fireworks, and looted shops Monday night in what police called the “worst rioting in 40 years.” Police arrested dozens of people and used water cannons and tear gas to clear out the crowds. The Netherlands began its most stringent restrictions so far on Saturday, initiating a 9 p.m.-to-4:30 a.m. curfew and lowering the number of house guests to one. Over the weekend, demonstrators burned a coronavirus testing center and threw rocks at the windows of a hospital.

What prompted the tougher measures? The nation has recorded more than 966,000 infections and more than 13,000 deaths. The new virus variants have also sparked renewed concern across the continent. The European Union’s executive body on Monday proposed tougher travel restrictions across the bloc, including mandatory two-week quarantine and testing for foreign arrivals.

Dig deeper: Read John Dawson’s report in Beginnings on the U.K. variant of the virus.