Dutch republicans urge 80% cut to next monarch's salaryApril 15, 2013 - 19:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Dutch republicans have a message for the Netherlands' Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, who will become king when his mother Queen Beatrix abdicates at the end of April: you're not worth it, foreign media said. Hans Maessen of the New Republican Fellowship - which seeks to abolish the monarchy - said his organisation is launching a petition to have the new king's annual salary of 825,000 euro (£704,000) lowered to 150,000 euros, bringing it into line with the prime minister's wages. "If you look at the demands of the job, it's totally out of proportion," Maessen said. The Dutch monarch earns more than twice the salary of the president of the United States, four times that of the president of Germany, and five times that of the king of Spain or the Dutch prime minister. If the petition gets 40,000 signatures, Parliament will debate it. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |