Briefly

THE NETHERLANDS

PM to quit after far-right leader exits coalition

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he would resign on Tuesday, just hours after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his PVV party out of the right-wing coalition, in a move that is likely to trigger snap elections. Ministers from the PVV party will leave the cabinet, while the remaining ministers will continue for now in a caretaker government. Any election will likely not be held before October, and the formation of a new government traditionally tends to take months in the Netherlands. Wilders said earlier on Tuesday that his party was pulling out because the other three coalition partners were not willing to support his ideas on asylum and immigration.

RUSSIA

Ukraine hits Crimea's bridge with explosives

Ukraine's SBU security service said on Tuesday that it had hit the road and rail bridge linking Russia and the Crimean Peninsula below the water level with explosives. In a statement, the SBU said it had used 1,100 kilograms of explosives that were detonated early in the morning and damaged underwater pillars of the bridge. The official Russian outlet that provides regular status updates on the bridge said its operation had been suspended for about three hours. It gave no reason for the temporary closure, but said the bridge had been reopened and was functioning as normal.

Agencies - Xinhua