Cars hit tires dumped on Dutch highway amid farmer protests

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Police say cars crashed into tires and other garbage piled on a highway in the northern Netherlands by radical farmers protesting against government plans to rein in nitrogen emissions. Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday branded the protests “unacceptable.” Police in the northern province of Friesland say nobody was injured when several cars were involved in an accident caused by dumped garbage, but warned motorists to be alert to “extremely dangerous situations” caused by the farmers’ protest actions. A handful of new protests took place overnight, including farmers burning hay bales near a major highway, despite police and security authorities appealing to farmers Wednesday to halt the dumping.