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Visiting illegal prostitutes in the Netherlands will be punishable by up to six months in jail if cabinet plans to reform the law on prostitution go through. In addition, all companies involved in the sex industry – from escort bureaus and sex theatres to massage salons – will have to get an official licence to operate. more
December 15, 2008
The Dutch government should licence the growing and supply of marijuana to the country’s 700 or so coffee shops that sell cannabis, according to a group of around 30 Dutch mayors. This is the conclusion of the ‘cannabis summit’ on Friday at which the mayors discussed the country’s policy on soft drugs. more
December 15, 2008
Some American military leaders and politicians are arguing in favor of a controversial plan to mobilise tribal militias against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. They see Iraq as a model. Earlier this month, Dutch defense minister Eimert Van Middelkoop – responsible for Dutch soldiers stationed in the province of Uruzgan - was unenthusiastic about the approach. more
December 15, 2008
Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen says the Dalai Lama is welcome in the Netherlands. The foreign minister's declaration comes in response to plans to bring the Tibetan spiritual leader to the Netherlands next year. China is opposed to any meetings between the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and Western leaders. more
December 15, 2008
The life of Dutch student turned critical FARC rebel, Tanja Nijmeijer, may be at risk. According to former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt, the rebel leadership metes out harsh punishment to its dissidents. more
December 15, 2008
The cost of building the north-south metro line under Amsterdam is to rise again by up to €70m, reported
several Dutch newspapers last week. The extra money is needed to plug the gaps in the walls of the station under the Vijzelgracht where in June and September of this year leaks caused subsidence to a number of listed buildings. more
December 15, 2008
The Dutch government’s efforts to monitor radicalism in the Netherlands have been focused primarily on potential Muslim terrorists. But this could favour extreme right-wing organisations whose numbers have gone up significantly during the last few years. more
December 15, 2008
Nuclear energy has been a taboo subject in the Netherlands. But the debate has been reopened as a result of the urgent problem of CO2 emissions and the increasing dependence on foreign energy sources. Diederik Samson A Labour Party MP and nuclear physicist thinks the same about nuclear energy now as he did back in the 1990s when he was campaign leader for Greenpeace. more
December 15, 2008
The Dutch government wants the 17th century canals at the heart of Amsterdam to be declared a U.N. World Heritage Site because of the district's cultural and historical significance, its culture ministry said last week. more
December 15, 2008
The first Dutch Earthship is nearing completion. As of next spring, the super-ecological building in the city of Zwolle will be brought into use as a tearoom. The concept of the Earthship - an invention of US architect Michael Reynolds - has been around for decades. The guiding principle is that such a home should consist mostly of waste or recycled materials, and not need any utility whatsoever. more
December 15, 2008
Despite heated debates in Dutch politics, integration in the Netherlands is going well. That's one of the conclusions of the annual report on Dutch society published by the Dutch national statistics organisation Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The CBS report shows that non-western immigrants, and their children, are closing gaps with native Dutch citizens in various areas. more
December 15, 2008
PENSION FUNDS HIT BY CREDIT CRISIS
Dutch pension funds are being hit hard by the ongoing turmoil on the financial markets, central bank
president Nout Wellink told MPs last Thursday. Some funds had slipped below the critical 105% mark and three have been ordered to come up with a quick solution to their problems, Wellink said. more
November 3, 2008
THREE BILLION EURO CASH INJECTION FOR DUTCH INSURER
Dutch insurance giant Aegon is to receive three billion Euros from a government emergency fund. The cash injection is considered necessary in order to strengthen the company's core equity capital. At a press conference, Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos stressed that Aegon is "in incredibly good
health". more
November 3, 2008
FLEMISH MAYOR IN FAVOR OF COFFEE SHOP POLICY
The mayor of the Flemish municipality Zelzate located near to the Dutch border stated that he hopes that coffee shop Miami in the Dutch town Terneuzen will open again as soon as possible. After coffee shop Miami was also closed the illegal drugs trade appears in the streets of Zelzate again. It is especially French soft drugs tourists that look for something to buy before the Dutch border now. more
November 3, 2008
COMMISSION SIDES WITH SCHOOL'S HEAD SCARF BAN
The Dutch Equal Opportunities Commission rules that a Roman Catholic school was within its rights when it refused to hire a trainee teacher because of her head scarf. The woman was denied a job by a school in Alkmaar in 2007 because she refused to remove her head scarf. more
November 3, 2008
FORTIS BLAMES DUTCH STATE FOR SHARE PRICE COLLAPSE
The prime minister, finance minister and central bank president are all to blame for the fact that shares in Fortis are now almost worthless, says the financial services group. And Fortis shareholders who want to claim damages should take the Dutch state to court, the company said in a statement that was part of a court hearing in Amsterdam last Thursday. more
November 3, 2008
LOCKHEED MARTIN VISIT DUTCH AIRBASE
A team of experts from the US aerospace company Lockheed Martin visited a Dutch air base last month to determine what changes are needed if the company's new fighter jets are to use the base in the future. The visit could be seen as controversial because the Dutch government has not yet formally made a decision on which jet will replace its current F-16s. Parliament is to debate the issue on Thursday evening. more
November 3, 2008
STILL SLAVERY IN WEST AFRICA
A woman who spent nearly half her life as a slave has won her legal battle with the authorities in Niger. The West-African nation must pay her more than 15,000 Euros in damages and has also been ordered to ensure that its citizens are better protected against slavery. It turns out that slavery is alive and well in West Africa. more
November 3, 2008
MOROCCAN YOUTHS ON THE STREET
Over the last months the Dutch media have been reporting about groups of boys and young men of Moroccan background causing problems in the streets. But many insiders, like the Dutch Moroccan district mayor Ahmed Marcouch, say the problem with street kids is decreasing. But with every new incident they worry that politicians in The Hague will overreact and make the problems worse. more
November 3, 2008
GREEN GROUPS SLAM EU ILLEGAL TIMBER LAW
The European Commission has finally come up with plans to combat the trade in illegal timber. But
environmental organisations say they don't go far enough to save the tropical rain forests. There should be a ban on chopping down tropical rain forests, says Gerard Romijn, floor manager at the Broekman furniture store in Utrecht. more
November 3, 2008
NO DUTCH CRISIS CUTBACKS FOR NOW
Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos says the global financial crisis does not yet require any fresh cutbacks. He pointed out that next year's budget already anticipates an economic slowdown. He also expressed support for the leading role French President Nicolas Sarkozy is taking on in combating the current credit crunch. more
October 27, 2008
COOKED TULIPS BULBS SERVED AT 'CRISIS' TOUR
Cooked tulip bulbs are served by a soup kitchen at the end of a guided tour which has the credit crisis as its theme. The tour starts off at the head of the Zeedijk in Amsterdam, where the world's first shares were issued in 1602. Next on the itinerary was the city loan office, which once had Rembrandt as a customer. more
October 27, 2008
FLOODING DUTCH POLDER IS BEST WAY TO RESTORE NATURE
The Dutch should give part of the land they drained a century ago back to nature, a special committee advised agriculture minister Gerda Verburg on Tuesday. Allowing water to flood farmland is the best way to repair damage done to nature, the committee said. The area under discussion is the Hertogin Hedwige polder in the south-western province of Zeeland. more
October 27, 2008
DUTCH AID TO AFRICA UNDER FIRE
Earlier this year, the Development Cooperation Inspectorate reported that Dutch funds did not always benefit the poorest of the poor. Last Wednesday, a conservative MP clashed with Development Minister Bert Koenders: "Why are we giving money to corrupt regimes? Sometimes we do stop, but then it is very late. Take Eritrea for example. Why are we giving a dubious regime like Nigeria debt relief? In other words: Why don't we monitor aid and why do we continue to pay money to corrupt regimes?" more
October 27, 2008
VEHICLE-MOUNTED CAMERAS TO PROVIDE QUICKER AID
Vehicle-mounted cameras, which will transmit live images of accidents to road traffic control centres and emergency units, aim to provide more effective assistance in road accidents. The Dutch Public Works Ministry has announced a pilot scheme involving vehicle-mounted cameras to speed up aid to victims and clearing the road after traffic accidents. more
October 27, 2008
GREEN ROOFS HOTTER THAN HOT IN NETHERLANDS
Roofs with a layer of plants are suddenly "hotter than hot" in the Netherlands. A lot of this is due to the generous subsidies springing up in the big cities like mushrooms. But money isn't the only reason: the "greening" of buildings can also make cities climate-resistant. more
October 20, 2008
SAVE OUR SHARKS
Over the past week an unusual number of pro-shark events have been taking place all over Europe,
with the aim of raising the profile and plight of these beasts of the sea. The European Commission's Shark Action Plan is an attempt to set out some clear guidelines for conserving and managing sharks in European waters. One-third of European shark populations are threatened with
extinction and yet shark fishing in the EU remains largely unregulated. more
October 27, 2008
THOUSAND EUROS FOR A NIGHT ON THE STREET OF AMSTERDAM
For thousand Euros, without your mobile phone and wallet, you can spend a night on the streets of
Amsterdam together with a professional homeless person. A Homeless organisation challenges people to exchange their normal life, for a night on the street as a homeless person, under supervision of ‘experienced homeless experts’. more
October 27, 2008
FIRST MOROCCAN MAYOR IN THE NETHERLANDS
Rotterdam City Council has voted Ahmed Aboutaleb as its mayor. The
current deputy social affairs minister and member of the Labor party will be the first ever Dutch mayor of Moroccan origin. Rightwing party,
Leefbaar Rotterdam criticised the appointment of Mr. Aboutaleb: ‘He
lives in Amsterdam, he's an opportunistic career climber, an Ajax supporter and worst of all, he has two passports’. more
October 20, 2008
About 7,000 shareholders of troubled bank Fortis NV indicated last Monday they will take legal action against the company's management, claiming they were cheated by a government bailout plan that carved up the company and left them holding toxic assets. more
October 20, 2008
FINE FOR SMOKING JOINTS IN PUBLIC
Rotterdam has decided that it will no longer be soft on people smoking
joints in public, the Dutch newspaper Trouw reported last week. Anyone caught smoking marijuana in public will be fined EUR 50 as of November. Rotterdam Mayor Ivo Opstelten says: "Smoking joints in public was
always forbidden, but up to now it has always been tolerated." more
October 20, 2008
THE FOOD COMMUNITY FUTURE
In a way the regional agriculture concept is a step back in time. Back to the times that the region was still providing the daily food supplies and the clients still were connected with the farmer, the landscape and nature. Because the food and meat production are happing in a closed chain no energy is wasted on transport. To Harry Donkers and Victor Immink, the authors of the book ‘Regions, finger-lickin' good’, regional agriculture has the future. more
October 20, 2008
C,MM,N: INNOVATIVE MOBILITY CONCEPT
On October 14th a Dutch environmental organisation and three technical universities announced that the innovative c,mm,n 2.0 will be presented at the RAI Auto fair in April 2009. c,mm,n is an innovative mobility concept; a new way of developing, manufacturing and using cars. On the 7th of November a so-called 'c,mm,n-garage' event will be organised by the technical university Twente. C,mm,n wants to speed up the introduction of durable (car)mobility. more
October 20, 2008
CREDIT CRUNCH: A DISASTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT TOO?
Investments in sustainable energy are under threat now that the major
market players are shifting their focus to the short term. The plan by
German energy producer E.ON to build a second coal-fired power plant near Rotterdam has everything to do with the low price of coal. If the credit crunch and relatively cheap fossil fuels lead to the construction of traditional power plants, it's the environment that will pay the price. more
October 20, 2008
TAX ON DIESEL-POWERED VEHICLE TO BE WITHDRAWN
The Dutch newspaper Trouw reports the appeal court in The Hague ruled
an extra tax on the sale of new, heavily-polluting diesel-powered
vehicles as breaking European rules and must be withdrawn.The ruling is seen as a victory for the Dutch car sector. more
October 20, 2008
DUTCH MODERN TRANSLATION OF QUR‘AN SUCCESSFUL
Dutch-Iranian author Kader Abdolah is on a promotional tour for his
modern translation of the Qur'an, which is intended to be easier to
understand for Dutch readers. So far, the book sold 70,000 copies and
the author's talks are sold out. De newspaper De Volkskrant writes that his success is remarkable at a time of significant criticism of the Qur'an. more
October 20, 2008
AGAIN RISE OF DUTCH TRAFFIC JAMS EXPECTED
Last week special Dutch Institute for mobility policies presented the results of a new research after the Dutch traffic till 2012. On the short term Dutch drivers will be in traffic jams much longer. The average travel time will increase with 29 to 46%. When the traffic policy does not change the traffic on the Dutch highways will rise with 11% to 14% in the upcoming years. more
October 20, 2008
AMSTERDAM IS THE CENTRE OF NIGERIAN SPAM NETWORK
‘South-east Amsterdam is the centre of a worldwide network of Nigerian con artists. They promise you money, lots of it, via email. Those who take the bait could end up in a fake branch of the ABN Amro bank.’ This was a conclusion of a police academy criminologist that is researching Nigerian criminal networks in the Netherlands, at a seminar organised by the Centre of Information and Research on Organised Crime in Amsterdam earlier this month. more
October 20, 2008
GOOGLE'S CLEAN ENERGY 2030 PLAN
The energy team at Google has been crunching the numbers to see how we could greatly reduce fossil fuel use by 2030. Our analysis, led by Jeffery Greenblatt, suggests a potential path to weaning the U.S. off of coal and oil for electricity generation by 2030, and cutting oil use for cars by 40%. Al Gore has issued a challenge that is even more ambitious, getting us to carbon-free electricity even sooner. more
October 20, 2008
DUTCH GOVERNMENT NATIONALISES FORTIS
The Dutch government is taking over the Dutch activities of Fortis
bank, at a cost of 16.8 billion Euros. Prime Minister Jan Peter
Balkenende announced the takeover at a press conference on Friday afternoon, alongside Finance Minister Wouter Bos and Central Bank President Nout Wellink. The move is meant to reassure investors in the troubled banking group. more
October 6, 2008
DUTCH CABINET HESITATES ON SEA NATURE RESERVES
Biologists says protecting the fish population is necessary but fishermen disagree. And 15 years after the idea was first backed, the Dutch government has still not designated any North Sea reserves for marine life. Environmentalists say the creation of protected areas would lead to a rise in the number of fish in the North Sea. And this would eventually increase the catch in regions where fishing is allowed. more
October 6, 2008
MORE SETBACKS FOR NEW AMSTERDAM METRO LINE
The builders of Amsterdam's new North-South metro line must be thinking they're in a nightmare they can't wake up from. Thursday's news that tramlines outside the city's Central Station had subsided due to metro building work was just the latest setback in a series of delays,
subsidences, leaks and budgets spiralling out of control that have
dogged the project since it began. more
October 6, 2008
FAITH HEALERS DANGEROUS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
An Amsterdam alderman claims 'Faith healers are dangerous for public health'. The City of Amsterdam and the COC, an advocacy group for gay men and women, are calling for an investigation by the Netherlands Health Care Inspectorate into healing rituals offered by Pentecostal churches to homosexuals and HIV patients. Such churches are especially popular among the Antillean and Surinamese
communities in Amsterdam. more
October 6, 2008
UNIVERSITY MAKES GENETIC MAP EU
A team of scientists in the Netherlands have analysed DNA samples across Europe to come up with a genetic map of the continent, reports the BBC on Monday.There appears to be a clear pattern between the genes of Europeans and their geographic origin, according to forensic biologist Manfred Kayser of Rotterdam’s Erasmus University who studied 2,500 people in 23 European locations. more
October 6, 2008
YUGOSLAV ARMY CHIEF TRIAL OPENS IN THE HAGUE
The former chief of the Yugoslav army Momcilo Perisic listened stoically while prosecutor Mark Harmon described him as one of the major architects of a Greater Serbia to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Thursday. more
October 6, 2008
CIGARETTE FACTORY CLOSURE PROMPTS MAJOR ART SALE
Cigarette maker British American Tobacco has built up an impressive
collection of modern art at its factory in the Dutch town of Zevenaar on the Rhine river near the German border over the last fifty years. Now the factory is closing and the artwork in the Stuyvesant collection is being auctioned off. But not everyone is happy with the way things have turned out. more
October 6, 2008
BUILDINGS ON TOP OF NEW AMSTERDAM METRO SINKING AGAIN
Only a day after the construction works of the new Amsterdam metro line some buildings along the Vijzelgracht sunk again. The inhabitants were evacuated from their homes in a rush for the second
time. A specialised engineer already compared the construction of the new metro line in the muddy Amsterdam soil with organising a trip to the moon. It is expected that the drilling of the tunnels will start before the end of this year. more
September 29, 2008
HEMP INSTEAD OF COTTON
Cotton cultivation is a disaster for the environment and the farmers who grow cotton don't see many benefits from their labour. However, if researchers at the Netherlands' University of Wageningen get their way, things will be very different in a few years' time thanks to the new varieties of hemp they have created. more
September 29, 2008
FEAR FOR LACK OF INTEREST GREEN ENERGY
The World Wildlife Fund says it's concerned that consumers will be put off buying energy labeled as
"green", partly because of reports that its sustainability is a sham, and also because of European Parliament proposals that may drastically push up the price. Labour Party MEP Dorette Corbey claimed this week that companies supplying sustainably generated energy knew that the certificates guaranteeing their power was green were "fake". more
September 29, 2008
PROSECUTORS REFINE INDICTMENT AGAINST KARADZIC
The number of municipalities where Karadzic allegedly committed crimes has been reduced significantly. The ICTY prosecutors submitted a proposed amendment to the indictment against Radovan
Karadzic. The proposed indictment both narrows and clarifies the prosecution's allegations, updates
the legal and factual pleadings in the indictment and provides more precise notice of the prosecution's case to the accused. more
September 29, 2008
FRISIAN POLICE TO PATROL WITH CAMERAS FOR NEW YEAR
Frisian police plan to send camera-equipped officers out on patrol with the emergency services during the 2009 New Year celebrations. The move comes in response to violent incidents during last year’s celebrations. After youngsters threatened ambulance personnel in a suburb of Amsterdam, minister of Internal Affairs Ter Horst suggested to also mount camera's on ambulances. It seems the security camera soon will be mobile in the Netherlands.more
September 8, 2008
SCHOOLS TO LOOK OUT FOR GIRLS FORCED INTO MARRIAGE
Dutch schools will be able to call an emergency telephone line if they suspect their students from immigrant-community have been left behind in their home countries to be forced into arranged marriages. Dutch Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar has announced the creation of an emergency telephone line enabling schools to raise the alarm if immigrant-community girls do not return from holiday. more
September 29, 2008
GROWING LOBSTERS TO SAVE THE WORLD
Three Wageningen University students who set up a company which specialises in farming sustainable spiny lobsters in the Philippines won the Students' Entrepreneur Prize 2008 on 4 September. In 2007, they won a 5000-euro award from the Business in Development (BiD) Challenge. The business plan for their company South Sea Exclusive combines sustainability, education and development assistance. more
September 29, 2008
ANTILLEANS OUTRAGED BY DATABASE PLAN
Plans for a special database of Antillean youths have caused an outcry among the Antillean community and sparked calls to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights. A ruling by the Dutch Council of State to allow the creation of a database called the Antillean Reference Index has led to an outcry among human rights groups, the Antillean government and the Antillean community in the Netherlands. more
September 8, 2008
AMSTERDAM PROSTITUTION CLEANUP CRITICISED
The polity of the Amsterdam authorities to wipe out most of the
prostitution out of the Red Light district, starts to crack. Part of
the city council thinks that the responsible alderman Lodewijk Asscher exaggerates with the buy up of brothels. Many councilors fear that Asscher wants to wipe out prostitution totally. more
September 8, 2008
CYBER WARFARE
Before Georgia and Russia started shooting at each other, they were
already fighting on the Internet. Georgian government and media
websites had been almost paralysed by hackers following the so-called
'Distributed Denial of Service' attacks that began weeks before. Such cyber war techniques constitute an increasing threat, one that's now
being taken seriously by the military. more
September 8, 2008
DUTCH BUSINESS COMMUNITY KEEN ON WIND ENERGY
In a full-page advert in the NRC Handelsblad newspaper, 20 major Dutch companies push for wind farms to be built in the North Sea. The World Wildlife Fund has already started a campaign for wind energy at sea, in association with the power companies, Dutch Railways and the Rabobank.At the same time Greenpeace comes with a plan to link all wind parks in the North Sea to form a gigantic power point. more
September 8, 2008
KARADZIC STILL REFUSING
Radovan Karadzic has appeared before the Yugoslavia tribunal for the second time. After his first appearance he was given thirty days to plead guilty or not guilty. But once again he refused to make a plea. more
September 1, 2008
DOUBTS ABOUT THE EUROPEAN CO2 NETWORK
A near-disaster last week in Germany involving a cloud of CO2 gas made it clear that transporting CO2 by pipeline can be hazardous. It is an important lesson to learn since Rotterdam is about to become the hub of a European network of pipelines for the storage of greenhouse gas. The "Rotterdam Climate Initiative" will involve the permanent storage of CO2 in exhausted gas fields. more
September 1, 2008
DUTCH LEGISLATION TO RECOGNISE LESBIAN PARENTS
A soon-to-be introduced legislation will make it easier for lesbian couple to be recognised as a child’s parents. Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin is introducing draft legislation which will make it easier for both members of a lesbian couple to be recognised as a child's parents. Lesbian couples would no longer have to appear before a judge to gain such recognition. more
September 1, 2008
THE SOLAR COOKER
One of the regions where refugees live in miserable conditions is the Chad-Sudan border area, where it is windy, dry as a bone, and almost always sunny. Thousands of people have fled from Sudan's western Darfur province to camps over the border in Chad, and it is here that Ms Neloum, chairwoman of the organisation Chad Solaire, does much of her work promoting solar cookers. more
September 1, 2008
UK TEENAGER SURVIVES MUSHROOM INCIDENT
An 18-year-old British tourist who jumped 10 meters after consuming
hallucinogenic mushrooms has survived because his fall was broken by a café sign and tables. Two days before a teenager in The Hague died after jumping from a window while under the influence of magic mushrooms. Although the Dutch authorities are working on a total ban of the sale of magic mushrooms, a toxicology professor fears that a ban on hallucinogenic mushrooms would have a counterproductive effect: ‘The biggest danger is stupid use.' more
September 1, 2008
THE MYSTERY OF COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER
Across the United States last year the honey bee population was decimated by a strange phenomenon that has since become known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), and its cause is still unclear.
The symptoms are consistent, however: empty hives and vanished bees. All this makes scientific analysis very difficult. more
September 1, 2008
SON OF DUTCH DEFENCE CHIEF KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
General Peter van Uhm heard that his son had been killed in the Afghan province of Uruzgan less than 24 hours after he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Dutch Armed Forces. His son was one of two Dutch soldiers killed when a roadside bomb went off when they were returning to Camp Holland from a patrol.
more
April 21, 2008
WON'T DO GAY "MARRIAGES"? THEN NO NATURAL MARRIAGES EITHER
The Netherlands equality commissioners have ruled that if a civil marriage commissioner refuses to conduct wedding ceremonies for homosexual partners, they must be barred from conducting ceremonies between men and women as well. The Equal Treatment Commission (CGB) ruled last week that local authorities are "not violating the equal treatment law if it refuses to appoint a marriage registrar who does not wish to marry persons of the same sex on grounds of religion". more
April 21, 2008
ANTI-NOISE: SILENCE AT THE PRESS OF A BUTTON
This autumn a select number of Dutch households will receive a real piece of science-fiction for their bedside tables: 'anti-noise'. The technology has been developed by the TNO research institute in Delft, the Netherlands. Just press of the button and there is silence. The invention could make living in homes close to airports a lot more bearable. more
April 21, 2008
'AVIATION FIRMS BOYCOTT DEAL ON JOINT FIGHTER'
At least five Dutch firms involved in the construction of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jet are refusing to give part of their turnover to the Dutch state in line with an agreement made in 2002, reports last Friday’s Volkskrant. The Dutch aviation sector agreed that it would hand over around 3% of its turnover to the government in return for its help in securing the order for the US fighter jet. more
April 21, 2008
NEW BUSINESS CENTRE ON TOP OF ROAD
The spatial concept for the Zuidas looks like a cartoon illustrating multi-functional land-use. But building the tallest buildings at the Zuidas on top of Holland's most complicated piece of underground infrastructure doesn't come easy, even at this prime location. more
April 21, 2008
"DUTCH DEMOCRACY IN DANGER"
"Dutch democracy is extremely vulnerable. The government's legitimacy is crumbling." These are not the words of right-wing politician Rita Verdonk, nor any other politician looking to score points with the disenfranchised. No, these words are from Vice-President of the Council of State, Herman Tjeenk Willink, the embodiment of the Dutch establishment. It sounds bad,
particularly coming from someone like Mr Tjeenk Willink. Should the Netherlands be worried? more
April 14, 2008
DUTCH CALL FOR EU BUDGET FREEZE
The Netherlands believes the European Union's budget should be frozen at its current level and given a substantial overhaul, the NRC reported last Friday. In addition, European affairs minister Frans Timmermans wants to see farm subsidies and subsidies for job creation schemes phased out, the paper says. more
April 14, 2008
FISH FARMS NEEDN'T BE ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER
Fish farms often have a disastrous effect on the environment, but that need not be the case. The idea behind farming fish for consumption is, in itself, environmentally friendly and could mean that the world's oceans are not plundered, and also help keep the disruption of the world's ecologically-vulnerable seabeds to a minimum. After the last outbreak of swine fever Dutch pig farmers abandon livestock and start a fish farm, working on environmentally-friendly principles. more
April 14, 2008
DELFT STUDENTS TO SIERRA LEONE
Paul van de Boer is a student at the Delft University of Technology, which is encouraging its students to follow projects on the theme of "sustainable engineering with a focus on Africa". Eager to put some of the things he'd been learning into practice, Paul jumped at the chance to go with a small group to Sierra Leone. more
April 14, 2008
'IRON LADY' PLAYS NATIONALIST CARD
Former Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk, known for her hard-line policies and no-nonsense approach, is the anchorwoman behind a new political movement, launched in Amsterdam on Thursday. Called Proud of the Netherlands, its central aim is to defend the Dutch national character. more
April 7, 2008
NETHERLANDS GAVE ASYLUM TO US FAMILY
It has now emerged that an American family was given asylum in the Netherlands in 1996. The justice ministry is investigating how this could have happened, newspaper NRC Handelsblad reported Friday. Holly Ann Collins came to the Netherlands with her children Zachary and Jennifer in 1994. She apparently fled from her husband, who reportedly systematically abused her and the children. But according to the US, the woman is guilty of abduction because the father had custody over them. more
April 7, 2008
LIFE-SENTENCE NURSE LUCIA DE B. FREED
A Dutch nurse jailed for life in 2006 for murdering seven patients and attempting to murder three more, was freed from jail on Wednesday pending an official investigation into her case. Lucia de B. has always protested her innocence of the charges, and won support from academics and medical experts. Her conviction was largely based on statistics and disputed evidence of poisoning. more
April 7, 2008
ANTI KORAN FILM WILL PROBABLY COME OUT BEFORE END OF THE MONTH
It seems that the Dutch populist right wing politician Geert Wilders will bring out his anti-Koran film before the end of this month. But there are still a lot of uncertainties. Last Saturday the American provider took the website that was announcing the film off line. The provider is doing research to see if the web site is violating the providers rules after getting complaints. Next Friday also a court case will start that demands a specialist to see the film before it goes online. An overview of the actual situation and many links to background articles. more
March 25, 2008
THE FUTURE OF THE COFFEE SHOP
Over the last years the number of coffee shops in Maastricht is cut in half. The Maastricht coffee shop association states that the illegal sales in the street is increasing, where other kinds of drugs are offered as well. It seems that the Dutch health approach, dividing the soft- and hard drugs markets, is failing at a moment that many other countries in the world slowly start to adopt the successful Dutch soft drugs policy. Also the upcoming smoking ban on the 1 of July, might influence the Dutch coffee shop policy. more
March 25, 2008
SOUNDING THE ALARM
Most people feel uncomfortable at the thought that they are being watched. But surveillance doesn't have to mean an intrusion of privacy. It isn't always something from a scary spy movie. Sometimes it can be a good thing. In the Netherlands, researchers at Groningen University and a company called Sound Intelligence developed a product called Aggression Detection. more
March 25, 2008
NETHERLANDS POOR IN PRIVACY RANKINGS
The Netherlands ranks among the bottom eight countries in a new report on the protection of privacy in the EU. But experts say the report doesn't tell the whole story. According to the watchdog's annual ranking, the country 'systematically fails to uphold safeguards' on privacy. But what does this actually mean? more
January 7, 2008
ANNE FRANK TREE OK FOR FIVE MORE YEARS
The horse chestnut tree which Anne Frank wrote about in her Second World War diary can survive another five to 15 years, according to eight tree experts, the Volkskrant reports on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Anne Frank house announced on Thursday that record number of visitors in 2007. Over one million people, mainly from the US and Britain, visited the house on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis. more
January 7, 2008
WILDERS WANTS QUEEN TO STEP DOWN
Geert Wilders, leader of the right-wing populist Freedom Party, says the Dutch head of state should be removed from the government. He thinks Queen Beatrix made an attack on his party in her Christmas speech, and he wants the constitution amended to change the role of the head of state. more
January 7, 2008
DUTCH UNIVERSITY BANS IRANIAN STUDENTS
Iranian students are not welcome at the Technical University Twente in the town of Enschede. At the request of the Education Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the university has agreed not to admit any Iranian students. The government fears that Iranian students and workers would steal sensitive nuclear information to help their government develop nuclear weapons. The university's decision is the direct result of a 2006 UN resolution calling on member states to prevent Iran from gaining access to nuclear knowledge. The Dutch already have a bad history. more
January 7, 2008
AFGHAN TREASURES IN AMSTERDAM
Some of Afghanistan's rich history is temporarily on display in Amsterdam. Hundreds of archaeological treasures provide clear proof that the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Chinese and the Indians all put their mark on this region. For years, these treasures were hidden to keep them out of the hands of the Russians and the Taliban. But now they are on display for the whole world to see. more
January 7, 2008 |
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Following in the steps of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, the Netherlands has reported that it too will slip into a recession in 2009. Despite the statement - often repeated in recent days by the Dutch government in The Hague - to the effect that the country is 'in a relatively good position', a recession is on its way nonetheless. more
December 15, 2008
Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende has refused to echo US president George Bush who said last week that he "regretted" the fact that incorrect information was published in 2003 about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This information was used to justify the US-led invasion of Iraq. more
December 15, 2008
The Netherlands is the world's fifth largest exporter of arms, says a report published last Friday by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT). The country is also an important centre in the transportation of arms from America to Iraq and Afghanistan with Schiphol airport being used for stopovers, says the report. more
December 15, 2008
Last Wednesday the whole world commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If you want to see protection of human rights in action, you will have to go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In the past few decades the influence of this Court has grown immensely. A number of leading Dutch legal experts choose their favorite rulings. more
December 15, 2008
Amsterdam has unveiled plans to close brothels, sex shops and marijuana cafes in its ancient city centre as part of a major effort to drive organised crime out of the tourist haven. The city is targeting businesses that "generate criminality," including gambling parlours, and the so-called "coffee shops" where marijuana is sold openly. Also targeted are peep shows, massage parlours and souvenir shops used by drug dealers for money-laundering. more
December 15, 2008
Violence against Muslims in the Netherlands rose considerably last year, according to the latest monitor on racism and extremism published by Leiden University and the Anne Frank Foundation last Wednesday. The Foundation states that anti-Muslim sentiment has grown “significantly” in the last year and public opinion about Muslims has become more negative. more
December 15, 2008
Anti-Islam campaigner Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who now lives and works in the US, has always maintained that the Dutch government should remain financially responsible for her security. The Dutch government claims it always made it clear to Ayaan Hirsi Ali that it could not continue to pay for her security now that she lives abroad. But the Somali-born campaigner, who has Dutch nationality, is preparing to take the dispute to court. more
December 15, 2008
Face-covering Islamic robes known as burqas and niqabs are to be banned from Holland's colleges and universities, education minister Ronald Plasterk said end November. In September, Plasterk (Labour) said the ban will only apply to primary and secondary schools. But now the minister has agreed to parliament's wishes to extend the ban to higher education. more
December 15, 2008
The Dutch ambassador to Indonesia attended last Tuesday's memorial service for those who died in the 1947 massacre at Rawagede on West Java. It was the first time a representative of the Dutch government has attended the annual event, and comes at a time when pressure is mounting for an official apology for the Dutch killing. more
December 15, 2008
The Dutch pride themselves on having a very tolerant attitude towards homosexuals, but new research by the police shows that attacks on gay men and lesbians are still a serious problem in Dutch society. In contrast with reports in Dutch media the recent report also shows that only 15 percent of the perpetrators are non-native. more
December 15, 2008
Organ donations save lives, but depend on individuals choosing to donate while alive. Would making ‘yes’ the default decision infringe on people’s rights? Added to this is the need for consent - either being a registered donor, or at least having made one's preference clear to loved ones. That means people have to ‘opt in' But some countries have flipped the requirement on its head. more
December 15, 2008
As the current round of climate talks is again threatening to end in a fiasco, the organisation in Proznan is keeping its options open. They are now talking only about a "political understanding on the most important elements" rather than a binding treaty , which was the original plan. more
December 15, 2008
CRISIS IMPACTS COMPANIES AND JOBS MARKET
The impact of the financial crisis is being felt more strongly in the Netherlands with several
internationally orientated firms lowering earnings forecasts or cutting contract jobs. Chemicals company DSM lowered its full-year forecast for operating profit to ‘around €1bn’ last Monday. And postal company TNT said it is considering a €75m injection to shore up its corporate pension fund. more
November 3, 2008
NETHERLANDS CONCERNED ABOUT MOROCCAN INFLUENCE ON IMAMS
Forty Dutch imams and spiritual councilors recently travelled to Morocco at that country's expense to attend a conference on radicalisation. Dutch-Moroccan organisations and MPs have reacted irritably to what they perceive as the umpteenth attempt by the Moroccan government to interfere with Moroccan migrants in the Netherlands. Parliament took a dim view of the affair. more
November 3, 2008
UTRECHT CLAMPS DOWN ON PROSTITUTION
The city of Utrecht plans to clean up prostitution after strong indications that most women are forced into working the streets. The entire area of Zandpad, Utrecht’s floating red light district, will be placed under CCTV surveillance in an effort to tackle the trafficking of women. Also the authorities of cities like Amsterdam and lately Alkmaar are closing down a large part of the prostitution windows. How effective is the fully legalised Dutch prostitution branch? more
November 3, 2008
‘DUTCH FISHERY POLICES HAVE FAILED’
The auditor’s office says that the Dutch government fishery polices have failed because economic interests took precedence over ecological ones. The report Durable Fisheries deals primarily with the plaice, sole and cod fisheries which involve nets being dragged across the sea floor by so-called trawlers. more
November 3, 2008
NEW PURPLE TOMATO MAY REDUCE CANCER RISK
Mice fed on purple tomatoes are less susceptible to certain forms of cancer, researchers have announced. The finding is the result of a project involving British and Dutch agricultural researchers. The purple tomatoes are the result of genetic modification, intended to increase the amount of beneficial chemicals in the fruit. more
November 3, 2008
DUTCH DJ VOTED BEST IN WORLD
For the second year in a row, Armin van Buuren has been voted best DJ in the world by a British magazine. Van Buuren has a radio show listened to in 40 countries and gave 140 performances last year, from Rotterdam to Eilat, from Tokyo to Los Angeles. more
November 3, 2008
DUTCH BONUSES DRASTICALLY REDUCED OR REMOVED
People across the political spectrum now seem to agree: it's high time something was done about excessive salaries and bonuses in the financial sector. And something is already being done in the Netherlands. Executives at the banks in which the Dutch government has acquired a stake are seeing their bonuses drastically reduced or removed totally. more
November 3, 2008
NEW NATO OFFENSIVE IN URUZGAN
NATO has conducted one of its larger operations to date in Southern Afghanistan. In a secret operation, one thousand soldiers were deployed to chase Taliban fighters from a contested area in Uruzgan province. The operation lasted ten days and ended Sunday a week ago, the Dutch ministry of Defense announced. more
November 3, 2008
HOUSING COUNCILORS OPPOSE A BAN ON SQUATTING
The housing councilors of the four largest Dutch cities oppose a ban on squatting and have said so in a letter to the MPs of the Christian Democrats, the conservative VVD and the Christian Union. The three parties recently submitted a proposal to ban squatting. more
November 3, 2008
GHANA DEMANDS DUTCH TO RETURN HEAD OF KING Ghana is demanding that the Dutch return the head of King Badu Bonsu II. The head is kept in a preserving jar in a department of the University of Leiden. It's likely that the Netherlands stole the head in Ghana in the 19th century out of revenge for the murder of two Dutchmen. more
November 3, 2008
ENGINEERING PENSION FUND RAISES PREMIUMS
The Dutch light engineering sector’s pension fund PME is to increase its premiums because of falling financial reserves, news agency ANP reports last Friday. PME made the decision after its coverage ratio – the amount of reserves it needs to pay out its pensions – fell to 112%. Way under the absolute minimum of 125%, and close to the critical 105%. more
October 27, 2008
THE DUTCH NATIONAL FLOOD TEST
The Dutch Taskforce Management Floods is organising a press conference on October 31, about the content and program of the 'Water Test', the national flooding exercise. The first Dutch national 'Water Test' will be organised from November 3 till November 7. On the basis of the worst imaginable floods the departments and services will practice the operational preparation on threatening floods. more
October 27, 2008
Members of the European parliament have joined US civil liberty campaigners in criticising a new
scanner technology that allows airport security staff to see through passengers' clothes, calling
it a virtual strip search that should only be used as a last resort. The system is already being introduced in several US airports and has been tested in other countries around the world, including EU nations such as Britain and the Netherlands. more
October 27, 2008
DUTCH GOVERNMENT BANS ALL HALLUCINOGENIC MUSHROOMS
Beside dried magic mushrooms also fresh mushrooms will soon no longer be sold in the Netherlands.
Not only sale but also the possession of it will become illegal. Since the sales of fresh magic mushrooms has been legal, official cultivators grow different kinds
of hallucinate mushrooms, supplying the so-called smart shops in the Netherlands. Usually the accidents
after the use of magic mushrooms are caused by the fact that people use other drugs like alcohol and cannabis at the same time. more
October 27, 2008
ELECTIONS 'VITAL' FOR NEW DUTCH NATO CHIEF AFGHANISTAN
The new Dutch commander of international forces in southern Afghanistan says the most important measure of success is not fighting the Taliban but ensuring that next year's general election is free, fair and peaceful. Major General Mart de Kruif will take over as commander of NATO forces on the first of November. more
October 27, 2008
DUTCH TRANSPORT SECTOR DISAPPOINTED WITH TRAFFIC JAM PLANS
The Dutch transport sector sees little new in the government plans to tackle traffic jams. Motoring organisation ANWB, one of the founders of the platform Accessible Netherlands, is satisfied. Their idea to separate local traffic from long-distance traffic has been adopted. The government also wants to make working from home fiscally more attractive. more
October 27, 2008
DUTCH GOVERNMENT LOSES 3,000 WORKS OF ART
The Dutch government has lost track of more than 3,000 works of art from its own collections. The works on loan to government institutions could have been stolen, given to civil servants or placed in unknown locations. more
October 27, 2008
INTERNATIONAL COURT WON'T RELEASE CONGO SUSPECT
An appeals panel of the International Criminal Court refused Tuesday to free a Congolese warlord, but also rejected an appeal to restart his suspended trial. In yet another setback for prosecutors in the landmark case, the appellate judges agreed with a lower court that the suspect, Thomas Lubanga , was not getting a fair trial because the prosecution was withholding crucial evidence it had obtained from the United Nations on condition it remain confidential. more
October 27, 2008
CAMPAIGNER PROSECUTED FOR HELPING AN 80-YEAR-OLD TO COMMIT SUICIDE
A campaigner for voluntary euthanasia is being prosecuted for helping an 80-year-old woman with Parkinson’s disease commit suicide. Her son, who was with her when she died, will not face charges. The case highlights some of the way the Netherlands' euthanasia law is being tested. more
October 20, 2008
AMSTERDAM’S TULIPS MAY DISAPPEAR
Tulips from Amsterdam could be a thing of the past if the new EU
legislation to ban 120 substances used in pesticides goes ahead, warned the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf last Thursday. The ban is to protect the health of vegetable and flower producers. The Dutch agricultural organisation LTO also calls the plan a disaster. more
October 20, 2008
CRISIS STARTS TO HIT BIG DUTCH COMPANIES
An increasing number of large Dutch companies are suffering from the
economic fall-out from the credit crisis. Yesterday alone, four
companies reported profit declines or production cuts as a result of
the worsening economy, the Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad
reported last Friday. more
October 20, 2008
PIGLETS WILL KEEP THEIR BALLS
From 2009, Dutch branches of supermarket giants Aldi and Lidl are only going to sell meat from pigs which have not been castrated. The Dutch pressure group Pigs in Need (VIN) broke the news last Friday. At about 20 million, pigs outnumber people in the Netherlands. The country is Europe's biggest pig exporter and the second largest globally. more
October 20, 2008
'PENSION FUNDS MUST NOT TAKE HASTY ACTION'
Half of Holland’s pension funds are thought to have funding ratios under the recommended 105% level, reported the Dutch financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad last week. Quoting unnamed sources, the newspaper says Dutch civil service pension fund ABP has dipped under the 105% level. more
October 20, 2008
MAYOR PROPOSES STRICT MEASURES TO CONTROL PROBLEMATIC MOROCCAN YOUTH
Gouda mayor proposes stricter measures to control problem Moroccan youth. Mayor Wim Cornelis of the town of Gouda, who asked the government to approve a proposal which would allow him to evict the parents of Moroccan problem youth. He also wants to remove families from the town if they fail to control their children. more
October 20, 2008
DUTCH COMMISSION REFUSES TO MEET INDONESIAN MASSACRE VICTIMS
A group Dutch MPs visiting Indonesia refused to meet family members of
people massacred by Dutch soldiers in post WWII period who are now
suing the Netherlands. In September, 10 family members filed a lawsuit against the Netherlands for the killing of their relatives. They want financial compensation, explanations and recognition for their suffering. Just before flying back three individual MPs had a last minute meeting with massacre widows that traveled to Jakarta. more
October 20, 2008
BARS, CAFES AND RESTAURANTS SEEK SMOKING COMPENSATION
The Dutch ban on smoking in public places, which came into force on 1 July, is back in the papers. On Sunday a full-page ad was published in the populist newspaper De Telegraaf demanding compensation as owners experience financial difficulties due to the smoking ban. more
October 20, 2008
WEST IS AT A LOSS IN AFGHANISTAN
More and more military and civilian leaders are voicing pessimism when
it comes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Could ISAF really lose the war? "Nothing is moving forward anymore, and yet we are no longer able to extricate ourselves," an ambassador explains. He gives voice to that which many here are already thinking: "We are trapped." more
October 20, 2008
'CLIMATE FINDINGS USED FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES'
A number of climate scientists have accused the Delta Commission of
misinterpreting their findings on rising sea levels for political purposes. The commission was set up last year by the Dutch government to report on how the Netherlands can best prepare for global warming. more
October 20, 2008
COMPANIES WITH POOR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE RECORDS, TRY FOR CHANGE
Few people call it eco-friendly when a company like Royal Dutch Shell, to pump natural gas and make petroleum products, disturbs coral reefs and damages the habitats of rare desert truffles and vulnerable birds. But the energy giant may have found a way to turn local environmental losses into a plus for biodiversity - and its business. more
October 20, 2008
ALTERNATIVES FOR THE KILLING OF DAY OLD CHICKENS
The Dutch minister of agriculture, Gerda Verburg, asked for a research after the possibilities for finding more animal friendly way to kill day-old chicks. In the Netherlands thirty million hens are born for the production of eggs yearly. Because the same amount of cocks is born, also thirty million day-old cocks are killed every year. This has lead to discussions and social resistance. more
October 20, 2008
WAS JACQUES BREL THE LAST TRUE BELGIAN?
Belgium is marking the 30th anniversary since the death of Jacques Brel with an intense search into the identity of its national hero, asking whether he was the last true Belgian. A new documentary film, released this week, exposes the singer-songwriter's love-hate relationship towards the ‘plat pays’ (flat country) and his countrymen, who he often ridiculed and savaged in his lyrics. more
October 20, 2008
POLICE CHIEF CRITICISES MP'S ON 'MOROCCANS' DEBATE
Gouda's police chief has attacked politicians 'from left to right' for blowing out of proportion a relatively small incident involving a group of youngsters with a Moroccan background. In an interview with Friday's Volkskrant, Jan Stikvoort say that ‘politicians are constantly talking about the integration of
foreigners, but are themselves tearing society apart’. more
October 6, 2008
VERDICT TERROR CASE CONTRASTS WITH THE PREVIOUS JUDGMENT
The Dutch Public prosecutor is very satisfied with the verdict of the court of justice in The Hague in the so-called 'Piranha' terror process last week. The outcome of the appeal differs totally form an earlier verdict of the Rotterdam court, that did not find enough proof that the suspects formed a terrorist organisation that wanted to frighten the Dutch population. De lawyers of two of the suspects will go into appeal. To them it is sure that the case will crash at the Supreme Court. more
October 6, 2008
NEW OR NO PIG CASTRATION
Dutch pig farmers will have to follow courses the upcoming weeks to learn how to castrate piglets using a local anesthetic. Dutch supermarkets have stated they will stop selling meat from non-anaesthetised pigs in March 2009. It is the objective of the entire branch to have the sector free of non-anaesthetised pig meat in 2015. The year the castration of piglets will be prohibited. Some farmers already successfully stopped castrating. more
October 6, 2008
CRACKDOWN ON TEENAGE DRINKERS
Dutch Health Minister Ab Klink has announced he will amend existing
legislation to make it illegal for young people under the age of sixteen to be in the possession of alcohol in public. In a recent interview Maastricht Mayor Gerd Leers says that Dutch society is facing a disrupting alcohol problem but is focusing exclusively on stricter
soft drug policies. more
October 6, 2008
TRADER IN COURT AGAIN FOR TOXIC WASTE CASE
Amsterdam-based oil trader Trafigura faces a class action legal case in London in October in connection with the dumping of toxic waste in Ivory Coast in 2006, reports news agency Reuters last week. Trafigura denies the waste carried by its ship Probo Koala caused the illnesses suffered by thousands of people. more
October 6, 2008
POWER COMPANY OFFERS PUBLIC SHARES IN WIND TURBINE
Holland’s third largest energy concern Eneco is offering members of the public the chance to buy a share in their own wind turbine.
Together with a windpark cooperative, Eneco is starting a pilot scheme with 120 people who will get 20% of their electricity from a wind turbine near Utrecht. more
October 6, 2008
FIVE 'NEW' FRANS HALS PAINTINGS?
Is the world richer to the tune of five paintings by Frans Hals? The Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem is launching a major exhibition of works from the Dutch Golden Age. Many top pieces will be on show, including 20 paintings by Frans Hals. It is said that they will include five 'new' works, but the museum is refusing to confirm this. more
October 6, 2008
FOOTBALL CLUBS HELP DROP-OUTS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS
'Scoring for Schooling' a youth aid project started by Vitesse Football Club helps school drop-outs return to training and work. Out of 26 participants, 21 either found a job or are at school again. The club provides a professional footballer as a buddy, a few supervisors and membership in a business club. Similar projects at other Dutch football clubs are as successful. more
October 6, 2008
A BANK FOR STREET CHILDREN
Street children running a bank for other street children. The idea
might sound incongruous, but over 8,000 street children around the
world are saving some of their meager earnings to build a better life. In Delhi alone, 2000 street children have accounts in the 12 Khazana branches around the city. more
October 6, 2008
THE RISE OF THE CATTLE FACTORY
There are 200 huge livestock ‘factory’ farms in the Netherlands and in ten years’ time this will have increased to over one thousand. According to the owners of Netherlands’ biggest dairy farm this is not necessarily bad news for animal welfare or the environment. But dozens of local protest groups are not so happwith the “high-rise flats for pigs” and “cattle factories”. more
October 6, 2008
BENELUX COUNTRIES BUY MINORITY SHARE IN FORTIS
The Fortis bank and insurance group is being partially nationalised by the Benelux countries. The governments of Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands are each taking over 49 percent of the company's interests in their respective countries. The Dutch Consumers' Union hopes ABN, the Dutch bank that was bought by Fortis will be sold to a Dutch concern. This might well be ING bank that did not buy ABN AMRO before because it was too expensive. Now the price will definitely be more attractive. more
September 29, 2008
YOUNG ASYLUM SEEKERS OUTLAWED
Earlier this year the Dutch justice department made clear they want single minor asylum seekers to return home before they turn 18. Otherwise the will lose their permit and, like many others, the ex-AMA will disappear out of the asylum seekers center and will end up in the streets, where they will have to survive in fear, without money and security. A volunteer: 'These lost youngsters are called criminals, but they are no criminals. But I know the jail boats for immigrants in Rotterdam are jam packed with ex-AMA's. It really is a disgrace.' more
September 29, 2008
FINES FOR BREAKING THE SMOKING BAN
Since the 1 of July it is not allowed to smoke cigarettes anymore in Dutch bars, cafes, restaurants and in coffee shops. Until now inspectors only gave warnings. From the first of October there will be no more warnings, instead fines will be given to owners of bars where the ban is violated. Research shows that
around one fifth of the Dutch bars ignore the Dutch smoking ban. Coffee shop owner Michael Veeling is one of them. more
September 29, 2008
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