News from Friday 19 March 2010

Douwe Egberts coffee is 'wrong' fair trade

Alkmaar and Den Helder town councils are within their rights to refuse to allow Douwe Egberts to take part in a tender process to supply coffee and tea because it does not have the right fair trade label, a judge in Alkmaar said on Friday....more

World Online's Nina Brink loses book claim

Businesswoman Nina Brink has lost her efforts to have an unauthorised biography about her removed from book shops. ...more

Ten hospitals technically bankrupt: Parool

At least 10 of the country's 85 hospitals are technically bankrupt and are considering legal action against the health ministry, the Parool reports on Friday. ...more

Rwandan ambassdor applies for asylum

Rwanda's ambassador to the Netherlands Jean Pierre Bizimana has applied for political asylum in Ireland, the NRC reports on Friday. ...more

D66 pulls out of Amsterdam coalition talks

The Liberal democratic party D66 has pulled out of talks to form a new city council executive in Amsterdam because Labour's leader Lodewijk Asscher has been appointed temporary mayor. ...more

Car thief caught by DNA spray

Police in The Hague have arrested a 17-year-old youth who was sprayed with a DNA marker liquid when he broke into a decoy car. ...more
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Prince pays surprise visit to Afghanistan

Crown prince Willem-Alexander paid a surprise visit to Dutch troops in Afghanistan on Wednesday and Thursday. ...more

61 parties sign up to contest June election

A total of 61 political parties have signed up to take part in the June 9 general election, following a spate of last-minute registrations. ...more

Utrecht gets centre-left administration

The left-wing greens GroenLinks, Labour and the Liberal democrats D66 will form a new council executive body in Utrecht, councillors agreed on Thursday evening. ...more
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Plastic surgeon under investigation

The public prosecution department is investigating a Hague-based plastic surgeon after dozens of people came forward with reports of botched operations. ...more

Romanian work permit regime under fire

The Netherlands should remove restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians who want to take up employment contracts with companies based here, the European Commission said on Thursday....more
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Private sex shows not art: European court

Live sex shows viewed from a private booth must be taxed at the 19% rate of value added tax, according to a European court ruling, quoted in Friday's Volkskrant. ...more
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Labour in clear lead in latest poll

The effect of the appointment of Job Cohen as Labour's election campaign leader is continuing to boost the party's fortunes in the opinion polls, with a new poll by Synovate giving the social democrats 33 seats. ...more
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Anger over US general's gay Dutch army slur

A US general's assertion that the massacre of Serb Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995 was partly due to gay soldiers in the Dutch military has caused a storm of protest in the Netherlands. ...more
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News from Thursday 18 March 2010

Abuse was not common, says cardinal

Child abuse was not at all common during his 38 years as a catholic bishop, Dutch cardinal Ad Simonis told the Volkskrant on Thursday. ...more
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Eight family members arrested for money crimes

A couple and six of their seven children have been held in custody since December on suspicion of bank card fraud and money laundering, the Parool reports on Thursday. ...more
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Tunnel escapee recaptured

The 35-year-old woman who escaped from Breda jail after digging a tunnel several meters deep, has been recaptured. ...more

Dredging group Boskalis books record sales

Boskalis booked record turnover of €2.2bn in 2009, up from €2.09bn in the previous year, the dredging group said on Thursday. ...more

CDA buries kilometer tax, for now at least

The Christian Democrats have abandoned their support for the kilometer tax on motoring as proposed by transport minister Camiel Eurlings but will include a revised proposal in their election manifesto, the Volkskrant reports on Thursday. ...more
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Wilders' PVV in opposition in Almere

The anti-Islam party PVV has not been able to find enough parties prepared to form a coalition administration in Almere, local party leader Raymond de Roon said on Wednesday evening. ...more
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Big cities must put public transport to tender

The collapse of the government means Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague must put local public transport services out to tender after all, caretaker transport minister Camiel Eurlings said on Wednesday....more
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Mortgage tax relief again in spotlight

Cuts in mortgage tax relief and changes to the way rent controlled property is assessed are among working party suggestions to boost government income, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Thursday. ...more
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Dutch Lehmann investors may sue ABN Amro

Dutch investors who lost out when US merchant bank Lehman Brothers went bankrupt are considering suing ABN Amro, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Thursday. ...more

Two more fires in Veendam

The Groningen town of Veendam was hit by two more fires on Wednesday night, as town hall officials announced plans to increase police surveillance and improve street lighting. ...more

Hans van Mierlo funeral on Thursday

The funeral of Hans van Mierlo, the man who founded the Liberal democratic party D66, will take place quietly on Thursday. ...more

No re-vote in Rotterdam, despite concerns

While there were some incidents during local voting in Rotterdam which broke the law, the city does not need to hold a new election, officials said on Wednesday evening....more

Dick Advocaat tipped as next Russian coach

Russian media are reporting that Dick Advocaat is poised to take over as coach of the Russian national side following the departure of fellow Dutchman Guus Hiddink, Trouw states on Thursday....more

Tougher checks on child labour

Dutch companies which are given government grants to carry out projects in developing countries have been told to step up controls on illegal child labour, Trouw reports on Thursday....more
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Dutch MPs reject Greece rescue plan

A majority of Dutch MPs are opposed to giving emergency bilateral loans to Greece should the need arise, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Thursday....more
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News from Wednesday 17 March 2010

DSB boss to sue central bank over leaks

The former board of independent bank DSB, which went bankrupt last year, is to sue the Dutch central bank for breaking secrecy laws, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Wednesday....more

Brussels tells Holland to cut budget deficit

The European Commission has told the Netherlands to come up with measures to get its budget deficit and national debt back under control. ...more

Nurse Lucia de B not guilty says prosecution

The public prosecution department has called on judges in Arnhem to find nurse Lucia de Berk not guilty of killing seven patients and attempting to kill three others. ...more

Job Cohen only candidate to lead Labour

Former Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen is the only candidate to lead the Labour party into the general election, party officials said on Wednesday....more

Police officer admits to killing 12-year-old Milly

A 26-year-old police officer has admitted killing 12-year-old Milly Boele on the evening she went missing from her home in Dordrecht, a justice ministry official said on Wednesday. ...more
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Barendrecht to fight on over CO2 storage

Barendrecht town council is to lobby MPs to win support for legal action against plans to experiment with the storage of surplus carbondioxide under a housing estate of 7,600 homes....more
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Pension fund ABP takes BofA to court

Dutch civil service pension fund ABP is taking legal action against Bank of America for keeping secret vital information about its takeover of Merrill Lynch....more
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Who will be second on the CDA election list?

As the number of promiment Christian Democrats who are ducking out of active politics at the June election grows, speculation is mounting about who will be in second place on the CDA election list. ...more
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Océ shareholder Hermes falls in with Canon

Dissident Océ shareholder Hermes has thrown in the towel and agreed to sell its stake in the copier maker to Canon, the Financieele Dagblad reports. ...more

'Killer nurse' decision due today

The public prosecution department will today announce whether it still considers nurse Lucia de Berk guilty of killing a number of patients in her care....more

Half a million homes hit by cable problems

Some 500,000 homes were left without television and radio for a time on Tuesday evening because of problems at cable company Ziggo. ...more
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British crooks feature on Dutch wanted site

The names and photographs of six British men wanted in connection with crimes in their home country have been added to Amsterdam police's most wanted website, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday. ...more

Veendam police on hunt for arsonist

Police in Veendam, east of Groningen, suspect an arsonist may be responsible for a string of fires in the town centre after two more blazes on Tuesday night. ...more

Senate backs fast-track planning law

Senators have voted in favour of new legislation to speed up the planning process for a number of major infrastructural projects. ...more

Missing girl's body found in nearby garden

The body of 12-year-old Millie Boele, missing from her home in Dordrecht since last Wednesday, has been found in the garden of a neighbour. ...more
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News from Tuesday 16 March 2010

Get fit measures fail, says statistics office

Efforts to increase the general health of the Dutch population appear to be failing, the national statistics office CBS said on Tuesday....more
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Shell production to rise faster than forecast

Oil giant Shell said on Tuesday it expects oil and gas production over the next three years will grow faster than previously forecast....more
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Pension funds too optimistic: central bank

Dutch pension funds are often over-optimistic when estimating their future returns on investment, according to a letter sent to some 600 funds by the central bank, Nos tv reports. ...more

Next cabinet must slash spending by €29bn

The next government will have to make structural savings of €29bn between now and 2015 in order to get the country's finances back under control, the CPB economic policy unit said on Tuesday. ...more
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CDA parliamentary leader to stand down

Pieter van Geel, who leads the Christian Democrats in parliament, is quitting politics at the next general election....more

PVV 'open for all constructive proposals'

The anti-Islam party PVV is open for 'all constructive proposals' from the other parties in The Hague about forming a coalition to run the city, local leader Sietse Fritsma is quoted as saying by Nos tv on Tuesday. ...more
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Job centres told to find €35m

The state-run job centres UWV have been told by social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner to find €35m to help get the long term jobless back to work. ...more

Rotterdam local election advice delayed

The conclusions of a quick investigation into allegations of irregularities at some polling stations in Rotterdam at the local elections earlier this month will now be published on Wednesday, officials say....more

Foreign investments boost employment

2009 was a very good year for foreign investment in the Netherlands, with non-Dutch players putting over €3bn into the economy, despite the economic crisis. ...more
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TNT workers vote in favour of new pay deal

Staff at post and delivery company TNT have voted in favour of a new pay deal which will give them a 0.7% pay rise from January this year but also sanctions the loss of thousands of jobs. ...more

General election: 48 political parties sign up

Some 48 political parties have registered to take part in the general election on June 9, the Telegraaf reports on Tuesday....more
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