Wednesday 31 March 2010

Holland more attractive to foreign firms
The Netherlands has made itself more attractive as a location for foreign companies, according to a new report by accountancy group KPMG. More... comments (5)

Budget deficit reaches 5.3%
The Dutch budget deficit rose to 5.3% last year, almost double the euro stability pact limit of 3%, according to preliminary figures from the national statistics office CBS. More... comments (1)

Spyker's Muller sells stake to O'Toole
Spyker CEO Victor Muller was able to avoid being forced to bid for all the shares in the Spyker Saab group by selling a stake to business partner Brendan O'Toole, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Wednesday. More...

Amsterdam stock exchange boss quits
Amsterdam stock exchange chairman Joost van der Does de Willebois is to stand down on June 1 after five years in the job. More...

March was warm, sunny and dry
Although there were night frosts in the first 10 days of March, the rest of the month was warm and dry, the KNMI weather bureau said on Wednesday. More... comments (1)

Independent shops disappear from high street
Independent shops are disappearing from Dutch high streets, which are becoming increasingly dominated by big national and international chains, news agency ANP reports on Wednesday. More... comments (4)

ANWB members back kilometer tax
Some 68% of members of car owners' organisation ANWB back the introduction of a kilometer tax on motoring, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday. More... comments (3)

Blue lighting for better test results?
Experiments at a primary school in a Brabant village appear to show that blue light improves pupil performance in tests, news agency ANP reports on Wednesday. More...

Cut tax breaks on non-working women: report
The tax break which couples can claim if one partner does not work should be scrapped and replaced by a legal entitlement to flexible working hours, a government commission recommended on Tuesday. More... comments (15)

New post delivery firms break job agreement
New postal delivery companies such as Sandd, SelektMail (Deutsche Post) and Netwerk VSP (part of TNT) have failed to make sure at least 14% of delivery workers have a proper contract as promised last year, Trouw reports on Wednesday. More...

Dirty tricks during Bouwfonds privatisation
The privatisation of the former Dutch local government property development arm Bouwfonds in 2000 involved secret information about other bids being passed to the eventual buyer ABN Amro, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday. More...

Tuesday 30 March 2010

European patent office 'boosts economy'
The European patent office's operations in the Netherlands generate 5,800 jobs and its employees spend €885m a year in the Dutch economy, the organisation said in a news release on Thursday. More...

Wintry weather accidents top 36,000
Over 36,000 people were treated for injuries received during this winter's long period of snow and ice, more than eight times the average, the consumer safety organisation said on Tuesday. More... comments (2)

VVD: cut spending by €30bn, reduce taxes
The free market Liberal party VVD will call for cuts in government spending of €30bn as well as tax cuts in its manifesto for the general election, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Tuesday. More... comments (2)

No Fyra fee for NS season ticket holders
Commuters with a Dutch Rail season ticket will no longer have to pay an extra fee for using the Fyra high speed train between Amsterdam and Rotterdam following a protest by one rail user, the NRC reports on Tuesday. More... comments (1)

AMC to lead artificial pancreas programme
Amsterdam University's medical centre said on Tuesday it is to lead a European project to develop an artificial pancreas for people with type 1 diabetes. More... comments (1)

DSMN sells fertiliser, melamine businesses
Chemicals company DSM is to sell its fertiliser and melamine activities to Egyptian firm Orascom Construction Industries for €310m in a cash deal. More...

Dutch court upholds UN Srebrenica immunity
The Hague appeal court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling that the UN cannot be prosecuted by relatives of Muslim men killed in the 1995 massacre of Srebrenica. More...

Energy firm Delta in financial trouble
Zeeland energy firm Delta, one of the country's two big power groups still in public hands, is in financial trouble, the Volkskrant said on Tuesday, quoting company sources. More...

Rabo only Dutch team in Tour de France
The Rabobank cycling team is the only Dutch team taking part in this year's Tour de France cycling race, the organisers said on Tuesday. More...

Green energy grants make us lazy: minister
The government spends billions of euros in grants and subsidies for sustainable energy projects which are making companies lazy, economic affairs minister Maria van der Hoeven says in an article in Tuesday's Volkskrant. More... comments (3)

Drinking dens common in countryside
The Netherlands has some 1,500 illegal drinking dens - mainly caravans and sheds where youngsters in rural areas get together - according to new research for the health ministry. More... comments (2)

Amsterdam: Labour talks to VVD, GroenLinks
Talks between Labour and the Liberal democrats D66 on forming a new city council executive in Amsterdam have failed after all, it emerged on Tuesday. More...

Second hand car imports rise
Dutch motorists imported 78,000 second hand cars from abroad last year, an increase of 8% on 2008, according to garage organisation Bovag. More...

22,000 Lyme disease patients in 2009
Dutch doctors treated a total of 22,000 people with Lyme disease last year, an increase of 5,000 on 2005, according to public health institute RIVM. More... comments (4)

CDA manifesto: balanced budget by 2015
Wage moderation, jobless benefit cuts and an increase in the pension age are the main elements of the Christian Democratic party's manifesto for the June general election. More... comments (2)

Blue chip bosses' pay falls 21% - to €2.5m
The average pay package of a CEO at a top Dutch stock-exchange listed company fell 21% to €2.5m last year, according to research by the Volkskrant. More... comments (3)

Women better educated but work less
More young women than men are going into further education but they work less than their male colleagues once they have completed their studies, new research by the national statistics office CBS shows. More... comments (19)

EX-general 'inaccurate' about gay soldiers
A former US general who told a senate hearing earlier this month that Dutch military chiefs blamed the 1995 massacre of Srebrenica on gay soldiers now says his comments were 'inaccurate'. More... comments (6)

Monday 29 March 2010

Former tv newsreader stands for parliament
Former tv newsreader and presenter Pia Dijkstra is to run for parliament for the Liberal democratic party D66. More...

Fewer Easter tourists expected
The Dutch tourist board expects 800,000 foreign tourists to be in the Netherlands over the Easter weekend, some 50,000 fewer than in 2009. More... comments (8)

Growth in internet shopping slows
The Netherlands' online shops booked turnover of €6.4bn last year, up 17% on 2008, according to research institute Blauw. More...

University students slower than college-goers
Students at hbo colleges take an average of four months more than the allotted time to complete their degrees while university students take an extra 19 months on average, according to new figures from the national statistics office CBS. More... comments (2)

Crisis and grid split-off hurt Eneco earnings
Power firm Eneco booked net profit of €177m last year, down almost 35% on 2008, the company said on Monday. More... comments (1)

Many refugees move on to a new country
Some 10% of the asylum seekers granted refugee status in the Netherlands between 1998 and 2008 have moved on to a third country, according to new figures from the national statistics office CBS. More... comments (7)

Employers call for €20bn in cuts
Cuts in government spending totalling €20bn will be enough to get the treasury under control by 2015, not the €29bn recommended by government advisors, the biggest Dutch employers organisation said at the weekend. More... comments (2)

Former Labour minister rejects knighthood
Former junior economic affairs minister Frank Heemskerk has refused to accept an honour from the queen, RTL news reported at the weekend. More... comments (1)

Q fever vaccine urged for at-risk group
Doctors have urged caretaker health minister Ab Klink to order a batch of anti Q fever vaccines for people at risk of developing complications from the goat and sheep disease. More...

Local authority taxes rise 1.3%
Local authority taxes are set to rise an average 1.3% this year, which is just above inflation, according to the local government research institute Coelo in Monday's Financieele Dagblad. More... comments (1)

Boskalis declares Smit bid unconditional
Dredging group Boskalis Westminster has declared its takeover of maritime services group Smit International unconditional after being tendered almost 60% of the shares outstanding. More...

Dutch frigate again intercepts pirates
The crew of Dutch navy frigate HMS Tromp, currently serving with a European Union anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, picked up and disarmed another 12 pirates on Sunday. More... comments (1)

Britain tipped to take over in Uruzgan
British troops may be poised to take over from the Netherlands in the southern Afghan region of Uruzgan after the Dutch withdrawal, according to British newspaper Daily Telegraph. More...

CDA to leave mortgage tax relief untouched
The current tax break on mortgages, which allows home owners to deduct all their mortgage interest payments from tax, remains untouched in the Christian Democrats' election manifesto, the Telegraaf reports on Monday. More... comments (3)

Saturday 27 March 2010

PVV definitely out of The Hague coalition
Geert Wilders' anti-Islam PVV will definitely not have a role in the new city council executive in The Hague, it emerged on Friday evening. More... comments (3)

Courts rule against PKK leader extradition
The Netherlands may not extradite a leading light in the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) back to Turkey, judges in Roermond said on Friday. More...

Clocks go forward tonight
The clocks go forward one hour at 2am tonight as the Netherlands moves into summer time. They go back again in October. comments (2)

Friday 26 March 2010

AH supermarket goes cash-free in evening
An Albert Heijn supermarket in Kaatsheuvel has become the first in the country to ban cash transactions after 6pm. More... comments (6)

Ajax fans welcome in Rotterdam
Rotterdam mayor Achmed Aboutaleb has given the green light for Ajax fans to attend the Dutch cup final against Feyenoord at the Kuip stadium on April 25. More...

Album chart record for Caro Emerald
Jazz singer Caro Emerald has made Dutch pop music history now her debut album Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor has occupied the top spot in the charts for eight weeks. More... comments (1)

€15,000 reward to catch Veendam arsonist
The public prosecution department in the Groningen town of Veendam is offering a €15,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest of an arsonist who has plagued the town centre over the past few weeks. More...

Rotterdam bishop knew about abuse
Rotterdam bishop Ad van Luyn knew about several cases of sexual abuse of children at Catholic boarding schools run by the Salesian order, a spokesman for the bishop told the NRC and Dutch world service radio RNW. More... comments (8)

Average retirement age edges up
Efforts to persuade people not to stop work early appear to be paying off, with the average retirement age rising to 62 in 2007, the national statistics office said on Friday. More... comments (1)

Armin van Buuren is world's best DJ
Armin van Buuren was voted best Global DJ at the International Dance Music Awards in Miami on Thursday night. More... comments (1)

DSB bankruptcy pressures ABN Amro
The collapse of independent bank DSB cost nationalised bank ABN Amro €100m in contributions towards the savers' guarantee compensation fund, ABN Amro said on Friday. More... comments (1)

Vera Pauw quits as women's football coach
Vera Pauw, who took the Dutch women's football team to the semi finals of the European cup last year, has resigned because of a difference of opinion with the football association about the future of the women's game. More...

Sparkling wine sales soar
The sale of sparkling wine such as prosecco and cava soared by 49% in the Netherlands last year, according to new figures from the wine marketing board. More...

Psychoanalysis scrapped from health insurance
Psychoanalysis has been scrapped from the basic health insurance package with immediate effect, the body charged with deciding what treatments are covered said this week. More... comments (3)

Big law firm staffing contracts
Employment levels at around half of the country's big law firms have contracted over the past year, according to new figures from legal publishing group KSU, quoted in the Financieele Dagblad. More...

Kroes' bank rulings should be investigated
There needs to be an independent investigation into all the steps taken by EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes against banks which have been bailed out by governments because of the financial crisis, central bank president Nout Wellink says in Friday's Financieele Dagblad. More...

Labour remains biggest party in polls
Labour still has a clear lead over the other main parties in the latest Synovate opinion poll for tv current affairs show Nova. More...

Dutch Greek loan contribution €800m (update)
The Netherlands' contribution to an eventual EU loan to Greece would be €800m to €1bn, the Volkskrant reports on Friday. More... comments (6)

Cup final a dream as Ajax meets Feyenoord
The final of the Dutch cup will take place on April 25 between Amsterdam's Ajax and Feyenoord of Rotterdam - a match described as the dream result by football commentators. More...

Thursday 25 March 2010

Oldest Netherlanders were not Neanderthals
Scientists at the TNO research institute have identified flint tools found on Dutch soil dating back 370,000 years, the Telegraaf quotes popular science magazine NWT as saying. More... comments (4)

ABN Amro Fortis integration under union fire
The integration of nationalised banks ABN Amro and Fortis is disadvantaging workers, despite assurances that no-one would be worse off, the three main banking unions said on Thursday. More...

Leave mortgage tax relief alone: central bank
Politicians should leave the current mortgage interest tax break system intact because of the difficult position facing the housing market, central bank board member Lex Hoogduin said on Thursday. More... comments (4)

Diplomats don't pay half their fines
Some half of the traffic fines handed out to foreign diplomats and embassy staff never get paid, according to Trouw on Thursday. More... comments (4)

More infected ticks in 2009
Some 18% of the ticks tested by scientists at Wageningen University last year carried the bacteria which causes Lyme disease, according to new research published on Thursday. More...

Fewer threats against politicians in 2009
The number of direct threats made against politicians fell to 186 last year, compared with 304 in 2008, according to police figures released on Thursday. More...

Cannabis cafe owner fined, council criticised
The owner of the Netherlands' biggest hashish-selling cafe has been ordered to pay €9.7m in fines and sentenced to 16 weeks in jail for soft drugs trading. More... comments (6)

Southern CDA youth want Leers as leader
Gerd Leers, the former mayor of Maastricht who stepped down because of a scandal over his holiday home in Bulgaria, is the best man to lead the Christian Democrats, according to youth wings of the party in Limburg and Brabant provinces. More...

Banned from town hall for ´headscarf rage´
A resident of the town of Hoogezand-Sappemeer in Groningen province has been banned from council buildings for a year for being aggressive towards at a council worker who wore a headscarf. More... comments (4)

More signs of economic recovery
The number of jobs lost in the final quarter of last year reached 147,000, compared with the final quarter of 2008, the national statistics office said on Thursday. More... comments (1)

TNT shareholders want more say
A number of major Anglo American shareholders in post and delivery company TNT are opposed to company plans to limit their influence, particularly on the naming and firing of supervisory and executive board members, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Thursday, quoting industry sources. More...

Dutch troops take longer to leave Uruzgan
Dutch troops may well still be on active duty in Afghanistan in 2011 because it is going to take longer to complete the withdrawal than planned, defence minister Eimert van Middelkoop told a tv talk show on Wednesday evening. More...

Feyenoord puts Twente out of Dutch cup
Rotterdam club Feyenoord has put premier league leaders FC Twente out of the Dutch cup with a 2-1 victory in the first semi final of the event. More...

Wednesday 24 March 2010

Heineken doubles board bonuses
Brewing group Heineken went against the trend last year and doubled the bonus paid to CEO Jean-François van Boxmeer to €1.12m, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Wednesday. More... comments (2)

Prisons hire in psychic healer
At least three Dutch prisons regularly hire in a psychic healer to treat inmates, magazine HP De Tijd reports on Wednesday. More... comments (7)

Minister acts on driving licence boss pay
Caretaker transport minister Camiel Eurlings is to take action over the high salaries paid to executives at the state-owned driving licence authority CBR. More...

Wilders pulls out, film premiere scrapped
Geert Wilders has pulled out of attending the premiere of an American film about his anti-islam campaign because of anti-gay comments made by one of the film's backers. More... comments (14)

Job Cohen is employers´ favourite
New Labour leader Job Cohen is Dutch employers' favourite for the next prime minister, according to a poll by BNR radio and Intomart Gfk. More... comments (2)

Recycling fee on apparatus phased out
The recycling charge paid by everyone who buys new electric apparatus is to be phased out, caretaker environment minister Tineke Huizinga announced on Tuesday. More... comments (1)

Shopkeepers firm on €500 note ban
Dutch shopkeepers and garage owners have reacted furiously to the European Commission's demand that they accept €200 and €500 notes, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday. More... comments (25)

Labour, D66 agree Amsterdam alliance
The Labour party and Liberal democrats D66 will work together to form a new administration for Amsterdam after all, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday. More... comments (2)

MPs back Pink Army protest
A large majority of MPs have thrown their weight behind Dutch gay military organisation Pink Army's campaign to take legal action against former US general John Sheehan. More...

Access, Optiver, Brodin win expat awards
Volunteer organisation Access was named winner of the first expat service provider of the year award on Tuesday night. More... comments (3)

Mortgage tax relief again centre stage
A narrow majority of home owners back reform of the tax breaks on mortgage payments, likely to be one of the main issues in the June election campaign, according to a poll of 15,000 people for tv show EenVandaag. More... comments (2)

DSB bank also used Swiss tax route
The now bankrupt independent bank DSB used a Swiss-based unit to avoid paying value added tax in the Netherlands like ING, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Wednesday, quoting banking sources. More... comments (2)

Church abuse: 'Wir haben es nicht gewusst'
The Catholic church in the Netherlands was simply unaware about the abuse of children in its care, cardinal Ad Simonis told a tv show on Tuesday night. More... comments (17)

Tuesday 23 March 2010

41,000 Dutch jobs shifted abroad
The Netherlands has lost 41,000 jobs as companies shift employment to India, China and other countries, according to a report by Nyenrode University for the economic affairs ministry. More... comments (12)

Heinrich Boere, 88, gets life for SS murders
One of the Netherlands last wanted war criminals, 88-year-old SS member Heinrich Boere, has been jailed for life by a German court for the murder of three Dutch civilians in 1944. More... comments (5)

Three bidders emerge for Shell's LPG arm
Three bidders have emerged for Shell's liquid petroleum gas operations, sources told the Financieele Dagblad on Tuesday. More...

MPs angry about ING Swiss tax dodge
MPs from across the political spectrum have asked caretaker finance minister Jan Kees de Jager to comment on revelations that ING is avoiding paying value added tax by diverting contracts through Switzerland. More... comments (2)

America is blocking free trade: minister
Talks on lowering and removing trade barriers are in trouble largely because of the position of the United States, economic affairs minister Maria van der Hoeven is quoted as saying by the Financieele Dagblad on Tuesday. More... comments (8)

No ban on mega farms in Limburg
The Limburg provincial government has no plans to introduce a ban on mega factory farms in the province. news agency ANP reports on Tuesday. More... comments (2)

Four awards for Komt een vrouw bij de dokter
The film Komt een vrouw bij de dokter (a woman goes to the doctor), the semi-autobiographical account of a man who has an affair when his wife develops terminal cancer, picked up four prizes at the Rembrandt film awards on Monday night. More...

Cleaning sector pay talks resume
Cleaning company bosses and unions are to restart talks on a new pay deal on Tuesday morning after the employers offered a 2.5% pay rise over two years. More...

Palm Invest duo face five years in jail
Two men accused of deliberately defrauding investors of €20m in the Palm Invest property scam should be jailed for five years, the public prosecution department said on Monday. More... comments (1)

Monday 22 March 2010

Anti gay rights group makes pro-Wilders film
Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders is to travel to the US to attend the premier of a film about him, even though the film was made together with a conservative anti-gay American Christian group. More... comments (26)

Escaped armed robber faces terror charges
Convicted armed robber Eric Jan Q, who escaped from jail in 2001 and was recaptured on 2007, is facing new charges of preparing to cause explosions, according to various media reports on Monday. More...

DSB bankruptcy claims reach over €3bn
Some 265,000 former account holders at bankrupt bank DSB have claimed a total €3.4bn in lost savings, the central bank said on Monday. More...

Male domestic violence cases reach 300
Over 300 male victims of domestic and honour-related violence reported their situation to officials in the four big cities between July 2009 and September 2009, according to health ministry figures. More...

ING uses Swiss unit to dodge tax, claims FD
ING has avoided paying tens of millions of euros in Dutch value added tax by buying in services via a Swiss unit, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday. More... comments (7)

Pim Verbeek to quit as Australian coach
Football coach Pim Verbeek is to leave the Australian national squad after the World Cup in South Africa this summer. More...

Water usage reaches 2.3 million litres per person
The Netherlands uses the equivalent of 2.3 million litres of water per head of the population a year, almost twice the European average, according to calculations by the Worldwide Fund for Nature. More... comments (1)

Pope's letter disappoints Dutch abuse victims
Pope Benedict's letter to Irish Catholics apologising for the sexual abuse scandal has been greeted with disappointment by Dutch victims, the NRC reports. More... comments (1)

New victory for snowboarder Sauerbreij
Dutch snowboarder Nicolien Sauerbreij took first place in the World Cup women's parallel giant slalom event in La Molina, Spain at the weekend. More...

Crisis has hit most firms' profitability: FD
Most Dutch listed companies have been seriously affected by the economic crisis, with only a handful boosting their earnings last year compared with 2007 before the credit crunch hit, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday. More...

Air France-KLM to take on budget airlines
Airline Air France-KLM is developing a new strategy to take on budget airlines, CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon says in an interview with a German magazine. More...

Jewelry stolen at Maastricht antiques fair
A ring and pendant worth €860,000 were stolen from a London antiques dealer on the last day of the 11-day Tefaf fair in Maastricht, news agency ANP reports. More...

Three brothers arrested for stun gun attack
Three brothers aged 12, 13 and 14 have been arrested in Den Bosch for physically abusing two 14-year-old boys, one of whom was attacked with a stun gun, police said on Sunday. More...

D66 call for pension age hike by 2024
An increase in the state pension age to 67, spending cuts of €15bn over the next four years and limits to mortgage tax relief are among the main policy initiatives in the D66 election manifesto, party chairman Joris Backer told tv show Buitenhof on Sunday. More... comments (3)

Fourth allround title for speed skater Kramer
Sven Kramer took the world allround speed skating title for the fourth year in a row in Heerenveen this weekend. More...

Ajax overtakes PSV , title race heats up
A 1-1 draw between premier league leader FC Twente and the number 2 PSV Eindhoven allowed Amsterdam's Ajax to sneak into second position in this weekend's football. More...

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... comments (1)

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... comments (1)

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... comments (7)

Prince pays surprise visit to Afghanistan
Crown prince Willem-Alexander paid a surprise visit to Dutch troops in Afghanistan on Wednesday and Thursday. More... comments (2)

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... comments (1)

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... comments (13)

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... comments (4)

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... comments (8)

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... comments (38)

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... comments (8)

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... comments (1)

Tunnel escapee recaptured
The 35-year-old woman who escaped from Breda jail after digging a tunnel several meters deep, has been recaptured. More... comments (1)

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... comments (3)

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... comments (7)

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... comments (1)

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... comments (12)

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... comments (1)

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... comments (20)

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... comments (1)

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... comments (4)

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... comments (2)

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... comments (1)

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... comments (3)

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... comments (1)

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... comments (1)

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... comments (7)

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... comments (3)

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... comments (1)

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... comments (4)

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... comments (3)

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... comments (1)

Monday 15 March 2010

Dutch Farc girl is alive and well: father
The Dutch student who joined the Colombian guerrilla movement Farc in 2002 is alive and well, her father told De Pers newspaper on Monday. More... comments (7)

AFM report on Zalm too limited: reviewer
The AFM financial service regulator's report into Gerrit Zalm's role in the downfall of DSB Bank last year did not take his other expertise into account, professor Michiel Scheltema, told MPs on Monday. More...

Pharming shares fall on share issue news
Shares in biotechnology company Pharming fell as much as 20% in Amsterdam on Monday after the company said it wanted to expand its share capital. More...

Exports get off to good start in January
Dutch industrial exports rose 11% in January 2010, compared with a year ago, the national statistics office CBS said on Monday. More... comments (1)

Lottery told to stop health insurance promotion
The postcode lottery organisation has been told to stop offering participants reductions on their health insurance by health minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, Nos tv reports on Monday. More... comments (2)

Cohen gone, who will be Amsterdam mayor?
The names of home affairs minister Guusje ter Horst and integration minister Eberhard van der Laan are among the most often mentioned as possible candidates to succeed Job Cohen as Amsterdam mayor. More... comments (8)

Rabobank stops Bizner internet bank
Rabobank is to stop its Bizner internet banking unit, set up in 2007 for small and medium-sized firms. More...

Stop evicting illegal families, Holland told
The Netherlands is continuing to break EU conventions by leaving families with children whose requests for asylum have been rejected to fend for themselves on the streets, the Volkskrant reports on Monday. More... comments (22)

Premiership race heats up as Ajax beats PSV
The race for the Dutch premier league title heated up at the weekend as number three Ajax thrashed number two PSV Eindhoven 4-1. More...

TV show brooch sold for €120,000
A gold, glass and enamel brooch by French master René Lalique has become the most expensive item ever to turn up on tv show Tussen Kunst & Kitsch, a Dutch version of the BBC's Antiques Roadshow. More...

Paedophile party disbands
The pro-paedophile political party PNVD has disbanded after failing to find enough supporters to enable it to take part in the June general election, news agency Novum reports. More... comments (10)

Machine lease sector turnover plummets
Companies which lease essential equipment such as cranes, computers, lorries and industrial machinery have been hard hit by the recession, with the value of new contracts signed down 28% at €4.5bn last year, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday. More...

Cohen factor puts Labour in first place
The Labour party has overtaken the Christian Democrats and Geert Wilders' anti-Islam PVV in the latest Maurice de Hond opinion poll. More... comments (3)

Male visitor sought in missing girl case
The disappearance of 12-year-old Mille Boele from Dordrecht is looking increasingly like an abduction, the Telegraaf reports on Monday. More...

Saturday 13 March 2010

Wilders is bad for the Netherlands: employers
Anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders is seriously damaging the Netherlands' reputation as a world economy, Bernard Wientjes, head of the country's biggest employers organisation VNO-NCW says in an interview with Saturday's Volkskrant. More... comments (18)

Cohen tops polls as people's favourite
Former Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen is by far the people's favourite choice for prime minister, according to two opinion polls carried out shortly after he announced his candidacy for Labour party leader. More... comments (2)

Friday 12 March 2010

Labour remains biggest party in Rotterdam
The Labour party is still the biggest party in Rotterdam and the gap between it and local populist party Leefbaar Rotterdam has increased to 754 votes, election officials said on Friday following a vote recount. More...

Dutch skier dies in avalanche
A 33-year-old Dutch man caught up an an avalanche in a Austrian ski resort on Thursday has died of his injuries, the Telegraaf reports on Friday. More...

Girl on video is not missing Millie
Police have issued a nationwide alert for a 12-year-old girl, missing from her home in Dordrecht since early Wednesday evening. More...

Financial crisis costs local councils cash
Local councils had a combined shortfall in their budgets of €1.8bn last year because of the financial crisis, according to research by the local authorities' association VNG. More...

Labour leader Bos quits, Cohen steps up
Wouter Bos is standing down as leader of the Labour party, leaving Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen as his apparent heir. More... comments (14)

Thin year for Ballast Nedam
Construction company Ballast Nedam booked operating profit of € 17m in 2009, down from €42m the previous year, as the effect of the recession continued to bite. More...

Vopak meets target, boosts capacity
Tank storage group Vopak reported turnover up 8% in 2009 at just over €1bn as its worldwide capacity grew to over 28 million cubic meters. More...

Minister 'concerned' about cleaners' strike
Social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner is to ask cleaning sector unions and employers for an update on the long-running pay dispute in the sector and says he is 'concerned' about the vulnerability of contract cleaners, news agency ANP reports. More... comments (6)

Cartel fines not tax deductible: court
Dutch companies which have been fined for anti-competitive practices may not deduct those fines against tax, a special court in Amsterdam which deals with taxation issues ruled on Thursday. More...

Former Fortis bosses in court in May, June
Former Fortis CEO Jean-Paul Votron is set to appear in court in May in connection with a damages claim brought by former Fortis investors, the Volkskrant reports on Friday. More... comments (1)

Dogs produce 145 million kilos of waste
The Netherlands' 1.8 million dogs produce an annual mountain of faeces weighing 145 million kgs, according to research by Esccap, a lobby group of European vets specialising in pets. More... comments (22)

Nationwide alert for missing 12-year-old girl
Police have issued a nationwide alert for a 12-year-old girl, missing from her home in Dordrecht since early Wednesday evening. More... comments (1)

Spending power reduced less than forecast
The average household's spending power will not go down as much as forecast this year and in 2011, according to confidential new estimates from the government's economic policy analysts, quoted in Friday's Telegraaf. More... comments (2)

Rotterdam local election votes recounted
City council officials have finished recounting the 220,000 plus votes cast in last week's local election in an effort to end rumours of miscounting and irregularities. More...

Hockey team fails to make World Cup final
The Dutch men's hockey team failed to make the final of the World Cup in New Delhi on Thursday, losing 2-1 to Australia in the semis. More...

Thursday 11 March 2010

D66 founder Hans van Mierlo dies
Hans van Mierlo, the man seen as the founding father of the Liberal democratic party D66, has died at the age of 78. More... comments (1)

Eurlings to leave politics to 'have a family'
Transport minister Camiel Eurlings is to leave politics after the next general election in order to focus on his family. More... comments (3)

Bouvrie speaks out about his tax fraud arrest
Society interior designer Jan des Bouvrie told a news conference on Thursday afternoon his arrest on tax fraud charges centres on the value added tax levied over an €80,000 bill which was addressed to the wrong company due to a typing error. More... comments (2)

Corus works council anger at Oudeman removal
Corus Nederland's works council has reacted angrily to the enforced departure of supervisory board member Marjan Oudeman, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Thursday. More...

Mosquito noise machine 'should be banned'
The mosquito, a machine which emits an annoying sound only young people can hear and is used in Holland to discourage youngsters from hanging around on the streets, should be banned, according to the Council of Europe. More... comments (3)

Less cash to help the jobless find work
The state-run job centre organisation UWV is almost out of money to spend on projects to get the unemployed back into work, the Volkskrant reports on Thursday. More... comments (1)

Ryanair under fire from Air France-KLM
Airline group Air France-KLM is to make a formal complaint to the European Union about illegal state support for budget airline Ryanair, according to Le Figaro. More...

Supermarket staff to get 1% pay rise
The 220,000 people who work in supermarkets are to get a 1% pay rise from July 2010, according to the terms of the new pay deal agreed between employers and unions on Wednesday evening. More...

Cut jobless benefit entitlement, says OECD
The Netherlands should cut the length of time people can claim unemployment benefit (ww) to encourage the jobless to find new work, the Paris based OECD organisation said on Thursday. More... comments (2)

Zalm reports to remain secret: finance minister
The two reports into Gerrit Zalm's performance while chief financial officer at DSB bank are to remain confidential, caretaker finance minister Jan Kees de Jager told parliament on Wednesday evening. More... comments (1)

Eurlings lined up to replace Balkenende
Caretaker transport minister Camiel Eurlings is being lined up to replace CDA leader Jan Peter Balkenende if the June general election turns out to be a fiasco for the party, the Telegraaf reports on Thursday. More... comments (1)

Random car search yields 71kg of cocaine
Traffic checks in the town of Halfweg between Amsterdam and Haarlem yielded a €71kg haul of cocaine from one car, news agency ANP reports on Thursday. More... comments (2)

Interior designer suspected of fake bills
Society interior designer and furniture maker Jan des Bouvrie is suspected of submitting false bills to the property firm run by his friend Evert Kroon, the Telegraaf reports on Thursday. More...

Wilders is damaging Holland: minister
Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders is damaging the Netherlands' reputation abroad, caretaker foreign minister Maxime Verhagen said on Wednesday. More... comments (15)

Leefbaar Rotterdam 'collected' proxy votes
The public prosecution department in Rotterdam has begun an investigation into the collection of proxy votes by supporters of local populist party Leefbaar Rotterdam following the discovery of an email full of tips for getting other people's voting forms. More...

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Justice ministry silent on designer arrest
The public prosecution department is still refusing to comment on reports that interior designer Jan des Bouvrie has been arrested in connection with a tax fraud case, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Wednesday afternoon. More...

Kramer too sick for World 5,000m title fight
Speed skater Sven Kramer is too ill to take part in the final of the 5,000m World Cup event in Heerenveen this weekend, trainer Gerard Kemkers told reports on Wednesday. More...

'Jack the Pricker' confesses to stabbings
A 25-year-old man arrested last week in connection with four stabbing incidents in Lelystad has confessed to the crimes, the public prosecution department said on Wednesday. More...

Green light for teenage drinking crackdown
MPs have given health minister Ab Klink the go ahead to proceed with legislation aimed at cracking down on teenage drinking, Nos tv reports. More... comments (4)

Rotterdam recount to begin on Thursday
City council officials will begin recounting the 220,000 plus votes cast in the city during last week's local elections on Thursday. More...

Fortis fined for market manipulation
The financial services regulator AFM has fined the former Fortis group a total €576,000 for market manipulation and failing to publish price-sensitive information during the takeover of ABN Amro. More... comments (1)

Hockey team makes World Cup semi finals
The Dutch mens hockey team has reached the semi finals of the World Cup in New Delhi thanks to a superior goal tally over South Korea. More... comments (6)

Farm minister under fire over glossy mag
Farm minister Gerda Verburg has been ordered to explain to parliament why she sanctioned the production of a glossy magazine bearing her name as a promotional gift. More... comments (3)

Afghan military equipment to be left behind
The Netherlands is set to leave millions of euros worth of equipment in Afghanistan when it pulls out its troops from August 1, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday. More... comments (5)

Car dealers call for Ikea approach to sales
The Netherlands needs a new system for selling cars with a much smaller network of centralised dealerships, according to a new report for the Dutch garage owners association Bovag. More... comments (1)

Top interior designer arrested in fraud probe
Leading interior designer Jan des Bouvrie has been arrested in connection with a multi-million euro property fraud, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday. More...

CDA stalwart to lead Catholic abuse research
Former parliamentary chairman and CDA member Wim Deetman is to chair an independent investigation into reports of sexual abuse at a number of Catholic boarding schools. More... comments (12)

Iceland will repay, says finance minister
Finance minister Jan Kees de Jager will outline the latest developments in the Icesave debacle to MPs on Wednesday morning, following Iceland's overwhelming no vote to the agreed repayment scheme in a referendum at the weekend. More... comments (2)

Tuesday 09 March 2010

Bishops agree to independent abuse inquiry
Catholic bishops have agreed to an independent inquiry into child sexual abuse at boarding schools across the country. More... comments (3)

Mayor orders Rotterdam vote recount
Rotterdam mayor Achmed Aboutaleb has ordered a recount of all the votes cast in the city council election last week following allegations of irregularities in some polling stations. More...

Court critical of Somali extradition case
Rotterdam district court has asked the US authorities to supply it additional information in their request for the extradition of a Somali man, arrested at an asylum seekers centre last November. More...

Reduce animal antibiotic use by 20%: report
The farm ministry is to take steps to reduce the use of antibiotics in the intensive farming sector by 20%, caretaker farm minister Gerda Verburg said on Tuesday. More... comments (1)

Living near Borssele? Stock up on iodine
People living within a 10 km radius of the Netherlands' only nuclear power station Borssele will be able to stock up on iodine tablets at their local town hall from next week. More... comments (1)

Fortis banks to disappear from high street
The name Fortis Nederland is to disappear from Dutch high streets in April and will be replaced by ABN Amro signs, the state-owned banking group said on Tuesday. More...

Rush hour lanes do cut traffic jams: minister
Traffic jams on the A12 motorway have been cut sharply following the introduction of a special rush hour lane, according to caretaker transport minister Camiel Eurlings. More... comments (6)

Emergency planning law may pass senate
Draft legislation to allow fast-track planning procedures for a number of major infrastructure projects may now become law after all, Nos tv reports. More...

Russian firms bargain hunt in Holland
At least 10 Dutch companies were bought up by Russian firms last year, the Financieele Dagblad reports, quoting figures from accountants group KPMG. More... comments (2)

Slow progress in city coalition forming
The process of forming a new local government in Rotterdam is likely to be a slow process and a number of political parties have called for the appointment of an independent negotiator to step in. More...

Tobacco firm art sale raises over €13m
The sale of 160 paintings and sculptures from the British American Tobacco modern art collection raised over €13m at Sotheby's auction in Amsterdam on Monday, almost triple the sale estimates. More...

Pay gap yawns in the Netherlands
The average difference in pay between men and women in the Netherlands was 23.6% in 2008, according to European Union research. More...

Increase school stream mobility: report
Steps need to be taken to make it easier for children doing vocational training to move up into pre-college streams but there is no reason to raise the age limit for secondary education selection, according to a new report from the education council. More...

'Full support' for CDA leader Balkenende
Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende has the full support of the Christian Democratic party leadership and there is 'no reason whatsover' to doubt his role as campaign leader, CDA chairman Peter van Heewsijk told reporters on Monday evening. More... comments (2)

Monday 08 March 2010

Convicted bomb maker to return to Holland
A Dutch Iraqi, found guilty of setting roadside bombs in Iraq by an American court, is to return to the Netherlands to serve out his sentence in April, the Telegraaf reports on Monday. More... comments (7)

Schiphol safety procedures in spotlight
The security procedures at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport are to be put under the spotlight again, after an undercover tv reporter managed to board a plane with liquid in duty-free packaging which had actually been swapped for another substance. More... comments (7)

PVV firm over headscarf ban in Almere
Geert Wilders' anti-Islam party PVV is sticking firm by its earlier commitment to make a headscarf ban in public buildings a central element in the negotiations to form a new city council executive in Almere. More... comments (12)

Wilders to take council seat in the Hague
Geert Wilders is to take a seat on the Hague city council after winning 13,000 preference votes in last week's local elections. More... comments (6)

US terror suspect extradition ruling today
Judges will today announce whether a 43-year-old Somalian asylum seeker can be extradited to the US on terrorism charges, the Volkskrant reports. More...

Court extends fake pilot's custody
The Swedish man caught flying passenger jets without a proper licence has been remanded in custody for a further 14 days by a Dutch court. More...

Start and final stage wins for Dutch cyclists
Dutch road cyclists booked two stage wins in international road cycling events at the weekend. More...

Zalm DSB row, ex AFM boss weighs in
The former head of the financial services authority AFM has called for changes to the law following divisions over the role of Gerrit Zalm in the bankruptcy of DSB bank last year. More...

Labour, CDA, neck and neck in new poll
A new poll by Maurice de Hond puts the Labour party (PvdA) and CDA neck and neck on 24 seats, with Geert Wilders anti-Islam PVV still in first place on 27. More...

Father shoots children, them himself
A 19-year-old girl and nine-year-old boy have been shot dead at home by their father who then turned the gun on himself. More... comments (1)

Twente, Ajax profit from PSV mistake
FC Twente moved back to the top of football's premier division at the weekend after league leaders PSV Eindhoven lost 2-1 to NAC Breda. More...

Catholic church abuse claims rise to 200
Some 200 people have now registered sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic church officials with the church organisation set up to help victims, the Telegraaf reports on Monday. More... comments (12)

Surplus swine flu vaccines unsold
The health ministry has failed in its efforts to sell 19 million unwanted doses of swine flu vaccine to another country and is now seeking to sell them back to the manufacturers. More... comments (5)

Friday 05 March 2010

CDA ministers back pressured Balkenende
A number of prominent Christian Democratic party ministers have spoken out in favour of party leader and prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende, after reports of growing pressure on his position because of the party's poor local election showing. More...

Orthodox Catholics angered by gay decision
Orthodox Catholics are angry at the Den Bosch bishop's decision to allow openly gay men and women take communion, if they go first to confession, news agency ANP reports on Friday. More... comments (22)

Court opens way for flight delay compensation
Dutch air passengers whose flights are delayed for more than three hours may be able to claim up to €600 each in compensation, according to various media reports on Friday. More... comments (3)

Former teacher to be new Socialist leader
MP Emile Roemer is set to take over the leadership of the Socialist Party from Agnes Kant, who quit on Thursday following the party's poor showing in the local elections. More...

More Labour than Leefbaar in Rotterdam
The Labour party is the biggest party in Rotterdam with just 651 more votes than local populist party Leefbaar Rotterdam, the city's mayor Achmed Aboutaleb announced on Friday. More...

It's back: snow forecast for the weekend
Snow and sleet are again forecast to fall over much of the country this weekend, as wintry weather makes a return. More...

Maastricht orders a recount of votes
Officials in Maastricht are to begin the process of recounting all votes cast in the southern city after it emerged mistakes had been made in at least one polling station. More...

Labour in the Hague rules out Wilders
Labour councillors in the Hague are working towards forming a new executive with the two Liberal parties VVD and D66 and the left-wing greens GroenLinks, the Telegraaf reports on Friday. More... comments (7)

Tougher banking controls put on ice
Cabinet plans to sharpen up the laws on the regulation of banks are to be declared controversial by MPs, meaning they will be put on hold until after the formation of a new government, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Friday. More... comments (4)

Longest running soap sees 4,000th episode
The 4,000th episode of the Netherlands' longest running soap opera Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden (good times, bad times) will be broadast on RTL4 on Friday night. More...

'Kidnapped' girl ordered back to Netherlands
An eight-year-old girl taken by her father to the US last year after he abducted her from her school playground in Ede must be returned to the Netherlands, a judge in the US has decided. More... comments (5)

Thursday 04 March 2010

Pressure mounts on CDA leader Balkenende
Senior Christian Democrat officials are openly doubting whether prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende should lead the party into the June election, various media report on Thursday evening. More... comments (2)

Agnes Kant quits as Socialist Party leader
Agnes Kant, leader of the Socialist Party, has resigned following the party's poor showing in the local elections. More...

'Prince Bernhard was member of Nazi party'
Writer Annejet van der Zijl has uncovered a student membership card signed by queen Beatrix' father which also mentions his membership of the national socialist party NSDAP, writes the Volkskrant on Thursday. More... comments (11)

Elections: Labour almost halved in Maastricht
In the Limburg capital Maastricht, support for the Labour party almost halved, with the party taking six fewer seats to end on seven. More...

Rabobank profit slides 17% in 2009
Non-listed cooperative bank Rabobank booked a 17% drop in net profit in 2009, because of the credit crisis and competition on the Dutch savings market. More...

Income check on foreign brides ruled illegal
Dutch immigration rules requiring men or women wishing to bring in a foreign partner must earn at least 120% of the official minimum wage have been ruled illegal by the European court of justice in Luxemburg. More... comments (9)

Elections: D66 top in Leiden, Haarlem, Hilversum
The Liberal democratic party D66 emerged as the biggest party in three cities in Wednesday's local elections: Leiden, Haarlem and Hilversum. More... comments (1)

Elections: a round-up of other election news
Student political parties have won seats on the local councils in Delft and Groningen, Nos tv reports on Thursday. More...

Fortis announces second half loss
Fortis Bank Nederland announced on Thursday a net loss of €23m for the second half of 2009, including a write-off of bad debts of €220m. Over 2009 as a whole bad debts amounted to €412m. More...

Kilometre tax takes a back seat
Parliament on Thursday declared the policy of a kilometre tax on driving to be controversial, meaning it will have to wait until the formation of a new government after the elections on June 9 and may disappear altogether, according to the Telegraaf. More... comments (3)

Minister talks Zalm with finance regulators
Caretaker finance minister Jan Kees de Jager on Wednesday had talks with financial service regulator AFM chairman Hans Hoogervorst and Dutch central bank top man Nout Wellink on their radically different conclusions about Gerrit Zalm's time as CFO at the failed DSB bank. More...

Océ shareholders lose in court
The company court in Amsterdam on Wednesday rejected the objections of a large group of minority shareholders to the takeover of print-maker Océ by Canon. More...

No decision on JSF by caretaker government
Junior defence minister Jack de Vries said on Wednesday the caretaker government will not make the decision on whether or not to buy a second Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. More...

Elections: Liberals, Wilders big winners
The two Liberal parties VVD and D66 emerged as the big winners in the local elections on Wednesday, making gains in district, town and city councils nationwide. More... comments (4)

Ahold announces share buy-back
Supermarket group Ahold on Thursday announced a €500m share buy-back and a 28% increase in dividend to €0.23 per share. More...

Oranje beats US in football friendly
The Dutch national football team beat the United States 2-1 at home on Wednesday evening in their last friendly before the World Cup in July in South Africa. More...

Elections: Turnout around 53%
Some 53% of people eligible to vote in Wednesday's local elections actually bothered to do so, according to official results after 93% of the votes had been counted. More... comments (2)

Elections: Wilders' Almere win below forecast
Geert Wilders' anti-Islam PVV party became the biggest party in the polder city of Almere in Wednesday night's elections, but support was not has high as had been forecast. More...

Elections: Amsterdam coalition loses majority
The current Labour GroenLinks coalition in Amsterdam lost its majority in Wednesday's election, falling one seat short of the 23 necessary to form a governing coalition. More... comments (1)

Elections: The Hague, Labour stays on top
The Labour party clung on to first place in the Hague although its support fell sharply and the social democrats lost five of their 15 seats. More...

Elections: Labour, populists tie in Rotterdam
Local populist party Leefbaar Rotterdam is calling for a recount in the port city after it and the Labour party tied on 14 seats each. More...

Elections: GroenLinks top in Utrecht, Nijmegen
Left wing green party GroenLinks emerged as the biggest party in Utrecht with 10 of the 45 city council seats. More...

Wednesday 03 March 2010

Liberal parties big winners in local elections
With around 27% of the votes counted, the two Liberal parties VVD and D66 are emerging as the big winners in the local elections on Wednesday, making gains in most places nationwide. More...

Nos poll puts Wilders' PVV in third place
An Nos opinion poll on the day of the local elections puts Geert Wilders' anti-Islam PVV in third place in the national vote. More...

Turnout 56% as polls close
Some 56% of the people eligible to vote in Wednesday's general election bothered to do, pundits said shortly after the polls closed at 9pm. More...

Pilot with fake licence picked up at Schiphol
A 41-year-old Swedish man has been arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport after flying for years on a false pilots licence, the Telegraaf reports. More... comments (4)

Shower voyeur found not guilty
A 30-year-old man accused of secretly taking photographs and films of naked men in the showers on a campsite on the Wadden Sea island of Texel has been found not guilty of any crime, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday. More... comments (1)

Cyclist Dekker suspended for two years
Dutch cyclist Thomas Dekker has been suspended for two years for doping offences, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday. More...

Local elections: turnout similar to 2006
Some 22% of the electorate had cast their ballot in the local elections by 2pm on Wednesday afternoon, according to Nos tv. More...

Leefbaar Rotterdam leader wants power
Marco Pastors, leader of the populist Rotterdam party Leefbaar Rotterdam, said on Wednesday he would not take a seat on the city council if his party does not become part of the city's government after the local elections. More...

Headscarf protest in the Hague
Around 100 men and women in the Hague and a handful of people in Almere turned up at polling stations to vote in the local elections on Wednesday wearing headscarves as an anti-Geert Wilders protest. More... comments (3)

Gays welcome at communion after all
Gay Catholic activists and the church authorities in Den Bosch have reached a compromise deal over communion, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday. More... comments (7)

Dutch Rail to experiment with spit kits
Dutch Rail (NS) is to equip some railway workers with special spit kits which they can use to collect dna from travellers who spit at staff. More... comments (19)

More holidays at home last year
Dutch holiday parks and camp sites saw combined turnover rise 4% last year, the strongest growth since 2002, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday. More...

First impressions favour Balkenende
Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende has come out top in an experiment using American students to assess how competent Dutch politicians are - based on their photographs. More... comments (5)

Oranje third in Fifa world rankings
The Dutch national football team is still third in the Fifa world rankings, behind Spain and Brazil. More...

Staffing agency USG People posts loss
Staffing agency USG People posted a loss of €31m in 2009 as turnover fell 25% on the 2008 level to €3bn. More...

New cervical cancer campaign starts
Health officials have launched a new campaign to encourage teenage girls to get vaccinated against the HPV virus which can lead to cervical cancer. More... comments (1)

Lubbers will not face sex intimidation charges
Former prime minister Ruud Lubbers will not face any charges of sexual intimidation of a United Nations official, the New York appeal court said on Tuesday. More... comments (4)

Nijpels DSB investigation halted
The central bank and financial services sector regulator AFM have abandoned their investigations into the role of former DSB bank executive Ed Nijpels in the bank's collapse. More...

Pension age increase declared controversial
The outgoing government's plans to increase the state pension age from 65 to 67 have been declared controversial by MPs, meaning they will be frozen until at least after the next election. More... comments (2)

Polling stations open across 394 councils
Polling stations in 394 local authority areas across the country opened their doors at 7.30am on Wednesday as voting begins for new city, town and district councils. More... comments (2)

Tuesday 02 March 2010

ING may get more time for sell-offs
The European Commission may be prepared to give banking and insurance group ING more time to divest activities via a stock exchange flotation, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Tuesday. More...

Borssele nuclear plant remains in Dutch hands
German energy giant RWE, which took over Dutch market leader Essent last year, may not take over Essent's share of the Borssele nuclear power plant, the Arnhem appeal court ruled on Tuesday. More... comments (1)

Srebrenica massacre a myth, says Karadzic
The massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys following the fall of the enclave of Srebrenica is a myth, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is quoted as saying on the second day of his genocide trial in the Hague. More... comments (2)

CDA rules out new coalition with Labour
Caretaker prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende on Tuesday ruled out forming a new coalition with the Labour party after the June 9 general election. More... comments (4)

Supermarkets in court over Sunday opening
Five supermarkets from Deventer are being taken to court for illegally opening on Sundays, the Telegraaf reports on Tuesday. More... comments (21)

Some €50m in 'criminal assets' seized
Justice ministry officials seized almost €50m in assets from convicted criminals last year, compared with €30m in 2008, Nos tv reports. More...

Catholic priest abuse claims mount up
At least 10 more people have come forward claiming to have been abused by Catholic priests during their time at boarding schools during the last century, the Volkskrant reports on Tuesday. More... comments (7)

Wilders again under fire in tv election debate
Geert Wilders' anti-Islam party PVV again came under fire from other party leaders in Monday night's final televised debate ahead of Wednesday's local elections. More... comments (8)

Canon has over 70% of Oce shares
Japanese electronics group Canon has acquired 71% of the shares in Dutch photocopier maker Océ , making the formal takeover almost a reality. More...

Regulators divided over Zalm at ABN Amro
The Dutch government said on Monday ABN Amro chief executive Gerrit Zalm can remain at the head of the nationalised bank even though the financial services regulator AFM says he should go. More... comments (3)

Pathe cinemas back down over Alice
The 12 Pathe cinemas complexes in the Netherlands will show Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland' film after all, despite an earlier announced boycott, the company said on Monday. More... comments (2)

Monday 01 March 2010

Two days to go, election campaigning picks up
A flurry of last-minute appeals to voters and calls for less bureaucracy marked the second-last day of campaigning ahead of Wednesday's local elections. More... comments (7)

Market forces do cut hospital costs: NZA
Competition between hospitals does cut healthcare costs and can be stepped up, the national heathcare association NZA has told health minister Ab Klink, the Volkskrant reports on Monday. More...

Transport smart card has cut metro violence
The number of violent incidents recorded on Amsterdam's metro has fallen by almost 40% since paper tickets were phased out, news agency ANP reports on Monday. More... comments (7)

Communion protest angers orthodox SGP
The fundamentalist Christian party SGP has called on the cabinet to take action to stop gay rights campaigners disrupting Catholic church services. More... comments (1)

Rumours of Shell LPG sale gather pace
Oil giant Shell is considering selling off a number of non-core activities, including its LPG distribution arm and North Sea gas fields, the Financial Times said on Monday. More...

Bosnian Serb war was 'holy', says Karadzic
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said at his trial for war crimes in the Hague on Monday the Serb cause in the Bosnian war was 'just and holy'. More... comments (3)

Petrol stations call for hoodie ban
Dutch petrol station owners are calling for a nationwide ban on hooded sweatshirts in an effort to cut down on robberies, the Telegraaf reports on Monday. More... comments (5)

No change at premier league top
There was no change at the top of Dutch football's premier league on Sunday, with all three leaders winning their matches. More...

Utrecht football supporters sent home
Amsterdam police sent some 700 fans of FC Utrecht back home by train before Sunday afternoon's game against Ajax because of anti-semitic chanting, news agency ANP reported. More... comments (3)

Storm damage in Limburg
The storm which swept across parts of Europe on Sunday evening, killing at least 50 people, caused some damage in parts of Limburg as it passed through. More...

Bird watch by webcam
The Dutch bird protection body Vogelbescherming has fitted webcams in eight birds nests so people can follow the progress of this year's expected crop of fledglings. More...

Cabinet faced with €2bn shortfall
The outgoing cabinet will have to deal with a budget shortfall of 'just over €2bn', caretaker finance minister Jan Kees de Jager told tv programme Buitenhof on Sunday. More... comments (2)

Dutch take eight Olympic medals home
The Dutch Winter Olympics team return home with a haul of eight medals, including four gold, following Nicolein Sauerbreij's victory in the snowboarding giant slalom on Sunday. More... comments (3)

Gay communion protests to continue
Gay rights activists have vowed to continue attending mass in protest at the refusal by some Catholic priests to let them take communion. More... comments (18)

Rotterdam bishop orders sex abuse inquiry
The bishop of Rotterdam Ad van Luyn has called for an inquiry into the possible sexual abuse of children at a Catholic boarding school in 's-Heerenberg, Gelderland in the 1960s and 1970s. More... comments (8)