tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1 2012-02-22T14:38:17Z Movable Type 3.35 tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31992 2012-02-22T14:31:58Z 2012-02-22T14:38:17Z

Editor Belgian energy firm C.Gen has cancelled plans to build a coal-fired power station in Vlissingen, citing uncertainty over proposals to store carbon-dioxide underground. C.Gen launched the power station plan two years ago. At the time, the investment was put at over €1bn. C.Gen had hoped to store carbon-dioxide released during the generation process in empty underground gas chambers. However, the current political situation in the Netherlands makes that project much less likely, chief executive Wim Heyselberghs told news agency ANP. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31989 2012-02-22T13:09:56Z 2012-02-22T15:10:25Z

Editor A city councillor in Almere has become the latest representative of the anti-immigration PVV to leave the party, citing the way the party deals with others as the main reason. ‘The tone does not fit in with my way of working,’ Marissa Visser told news agency ANP. ‘I have kind parents and was well brought up.’ Visser will keep her seat on the city council as an independent. Almere and The Hague were the only cities where the PVV contested the last local elections in March 2010. The party took 21% of the vote in Almere and became the biggest party on the city council. A string of local and provincial councillors have left the PVV since being elected, mainly due to differences with the party’s style of operation. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31988 2012-02-22T12:35:40Z 2012-02-22T15:12:18Z

Editor The secretary general of the council of Europe has written to foreign minister Uri Rosenthal urging the Dutch government to ‘clarify its position’ regarding a website set up by Geert Wilders’ PVV to collect complaints about central and eastern European nationals. Thorbjørn Jagland's letter says: ‘I am concerned because it is hosted by a political party which is linked to the governing coalition.’ The secretary general also expresses the hope that the Dutch government will publicly distance itself from the content of the website. The council of Europe is an international organisation set up to promote human rights and democracy. Refusal Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has said repeatedly the website is a matter for the PVV alone but has refused to distance himself from the initiative. The PVV, while not officially part of the government, has a formal alliance with the minority cabinet and will soon take part in talks on making new spending cuts. Meanwhile, in Britain, 11 MPs from all sides of the political spectrum have signed a motion calling on the Dutch government to distance itself from the PVV website. The motion notes that ‘the PVV supports the minority government of Mark Rutte, who has remained silent on the issue, and calls on the Dutch prime minister to disassociate the Dutch government from the PVV campaign and demand the website is discontinued’. The website has already been condemned by European commissioners, MEPs, employers' leaders, ambassadors and migrant labour groups. The website places newspaper headlines such as 'Eastern Europeans, increasingly criminal' alongside a complaints hotline. The PVV says the aim is to gain insight into 'problems caused by central and eastern Europeans in terms of crime, alcoholism, drugs use, dumping household waste and prostitution'. Earlier stories European Poles call for action on PVV website Poles say PVV website is discriminatory Anti-Pole website boosts PVV fortunes European parliament to debate anti-Pole website Pressure mounts on prime minister over PVV website Prime minister under fire in parliament over PVV website Prime minister again refuses to comment on anti-Pole website Ambassadors protest at PVV's anti-Eastern European website PVV website is an open call to intolerance Prime minister refuses to condemn PVV website Trouble with Limburgers of Belgians? Complaint websites spring up Employers leader urges government to distance itself from PVV website Romania wants action on PVV website Problems with Poles? Report them to us, says new PVV website Opinion pieces Youp van 't Hek: Gleam in PVV's eye is a Pole Frans Weisglas: When will Rutte stop his cowardly behaviour towards Wilders? What the papers say Dear Dutch people PVV site is not discriminatory ]]> tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31982 2012-02-22T08:12:59Z 2012-02-22T08:19:29Z

Editor Officials from the German public prosecution department on Tuesday raided the Hamburg headquarters of Dutch electronics giant Philips looking for evidence in a bribery case. Related stories Philips extends corruption probe to Hamburg]]> tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31981 2012-02-22T08:08:17Z 2012-02-22T08:52:55Z

Editor The public prosecution department is to appeal against a lower court ruling which said a Jewish man was within his rights not to carry an ID card on the Sabbat because it was against his religion. The man failed to identify himself while out one Saturday last year, saying it is against orthodox Jewish principles to carry anything on the Sabbat. Judges in The Hague ruled the man's religious obligations weighed more heavily than the requirement he meet Dutch law. He had been fined €150. Critics immediately condemned the court ruling, saying it would clear the way for orthodox Muslim women to get round a ban on the burqa when that becomes law. They also argued religious sensibilities should not be above the law of the land. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31980 2012-02-22T08:05:19Z 2012-02-22T14:50:23Z

Editor Some 25% of the Dutch adult population currently smokes, a drop of 3% on the total over the past few years, according to anti-smoking lobby group Stivoro. The percentage of smokers in the population had been stable at around 28% for years. In the 1950s, some 70% of the Dutch population smoked. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31979 2012-02-22T08:00:40Z 2012-02-22T08:04:57Z

Editor Family-owned supermarket group Jumbo has been cleared by the cartel watchdog NMa to take over some 400 C1000 stores, if it sells 18 where competition could be affected. 'On a national level, the NMa does not foresee any problems. Following the takeover Jumbo's market share is still relatively limited and there are strong competitors,' the Nma said. Jumbo is said to have offered over €900m last November for the C1000 chain which gives it 23% of the Dutch market and annual sales of €7.5bn. Albert Heijn has some 33% of the Dutch market. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31978 2012-02-22T07:48:05Z 2012-02-22T14:50:45Z

Editor Japanese car firm Mitsubishi is to spend the next three months working closely with the economic affairs ministry to try to find a buyer for the Nedcar car plant in Limburg, the ministry said on Wednesday. statement. Verhagen told Radio 1 later there are no guarantees the company will be saved. 'The European market is locked up. I do not want to give false hope,' he said. Mitsubishi said at the beginning of the month it plans to stop assembling cars at the Nedcar plant next year. ]]> tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31977 2012-02-22T07:43:14Z 2012-02-22T14:51:33Z

Editor The friend out skiing with Dutch prince Johan Friso when he was hit by an avalanche last Friday has visited the prince in hospital. Friso remains on the critical list. Florian Moosbrugger has known the royal family for years and works as a chef at the Gasthof Post hotel in Lech where the family always stays, news agency ANP reports. Moosbrugger was wearing an airbag when the avalanche hit and was able to free himself and raise the alarm. Friso wore a helmet but no bag and was under the snow for upwards of 15 minutes. Moosbrugger was accompanied by Friso's wife Mabel and brother Constantijn during the visit on Tuesday evening. No more news on Friso's condition is due until the end of this week. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31976 2012-02-22T07:40:35Z 2012-02-22T07:43:12Z

Editor A Dutch environmental activist has been found not guilty of manhandling a dolphin hunter in Japan, after spending 60 days in prison. Erwin Vermeulen was arrested in mid-December and accused of pushing a dolphin hunter as he tried to take photographs. He was held in custody and faced a fine of €1,000. Vermeulen, who works for the Sea Shepherd organisation, was released from jail last week to await sentencing. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31975 2012-02-22T07:36:51Z 2012-02-22T08:53:44Z

Editor Last year, Amsterdam council officials took away a record 55,000 bikes which had been wrongly parked, local broadcaster AT5 reports. In 2010, 33,000 bikes were removed. Most bikes were removed from around train stations. Bikes which have been taken can be ‘bought back’ for a small fee from a depot in Amsterdam’s port area. In 2011, a court in Utrecht said local councils cannot remove wrongly parked bikes without a warning, unless they pose an acute danger by, say, blocking an emergency exit. The case was brought by a woman in Utrecht whose bike was removed from the city's main station. She was awarded €1,000 in compensation. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31974 2012-02-22T07:24:10Z 2012-02-22T14:51:02Z

Editor The number of people visiting a psychiatrist has dropped by up to 25% since the government introduced a €200 fee for all patients, Trouw and the Parool report. In Gelderland, the number of registrations for psychiatric care has dropped 12%, while in Amsterdam the Jellinek addiction clinic reports a 25% drop in new patients. Every year, 450,000 apply for some form of psychiatric care, and if the trend continues, 50,000 fewer people will be helped, Trouw says. 'What we feared appears to be come true, people are delaying seeking treatment,' clinical psychology professor Jan Derksen told the paper. The €200 fee for psychiatric help comes on top of the €220 own-risk element which everyone has to pay before health insurance kicks in. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31973 2012-02-21T14:56:06Z 2012-02-22T12:53:51Z

Editor The 30 Labour members of parliament decided on Tuesday to leave it up to the wider party membership to choose a new leader following the resignation of Job Cohen. What the papers say Labour leader Job Cohen stands down]]> tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31971 2012-02-21T14:00:30Z 2012-02-21T14:06:35Z

Editor Dutch television will on Tuesday broadcast the final episode of American soap opera As The World Turns, 22 years after it began transmitting the show. The soap, which followed the fortunes of the fictional inhabitants of Oakdale, was dropped in the US two years ago because of plummeting audience figures. As The World Turns was broadcast in the Netherlands on RTL4. In total, nearly 19,000 episodes have been shown on Dutch television. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31972 2012-02-21T13:50:38Z 2012-02-21T14:27:55Z

Editor Food banks, where people on minimum incomes can pick up free supplies, are to be given some of the geese shot around Schiphol to prevent 'bird strikes' which can bring down airplanes. The organisation asked if it could have the birds to hand out as meat because most poulterers will only pay a small amount for wild geese. There is not much flesh on them and they are fiddly to prepare for cooking, Nos television reports. There is a great deal of interest in goose flesh throughout Noord-Nederland province, where 35,000 geese were shot last year, Wild goose is also eaten throughout the country, mainly in expensive restaurants. The first 24 geese will be presented to the food bank on Thursday. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31970 2012-02-21T13:42:50Z 2012-02-21T14:09:57Z

Editor tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31969 2012-02-21T13:31:09Z 2012-02-22T08:52:21Z

Editor Telecom company KPN reduced bonuses to its board members sharply in 2011, according to its annual report presented on Tuesday. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31968 2012-02-21T13:10:18Z 2012-02-21T14:09:27Z

Editor There are few women in top jobs in the Netherlands compared with the rest of Europe, research by Bureau Mercer shows. Mercer interviewed 5,321 organisations in more than 30 European countries. In the Netherlands, 19% of the top jobs are taken by women, compared with a European average of 29%. This is mainly to blame on the high percentage of women who work part-time, says Mercer. Breaking through the tendency of men to appoint other men is also difficult. The former Eastern Block countries have the highest number of women in top positions. In Lithuania, Bulgaria and Russia the figure is above 40%. tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31967 2012-02-21T12:59:29Z 2012-02-21T14:13:02Z

Editor Net loss TNT Express earlier reported a net loss of €173m in the last quarter of 2011, mainly due to persistent problems in Europe and Latin America. The company saw stagnant sales for the quarter in Europe and Asia, with revenues in Asia only increasing by 5%. Total turnover rose 2% to €1.67bn. The adjusted operating profit, excluding one-offs and exchange rate fluctuations, was €57bn, a third lower than a year earlier. The news follows a 50% rise in share value on Monday following an offer of €9 a share from US competitor UBS. TNT Express rejected the offer but is still in talks. ]]> tag:www.dutchnews.nl,2012:/news//1.31963 2012-02-21T08:52:05Z 2012-02-22T14:39:34Z

Editor