Friday 30 September 2022
Amsterdam’s Parool carried an intriguing story yesterday claiming that Queen Beatrix had intervened directly in the current cabinet formation process. More >
Holland’s international reputation for tolerance has taken another knock, says today’s Volkskrant. The paper reports that only one Dutch company fares well in a survey to establish how gay-friendly America’s top 500 firms are. And it’s the US subsidiary of Dutch bank insurer ING that can hang out the pink flag in Atlanta. More >
This year, Dutch employers are expected to hand out some 4.7 million Christmas boxes to their staff – it is a very Dutch way of saying thank you. Yet every year, research is published saying most people don’t really appreciate the parcel which was probably ordered way back in September. More >
Transport minister Karla Peijs has come up with an idea today that will strike fear and panic into the heart of most parents… Not only does she want to lower the age at which teenagers can drive a car to 17, she also wants to allow them to be taught to drive by mum or dad! More >
The compromise worked out by the cabinet to solve the crisis around Rita Verdonk is a textbook case of Dutch pragmatism. First you have a general election. Then the first thing the new parliament does is vote to stop deporting failed long-term asylum seekers, pending the formation of the new cabinet. More >
Earlier this week, American researchers published a claim that the North Pole would be virtually ice-free within a few decades. The very same day, a group of leading Dutch business men – including top dogs at Shell, KLM and DSM – published a letter calling on the next government to take climate change more seriously. More >
There is of course a fine line between making someone a scapegoat and making that person accept professional responsibility for his or her shortcomings. The decision by the public prosecution department to charge a senior social worker with involuntary manslaughter following the death of a three-year old child in her care (see Friday’s DutchNews.nl) falls into the latter category. More >
Tonight is the night when Sinterklaas – Saint Nicholas – delivers his presents to Dutch childern. Some will get presents left outside the door in a sack, others will find something in their shoe… More >
News that Amsterdam council is finally trying to get to grips with the city’s notorious red light district has resulted in the usual howls of anguish from brothel owners and all the other groups with a vested interest. It will be bad for the area, bad for the tourist trade, bad for the prostitutes, they say. More >
