Author: NLtimes.nl

After 125 years of service, PostNL will stop delivering the mail in Biesbosch by boat. The postal company is in conversation with the five customers who still received their mail by boat about alternatives, PostNL spokesperson Tanja Hoogkamer said to Omroep Brabant. “The mail boat serves five addresses and only a few letters for three hours … Continue reading “PostNL cancels last mail by boat service after 125 years”

The VVD and CDA want to amend the Passport Act to make sure that people whose Dutch nationality was stripped because they joined a terrorist organization can not get a new passport from the Dutch government. “This is another step to prevent these people from returning to the Netherlands and making our country unsafe,” VVD … Continue reading “Never give enemy combatants their stripped passports back: ruling parties”

King Willem-Alexander is currently in Jerusalem, at the invitation of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, for the World Holocaust Forum. On Thursday, the Dutch King will visit the Yad Vashem museum and the Dutch care home Beth Juliana, ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day next week. Yad Vashem is the official Israeli memorial center for the Jewish victims … Continue reading “Dutch king tours Israel’s Yad Vashem before Holocaust Remembrance Day”

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find an affordable home in the Netherlands. A massive three quarters of the home supply in the Netherlands now costs more than 250 thousand euros, unaffordable for households with an income below 55 thousand euros per year, according Dynamis analyst Rogier Weck based on figures for the last quarter of … Continue reading “Nearly no affordable homes left for those earning less than €55K: Analyst”

Gifted pupils who need extra attention are just as entitled to it as children who struggle to learn, according to the VVD. The party therefore wants schools who asked parents of gifted children for their own contribution for this extra attention, to pay that money back, AD reports.Submitted by Janene Pieters on January 23, 2020 … Continue reading “Gifted kids just as entitled to extra guidance as kids with learning problems, ruling party says”

The Netherlands is at risk of losing its high level of prosperity if the labor market does not change quickly and drastically, is the conclusion of a committee led by Hans Borstlap that investigated the state of the labor market on behalf of the Dutch government. Employers must offer permanent contracts much more often, the … Continue reading “Netherlands’ prosperity at risk if labor market doesn’t change: committee”

This year, working people with children will see their purchasing power increase the most, by around 1.5 to 2.5 percent, the Netherlands’ institute for budget information Nibud reported on Thursday based on the latest calculations. Some families my even see their purchasing power rise by up to 4.5 percent, NU.nl reports. Prices are expected to … Continue reading “Working parents to see highest purchasing power increase this year”

Joey D. from Rosmalen has succumbed to his injuries, his lawyer said, according to broadcaster NOS. The 27-year-old man injured himself while holed-up in a home in Rosmalen on Tuesday, refusing to turn himself over to the police, according to the police. He was rushed to hospital by ambulance.Submitted by Janene Pieters on January 23, 2020 … Continue reading “Convict dies of injuries sustained in standoff with police”

The police searched a specific grave in a graveyard in Maastricht on Wednesday in connection with the disappearance of then 18-year-old Tanja Groen in 1993. This search was prompted by new information the cold case team at the Limburg police received in the fall of 2019 about where Tanja’s body might have been hidden, the police … Continue reading “Graveyard searched for body of student missing since 1993”

The police arrested two men and raided four homes in Hengelo, Arnhem, Haarlem and Lelystad on Tuesday in an investigation into the possible continuation of banned pedophile association Martijn, the Public Prosecutor said in a statement. A 75-year-old man was arrested in Haarlem on suspicion of possession of child pornography. A 32-year-old man was arrested … Continue reading “Raids, arrests in investigation into banned pedophile club”

A 31-year-old Rotterdammer was arrested on Tuesday in connection with a terrifying shooting and carjacking near the city’s Alexandrium shopping center. There were no injuries in the shooting, which followed a wild rush hour car chase between a stolen, silver BMW and a black Range Rover.Submitted by Zack Newmark on January 22, 2020 – 16:10

A GGD study into the HIV inhibitor PrEP showed that the treatment is an effective way to prevent an HIV infection, despite one of the 376 participants in the study contracting the virus, according to the Parool. PrEP, short for Pre-exposure prophylaxis, t is a way for people who do not have HIV, but who are at a … Continue reading “PrEP a good preventative against HIV, despite one infection in Dutch test”

A fire that broke out late Tuesday night in a dementia care facility left one resident dead. Police were still investigating the cause of the blaze just before midnight, and declined to release the victim’s identity. It started at about 9:20 p.m. at the Amaris Florisberg residential care facility on the Kocherplantsoen in Muiderberg, Noord-Holland. … Continue reading “One killed in fire at dementia patient facility”

Six persons are in custody for abducting a woman and her two children from Amsterdam-Noord on December 31st. The police freed the woman and her kids from a home in Almere the next day, the police said in a statement on Wednesday.Submitted by Janene Pieters on January 22, 2020 – 13:40

There are major doubts in parliament about D66 Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra’s plans to reorganize the Tax Authority, including from the coalition parties themselves, was revealed during a debate about the Tax Authority with Hoekstra and Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday, NOS reports. Hoekstra plans to split the Tax Authorities into three parts – … Continue reading “Tax reform debate shows cracks in coalition”

The Dutch health authorities as yet see no reason to erect a quarantine zone at Schiphol airport due to the outbreak of the new Coronavirus in China. Dutch airline KLM is also not taking any additional measures as yet, the airline said in a statement to passengers on Wednesday morning.  According to the European center for … Continue reading “No corona virus quarantine planned for Schiphol; No new precautions at KLM”

The Royal Netherlands Navy is now allowing women on the crews of its submarines, following a successful year-long experiment in which women functioned as “one of the crew”, the government said in a statement. This change takes effect immediately. The Submarine Service was the last place in the Dutch Armed Forces in which women could … Continue reading “Dutch navy opens the hatch to female crew aboard submarines”

After chaos caused by farmers driving their tractors on highways during protests last year, a majority in the lower house of Dutch parliament pledged their support to a legislative proposal that will oblige farmers to put license plates on their tractors. The Netherlands is one of the last countries in Europe to regulate this, RTL … Continue reading “After farmer protest bedlam, MPs demand license plates for tractors”

Construction production in the Netherlands increased last year, but that growth will stall in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the nitrogen emission problem. The construction of new houses and infrastructure projects will be particularly affected, according to projections published by the economic institute for construction EIB on Wednesday, NU.nl and RTL Nieuws report.Submitted … Continue reading “New housing slows, construction growth stalls amid emissions crisis”

The number of foreign tourists staying overnight in the Netherlands continues to grow. Last year, a total of 20.1 million tourists from abroad spent at least one night in our country, a growth of 7 percent compared to the year before, ANP and De Telegraaf report based on figures from the Netherlands’ office of tourism … Continue reading “Over 20 million foreign tourists spent the night in NL last year”

Convict Joey D. (27) was arrested in a house on Schoolstraat in Rosmalen on Tuesday evening after an hours-long standoff with the police. The man had injured himself and was taken to hospital by ambulance, the Oost-Brabant police said on Twitter. The armed man barricaded himself in the house shortly after the court in Den Bosch … Continue reading “Injured murder convict arrested after hours-long standoff in Rosmalen”

Last year the Koninklijke Marechaussee and the Seaport police found a total of 1,480 documented migrants hiding in trucks, trailers or containers, compared to 1,371 in 2018 and 944 in 2017. The largest part of this group concerned people from Afghanistan and Albania trying to get to the United Kingdom.  The Ministry of Justice and … Continue reading “Dutch cops found nearly 1,480 migrants hidden in trucks, containers last year”

Authorites in Zuid-Holland arrested a 34-year-old man from Delft, suspected in a double-shooting on Bas Jungeriusstraat in Rotterdam. Police did not say if the Delft man, who turned himself in Monday night, was the suspected gunman. The shooting took place at about 8:15 p.m. last Thursday in the Charlois neighborhood. Witnesses said they heard many gunshots … Continue reading “Suspect surrenders in Rotterdam shooting that left two injured”

Only 15 percent of Netherlands residents are stuck in traffic at least once a week, with most saying that they are much more likely to face difficulties during evening rush hour than in the mornings. The majority, 51 percent, only sporadically end up in a traffic jam. People in the Netherlands are also less and less … Continue reading “Frequent drivers now lose 43 minutes weekly to traffic jams”

Police arrested a third man connected to a shooting in Utrecht, where local residents said the perpetrator was dressed up like Zwarte Piet. The arrest in the 2018 case was announced on Tuesday. He is a 48-year-old man with no fixed address. Two people were arrested in the case last June. Neither was believed to … Continue reading “Arrest made in case where gunman reportedly dressed as Zwarte Piet”

Exciting news from the Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen – after years of preparations, their pandas Xing Ya and Wu Wen mated for the first time on Saturday. In the coming months, Wu Wen’s urine will be monitored daily to find out if she is pregnant, the zoo said on Tuesday.Submitted by Janene Pieters on January 21, 2020 … Continue reading “Rhenen zoo ecstatic: Pandas mated for the first time”

Nearly half of train travelers sometimes forget to check out and check in again when they switch to another public transit carrier, according to a survey by travelers’ association Rover. Travelers also indicate that this process cause them stress and sometimes result in them missing their transfer.Submitted by Janene Pieters on January 21, 2020 – … Continue reading “Half of public transit users forget to check in & out when transferring”

Gerrit Jan van D., a 67-year-old man found living in complete isolation with six of his nine children on a farm in Ruinerwold last year, sexually abused two of his oldest children when he thought they were possessed by the spirit of their mother or another woman, the Public Prosecutor revealed in court during the … Continue reading “Ruinerwold father sexually abused kids when they were “possessed by female spirits””

Air France-KLM made an offer to buy a 49 percent share in the struggling Malaysia Airlines, sources told Reuters and NU.nl. The Malaysian government is looking for a strategic partner to keep the national airline up and running. Other airlines also showed interest in buying shares. Japan Airlines wants a 25 percent stake in the … Continue reading “Air France-KLM submits bid to buy nearly half of Malaysia Airlines: report”

An intensive search led to the discovery of a new copy of footage from Camp Westerbork, a transit camp from which over 101 thousand people were deported out of the Netherlands by train during World War Two. The footage is a rare piece of film to still in existence which shows the Nazi camps during the Second … Continue reading “New footage found of WWII deportation camp Westerbork”

At least four children and one teacher at primary school De Vlieger in Schoonhoven have been diagnosed with Hepatitis A, school director Mireille Burema confirmed to Omroep West. To prevent the outbreak spreading further, municipal health service GGD Hollands Midden will vaccinate all 220 pupils and staff against the infectious disease. GGD Hollands Midden advises parents … Continue reading “Hepatitis A outbreak in Zuid-Holland city; primary school to be vaccinated”

In 2019, the Dutch authorities seized a total of 261,871,048 euros in criminal money and assets, some 90 million euros more than the year before, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) announced on Tuesday. The Dutch authorities consider seizing wealth from the underworld an important tool in the fight against organized crime.Submitted by Janene Pieters on … Continue reading “Nearly €262 million in criminal assets seized last year”

Rents in the open market continue to rise, but the increases are slowing down, according to research by rental website Pararius. Amsterdam is still the most expensive city to live in, though rents in the capital increased less than the national average. Bussum saw the biggest rent increase at over 14 percent compared to the … Continue reading “Open market home rent rises most in Bussum; Amsterdam most expensive”

Fog is again causing problems at Eindhoven Airport on Tuesday morning. All morning departures and arrivals have been delayed or canceled due to poor visibility. No arrivals are expected until at least 10:00 a.m., and the first departure is expected to happen sometime after 9:15 a.m., according to flight info from the airport’s site. Flights to Schiphol Airport … Continue reading “Fog: All flights delayed or cancelled at Eindhoven Airport”

While investigating the Turkish Airlines plane crash near Schiphol in 2009, the Dutch Safety Board was pressured by Americans to downplay the role design errors in the Boeing 737 NG played in the crash, the New York Times reports based on its own research. According to the newspaper, there are many parallels between the 2009 … Continue reading “U.S. pressured Dutch Safety Board to downplay tech faults in 2009 Turkish Airlines crash: report”

Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with a group of 200 parents who were unjustly labeled fraudsters by the Tax Authority and had their childcare allowance halted as a result. During the emotional meeting, Rutte apologized for the Tax Authority’s actions in this affair and listened to parents’ stories. Some stories made him shed a tear, … Continue reading “Dutch PM “shed a tear” when apologizing for unjust halting of childcare allowance”

Over the past years, mayors in the Netherlands imposed too few restraining orders in cases of domestic violence. In only between 3 and 12 percent of police reports of this type of crime, a domestic violence restraining order is issued, according to researchers from the Verwey-Jonker Institute who looked into the use of domestic violence … Continue reading “Mayors too hesitant to use restraining orders in domestic violence cases”

Queen Maxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte will lead the Dutch delegation at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this week. The Queen will attend the entire Forum in her capacity as special advocate of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Inclusive Financing for Development. The Prime Minister will join the meetings later … Continue reading “Queen Maxima, PM Rutte lead Dutch delegation World Economic Forum in Davos”

The municipalities of Noord-Holland, Flevoland and Utrecht are hoping to stimulate electric driving with more charging points. A total of 20 thousand new charging points will be installed in the three provinces. Together, they currently count around 5 thousand charging points for electric vehicles, RTL Nieuws reports. The new charging points will be installed where … Continue reading “20,000 extra electric car charging points ordered by 3 municipalities”

Holland’s Got Talent finalist Lars de R. along with four other men are on trial in Belgium this week for making and distributing child pornography. The Dutch man is suspected of sharing files of child pornography he made in India with his Belgian “child porn club”, RTL Nieuws reports.Submitted by Janene Pieters on January 20, … Continue reading ““Child Porn Club”: Holland’s Got Talent finalist caught in disturbing case”

Four men were arrested on Sunday afternoon for trying to break convict Omar L. out of the prison in Zutphen, where he is serving a life sentence. The four suspects all have French nationality and a background in North Africa, the Telegraaf reports based on “well informed” sources around the investigation. The suspects crashed a … Continue reading “Four French nationals arrested for foiled Dutch prison break: report”

Shehzad Hemani will be tried in absentia for the role he played in the abduction of his then 2-year-old daughter Insiya from her grandmother’s apartment in 2016. The same goes for his cousin Imran S., was revealed in a proforma hearing on Monday. Both men, as well as Insiya herself, are currently in India, the … Continue reading “Abducted Amsterdam girl’s father to be tried in absentia while in India”

The “Self-Portrait” of Vincent van Gogh dated 1889 that is part of the Norwegian Nasjonalmuseet’s collection is an authentic Van Gogh painting, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Nasjonalmuseet in Oslo announced on Monday after investigation. Van Gogh painted the self-portrait at the Saint-Remy asylum at the end of his first major psychotic episode in … Continue reading “Van Gogh self-portrait in Oslo museum confirmed authentic”

Victims of dating fraud were scammed out of a total of 3,744,300 euros last year, almost double the 1,651,769 euros stolen from dating fraud victims two years ago, NU.nl reports based on figures from the Fraud Help Desk. Last year, the Fraud Help Desk received 639 reports of dating fraud, compared to 412 in 2018. … Continue reading “Nearly €4 million stolen from victims of dating fraud last year”

Professors, lecturers and support staff at universities in the Netherlands on average work 12 to 15 hours more per week than their contract prescribes, without being paid for it, according to a report trade unions FNV and AOb and university action group WO in Actie presented to the Inspectorate for Social Affairs and Employment on Monday. … Continue reading “Academics regularly forced to work unpaid overtime, unions, action group say”

Dredging company Van Oord, ING Bank and credit insurer Atradius were all involved in an urban development project in Angola in which 3 thousand families were forcibly driven out of their homes to make from for the project, Trouw and Financieele Dagblad report based on leaked documents.Submitted by Janene Pieters on January 20, 2020 – … Continue reading “Dutch companies linked to human rights abuses in Angola: report”

The chance of people surviving a cancer diagnosis is on the rise. 66 percent of people diagnosed with cancer in 2013 were still alive five years later, compared to 64 percent the year before, according to the Dutch Cancer Registry, NOS reports. The so-called “five year survival” in the Netherlands increases by approximately 1 percent … Continue reading “Chance of surviving cancer on the rise”

Today, January 20th, is so-called Blue Monday, apparently the most depressing day of the year. While experts do not believe in this day, they are still willing to give some tips on making sure you stay happy today. “There is no scientific evidence for the existence of a day like Blue Monday,” psychologist Jean-Pierre van … Continue reading “Blue Monday: Tips on being happy on the “most depressing day of the year””

The inequality between rich and poor is still increasing world wide, and tax evasion through the Netherlands plays a significant role in this widening gap, development organization Oxfam Novib said in report Time to Care, published just before the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, NOS reports.Submitted by Janene Pieters on January 20, … Continue reading “Tax evasion through NL a big part of growing inequality between rich and poor: Oxfam Novib”

Road users in large parts of the Netherlands are warned to be careful of icy roads on Monday morning. Thick fog may also reduce visibility and hinder traffic, especially in Limburg and Noord-Brabant. Meteorological institute KNMI issued a code yellow warning. Travelers’ association ANWB expects morning rush hour to be busier than usual. The ice … Continue reading “Fog, icy roads expected to cause busy morning rush hour”