As Jews worldwide gather around the Seder table this week for Passover, recounting the biblical story of the Israelites’ escape from slavery in Egypt, Lauren Comiteau reflects on injustices past and present, adding a second helping of bitter herbs to her own Seder plate. The Dutch National Holocaust Museum opened last month with much pomp and ceremony—and protest—all broadcast live on national television. There was Dutch king Willem-Alexander wearing a yarmulke and talking about how Sobibor...
At least 10 planned terrorist attacks in Europe were discovered and halted by western security services in 2023, the Dutch security service AIVD said on Tuesday. People were arrested in the Netherlands in four of the foiled attacks, which ranged from concrete preparations to target a specific event or building, to random knifing incidents. The claim is made in the agency’s annual report, which said jihadist movements remain the biggest terrorist threat to the Netherlands. And while there have...
A decision by the European Commission to ban the use of harmful smoke flavourings could spell the end of the iconic Dutch “smoked” sausage, Dutch media are reporting. A special EU committee is looking at ending the use of flavourings in sausages and other products on Wednesday following research showing the process to produce an artificial smokey taste leaves harmful chemicals that have been linked to cancer and infertility. Dutch rookworst, or smoked sausage, whose most famous producers are...
The European Court of Human Rights has found fault with the Netherlands for detaining a Syrian asylum seeker after he was released from prison. M B, as he is identified in court records, was convicted of membership of a terrorist organisation in 2016, despite the public prosecutor arguing he should be acquitted. Following his release from prison, the now 27-year-old was placed in immigration detention. His lawyer argued that, having served his sentence, placing him in further immigration...
Campaign group Extinction Rebellion is planning a new attempt to close Amsterdam’s A10 ring road, this time scheduled to take place on Kings Day, when police resources are most stretched. The group said in a statement on Tuesday that it would attempt to block the motorway at midday unless king Willem-Alexander gave a statement condemning the way the fossil fuel industry is financed. The last attempt to close the road failed when police towed away cars that were being used to halt traffic....
Prosecuting lawyers say they have been struggling for years with IT problems that leave them unable to prepare cases properly or file requests for court orders. A message on the public prosecution service’s intranet, seen by NRC, acknowledged there were longstanding problems with the performance of its digital services. The service said there were “concerns about the effect of these disruptions in the IT service on colleagues’ workload.” It added: “The problems are also affecting the...
Stricter rules are to be brought in to protect households from aggressive telemarketers and doorstep sellers by giving them more rights to cancel on-the-spot contracts. Economic affairs minister Micky Adriaansens said the regulations needed to be tightened “because consumers are still being put under pressure on the doorstep or on the phone to sign something like a new energy contract immediately.” Telesales will be restricted to consumers who have given their explicit consent, including former...
PostNL wants to switch to an “every other day” delivery service because there is too little post and too few delivery workers to run a five-day operation. Maurice Unck, head of PostNL’s postal arm, told news website NU.nl that the limit of “what you can do to ensure a reliable, affordable and achievable delivery service” has now been reached. People will be able to count on deliveries on alternate days, he said. The PostNL website will also detail which postcode
Café owners in Amsterdam have been shocked by the huge bills they have been sent by the city council in the form of a “terrace tax” and are calling for action. In the city centre, bar owners have to pay €170 per square metre of terrace and that means those with large outdoor spaces are facing bills of up to €20,000 or more, industry association Horeca Nederland told broadcaster NOS. The KHN is concerned that bar and café owners may be forced to
Complaints of discrimination increased by 33% last year, according to a draft report by police, the human rights watchdog and the government obtained by RTL Nieuws. In 2023 8,990 complaints were recorded by police and anti-discrimination services, nearly half of which were classed as discrimination based on a person’s origin. Reports of anti-Semitism were up by 60% and now account for nearly 10% of all complaints, RTL reported. The agencies said anti-Semitism appeared to have increased in the...
Rotterdam’s mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has said banishing flares from football matches is an almost impossible task because fans smuggled the explosives into the stadium in “intimate parts” of their body. The Dutch cup final on Sunday was twice suspended after fans of the two clubs, Feyenoord and NEC Nijmegen, set off fireworks and flares in Rotterdam’s De Kuip stadium. Referee Serdar Gözübüyük called the players off the pitch after 13 minutes after thick clouds of smoke billowed across the pitch
Cabinet plans to extend rent controls to cover more homes in the Netherlands are likely to win approval in the lower house of parliament, now the far right PVV is “tending” towards support. PVV parliamentarian Barry Madlener said during Monday’s debate that he “thinks” the party’s 37 MPs will back the plan when they meet to discuss it on Tuesday. PVV support is essential for a majority in the lower house. The measure will hike the current maximum rent in the rent-controlled