From DutchNews.nl

  • NL remains a major target for Russian spies: security chief

    The Netherlands remains an important target for Russian espionage thanks to its defence industry, the high-tech sector and the international organisations based here, the military security service MIVD said on Thursday in its annual report. “The threat from Russia is major,” director Peter Reesink said. “The Netherlands is an attractive target, partly because it is an important military hub. There are also many data hubs in the North Sea, which are of interest for possible sabotage.” The...

  • Rotterdam influencer "stuck in Morocco" after tv dating show

    The Dutch consul in Morocco is providing assistance to a young Rotterdam woman who has reportedly been stopped from returning home pending an investigation into a skimpy outfit she wore on a local television dating show. Armani L’Goumani, described as an “influencer” with 530,000 followers on social media, appeared on the programme wearing high heels and a very short skirt and may have offended Moroccan rules on public decency, RTL Nieuws reported. L’Goumani says she was stopped at the airport...

  • Dutch judges say no to Schiermonnikoog offshore gas plan

    A permit to build a gas drilling platform in the North Sea off the coast of the island of Schiermonnikoog has been torn up by judges in The Hague because of the potential damage to nature. The court ruled that it is not clear what the impact of nitrogen compound emissions associated with the rig and gas extraction will mean for vulnerable areas in the neighbourhood. In particular, measures to offset nitrogen emissions are not properly supported, the court said.

  • Coalition talks again bogged down in social media disputes

    Talks on forming a new right-wing coalition government in the Netherlands continue to be dogged by social media posts, particularly by far-right leader Geert Wilders. On Thursday Wilders refused to withdraw a post he had placed about the VVD’s junior immigration minister Eric van der Burg, describing him instead as someone “who has turned the Netherlands into one big refugee centre” and a “scary little man”. Earlier Van der Burg had said during a parliamentary debate that the decision not

  • World Press Photo winner shows "irreversible personal loss"

    A photograph documenting “irreversible personal loss” in Gaza has won the 2024 World Press Photo Contest’s top award, the Amsterdam-based organisation said on Thursday. The photo, entitled “a Palestinian woman embraces the body of her niece”, was taken by Reuter’s photographer Mohammed Salem, who also won an award in the competition 14 years ago. Salem describes this photo, taken just days after his own wife gave birth, as a “powerful and sad moment that sums up the broader sense of

  • Employers flock to employ refugees following 24 weeks ruling

    Companies have filed over 1,500 requests for work permits for refugees this year following a ruling last year which said they can work more than 24 weeks, state jobs agency UWV has said in its annual report. Under the old rules, asylum seekers who have not been given residency permits are not allowed to work more than 24 weeks a year so they do not get the idea that their request for refugee status will be honoured. But in April

  • Holland Casino to "invest in new concepts to boost numbers"

    The state-owned Holland Casino group is planning to invest in “new concepts” to attract younger players, because fewer people are visiting one of its 14 physical casinos, broadcaster NOS said on Thursday. Last year, 5.1 million visits to a casino were made, up 24% on 2022 but still down one million on the pre-coronavirus era. Punters are also spending less and their average age is increasing, which, NOS said, is threatening the company’s future. The group booked turnover of €818

  • At least 172 people have died using suicide powder X: research

    At least 172 people have taken their own lives using the suicide powder “substance X” since 2015, suicide prevention organisation Stichting 113 and the Amsterdam health board estimate. It is the first time an investigation has been carried out into how widespread use of the powder is, the organisations say. The average age of people who had obtained the powder was 59, although the biggest group, some 38%, was over 70. “The figures show that this is a very diverse

  • Amsterdam toughens up new hotel ban, takes it city-wide

    Amsterdam is expanding its ban on new hotels to cover the whole city as the next step in its ongoing battle to reduce the number of tourists coming to the Dutch capital. The halt came into effect in 2017, although there were a large number of exceptions, but city officials have now decided no more hotels will be built, unless one closes. However, plans for 26 more are still in the pipeline and will go ahead because they have already

  • Amsterdam is Dutch bike theft capital, as reports rise 10%

    Last year 85,000 bike thefts were reported to the police, up 10% on 2022 and a 25% increase on 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic, according to research by comparison website Independer. Most bikes were stolen in Noord-Holland province, which accounted for some 20,000 of the total, with almost 11,000 of that down to Amsterdam. But the increase in thefts was greatest in Flevoland province, where the number of bikes reported stolen rose by one third to 1,190. Bike thefts also

  • Unlicenced gambling firms ordered to pay players back

    Judges in Almelo have ordered two online gambling companies to reimburse two punters for their losses, because they don’t have a licence to operate in the Netherlands. It is the first time a Dutch court has ordered an unlicenced company to hand money back to players. In each case the player had lost around €200,000 and the ruling, lawyer Benzi Loonstein told reporters, is “ground-breaking”. Bwin and PokerStars admit they did not have a licence to offer online gambling in

  • Lab-grown meat firms hope for the taste of success

    The market for lab grown meat in the Netherlands is heating up, with the first ever European tasting for one company and a €40 million investment package for another. Mosa Meat announced on Tuesday it had secured a further €40 million in new capital. The company is currently preparing the first formal tastings of its cultivated beef in the Netherlands. The funding round, which Mosa Meat says was oversubscribed, includes new and existing partners, including the PHW Group, which is one of