From DutchNews.nl

  • Cases of whooping cough top 7,000, six have died so far

    The number of whooping cough cases in the Netherlands has reached the highest level in 10 years, with 7,187 reported to date, public health institute RIVM said on Wednesday. Some 1,800 reports have been made in the past two weeks, including 50 cases in babies, the RIVM said. Half the babies under the age of five months to catch the disease have been hospitalised, as have a quarter of those up to 11 months. So far four babies and two elderly adults have

  • Bilingual education is about more than two languages

    For international parents, choosing where to educate their children is one of the most critical decisions they face. Those on short-term stays may want an English-language or international school, while those who are here for the long haul may decide to go native in the Dutch education system. At Winford Bilingual primary schools—in Amsterdam, Haarlem and The Hague—such choices are academic because they are the only truly dual language primary schools in the country. Winford has developed its...

  • Over 50,000 children disappeared from refugee centres, 850 in NL

    Over 50,000 unaccompanied child refugees have gone missing from asylum seekers centres across Europe over the last three years, 850 of whom disappeared while in the care of the Dutch authorities, an investigation by journalism collective Lost in Europe has shown. In the Netherlands, some 15,404 unaccompanied minors were registered in the last three years. Of them, 850 disappeared without trace. Last year alone, at least 360 teenagers went missing from the Ter Apel refugee reception centre. While...

  • Eneco goes for solar panel charges; Vattenfall, Essent to follow

    Energy giants Vattenfall and Essent are poised to follow Eneco and introduce some form of fee structure for solar panel users who feed electricity back into the national grid. Both firms have told the AD they are looking at a way of “sharing the costs fairly” and that all options are still open. All three companies have around two million clients. Eneco said earlier this week that its solar panel customers will have to pay 11.5 cents per kWh to

  • More first time buyers apply for a mortgage in April

    The number of first-time buyers applying for a mortgage reached a five-year high in April, according to figures from market research group HDN. In total, 14,500 first-time buyers requested a mortgage last month, up 2,500 on the same period in 2023. The average amount they requested – €353,000 – was also a five-year high, HDN said. In total, buyers applied for some 45,000 mortgages in the fourth month of the year, a rise of 40% on 2023. National statistics office

  • Half Dutch sustainable investment funds break EU guidelines

    More than half the Dutch investment funds calling themselves sustainable are still investing in the fossil fuel sector and will not meet new EU rules when they come into effect later this year, according to an international collective of investigative journalists. The team, which includes Dutch news platforms Follow the Money and Investico, looked at almost 1,300 European investment funds with combined assets under management of €525 billion, all of which claim to be sustainable. Some 40% of...

  • Rugby, cricket, cycling and athletics: a summer of sport ahead

    Sports fans have a lot to look forward to this summer, with the the Olympics, European football and a host of other big events. Here are some of the highlights featuring Dutch teams or which are taking place in the Netherlands. May: Catch some cricket The Netherlands will host Scotland and Ireland for a cricket T20I triangular series from May 18 to 24 ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in June. The series, which will be played entirely

  • Dutch national arrested over attack on Spanish politician

    Dutch police have arrested a Dutch national in connection with the attack on Spanish former politician Alejo Vidal Quadras in Madrid on November 9 last year, Spanish media reported. Vidal Quadras (78), who is the former leader of the right-wing political party Partido Popular and co-founder of extreme-right political party Vox, was shot in the jaw and barely survived. The 27-year-old woman, who was arrested in Den Bosch on Friday, is being held on suspicion of planning and financing the

  • Police investigate mysterious deaths at "luxury dog hotel"

    Police are investigating the unexplained deaths of 10 dogs at a “luxury dog hotel” in Woudenberg in Utrecht. A member of staff found the dead dogs on coming to work on Saturday morning. Some of the dogs, which are left locked up alone at night with camera surveillance, were still alive and were rushed to a veterinary hospital. “The owners of the dogs are extremely sad and have lots of questions which have not been answered yet. What happened here?

  • EU Commission launches action against airline "greenwashing"

    The European Commission and EU consumers authorities have written to 20 airlines operating in the EU asking them to address “several types” of “misleading green claims” made to appeal to consumers, and giving them 30 days to say how they will bring their practices in line with EU law. The action was triggered by a complaint brought by European consumer organisation BEUC and its member groups against climate-related flight compensation schemes. It also comes just a few weeks after judges

  • April showers: this month is the joint wettest on record

    April 2024 is the joint wettest since records began at the turn of the last century, sharing the distinction with 1932. In total, 93 millimetres of rain fell at the De Bilt weather station near Utrecht where official records are set, and that is more than double the average. January and February were also wetter than normal, weather bureau Weerplaza said. The sun also shone for just 169 hours, compared with 200 in a “normal” April, leading Weerplaza to describe

  • The king's underpants to cricket: 12 great things to do in May

    It’s May, and the Dutch are remembering their WW II dead. But there is more to May, as you can see from this month’s recommendations. Explore the past On Remembrance Day STET in The Hague presents Me and Mr. Jansen, written by Raphael Rodan and Titus Tiel Groenestege. The storyteller comes across a photo of a razzia taking place in 1943 at the house he now lives in. Turning to Mr Jansen, an old barber who used to live on