Entertainment

Organized tours through Amsterdam's famous Red Light District will be prohibited as of April 1, the city announced in a statement on Thursday. The ban on commercial tour groups of was also expanded to cover other areas where window-base sex work is permitted, including the area around the Spuistraat in the city center, and along Ruysdaelkade in Amsterdam Zuid.

The Netherlands' viewers' guide Kijkwijzer will also apply to YouTube videos from September, according to a new law that will take effect then. The Kijkwijzer will warn if a video contains sex, violence, drug use or the like, in order to better protect children against unwanted content. Those who do not cooperate with the Kijkwijzer, can expect a hefty fine, Minister Arie Slob for Primary and Secondary Education said, RTL Nieuws reports.

103 decibels - the maximum noise level allowed at events and concerts in the Netherlands - will still cause hearing damage if attendees do not wear earplugs, Nieuwsuur reports. The Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports confirmed to the program that it was assumed attendees would be wearing hearing protection when the maximum noise level of 103 dB was set, but this is not mentioned in the campaign about hearing protection titled I love my ears, Nieuwsuur said.

The Dutch flower and fruit parades and the Rotterdam Summer Carnival were nominated to be added to the International Intangible Heritage List of world heritage organization UNESCO. Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven of Culture nominated these events because they "reflect the cultural diversity of the Netherlands, connect people and lend a sense of identity". 

The purpose of the UNESCO list is to protect and value customs, rituals, events, and crafts.

Police in Amsterdam said they found 30 mobile phones stuffed inside a pair of cycling shorts being worn by a pickpocketing suspect at the time they detained him. Authorities took the 34-year-old man from Romania into custody when they made the discovery on January 21.

It happened during a performance in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, after several "reports of pickpocketing came in during the concert," police said. "Some victims could also provide a description."

All exits to the venue were sealed off, and a suspect fitting the description was spotted by police.

Dutch music is still going strong as an export product. In 2018, a total of 216 million euros were made by exporting music abroad, up from 201 million the year before, according to figures from Buma Cultuur, which annually charts the export value of Dutch music, NOS reports.

The amount of 216 million euros comes from 174 million euros from performances abroad, 29 million euros from rights, and 13 million euros from recordings. Buma Cultuur investigated 1,319 artists. 963 of them were active abroad, in 82 countries. 

Dutch makeup artist Arjen Tuiten is again nominated for an Oscar, this time for his work on fairy-tale film Maleficent: Mistress of evil with Angelina Jolie. Animated short Mind My Mind by Dutch animator and film director Floor Adams, which was shortlisted for an Oscar, did not make the cut.

The governing cabinet in the Netherlands plans to implement new limits on fireworks after this past New Year's period saw thousands of incidents requiring first responders. Millions of euros worth of damages to private personal property were estimated, with even more damage caused to commercial property.

A total of 168 people injured one or both their eyes with fireworks this New Year's, around 30 more than the previous New Year's, according to the Dutch ophthalmic society NOG.  13 people blinded an eye, and five completely lost an eye, NOS reports

The number of patients with eye damaged caused by fireworks has been increasing since 2017, according to NOG. The majority, 65 percent, of victims were injured by legal fireworks. Almost half of the victims were injured by fireworks lit by someone else.

NOG therefor calls for a complete ban on consumer fireworks.

Lighting fireworks over New Year's is a tradition that needs to change, CDA Minister Hugo De Jonge of Public Health said on television program Jinek on RTL 4 on Monday. Earlier in the day it became clear that a majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, now supports a partial ban on consumers' fireworks. 

A team of circus performers fell roughly ten meters to the ground during a performance at the Carre theater in Amsterdam, reported broadcaster AT5. The accident happened during Friday's second performance of the World Christmas Circus late Friday afternoon.

Police told several media outlets that one of the two circus performers was in critical condition, and the other was injured. The act, known as Sky Angels, comprises of a man and a woman performing acrobatic stunts, often swinging through the air with no safety net below.