From next year, identity checks will be mandatory on all flights within the Schengen area, Minister Stef Blok of Security and Justice said, according to BNR. Earlier this week, the broadcaster reported that at least 10 airlines don't do ID checks when passenger check-in on a flight within the Schengen area, making it easy for criminals and terrorists to fly around Europe anonymously.

The Dutch government is trying to find shelter for 25 Sint Maarten residents. They flew to the Netherlands and asked for help after Hurricane Irma destroyed their homes, RTL Nieuws reports.

The countries participating in the criminal investigation into the MH17 disaster, confirmed their support and cooperation to that investigation and the prosecution of those responsible on paper. The Foreign Affairs Ministers of the five countries in the Joint investigation team - Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine - signed the agreements they made on this front on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

Thousands of people gathered at the official residence of former Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan on Wednesday evening, to honor him and thank him with a minutes-long ovation, AT5 reports.

People started gathering in front of Van der Laan's Herengracht home at 7:00 p.m. At 8:00 p.m. there was thundering applause, that lasted for minutes. The ovation was followed by a song. Thousands of voices raised in singing 'Aan de Amsterdamse Grachten'.

A total of 905 thousand people tuned in to watch the live broadcast of Budget Day on Tuesday, fewer than in previous years, according to figures from Stichting KijkOnderzoek, NU.nl reports.

Last year 962 thousand people watched Budget Day on TV. In 2015 there were 1.2 million watchers and 983 thousand in 2014.

In 2013, King Willem-Alexander's first Budget Day, a massive 1.5 million people watched the Budget Day live broadcast, making it the best watched Budget Day broadcast in a decade. 

The municipality of The Hague is calling on the Dutch government to keep funding a program that helps prostitutes get out of sex work and build up a new living. Alderman Karsten Klein will send a letter with this call to the government this week, and hopes to also get support from his colleagues in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, NOS reports.

On Tuesday King Willem-Alexander opened the Netherlands' parliamentary year with his traditional Budget Day speech. He talked about the devastation Hurricane Irma left of the Caribbean islands that form part of the Dutch Kingdom, terrorism around the world, the prosecution of those responsible for the MH17 disaster, and making sure that everyone in the Netherlands benefits from the improving economy, among other things.

Some 900 people indicated on Facebook that they will gather in front of former Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan's official residence on Wednesday evening, to give the terminally ill mayor a standing ovation. They want to honor Van der Laan for all he did for Amsterdam with thundering applause.

As the time for the Rutte II cabinet to hand over to a new government approaches, the confidence the Dutch public has in the departing government increases. The VVD and PvdA government hasn't enjoyed as much confidence from the voters since its inauguration in 2012, according to EenVandaag's Budget Day poll. The same goes for Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Today is the last Budget Day for the departing Rutte II cabinet. In tradition and ceremony, the day is expected to look like every other Budget Day, with politicians decked out in fancy hats, the Royals arriving at the Ridderzaal in The Hague in a carriage and the famous balcony scene after the throne speech. But given the current VVD and PvdA government's departing status, no big news is expected in the budget. Big changes are left up to the new government.

Almost two thirds of Dutch think that Budget Day is a valuable tradition, according to a study by HR service provider Raet among 1,000 Dutch people. However, two out of three respondents think that Budget Day is completely unnecessary this year, RTL Nieuws reports.