Klaas Dijkhoff (VVD) will be the Minister of Defense for the final weeks of the departing government's reign. He is taking over from Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, who stepped down on Tuesday due to a mortar grenade accident in Mali that killed two Dutch soldiers last year. King Willem-Alexander swore Dijkhoff in on Wednesday morning, AD reports.
Politics
Oct 4 '17 11:30
Amsterdam is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Biljmer disaster on Wednesday. On October 4th, 1992 an Israeli freight plane crashed into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam's Biljmermeer, killing 43 people.
Like every year, the Biljmer disaster will be commemorated at the Growing Monument in the midst of the disaster area, Het Parool reports. The monument was built around "the tree that saw everything" - a tree on the disaster site that survived the plane crash and subsequent fire.
Oct 4 '17 08:46
Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (VVD) resigned on Tuesday evening, after hours of debate in the Tweede Kamer about the Dutch Safety Board's report on the deaths of two Dutch soldiers deployed to a UN mission in Mali last year. Henry Hoving and Kevin Roggeveld were killed when a mortar grenade exploded while still in the firing tube during training.
Oct 4 '17 08:08
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert stepped down as Minister of Defense. After hours of debate in the Tweede Kamer on Tuesday evening, she took the political responsibility for negligence in the Defense organization that resulted in the death of two soldiers in Mali last year. Commander of the Armed Forces Tom Middendorp also resigned.
Oct 3 '17 11:50
The Amsterdam faction of the D66 received "guidelines" on how to react when a government agreement between the VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie is finally reached, according to the Telegraaf. "Very positive" is the tone the Amsterdam D66 faction leader would like to see in reactions.
Oct 3 '17 10:30
For the first time ever, Dutch soldiers are pressing charges against their employer. On Saturday five members of the Corps Commandos announced that they are pressing charges against the Ministry of Defense over a fatal accident in which Sander Klap was shot and killed during a training exercise in Ossendrecht last year. "If nothing changes, he died for nothing", one of the five soldiers said to newspaper AD on Tuesday.
Oct 3 '17 09:07
Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of Defense will face the hardest parliamentary debate of her career on Tuesday afternoon. The Tweede Kamer will debate with her the conclusions of the Dutch Safety Board's investigation into a mortar grenade exploding during training in Mali last year, killing two Dutch soldiers. With parliamentarians being almost unanamously critical, the question is not only whether Hennis will survive this debate as Defense Minister, but also whether she will still have a position in the new Dutch government.
Oct 2 '17 14:50
A reading method used at Dutch primary schools to teach children the double sound of "ng", mocks Asian people. Asian parents sounded the alarm, and the lesson is no longer used. But University of Amsterdam media scientist Reza Kartosen-Wong is worried by the lack of outcry about this "racist stereotype", he said to Het Parool.
Oct 2 '17 10:50
Former GroenLinks politician Femke Halsema denied rumors that she is a contender for Amsterdam's next mayor on television program Buitenhof on Sunday. She finds the question of who will be Amsterdam's mayor now that terminally ill Eberhard van der Laan stepped down "very uncomfortable", AT5 reports.
Sep 29 '17 15:30
The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie plan to invest over 2 billion euros into asphalt, public transit and waterways in the coming years, sources confirmed to RTL Nieuws after reports in the Telegraaf.
A large part of that money is destined to address places where traffic jams often arise, for example on the A1, A12 and A12 highways. The new government is also investing 100 million euros into bicycle paths.
Sep 29 '17 11:30
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will pay a visit to the Eemland region on October 24th. The Eem river basin will stand central during this visit. Villages and cities of different size and character are dealing with changes in this area, AD reports.
In Eemland, the population is increasing and the city of Amersfoort is expanding to the country side. The region is facing economic and social challenges provided by agriculture and industry.
Sep 29 '17 08:45
Greetje Groenbroek, the mother of one of two soldiers killed in a mortar grenade explosion in Mali last year, plans to take legal action against the Ministry of Defense. On Thursday the Dutch Safety Board concluded that the grenades used in the UN mission in Mali were unsafe and that the medical treatment available to soldiers there is not in order.
Sep 29 '17 08:25
Next week Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of Defense will face the Tweede Kamer in a debate about a faulty grenade that cost the lives of two Dutch soldiers, and seriously injured a third, in Mali last year.
Sep 29 '17 07:39
The Rutte III cabinet will have 16 Ministers and 9 State Secretaries, bringing the total up to 25, sources told newspaper AD. This is quite the turnaround for Prime Minister and VVD leader Mark Rutte, who with his past to cabinets repeatedly spoke about a "smaller and powerful government".
Sep 28 '17 12:50
All school children in the Netherlands must visit the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Tweede Kamer in The Hague at least once in their school career, according to agreements the VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie made in their government formation talks, sources told the Telegraaf. The parties want to make it mandatory for schools to arrange these trips.
Sep 28 '17 11:30
The Ministry of Defense "falls seriously short" in ensuring the safety of Dutch soldiers deployed to the UN mission in Mali, the Dutch Safety Board concluded in its investigation into an accident in which two Dutch soldiers were killed and another was injured when a mortar grenade exploded during a training exercise last year. Both the safety of the grenade and the medical care were not in order, ANP reports.
Sep 28 '17 08:45
People in the Netherlands want the new Dutch government to give top priority to healthcare, according to social and cultural planning office SCP's quarterly survey of what Dutch think about the country. "45 percent of respondents put healthcare on number one", SCP spokesperson Josje den Ridder said to NOS.
Sep 27 '17 16:10
Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs decided to put an end to political party SP's unique payroll arrangement in which the salaries of all SP politicians are paid into the party's account. The Minister agreed with the Dutch municipalities and provinces that they will pay SP salaries directly to the politicians, and he will discuss this with the Eerste Kamer and Tweede Kamer as well. The SP itself is furious about this, RTL Nieuws reports.
Sep 27 '17 15:30
PVV leader Geert Wilders decided to share some of the threats made against him on social media with the world, by posting them on Twitter. The threats include things like "I'll cut your balls off" and "We will kill you".
Wilders tweeted that he filed ten charges of threats on Wednesday morning, and will file more later. "The rest wasn't ready yet and we will do next week", he wrote. Wilders has been under protection for years.
Sep 27 '17 13:30
A majority in the Tweede Kamer voted on Tuesday for an emergency legislative proposal to freeze the amount of healthcare own-risk deductibles at 385 euros next year. The Eerste Kamer also voted in the bill later on Tuesday, NU.nl reports.
Sep 26 '17 16:10
Development Aid Minister Lilianne Ploumen's family planning fund She Decides raised 292 million euros in donations from around 60 countries, she announced on Monday night, RTL Nieuws reports.
The Dutch minister established the fund early this year to counteract Donald Trump and the American government's anti-abortion policies and decision to pull 600 million dollars in annual funding for family planning in third world countries.
Sep 26 '17 15:30
The lost Zeeland city of Reimerswaal was officially recognized as a national monument by the National Office for Cultural Heritage. It is the only sunken Dutch city that has national monument status, NU.nl reports
Reimerswaal disappeared underwater in the 17th century. Before that it was the third largest city in Zeeland, after Middelburg and Zierikzee. Around 6 thousand people lived in Reimerswaal and it had one of the largest ports in the region.
Sep 26 '17 14:50
PVV leader Geert Wilders wants to question former VVD parliamentarian Joost Taverne in the appeal of the hate speech trial against him, AD reports
Sep 26 '17 09:27
The lawyers assisting the claimants in the appeal of the hate speech against PVV leader Geert Wilders, are struggling to get compensation for their work from the Legal Assistance Board. One of the lawyers asked that the appeal, set to start at the end of October, be postponed until the matter is sorted out, AD reports.
