The Rotterdam police surprised the children in the Sophia Children's Hospital on Sunday by dropping off dozens of balloons shaped like Spongebob, Piglet and Nintje, among others.
The police seized the balloons from a man who was selling them illegally. In consultation with the Public Prosecutor, the police decided to repurpose the balloons to put a smile on the faces of kids admitted to the Sophia Children's Hospital.
We Are Here, a group of failed asylum seekers in Amsterdam, tried and failed to take over more two buildings belonging to housing corporation Ymere on Monday. These homes are located on Stephensonstraat in Amsterdam Oost, Het Parool reports.
Employees from Ymere were installing locks on the homes to prepare them for being rented when We Are Here showed up, Ymere spokesperson Coen Springelkamp said to the newspaper. The lease contract for both homes have already been signed, Springelkamp said. "The future residents are already packing their stuff."
Parents who feel that their children received a too low advice on which level to continue secondary school, are increasingly having their children take an intelligence test to pressure primary schools into giving their children a higher advice, RTL Nieuws reports.
The parties in Amsterdam's city council have high demands for the city's new mayor. They are looking for someone who "deals wit things with humor and perspective", radiates a vision, and is "accessible and approachable for all sections of Amsterdam society", according to a confidential draft profile drawn up by the party leaders, which the Telegraaf managed to get hold of.
The police arrested another four suspects for involvement in two assaults on gay men in Dordrecht over Easter weekend. Both victims were attacked, separately, shortly after arriving at a meeting spot for a date made on app Grindr.
Between 2014 and 2017 fraud with public transit cards cost NS around 500 thousand euros - €400 thousand through fraud with Business Cards, and €100 thousand through people claiming money back for delayed trains they never traveled on, AD reports based on its own research.
A spokesperson for NS confirmed to the newspaper that at least half a million euros worth of fraud was committed in that period.
NS is launching an experiment with a travel planner app that will help travelers find a seat on a busy train. The app, called zitplaatszoeker, shows with the colors green, yellow, or orange how likely you are to find a seat on which cart of the train, RTL Nieuws reports.
The experiment starts on the route between Arnhem and Den Bosch. NS deliberately chose this route because "it often happens that passengers have to stand on one side of the train, while there are still seats on the other side".
The police arrested a pilot who was under the influence of alcohol at Schiphol Airport on Monday morning. The pilot was preparing for takeoff when the police removed him from the plane.
A breathalyzer revealed that the pilot had 0.9 per mille alcohol in his blood, while the limit for flight personnel is 0.2 per mille. Airline personnel are also not allowed to consume any alcohol 10 hours before a flight.
The number of people suspected of violence against people with a public duty, like police officers, firefighters and paramedics, increased by nearly 20 percent last year. In 2017 a total of 8,964 people were suspected of verbally or physically attacking an emergency worker, compared to 7,502 the year before, NOS reports.
Dutch municipalities may soon be able to ban fireworks completely, instead of only implementing firework-free zones in the municipality over New Year's. Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security is considering this measure, AD reports based on sources in the coalition.
Four teenage boys were sentenced to between 80 and 160 hours of community service for assaulting a gay couple in Arnhem last year. On Monday the court in Arnhem ruled that it can not be proven that the teenagers attacked the couple with a homophobic motive, NU.nl reports.
The Netherlands had the sixth highest hourly wage in the European Union's business sector with an average of 38.80 euros last year. Denmark came in first place with 42,50 euros, according to European stats office Eurostat, ANP reports.
The public- and agricultural sectors are not included in these figures.
In addition to Denmark, employers in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and France also spent more on their employees' wages than the Netherlands. Bulgaria had the lowest hourly wage at only 4.90 euros gross.
In 2017 the Dutch police had fewer incidents in which a police officer used violence during the course of his or her duties than in the year before. Last year cops in the Netherlands used violence 12,394 times, compared to 14,672 in 2016, the National Police announced on Monday.
These uses of violence include all forms of violence the police can use if a situation demands it, such as firing a warning shot or directly at a suspect, pepper spray, baton, or physical violence.
A couple found dead in their home in the Groningen village of Nieuwe Pekela last month, were killed in a murder suicide, the police announced on Monday.
The 62-year-old man murdered his 58-year-old wife and then killed himself.
The bodies were found in a home on Kienholt on Saturday, March 31st. The police launched an investigation when it became clear the victims did not die of natural causes.
There's a good chance that sand from the Sahara desert will fall on the Netherlands together with rain showers on Monday afternoon and evening, various weather services expect.
A large cloud of sand blew over Europe this past weekend, and is currently hanging above the Netherlands. As long as it remains dry, the presence of the desert sand is only noticeable in unusually colorful sunrises and sunsets, according to Weeronline. But if it starts raining, people in the Netherlands may notice a layer of sand on their cars and garden furniture.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is advising Dutch traveling to China to only take 'empty' phones and laptops, with no sensitive data, with them. Data on these devices may be 'drained' remotely. This warning now also applies to Russia, Iran, and possibly Turkey, insiders told the Volkskrant.
