Ahmed Aboutaleb

Former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers passed away on Wednesday. He was in poor health for some time, a spokesperson for the 78-year-old CDA politician said. While other politicians knew that Lubbers was not doing well, they are still shocked by his death.

Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb caused a social media uproar with an interview on NPO Radio 1 in which he said that "every Muslim is a bit of a salafist". PVV leader Geert Wilders called for Aboutaleb's resignation.

A total of 25 municipalities have signed up so far to take part in the Rutte III government's experiment with regulated cannabis cultivation, NOS reports. The government wants to start the experiment next year by letting eight to ten municipalities regulate the marijuana cultivation for their regions. 

Twelve year old Haci Nuh stole the show in his role as Mini-Minister of Finance when Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem delivered the suitcase with next year's budget to the Tweede Kamer on Tuesday. Shrouded in a suit and black sneakers, Haci from Rotterdam shadowed Dijsselbloem throughout the entire Budget Day. He was in the Ridderzaal for the King's speech, went on interviews with the Minister and to the Tweede Kamer to discuss te budget, the Telegraaf reports.

The municipality of Rotterdam is taking extra measures to better protect the city against terrorist attacks, the city announced on Wednesday. One of these measures includes placing obstacles to prevent vehicles driving into parts of the city where many pedestrians gather. These extra measures are in line with the current threat level in the Netherlands. "There is currently no concrete information about an attack", the municipality emphasized, AD reports.

A concert by American band Allah-Las in the Maassilo in Rotterdam on Wednesday night, was canceled after the Spanish police tipped the Dutch authorities off about a potential terrorist threat. A few hundred meters from the Maassilo, the Rotterdam police pulled over a van with Spanish license plates and found gas bottles inside. The driver was arrested, RTL Nieuws reports.

Turkish Minister Fatma Betul Kaya is dropping a lawsuit filed against the Netherlands, the Telgraaf reports based on information from a "highly placed" Turkish source. In the lawsuit she accused the Netherlands of illegally naming her an unwelcome foreigner and deporting her from the Netherlands in March.

Thousands of Feyenoord fans are gathered in Rotterdam to celebrate their team's victory in the Eredivisie. With about an hour to go before the team is set to appear to their fans, the police are already calling on people to stop coming to the city center - all locations are full. "Celebrate at home or elsewhere", the police said on Twitter.

The Coolsingel and surrounding areas can hold 140 thousand people in total. 

A "small group of rioters" caused major disruptions in Rotterdam after Feyenoord's shocking 3-0 defeat by Excelsior on Sunday, the police said in a statement. Some 100 people were detained for crimes including challenging the police, throwing fireworks and stones, insulting police officers and not following the police's instructions.

Criminals increasingly approach Rotterdam port workers to perform odd jobs, such as approaching custom workers about not checking certain containers or asking other port employees to point pick-up-men to containers containing drugs, police chief of Zeehaven Jan Janse said to the Telegraaf. About one in seven Rotterdam port employees have been approached by a criminal at least once, the newspaper reports.

A Dutch-Turkish protest planned in Rotterdam on Friday afternoon is canceled, the organizers announced on Facebook. They can't guarantee the safety of the participants and therefore feel it's better not to go through with it, AD reports.

The protest, "Solidarity for Turks", was to advocate for freedom of expression for Dutch-Turks in the Netherlands and against police violence during previous protests at the Turkish consulate this past weekend. Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb gave permission for the protesters to march from Central Station to Schouwburgplein between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.