Rotterdam will be the first large Dutch city to completely ban consumer fireworks for the coming New Year. After the "umpteenth" incidents and violence this past New Year's, the VVD in Rotterdam decided to support the ban, which means that there is majority support in the city council to prohibit the lighting of consumer fireworks, NOS reports.
Ahmed Aboutaleb
Jan 8 '20 07:48
Dec 19 '19 15:20
The government is working on creating room for mayors to be able to warn each other about criminal entrepreneurs, without violating confidentiality obligations or privacy legislation.
Nov 28 '19 14:20
Rotterdam is preparing for a big night. Feyenoord is facing off against the Rangers from Glasgow, Scotland in De Kuip on Thursday evening, and rumors are circulating that 10 thousand Rangers fans were expected in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. With Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb recently reducing police presence at football matches due to police capacity problems, it is set to be a tense night.
Nov 20 '19 14:20
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb wants the Netherlands' privacy rules to be adjusted so that they no longer protect criminals, the mayor said in a letter to Justice Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus.
Nov 18 '19 17:45
Facebook decided to block advertisements promoting a biography on Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb. Publisher De Bezige Bij was informed that Facebook does not want to lend itself to "advertisements about social issues, elections or politics", the Volkskrant reports.
The book in question is titled Ahmed Aboutaleb - overal de eerste and was written by Trouw journalist Elisa Hermanides and Het Parool journalist Ruben Koops.
Nov 13 '19 12:40
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb apologized to the relatives of 16-year-old Humeyra, who was shot dead by her stalker at her school last year, for not handling her reports that Bekir E. was stalking her properly, NOS reports.
Oct 30 '19 10:10
Every new task given to the police puts a lot of other investigation work at risk, a group of mayors said in a letter to parliament. According to them, the fight against human trafficking and a range of other serious crimes is already coming under pressure, NOS reports.
Oct 1 '19 22:25
Amsterdam police investigating an international cocaine ring found 12.8 million euros in cash. Police said the wrapped bundles of paper money was a "record amount", seized over two weeks ago during a search of five homes on September 12.
Seven people were arrested at four of the homes, including two Colombian women and a Colombian man, two Albanian men, a man from Morocco, and another from New Zealand.
Oct 1 '19 13:30
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb wants to station Dutch police- and customs officers in Colombia in the fight against drug trafficking. The port of Rotterdam is one of the main transit ports for Colombian cocaine. The Rotterdam mayor is therefore currently visiting the Colombian port city of Cartagena to see how he can improve cooperation with local authorities, NOS reports.
Jul 24 '19 12:40
Laughing gas may no longer be sold at events in Rotterdam or on and around the Nesselande beach in the city. Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb amended a police regulation to make this ban possible. It takes effect immediately, NOS reports.
May 29 '19 12:30
The Dutch investigative authorities like customs and the police do not work well together in combating drug trafficking in the port of Rotterdam, researchers at Erasmus University concluded after an extensive study commissioned by the Rotterdam municipality, police, customs and Public Prosecutor. Information is not always shared and the authorities mainly focus on so-called "retrievers" of the drugs, which means that the organizers of the drug shipments remain out of reach, the researchers said, NOS reports.
May 14 '19 15:00
On Tuesday Rotterdam commemorated the 79th anniversary of the Rotterdam Blitz, the German bombardment of the city during the Second World War. "We are still for two minutes. Out of respect for the biggest sacrifice that a person can make: his or her life", Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said about the two minutes of silence. "They did that for our freedom. We walk in their footsteps."
Mar 16 '19 07:45
It has to become easier to share information about criminals, regardless of strict privacy rules, Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security said to the Telegraaf in an interview. His comments were in response to Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb who also raised concerns about this issue.
Mar 14 '19 09:07
More investigators and customs officers are needed to combat drug crime in the port of Rotterdam, according to Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb. The Rotterdam mayor calls on the government to structurally tackle undermining crime, NOS reports.
Feb 20 '19 15:00
King Willem-Alexander visited neighborhood Bospolder-Tussendijken in Rotterdam-West, known as one of the worse neighborhoods in the city, at the invitation of mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb on Tuesday. While the mayor invited the Dutch King, his visit was a complete surprise for local residents, NOS and the Volkskrant report.
Jan 25 '19 10:20
The municipality of Rotterdam placed the 43 sisha lounges in the city under stricter supervision, following complaints from residents and an explosion at a sisha lounge in Rotterdam West in December. Earlier this week the police announced that the explosion at Villa Blanca was an attack, NOS reports.
Dec 21 '18 08:48
"Violence against women is horrific. Some people do not understand that women can say no", Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said in a city council meeting on Thursday. He wants to do more to fight violence against women, RTL Nieuws reports.
Dec 19 '18 14:30
Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb of Rotterdam visited the Designcollege on Wednesday. He attended a meeting for pupils about the death of 16-year-old Humeyra Oz, who was shot at the school on Tuesday. The police, Victim Support and Turkish consul Aytac Yilmaz also attended the meeting, NU.nl reports.
Dec 14 '18 11:50
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb does not want to go through with an alcohol ban set to be implemented in Wijkpark Oude Westen next year. It is better to offer help instead of fining homeless people caught violating the alcohol ban, he said in the city council meeting, RTV Rijnmond reports.
Nov 26 '18 10:00
Amsterday mayor Femke Halsema must enforce the ban on face-covering clothing, commonly referred to as the burka ban, in the Dutch capital, State Secretary Barbara Visser of Defense said on WNL on Sunday. "No one is above the law", Visser said. "Including the mayor of Amsterdam."
Nov 6 '18 08:38
31 mayors of larger Dutch cities are calling on the Senate not to remove the appointment of mayors from the Dutch constitution, and to keep the procedure as is. Removing the appointment procedure from the constitution is the first step in enabling an elected mayor. The mayors are worried that this will result in them losing their connecting role as "father or mother for all residents, businesses and institutions", they wrote in an open letter to the Senate, the Volkskrant reports.
Oct 31 '18 12:40
The Rotterdam-Beverwaard asylum center will stop taking in asylum seekers from safe countries following a number of incidents involving such asylum seekers in the center, Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb wrote in a letter to the city council. This halt is being implemented in agreement with the COA, the central agency for the reception of refugees, RTL Nieuws reports.
Between April and August of this year, there were a total of 20 incidents in the asylum center, Aboutaleb wrote. "In the period from mid-August to the present, this number has increased to 69 incidents."
Oct 26 '18 15:00
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb was authorized to ban a demonstration against Zwarte Piet in November 2016, the court in Rotterdam ruled. Activist group Kick Out Zwarte Piet wanted to protest in Rotterdam during the arrival of Sinterklaas in November 2016. Mayor Aboutaleb banned this demonstration out of fear of disturbances. Some 200 demonstrators were arrested.
Oct 5 '18 10:10
Instead of declaring certain areas in the city firework-free over New Year's, Rotterdam wants to designate areas where fireworks can be lit this year. The city plans to have 35 designated firework zones, NOS reports.
According to mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, it will still be possible for many Rotterdam residents to light fireworks in their neighborhoods. "With the introduction of fireworks zones in our city, we hope to significantly reduce the nuisance and the efforts of our emergency services. At the same time Rotterdam residents who want to can still light fireworks", he said.
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