Today is National Tulip Day - the official start of the tulip season - and it will be celebrated on Dam Square in Amsterdam. Some 200 thousand tulips, arranged in a "World of Colors" theme, will be planted in front of the palace on the square.
About 17 thousand people are expected to show up for the celebration in front of the Royal Palace. The event is "the place to be" organizers said, tailored to anyone with a love for the colorful.
Farmers with 28 tractors gathered on Dam Square and Rokin in Amsterdam on Friday to protest against the government's nitrogen policy. They brought food with them for brunch and invited Amsterdam residents to come eat with them, specifically, Dutch-made food "with a low environmental impact."
"Farmer and citizen can talk to each other or enjoy a tasty egg or a hamburger sandwich", action group Argactie said on its website. "We want to use this day to find a connection between farmer and citizen." The protest action will officially last from noon until 4:00 p.m.
More than 4 thousand schools in the Netherlands are closed today due to a large strike in primary- and secondary education. Teachers, school directors and other educational staff are striking for a structural solution against the teacher shortage in the country.
A scooter rider stabbed a 53-year-old father on Dam Square in Amsterdam in front of the victim's wife and young children on Sunday evening, a witness said to the Telegraaf. The stabbing happened at around 6:00 p.m. after the scooter rider got into an argument with several cyclists, the witness said.
According to the witness, the father was on his own bicycle and the mother was on a cargo bike with their young children. They were waiting at the traffic lights near Dam Square when the scooter rider started shouting at another cyclist.
A total of 1,289 muggings were registered in Amsterdam last year. In nearly 80 of these street robberies, the victim was robbed of their watch or jewelry. More than 300 phones were stolen, Het Parool reports based on answers given to questions from VVD and PvdA city councilors.
The muggings often happen on or around routes to entertainment areas, parks and train station. Over a quarter of last year's muggings happened in Amsterdam city center. The area around the Red Light District and Dam Square was most often targeted by muggers.
The semi-final match between Ajax and Tottenham Hotspur in the Johan Cruijff Arena, and Ajax's last-second elimination from the Champions League, led to unrest in various places in Amsterdam on Wednesday night. The Amsterdam police arrested a total of around 30 people during the evening, NU.nl reports.
The Netherlands remembered the victims of the Second World War with commemorations across the country on Saturday. King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte attended the National Commemoration in Amsterdam on Saturday evening. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema stressed that the the lack of freedom during the war must be passed on so that it can be remembered "as if the war were yesterday. Even if no one remembers what it is like to live in an occupied country", Het Parool reports.
Over 20 thousand people are expected to attend the National Commemoration of Remembrance Day in Amsterdam on Saturday evening. Attendees include King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Several hundred people gathered on Dam Square in Amsterdam on Sunday afternoon for a peace event in commemoration of the victims of attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday. The event was organized by 13 organizations who want to "send a powerful signal for peace and against terror", NU.nl reports.
On Friday a right-wing extremist man opened fire on two mosques in the New Zealand city. 50 people were killed and dozens were injured.
Tens of thousands of people gathered on Amsterdam's Dam square on Sunday to protest for a more active policy. Carrying signs saying things like 'What will my world look like when I'm as big as you?', 'Save the earth', and 'Do something', the demonstrators marched through the cold and rain from Dam Square to the Museumplein, NU.nl reports.
The 21-meter-high Christmas tree currently standing on Amsterdam's Dam Square will be donated to the animals of Artis Zoo after it is taken down on January 8th. The largest piece, 6 meters of trunk including branches, will go to the elephants as a toy, NU.nl reports.
The rest of the Nordmann fir will go to other animals in the zoo, including giraffes, kudus and camels. "For the animals such a tree is behavioral enrichment", a spokesperson for Artis said. "You keep the animals active and healthy by challenging them to show their natural behavior."
Rutger Groot Wassink, deputy mayor of Amsterdam, voiced concerns about racism in today's society during the 35th commemoration of the murder of Antillean boy Kerwin Duinmeijer on Dam Square on Monday. Over 200 people attended the commemoration for the 15-year-old boy, Het Parool reports.
The murder of Kerwin Duinmeijer will be commemorated on Dam Square in Amsterdam on Monday afternoon. Exactly 35 years ago, the 15-year-old Antillean boy was stabbed to death by skinheads in the city.
A tourist nearly lost a watch worth 150 thousand euros to muggers in Amsterdam on Sunday night. The police arrested two suspects and were able to recover the expensive watch, AT5 reports.
The tourist was in the vicinity of Dam square when he was mugged. The robbers took the watch and fled.
A motorcycle officer spotted one of the suspects shortly afterwards. The suspect resisted arrest and tried to throw the watch away. Fortunately for the victim, the officer saw it happen and the watch was retrieved. The second suspect was arrested after a short search.
The court in Amsterdam banned a planned noise protest during the National Commemoration of World War II victims on Amsterdam's Dam Square on Friday, Remembrance Day.
Interim Amsterdam mayor Jozias van Aartsen also banned the noise protest by action group Geen 4 mei voor mij. Initiator Rogier Meijerink hoped that the court would overturn this ban. But the court ruled against him, RTL Nieuws reports.
The Amsterdam municipality and police are taking into account that there may be counter-actions to a noise protest during the National Commemoration of World War II victims on Dam Square on Friday. Both members of the Moluccan community and veterans are furious that action group Geen 4 mei voor mij is planning to disrupt the commemoration, according to the Telegraaf.
A man was seriously hurt when he fell from a second floor window of a building on Dam Square in Amsterdam on Monday afternoon. The police believe it was an accident, a spokesperson for the police said to NU.nl.
The incident happened around 3:15 p.m. on Monday. According to Amsterdam broadcaster AT5, the man involved is a tourist. He fell from the window of Shelter City Hostel on Barndsteeg, the broadcaster reports. The man was conscious after his fall.
Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security calls a noise protest during the national commemoration of World War II victims on Amsterdam's Dam square "completely wrong", Het Parool reports.
A noise demonstration during the national commemoration of World War II victims in Amsterdam on May 4th is disrespectful and can be punishable, interim Amsterdam Mayor Jozias van Aartsen said on Wednesday morning. He warned action group Geen 4 mei voor mij not to go through with the demonstration, Het Parool reports.
Action group Geen 4 mei voor mij is planning a noise protest during the national commemoration for World War II victims on Amsterdam's Dam square on Remembrance Day, May 4th.
Concrete barricades were placed around the popular Dam Square in Amsterdam late Wednesday night. Weighing up to 500 kilograms, the blocks are meant to stop vehicles from barrelling through the area, a spokesperson for the city told AT5.
The move is one of several visible and invisible counter-terrorism measures undertaken by the city, a spokesperson said. The square is home to one of the country's royal palaces.
The Red Cross in the Netherlands will soon be using virtual reality films in their first aid courses. The aid organization thinks that this will help students better envision an emergency situation so that they can learn how to deal with it, NU.nl reports.
The virtual reality films will first be used during an attempt to break the world record for the largest first aid course on Dam square in Amsterdam on September 9th. The current record stands at 1,795 participants. The Red Cross hopes to get up to 2,500 people.
Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan decided to separate any future demonstrations by pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups in the city. Demonstrations will still be allowed, but not at the same time, or separated at least 50 meters from each other, AT5 reports.
At 8:00 p.m. on Thursday the Netherlands commemorated the victims of World War II with two minutes of silence. Eleven people were arrested at or around the Remembrance Day commemoration ceremony on Dam Square in Amsterdam. According to the police, most committed minor offenses, AD reports.
