delfzijl

A criminal investigation into NAM was launched because of the leak of toxic natural gas condensate into a canal in Farmsum, Groningen, the State supervisor on mines SodM announced. A stain of natural gas condensate has been floating in the canal since Thursday, NU.nl reports.

Natural gas condensate is a byproduct of natural gas extraction. It is a very toxic substance. It leaked into the canal after a drip tray in which the condensate was collected overflowed, according to the newspaper.

A 41-year-old former gym teacher from Siddeburen was sentenced on appeal to two years in prison, one of which conditionally suspended, for sexually abusing a pupil. The sentence is equal to that previously imposed by the court in Groningen, Dagblad van het Noorden reports.

The former gym teacher at the Fivelcollege in Delfzijl, which is now the Ems Delta College, had sexual contact with a pupil between 2010 and 2012. The girl was 15-years-old when the relationship started. She eventually reported the man to the police herself. 

Nearly 40 percent of Dutch employees live and work in the same municipality, according to figures for 2015 Statistics Netherlands published on Thursday. The average Dutch worker work 22.6 kilometers from their home. Workers in the big cities and people living on the outskirts of the Netherlands, such as on the Wadden Islands, in particular tend to live where they work, NU.nl reports. 

All Dutch provinces except Groningen saw economic growth last year, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Tuesday. Of the four large Dutch cities, Amsterdam saw the biggest growth at 3 percent, The Hague the lowest at 2.2 percent. Rotterdam had the highest unemployment rate in the Netherlands last year at 11.3 percent, far above the national unemployment rate of around 6 percent.

The Netherlands' largest solar farm officially opened on Thursday. The farm in Delfzijl consists of some 123 thousand solar panels and can produce 30 megawatts of power. It is expected to power some 10,000 homes, NU.nl reports.

The solar park is called Sunport Delfzijl is about as large as 65 football fields. It took German group Wirsol about a year to build. 

The province of Groningen and 12 municipalities in the earthquake zone wants the government to cough up more money to deal with damages caused by gas-extraction earthquakes.

The municipality of Delfzijl is threatening to go to the Council of State to appeal against Minister Henk Kamp's (Economic Affairs) gas extraction decision.

Due to the housing shortage, Amsterdam is falling behind on placing refugees in homes. The municipality now wants to limit the flow of asylum seekers to the city from next year, De Volkskrant reports.

The Groningen dikes will be reinforced at an accelerated pace, due to earthquakes, to guarantee the safety of Groningen residents, announced the Noorderzijlvest water board.

Social Affairs Minister Lodewijk Asscher will contribute 1 million euros to help former Aldel staff and subcontractors find new jobs, according to a letter he wrote to Parliament Friday.

The round-up of some of this week’s most noteworthy events and news stories features the selection of two Dutch for Mars travel, One.com won’t follow Gmail on Wilders Anti-Islam Stickers, the Dutch economy falling sharply on global ranking, the bankruptcy of Aldel, a wrap up of New Year's damages, a giant yellow duck of Dutch make that bursts in Taiwan, and YouTube, Spotify blocked in trains.