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.
Activists blocked access to NAM's Tankenpark in Farmsum, Groningen on Tuesday morning in a protest against gas extraction in the province. According to action group Code Rood, more than 700 people gathered at the gates. The group wants to block the entrance for several days, ANP reports.
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.
The cheapest homes in the Netherlands could be bought in Delfzijl last year, at an average price of 141,600 euros for a home. Bloemendaal was most expensive at 775.800 euros per home on average, over five times more expensive than in Delfzijl. The national average was 263 thousand euros per house, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday.
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.
A woman was found dead in a burning house on Oslofjord in Delfzijl, Groningen on Thursday morning. The police believe she is the resident of the home. The cause of the fire is being investigated, RTL Nieuws reports.
A trauma helicopter was dispatched with the fire department because the authorities believed that someone was in the home, according to RTL. But the woman was already dead when firefighters found her. As far as is known, the woman died in the fire.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
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.
There is a lively trade in stolen goods at the asylum center in Delfzijl, Dagblad van het Noorden reports based on its own research. Both the police and central agency for asylum reception in the Netherlands COA say there is no evidence of this.
According to th newspaper, asylum seekers from safe countries such as Morocco and Algeria often go out to commit robbery and then sell what they stole. The paper writes that it bought sports shoes for about 15 euros, an iPhone 6s for 60 euros and a bottle of Black Label Whiskey for 5 euros.
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.
At least three retail properties were destroyed in a fire that started in a clothing shop in the center of Delfzijl early on Friday morning. According to the fire department, there is a good chance that the clothing store will collapse, RTV Noord reports.
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.
Wind speeds up to 90 km/h have been predicted for much of the Netherlands on Friday and Saturday, meteorological department KNMI reports. Winds could even reach up to 100 km/h in some coastal areas on Friday morning.
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.
Google has made an agreement with Eneco for the supply of green electricity. The internet giant will use the power from a new wind farm to feed its data center, which is still under construction, in Eemshaven.
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 Aldel foundry in Delfzijl will shut down, starting Wednesday morning. 'By Friday the shutdown will be complete,' announced curator Erik Eshuis.
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.
Groningen was startled by an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.0 on the Richter scale, in the night from Wednesday on Thursday, at 03:13 in the morning. The epicenter was in Leermens, close to Loppersum, but the quake was strong enough to be felt in the city of Groningen.
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 court in the German Hagen ruled Wednesday not to convict the Dutch war criminal, Siert Bruins, for murder.
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.
Protesting groups from Groningen announced large-scale protests to demand attention from political Hague for problems in the province. The tremors caused by gas drilling, the deteriorating economy, and lack of facilities, anger the citizens.
The Groningen offices of political party PVV want the Netherlands to do whatever possible to save aluminum smelting company Aldel from bankruptcy, even if it means breaking European regulations. The company has over €24 million in debt, and is losing €1.2 million monthly.
Aluminum company Aldel in Delfzijl went bankrupt. 300 Dutch employees will lose their jobs. In addition, 250 people with temporary contracts and 300 people with supply companies will be laid off.
