Eberhard van der Laan

As mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema sees her three "biggest tasks" as tackling serious crime, connecting citizens from all parts of the city, and protecting individual identity. "Whether it is a young transgender or an Islamic homosexual. You'll find me on the side of people who want to be themselves", she said after being sworn in by Johan Remkes, commissioner of the King in Noord-Holland, NOS and Het Parool report.

Amsterdam West wants to put up an artwork in the district showing deceased mayor Eberhard van der Laan's final instruction to his people: "Take good care of our city and each other". The district is calling on Amsterdam residents to help pick where this artwork will go, AT5 reports.

Another 85 candidates, 16 women and 69 men, have applied to be the new mayor of Amsterdam. Fourteen of them have experience in public administration, the commissioner of the King announced, NOS reports.

Amsterdam decided to hold a second application round after only 29 candidates, only four with public administration experience, applied in the fist round. The aim is to appoint the new mayor of the Dutch capital next month.

Cafe Blaffende Vis recreated a giant version of a photo showing King Willem-Alexander and deceased Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan walking together on its facade for King's Day. The image was given the caption "What a King!"

The Blaffende Vis on Westestraat in Amsterdam has been decorating its facade in honor of Queen's Day and King's Day since 1997, according to Het Parool. It is now a tradition in the Jordaan area. Last year it was a picture of King Willem-Alexander dabbing. The year before the picture showed crown princess Amalia as snow white. 

Amsterdam's approach to radicalization and the city's radicalization department are failing, and that can partly be attributed to the attitude of late mayor Eberhard van der Laan, is shown in two investigations launched after the dismissal of anti-radicalization officer Saadia ait-Taleb. Van der Laan was more focused on achieving fast results than following the rules and procedures, and as a result the Amsterdam anti-radicalization department risked derailing completely, Het Parool reports.

In his first New Year's Day address to Amsterdam, Acting Mayor Jozias van Aartsen praised Amsterdam as a respected capital city, one that "feels connected to the rest of the country." The annual address lauded efforts to reduce overcrowding in the city center, the development of new neighborhoods and hotspots, and focused attention on continued need for public transit investment.

The dismissal of Amsterdam anti-radicalization official Saadia ait-Taleb will be maintained for the time being, the Amsterdam court ruled on Thursday. According to the court, her relationship with vlogger Said J., who worked as a freelancer for the municipality, was too close to avoid conflicts of interest, the Volkskrant reports. 

Amsterdam, and former mayor Eberhard van der Laan, never implemented a secret anti-radicalization campaign, deputy mayor Eric van der Burg wrote in a letter to the city council. "It was investigated whether an eventual campaign could contribute to counter radicalization", he wrote. But the campaign was eventually rejected and never implemented, he emphasized, AT5 reports.

Deputy Amsterdam mayor Kasja Ollongren has an exciting week ahead. Her party the D66 is looking for ministers in the Rutte III cabinet, and Commissioner of the King Johan Remkes is looking for an interim mayor for Amsterdam. And Ollongren is a favorite for both functions, sources tell Het Parool. 

The line of people waiting outside the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam to say goodbye to Mayor Eberhard van der Laan, is getting longer and longer. Thousands of people came to pay tribute to the Amsterdam mayor, who died after a months long battle with lung cancer last week.

Despite a win against Sweden on Tuesday, the Dutch national football team will not go through to the World Cup in Russia next year. Oranje beat Sweden 2-0, but a win of 7-0 was needed for the Dutch team to place in the playoffs for the World Cup, RTL Nieuws reports.