Amsterdam is restricting access to its parks and canals over the weekend. Enforcement officers have also been instructed not to be lenient with people caught breaking the social distancing rules in place to curb the spread of coronavirus Covid-19, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema said to Het Parool.
Femke Halsema
Mar 26 '20 09:29
Congress center RAI in Amsterdam and event hall Ahoy in Rotterdam are looking into whether and how they can serve as emergency locations to take in patients during the coronavirus crisis, the two venues confirmed to BNR.
RAI CEO Paul Riemens met with Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema on Wednesday. Nothing concrete has been decided yet, he said to the broadcaster. "But if indeed it turns out that there will soon be too few beds, it is expected that an appeal will be made to the RAI," he said.
Mar 23 '20 12:10
The Ministerial Crisis Management Committee will be meeting again on Monday evening to discuss whether any further measures need to be taken around coronavirus Covid-19. After that the safety offices of at least 25 different regions will meet in Utrecht to discuss municipal and regional measures, NOS reports.
Feb 29 '20 12:54
The partner and youngest child of an Amsterdam woman who tested positive for coronavirus also carry the Covid-19 viral strain, health authority RIVM said in a statement on Saturday. They are the third and fourth patients to test positive in the Netherlands.
The two new positive cases, both males, were kept in quarantine with the woman at a home in Diemen even before the positive result was determined. They will remain there unless their conditions deteriorate, presumably for the next two weeks which the agency had said was the current protocol.
Feb 29 '20 12:31
As many as 100 people have been tested in the Netherlands for the Covid-19 strain of coronavirus, Dutch health authority RIVM told Parool. Among them are the husband and three children of an Amsterdam woman who tested positive for the virus on Friday, one of whom required a second test to rule out a possible false positive.
Feb 24 '20 14:20
Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema asked the government to come up with new legislation so that the capital can limit the sale of alcohol around entertainment areas. She hopes that this will help decrease the problems caused by partying tourists. The number of tourists and day trippers visiting Amsterdam is expected to increase from 20 million this year to 32 million in 2030, Halsema said in a letter sent to the city council along with the annual crime figures on Monday.
Feb 24 '20 13:30
Amsterdam saw a 43 percent increase in the number of murder and manslaughter cases last year, as well as a slight rise violent crimes. There was a decrease in most forms of property crimes, with a significant drop in picpocketing and theft from a vehicle, according to figures the Amsterdam municipality and police released on Monday.
Feb 14 '20 07:23
The city council of Amsterdam on Thursday approved plans to announce a general ban on fireworks before the end of the year, making the capital the second large Dutch city to completely ban consumers from lighting fireworks after Rotterdam. The motion by animal party PvdD was supported by the entire city council except for the CDA and FvD, NU.nl reports.
Feb 4 '20 11:00
Amsterdam is stepping up the fight against sexual harassment and -violence against women and girls. 51 percent of Amsterdam women have faced sexual harassment on the street. Among 15 to 34 year-olds, it's even 81 percent. With a campaign and several other measures, the Amsterdam mayor and aldermen want to make clear to victims that they are not alone, and to perpetrators that sexual harassment and gender-based violence are unacceptable, the city said in a press release on Tuesday.
Jan 9 '20 10:10
A majority in the Amsterdam city council wants to implement a general ban on consumer fireworks in the city. The local faction of VVD announced its support on Wednesday. GroenLinks, PvdA, and PvdD previously announced their support. Together the four parties have 24 of the 45 seats in the city council, NU.nl reports.
The Amsterdam VVD said that it must "unfortunately" support a ban. "We are very disappointed by the misery [fireworks] cause. A small group of people are ruining it for the rest," the party said.
Dec 13 '19 14:40
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.
Dec 13 '19 13:00
Robert Oey, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema's partner, was given 40 hours of community service on Friday for illegal weapon possession. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the 53-year-old filmmaker had a gas or alarm revolver with a obstruction in the barrel, for which he had no license, NU.nl reports.
Dec 6 '19 16:00
Immigration authorities in the Netherlands say 19-year-old Daniel Buter will be released from a Rotterdam detention center for undocumented migrants on Friday. The Amsterdam-born teenager was threatened with deportation to the Dominican Republic, the home country of his birth parents but a nation which he himself had never visited.
Dec 6 '19 09:30
Mayor Femke Halsema will intervene on the behalf of Daniel Buter, a 19-year-old born in Amsterdam who is currently in custody in Rotterdam, facing deportation to the Dominican Republic. She already contacted State Secretary Ankie Broekers-Knol of Justice in Security, who is in charge of Asylum. The mayor will also look into whether other Amsterdam residents is facing the same situation as Buter, she said to the city council on Thursday, Het Parool reports.
Dec 2 '19 14:30
The municipality of Amsterdam hired private security guards to keep an eye on ATMs in the city in an effort to prevent criminals trying to blow them open with explosives. The security guards will park their vehicles near ATMs at random times during the night, NU.nl reports.
Nov 27 '19 13:32
Amsterdam is taking drastic measures in an attempt to cope with capacity problems at the police. A number of specialized police teams will be disbanded, so that more attention can be paid to basic police work, mayor Femke Halsema said in a letter to the city council.
Nov 8 '19 07:40
On Friday afternoon the Blauwe Moskee an Amsterdam will sound its first enhanced call to prayer. A specialized company connected the speakers and performed noise measurements on Thursday, to make sure the Adhan does not exceed any noise limits, imam Yassin Elforkani said to Het Parool.
Oct 16 '19 16:20
Amsterdam is stepping up the fight against drug crime with a package of measures focused on making neighborhoods and their residents more resilient, and on "actively disrupting" drug dealing. Dealers will be tackled at their hangouts and garage boxes, and young people who are in danger of entering the drug world will be better monitored, the city said in a statement.
Sep 30 '19 10:28
In a radio interview with Amsterdam fire brigade commander Leen Schaap about systemic racial and gender bias in the fire department, Schaap claimed that Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema found a common racist joke in the fire department "funny" and "hilarious". Halsema's office disputed Schaap's claim. Schaap said to radio program This American Life that the joke in question involves the a racial slur often made against people of color in the Amsterdam fire department.
Sep 27 '19 10:29
After the murder of defense attorney Derk Wiersum in front of his Amsterdam home last week, the city is offering extra security to a large number of people. Many also connected to the case around alleged drug gang leader Ridouan Taghi. This extra security is necessary, but comes at the expense of Amsterdam's police capacity, mayor Femke Halsema and Jan Pronker of the Amsterdam police said in a city council debate on Thursday.
Sep 26 '19 12:28
Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema's 15-year-old son will not be prosecuted for illegal firearm possession. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) referred his case to Halt, where he will likely get community service, his lawyer Peter Plasman said to ANP.
Sep 19 '19 08:00
The Public Prosecution Service will keep using key witnesses, even after the murder of criminal law attorney Derk Wiersum in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning. "We must continue to use the means of key witnesses, otherwise we will get no further in criminal cases. Continue in a motivated way", prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said to Nieuwsuur. He wants more options in the use of such suspects-turned-informants.
Sep 18 '19 18:31
Authorities investigating the murder of criminal defense attorney Derk Wiersum in Amsterdam have joined forces with Dutch counter-terrorism agency NCTV in the hunt for the perpetrator. Police are still searching for the suspect they believe to be responsible for the crime.
Sep 18 '19 13:50
The entire Amsterdam city council wants an emergency debate with Mayor Femke Halsema on undermining crime after the murder of criminal law attorney Derk Wiersum in the city on Wednesday morning. Wiersum represented key witness Nabil B., who linked fugitive Ridouan Taghi to a number of gangland assassinations.
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