The court sentenced 21-year-old Azim A. to 10 years in prison and institutionalized psychiatric treatment for randomly shooting a student in the city of Groningen last year. He was convicted of attempted manslaughter. The student, Sidney Ruiter, survived the shooting, but is permanently paralyzed, RTL Nieuws reports.
Groningen
Oct 19 '18 10:50
A man set himself on fire in front of a bed-bath-and-bread shelter for asylum seekers on Helsinkistraat in Groningen on Thursday. The man, a failed asylum seeker, was rushed to hospital with burns, Dagblad van het Noorden reports.
The shelter, located in a former F1 hotel, is managed by the Inlia Foundation. It offers shelter to asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies and have to prepare for their return to their home country, and asylum seekers awaiting a decision in their procedure.
Oct 19 '18 07:34
The A28 highway between Zwolle and Groningen is closed in both directions at Assen after a major accident involving four trucks. Traffic service ANWB expects that the highway will be closed until at least 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Motorists are advised to seek alternative routes, NU.nl reports.
According to the ANWB, the accident caused havoc on the road. One side of the highway is full of mail, which came out of one of the trucks. The other side is full of beets. Exactly how the accident happened is not yet known.
Oct 18 '18 10:10
The police shot a 44-year-old man in his home on Tussen beide Markten street in Groningen when officers went to collect his legal firearm on Wednesday, the Groningen police said on Twitter. The man was taken to hospital with unknown injuries.
According to the police, the man's legal firearm was to be confiscated because he was recently involved in a fight. "Inside the home a situation arose in which officers felt it necessary to shoot", the police said.
Oct 16 '18 16:50
The Netherlands will hold a major climate summit, comparable to the one in Paris almost three years ago, in 2020, Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management announced at the presentation of a new global climate committee which will be established in Rotterdam and Groningen. The Global Commission on Adaption will draw up a global action plan against the consequences of climate change, among other things, NOS reports.
Oct 16 '18 13:30
A police officer was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, conditionally suspended, for firing four gunshots at a scooter rider in Groningen in April last year. The court in Groningen found her guilty of attempted aggravated assault and not acting according to the instructions of the police, NU.nl reports.
The 41-year-old officer was convinced that the scooter driver posed an acute danger. He met the description of a man who had threatened his parents with firearms, she said. The suspect was described as riding around on a red scooter, and maybe in possession of firearms.
Oct 12 '18 17:20
A total of 8 thousand Groningen residents reported to tenants' organizations and De Woonbond over the past year for help in filing a claim for non-material damage because gas extraction earthquakes in the area disturbed their living enjoyment, De Woonbond announced on Friday, NU.nl reports.
The Groningen residents will be assisted in their claim by De Haan Advocaten & Notarissen. The firm previously successfully assisted other Groningen residents in a similar case.
Oct 10 '18 08:28
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.
Oct 9 '18 10:50
The government and the provinces of Groningen, Drenthe, Friesland and Gelderland will sign a covenant this week that will make Nedersaksisch an official, independent and full part of the Dutch language. In the covenant the government promises to protect and promote Nedersaksisch, known as Low Saxon in English, NOS reports.
Low Saxon is spoken in Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, the northeast Veluwe, the Achterhoek and in Oost- and Weststellingwerf. The official recognition comes with money for language projects, and for schools that want to promote a dialect in Lower Saxon.
Sep 27 '18 10:50
The city council of Groningen approved a proposal by the mayor and aldermen to ban smoking in public spaces around institutions that ask for such a ban. The city will be the first to set a public space smoking ban in the Netherlands, RTL Nieuws reports.
Sep 21 '18 08:53
Over a hundred people were evacuated from their homes due to a major fire in a shopping center in the Groningen town of Musselkanaal. The fire started in a bicycle shop around 11:00 p.m. on Thursday night and quickly spread to other stores. The fire is still burning, but firefighters have it under control, NOS reports.
"There will soon be a crane on site to pull down the walls, so we can extinguish better", a spokesperson for the fire brigade said to the broadcaster. The shopping center contains nine stores and restaurants.
Sep 20 '18 08:58
The city of Groningen is working on banning smoking in open areas and on the street in certain places in the city. The municipality's Management and Traffic Committee discussed this ban on Wednesday evening, AD reports.
Sep 19 '18 13:40
The Netherlands will soon have its first factory for bio-kerosene. KLM will use the fuel to fly more sustainably. The province of Groningen is being looked at as a possible location for this factory, which will cost millions to build, Maarten van Dijk of SkyNRG, the company that plans to build the factory, confirmed to newspaper AD.
"We are now in the final phase of selecting a location and suppliers. I think we can make the official announcement at the end of this year or the beginning of next year", he said to the newspaper.
Sep 3 '18 12:30
Hot air balloon festival Ballon Fiesta took place in Meerstad, Groningen on Friday and Saturday. The show featured the largest hot air balloon in the world, shaped like a racing motorcycle, as well as dozens of other hot air balloons.
The largest hot air balloon in the world is 38 meters high and 44 meters wide, according to RTV Noord. Controlling it is rather complicated, owner Herman Kleinsmit said to the broadcaster. "The motorcycle catches a lot of wind. That is why I also need a large field to land it. Steering it is difficult, but it is a kick. Every time."
Aug 30 '18 15:10
A demonstration by action group Code Rood in Farmsum, Groningen, again came to a clash with the police on Wednesday evening. The police again used batons to keep activists away from the NAM facility's fence, something the police later said they regretted. According to the police, batons should not have been used, but they were due to a communication error, NOS reports.
Aug 29 '18 07:38
The police and activists clashed during a protest against gas extraction in Farmsum, Groningen on Tuesday. The activists are blocking access to a NAM site in the town. Police kept them away from the fence with batons and pepper spray, RTL Nieuws reports.
Aug 27 '18 10:50
The members of the Rutte III government were all "overwhelmed" by the decision of Minister Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Climate to stop gas extraction in Groningen, he said on television program Zomergasten. In March the government decided to halt gas production in the earthquake ridden region by 2030 at the latest, ANP reports.
Aug 24 '18 11:20
The Netherlands is not sufficiently prepared to deal with the consequences of a long-term gas shortage, according to a crisis plan from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate that EenVandaag got hold of by appealing to the freedom of information act.
The crisis plan describes possible steps the Netherlands can take if gas extraction in Groningen has to be halted sooner than planned, for example due to a massive earthquake, and if the country can't get enough gas from abroad to meet the demand. The plan dates from January 2018.
Aug 16 '18 13:10
Twelve Dutch municipalities teamed up with nature organization IVN to plant tiny forests in their towns or cities this autumn. According to IVN, tiny forests make urban areas greener, and contribute to biodiversity and water storage during heavy rainfall, NOS reports.
Aug 15 '18 11:00
The number of schools in the Netherlands for pupils between 10 and 14 years old will double in the coming school year. These middle-schools are an experiment intended to help pupils with the transition from primary school to secondary school.
Aug 10 '18 14:20
The Groningen city of Appingedam was hit by two earthquakes in two days time. The earthquakes happened on Wednesday and Thursday, and both registered 1.9 on the Richter scale, according to meteorological institute KNMI.
Multiple people reported feeling the quakes, Dagblad van het Noorden reports. Some also reported hearing a bang with Thursday's earthquake.
Over the past two weeks there were eight small earthquakes in the gas extraction area in Groningen:
Jul 26 '18 14:40
Gritters in the summer seem to be an unusual sight, but one that is happening in the Netherlands this week. A number of Dutch municipalities deployed gritters to sprinkle salt against melting asphalt, ANP reports.
Jul 20 '18 13:40
The prices of existing homes in the Netherlands increased by 8.8 percent in the second quarter compared to a year earlier, reaching a record high. The number of home sales decreased almost everywhere in the country, Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry reported on Friday.
Jul 4 '18 13:40
A balcony fell off a second floor apartment on Westindischekade in Groningen on Wednesday morning. No one was injured. Housing association Lefier will inspect the other balconies in the apartment building to see if any others are at risk of collapsing, RTV Noord reports.
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