Two hand grenades found around the Grote Markt in Almere on Thursday were rendered harmless by explosives experts, police said. The popular district was evacuated at the start of the business day after the first grenade was found outside an ABN Amro bank branch on Koopmanstraat at about 8:30 a.m.
A second grenade was spotted just steps away from the bank, at the Saint-Tropez shisha lounge on the popular square. Emergency workers kept the area clear until 1:30 p.m., police said on Twitter.
Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs decided to put an end to political party SP's unique payroll arrangement in which the salaries of all SP politicians are paid into the party's account. The Minister agreed with the Dutch municipalities and provinces that they will pay SP salaries directly to the politicians, and he will discuss this with the Eerste Kamer and Tweede Kamer as well. The SP itself is furious about this, RTL Nieuws reports.
The Dutch government paid millions of euros in subsidies to the owners of illegally placed windmills. One such owner in Schagen, Noord-Holland received 3.2 million euros in subsidies
The government wants to re-do the location research for test drilling for shale gas.
Noordoostpolder declared itself shale gas free on Monday evening.
The inhabitants of Urk do not longer have to be afraid that a part of their precious lunch is lost through an open bridge or water lock. The province of Flevoland has decided to keep all bridges closed around lunch time.
RTL Nieuws announced that it possesses a secret report that states it is possible to safely drill for shale gas.
The round-up of some of this week’s most noteworthy events and news stories features a Muslim man celebrating Ramadan and life in the Netherlands, the findings behind the puzzling death of a rare wolf, Vodafone’s 4G launch, a local museum’s special 3D printed chair, the strange, shifting behaviors of baboons in Emmen zoo, and some interesting scenes and people at the 2013 Gay Pride.
The dead wolf on July 4 which was found in Luttelgeest, Noordoostpolder, was probably of Eastern European descent. The beast came almost certainly to the Netherlands from Eastern Czech Republic, Southern Poland or Slovakia. It is also likely that the wolf has lived for a while in the Netherlands.
The DNA of the animal corresponds for 96.5 percent to wolves from the Carpathians, in addition to 3 percent Italian DNA and 0.5 percent DNA of a dog.
A new 90 megawatt wind farm is ready to be built in western Netherlands. The announcement was made by the European energy company RWE on Thursday.
Merging the provinces of North Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland can yield annual savings of up to 70 million euros. This is stated in the draft proposal for the reclassification, that Minister Ronald Plasterk of Interior Affairs has published on Monday.
According to the minister the merger offers opportunities to work effectively and efficiently. Originally, the plan was to finalize the merger in 2015, but in April Plasterk decided to give the three provinces one year extra time. In the new province will live about 4.3 million people.
