The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, scheduled to take place in Rotterdam, was cancelled, the broadcasters involved announced on Wednesday. The decision was made by the European Broadcasting Union, which manages the popular annual event.
"It is with deep regret that we have to announce the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam," the organization said in a statement. The remarks continued to say the team was "heartbroken" that the event could not be held in May as planned.
NOS reporter Robert Bas was jailed by the court in Rotterdam because he refused to answer questions as a witness and reveal his source in an ongoing criminal case. He will be held in custody until at least Monday, NOS reports. The court hopes that this "legal means of coercion" will make the reporter change his mind and give testimony, the broadcaster writes.
New rules around public broadcasting in the Netherlands means that the broadcasters will no longer be distributed before 8 p.m. The websites of the broadcasters will also go completely ad-free when the rules take effect, according to NOS.
The new strategy will be put forward by Arie Slob, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education and Media. His letter to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, was not yet released on Wednesday afternoon.
Dutch broadcaster NOS recently decided to stop using the Dutch word "blank" to describe white or Caucasian people, instead opting to call them "wit" or white in English. This decision resulted in an uproar on social media, and even parliamentary questions posed by right-wing populist party PVV.
Colloquially, the word “blanke” is an adjective that goes beyond “white” to give a connotation of “purity” or “untainted”.
Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan officially stepped down from office on Monday, announcing his decision in a letter to the city’s residents. Van der Laan took on a new term of office earlier this year, despite being diagnosed with metastasized lung cancer. Deputy Mayor Kajsa Ollongren will take over the role of mayor in the interim.
A power outage at the Media Park in Hilversum early on Tuesday morning resulted in program Goedenmorgen Nederland of WNL not being broadcast between 7:10 a.m. and 7:40 a.m. Grid manager Liander reports on Twitter that the problem was fixed and power is restored
The police's Special Intervention Service, the counterterrorism unit, lost confidence in the police leadership. They are overworked and feel that money reserved for the unit is never invested in it, the Telegraaf reported on Friday. Police chief Erik Akkerboom will visit the National Unit on Friday to investigate these claims.
The fifth floor of the NOS building in Hilversum was evacuated for a short time after the discovery of an envelope containing an unknown white powdery substance, the broadcaster announced.
Three Dutch news agencies are taking the Ministry of Security and Justice to court, demanding that the government release more information about the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 disaster. On Tuesday the Administrative Court in Utrecht will address arguments in the case, jointly filed by the Volkskrant newspaper, and broadcasters NOS and RTL Nieuws.
Dutch broadcaster NOS interviewed the jihadist in the latest ISIS video threatening the United Kingdom, the broadcaster announced on Tuesday. The BBC believes the man in the video is British man Abu Rumaysah, alias Siddhartha Dhar. NOS interviewed him in 2014, before he left for Syria.
The appeal in the case against Tarik Z., the young man who tried to hijack the 8:00 p.m. NOS news broadcast in January, started in the court in Leeuwarden on Tuesday. The Public Prosecutor demanded 4 years in prison, one of which conditionally suspended, against the man, according to reporter Raymond Boere tweeting live from the courtroom.
The Netherlands public broadcaster NPO was hit by the largest DDoS attack ever, leaving the NOS site and app unreachable for some time on Sunday night. Other national and regional broadcasters' sites were still online, but difficult to reach.
The Emmy award ceremony, for both American and international newscasters celebrating the best international news stories, took place on Monday night in New York. The Dutch broadcaster NOS, who was nominated for the airing of the National Day of Mourning after the downing of Maylasian Flight MH17, was competing with three other non-American contenders for the award. NOS received its nomination for the July 2014, hour-long broadcast on the arrival of the first victims of the plane crash in the Ukraine.
Long time sports presenter Jack van Gelder has resigned from NOS. From mid-September the 64 year old Van Gleder will be working as weekend presenter at the commercial Sport 1 Studio.
Editors are urging State Secretary Sander Dekker of Media to stop unfair competition in public broadcasting, referring to the Dutch Public Broadcaster's, or NPO, plans to focus completely on digital media in the coming years.
Tarik Z., the man who used a fake weapon to force his way into the NOS building in January, appeared in court on Tuesday. The court ruled that he would remain in custody until the trial on June 19th. His lawyer, Ton Visser, did not ask that his client be released from custody, NOS reports.
Tarik Z., who allegedly used a fake gun to take a security guard as a hostage at the NOS studios in January, will appear in front of court on Tuesday, the Public Prosecutor announced. The now 20-year old man is suspected of kidnapping, threats and illegal possession of a weapon for the incident at the Hilversum Media Park.
Tarik Z., who forced his way into NOS news studios and held a security guard hostage, will appear before court for the first time in an initial hearing on May 12, NOS reports. The first substantial hearing is scheduled for June 19, says the Dutch Public Prosecutor.
Following the NOS hostage incident in Hilversum on Thursday evening, the NPO 1 broadcast remained blacked out over an hour stating "Due to certain circumstances, no news at the moment". The Minister of Security and Justice, Ivo Opstelten, finds it unacceptable that the national public broadcaster dropped away from the transmitter.
The hostage incident from last night has led to a confession. 19-year old Tarik Z. held a security guard hostage with a fake gun demanding airtime at NOS. The severe situation led to tightened security measures at Hilversum Media Park and boosted the public safety debate around the country. However even serious incidents have their flip sides.
The 19 year old Tarik Z., who held a security guard hostage and demanded airtime at NOS last night, has confessed. He said that he acted alone and not on behalf of a terrorist group or other organization.
According to psychologist and professor Hjalmar van Marle, health care professionals should be extra alert when it comes to disturbed people. He said this following the incident in the NOS building last night.
For the first time in history the 20:00 news was not broadcast last night due to a man forcing himself into the NOS studios demanding airtime. The man, who was carrying a (later identified as) fake pistol, entered the building shortly before 20:00. The police arrested him in a recording studio at about 20:10.
Almost two hours after the armed man interrupted the 8.00pm news broadcast at NOS, operations at the TV station had not resumed yet, but the security guard who remained calm in the face of danger was being praised as hero.
