Ronald van Raak

Prime Minister Mark Rutte will investigate whether the burial chamber under the Eerste Kamer in The Hague can be opened to search for the remains of former statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, who was beheaded at the Binnenhof nearly 400 years ago. Rutte is responding to requests from Van Oldenbarnevelt's relatives and questions from SP parliamentarian Ronald van Raak, RTL Nieuws reports.

The Dutch authorities made multiple mistakes while investigating the fireworks disaster at SE Fireworks in Enschede on May 13th, 2000, according to the results of a four year long investigation by former MEP Paul van Buitenen. The Public Prosecutor deliberately misled the judiciary to make sure that the criminal investigation had only one conclusion - that the government was not to blame, Van Buitenen concluded, NOS reports.

The Dutch government plans to ban firecrackers before the end of the year, in an effort to make New Year's safer. Firework sellers will also be obliged to give their customers safety goggles and stable firing tubes for rockets, RTL Nieuws reports based in information from insiders in The Hague.

The government is taking this measure after the Dutch Safety Board advised that crackers and rockets be banned, because they cause the most injuries and damage during New Year's.

Clyde van Putten, leader of political party PLP on the Dutch island of Sint Eustatius, threatened to kill and and burn Dutch soldiers in a speech he made on the island. The Dutch government is going to file a declaration with the police against him, Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations announced, the Telegraaf reports

The Dutch prosecutor's office, OM, waited about four days to notify the cabinet that the man suspected of carrying out a terrorist attack in Berlin also spent time in the Netherlands after the incident. Dutch authorities ultimately notified Minister Ard van der Steur (Security and Justice) that the suspect, Anis Amri, traveled through the Netherlands, Van der Steur said in answer to parliamentary questions on Thursday.

Opposition parties were angered by the delay in notifying the cabinet minister, calling it an apparent lack of urgency among the Dutch authorities.

A number of Dutch parliamentarians accused Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice about hiding details about a possible attack plan that targeted Schiphol Airport on November 13th last year - the same day as terrorist attacks in Paris. The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, debated reports that two suspected terrorists traveled to the Netherlands that day with Van der Steur on Wednesday

Opposition parties in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, are outraged that parts of the 2017 Budget documents leaked to the media. ChristenUnie leader Gert-Jan Segers called the leak "shameful"

Prime Minister Mark Rutte will not reveal the costs involved in repairing the Royal Family's Golden Coach, he said on Tuesday in response to questions from D66 leader Alexander Pechtold

VVD Parliamentarian Klaas Dijkhoff denounced the phantom images raised by opponents that large scale data trawls will soon be conducted in the Netherlands, just like the NSA does in the United states, NU. reports. "The fear exists and people like to call up that feeling, but there is not country in the world where information is dealt with more carefully." he said.

The VVD and SP believe that if Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten are so dissatisfied with the Netherlands' involvement, it may be better if the kingdom is transformed into a commonwealth.

Figures from the new budget, which is set to be publicly announced on Prinsjesdag, 16 September, have been leaked to the Dutch media. MPs are calling it 'contempt' and an 'insult', RTL Nieuws reports.