Zwolle

An object that looks very much like a hand grenade was found tied to the door of the Bruut bar on Voorstraat in Zwolle on Wednesday. The police closed down the area around the cafe and nearby homes were evacuated, NOS reports.

The "possible explosive" was found at around 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the Zwolle police said on Twitter. Explosive experts were deployed to the scene to investigate. The fire department and an ambulance are also in the area as a precaution. 

The police arrested a 17-year-old boy from Zwolle for suspected involvement in a stabbing incident at a playground on Van Galenstraat in the city. A 35-year-old man was seriously injured in the stabbing on Sunday afternoon, ANP reports.

The perpetrator fled after the stabbing. A trace evidence investigation and statements from witnesses led the police to the teenager. He was arrested at his home during the early hours of Monday morning.

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.

A round of drinks on a terrace is again most expensive in Amsterdam, making the Dutch capital the most expensive terrace city in the Netherlands for the fourth year in a row. Like last year, Zwolle's terraces are cheapest, according to the annual terrace study by consultancy firm Van Spronsen & Partners, ANP reports.

Minister Arie Slob for Primary and Secondary Education was admitted to a hospital in Zwolle on Wednesday due to a bacterial infection, Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven of Education, Culture and Science said to parliament on Thursday, AD reports.

Van Engelshoven is therefore replacing Slob in the parliamentary debate on the debacle surrounding the final exams at VMBO Maastricht. The debate was initially scheduled for Tuesday evening, but couldn't happen because Slob became ill.

Last week the police arrested over 100 people in a nationwide campaign against so-called 'mobile banditry' - gangs of criminals that travel from place to place to commit crimes. The detainees include shoplifters, baby formula thieves, pickpockets, drug traffickers, identity thieves and even a fake cop, the police said in a statement on Monday night.

The nationwide action was held between Tuesday and Friday last week. Multiple people were arrested at Amsterdam Central Station for pickpocketing, or attempts thereto. 

Internal security is below par in six penitentiary institutions in the Netherlands. They don't have enough well trained staff and the handling of detainees leaves much to be desired, the Justice and Security Inspectorate said in a report after inspecting the six prisons, ANP reports.

A 19-year-old man who was seriously injured in a stabbing at a birthday party in Den Ham, Overijssel, on Sunday, died of his injuries in hospital on Wednesday, RTL Nieuws reports

A fight started during the party and escalated into a stabbing. Emergency services resuscitated the victim, a man from Zwolle, and rushed him to a hospital in Almelo. He underwent surgery, but passed away on Wednesday. 

The police arrested an 18-year-old man from De Ham for the stabbing. 

A body was found in a home on Van Zuijlenware in Zwolle on Saturday while the police searched the home as part of a missing person investigation. The police have not confirmed the identity of the victim. But the victim's family told De Stentor that it is indeed the 38-year-old man that went missing in Zwolle on February 7th. 

The police are investigating a shooting in Zwolle early on Wednesday morning. As far as is known, no one was injured.

The shooting happened around 2:50 a.m. on Biezenknoppen, the Zwolle police said on Twitter. Investigation must reveal exactly what happened. 

Police officers in bulletproof vests investigated at the scene during the night, also making use of sniffer dogs, De Stentor reports. The scene was closed down with crime scene tape and multiple yellow evidence boards were placed near one parked car, can be seen on photos from the scene. 

The political opposition grows against the plan to set the opening of the Lelystad airport around April 2019. The ruling parties are under the pressure of their local politicians, who consider April 2019 to be way too soon. 

Members of the Dutch Parliament of the coalition-parties VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie will discuss on the matter next week. According to newspaper Trouw, last week they met with fellow party members from the interested region. The ChristenUnie already came to the conclusion that next year's April is not an option for the opening.