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2 days ago | 
dutchnews.nl | Robin Pascoe
In total, 30 people have been arrested in an investigation into a wave of violence across Zuid-Holland province last October and November, which police now believe may be connected to the theft of a consignment of cocaine. The Hague, Alphen aan den Rijn, Delft and Leiden were among the 17 locations targeted by a string of explosions, shootings, arson attempts and threats, the public prosecution service said in a statement on Wednesday.
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2 days ago | 
dutchnews.nl | Robin Pascoe
The funeral of pope Francis in Rome on Saturday has led to changes in this year’s King’s Day celebrations in Doetinchem, but the king and queen will not attend the service, the state information service has confirmed. Prime minister Dick Schoof and foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp will represent the Netherlands at the funeral of the pontiff, who died on Monday at the age of 88.
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2 days ago | 
dutchnews.nl | Robin Pascoe
The Dutch cabinet wants to send failed asylum seeker families with children to “return home hubs” in countries outside the EU, ministers have said in response to proposals from the European Commission. The commission’s proposals expressly rule out sending children, either with or without families, to the centres.
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2 days ago | 
dutchnews.nl | Robin Pascoe
The decision to freeze social housing rents for two years must not prevent housing corporations from investing in new homes, two of the four coalition parties said on Tuesday. Housing corporations have warned the freeze will significantly impact their ability to build, despite the coalition’s pledge of €1.1 billion in compensation.
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2 days ago | 
dutchnews.nl | Robin Pascoe
Robin Pascoe There are books you can’t put down, books that make you think, and books you buy as a present because they are quirky and you think the recipient might like them. The Hague Cookbook falls into that last category. It is a concise, nostalgic, and rather odd mix of information about days gone by, combined with recipes for traditional dishes from The Hague.
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2 days ago | 
dutchnews.nl | Robin Pascoe
The trial of three of the men held responsible for the murder four Dutch journalists in El Salvador in 1982 has been delayed until June 3, the brother of one of the murdered men has told broadcaster NOS. Koos Koster, Jan Kuiper, Joop Willemsen and Hans ter Laag were in El Salvador to report for television channel IKON on the bloody civil war there. They were ambushed and killed by government soldiers when trying to enter an area of the country held by guerrillas.
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3 days ago | 
dutchnews.nl | Robin Pascoe
Avocados may be replacing bananas as a way of smuggling cocaine into the country, following two large hauls this weekend. In the first case, customs officials found 553 kilos of the drug hidden in a consignment of avocados that that had been shipped from Peru to Rotterdam port. The avocados were heading for a company in Ridderkerk but it is unconnected to the drugs trade, the public prosecution department said.
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3 days ago | 
dutchnews.nl | Robin Pascoe
The Netherlands is increasingly operating in a “grey zone” between peace and war, as state-backed agencies use hybrid tactics to disrupt society, the Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD warned in its annual report on Tuesday. “Our country is increasingly confronted with state actors who attempt to disrupt and weaken our society through hybrid attacks,” MIVD director Peter Reesink told broadcaster NOS.
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3 days ago | 
dutchnews.nl | Robin Pascoe
Fourteen youngsters, many of them minors, were arrested on Tuesday for inciting others to become involved in terrorism, the public prosecution department said in a short statement. The youngsters, aged 14 to 30, used the social media platform TikTok to try to encourage others to carry out terrorist acts. They were arrested in a joint investigation by police across the country, including in The Hague, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
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3 days ago | 
dutchnews.nl | Robin Pascoe
The weather is set to be cooler and more changeable in the coming week, as the wind shifts to the southwest, bringing occasional showers. It will feel chillier in the first few days of the week, with temperatures around 15°C – although this is normal for the time of year, weather bureau Weeronline points out. There will be rain at times on Tuesday and Wednesday, but there is a good chance of dry weather for King’s Day, which falls on Saturday this year.
