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Dutch poet Jules Deelder dies

Ailish Lalor
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Dutch poet Jules Deelder dies

The Dutch poet, Jules Deelder, has passed away after a short illness, NOS reports. He was 75 years old. 

Deelder was a writer, poet, musician and performer. He wrote about topics like drugs, jazz, and the city of Rotterdam, where he was from.He worked with musicians like Herman Brood, Benjamin Herman and Bas van Lier to record his poetry and set it to music. Known for being direct and no-nonsense, he was given the honorary title of night mayor in the port city, after he helped to reinvigorate its nightlife.

Although Deelder’s work is mostly in Dutch, you can still enjoy his love of jazz via this Spotify playlist. We’ll miss him. 

Feature image: Wim de Jong/Flickr. 

Schiphol stagnates in busiest summer ever for Dutch airports

Ailish Lalor
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Schiphol stagnates in busiest summer ever for Dutch airports

The CBS has released statistics showing that this summer was the busiest ever experienced by Dutch airports. Over 23 million passengers entered and left the country between June and September. That’s an increase of one percent since last year, RTL Nieuws reports. 

Schiphol did not experience much growth at all

If you’ve ever been in Schiphol and experienced the crowds there, you might be surprised to hear that the Amsterdam airport was the only one where the number of passengers stayed pretty much the same: there was an increase of only 0.2 percent. But that is because Schiphol is already at capacity: 500,000 flight movements is the maximum the airport can support, and those are already taking place. But it makes sense that the airport feels crowded: 20 million people passed through this summer.

Smaller airports grew a lot

For the airport serving Rotterdam and The Hague, the increase in passengers was enormous- it went up by a full 10 percent. Other smaller airports in the Netherlands, like Eindhoven and Maastricht, also experienced a lot of growth this summer, with the number of passengers going up by eight percent in Eindhoven (it’s not that we’re scientists, but we’re pretty sure Ryanair’s budget flights from Eindhoven are to blame for all that growth).

All these extra passengers are bad news for the planet

It’s bad news for the environment, of course: with more people flying, even more CO2 is emitted. But the Netherlands is trying to build better international train infrastructure- like special international trains to Rotterdam for the Eurovision in May, or overnight trains to Munich and Vienna. So, in coming years, the number of people flying in and out of the Netherlands will hopefully decrease.

Did you notice that the airports were more crowded than usual this year? Let us know in the comments below. 

Feature image: Abuzer van Leeuwen/Supplied. 

Police escort the Netherlands’ most wanted man back to the country

Kavana Desai
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Ridouan Taghi has just returned back to the Netherlands. He was arrested in Dubai this week and deported as an “unwanted alien”. The Dutch police escorted him back to the country on a charter plane for “security reasons”, reports NOS.

Police Chief of the National Unit, Jannine van den Berg, says the arrest is a testament to their hard work and cooperation “In today’s world, building strategic cooperation is more important than ever and it is precisely through close international cooperation that it is possible to act effectively and decisively.”

The Dutch police worked with the police in Dubai to capture Taghi in a villa in the city. The notorious leader of drug trafficking and murderer is on most national and international crime lists. The 41-year-old criminal is also the main suspect in the Marengo Trial.

It is always a happy day when sweet justice is going to be served to people who deserve it. 
Feature Image: Politie.nl

What happened with the farmers today?

Ailish Lalor
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What happened with the farmers today?

The farmers are back protesting today, and there’s a lot going on. Here’s our rundown of the major events so far today.

Traffic delays, morning and evening

This morning there were traffic jams caused by the farmers, and the same is happening this evening. ANWB reports that the A1 towards Amsterdam, there is a 22-kilometre long traffic jam. So if you’re commuting this evening with your car, prepare for delays. The delays are caused by tractors on the roads. Earlier in the day, the farmers had a barbecue on the A1.

Blockage on the German border on the A7

Tractors are also causing havoc in other parts of the country, including on the German border. They are apparently planning on staying the night, at least at the moment. None are making any moves to leave, and most say they’re enjoying it. Cars are getting by via the hard shoulder at a reduced speed.

A car driver had to be taken to hospital after a tractor crashed into his car

A motorist was hit by a tractor which ran a red light. Their car was damaged, and the man has been taken to hospital. A police spokesperson said his injuries did not seem severe. This took place this morning near Boschdijk in Eindhoven.

Protest at Tata Steel

Farmers were also protesting, with tractors in tow, at Tata Steel this morning. They’ve mostly left by now, and the mood at the protest was positive, with workers from the company handing out tea and biscuits to the farmers.

Wilders gave olliebollen to farmers on the Malieveld

This morning, Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV, gave oliebollen to farmers gathered on the Malieveld in The Hague this morning. In his Twitter post promoting his bounteous actions, he referred to the farmers as heroes.

Farmers gathered around the Arnhem provincial house

Farmers also gathered to protest at the provincial house in Arnhem. About four hundred protesters were expected, and on advice from the police, the provincial house was closed. Workers’ safety couldn’t be guaranteed, following the siege of the Groningen provincial house last month.

Other protests today in the Netherlands

This isn’t it: there were lots more protests today by the farmers. These took place in, for example Gouda, at the Hilversum Mediapark, and Middelburg. You can read more about the day on RTL Nieuws’s liveblog.

What’s this all about?

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, the farmers are protesting against regulations designed to combat the nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands. Nature is under threat, but the farmers do not want to change their practices or shut down their farms in certain areas, as the government is suggesting.

What do you think about today’s protests? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature image: Cekay/Wikimedia Commons. 

State Secretary Snel resigns after child daycare allowance controversy

Kavana Desai
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State Secretary Snel resigns after child daycare allowance controversy

State Secretary Snel is all set to resign from his post. This is after he found out that he will get the “smallest possible majority” in the house of representatives. The debate was going to be about Snel being suspected of “unlawful cessation of child daycare allowances”, reports NOS.

New evidence has resurfaced about the childcare allowance affair, where a number of parents were falsely accused of being fraudsters. Child daycare allowance was either stopped or they had to repay thousands of euros. The new evidence (an evaluation report from 2015) points to the fact that State Secretary Snel knew there were more parents affected than he let on.

If you’re wondering what this whole controversy is about, then we’ve got you. Basically, the Dutch state provides an allowance to families who put their children in daycare- it’s an affordable way for parents to be able to work, and not spend all their income on daycare for the kids. Parents who made a tiny mistake when applying for the allowance- just out of sloppiness or ignorance- were classified as fraudsters by the tax authorities. They were told they had to pay back the allowance immediately. But this was a mistake on the tax authorities’ and Snel’s behalf, and now the parents are being compensated for the mistake.

Klaver from GroenLinks believes that things are not going to get better even if Snel were to leave. He says the current system of providing child daycare allowance is not robust enough and has its faults.

This will be the third minister who resigns before his term ends.

Do you think the childcare allowance system needs to be changed? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: Henriëtte Guest/wikiportret.nl

There might be special “event trains” for Eurovision 2020

Kavana Desai
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There might be special “event trains” for Eurovision 2020

Good ol’ D66 and GroenLinks are at it again when it comes to finding new ways to combat climate change. This time, they want special international trains to act as an attractive alternative to using flights to come to Rotterdam to witness the multiple festivities of Eurovision 2020. 

But first, they want a test run to be done for “event trains” by international service providers to Eurovision 2020. There will be a total of nine shows that will be happening in Rotterdam, with the finals on May 16.

According to NOS, the House of Representatives are very much in favour of this motion that was passed by the two parties. They want more research to be done into international trains but things might be looking up!

So get your tickets quickly! The first wave of tickets has already been sold out. You don’t want to miss a chance to cheer on your country now, do you?

Have you already bought a ticket? How will you be getting to Rotterdam? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: David Jones/Flickr

Massive delays this morning as farmers and builders start their “slow campaigns”

Kavana Desai
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Massive delays this morning as farmers and builders start their “slow campaigns”

Get ready for massive delays in a number of places around the country this morning as farmers and builders are campaigning on multiple highways, reports NOS. Protestors are to gather in Alkmaar, Tilburg, Berkel and Rodenrijs, Apeldoorn, Helmond, Born, and Assen.

They started their “slow campaigns” at these locations at 7 am and they will be making their way to other locations as they leave a trail of disruptions behind them. Be particularly wary of A9 and A4 (Alkmaar – The Hague highway), and the A13. Also, expect delays on “the A1 at Deventer and on the A7 and A32 at Heerenveen”, tweet the ANWB, reports NOS. You can follow live traffic updates on NOS.

Translation: The protest actions mainly cause delays in the #A1 at Deventer and on the #A7 and #A32 at Heerenveen.

Translation: Tractors are currently running on the #A27 at Noordeloos. This causes a nuisance towards Gorinchem.

Have you been stuck in traffic because of these slow campaigns? Let us know where in the comments below!

Feature image: Cekay [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

“Boomer” was chosen as word of the year and we have only one thing to say…

Ailish Lalor
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“Boomer” was chosen as word of the year and we have only one thing to say…

Ok, boomer! If you’re above twenty five and have exhibited conservative views, misunderstood internet jargon or yawned, you’ve probably had this cutting phrase thrown at your feet by someone a year younger than you.

The word “boomer”- which can only be used to full effectiveness through the phrase “ok, boomer”- was chosen by Van Dale as word of the year. 42 percent of the voters in this critical election voted for “boomer”. The two runners up were “klimaatspijbelaar” (a student who skips school to protest and draw attention to the climate crisis) and “klimaatdrammer” (an unfavourable word for someone who, in the eyes of the critics, insists on “draconian” laws to deal with the climate crisis).

Other wonderful Dutch words of 2019

Because Dutch is such a weird and funny language, here are some of the other words suggested this year by Van Dale for the illustrious title of word of the year.

Windterreur: term used by those who aren’t a fan of wind turbines in the face of their construction

Vleeswroeging: the remorse that someone feels when they eat meat, because they realise that the production of meat through intensive livestock production leads to the emission of many greenhouse gases

Nulrentoceen: a funny term for the period in which savers receive no interest in the money in their account

Stekkersubsidie: a subsidy for electrical cars via a tax break for their owner

Foeigesprek: an interrogative conversation between a police officer and someone who has violated a rule or law, and sometimes also with the (suspected) perpetrators of a crime

Toetertrouwstoet: a wedding procession in which the participants are beeping loudly, and probably breaking traffic rules as well.

Got any other favourite Dutch words of 2019? Drop them in the comments below!

Feature image: Free-Photos/Pixabay

Five high-speed trains from Netherlands to London forecast for 2021

Freya Sawbridge
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Five high-speed trains from Netherlands to London forecast for 2021

As it currently stands, three Eurostar trains depart each day from Rotterdam and Amsterdam to London. A few months ago it was announced that the Eurostar’s transfer at Brussels for a customs check will be done away with. And now? Well, the NS is hoping to launch five new high-speed trains in 2020 that will run directly between Netherlands and London.

Train travel is the most sustainable way to travel

Heike Luiten, the international director of NS, comments “At a time when it is all about Brexit, it feels extra special to be able to announce more direct trains to London.” Each train holds up to 900 people which will increase the amount of potential travellers a huge amount.

He explains that international trains are crucial for sustainable travel which should be a focal point of European transport. “A train passenger between Amsterdam and London emits 80 percent less CO2 than someone who will fly.”

Is train travel the way of the future?

On Eurostar’s 25th anniversary, it has decided to strengthen its environmental commitments by planting one tree for each journey it makes. It means there will be around 20,000 new trees planted annually from this initiative in the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Mike Cooper, Eurostar’s chief executive, told the Independent “With our environmental ambitions and our tree planting programme we are providing an attractive, eco-friendly alternative to the airlines.”

What’s your favourite mode of transport? Have you caught a train between the Netherlands and London? Let us know in the comments below! 

Feature image: KaiPilger/Pixabay

Time for a tropical Tuesday (and then back to regular Dutch weather for the rest of the week)

Kavana Desai
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Tired of the rainy weekend? The pitter-patter of raindrops got you down because you can’t do anything fun outside? Get ready for a tropical Tuesday because it’s going to be a maximum of 15 degrees today, reports Weerplaza. 

You might have noticed some fog this morning, but don’t despair: today is going to be an unseasonably warm day! The cold rain of the weekend is over (for now) and some areas of the country will reach 15 degrees: that’s almost twice as warm as it was at the weekend.

Clouds, but no wind

The highest temperatures will happen in the southeast of the country, but there will be some stubborn clouds there (just so you don’t get too excited about this tropical weather). There will be pretty much no wind anywhere in the country.

Stormy weather tonight

Over the course of the evening, new clouds move from the west over the country, accompanied by a lot of rain. There could be thunderstorms in some parts of the country, and there’ll be rain long into the night. So, uh, put away that sunscreen, you won’t be needing it.

Clear weather on Wednesday

Any hope of glorious winter weather should melt away over the rest of the week, as temperatures drop again from Wednesday onwards. It’ll be around 9 degrees, but quite clear and sunny in most parts of the country. So, for the Netherlands, pretty decent weather!

Thursday and Friday: warm but rainy (what’s new?)

And then on Thursday and Friday we’re back to the good old heavy rain and temperatures around 10 degrees. There’ll be plenty of clouds and stormy weather at sea (though the storm is unlikely to reach land).

Weekend: changeable

The weekend will be “changeable”, and we don’t just mean you cancelling your plans because you’ve just realised that socialising is the worst. Temperatures will be around 8 degrees and there’ll be bursts of rain, with a possibility of stormy weather on Sunday.

Gonna change your plans this weekend because of the weather? Sad about the lack of a white Christmas? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Feature image: ValeriaLu/Pixabay

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