Dutch people detect far more instances of discrimination in their country than other Europeans, according to a study by the European Commission.
Over eight in ten Dutch people describe discrimination of immigrants as widespread, as the study reveals. Around 75 percent supposedly feel discrimination based on ethnic origin and religion has clearly increased during the last […]

The Ghanaian dance troupe Kusum Gboo on January 17 presented its new show Sankofa! at the Kumulus theatre in Maastricht. A review for Crossroads. [continued…]

The Netherlands has a new national newspaper. The free newspaper The Press, with a print-run of 250,000, will be distributed at train stations and busy parts of the country’s four main cities. The publisher, Cornelius van den Berg, says the paper will eventually expand to a print run of 800,000 and will be distributed to […]

From the 2007-2008 academic year, students will be entitled to student finance to study anywhere in the world. The rate at which they will be required to repay their student loans will be income-related.
These measures are included in a bill submitted by the State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science, Bruno Bruins, which the […]

The cabinet’s strict immigration policy is one of the main reasons why companies in Eindhoven are having such trouble recruiting well-qualified technical staff, according to a report by ABN Amro economists and TNS Nipo.
The report was drawn up for the lobby group of the region’s high-tech sector Brainport Eindhoven.
The economists said that the […]

A small brewery in the Netherlands has launched a new beer designed to bring cool relief to thirsty dogs.
Kwispelbier, marketed as “a beer for your best friend”, is made from a special brew of beef extract and malt.
[…] The beer is non-alcoholic and fit for human consumption, but costs four times as much […]

Employees and job-seekers from the Netherlands and Germany will soon be able to study and work in each other’s countries. The purpose of the exchanges is to improve employment opportunities.
Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Aart Jan de Geus, and his colleague Karl-Josef Laumann from the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia have signed an […]

Instead of the current four provinces, the Randstad conurbation should fall under a single administrative authority. This is what a commission headed by former prime minister Wim Kok advises.
The Randstad is the conurbation in the western Netherlands that includes Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.
The new entity should aim to strengthen the Randstad’s economy […]

Dutch voters are increasingly open to the idea of a revised version of the EU constitution, but would still reject the current text of the charter, according to a fresh poll.
A survey conducted by polling firm TNS NIPO suggests that the Dutch people’s overwhelming rejection of the EU constitution in a 2005 referendum does […]

Crime among asylum-seekers is lower than among Antilleans and Moroccans in the Netherlands. An exception is asylum-seekers that continue to live in the Netherlands illegally after they have been rejected, according to a police survey of the 1995-2004 period.
In 2004, 1.5 percent of the entire Dutch population (aged 12 and older) were suspected of […]

The Netherlands is continuing to maintain its good record in the selection for Erasmus Mundus. In the fourth application round (for the 2007-2008 academic year), the European Commission has given the go-ahead to 23 new master’s programmes. Seven of these involve Dutch education institutions, and the Dutch institution is the coordinating partner in three of […]

It will soon be made easier for international students to get a residence permit for study in the Netherlands. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) has developed a new procedure for student applicants. This follows a successful trial with students in Utrecht in September 2006.
During the trial, higher education institutions were allowed to apply […]

Descendants of Martin Luther King, Steve Biko and Mohandas K. Gandhi came together to offer their thoughts on solving some of the world’s most intractable problems.
On the agenda were their ideas for promoting racial harmony, delivering economic justice to the poor and fighting terrorism.
They attended a conference organised by the Dutch Red Cross in Maastricht […]

International festival of contemporary theatre, dance and music. An unusual festival. During a month, original shows will ask questions on our era.
Learn more about this:
email : festival.liege@swing.be
url : http://www.festivaldeliege.be
Source: Office de Promotion du Tourisme de Wallonie et de Bruxelles
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The Parliament of the French-speaking community and the Minister for Culture offer us culture for all! They have decided that in their museums, the entry will free of charge as from 7 May 2006 on every first Sunday of the month. The list will be added to with museums that request an approval/subsidy at the […]

In 2007, the European culture capital will be Luxembourg and its large region. This last covers Wallonia, the French Lorraine and the German Saarland. Numerous events will take place in the Walloon region on this occasion.
Learn more about this:
email : info@luxembourg2007.org
url : http://www.luxembourg2007.org
Source: Office de Promotion du Tourisme de Wallonie et de Bruxelles
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Muslim prayer leaders are leaving the Netherlands because they no longer feel welcome, increasing the risk that radicals could to fill the void, a Muslim leader said in an interview published on Thursday.
Mohamed Ousalah, the vice-president of the Dutch Association of Imams, was quoted in the De Telegraaf newspaper saying that 180 of […]

A severe storm has hit the Netherlands, causing considerable damage and seriously disrupting traffic. Two people were killed on the road from Arnhem to Ede when their car was hit by tree. Similar accidents claimed the lives of a motorcyclist in the central town of Leersum and of a cyclist in the southern village of […]

Three people taken ill after the chlorine leak at the Hotel de L’Empereur in Maastricht remained in the hospital overnight. One, a 25-year-old woman, is under observation in the intensive care unit but her life is not in danger, the hospital authorities said. The woman was swimming in the hotel pool when the leak occured. […]

The integration exam that the Dutch government requires non-western immigrants to complete in their home country before entering the Netherlands is posing few problems to examinees.
About 90 percent of the immigrants who sit the exam pass on the first attempt, figures supplied to the Parliament by Integration Minister Rita Verdonk revealed on Wednesday.
Most candidates are […]

The severe storm raging across northwest Europe has caused extensive damage in the Netherlands and seriously disrupted traffic. Four people were injured in the city of Utrecht when a construction crane crashed through the roof of a university building. Amsterdam Central Station had to be evacuated because of flying debris after the storm damaged the […]

Children will participate this summer in the Gay Pride festival. They will have a boat for themselves during the piquant parade through the capital’s canals.
As in a carnival parade, groups of men annually go through the canals in countless boats, often scantily clad. With the support of gay rights organisation COC, a 14 year old […]

The traffic-jams in the Randstad western urban agglomeration are much worse than in comparable urban regions abroad. A system of payment per kilometre driven should be introduced as quickly as possible, the OECD recommends.
The Dutch economy suffers greatly from the traffic problems in the Randstad, the region that contains Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. […]

The municipality of Amsterdam is to have a statue for prostitution. The work of art will probably be unveiled in March or April, according to initiator Mariska Majoor.
Amsterdam municipality has issued a license for the erection of the bronze statue on Oudekerksplein, a square situated in the red light district De Wallen. “It is a […]

The Party for Animals (PvdD) is rejecting the use of poison to curb a potential mouse plague in the Lower House. They want the animals to be caught alive.
In November, the PvdD made its debut in the Lower House with two seats. The two MPs have been allotted office space that previously accommodated Christian […]

A chlorine drum exploded in the Hotel L’ Empereur in the Maastricht city centre on Wednesday morning injuring 15 people.
Some 39 people reported breathing difficulties, 15 of whom were later treated in hospital. The victims suffered breathing problems, nausea and irritated eyes.
Witnesses said there was no panic and emergency services arrived on the scene […]

Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” will be shown for free at Lumière cinema for three weeks starting on 25 January, thanks to a private sponsorship of law firm Paulussen Advocaten.
The film deals with climate change and the effects of global warming.
The paper reports that the initiative aims at increasing awareness about the issues […]

On January 23, 8.00 pm a public debate will take place on the need to invest more in developing world’s youth population. Manny Jimenez, lead author of the World Development Report 2007 ‘Development and the New Generation’, will discuss issues at hand with a panel of experts and students, moderated by Jo Ritzen, President of […]

From Radio Netherlands press review of 16 January 2007:
Trouw’s lead story is that more than half of all Dutch people believe that major charities are not trustworthy. Even more people are bothered by the way charities try to raise funds. Among the main complaints are - you guessed it - phone calls at home, mailings, […]

From Radio Netherlands press review of 16 January 2007:
The results of an investigation into the quality of battered women’s shelters are reported by several papers. Many of the abused women and their children wind up having to share space with other battered women. “This approach is out-of-date,” writes NRC.next, “and it doesn’t suit the seriousness […]