Sixteen children and two adults were injured Wednesday afternoon when a truck collided with a school bus in the South Limburg town of Jabeek.
The school bus transported children from the Afnorth International School whose parents work at the NATO base in Brunssum. One 13 year old Canadian girl was seriously injured and was evacuated by […]

Natalie Giorgadze, a volunteer from Georgia arrived in early May at the Maastricht intercultural student association Sidebyside to work on a three week job shadowing project entitled “Building a Bridge to the Caucasus”.
The job shadowing project was organised thanks to the European Union Youth in Action Programme which allows young workers to gain practical […]

The following update was sent to Crossroads’ mailing list subscribers on Tuesday 22 May 2007:
Dear Crossroads reader,
Welcome to a new update about recent developments on Crossroads, the web magazine for expatriates in Maastricht published by the European Journalism Centre.
In this issue:

Photographs from Flickr
New features on the sidebar
Views per article
Video clips
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EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has unveiled plans to give schoolchildren free fruit to combat obesity. She launched the drive at an EU summit in the German city of Mainz. The scheme, which is expected to cost 100 million euros a year, would be jointly financed by the EU and member states. Child obesity […]

Maastrichts Mooiste Happy Run 5 K
Maastrichts Mooiste Happy Run 5 K. race on Sunday afternoon 10 June 2007 is a beautiful race through the historic city of Maastricht. Thousands of spectators and carnival bands accompany you on your way to glory.
Maastrichts Mooiste 15 K.
Maastrichts Mooiste 15 kilometer starts on Sunday morning 10 June 2007 […]

How fast and accurate are our waiters? They can show their skills in Maastricht, the city with the highest density of cafes in the Netherlands. Does a city like Maastricht also has the best waiters?
Maastrichts Mooiste Waiter Race is a fun race between teams of waiters, who have to take glasses, filled with beer and […]

Maastrichts Mooiste Walk on Sunday 3 June 2007 promises to become one of the most spectacular walks in the Netherlands. It already starts from take-off, from the picturesque Castle of Rijckholt.
Hikers can choose between a 10 or a 20 K. walk. Both walks go predominantly through the mysterious woods, called the Savelsbos, in which unknown […]

World Music, a Sport Market, delicious food & drinks, the sun (of course!), various dance and sports shows.
On saturday 9 June there will be a big party at the Markt (Market Square) of Maastricht (City Centre). This special day is organized together with Maastrichts Mooiste.
1 PM
The Maastrichts Mooiste Sport Market takes place between 1 - […]

New features are displayed on the sidebar since 12 May, 2007. You can now see:
- the 10 most recent articles
- the 10 most viewed articles
- 5 random articles from our archives (to give you a glimpse into what we’ve published in the past)
Number of views
It is now possible to view the number of visitors for […]

“While it’s a time to celebrate, it’s also a time to reflect on Europe’s missed opportunities,” said Maastricht University president Jo Ritzen last week in his introductory address to Forum Maastricht, the university’s annual conference on European affairs. [continued…]

The European Union’s top foreign policy official, Javier Solana, has been presented the Charlemagne Prize, one of Germany’s most prestigious public service awards. The medal recognises Solana’s work in encouraging peace and European unity. The ceremony took place in the city of Aachen, situated on the border between Germany the Netherlands and Belgium. The Charlemagne […]

The European Times report shows that 72% of the Dutch population favours Dutch membership of the EU. European affairs minister Frans Timmermans said that he attached much importance to this information.
The fifth European Times (full title: The European marketplace: 50 years of public opinion and market integration in the European Union) is a publication […]

Amsterdam is losing ground as a business location vis-a-vis other European metropolises. Foreign investors lose their way in the Netherlands’ numerous administrative layers and complain about Dutch hospitality, according to research into the investment climate in Amsterdam carried out by accountancy KPMG for regional employers organisation VNO-NCW West.
The Amsterdam region is rich with promising sections […]

The number of reports of physical violence in schools rose by 40 percent last year. The problem appears greatest in VMBO, the lowest level of secondary education, the Education Inspectorate’s annual report indicates.
In total, 1419 cases of physical violence were reported in all sections of education in 2006, compared with 1015 a year earlier, the […]

The average income of 25-29 year-old men with a non-western foreign background in the Netherlands is around 30 percent lower than that of their native Dutch peers. A considerable part of this difference is caused by their lower educational levels.
Moroccan men at the bottom of the income ladder
On average, the income of Moroccan men […]

Pupils in pre-university education (vwo) in the Netherlands often – but not always - choose a university study that connects up well with the profile (subject cluster) they choose after year 3.
For the profiles economics and society, and culture and society the connection is strong, for the profiles natural sciences and health, and natural […]

Belgium is fining Dutch nationals who live in Belgium and failed to vote in the municipal elections last October. The fine starts at EUR 500 a person.
Voting is compulsory for all Belgian residents who are registered to vote, even those who are foreign nationals.
Read full story: Expatica Belgium, 16 May 2007
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Ahhh, spring in Maastricht! Outdoor chairs appear at every café, the sun shines, flowers bloom, and Maastrichters head outdoors with gusto. The parks of Maastricht become popular, and populated, once again. This time of year these public spaces have shed their gray winter coats to become sunny green magnets for one and all: dogwalkers, sunbathers, sports players, families, bikers, strollers, readers, writers, and all the rest. [continued…]

Sidebyside announcement:
Have ever thought about the religions existing right next to you? Have you ever felt the need to know more and explore? Whether you have or not, now is the time to do so. Tafelstraat 13, Stichting COMM and Sidebyside invite you to a fascinating journey aimed at overcoming stereotypes and finding out […]

Education in the Netherlands is facing serious and persistent problems.
Many students are not learning to read, write or do arithmetic adequately; more than half of schools offering special education have been put under extra supervision; and still far too many young people are dropping out without a diploma or prospects on the labour market.
This […]

The European Parliament has reached agreement with the EU member states about limiting the rates for international mobile phone calls within the European Union. In the near future, mobile phone operators will be able to charge no more than 49 euro cents a minute for calls to another EU country and a maximum of 24 […]

Immigration increased over the past quarter, in particular immigrants from the new EU member states Bulgaria and Romania came to the Netherlands. At the same time, emigration declined. As a result, the population growth rose to 6 thousand in the first quarter, according to the most recent figures published by Statistics Netherlands.
Immigration mounts further
Nearly 26 […]

The percentage of young people leaving education with a basic qualification has risen slightly in recent years, especially in the most urbanised areas. In these areas the number of young people with a non-western foreign background in particular who left school with a basic qualification increased.
More young people with a basic qualification
In the period 2004–2006 […]

Some 29 million visitors from inside and outside the Netherlands stayed in Dutch overnight accommodation in 2006. This is 10 percent more than in 2005. The number of nights they spent in the Netherlands was 5 percent higher than in 2005.
More Germans in 2006
In 2006, 17.9 million Dutch guests spent the night in some […]

Looking for a chance to work in an interesting international environment?
The EJC welcomes internship applications from people with a journalistic background who are interested in covering and researching media issues. We especially welcome applications from students and graduates who participate at the Leonardo da Vinci program.
If you are interested in Media and Journalism, […]

“Innovation journalism” is a new concept that aims to revolutionize modern reporting. A three-day seminar at the European Journalism Centre in Maastricht, Netherlands, will explain the fundamentals of innovative journalism and promote its use in newsrooms across Europe. The seminar dates are July 25 to 27; the application deadline is June 10.
Described as “paradigm-changing,” […]

Crossroads writer Danya Chaikel tells of her experience with the Maastricht justice system.

I have lived and travelled in many cities around the world and when I came to cobbled streets of Maastricht I felt safer than ever before. I really couldn’t imagine there being much crime in this picturesque ‘village’. My naiveté was crushed on 11 January 2007 when I was attacked and robbed on a bike path off Cabergweg.
[continued…]

Some of the 80 students from Saudi Arabia planning to study medicine in Maastricht and Groningen want to cancel their plans to follow the programme.
They are angry that the programme is being taught in Dutch and not in English, a spokesperson for the University of Maastricht (UM) said today.
The students insist that they were […]

The front page of De Telegraaf features a picture of Edsilia Rombley, the Dutch representative in the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki. During last night’s semi-finals, she failed to win enough points to go on to the finals..
Only ten of the 26 contestants went on to the finals, which will be held on Saturday […]

Crossroads writer Gina Wuppermann looks at the Dutch equivalent of preschool, known as “peuterspeelzaal” (literal translation “toddlers’ playroom” or “playschool”). [continued…]