Short holiday break

Crossroads is taking a short holiday break in the last week of December but will be back on Tuesday 2 January 2007 with a fresh selection of news and exclusive feature articles.
On behalf of the European Journalism Centre, that publishes Crossroads, I would like to wish all our readers an excellent 2007!
Kind regards… and good [...]

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Biking in Limburg

In order to make Belgian and The Netherlands Limburg attractive as a vacation destination, both provinces have decided to work together on a project basis. One of the projects is cycling (or biking) in Limburg. This project can expect a subsidy of EUR 125,140 from the Province. The object of the project is to develop [...]

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UNICEF receives record Dutch donation

The Netherlands has donated 166 million euros to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF. It is the largest donation in UNICEF’s 60-year history.
In an interview with Radio Netherlands, Development Cooperation Minister Agnes van Ardenne says she hopes that other countries will follow.
The money will be used to educate 25 million children in 40 [...]

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Embassy children return to the Netherlands

Two children who sought refuge at the Dutch embassy in Damascus several months ago have arrived in the Netherlands. The children, 13-year-old Ammar and his 11-year-old sister Sara, were met at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport by Foreign Minister Ben Bot, who brought them to an undisclosed destination to be reunited with their mother.
Two years ago, they [...]

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18 arrests for gay bashing in Limburg

Police have arrested 18 people in connection with a string of attacks on homosexuals on the Brunssummerheide heathlands in the southern province of Limburg. The charges range from physical attacks to robbery and damaging cars. The 18 are aged between 16 and 37. Eight are still in custody.
Source: DutchNews.nl, 22 December 2006

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19 Dec-20 Jan: Video art exhibit: Two moments in the spectrum of reality, by Jacqueline Machado de Souza

Jacqueline Machado de Souza
Two moments in the spectrum of reality
19.12.06 - 20.01.07
Venue: Traders Pop Gallery
First floor
Heggenstraat 16
6211GW Maastricht
t: 0031 (043) 321 0971
f: 0031 (043) 321 6601
e: take5@euronet.nl
Jacqueline Machado de Souza (1964, Brazil) lives and works in Maastricht.
“A variety of photographic tools and video make up the foundation of my work. Using archive material and [...]

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Traffic objects impede Amstel Gold Race course

The Amstel Gold Race organization expressed its dissatisfaction against the provinces, because they increased the use of road narrows and traffic tresholds.
Read the rest of the article: Cycling Post, 20 December 2006

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“Real” Dutch Santa faces fight from U.S. import

The original Dutch Santa is facing stiff competition from the red-clad, white-bearded American version, a poll has found.
For the first time, as many Dutch children are getting presents from Santa Claus at Christmas as from the equally jovial Sinterklaas, who hands out his gifts on the evening of Dec. 5. [...]
Thursday’s poll by TNS-NIPO found [...]

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Television should become more multicultural

The public broadcasters have set targets for dozens of TV programmes stating the number of multicultural subjects and immigrant studio guests and presenters that must appear in their line-up.
Source: Trouw via Expatica Netherlands, 20 December 2006

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Queen Elizabeth to visit Amsterdam

Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will visit the Netherlands next year. She and her husband Prince Philip will attend the 400th anniversary celebrations of the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam.
In 1607, the municipality presented the church to English-speaking Protestants who had sought refuge in Amsterdam. The church has since held services in English. Some of its [...]

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Muslim teacher who won’t shake hands with men is sacked

The Vader Rijn College in Utrecht is to sack the female teacher who refuses to shake hands with men on religious grounds. Earlier this year the Equal Opportunities Commission backed the woman, saying handshaking was not essential. The school disagrees.
Source: DutchNews.nl, 19 December 2006

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Iran, Netherlands on Rembrandt remembrance

A painting exhibition opened at the National Library and Documents Organization of Iran Tuesday to celebrate the 400th birthday anniversary of Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, MNA reported.
Four famous paintings along with 15 drawings of Rembrandt and his biography are at hand.
Entitled “Iran’s and the Netherlands’ Paintings”, the show aims [...]

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Gov’t advisors: Netherlands is muslim country historically

If the Dutch criticise Islam, they should realise that they themselves were for years the world’s biggest Muslim country. This remarkable conclusion comes from a book published by the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR).
“In the debate on Islam in the Netherlands, it is much too easily forgotten that the Netherlands as coloniser of the [...]

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New collaboration between MSM and Chinese university

On December 14, 2006, a delegation of the Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CSUFT) from Changsha, China, came to Maastricht to discuss the future collaboration between MSM and CSUFT. The CSUFT delegation was led by Prof. Huaiyun Zhang, President of CSUFT.
After fruitful discussions, both parties agreed upon and signed a collaboration agreement. [...]

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In 30 years a quarter of the population will be over 65

The greying of the population will reach its peak in just over 30 years. Between now and 2038, the number of people over 65 will increase from 2.4 to 4.3 million. A quarter of the 17 million Dutch people will then over 65. The number of older people will increase especially fast because of the [...]

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Holland needs more post grads

Holland must increase its post-graduate numbers by 20% to 3,000, say universities, trade unions and Promovendi Netwerk Nederland (PNN), the body which represents doctoral students, in today’s Financieele Dagblad. Such an increase would cost the government an estimated €50m.
PNN says that while Holland has been cutting investment in higher education by an average of [...]

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IND to cut 25 per cent of staff

The Dutch immigration service IND is expected to cut some 850 jobs in coming years.
That represents a quarter of the IND’s workforce, it was announced on Monday.
The Justice Ministry said the IND will need to employ fewer people due to an improvement in efficiency and a greater reliance on computers.
The ministry is currently drawing up [...]

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UNESCO to fight English-language influx

A UNESCO convention aimed at protecting countries from English-language cultural standardization was poised on Monday to come into force as 14 countries were to ratify the text, the French foreign ministry said.
UNESCO’s convention on cultural diversity was adopted last year despite strong protests from the United States, which fears that the convention will be used [...]

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Dutch coalition talks to begin in new year

In the Netherlands, the Christian Democrats, the Labour Party and the Christian Union have agreed to hold serious negotiations aimed at forming a government coalition. The talks will begin early in the new year and will be overseen by Christian Democrat Herman Wijffels, who is the Dutch representative at the World Bank.
Following parliamentary elections on [...]

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Dutch old-age pensioners wealthier

In an interview, Dutch Social Affairs Minister Aart Jan de Geus has said that, in terms of wealth, Dutch old-age pensioners are rapidly closing the gap with younger generations.
Mr De Geus said that in three years the average old-age pensioner will be better off than people in younger age brackets.
He said this means [...]

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EU of 27 to see stark contrasts in wealth

People in Luxembourg have on average over eight times the spending power of people in EU member-states-to-be Romania and Bulgaria, Eurostat says in a survey showing startling contrasts in wealth in the new European Union.
The study, which shows the Grand Duchy enjoys a GDP/capita level of 251 percent of the EU average while the [...]

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Religion and homosexuality divide Europeans

The idea of a single set of “European values” was thrown into doubt on Monday (18 December) as a fresh Eurobarometer poll exposed strongly varying attitudes towards delicate issues such as religion, homosexuality and drug use across the EU.
The survey, conducted for the European Commission, for the first time quizzed Europeans about some key [...]

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Expat voting to be made easier in European elections

The European Commission is working to make the 2009 European Parliament elections more “European,” proposing measures to make it easier for citizens to vote and stand as candidates in a member state other than their own.
Europeans living in another member state are gradually showing more interest in electing their MEPs, going up from 5.9 percent [...]

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European Muslims pushed into alienation, study says

Around 13 million Muslims living in Europe experience various forms of discrimination - mainly affecting their job and education prospects, as well as housing conditions - which tends to alienate them from society, according to a new report.
The study published by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) on Monday (18 December) found [...]

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Dutch not more intolerant post-Fortuyn, but media less correct

Dutch Not More Intolerant Post-Fortuyn, But Media Less Correct
NIJMEGEN, 19/12/06 - The Netherlands was much less tolerant than was generally assumed in elitist circles well before 2002. Political maverick Pim Fortuyn, who emerged and was murdered in that year, only brought the discontent to the surface, three sociologists at the Radboud University in Nijmegen [...]

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D’Artagnan’s death at the 1673 siege of Maastricht

If you have the chance, on a sunny morning, to contemplate the medieval towers of Maastricht from Mount Saint Pieter, you will not find it hard to imagine yourself back in centuries past. [continued...]

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25 December: International Christmas celebration in English

On Christmas Day, Monday 25 December, at 13 hours there will be the Third International Students’ Christmas Celebration in English in the Sint Janskerk, Vrijthof, Maastricht. The service will be open to international students and other foreigners in Maastricht. Everyone is welcome.
After the service there will be a free Christmas Buffet. The Church is open [...]

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Maastricht-Brussels Express victim of the language barrier?: a photo-reportage

Crossroads photographer Herman Pijpers last Thursday decided to take a few shots of the newly launched Maastricht-Brussels Express train. Without his knowledge, he recorded a peculiar incident that took place right as he was shooting the following pictures. [continued...]

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Euro MPs vote for gradual introduction of single EU driving licence

Drivers in EU nations will be issued with a bloc-wide driving licence, to be gradually introduced from now till 2033, the European parliament agreed on Thursday.
The decades-long introduction of the single EU driving licence is due to the insistence of some member states, principally Germany, but also Austria, Belgium and France, to preserve their [...]

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Until 23rd Dec: Winterland Maastricht: a photo-reportage

Maastricht celebrates the season of goodwill with Winterland Maastricht on the Vrijthof. Visitors can enjoy ice skating on a huge rink, a fairground with a big ferris wheel, bands, concerts, a Christmas train and a Christmas market. Gluhwein (warm red wine), hot chocolate and pancakes in the square round off a magical experience for all the family. [more photographs...]

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