Maastricht plays host to Zimbabwe’s future leaders
December 19, 2008 7 Comments
Through contacts at the Dutch Embassy in South Africa, 17 students in their early twenties from across Zimbabwe were able to organize themselves and come to Maastricht to study while being granted refugee status in the Netherlands. “We declined a system that arrested our human rights,” says Themba Maphenduka, “that is why we are in Maastricht today.” A report by Alex Derry for Crossroads.
links for 2008-12-19
December 19, 2008 Leave a Comment
Netherlands to strengthen flood fortifications
The Dutch government on Thursday unveiled a multi-billion dollar plan to reinforce dykes and the coastline and augment fresh water supplies in the face of rising sea levels due to global warming.
(tags: english)
Hema to open branch in Paris
Department store Hema, one of the Netherlands' most popular chains, will open its first [...]
Winter break
December 19, 2008 Leave a Comment
Dear readers,
Crossroads is taking a short winter break from December 22, 2008 till January 5, 2009.
Best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year!
Sueli Brodin
Crossroads editor
Share of seniors, foreigners in population to increase more sharply
December 19, 2008 Leave a Comment
The Dutch population will grow from 16.5 million today to 17.5 million in 2040, 500,000 more that previously estimated. By then, 26 percent will be over-65s and about as many foreigners, the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) predicted yesterday.
In 2006 CBS predicted population growth to 17 million inhabitants up to 2040. “The new forecast is [...]
Minister wants to abolish Turkish national service
December 19, 2008 Leave a Comment
The national service requirement in Turkey that thousands of Dutch citizens have to complete is an impediment to integration in the Netherlands, in the view of Integration Minister Eberhard van der Laan.
Van der Laan wants to bring up Turkish national service within the cabinet. His aim is to persuade the Turkish government to drop the [...]
links for 2008-12-18
December 18, 2008 Leave a Comment
Maastricht officieel kandidaat Culturele Hoofdstad
Maastricht gaat zich officieel kandidaat stellen voor de titel van Culturele Hoofdstad van Europa 2018. De gemeenteraad ging dinsdagavond op de VVD na akkoord met de ambitie van het stadsbestuur om met de partners in de (eu)regio de status te behalen.
(tags: dutch)
Dutch government introduces a custom typeface: Rijksoverheid
As part of the [...]
“You want to play a role in 2018? Then you need to be convincing” - Alexander van Grevenstein, artistic director of the Bonnefanten Museum
December 17, 2008 4 Comments
The Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht will in 2009 celebrate the 125th anniversary of its foundation. “With time, our institution has grown into the only art museum in the area, focusing both on old masters and contemporary art,” says artistic director Alexander van Grevenstein in an interview with Crossroads writer Saramicol Viscardi.
links for 2008-12-17
December 17, 2008 Leave a Comment
Report calls for shorter school holidays
The long school summer holiday should be shortened by a week and a half, the NRC quotes a confidential report as saying.
(tags: english)
EU Parliament allows pints and miles to stay on in metric world
The European parliament on Tuesday saved the pint and mile from EU extinction, saving British and Irish [...]
International organisations in The Hague happier
December 17, 2008 Leave a Comment
International organisations and their foreign employees (expats) are increasingly satisfied with the Netherlands as host country, Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen reports on the basis of a study by his ministry.
“A few years ago, there was much criticism by the 31 international organisations based in the Netherlands and their expat staff,” according to Verhagen. “They complained [...]
21 Dec: English Carol Service
December 16, 2008 Leave a Comment
Invitation for a traditional Carol Service (English)
Date: Sunday, 21st December 2008
Time: 5PM
Location: St. Jan’s Church (the red Church on the Vrijthof - the entrance is round the back).
All are welcome!
For further details, please do contact Claire Middleton
Immigration pushes Europe’s population to nearly 500 million
December 16, 2008 Leave a Comment
The population of the European Union increased to nearly half a billion in 2008, thanks largely to a rise in net migration, new figures show.
According to the bloc’s statistical office, Eurostat, the 27 countries that form the EU will have a combined population of 499.7 million people on Jan. 1, up 2.2 million from 2007. [...]
Almost one million Dutch with dual nationality
December 16, 2008 Leave a Comment
Figures released by the Dutch statistics office, Statistics Netherlands, show that almost one million Dutch citizens now hold dual nationality. That is almost three times as many as in 1995. Of that one million, nearly half are Turkish or Moroccan.
Since 2003, the increase has been due mainly to the fact that children with a parent [...]
New timetable, more trains
December 16, 2008 Leave a Comment
The new Dutch railway timetable came into force on Sunday. The number of trains travelling throughout the country will increase by three percent. There will also be more trains per hour in several areas. This will happen in the Randstad (the urban conglomeration in the west of the country, comprising cities such as Amsterdam, The [...]
Fewer Dutch holidaymakers this Christmas
December 16, 2008 Leave a Comment
Around 800,000 Dutch people will go on holiday over the Christmas period, which is around a 100,000 fewer than last year. The Dutch tourism board puts the downturn down to the unfavourable timing of Christmas in combination with economic uncertainty.
Approximately 45 percent of Dutch holidaymakers will stay inside the Netherlands, most of them will rent [...]
links for 2008-12-15
December 15, 2008 Leave a Comment
Ruim miljoen Nederlanders met dubbele nationaliteit
Op 1 januari waren er in Nederland 1,08 miljoen inwoners met een dubbele nationaliteit. Dat is bijna drie keer zoveel als in 1995.
(tags: dutch)
DSM schrapt 1000 banen
Chemieconcern DSM gaat bezuinigen om de economische malaise het hoofd te bieden. Daarbij verdwijnen onder meer duizend banen, ongeveer 5 procent van het totaal [...]
links for 2008-12-14
December 14, 2008 Leave a Comment
Limburgs dialect nog zeer vitaal
De Limburgse dialecten zijn nog uiterst vitaal. Beduidend vitaler dan de dialecten in Noord-Brabant en Zeeland.
(tags: dutch)
How can Japanese people learn a new language better?
December 13, 2008 2 Comments
“Like many of my fellow Japanese countrymen, I am not good at English,” says Akira Kudo, a staff writer at the Japanese Mainichi newspapers. In order to find out how Japanese people can improve their language skills, he took advantage of a recent training programme at the European Journalism Centre’s office in Brussels to ask some advice from a language expert at the European Commission.
links for 2008-12-12
December 12, 2008 Leave a Comment
In Limburg staan 30.000 banen op de tocht
De recessie slaat in Limburg harder toe dan in de rest van het land. De werkgelegenheid zal hier iets somberder uitpakken: er verdwijnen meer arbeidsplaatsen en dat gaat een jaar langer door.
(tags: dutch)
Schiphol boss becomes professor at Maastricht University
Gerlach Cerfontaine, who leaves his post as director of Schiphol [...]
Dutch government juggles with Islam film statement
December 12, 2008 Leave a Comment
The Dutch government has given its own population a different statement than the international community on the Islam film of Ehsan Jami. Jami, an Iranian-born 23 year old Dutchman, launched his short film ‘Interview with Mohammed’ on the Internet this week. In his film, Jami asks a masked actor dressed as the Prophet Mohammed what [...]
Dutch government: Jami “deeply offends” Muslims with film
December 11, 2008 Leave a Comment
Ehsan Jami has offended Muslims with his film ‘Interview with Mohammed’, according to an official statement released yesterday by Premier Jan Peter Balkenende on behalf of the Dutch government.
“The Dutch government has taken notice of Mr Jami’s film, in which he expresses his personal opinions about Islam. The Netherlands has a tradition of freedom of [...]
Researchers: Wilders is Extreme Right
December 11, 2008 Leave a Comment
The Party for Freedom (PVV) can be classified as extreme right, the University of Leiden and the Anne Frank foundation conclude. They presented their Racism and Extremism Monitor yesterday.
“The problem of ‘Islamophobia’ has increased substantially in the Netherlands during the past year,” the Anne Frank foundation stated. “This is not just a question of the [...]
A matter of Dutch principle
December 11, 2008 Leave a Comment
If a shopkeeper gives a Dutchman too much change back by mistake, then he’s likely to keep it for himself, unless the unsuspecting shopkeeper has managed to endear himself to his customer. According to a survey conducted by Filosofie Magazine (”Philosophy Magazine”), the Dutchman is generally not so principled, although he is of the opinion [...]
links for 2008-12-10
December 10, 2008 Leave a Comment
Dutch politician presents another Islam film
Now it's Ehsan Jami's turn. After Fitna, from right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders, and Submission, by former Dutch-Somali MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Theo van Gogh, now the young Iranian-born Dutchman Ehsan Jami has made a film about Islam.
(tags: english)
Nederlanders betalen massaal teveel perkeergeld
Nederlanders geven structureel teveel geld uit aan [...]
Estate agents halve conveyance tax to 3 percent
December 10, 2008 Leave a Comment
Estate agents in the west of the Netherlands are cutting the conveyance tax on home purchases from 6 to 3 percent. The action is intended to stimulate buying interest among house-hunters in the stagnating housing market, De Telegraaf newspaper reported yesterday.
Estate agents affiliated to NVM, the Netherlands’ biggest estate agents collective, will divide up the [...]
Dutch pupils getting worse in arithmetic
December 10, 2008 Leave a Comment
Children in Dutch primary schools are getting worse in arithmetic. According to international research, the level of year six Dutch pupils has deteriorated since 1995. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is in ninth place for arithmetic skills internationally.
The researchers tested pupils between the ages of 9 and 10 in 36 countries. They say Dutch children mainly have [...]
Dutch politician presents film on Islam
December 10, 2008 Leave a Comment
In the Hague, ex-Muslim Ehsan Jami has presented his English-language film entitled Interview with Mohammed. In the film, the prophet Mohammed looks back on his life and the interviewer questions him on women’s rights, non-believers and Judaism.
Mr Jami says his film is not against Islam. It pays attention to what he calls the victims of [...]
links for 2008-12-09
December 9, 2008 Leave a Comment
EU agrees to switch off old- style light bulbs by Sept 2012
The European Union decided to phase out traditional household light bulbs by September 2012 in favour of new energy-saving models that use a fraction of the electricity.
(tags: english)
Depeche Mode sluit de zondag af op Pinkpop
Het duurt weliswaar nog even, maar de eerste bandnaam die [...]
60 years of television broadcasts in the Netherlands
December 9, 2008 Leave a Comment
In 1948, 150 people employed with Philips received the first television sets. Trial broadcasts were transmitted from Eindhoven, where Philips was headquartered. Since 2005, watching TV online has become increasingly popular. In 2008, mobile television was introduced.
First broadcasts in 1951
The first regular TV programmes broadcast from Hilversum date back to 1951. From then on, watching [...]
Winter season in Maastricht: Magical Maastricht
December 9, 2008 Leave a Comment
Maastricht is set for a magical winter. Winterland will form the heart of the wintry Maastricht for the tenth time. Once again, Father Christmas will be living in his authentic Finnish wooden house. For the second time, the Theater aan het Vrijthof will present a Christmas production for the whole family, the Spaans Gouvernement Museum [...]
26-30 Dec: Winter Evenings at Bokrijk Open Air Musem
December 9, 2008 Leave a Comment
Bokrijk Open Air Museum will be transformed into a winter wonderland and perfect setting for a winter stroll. Bokrijk consists of three different villages and more than 100 historic buildings that will be decorated with lights and open to the public. People are dressed up, will tell you stories about the old days [...]
