The police searched a business in Heerhugowaard on Wednesday in connection with the art theft in Assen in March The stolen Romanian art pieces were not found in the search Digital data carriers were seized which are often telephones Five suspects have been arrested since the theft and four of these suspects are currently still detained with one female suspect being allowed to await the case in freedom The first public hearing in the case is scheduled for May 9 A historical golden helmet and three golden armbands from Romania were stolen from the Drents Museum in Assen at the end of January The stolen items were on loan to the Drents Museum and were of significant cultural value to Romania. A Dutch entrepreneur living in Romania has set a reward of 250,000 euros for anyone giving any valuable information that could lead to the recovery of the items it could cost the government 5.8 million euros This is because the government stood guarantor for the loan of the artifacts Police are still searching for a man who was seen on surveillance camera footage in a hardware store in Assen. They believe that the man was also involved in the theft. © 2012-2025, NL Times, All rights reserved. Photo: Michel van Bergen ANPPolice have arrested four minors following a major blast at an apartment building in Heerhugowaard in Noord-Holland on Thursday evening An unknown number of people were evacuated and spent the night at the home of relatives or in a hotel The police do not think anyone is trapped under the rubble a mental health care centre situated on the ground floor of the complex said none of its clients or staff had been hurt in the blast Police and building experts are currently shoring up the building which was heavily damaged in the explosion The blast took place at 8.10 pm and was followed by a fire It took firefighters until 11:00 pm to douse the flames leaving a heavily scarred building and two apartments without a facade The area around the building has been cordoned off until the building can be made safe Police will then start a forensic investigation into the origin of the blast Neighbours were shocked by the blast. “When I see this, I am surprised and relieved no one was killed,” one man told the Telegraaf “It appears to have been a deliberate attack,” another said “You must be completely crazy to put the lives of vulnerable people at risk Between 2021 and 2023 the number of explosions in the Netherlands has increased fivefold with 70% of incidents taking place in the Randstad conurbation around Amsterdam A revenge attack on a bridal shop in The Hague in December last year resulted in the collapse of a building killing three members of the same family and three others We could not provide the Dutch News service without the generous support of our readers Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days We could not provide this service without you Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker There have been “signals” suggesting that there has been a threat towards a prisoner in the jail in Heerhugowaard A spokesperson for the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) confirmed an initial report by De Telegraaf on Tuesday De Telegraaf reported that the prison took measures after they had received a warning that an attack on a prisoner was coming 50,000 euros has been paid for the man to be killed The DJI could not give any details about the threat and said that the situation is being “followed closely.” The spokesperson said that the DJI could not give any more details about this due to safety and privacy concerns The report claimed that three or four prisoners were intending to stab the man if he went towards the imam of the Noord-Holland prison at around 1 p.m The alleged target apparently has a bounty on his head The spokesperson for the DJI stated that the service “sadly has to deal with threats towards inmates regularly These are signals that are taken very seriously by us We have protocols to ensure that we can guarantee the inmate's safety,” the spokesperson said It was not reported which measures the prison has taken to ensure the safety of the inmate in question Four underage suspects had already been arrested shortly after the incident while the other three have been released but are still considered suspects in the ongoing investigation Regional broadcaster NH reported that police remain cautious in sharing information because the majority of those involved are minors Five people sustained minor injuries during the incident Authorities searched the complex throughout the night but did not find any additional victims Several of the affected apartments were structurally reinforced due to damage caused by the blast and fire The explosion occurred shortly after 8:00 p.m and firefighters managed to bring the resulting fire under control approximately three hours later One of them was seen on the images from a hardware store in Assen the police have already arrested five suspects in this investigation The latest arrested suspects are a 20-year-old man and an 18-year-old man Both men will be questioned about their role in the art theft from the Drents Museum the police had already searched a house in Opmeer and a business premises in Heerhugowaard a demand was made for the extradition of administration at a house in Heerhugowaard on Wednesday morning ArtDependence Magazine is an international magazine covering all spheres of contemporary art ArtDependence features the latest art news highlighting interviews with today’s most influential artists fair directors and individuals at the axis of the arts The magazine also covers series of articles and reviews on critical art events new publications and other foremost happenings in the art world If you would like to submit events or editorial content to ArtDependence Magazine, please feel free to reach the magazine via the contact page The incident resulted in significant damage to multiple apartments Emergency services had previously indicated a high probability that no other individuals were harmed the 69 apartments in the building remain uninhabitable security measures have been implemented to prevent unauthorized access.​ In connection with the incident, five individuals have been arrested on suspicion of arson Two suspects remain in custody as investigations continue into the cause of the explosion and fire Three people were arrested on Wednesday as part of the investigation into the brazen theft of Romanian gold artifacts from the Drents Museum last weekend The gold helmet and bracelets stolen during the burglary have not yet been recovered All three suspects were being held in restricted custody meaning they may only remain in contact with an attorney The three arrests were made by police in Heerhugowaard a city less than an hour north of Amsterdam in the province of Noord-Holland A Volkswagen Golf was stolen from there last week It was found burned out soon after the incident "Three people have been detained by the Dutch police suspected of committing this theft with a particularly serious impact on Romanians None of the three are Romanian," said Romania's Interior State Secretary Bogdan Despescu during a press conference “We are very pleased with the hopeful news regarding the arrests in Noord-Holland,” the Drents Museum said in a statement “The safe return of the stolen artefacts would be a fantastic next step for all involved on Saturday when explosives were used to make an entrance into the museum Three individuals could be seen in camera footage of the incident They were likely in and out within a short timeframe Police indicated more arrests are possible. Earlier on Wednesday, police released three photos of a man they believe to be involved in the burglary The photographs were taken by a surveillance camera inside a hardware store in Assen the same municipality where the museum is located Please let us know,” police wrote in an update The photographs of the man were released a day after police said they wanted to know more about a sledgehammer and a deadblow hammer found at the scene which may have been used in the burglary Authorities were also looking for information about a Volkswagen Golf that was stolen from Alkmaar as well as a van that may have been used by the suspects suspects must be brought before an examining magistrate for a preliminary hearing within three days which can be delayed by up to three days in some urgent circumstances The magistrate can remand them to jail for up to 14 days prior to an arraignment hearing at a district court “The theft has deeply affected many people; in Romania We are extremely grateful for all the expressions of support we have received,” the Museum said Updated at 8:44 - the police confirmed that they arrested four underage suspects media reported that at least two people were arrested A fire raged at an apartment complex in Heerhugowaard after a possible explosion blew the facade off the building on Umbriellaan on Thursday evening The police arrested four minors at the scene The authorities believe that everyone who was inside the building is accounted for Emergency services responded to the building at around 8:00 p.m The local authorities and mayor said that there was “presumably” an explosion in one of the homes The alarm was quickly escalated to a “very large fire.” Photos from the scene show that the facade of the building was blown away The two destroyed apartments were propped up A crane removed debris to make space for the support pillars The emergency services searched the apartments and believe that there are no victims beyond the five who sustained minor injuries There will be a final check in daylight to be sure,” a spokesperson for the local security region told ANP last night Police officers arrested four underage suspects at the scene, the police said on Friday morning. NH Nieuws reporters saw the police take two of them away in handcuffs It is not clear whether they are residents of the building The police have not said what they are suspected of Residents of the apartment complex were evacuated and taken in at the town hall. They won’t be able to return to their homes until Saturday at the earliest, according to NOS The municipality will organize hotel rooms for those who can’t find accommodation with friends or family Two children drowned in the Netherlands on Sunday A 2-year-old girl died after ending up in the lake in the Park van Luna in Heerhugowaard And a 14-year-old British boy drowned in the Buiten-IJ near Amsterdam A bystander saw the toddler lying motionless in the recreational lake in the Heerhugowaard park at around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, NH Nieuws reported He picked her up and carried her to the side Bystanders began resuscitating her while they waited for the emergency services including first aid workers from the nearby Luna Beach festival the police reported that it was to no avail It is unclear how she ended up in the water Bystanders told NH Nieuws that she may have been playing on the water’s edge A fire brigade diving team pulled a 14-year-old British boy out of the Buiten-IJ near Amsterdam on Sunday. At 3:30 p.m., a passenger boat reported that the boy had disappeared under the water, a police spokesperson told NOS and Coast Guard helicopters searched for the boy They found him just under an hour after he was reported missing and rushed him to a hospital in critical condition This article was updated when the situation ended One prisoner held two others hostage for several hours at the penitentiary in Heerhugowaard The agency that runs the prisons said the motive was not immediately clear The hostages were released unharmed and the suspect was arrested at about 3 p.m The hostages were being held in a common room The agency is responsible for the management of Dutch prisons and other facilities used to house people accused or convicted of a crime A specialized unit based at the prison tried to "get the situation under control" peacefully Several police vehicles and ambulances were sent to the scene An ANP reporter said they left the prison on Copernicusstraat when the situation came to an end The Heerhugowaard facility holds up to 340 male detainees spread out over two buildings was built in 1994 with 232 places for prisoners in 10 cell blocks across five different wings The Amerswiel building was built six years later with 11 terraced homes to house up to 72 prisoners and 16 others with more flexible sentences The Zuyder Bos has a facility to provide additional care while the Amerswiel site has a more limited security arrangement You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience S4 Energy and ABB recently installed a hybrid battery-flywheel storage facility in the Netherlands The project features a 10 MW battery system and a 3 MW flywheel system and can reportedly offer a levelized cost of storage ranging between €0.020 ($0.020)/kWh and €0.12/kWh ABB regenerative drives power S4 Energy Kinext's energy-storage flywheels S4 Energy, a Netherlands-based flywheel technology, and Swiss conglomerate ABB recently switched on a storage project that combines battery and flywheels to help the Dutch grid maintain a stable frequency of 50 Hz It features a 10 MW battery system and a 3 MW flywheel system which are both connected to a nearby wind farm batteries and flywheels can also support PV production facilities,” a spokesperson from ABB told pv magazine “They can be used to curtail and smoothen the PV power profile on a short-term basis The storage system has a storage capacity of around 9 MWh and relies on ABB's regenerative drives and process performance motors which power the Kinext energy-storage flywheels developed by S4 Energy Each Kinext unit includes a flywheel with a mass of 5,000 kg and a large diameter The companies said it is able to spin relatively slowly but it can reach a maximum speed of around 950 km per hour a Kinext unit can provide more than 1 MW of power,” said S4 Energy “Kinext units can be used as standalone storage systems or as part of a larger set-up in which one or more Kinext units work together with other storage technology such as battery systems.” ABB's motor and drive use surplus power from the electricity network to speed up the rotation of the flywheel which stores power in the form of kinetic energy and releases it back into electricity within milliseconds as they do not suffer any degradation in their capacity and do not require high maintenance costs they typically have a low environmental impact,” an ABB spokesperson said “The levelized cost of storage (LCOS) depends on the application but is between €0.020 ($0.020)/kWh and €0.12/kWh.” ABB says that flywheel storage enables fast charging and discharging as they do not degrade and do not require high maintenance costs they typically have a low environmental impact S4 Energy claims its flywheel system has a cycle efficiency of more than 92% and a lifetime of over 20 years “There are similar projects in the pipeline and other potential applications for the flywheel a flywheel peak shaving application for a harbor crane is currently being installed in the port of Rotterdam Netherlands,” the ABB spokesperson said “The pilot was aimed at the development of the algorithms to smoothen the wind power profile in order to produce a profile that is similar to the forecasted production profile of the wind turbine.” S4 Energy currently has 19 MW of storage facilities in operation and another 6 MW under construction More articles from Emiliano Bellini How many hours does the 3mw flywheel produce power on its own What is the footprint of this particular facility I would have thought you would appreciate that energy is measured in MWh and Power in MW As it stands this article is senseless and I stopped reading it When power levels in the grid are challenged by excess load this impacts the frequency producing brown out conditions that affect reliant infrastructure – process control systems So at full load it would last 3 hours – providing 3MW My other concerns would be how to generate the correct frequency since it looks like flywheels are coupled to rotating motor/generator and frequency often is tied to rotation speed then there would be inefficiency in translating the output power (DC or some other frequency) to the power for the grid I would think They must have figured it out and I am just curious Please be mindful of our community standards and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. View our privacy policy. × The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this Close Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks AllPlant specializes in the production and rooting of tissue culture plants The Heerhugowaard-based company supplies perennials to professional growers as rooted young plants this has made them one of the larger suppliers in Europe Customers in countries outside Europe can get stage 3 plants delivered directly from the laboratory to take care of rooting the plants in plugs themselves The sale of the AllPlant assortment in North America is in cooperation with Green Trade Horticulture which can supply a complete range of tissue culture stage 3 plants The AllPlant team states: "To be at the forefront of quality AllPlant has always focused on process optimization One example is the TTA FlexSorter that automatically sorts all rooted young plants before they are delivered to customers the sorting capacity will be expanded with a second sorting machine planting tissue culture plants in plugs is a labor-intensive process AllPlant has recently had 2 robots installed for the automatic planting of tissue culture plants This has realized a quality improvement because only qualified plants are planted AllPlant has adjusted the process in the laboratories These special modifications have made the plants even more suitable for automatic processing AllPlant decided to purchase three more robots The TTA CuttingEdge planters are capable of processing 2,500 plants per machine per hour TTA's focus has been on the processes of plant handling and plant selection Good solutions in these can only be realized through intensive cooperation with the grower It's important that each other's interests are well understood and that there is trust That has certainly been the case with the family business AllPlant When it comes to being passionate and continuing to work with each other until the right solution is found That makes collaboration not only necessary but also great fun." For more information:AllPlant young plantsNico de Haan, production managerwww.allplant.nlTel: +31 727 112 806 GreenTrade HorticultureJonathan Cooperwww.greentradehort.comTel: +1 760 842 323 8 TTAGeert Mariswww.tta.euTel : +31 184 691 105 FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 HortiDaily.com The suspects are two men from Heerhugowaard The 20-year-old is the man in the surveillance camera footage which the police shared at the end of January asking for help in identifying the suspect The man in the security camera footage emerged as a suspect because he bought a dead blow hammer and a sledgehammer at the hardware store in Assen which were similar to the tools used in the robbery a few days later.The person seen in the video has a lighter skin tone and when he made the purchase he was wearing a black Nike baseball hat the police searched a home in Heerhugowaard officers also raided a home in Opmeer and a business premises in Heerhugowaard “The investigation into the stolen masterpieces from the Drents Museum does not stop with these arrests,” the police said “Tracking down these pieces is still our priority.” The police asked anyone with information that could help the investigation to come forward The Dutch government stood guarantor for the loan of the artifacts, something the government often does to lower insurance premiums for museums and enable them to put on exhibitions. That means that, if these artifacts are not recovered, the theft could cost the Dutch government 5.8 million euros. Photo: Drents MuseumThree people have been arrested in connection with last weekend’s gold heist at the Drents Museum in Assen All three were picked up in Heerhugowaard, a town in Noord Holland not far from Alkmaar, the Telegraaf reported. One of the cars used in the robbery had been stolen in Alkmaar The arrests were made on the basis of “the police investigation, camera images and the many tips from the public,” broadcaster NOS quoted the police as saying. The man in a photograph issued by police earlier on Wednesday is not among those who have been picked up The museum said on its website it was “extremely happy at the hopeful news” and said that finding back the stolen items would be a “fantastic next step” for the museum and the people of Romania The police have not ruled out more arrests they issued several photographs of a man they want to interview in connection with the robbery was seen in a DIY store in Assen on the previous Thursday Several tools and a hammer were found at the scene of the robbery which police think may have been used to break into the building 150 tips have come in since Tuesday night’s TV crime show appeal during which the police appealed for information about discarded tools and items of clothing and a hammer which was found in a nearby pond on Saturday morning after an explosion shattered windows and caused damage to the museum buildings The thieves made off with the golden helmet of Cotofenesti crafted from almost pure gold and dating from 500 BC The police are expected to issue more information about the arrests later on Wednesday evening all linked to the Dacian people of modern day Romania Police took a 26-year-old man from Heerhugowaard into custody on Thursday morning The small Noord-Holland city is near Alkmaar about an hour north of Amsterdam the police conducted investigations at various locations including a storage garage in the municipality of Koggenland and a home in Heerhugowaard,” police said in a statement Investigators seized electronic devices to analyze the data stored on them as well as two vehicles and articles of clothing The woman arrested at the same time was remanded to jail for 30 days while the investigation continues But police still have yet to find a man who was seen at a hardware store in Assen just before the break-in which could be similar to the dead blow hammer and sledgehammer used in the crime. Security camera footage released by the police showed the man The unique artifacts include a helmet that is nearly 2,500 years old and three golden bracelets that are about 2,075 years old They were part of a collection of 673 objects which were on loan from Romania for the Dacia exhibit at the Drents Museum The stolen objects were valued at 5.8 million euros by the museum The collection was insured for more than 30 million euros including a guarantee of 9 million euros put forward by the Dutch government A Dutch entrepreneur living in Bucharest announced a reward of 250,000 euros for the tip that leads to the recovery of the four historical pieces I wanted to bring renewed attention to the case And maybe there are people who are willing to cross over and give information for this kind of money,” said the investor The first public hearing in the case is expected to take place on May 9 which will be a pre-trial status update before the Noord-Nederland District Court the date of the hearing could still change pending further investigation Instead it promises to ask its members how to vote on every bill thinks this will help solve the biggest problem in Dutch politics: the sense many citizens have that they are ruled by an arrogant On March 6th GeenPeil’s campaign rolled into Heerhugowaard a town of red-brick modern developments 30km (19 miles) north of Amsterdam Some of the entourage went to canvass voters while Mr Nijman stayed on the bus This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The populists’ dilemma” Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents George Simion will face Nicusor Dan, a mainstream candidate, in a run-off There are five luxuries it can no longer feasibly afford Friedrich Merz’s career is one of unforced errors and puzzling missteps. But he is serious about Europe Both Donald Trump and Ukraine’s diplomats will consider it a success Theresa McKenna and Ronan McQuillan pictured during one of the shows during their Netherlands tour Ronan McQuillan of The Enemies and Theresa McKenna a singer-songwriter who previously played with local band Electric Avenue have just returned from a five-week tour of the Netherlands bringing Irish music to appreciative Dutch audiences.  Performing with a show called ‘Best of Ireland’ the singers joined a nine-piece band on a tour of the country’s theatres playing to hundreds of music lovers at 18 sold out shows.  Ronan said: “Dutch music may not be big in Ireland but Irish music is absolutely huge in the Netherlands The musicians we played with in the band were raised on it by their parents and the crowds who came out to see us perform knew every single song They even suggested Irish songs to us that we weren’t fully aware of but are hugely popular in Holland.”  As well as featuring nine musicians on stage the touring production had ten crew working on sound This is the second year running the two singers were invited to the Netherlands to join the tour It all began in 2021 when Ronan got a call out of the blue to replace Johnny Logan “I couldn't turn down a call like that we had to wait until 2023 to get on the road.” Ronan put the band in touch with Theresa when the position for the female singer in the band also opened up.   Due to the success of this year’s tour the singers have been asked back again for 2025 which will be extended to take in Germany and Belgium.  the show was a challenge to perform,” said Ronan “as it was a sitting down theatre audience as opposed to what I’m used to rocking out with my own band The Enemies But the versatility of musicianship within the band meant that we could perform songs from bands like the Pogues and The Dubliners Kodaline and Thin Lizzy and so we really enjoyed the whole experience.”  For Theresa it was an honour to perform songs by legendary Irish female led bands The Cranberries and The Corrs and each night was a poignant moment when she performed a haunting version of Sinéad O'Connor’s Nothing Compares To You.  “Sinead was such an important figure in Irish music history and to represent her and her music was an honour,” said Theresa “The Dutch audience were so engaging they hung on every note and their appreciation was incredible.  “A highlight for me was probably playing Cool Kunst and Cultuur in Heerhugowaard on February 14th To get there we drove 27km along a dyke and it was an amazing show.”  theatre culture in the Netherlands is thriving with a variety of acts performing across the country most nights “The arts in general are so well supported and received,” said Ronan “There are so many jobs in that industry While some family and friends flew out to see the singers and the show the gruelling tour schedule was at times a challenge for the two who missed home and their families but the whole experience made up for any home sickness.  “We were both very proud to represent Ireland Irish culture and music abroad,” said Ronan we can now sing Red Rose Café in Dutch and I’m not sure how many people from Termonfeckin can say that!”  The latest news from the Drogheda area updated every day