Don’t Miss a Single Sparkling Moment! Sign up for The Court Jeweller Newsletter The Court Jeweller Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World 12.18.2024 by // Leave a Comment Queen Máxima followed up last week’s brilliant tiara appearance in the Netherlands with an event full of holiday cheer: the annual Christmas Music Gala Queen Máxima headed to Leusden in Utrecht for the recording of the annual Christmas Music Gala coordinated by an organization called Méér Muziek in de Klas promotes music and arts education for students in the Netherlands and the Caribbean Máxima is the honorary chair of Méér Muziek in de Klas and during the gala she spoke about the importance of cultural education for young people The event featured performances from Dutch students alongside established For this year’s gala, Máxima wore an ensemble in shades of green and black. She arrived wearing a warm black coat over a black velvet top and sequin-covered trousers, both made by Natan She added sparkle with a pair of statement earrings have been in Máxima’s jewelry box for the better part of a decade The earrings feature opaque white gemstones (moonstones many have guessed) alternating with colored stones It’s really difficult to discern the actual shade of those colorful gems in most of the pictures of the earrings One of Máxima’s early appearances in the earrings came in April 2017, when she wore them for a special 50th birthday dinner given in honor of her husband The green tone of the gems is easy to see in this photograph We’ve also seen Máxima wear the earrings with green-toned outfits and other green jewels. Here, she pairs the earrings and the cluster ring from the Dutch Emerald Parure during a visit to Jakarta in March 2020 And here, she goes for a whole green-checkerboard theme during the Spanish state visit to Amsterdam in April 2024 The dress seems deliberately chosen to echo the design of the earrings If you’re in the Netherlands and you want to see all of Máxima’s music gala jewelry sparkling on your television screen you can tune in to the concert airing on AVROTROS on Thursday evening Categories // Netherlands Enter your name and email address below to subscribe to our weekly newsletter Sign up for my new subscriber-supported community, Hidden Gems, delivered directly to you each Saturday! Copyright © 2025 THE COURT JEWELLER LLC Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain and this is never more accurate than when you establish yourself as a foreign resident in a new country Being able to quickly familiarise yourself with the culture and customs can help ease the transition during a challenging time This is why Euro Weekly News makes it our mission to provide you with a free news resource in English that covers both regional and national Spanish news – anything that we feel you will benefit from knowing as you integrate into your new community and live your best life in Spain you can forget about translating articles from Spanish into awkward English that probably don’t make much sense Let us be your convenient and essential guide to all things that will likely affect you as a foreign resident living in Spain A sector of the Den Treek estate in Leusden has been closed after a small girl was bitten during a school outing The 200 hectares of countryside are privately owned but open to the public and Leusden town hall together with Utrecht’s provincial authorities decided to close part of the estate until August 15 to prevent more incidents The child suffered a warning nip but in early July a miniature poodle on a lead was bitten and dragged away by a wolf and has not been seen since A pair of wolves with cubs live on the estate and the Utrecht authorities said that safeguarding its offspring had probably prompted an over-protective parent to attack the dog and bite the child The ban on the closed section would be strictly enforced not only for the sake the general public but also the wolves who perceive the presence of hikers Provincial councillor Huib van Essen said the recent attacks were unusual and suggested that the Den Treek wolves could be losing their fear of humans Conservationists maintain that this happens because tourists use food to attract wolves so they can take photographs wolf behaviour expert Diederik van Liere said was a volunteer service to chase away wolves after a sighting “That would teach wolves not to approach people and is the best long-term solution,” Van Liere told the NOS broadcaster farmers in the area and in others that are inhabited by wolves insisted that shooting them was the only solution and called for the current protection regulations to be modified Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain by delivering news with a social conscience we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP) Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall) All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE Download our media pack in either English or Spanish A nature area by Leusden where a wolf pair has been living with their cubs will be partly closed to visitors starting immediately and lasting until August 15 The province of Utrecht and the municipality of Leusden issued an emergency order for the area on Thursday instructing the owner to no longer open the area The decision follows an incident on Tuesday on the Den Treek estate The after-school care organization that the child was out with reported that the child was slightly injured as the animal did not continue biting The province then called on people to avoid the area for the time being but according to Mayor Gerolf Bouwmeester of Leusden and Utrecht deputy Huib van Essen The province said that its measures are precautionary only there will be additional monitoring in the region It includes temporarily forbidding people from entering the main area of the Den Treek estate The consultant brought in to help is also providing advice to a larger campsite and a horseback riding school The advice to stay away from a larger part of the nature reserve continues to apply According to the municipality and province walkers and (leashed) dogs can be disruptive and cause new confrontations." Such encounters are frightening for people and threatening for the wolf Bouwmeester added that the area was closed on the advice of the province's experts "I am assuming that everybody is understanding about this and I am urgently appealing to common sense so that everyone in Leusden can stay safe and healthy." A dog on a leash was bitten and then taken by a wolf in the same area earlier this month extra warning signs were placed in the area and the province and municipalities warned visitors of the nature areas in Leusden and Woudenberg to stay alert to the presence of the wolf or killed when it shows unnatural behavior or in an acutely dangerous situation Specialists called the attack on the dog natural behavior adding that the wolf only attacked because the dog came near its cubs This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker A child was bitten by what was likely a wolf on the Den Treek estate, a wooded area in Leusden. The incident happened close to where a wolf attacked a dog recently released a statement saying the child was in good condition after the incident The attack happened in front of an employee and was very brief with the apparent wolf sprinting towards the child at high speed It then ran back into the forest after the confrontation The child was left with cuts and scratches and has been to visit a general practitioner The child's parents did not wish to comment to the media about the incident the Province of Utrecht said people should avoid the nature reserve near Leusden It cautioned that two wolves in the area may be protecting their young "The wolf pair has cubs and therefore behaves very defensively towards dogs and people who come too close." Den Treek steward Wilbert Nijlant also said that he thinks it was a wolf "The behavior and the location are the same as last week's incident in which a dog was bitten," he told RTV Utrecht frequently organizes outdoor excursions for children BSO Vrijland said it will now only allow children to play in nature areas where the wolf has not been spotted BSO Vrijland is an outdoor after-school care organization where the children are outside 99 percent of the time according to the after-school care center's website This entails around 100 children going into nature areas after school The incident comes a few months after a court ruled that the Province of Gelderland was wrong to issue a permit to scare off a wolf that had been getting close to people with a paintball gun is just a few kilometers from the border with Gelderland leading Paula’s Choice since 2016 has been a rewarding journey the employees and working for Unilever Prestige but I know the timing is right,” Poseley said on LinkedIn “Servant leaders must foster leadership strength behind them and recognize when it is time to step aside to allow their team to advance I am confident that under my successors our company culture will thrive Paula’s Choice had largely focused on its DTC e-commerce channel until it entered a wholesale deal with Sephora in 2021, according to reporting from Beauty Independent. Now, it also sells through retailers such as Amazon Editor's note: This story first appeared in our Retail Dive: DTC daily newsletter. Sign up here Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts Each year brings unique headwinds and tailwinds From increased attention on DEI efforts to the shifting nature of DTC this is what we’ll be following in 2025 It could be an attempt to broaden revenue streams The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines Netherlands (AP) — Johan Cruyff's tempestuous life is being made into a musical that reflects the "total football" style of play the Dutch soccer great pioneered On the opening day of the COVID-19 pandemic-delayed European Championship, the cast and crew of "14 The Musical" on Friday raised the curtain on preparations for a new musical eulogizing the Netherlands' most famous soccer player tells the story of the rise of Cruyff from a scrawny kid juggling a ball on the sidewalks of a working class Amsterdam neighborhood to the mercurial attacker who led the "Clockwork Orange" team that narrowly lost the 1974 World Cup final to West Germany It take its title from the shirt number Cruyff wore for most of his playing career Director and writer Tom de Ket was inspired by the Dutch team's style of play as he wrote the show De Ket said Cruyff's life is made for the stage a classic story about from rags to riches," he said The show charts the highs and lows of Cruyff's life ranging from his sporting achievements with Ajax the Netherlands and Barcelona to the collapse of his business interests which forced him to come out of retirement in the 1980s It also touches on a kidnapping attempt in Spain that is said to have led to his decision not to play at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina center stage as a powerful woman who helped transform Cruyff into a superstar Cruyff is more than just the greatest soccer player the country has ever produced home-spun philosopher whose nuggets of wisdom were sometimes as hard to follow as his dribbles on the field is: "You will only see it once you figure it out." He wants his audience to figure out Cruyff's story by telling it in songs archive video and dance on a stage that features two huge turntables and a set inspired by pop art His father was born in the same Amsterdam neighborhood — whose name translates as Concrete Village — as Cruyff His grandfather's brother kicked a ball on the streets with a young Cruyff Though he's not much of a soccer player Nierop can appreciate the enduring popularity of Cruyff who cast himself as an entertainer as well as a sportsman the willowy Cruyff always wanted to win beautifully "He wanted to play nice football for the audience," Nierop said "So this is something that draws people to him." Pon has succeeded in providing an appropriate home for the Bugatti Chiron¹ in the Netherlands in good time ahead of the new model’s world debut at the Geneva International Motor Show in March. The showroom, with floor space of 90 square metres, is located in 'Het Koopmanshuis', a central building on the Pon Campus in Leusden, near Amersfoort. It was here that the Pon family built up its business as a car dealer in the late 1920s. Pon has been an official sales partner of Bugatti since 2012. Bolide: Not subject to Directive 1999/94/EC, as it is a racing vehicle not intended for use on public roads. Download Centodieci: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 40.3 / medium phase 22.2 / high phase 17.9 / extra high phase 17.1 / combined 21.5; CO2 emissions combined, g / km: NA; efficiency class: G Download Chiron: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 44.6 / medium phase 24.8 / high phase 21.3 / extra high phase 21.6 / combined 25.2; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 572; efficiency class: G Download Chiron Profilée: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 44.6 / medium phase 24.8 / high phase 21.3 / extra high phase 21.6 / combined 25.2; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 572; efficiency class: G Chiron Pur Sport: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 44.6 / medium phase 24.8 / high phase 21.3 / extra high phase 21.6 / combined 25.2; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 572; efficiency class: G Download Chiron Sport: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 44.6 / medium phase 24.8 / high phase 21.3 / extra high phase 21.6 / combined 25.2; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 572; efficiency class: G Download Chiron Super Sport: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 40.3 / medium phase 22.2 / high phase 17.9 / extra high phase 17.1 / combined 21.5; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 487; efficiency class: G Download Chiron Super Sport 300+: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 40.3 / medium phase 22.2 / high phase 17.9 / extra high phase 17.1 / combined 21.5; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 487; efficiency class: G Download Divo: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 43.3 / medium phase 22.2 / high phase 18.0 / extra high phase 18.3 / combined 22.3; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 506; efficiency class: G Download La Voiture Noire: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 43.3 / medium phase 22.2 / high phase 18.0 / extra high phase 18.3 / combined 22.3; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 506; efficiency class: G Tourbillon: This model is currently not subject to directive 1999/94/EC, as type approval has not yet been granted. Download W16 Mistral: WLTP fuel consumption l/100 km: low phase 40.7 / medium phase 21.9 / high phase 18.3 / extra high phase 17.6 / combined 21.8; CO2 emissions combined A wolf was indeed involved in an incident in Leusden in which a girl sustained minor injuries earlier this month, the province of Utrecht confirmed. Wolf DNA was found on the clothing the child was wearing that day, NOS reports children from an after-school care center were playing at the Den Treek nature reserve when a wolf approached the girl from behind and bit her in the side but the child got such a fright that she fell and got hurt The province was initially unable to confirm whether it was indeed a wolf in the incident Investigation of the girl’s clothing has now established that The nature reserve is home to a wolf and her cubs behaves very defensively towards dogs and people who come too close,” the province said A dog disappeared on the estate a week before the incident with the girl four sheep were found dead a few kilometers away The municipality of Leusden has closed Den Treek to cyclists and walkers until August 15 The province of Utrecht also advised people to avoid the estate for the time being The Den Treek estate in Leusden fully reopened on Monday after being closed over the summer due to an incident with a wolf and a child and their parents should no longer be on the defensive The municipality of Leusden closed Den Treek this summer after a wolf attacked a girl on July 16 but as the incident happened only a week after an incident between a wolf and a dog the municipality and province of Utrecht decided an emergency decree was in order “There was no urgent advice from the province of Utrecht to extend the emergency order,” a municipal spokesperson told RTV Utrecht “The expectation is that the removal of the barriers will start today This will be done in consultation with the manager of Den Treek.” Experts no longer expect defensive behavior from the wolf pair living on the estate now that their pups are bigger This reduces the chance of a wolf and a human encountering each other,” the province reported advising visitors how to behave in the wolf area Locals are happy the estate is open again and are unconcerned about encountering a wolf “I have never seen one,” a cyclist told the broadcaster “It is good that there are some tips on the signs we may be able to live together with the wolf provided that we also take measures to protect sheep and horses But I don’t think it is very useful to constantly close off areas.” “We’re simply going back there,” two hikers said about the estate reopening “We can enjoy the part that was closed off in recent weeks again.” They’re not afraid of the wolf “I’ve been on long journeys and slept in a tent with lions around me The province of Utrecht and various municipalities issued an “urgent warning” calling on people not to enter the forests of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug with small children for the time being The reason is a possible second incident involving a child and a wolf near Austerlitz on Wednesday morning A child was knocked over or pushed by a “large animal,” which may have been a wolf The warning applies to the forest area in the municipalities of Leusden Wolf experts called the wolf's behavior “atypical and disturbing,” the province said. “The province seriously considers that this is the same wolf that was previously involved in incidents in Leusden with another girl and a dog and has The province already requested an urgent DNA analysis and asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Nature and the municipalities involved for “support and approval” for the shooting of the wolf The Den Treek estate in Leusden has recently been cordoned off after a girl was bitten by a wolf there in July A pair of wolves with cubs live in the area Authorities and family members are intensifying efforts to locate Ahmed Oulad Sedik who has been missing from his Amersfoort home since Monday afternoon has described the situation as a “nightmare” and has called for public assistance in finding him The police have classified the disappearance as an “urgent missing persons case.” Ahmed may be on foot and was last seen wearing a long blue coat He is described as having a light complexion The Veteranen Search Team joined the effort on Tuesday expanding the search area to include the Dodeweg area in Leusden "The search continues to develop," a police spokesperson said urging anyone with information to contact them immediately via the emergency line 112 or the anonymous tip line at 0800-6070 Ahmed suffers from dementia and psychological issues, making him particularly vulnerable. He is described as fearful of dark places, wooded areas, and water, and family members believe he would not willingly leave familiar urban surroundings. His brother, Abdeslam Oulad Sedik, expressed their growing concern. “We are living in a nightmare,” he said. “We are incredibly grateful for the support we have received. We’ve searched ourselves, including around our parents’ house in the Soesterkwartier and near the train station.” Ahmed's wife, who was temporarily in Morocco for a wedding, and his daughter, who was busy with a home move, are reportedly grappling with guilt. “But they always took such good care of him,” Abdeslam added. According to Abdeslam, new tips have been received by the police. A shop employee reported seeing someone matching Ahmed’s description in the city on Tuesday. “The details match—his coat, a confused impression, a vacant stare, and wearing glasses,” Abdeslam said. “This gives us hope that he is somewhere in the city, following familiar routes.” Ahmed is also diabetic, which has heightened concern for his health and well-being during his time missing. Abdeslam explained that teams of 40 to 50 volunteers have divided into groups to search areas where Ahmed might have sought shelter. “We’re checking sheds, behind walls, or any hidden places where he could be,” he said. In addition to ground efforts, a family member is expected to use a drone to assist with the search. “We hope to find him today in good health,” Abdeslam said. © 2012-2025, NL Times, All rights reserved. Dutch software firm AFAS announced plans to move all of its employees to a four-day work week starting next year. The roughly 700 employees will continue to receive the same wages, bonuses, benefits, and vacation time, and their workday will remain at eight hours, the company in Leusden, Utrecht announced on Wednesday. "From January 1, 2025, the office will close on Fridays and everyone who works for AFAS will have a 'development day,'" the company said. This development day is not meant for improving skills at the workplace, but rather for employees to relax, spend time with their families, provide care for relatives, volunteer, or take part in any activity as they see fit. "Employees who already work four days will be compensated. The software company does not plan to recruit more people as a result of this introduction," the company said. AFAS claims to be the first large employer in the Netherlands to implement a four-day work week, and hopes to inspire other businesses to do the same. The company stressed that they will still have customer service teams available for their clients on Fridays. The company generates annual revenue of nearly 290 million euros from just over 13,000 clients. Their software generates payslips for millions of people in the Netherlands. For three years in a row, AFAS has won the Great Place to Work prize as the best employer in the Netherlands among businesses with over 250 staff members. Last year, it also won the title of best employer in Europe. AFAS currently employees 681 people at its four offices in Leusden and the Belgian city of Kontich, Willemstad on Curaçao, and Oranjestad on Aruba. "We are the first large company in the Netherlands to introduce the four-day working week in this way, and we naturally realize that this is not feasible for every company. But we hope this is the start of a movement. This is about a great work-life balance, about being an attractive employer and about a new vision on work," said AFAS CEO Bas van der Veldt in a statement. The software firm brags that sick leave levels were below 2.5 percent last year, with employees at an average age of 35. The firm's workforce is currently made up primarily of men, with women accounting for a third of the workforce. The company said it is working towards a goal of even gender representation. "Time is a scarce resource for everyone. We seem to be in a rat race and don't always get to what really matters in life. By introducing this day, there is more time for this," said Van der Veldt. "Work can be so much more fun and better, and with more attention to society. It is important for us that we automate administrative work, so that work becomes more enjoyable, and there is more time left." This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands looked gorgeous in green when she made an appearance at the official opening of the new AFAS Software head office in Lesuden The blonde beauty looked like she was having the best time as she couldn't stop smiling for the cameras Scroll through the gallery below to see more photos HOLLYWOOD GOES ROYAL! DANIEL CRAIG MEETS PRINCE WILLIAM & KATE MIDDLETON AT 'NO TIME TO DIE' PREMIERE — PICS Sticking out! The Queen wore green shoes, which matched perfectly with her frock She also added a green purse and hat to her ensemble One woman got to chat with the royal, and it looked like she was so happy to be in her presence "AFAS supports large and small companies and organizations in the automation process with one standard online software application the company won the Koning Willem I prize in the Large Business category," the message continued Of course, people loved seeing the Queen out and about "Top queen in a top company💚," while another added Just a few days prior, the Queen visited the United Arab Emirates with her husband. GET BREAKING ROYAL NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX. Link to XLink to InstagramOpt-out of personalized ads © Copyright 2025 THE ROYAL OBSERVER™️. A DIVISION OF MYSTIFY ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK INC. THE ROYAL OBSERVER is a registered trademark. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Photos show the girl’s injuries are not consistent with a wolf bite, ecologist Glenn Lelieveld told RTL Nieuws “The mouth of the wolf is not wide enough to cause injury near her navel if it bit her in the side,” Lelieveld said Wolf expert Dick Klees of expertise centre Wolven in Nederland said what he had seen did not look like a bite either “There is a larger scratch but that could be because the child fell over into brambles The wolf is to blame for that but nothing points to a bite,” Klees said It is important for public perception to make clear if the child was bitten by a wolf or not “A scratch because of a fall is different from a child being attacked by a wolf,” he said The adults accompanying the children to the woods where the incident happened  say the girl was nipped in the side by the wolf and fell when it let go. The Utrecht provincial authorities said wolf DNA had been found on the girl’s clothes which officials said also showed a tooth mark which was not investigated Utrecht is still going ahead with a request for a licence to shoot wolves although it has since been advised by animal protection organisation Zoogdierenvereniging that the wolf’s behaviour does not make it a problem “The point for us is to know whether or not there was a confrontation with a wolf,” a spokesman told RTL the fact that it got so near to the child makes it a very serious incident in our book,” he said The province also cited a later incident in which a wolf knocked a three-year-old girl to the ground. It later transpired the wolf had been provoked by the presence of a dog Lelieveld said the incident was serious and that a problematic situation occurs if a wolf comes within 30 metres of a person “It is important to interpret the situation properly close off areas  or catch the wolf and fit it with a GPS tracker.” According to a survey by RTL young people are more positive about the presence of the wolf in the Netherlands than older people Some 61% of people up to the age of 35 said the wolf belongs in the Netherlands compared to just 18% of people over 65 Wolves had been absent from the Netherlands for 200 years but their number has been steadily increasing recently. There are currently nine known wolf packs in the Netherlands, but according to research by Wageningen University, that could grow to between 23 and 56, depending on how fast they procreate. We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, 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. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here. Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey. 2024 Photo: Depositphotos.comUtrecht provincial authorities have asked the public to avoid the Den Treek estate near Leusden following an incident in which a child was bitten by what may have been a wolf Contrary to what police had said earlier, the girl was nipped during the brief encounter while out on an after-school outing, her parents said in a statement “Experts have confirmed that this was a wolf,” said the statement placed on the website of the after-school club the girl was with A school assistant standing next to the girl said the wolf nipped the child in her side The wolf let go immediately and she had only a minor injury The wolf came from behind and the child did not see the animal The locals authorities are advising the public to steer clear of the area for the time being “A wolf pair in the area has cubs and will behave aggressively towards dogs and people who come too close,” they said Den Treek estate manager Wilbert Nijlant said the child probably did encounter a wolf “The behaviour and the location coincide with the wolf that bit a dog last week,” he told the broadcaster In that incident a dog on a leash was attacked and taken by what is thought to have been wolf There are currently nine known wolf packs in the Netherlands, but according to research by Wageningen University Seven of the packs are in the Veluwe region two in Drenthe and two on the border between Drenthe and Friesland There have also been confirmed sightings in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug area 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 Leadership ‘incapable of examining which aspects of its culture have been the most deficient,’ writes Louise Arbour in report Some members of the Canadian military face greater harm from their comrades than from the enemy according to a new report on sexual violence in the Canadian armed forces (CAF) Called the Arbour report after its author, the former supreme court justice Louise Arbour, the 404-page document pinpoints the many failures of the CAF over the years to address misogyny, discrimination, sexual violence and trauma experienced predominantly by female members of the military. “When thinking about culture change in response to the sexual misconduct crisis, the CAF leadership seems to have been incapable of examining which aspects of its culture have been the most deficient,” wrote Arbour in her report. “One of the dangers of the model under which the CAF continues to operate is the high likelihood that some of its members are more at risk of harm, on a day-to-day basis, from their comrades than from the enemy,” she wrote. Read moreThe Arbour report is the third large study commissioned to examine the sexual violence that has dogged the Canadian military for decades, including allegations of misconduct levelled against a string of senior officers Navy veteran Dawn McIlmoyle was 19 when she was raped by a fellow sailor in 1992 while a second man looked on they charged me under the National Defence Act for being on the male floor which I was taken to,” she told the Guardian has worked as an advocate for victims of sexual violence in the military since then McIlmoyle welcomed the Arbour report recommendations – which include abolishing the term “sexual misconduct” because it neutralises violence and abuse as well as turning sexual assault cases over to civilian courts – but said that the CAF has already had many opportunities to change She also questioned whether civilian police forces and courts would truly do a better job of prosecuting allegations of rape and other sexual violence she warned that the civilian system might not yield more equitable results Major Donna Van Leusden Riguidel said she was “guardedly optimistic” about the potential impact of the Arbour report but echoed some of McIlmoyle’s concerns about the CAF’s ability to change When Van Leusden Riguidel retired from the Canadian military in March, she received a public commendation for developing a course to change the culture of sexual violence and trauma in the military But a few days before receiving her commendation, she received a letter telling her the CAF was cancelling the course, after she’d trained only 1,900 CAF members of the 100,000 or so across the military. Read moreVan Leusden Riguidel told the Guardian that the military may not have created the problem of sexual violence in its ranks, but that it did have to take responsibility for recruiting sexual predators, who exist across society. “There isn’t an integrated military in the world that doesn’t struggle with this exact issue,” she said. Still, the onus has long fallen on female CAF members to prevent violence through attempts to make themselves “less rapeable”, she said. Van Leusden Riguidel said the CAF still needs a sweeping overhaul, and expressed hopes that the Arbour report marks a shift to actually implementing measures to change the culture. “This isn’t a women’s problem. This is a human problem,” she said. “We all have a part to play.” 2024 A still from the videoPolice are investigating a suspected wolf attack on a dog at the weekend in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug national park near Leusden The dog’s owner told police he was walking his dog when what he thought was a wolf attacked his dog and made off with it Wolf expert Glenn Lelieveld the incident was regrettable but not surprising. “This type of attack happens every so often abroad as well,” he told broadcaster NOS Lelieveld said that deadly encounters between wolves and dogs that run loose are not uncommon The attack is the first such incident to be reported in the province since the wolf returned to the Netherlands in 2015 after an absence of some 145 years There are currently nine known wolf packs in the Netherlands, but according to research by Wageningen University, that could grow to between 23 and 56, depending on how fast they procreate. Seven of the packs are in the Veluwe region, two in Drenthe and two on the border between Drenthe and Friesland. There have also been confirmed sightings in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug area, where the dog was attacked. Ilsja Machametov was part of a group taken prisoner following the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The men were brought to Nazi concentration camp Kamp Amersfoort in the Netherlands to serve as examples of ‘Untermenschen’ to the local population, Remco Reiding, director of the Stichting Sovjet Ereveld Remco Reiding told broadcaster NOS. ‘Most were from Uzbekistan and had Asian features But the Nazi propaganda backfired because far from contempt they aroused the pity of the people of Amersfoort They were starved and beaten and 24 died in the first six month alone The remaining 77 were shot in 1942 and all have remained nameless Reiding and a team of volunteers have been trying to identify the soldiers since 1998 ‘If we don’t help them get their names back the Nazis will still have won,’ he said Some of the objects found with the bodies have been preserved ‘We received such a paper from Moscow recently,’ Reiding said ‘and although hard to decipher we could distinguish a name and we know now it belonged to one of the soldiers buried here He has a daughter and grandchild living and they have confirmed that he went missing in 1941 He very likely came to Kamp Amersfoort in September of that year.’ The family have never stopped wondering what became of the grandfather and are very happy they have their answer I won’t rest until there is a name on every one of of them.’ A similar project is underway in the village of Margraten to identify all the thousands of US servicemen and women buried there Explorers hunt for Dutch slave ship wreckBookmarkBookmarkBy Ellen KeithMar 1 2014A team of Dutch and British explorers is on the brink of discovering the wreck of an 18th-century Dutch slave ship The Leusden sunk off the coast of Suriname on 1 January This makes it the most substantial marine tragedy which occurred under the Atlantic slave trade The expedition team has determined the rough location of the wreck to be near the mouth of the Maroni River (Marowijne) and is preparing for an extensive survey of the area The slave trade was a dark era in world history and played a particularly strong role in the Netherlands which was once one of the leading nations in human trafficking Although the Dutch signed an international agreement to end the slave trade in 1814, they were one of the last to enforce abolition. Last year marked the 150-year anniversary of abolition in Suriname and the Dutch Antilles The Leusden was an important player in the Dutch slave trade it was owned by the Dutch West India Company and made 10 voyages as a slave ship She departed Elmina (in modern Ghana) packed with a full load of slaves on 17 November and spent the next several months crossing the Atlantic As the ship approached the coast of Suriname she encountered stormy weather and became grounded in the riverbed of the Maroni River When damage to the rudder allowed water to seep in and let them drown as the ship flooded during the course of a night and simply wrote off the 664 dead slaves as lost goods Leo Balai is a Dutch academic of Surinamese origin and is the leader of the Leusden expedition team The team has sectioned off a small area where it believes the ship to have sunk and plans to conduct a more thorough search of the area from May to August the water is largely unsuitable for divers The team relies on special instruments to detect the guns and other metallic items that lie within the wreck Balai believes that the wreck will be an invaluable find for archaeologists as the ship likely sank in one piece and should be in relatively good condition The discovery will also serve as an important reminder of one of the deepest scars in Dutch history Anyone seeking more information about the Leusden disaster can visit the National Maritime Museum (Scheepvaartmuseum) which is currently holding an exhibit on the Dutch slave trade called "The Dark Chapter," runs in Amsterdam until 31 August Sources: Telegraph, Scheepvaartmuseum which has involved multiple teams and search dogs as local authorities focused on various locations in the region but authorities remain vigilant for any new leads another search operation will be initiated," said Abdeslam we are holding out hope that we will find him soon." Ahmed was last seen near the Ganskuijl area in the Dorrestein district and authorities have urged local residents to review their surveillance footage to see if he appears in any of the images including volunteers from the local Moroccan community as well as others Efforts took place near the A28 highway in Leusden earlier searches were conducted in Ede by the Veteranen Search Team Between 80 and 90 volunteers have joined the search efforts assisting in the region and in nearby areas Abdeslam expressed his gratitude for the outpouring of support "We are very thankful for the help," he said The police are asking anyone with information about Ahmed’s whereabouts or anyone who believes they may have seen him to contact them immediately Tips can be submitted via the police hotline at 0800-6070 they are advised to stay nearby and call emergency services at 112 Andrea Evers has received an NWO research talent grant with Jelle van Leusden as the PhD candidate This grant enables them to start a research project to examine whether automatically regulated responses There is increasing evidence that Pavlovian or classical conditioning can affect responses of the endocrine or immune system when someone is awake. The question is whether automatic learning processes also generate responses during automatically regulated phases The goal of Evers and Van Leusden is to examine whether these processes can be conditioned during sleep Both healthy participants and patients who suffer from a disturbed sleep-wake rhythm will participate in the study Imagine that we are able to influence physiological processes that are by definition automatically regulated An example of such a process is the circadian rhythm that follows a 24-hour cycle Disturbance of this process can cause severe physical and mental problems for example cardiovascular and affective disorders The research project not only extends the current knowledge about conditioning it may also provide new treatment options for disorders that are related to the circadian rhythm If automatic processes can be influenced by conditioning the findings will have huge consequences for many disorders that are associated with disturbed circadian rhythms and sleep problems (e.g non-invasive treatment options for these disorders then can be provided The research project is a collaboration between: Research Talent offers excellent students within the social and behavioural sciences the opportunity to fulfill their ambitions to conduct PhD research. To this aim a full professors within social and behavioural sciences can submit an application for a grant for these upcoming researchers.  Center for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies Leiden We all BENEFIT: The Ecosystem for Healthy Living e-Coach: Tailored cognitive-behavioral e-Health care for patients with chronic somatic conditions Sign In Subscribe Now He passed away at East Kootenay Regional Hospital after a lengthy and courageous struggle with brain cancer 1947 to Alley and June (Pelletier) Hughes and lived most of his life here to dock foreman and driver for Millar & Brown/Direct Transport to sawyer and scaler for Totten Logging and finally logging truck driver for R & L Trucking and together they raised the pride and joy of their lives but his favourite was rodeo where he competed in bareback riding and team roping Hunting trips and fishing trips to Seven Mile and Cherry Lakes held many special memories for him Sam will be remembered for his incredible memory his sister Dale Ann (Jack) Van Leusden and their children Jesse (Amber) Myles (Nathan and Jayden) sister-in-law Debbie (Len) Curle and their children Rachel Curle and Sarah (Kelly) Andrews (Amethyst and Lukas) aunts Sandra Pelletier and Mae Hughes and many cousins He was predeceased by his mother and father and Neville Pelletier and Regis (Harry) Jacobson and Shirley Pelletier Please join us at a gathering for family and friends to reminisce and share memories of happy times spent with Sam on Thursday please contribute in Sam's memory to the Kidney Foundation of Canada Arrangements entrusted to McPherson Funeral Service Condolences for the family can be offered at: www.mcphersonfh.com  McPherson Funeral Service Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Miss Nederland Organisatie (@missnederland)