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 Three prison guards were injured when inmates attacked them at the Zaanstad Judicial Complex early this month, sources told De Telegraaf The Judicial Institutions Agency (DJI) confirmed the incident The incident happened on June 1 after outside time in the courtyard for detainees The guards managed to force them back to their cells The prisoners involved in the brawl were first placed in solitary confinement and then transferred to other prisons “Aftercare and relief have been arranged for the injured employees,” a spokesperson said The newspaper did not say how severe their injuries were The Zaanstad Judicial Complex has a special unit for prisoners that fall under the Top 600 repeat offenders The department initially housed about 50 of these criminals but they are increasingly spread across the other prisons The detainees are very aggressive and intimidating There is also unrest in other prisons in the Netherlands, with many penitentiary institutions struggling with significant staff shortages. In May, seven prison employees got hurt in a brawl at the Rotterdam Detention Center Two had to go to the hospital for treatment the municipality of zaanstad in the netherlands has announced that MVRDV has been selected to complete an integrated ‘cultural cluster’ for the dutch city the new building will neighbor zaanstad’s main railway station the 7,500 square meter scheme will contain five local institutions with each establishment appearing on the building’s façade in the form of a house-shaped void the design team sought to continue the regions vernacular zaan style the center of zaanstad has been transformed to align itself with the style of the nearby UNESCO world heritage site – the zaanse schans. consequently the design team sought to continue the vernacular zaan style while securing a clear identity for each cultural institution within the larger envelope of a single building the site’s different programmatic elements are brought together ‘we started with a compact volume and then turned the typical zaan house inside out creating an urban living room,’ explains MVRDV co-founder and principal jacob van rijs ‘on the exterior façade a wallpaper motif contrasts with interior spaces clad in the green wooden facades so typical of the zaan region the characteristic shape of the zaan house returns as the shape of the building’s main atrium void a cut-out within the larger volume.’ the largest space is the zaan living room located directly in front of the city hall the cultural cluster sits on a raised pedestrian square underneath which a bicycle parking lot and underground road will be located how the institutions are arranged within the singular volume MVRDV won the competition to design the new zaanstad cultural cluster together with engineering firm royal haskoningDHV, bureau theateradvies (theater advice) and viabizzuno lighting designers the project seeks to embody a strong sense of local identity  the scheme is concevied as an urban living room materialization considerations  the development of the ‘zaan’ style AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience The insolvent photovoltaic manufacturer is still talking to potential investment partners but it claims that it could resume PV module production at its shuttered factory in the Dutch municipality of Zaanstad on short notice Energyra's solar panel manufacturing facility is located in Zaanstad Dutch photovoltaic manufacturer Energyra has not given up on plans to restart its solar module factory in Zaanstad, after filing for insolvency in April due to a lack of working capital and delays in the supply of production equipment told pv magazine that he is working with a small team on both the business and technology sides of the problem to make the restart possible “We have interested and solid investors who are ready for it,” he said noting that he has been able to secure the support of key suppliers and technology partners the last puzzle piece for the restart in Zaanstad is the need for a co-investor and Kujik would prefer a partner from the solar industry It has been almost eight months since Energyra filed for bankruptcy but Kujik attributes this to “seasonal factors,” claiming that it has taken a while to drum up investor interest Interested parties began to emerge this past summer particularly for parts of the 100 MW production line Rabo Lease has thus far opposed any offers for portions of the factory The Zaanstad factory is still in good condition claiming that it still has its “showroom quality.” Rabo Lease has made sure to maintain the facility in order to keep the production line in perfect condition A number of former distributors are also eager for the factory to resume production, Kujk claimed. But the next few weeks could be critical in providing clarity on the desired production restart, which would give it the chance to bring its metal wrap through (MWT) cell technologies to market More articles from Sandra Enkhardt 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 MVRDV has released new renderings and a flythrough of their competition-winning design for a new cultural center in the city of Zaanstad in the Netherlands Borrowing architectural motifs from the historic Zaan House the design flips the traditional form inside out to create a new living room for the city the building will become the new home of a film house a centre for design and a local radio station MVRDV Wins Competition to Design Zaanstad Cultural Cluster News via MVRDV You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email Plans are moving forward to begin housing refugees on chartered ferries in the Netherlands despite the criticism from relief organizations and opposition from local municipalities and residents Details have been confirmed for the second and third ferry to be chartered while government officials continue to search for ports to accommodate the ships a justice minister who is charged with overseeing the refugee efforts said they have abandoned the widely ridiculed plan to anchor the ships off the Dutch coast One of the refugee organizations had called the proposal “absurd,” equating it to jailing the refugees.  The Dutch news outlet NL Times quoted the refugee organization Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland as saying “You don’t need research to think that you can’t do that to people who have fled from war and violence You take in asylum seekers as a society and not from a distance at sea.” The government is seeking docks to place the three ferries at saying that they expect the first ship will now be opened by September 1 They cited the logistical problems of providing transportation back and forth to the ships anchored offshore as well as the challenges of supplying the ships while at anchor has been cited as another possible location despite local opposition and Zaanstad recently turned down the plan citing pollution concerns Estonia ferry operator Tallink confirmed that it has chartered two more of its vessels to provide refugee housing which has previously chartered vessels to Estonia and Scotland also to provide accommodations said it would deliver the Silja Europa and Galaxy after the busy summer season on the Baltic to Slaapschepen Public BV an organization nominated by Centraal Orgaan Opvang Asielzoekers (COA) in the Netherlands to oversee the accommodations.  currently operates 22-hour trips between Tallinn-Helsinki The 59,900 gross ton vessel has 1,500 cabins with a total capacity of 3,123 passengers She will begin a seven-month charter on August 20 with an option to extend it for three additional months which was built in 2006 and has 795 cabins her charter will begin on September 30 and is also for seven months with an option for three additional months Tallink’s ferry Isabelle has been used since April to house Ukrainian refugees in Estonia. The government recently excised the first of two possible two-month extensions for this charter. The company also recently delivered its ferry Victoria I to Scotland on a six-month charter with an option to extend the charter for another three months The ferry began providing accommodations for its first refugees earlier this week a small city on the outskirts of Amsterdam is set to get a Willy Wonka-style factory⁠—vegan chocolate included Netherlands-based brand Tony’s Chocolonely is the mastermind behind the new candy factory The chocolate company released blueprints for the factory rendered by Dutch architects SeARCH The company sells a number of flavored chocolate bars, including vegan dark chocolate options first announced its plans to build the factory in 2018 “At home, we bought warehouse De Vrede in Zaanstad to build Tony’s Chocolonely Chocolate Circus. It’ll be an Open Chain chocolate factory: we’ll explain the injustices in the cocoa industry, what we’re doing about them and how chocolate is made,” the company’s CEO, Henk Jan Beltman, revealed in its 2018 to 2019 annual report And you won’t need a winning golden ticket to gain admittance to the new factory The CEO added: “Everyone’s invited.” The new factory will include an educational experience where guests can learn everything there is to know about chocolate. The company will also teach people about the issue of child labor and slavery in the cocoa industry Farmers primarily grow cacao beans, which produce chocolate, in the tropical regions of Western Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Approximately 70 percent of the world’s cocoa comes from Western African countries like Ghana and the Ivory Coast farms in these areas routinely use child and slave labor Jan Beltman said the company’s mission is to make sure all chocolate sold around the world 100 percent slave-free “It is the result of dissatisfaction and frustration with the social inequality in the chocolate industry Together we’ll make 100 percent slave-free the norm in chocolate,” he said This roadmap consists of three pillars: Tony’s raises awareness Tony’s leads by example and Tony’s inspires to act we give businesses the opportunity to take on our approach and change the chocolate industry together.” In order to help ensure its chocolate is slave-free the company says it pays its farmers a living wage It also uses “bean tracker” technology so that its supply chains are traceable The company aims to open the chocolate factory open 2024 Tony’s Chocolonely estimates it will get around 500,000 visitors will visit each year She has a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and political science Sign up for updates and membership opportunities A prisoner incarcerated at a facility in Zaanstad was mistakenly released from custody in December the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) said late last week The organization released few details about the prisoner and also offered little to explain the reason for the error He was released from detention on December 21 but a when the Public Prosecution Service took a closer look at the situation they discovered that the prisoner still had a remaining sentence of 401 days The department within the prosecution service that handles parole recalculated the multiple detention orders issued by the judicial system and recognized the error on February 7 "The person concerned has not yet been found," the DJI wrote and also would not state the crimes which led to the man's conviction or the original duration of the prison sentence He is not an "immediate threat to safety," the DJI told ANP "Due to human error in combination with limitations of the information system the recalculation of the duration of various sentences at the Justitieel Complex Zaanstad did not go well," a spokesperson for the DJI told the Telegraaf The disclosure was made in the regular monthly overview of incidents that took place in Dutch penitentiaries It was mentioned in the middle of a collection of 19 different items nearly all of which took place in February The Dutch police team that handles investigations into fugitives The office that coordinates authorities involved in investigations and criminal cases The Zaanstad prison complex has space for about a thousand inmates and people with physical or mental disabilities the facility also offers training and reintegration and has holding cells for people awaiting trial standing in front of a hotel that looks like a pileup of traditional Dutch houses all grafted together in bright greens and blues windows and roofs pulling and pushing at my eyes as if some maverick architect ran off to join the circus and learned how to balance one building on top of another delightful building – a quirky addition to the skyline of Zaandam capital of the Zaanstad region and a town best known (until now) for its cocoa "I didn't set out to shock," says Wilfried van Winden And the language it speaks is the architectural language of Zaanstad but the building is not an imposition – it belongs here." All the facades you see "From a stately notary's dwelling," he says "to workers' cottages." Van Winden's favourite is a re-creation of a blue house that features in a work by Claude Monet when architects worldwide practised a style we learned to call post-modernism This mostly involved the cutting and pasting of historic building details on to office blocks shops and hotels in a puerile attempt to make big new buildings – blocky by nature – lively and entertaining as if every town could be improved by looking like Las Vegas The one country to hold out against this was the Netherlands calm and collected urban buildings that have long been held up as a model of modesty Yet there is also an exuberant tradition in Dutch architecture that has been sidelined in recent decades One has only to think of the extraordinary housing complex in Amsterdam called Het Schip (the Ship) a mast-like tower and a wealth of ornamentation it shows that Dutch architecture over the past 100 years has been a rich affair new forms of neo-traditional buildings have sprouted in Dutch towns is in a class of its own; it will certainly put Zaandam on the tourist map "The best compliment I've had," says Van Winden "is from friends who say the building makes them smile This should be enough for any architect." this building started out as the Golden Tulip hotel The idea for its design came to Van Winden while he was thinking about the nature of hotels in town centres should be more like a "home from home" rather than concrete boxes everyone gets to live in a little house rather than an anonymous space that so they can tell friends and family: "Look where I stayed!" rises not from some freakishly isolated site but from a new development of traditional streets lined with neo- traditional buildings yet these streets and buildings root the hotel in an urban flowerbed that seems all of a piece while the "houses" that rise up it are timber and clapboard really do feel like individual and even authentic houses they come across as both familiar and enticingly new The city's planners gave the hotel the green light because Those who might wish to caricature him as a cartoonist or a clown will be disappointed by the refined and generous Modern housing he recently designed in Amsterdam with an interior that is carefully planned they're adorned with images of traditional Zaandam streetscapes as well as colourful old adverts for Zaandam cocoa powder and biscuits This article was amended on 7 April 2010 to correct the spelling of Het Schip At this year's festival, held in Singapore in November, the winner of "building of the year" will be selected from a list of 338 designs, 10 of which are dedicated to sports.  Included in the mix is a massive arena that recently held the Sochi Olympics and the intense ski jumps built for the 2015 Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun these architectural wonders give design buffs and sport fanatics alike a reason to visit.  all window cleaners in Zaanstad must apply for a permit from the mayor a small group of Dutch Turks living in the Zaandam neighborhoods of Peldersveld and Poelenburg directs approximately 300 Bulgarian window cleaners These migrant workers take over the neighborhoods of bona fide window cleaners at the behest of the Dutch Turk bosses They are severely underpaid for their work and are also dependent on their bosses for housing The Bulgarians in question are mostly from a Turkish-speaking minority in Bulgaria Care providers and agencies have little insight into this withdrawn population group A recent study by research center Pharos noted: “Bulgarians remain dependent for a long time on intermediaries with whom they can communicate and on whom they are completely dependent.” The Bulgarian window cleaners of Zaanstad are almost all self-employed they are completely dependent on their Dutch Turk bosses Hamming wants to break that dependency with his permit requirement which he calls “a justified infringement” on entrepreneurial freedom all window cleaners operating from Zaanstad must have a permit They will also be required to only accept cashless payments The mayor hopes that this puts up a barrier against undeclared work and money laundering Hamning said he realizes this isn’t a foolproof solution Anyone who moves their company on paper to another municipality won’t suffer any problems “It is shocking to see how criminals have a grip on the sector with extortion “The problem is so serious that doing nothing is no longer an option.” 150 households in Zaanstad will receive an extra 150 euros per month, while there will be a comparison group of 150 households that don’t receive the extra money. All these households are single-parent families on social assistance benefits from the Dutch government 150 euros a month was chosen as it is the maximum that families living on welfare can accept without their benefits being cut According to the Social and Cultural Planning Office more than 800.000 people live in poverty in the Netherlands lecturer on debt problems at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences emphasised that there is a lack of good research into poverty and debt problems in the country You can now really see the effect of extra money on top of a budget that is theoretically sufficient.” From previous research done in other countries the Kansfonds believe the donations will be spent wisely by the families and will reduce their stress enough so that they can start looking to the future “People living in poverty know best what they can spend money on,” Bas Pieck from the Kransfonds told NOS There is then no point in focusing on behavioural change with coaches and job application training."  BookmarkSimone JacobsEditor at IamExpat Media 2022 The Aurelia will not be housing Ukrainian refugees in Zaanstad Photo: Lindemann97 via Wikimedia CommonsThe Aurelia will not be housing Ukrainian refugees in Zaanstad Photo: Lindemann97 via Wikimedia CommonsA boat to house over 1,000 refugees from Ukraine which should have been moored on the IJ waterway at Zaanstad will not now be used as temporary accommodation The generators on board cruise ship Aurelia create too much nitrogren-compound pollution The local council said in May it would look into the options of using the ship as a temporary home for people fleeing the war in Ukraine ‘We have looked at all sorts of measures to limit the nitrogen emissions but they will not allow us to keep to the nitrogen rules,’ the council said in a statement Last week, junior justice minister Eric van der Burg, who is charged with dealing with refugees, said the cabinet had commissioned three cruise ships to come to the Netherlands to act as refugee centres and ease the crisis at regular camps He also said that the option of anchoring the ships offshore was being looked at One is due to dock in Velsen Noord and another had been due to go to Vlissingen Refugee aid group VluchtelingenWerk described the idea of placing asylum seekers offshore as ‘absurd’ Update Tuesday afternoon: Plans to moor a cruise ship in Velsen are also now in doubt because the infrastructure ministry’s waterways department says the ship is too big to be moored safely 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 The Sinterklaasjournaal will feature only "Chimney Pieten" with soot on their faces this year broadcaster NTR said in a statement on its website How black the Pieten's faces will be remains vague The amount of soot on their faces depends on how often they've gone through the chimney In the statement NTR addressed a number of questions around Sinterklaas' national arrival in Zaanstad on November 17th On the question how the Pieten will look in the popular kids' show "The Pieten have soot on their faces because they go through the chimney Depending on how often the Piet has gone through the chimney The gloves and tights of the Pieten are not black but tailored to the color of the Pieten suite The Pieten also do not wear gold earrings." The Sinterklaasjournaal is considered a leading voice on how Sinterklaas' controversial helper will look during the celebrations Many municipalities look to the show for guidance on how to handle Zwarte Piet Over the past years there's been much debate in the Netherlands on whether or not to change Zwarte Piet One side of the debate sees the blackface character as a racist stereotype and a symbol of slavery the other side considers him an important Dutch tradition that needs to be protected including traditional blackface Zwarte Pietent as well as Chimney Pieten The NTR statement suggests that the national arrival of Sinterklaas in Zaanstad will also feature only Chimney Pieten "There is a lot of consultation between the municipality and NTR about many things and thus also about the appearance of the Pieten The intention of NTR is to include the organizing municipality as much as possible every year in the vision of NTR and our experiences are positive" Groningen is the Dutch city with the healthiest living environment, according to a study by engineering firm Arcadis. Zaanstad is the least healthy city in the Netherlands. The four largest cities are also towards the bottom of the list. Arcadis ranked the health of 20 Dutch cities based on five components - mobility, outdoor space, environment, built environment, and community. Groningen scored well in all five categories, getting its lowest ranking in 8th place for healthy outdoor space. It came 1st for healthy built environment, 6th for healthy mobility, third for healthy environment, and third for a healthy society. Of the Netherlands' four largest cities, Utrecht is the healthiest, coming in 12th place. The Hague came in 14th place, Amsterdam in 17th and Rotterdam tied in 19th place with Zaandam. © 2012-2025, NL Times, All rights reserved. 2025 Trimming legally-grown marijuana for consumption or coffee shops in 10 Dutch local authority areas will only sell marijuana from licenced growers as the main part of a lengthy experiment with regulating production kicks off Voorne aan Zee and Zaanstad are taking part in the experiment The aim of the experiment, first mooted in 2018 is to assess if licencing marijuana production has an impact on organised crime and user health the outlets will not yet have legal hashish on the menu because uncertainties about the supply justice minister David van Weel told MPs last week Government inspectors will monitor the cafés from Monday to ensure they sell only official cannabis with hashish set to follow on 10 June if possible the shops have been selling both legal and illegal marijuana products Tilburg coffee shop owner Willem Vugs told broadcaster NOS last week that the licensed growers had initially focused on producing legal weed and that hashish is more complicated saying: “I am pleased growers are getting more time to produce the right quality and variety.” The experiment aims to phase out the Dutch policy of gedogen a strategy that has decriminalised the possession of small amounts of cannabis and licensed sales outlets but still prohibits bulk production and sales back door” system was introduced in the 1970s to draw a distinction between so-called “soft” and “hard” drugs at a time when Amsterdam was gaining a global reputation as a haven for drug users Policymakers now want to close that back door one of the main campaigners for a regulated system told Dutch News last year the experiment is fundamentally about safety “The Dutch policy for weed is quite devious but the production of the weed and the buying part (the back door) of the shop owners is illegal That means there’s a big criminal world that thrives on producing the weed and selling it to the shops Escaping from prison and psychiatric prison will become a punishable offense in the Netherlands, outgoing Minister Franc Weerwind for Legal Protection announced. He plans to submit a legislative amendment to that effect in the summer, the Telegraaf reports. Helping someone escape from prison or the psychiatric institution they’ve been sentenced to is already a criminal offense in the Netherlands. But the act of escaping itself is not. Once caught, escapees are just returned to the penitentiary institute to serve their existing sentence. This bill has been in the making for five years. In 2019, then-Legal Protection Minister Franc Weerwind promised to make escaping punishable, under pressure from the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. The MPs wanted a maximum sentence of four years in prison for escaping. But nothing came of it. “Those involved” told the Telegraaf that the Ministry of Justice and Security gave little priority to the topic. Weerwind recently told parliament that he does not know why the bill has remained shelved for so long. “I owe you that answer. I know that it has been picked up and I am working on it,” he said. The bill should be ready around summer. “I share the view that it is illogical that escaping from detention is not punishable while helping another person to flee is.” 2018 Zwarte Piet: one of the polarised debatesA row has broken out over the decision not to use blackface make-up in this year’s official Sinterklaas welcoming parade in Zaanstad Public service broadcaster NTR said that ‘sooty Piets’ rather than traditional black Piets would accompany St Nicholas for his ceremonial arrival in Zaanstad on November 17 The portrayal of the saint’s helpers by blacked-up white actors has been the focus of protests in recent years by anti-racism activists However, the local organising committee in Zaanstad said on Thursday it would not be taking part in the parade because of the changes. ‘We have already made considerable adjustments,’ said committee member Rene de Reus because we are distancing ourselves from that.’ has been the focus of an increasingly heated public debate in the last few years Last year a group of counter-activists blocked the A7 motorway in Friesland to stop anti-racism campaigners reaching Dokkum the scene of last year’s official arrival ceremony NTR said it was responding to public demand to change the appearance of Sinterklaas’s entourage while remaining faithful to the original legend. ‘We are not an active player in the Piet debate,’ it said in a statement ‘Tradition and change go hand in hand The Piets have soot on their faces because they go down the chimney The more times a Piet goes down the chimney the more soot he or she has on their face.’ In recent years Piet has lost a number of other characteristics associated with racial stereotyping NTR said this year’s version would be more diverse described the move as a reward for ‘years of effort by activists’ She added: ‘At last this national tradition can become an inclusive festival for all children in the Netherlands De Reus said the Zaanstad committee would hold its own parade a week later featuring traditional Piets Eight other regional committees are participating in the official event De Reus argued that anonymity was essential to preserve the mystique of the black Piet character ‘It’s the end of your career once you’re recognised,’ he said Home prices in the Netherlands have been rising significantly again in recent months. All 25 of the largest municipalities saw significant price increases in the third quarter, and most saw existing home prices jump by 10 percent or more, according to figures published by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Land Registry on Monday Utrecht city saw the biggest price increase with existing owner-occupied homes costing 18.4 percent more than they did in the third quarter last year Amsterdam is the only other one of the big four that saw a price increase of over ten percent (+10.1 percent) Home prices in The Hague increased by 9.9 percent the third largest increase among the 25 largest municipalities Haarlem home prices increased the most at 16.4 percent Leeuwarden had the smallest home price increase (+6.4 percent) Home prices in the Netherlands peaked in mid-2022 and then fell for a few quarters as interest rates increased In the 21 large municipalities excluding the big four prices of owner-occupied homes have been rising again since the second or third quarter of 2023 Home prices in all 21 municipalities are now again higher than the 2022 peak prices were 14.3 percent higher than the previous peak - the largest difference of the 21 municipalities Zaanstad had the smallest difference at 4.2 percent higher than the previous peak Home prices in the Netherlands keep rising mainly because of a major housing shortage in the country Wages have also increased and interest rates are dropping giving buyers more room to borrow on their mortgage These factors combined mean that buyers bid more than the asking price to secure a home Overbidding happened in two-thirds of home sales in the third quarter The Tuesday evening rush hour kicked off with problems facing both road users and train passengers There were lengthy traffic jams in and around Amsterdam due to an overturned truck on the A8 near Zaandam the ongoing issues with overhead lines above the railroad near Utrecht were only fully resolved at 4:45 p.m A truck carrying a cargo of clay and soil overturned forcing the authorities to close the northbound lanes of the A8 motorway from Amsterdam to Zaandam Those lanes will be closed until early Wednesday morning while the reverse direction will be shut for planned maintenance from 8 p.m The incident happened near Zaanstad-Assendelft at around 8:30 a.m The dump truck loaded with clay toppled over on the road and shoulder A crane was brought in to carefully right the truck and another vehicle was needed to scoop up the lost cargo infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat said it had expected to be able to finish the emergency repair work by 4 p.m 48 meters of guardrail and asphalt was damaged and that had to be repaired instantly,” said Rijkswaterstaat and the asphalt had to be cut away and repaired But this led to traffic being detoured to either the A5 or A9 Traffic was already jammed on the A9 and the A10 ring road around northern and western Amsterdam at 4:45 p.m This portion of the ring connects directly with the A8 There was also significant stop-and-go traffic on the A28 causing another problem in the Utrecht region A multi-vehicle crash by Nieuleusen caused delays to top 45 minutes for drivers headed towards Hoogeveen Drivers should expect delays due to the road works Traffic at Zaanstad-Westerkoog will be diverted from the motorway Traffic towards Alkmaar will be diverted via the A5 and A9 near the node Coenplein issues with the overhead lines caused trains to be canceled between Utrecht Central Station and Amersfoort Central Station affecting passenger rail routes between Utrecht and Groningen The station in Utrecht is the busiest in the Netherlands by passenger volume handling an average of anywhere from 225,000 to 275,000 passengers per day The defective lines were found between Bilthoven and Amersfoort Centraal The issue was previously expected to be resolved around noon but was only resolved just before rush hour with time needed to get trains running back on schedule Several municipalities plan to ban all fossil fuel cars from their cities in the coming years or are considering doing so, the Telegraaf reports after surveying the larger municipalities Banning individuals’ passenger cars would require a legislative amendment and it seems unlikely that this government would implement it Eindhoven and Amsterdam plan to be completely emission-free Utrecht wants to become an emission-free city “as soon as possible.” “The most effective measure to improve air quality is to introduce a zero-emission zone for passenger cars,” Utrecht wrote in a policy document “We do see this as an interesting future measure because of its effectiveness.” “We want all mobility in the whole of Amsterdam to be emission-free from 2030 including passenger cars,” a spokesperson for the Dutch capital said a lack of national regulations is holding this back taking transitional arrangements and a later implementation date into account.” Eindhoven is aiming to ban emitting vehicles within the ring road from 2030 and from the entire city by 2038 Enschede told the Telegraaf that it was investigating the options for banning fuel cars Gouda hinted at measures against fossil fuel passenger cars “It is not inconceivable that Gouda will also expand the zero-emission zones to all vehicles that cause emissions.” Zaanstad did not mention specific plans but said it wants to be emission-free in 2040 Amersfoort first wants to ban polluting taxis before considering passenger cars only 6 percent of Dutch passenger cars are electric So a ban in three of the five largest cities in the Netherlands would have major consequences for residents BOVAG fears that residents will feel banished from their city because they cannot afford to switch to electric driving the worst air quality problems also don’t occur in the city centers “The question is therefore what a zero-emissions zone for passenger cars will solve,” BOVAG spokesperson Paul de Waal said to the newspaper The cities will likely have to wait for a next government to implement the law change needed to ban fossil fuel passenger cars State Secretary Chris Jansen of Infrastructure and Water Management told the Telegraaf that he was not considering changing the law The government has been trying - unsuccessfully so far - to stop municipalities from implementing zero-emission zones banning polluting commercial vehicles from their city centers So it seems unlikely that Jansen will change his mind about passenger cars The first episode of NTR's kids show Sinterklaasjournaal on Monday featured mainly Chimney Pieten with soot marks on their faces In the first episode, presenter Dieuwertje Blok made first contact with the steamboat, which has to set course to Zaanstad where Sinterklaas will make his national arrival in the Netherlands on Saturday "The first: real Pieten make everyone happy with presents And thirdly: Pieten always do what Hoofdpiet says Early in October broadcaster NTR announced that the Sinterklaasjournaal and national arrival will feature only Chimney Pieten with soot on their faces. A few days later the broadcaster clarified that there will also be Pieten with completely black faces because they went through the chimney many times This choice "fits with the trend of recent years" The broadcaster wants to reflect social developments in its programs "Not to steer them or to take positions on them We are not an active participant in the Zwarte Piet discussion." Tradition and change must go "hand in hand" As a Piet goes through the Chimney more often In 2016 the United Nations concluded that the figure of Zwarte Piet is an expression of racism that must be combated through education Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer investigated the figure of Zwarte Piet after receiving complaints. She concluded that the Sinterklaas celebration with Zwarte Piet in his current form can contribute to bullying, exclusion and discrimination. Zwarte Piet in his traditional blackface form is therefore in conflict with the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, she said. The new stage in the trial involves cannabis cafes in eight more cities selling both illegal marijuana and hashish produced by licenced growers The experiment was launched in Breda and Tilburg at the end of last year and is now being extended to Groningen This stage in the programme aims to “optimise” the “quantity quality and diversity” of the marijuana on offer This means the café owners can buy from multiple growers to ensure their customers have a wide choice and do not have to resort to illegal weed Currently, just three suppliers are up to speed with production but officials hope two more will be up and running by September, broadcaster NOS reported then the 80 coffee shops in the trial will only be allowed to sell licenced products from that month The new coalition is known to be concerned about the experiment but a majority of MPs voted against the far-right PVV’s plan to call a halt. They also rejected a bid to allow Amsterdam’s eastern district to join in at the last minute The experiment aims to phase out the Dutch gedoog (tolerated) policy that has decriminalised the possession of small amounts of cannabis and licenced sales outlets but makes it illegal to produce and sell in bulk back door” system was introduced to draw a line between so-called “soft” and “hard” drugs in the 1970s when Amsterdam became world-renowned as a drug haven But this civic compromise has left the door open to continued criminal rule, with robberies, violence and money laundering still plaguing much of the industry Consumers also don’t know exactly what they’re consuming and the health service can’t know exactly what it might be treating Now policymakers want that back door closed people with lower incomes will have the opportunity to get a free public transport ticket for the greater Amsterdam area These tickets grant one and a half hours of travel on buses and metros throughout Vervoerregio Amsterdam Anyone earning up to 130 percent of the minimum income level is eligible for the scheme. Approximately 95,000 families across 14 Noord-Holland municipalities qualify for the initiative, according to Melanie van der Horst Each household can request up to eight tickets annually through a dedicated website “Enough for a family to reach all destinations within the transportation region and return home,” wrote Vervoerregio Amsterdam as public transport prices are experiencing a significant increase The public transport tariffs of regional carriers will rise sharply this year The higher prices are partly caused by higher energy costs and inflation Van der Horst expressed her hope that this program will "ease some of the financial burdens for the most severely affected group." Alderman Marja Ruigrok in Haarlemmermeer, where Schiphol Airport is located, is also pleased with the initiative. In a press release can collaborate with our transport operators during these hard times for many people." Tickets will be available from May 8 and can easily be ordered online via the website Gratis-OV.nl starting at 10 a.m. Eligible residents will receive information on how to obtain the cards through various organizations In November 2022, Amsterdam's city council also announced plans to offer free public transportation on Saturdays to all children up to 11 years old Older people at state pension age and with limited finances are also eligible This scheme will not extend to transportation services during overnight hours [video: https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/video/81a80f08af514668a6ec58e885a59e74] the net foreign migration rate rose from virtually zero to nearly 10 thousand altogether 30 thousand foreigners settled in Amsterdam followed by people from the United States and the United Kingdom All other countries in the top ten are western European The number of Indian migrants has seen the sharpest rise The net migration rate has increased on account of immigration; emigration remained virtually the same The new Amsterdam residents are mainly people in their twenties and thirties Relocations from other Dutch municipalities no longer contribute to Amsterdam’s urban growth Net domestic migration in Amsterdam has been negative for two years already 4 thousand people left Amsterdam to settle in other Dutch municipalities These were mainly young families with children Young adults (aged 17 to 26 years) took their place More and more young families are leaving Amsterdam in 2012/’13 only 2.5 thousand people aged 27 to 39 moved out of the city versus as many as 9 thousand in 2015/’16 They accompanied an equally large group of children Relocations by 27 to 39-year-olds are a slightly different story Amsterdam drew people in this age bracket from more distant municipalities such as Utrecht Those leaving the city opted for surrounding municipalities such as Amstelveen Using satellite data to focus on air pollution and socioeconomic inequality Press Office and Infoservice in the spotlight An illegal poker tournament involving people from all over the Netherlands was broken up by police in the early hours of Saturday morning with officers dishing out fines of 390 euros to each of the 53 attendees for violating the social distancing guidelines around Covid-19 "It is remarkable that the attendees came from all over the Netherlands," the police commented on the subject The fines for social distancing violations totaled 20,670 euros The illegal gathering was discovered in a commercial building on the Penningweg in Zaandam Noord-Holland after police were tipped off about the underground gambling event and Zaanstad police were joined by colleagues from Amsterdam Seven of the 53 attendees were taken to a police station in order to establish their identities as the individuals in question had been unable to show their IDs to the officers Two of the officers involved received minor injuries during the raid They were treated at an area hospital and released Both were expected back on the job without leave Full text of the publication (in Dutch): PlanAmsterdam 6-2013 De wintereditie 2025 van de Gebiedsontwikkeling.krant staat in het teken van 'nieuw vertrouwen' Eight railcars belonging to national rail operator NS were thoroughly covered in silver spray paint as they sat idle at the station in Wormerveer Vandals painted all windows and doorways along the platform side of a pair of four-car trains "We find this incredibly antisocial," a spokesperson for the NS told RTL Nieuws The affected train was removed from service and replaced with another vehicle The NS said it has to remove the paint and clean the train Wormerveer resident Michel Schermer spotted the Silver Streak posting photos of it to a Facebook group for the city's inhabitants He said he was increasingly concerned by vandalism at the train station there including broken windows in the waiting areas and graffiti on the platforms and at the tunnels He photographed a pile of disused aerosol paint cans near where he said a fence was clipped With no security in sight he said the train was handed over to the vandals on a silver platter allowing them to access the unattended train through the makeshift gate without being spotted "Now that the station in Wormerveer is increasingly used as a train yard supervision would be useful to prevent this kind of vandalism in the future," he said "It might be time for the Zaanstad municipality or ProRail to set up surveillance at and around the stations Repairing this every time costs a lot of money and ultimately we pay for it ourselves." The NS said it hopes the police can provide a silver lining to the incident by catching the perpetrators The rail company hopes to recover damages from the offenders Terwijl het verkeer over het dak van het park raast Het A8RNA skatepark in Koog aan de Zaan is een wereld op zich We hebben er spijt van dat we geen verf hebben meegenomen om onze tags op de muren te spuiten.  De camera hebben we wel mee. En terwijl drie skaters tips geven (‘dichter bij de rand’ zet ‘em op 0.5’) genieten we van de sfeer en de moves Bij De Orkaan zitten we bovenop het nieuws een heel enkele keer hobbelen we achter feiten aan Gelukkig worden we in die gevallen doorgaans tot de orde geroepen door onze messcherpe lezers: #blijmee Toch vinden we dat de boog niet altijd gespannen kan zijn Nu en dan trakteren we je (en ons!) daarom op een Zomaar Zaans Minuutje waarin weinig tot niks gebeurt Een minuutje bewegen op wieltjes… meer is het niet…