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Dutch World Heritage weekend

It's the Netherlands' national World Heritage weekend and Dutch organisations are calling for extra attention for the nine Dutch sites which are on the UNESCO list.

The Dutch World Heritage sites include the Kinderdijk windmills,...

Conservatives: cut foreign aid by two thirds

The Dutch pro-business VVD parliamentary party wants to cut three billion euros in development aid, bringing it down to 1.4 billion euros per year.

The proposal was launched by parliamentary party leader Stef Blok and MP Ingrid d...

Dutch frigate returns from Somalia mission

A Dutch frigate has returned to its home port of Den Helder after a three-month anti-pirate mission off the coast of Somalia.

HMS Van Amstel, which set sail on 19 March, helped protect international ships against Somali pirates. It also...

The Hague to boost help for Syrian rebels

The Netherlands is going to step up its support for the Syrian opposition, Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal announced on Saturday after holding talks with the Syrian National Council in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

The Dutch gover...

Insurance to cover fewer fertility treatments

Fertility treatments including IVF will no longer be covered for women who are over 43, caretaker Health Minister Edith Schippers has announced following consultations with the Health Care Insurance Board (CVZ).

The recommendation was ...

Language skills test for Amsterdam prostitutes

Amsterdam is to introduce a series of measures to prevent abuse in the prostitution sector. Among the new rules is a language test to establish whether they are able to support themselves and a ban on working double shifts. The measures are to ...

Rutte: further budget cuts are inevitable

Additional budget cuts running into the billions of euros will be inevitable in the coming years.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte made his statement after Friday’s weekly cabinet meeting. His cabinet agreed on 18 billion euros&rs...

Economic crisis to have lasting consequences

The financial and economic crisis that has brought the Dutch economy to a near-standstill will have lasting consequences. The Netherlands will not be able to negate these consequences through economic growth.

“We have had the firs...

Dutch banks' credit ratings dropped

The credit ratings agency Moody’s has lowered the creditworthiness rating of five Dutch banks.
 
Rabobank, ING, ABN Amro, LeasePlan, and SNS Bank all had their ratings lowered. Rabobank now has a Aa2 credit rating, whil...

Dutch journalists paid to spy on Chinese

The Dutch Secret Service (AIVD) recruited and paid a number of journalists to spy on Chinese officials during the 2008 Olympic Games, according to the Dutch daily De Telegaaf.

A group of seven sports journalists received payment from th...