Today, the academic hospitals in Amsterdam and Rotterdam each opened a room where mothers who are unable to care for their babies can safely relinquish them. The safe haven rooms are in cooperation with the Beschermde Wieg Foundation, which has created eleven such havens throughout the Netherlands. Dutch law forbids abandoning a child, so the principle of a safe place to do so is controversial. Five years ago, the Dutch government decided to tolerate such havens to spare babies from a worse fate.
The public prosecution service (OM) demanded seven years in prison on Friday against Joel H. (26) from Purmerend, alias rap musician Joey AK, for kidnapping, threatening, and assault. Eight other suspects, ranging from 22 to 34 years old, heard demands for 4 to 6 years in prison in the court in Amsterdam.
A French tour bus caught fire on Saturday on the A2 freeway between Breukelen and Vinkeveen. All occupants of the bus were able to get out in time and there were no injuries, reported the Utrecht Security Region. By 11:15 a.m., the fire was extinguished, but the road will remain closed in both directions for some time because of the risk of explosion, the ANWB said. Rijkswaterstaat reported that the stranded travelers were taken to a hotel near the highway and replacement transportation was arranged for them.
The police arrested nine men on Tuesday suspected of abducting a man in Amsterdam on September 3. According to Het Parool, almost all the suspects are members of gangster rap group Zone6 from Holendrecht.