by Danny KEMP Agence France Presse THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The Netherlands and parts of Germany were blanketed on Sunday by a snowstorm that disrupted planes and trains and put some coronavirus testing on hold. Britain was also bracing for heavy snow from what Dutch meteorologists have called Storm Darcy, which is packing winds of up to 90 kilometres (55 miles) an hour. People rushed outdoors to enjoy sledging and playing in the snow […]
Tag: Netherlands
Dutch cull 190,000 chickens after bird flu outbreaks
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch authorities have culled some 190,000 chickens after a highly-contagious strain of bird flu broke out at at least two poultry farms, the agriculture ministry said Sunday. Health workers slaughtered around 100,000 hens at a poultry farm at Hekendorp outside Gouda while 90,000 chicks were culled at Witmarsum, in northern Friesland. In both cases “a highly-contagious strain of the H5 variant” was suspected, the ministry said in a statement. There […]
Dutch outdoor classes avoid coronavirus ‘digital misery’
by Charlotte VAN OUWERKERK MIDDLEBURG, Netherlands (AFP) — A Dutch university is holding open-air classes in parks, public squares and parking lots to limit the number of lectures taking place online because of the coronavirus pandemic. At the foot of a majestic church in the historic center of the city of Middelburg, science professor Edward Nieuwenhuis demonstrates an experiment on a bench in front of 25 students bundled up in jackets. With a noisy street-cleaning […]
Unilever to cut carbon footprint in cleaning items
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Anglo-Dutch consumer giant Unilever on Wednesday unveiled a one-billion-euro plan to remove fossil fuels in the production of cleaning and laundry products which have experienced soaring demand from coronavirus-fearing consumers. The initiative, worth the equivalent of $1.2 billion, will replace all the carbon derived from fossil fuels used in the production of some of Unilever’s best-known products by 2030, it said in a statement. Unilever aims to transform the sustainability […]
Netherlands records no virus deaths, first time since March
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch health authorities Monday reported no new deaths overnight resulting from the coronavirus pandemic for the first time since the beginning of March. Officially the Netherlands has reported 49,658 cases of infection, with 69 people testing positive over the last 24 hours. In all 6,090 people have died. “There has been no report of any deaths,” the National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said on its website. The RIVM warned […]
Dutch mink workers may be first known humans infected by animals: WHO
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization said Tuesday that Dutch workers apparently infected with the coronavirus by minks could be the first known cases of animal-to-human transmission. The WHO told AFP that it was in close contact with Dutch researchers investigating three cases where the virus appears to have been passed to humans from minks. “This would be the first known cases of animal-to-human transmission,” the UN health agency told AFP in an […]
First giant panda born in Netherlands
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Wu Wen, a giant panda loaned to a Dutch zoo by China, has given birth in a first for the Netherlands, Ouwehands animal park announced Saturday. Mating took place in January and the cub, which belongs to Beijing just like the mother and father Xing Ya, was born on May 1. “The mother and her cub are staying in the maternity den and are doing well,” the zoo in the […]
Dutch extend virus measures to end of April
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The Netherlands extended restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 on Tuesday, saying schools, restaurants and bars will remain closed at least until April 28. The new coronavirus has now claimed 1,039 lives in the Netherlands with 845 new infections reported overnight, bringing the total to 12,959. “It will not surprise you that we indeed decided on an extension until Tuesday 28 April,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. “The progress […]
JUST IN: Van Gogh painting stolen from Dutch museum
by Jan HENNOP THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Thieves stole a painting by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh early Monday in a daring heist from a museum that was closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 1884 painting, titled the “Parsonage Garden at Neunen in Spring”, was taken during a pre-dawn break-in at the Singer Laren Museum near Amsterdam. The criminals smashed through a glass door and then took the painting, which […]
SpaceX announces partnership to send tourists to ISS
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — SpaceX on Thursday announced a partnership to send three tourists to the International Space Station (ISS), the first private trip in more than a decade. Elon Musk’s company has signed a deal with Axiom Space to transport the tourists along with a commander on one of its Crew Dragon capsules in the second half of 2021. Axiom CEO Michael Suffredini said the flight “will represent a watershed moment in the […]
Netherlands record first death in coronavirus outbreak
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The Netherlands has recorded its first death in the novel coronavirus outbreak, health officials said on Friday. “An 86-year-old man with COVID-19 who was admitted to the Ikazia hospital in Rotterdam has died,” the National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said, referring to the disease caused by the virus. “This is the first patient in the Netherlands to die of the coronavirus,” the RIVM said, adding that the source of […]
First case of coronavirus confirmed in The Netherlands
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The first case of coronavirus in the Netherlands was detected on Thursday, in a patient who had traveled to northern Italy, the worst-hit area in Europe, the national public health institute announced. All those who have been in “close contact” with the person involved have been checked out and the patient placed in isolation said the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The public health body advised […]





