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| Friday is Schiphol airport''s busiest ever day |
7/27/2014 |
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Some 190,000 passengers moved through Amsterdam''s Schiphol airport on Friday, making it the state-owned airport’s busiest day ever. The previous record of 180,000 people dates from last year. Travelers have been told to expect longer waiting times and to check in at home if possible. The airport has taken on 500 extra staff to cope with the peak holiday period. However, the traditional summer entertainment for the queues has been scrapped in the wake of last week’s MH17 disaster. In total, Schiphol will process 16 million passengers in July, August and September.
Dutch household spending rises
Dutch household spending rose marginally in May compared with May 2013, the first rise this year, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday. Nevertheless, household spending remains depressed due to lower natural gas usage. Families would have increased their outgoings all year if gas sales are excluded, the CBS said.In particular, spending was up in May on clothes, shoes, electronic goods, household equipment and cars. The overall increase was just 0.1%.Dutch companies and the government also boosted their investments by 0.5% in May, the CBS said. It was the eighth month in a row that investments rose. © DutchNews.nl - See more at: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/07/dutch_household_spending_rises.php#sthash.lYMfdUT5.dpuf
Criminal investigation begun into banned antibiotic in animal feed
The public prosecution department has launched a criminal investigation into the use of a banned antibiotic in Dutch animal feed from a producer near Utrecht.
In a statement on Friday the department said business premises and a private house have been searched as part of the investigation.
Food safety inspectors have shut 102 Dutch pig and veal farms and 11 in Germany because they were delivered feed containing the antibiotic furazolidone, the Financieele Dagblad said earlier on Friday.
Carcenogenic
The feed came from a producer in Lopik which was closed down by inspectors two days ago. Furazolidone is banned in Europe and known to be carcenogenic.
Food safety inspectors are due to decide on Friday if all the animals on the farms should be destroyed, ANP says.
The new closures appear to be related to the finding of contaminated feed on five farms in Gelderland a month ago.
Health
At the time, inspectors said the meat from the farms would not be recalled because there was no immediate risk to public health. Meat from farms using the contaminated feed was sold in Belgium, France, Germany and Italy as well as in the Netherlands, Nos television says.
However, according to website Boederij.nl, nearly 2,500 calves on the farms were killed because of the contamination.
According to website Melkvee.nl, the feed producer blames the contamination on manure from racing pigeons which gather at his farm. However, experts have scoffed at this explanation, the FD says.
© DutchNews.nl
- See more at: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/07/criminal_investigation_begun_i.php#sthash.FYyWTL3p.dpuf
Dutch to decide this weekend on sending armed mission to Ukraine
A decision will be taken this weekend on whether or not to send armed police or soldiers to the area where Malaysia Airways MH17 was brought down a week ago, prime minister Mark Rutte told MPs on Friday.
There is mounting speculation that the Netherlands and Australia are preparing to send troops to secure the crash site.
Rutte told MPs it is still ‘far from certain’ that armed officers will be sent but that this will be determined on Saturday or Sunday.
Commandos
The Telegraaf said earlier on Friday the Netherlands is poised to send its most elite soldiers to secure the crash site of Malaysian Airways MH17.
The paper says all leave for the commandos of the 11 Luchtmobiele Brigade based in Schaarsbergen and Assen has been cancelled and that soldiers will leave for eastern Ukraine this weekend.
In addition, Dutch special forces currently in Mali are being recalled and sent on to the area around Donetsk, the paper says, without quoting sources.
The aim of sending troops is to ensure the 23 Dutch crash investigators and 40 unarmed military police officers can do their job, the paper says.
Unarmed
On Thursday, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte confirmed the Netherlands is to send 40 unarmed military police officers to the MH17 crash site in Ukraine to help forensic experts look for the remaining bodies of the victims.
The military officers (marechaussee) will not be used to secure the area, Rutte told a news conference.
Earlier this week it was reported the Netherlands and Australia were working on sending an international army and police mission to secure the crash site in rebel-held eastern Ukraine but Rutte refused to go into details.
According to Australian media reports, Australia is sending up to 100 police officers to Ukraine, some of whom will be armed.
The Australian newspaper says Australia is close to securing a deal with Ukraine for federal police officers to secure the wreckage site of flight MH17.
Prime minister Tony Abbott said 90 federal police officers were in Europe now and another 100 would be sent from Australia today.
© DutchNews.nl
- See more at: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/07/dutch_to_decide_this_weekend_o.php#sthash.cTKrKzAb.dpuf
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