Dutch news in brief – 2 February

Rotterdam remembers Sedar’s murder

About 1,000 people observed the 12-month anniversary of the shooting death of 13-year-old boy Sedar Soares in Rotterdam on Sunday. The boy was shot and killed in a car park at the Slinge metro station last year after throwing snowballs at cars. The culprit is still at large and the crime stoppers TV show Opsporing verzocht will feature the shooting again on Monday night.

Teen girl cleared in teacher shooting inquiry

The prosecution released at the weekend the female teenager arrested in connection with the 13 January shooting death of 49-year-old school teacher Hans van Wieren in The Hague. She is no longer considered a suspect. Besides the main culprit, 17-year-old Murat D., two other male suspects remain in custody. The youth and an adult-aged male allegedly supplied Murat with the gun or helped hide it after the shooting.

Cause of dike subsidence still up for discussion

It is increasingly likely that the cause of the dike subsidence near the southern Limburg town of Stein will be decided in court. The Department of Water Management claim a broken water pipe is to blame, but waterworks authority Limburg WML claims the pipe was broken by the subsidence of the dike. Both parties have agreed on further examinations, but a department spokesman said the matter could very possible be decided on in court.

Dutch number plate system set to change

Dutch number plates might soon have two numbers, three letters and another number because the present system of two letters, two letters and two numbers is outdated, the government traffic service (RDW) said on Monday. It said the present car registration system is expected sometime between 2005 and 2006 to have used up all possible combinations. The police and vehicle sales industry association Bovag have been requested to give their opinion on the new system.

Israeli victims recovery group seeks exposure

Zaka, a volunteer group involved in rescuing terror attack victims in Israel, hopes to bring the bombed wreckage of a bus to The Hague shortly and put it on display near the International Criminal Court. The bus was blown up by the Hamas movement on 18 July 2002, killing 19 people and injuring 17 others. Zaka claims it does not want to make a political statement, but intends to gain international exposure for its organisation. The Israeli Foreign Ministry, having earlier rejected the idea, has not yet made its final decision.
 
[Copyright Expatica News 2004]

Subject: Dutch news