The Netherlands is to pay for the renovation of the bridge over the Danube that contacts the Serbian town of Bac with Vukovar in Croatia. Development Minister Agnes van Ardenne officially opened the restoration work on Friday. The work is due to be completed next June. “This is more than just a bridge. It symbolises the restoration of political cooperation between the two societies,” her spokesperson said.

400 troops to Bosnia

A group of 400 Dutch soldiers are to fly from Eindhoven Air Force base to Bosnia next Tuesday to serve with the European Unions police service (EuFor) in Bosnia. The Dutch Ministry of Defence said on Friday the Dutch troops will be stationed in Bosnia for six months. They will serve alongside troops from Bulgaria and Romania.

Worker killed in amusement park

A construction worker was killed in an industrial accident in “de Efteling” amusement park in Kaatsheuvel on Friday morning. The man was laying concrete on the roof of a tunnel in preparation for the new “Vliegende Hollander” attraction when the structure collapsed. The victim sustained fatal injuries when he fell four metres to the ground. The police and Works Inspectorate have launched an investigation. Most visitors in the park were unaware of the tragedy.

Installation sector fined EUR 40m

The Dutch competition regulator NMa imposed fines totalling EUR 40 million on companies working in the installation sector. The NMa said on Friday 155 companies had be fined for breaching anti-cartel regulations. Individual fines reached a maximum of EUR 5.6 million in some cases. Among the firms fined by the NMa were AM, BAM, Getronics, Imtech, Stork and Heijmans.

Consumer spending rises

Spending by Dutch consumers rose in August for the third successive month. The volume of consumption was up 0.8 percent in comparison with August last year, statistics agency CBS said on Friday. The growth in spending was insufficient to offset the drop in consumer spending in the first five months of the year.

Shutters close on photo shops

‘Foto Kral’, one of the largest chains of photography shops in the Netherlands, has gone bankrupt. Kral employed 400 people in 100 shops in the Netherlands, including the ‘Foto Objektief’ and ‘1-Hour Super Photo’ shops.

[Copyright Expatica News 2005]

Subject: Dutch news