Dutch news in brief – 6 July 2004

Advocaat resigns as Dutch football coach

Dutch football coach Dick Advocaat tendered his resignation on Tuesday. Advocaat had previously hinted he would prematurely end his contract before the World Cup in 2006. He was extremely upset about the reactions to the Netherlands’ defeat in the Euro 2004 match against the Czech Republic, Radio Netherlands reported. The chief of Dutch football association KNVB, Henk Kesler, made the announcement of Advocaat’s resignation on Tuesday afternoon.

Extra language funding for immigrant women

Social Affairs Minister Aart Jan de Geus is keen to invest more money in language studies for immigrant women, claiming that greater effort is needed to solve language problems among the community. He said adequate Dutch language skills are necessary for employment. De Geus estimated there would be EUR 100 million in extra funding from the European Social Fund. Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk, the four largest Randstad cities and the commission stimulating the social participation of migrant will also fund the courses.

Dutch to up anti-poverty fight in Antilles

The Netherlands will allocate more funding for efforts to combat poverty in the Netherlands Antilles, a spokesman for the Minister for Kingdom Relations, Thom de Graaf, said on Tuesday. The minister is presently on a State visit to the Antilles. De Graaf indicated that if the recently installed Antillean Cabinet was prepared to actually tackle poverty, the Netherlands would contribute more also. The present budget is EUR 140 million, but the spokesman said the budget will not be breached. Despite this, he did not know where the extra finding would come from.

Lusanne kidnap accomplice jailed

Leeuwarden Court jailed a 57-year-old man on Tuesday after convicting him of acting as an accomplice to the August 2003 kidnapping of 11-year-old Lusanne van der Gun (previously reported by Dutch media as Van der Gunn). Jacob van A., of Tweede Exloërmond, knew that convicted kidnapper Simon S. had abducted the girl, but failed to report that to police. He claims he was “only a witness”.

500 speeders caught in 3 hours

Friesland police caught 500 speeding motorists between Drachten and Oosterwolde within three hours on Monday, collecting at least EUR 27,500 in fines. Road workers on the N31 had previously complained of speeding motorists, prompting police to conduct the operation involving a radar gun.

Subject: Dutch news