Dutch news in brief, 6 February 2006

20,000 hens killed in fire

A fire in a barn in the town of Witharen in Overijssel Province killed 20,000 laying hens on Sunday, police said. The farm residents were not at home when the blaze broke out at midday. The Fire Brigade quickly brought the flames under control but all the hens were already dead.

Pakistan fundraiser on the Dam

Dutch Red Cross director Cees Breederveld, board member Paul Rosenmöller and Red Cross ambassador Humberto Tan are to spend Thursday night in a tent on Dam Square in Amsterdam to raise money for the thousands of people left homeless in Pakistan by the earthquake in October. Members of the public can add to the ‘comfort’ of the trio by donating money via www.rodekruis.nl.

No wanted rioters caught at match

The police did not arrest anyone at Sunday’s match between Feyenoord and Ajax wanted for causing trouble at last year’s fixture. Several people with “known faces” were stopped and questioned, but none had an outstanding warrant in relation to the football riot last year. Ten people were arrested, however, for threating behaviour, failure to carry identification, possession of fireworks and failing to comply with the house rules of the stadium

Woman killed at zebra crossing

Five people died in traffic accidents in the Netherlands at the weekend. A woman was killed in Capelle aan den IJssel when a car ploughed into three people at a zebra crossing near a church. A 28-year-old man was seriously injured and the woman’s husband escaped with light injuries. The driver, 64, had not drunk alcohol before the accident, the police said.

Drunken cyclist on motorway

Police removed a drunken cyclist from the A6 motorway near Almere on Saturday night. The 20-year-old man was on his way home from a party and decided to take the shortest route, he told officers. He spent the night in a jail cell.

Driving exam to be harder

The driving test will be tougher from 2007 to cut back on the number of accidents involving new drivers, the Ministry for Transport said on Monday. More emphasis will be given to aspects such as insight in traffic; independent driving and recognition of dangers. It will not drive up the cost of exams, the ministry said.

Ancient settlement found in Friesland

Remains of a settlement dating backing to 3,400 and 2,850 B.C. has been found on the mound on which the Frisian town of Oostrum is built. The find includes hundreds of earthenware items and flint tools. The local council said this was a rare discovery of an encampment of the Funnel Beaker culture, the name given to communities that existed in southern Scandinavia and from the Netherlands to Ukraine in northern Europe.

Subject: Dutch news