Hanneke Sanou

Living conditions in 20 of the Netherlands’ most deprived neighbourhoods are posing a significant risk to the health of babies in utero, a landmark study by Erasmus MC teaching hospital shows. The study, based on over 1.1 million pregnancies in the Netherlands, showed that more babies were stillborn, died shortly after being born, or were premature, when the mother had been exposed to stress factors. These included money worries, mold and excessive heat at home, and the level of criminality...

Poet and philosopher Lieke Marsman died on Wednesday, aged 35, from cancer, her publisher Pluim announced on Thursday. Marsman, who was Dutch national poet from 2021 to 2023, was diagnosed with cartilage cancer in 2018. In 2025, she told the Volkskrant she would not let the disease stop her from writing. “I am not resigned to my imminent death. I still have things to say. I want them said,” she said. Marsman’s poetry debut Wat ik mijzelf graag voorhoudt (2010)...

Dutch sand sculptor and illustrator Jeroen Advocaat has won this year’s European Sand Sculpture Championship in Garderen (Gelderland), pipping four international contenders to the post. The theme of the competition was “The Roman Empire” exemplified by Advocaat as a Roman soldier threatening a citizen against the background of a crumbling wall. His work, entitled Roma Eternae (eternal Rome) had the “WOW factor” for its “ originality, technical perfection and strong storytelling”, the jury said. It took Advocaat 6 and a...

The supervisory board of environmental campaign group Milieudefensie has stepped down over its failure to inform staff about ex-director Donald Pols’ extreme-right-wing activities in South Africa. In a statement, chairman Marty Smits said the resignation was intended “to restore calm.” Acting Milieudefensie director Jaqueline Smit said that staff had been shocked both by the revelations about Pols and the fact that the board had been aware of them for years. “The resulting situation justifies the decision made by the board...

Schools should find room in the curriculum to talk about death and grief to help children cope with their feelings in a healthy way, psychologists and other experts have told broadcaster NOS. Talking about loss could prevent children from becoming overwhelmed by feelings of sadness and avoid problems later on, the experts say. Research shows over three-quarters of children under 16 have experienced the loss of someone in their family, or a friend. Children are also confronted with the death...

The Hunebedcentrum for Neolithic tombs in Borger, Drenthe, is the unsuspecting owner of the prehistoric fossil of an eagle ray never before found in the Netherlands.

Overcrowding and lack of staff could prompt prisons to put more prisoners on day release, according to justice ministry plans leaked to broadcaster NOS. Prisoners would be allowed to work outside the prison walls wearing an electronic tag and return to the prison at night, sources said, citing junior justice minister Claudia van Bruggen. An “action plan”, expected to be discussed at a ministerial council meeting on Friday, will propose to broaden conditions so more prisoners can participate in the...

With temperatures expected to reach a stifling 39 degrees in parts of the Netherands on Friday, the KNMI weather service issued a code red warning for excessive heat. The alert came into force at midnight on Thursday and covers eight of the country’s 12 provinces: Noord-Brabant, Gelderland, Utrecht, Limburg, Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Flevoland and Overijssel. Zeeland, Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe remain on code orange, while the Wadden Islands stay on the lower code yellow. The code red announcement put paid to the...

Festival organisers are turning to private security firms to check visitors for drugs and issue fines as local councils impose a zero-tolerance drugs policy, the NRC reported on Friday. ThinkTwice, a security firm set up by former policemen, used 11 festivals as a testing ground, and issued 250 fines last year. It will be working at least six festivals this year, the paper said. Local councils, police and the public prosecution office are happy about outsourcing police tasks to the...

It’s hot but that doesn’t mean your brain has to turn into mush. Here are some great things to do in July and August, most of them outdoors. Celebrate freedom with Keti Koti Keti Koti, or “broken chains” in Sranantongo, kicks off with the Bigi Spikri, a colourful parade of people in traditional Surinamese garb, which makes its way from the Waterlooplein to the Oosterpark in Amsterdam, where the ceremony to commemorate the victims of slavery will take place. There...