Meanwhile, in the Netherlands - December 10th 2007

Princess Amalia says farewell to her parents Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife Princess Maxima. Amalia is second in line for the throne of the Netherlands.
(Picture ANP)

Prime Minister Balkenende having a cup of coffee, after having destroyed the reputation of an ex-minister with a conscience.

Cardinal Simonis is prepared for his last Eucharist celebration

To support the proposed internationalization of Newsvine this user will report on a weekly basis on the Dutch issues that are dominating the Dutch news.

Princess Amalia's first day at school

Princess Amalia, second in line for the Dutch throne, turned four last Friday and has her first official school day today. She was dropped off by her parents crown prince Willem-Alexander and princess Maxima. Some press was allowed to photograph and film the event, but a gentleman's agreement was made to not disturb the princess further during her schooling period. Any press agency that doesn't honor this agreement will be banned from all royal functions in the future. The prince and his wife want to give their daughters a 'normal childhood'.

Politics: Newspaper Interview Ex-Minister Bot angers Prime Minister Balkenende

Ex-minister of Foreign Affairs Ben Bot said in an interview with Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad published Saturday that in 2005 he had worded his concerns about the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Bot claimed that everyone should learn from earlier mistakes, even in politics. Balkenende allegedly reacted that in theory that may be true, but that the intentions of the opposing left wing party PvdA were not about learning lessons from the past, meaning that these 'lessons' could very well lead to the fall of the cabinet. Bot was forced to retract his statement, but said in the interview that he still feels the same way about the issue.
Balkenende reacted by stating that 'to have credibility, Bot should have stepped down in 2005'.
Both the ex-minister and the Prime Minister are members of the Christian Democratic party (CDA).

The Dutch drink less coffee

The Dutch consumption of coffee is down from 3.6 cups per day in 1996 to 3.2 cups in 2006. Researchers claim this decline is caused by a growing popularity of tea and mineral water. Scandinavians are the world's largest coffee consumers.

Resigning cardinal gets cold farewell

Cardinal Simonis (76), Arch Bishop of Utrecht has resigned last Saturday. At the reception in his honor many prominent religious Dutch failed to show, confirming the cardinal's remarks earlier that day that during his period in office the following of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands has been diminished on a large scale. The secularisation -which I always have looked upon as de-divinization of society- has hit us like a tidal wave. That may sound gloomy, but is in my view honest and realistic.
His thank you speech consisted of a joke about a reverend, a priest and a rabbi, his favorite way of breaking tension.

Sources: NRC, Volkskrant, Nu.nl.

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