Today’s digest covers phones in schools, a vote in parliament on stricter checks for sex advertising websites, and what one mayor says was behind recent anti-asylum unrest. There is also news from Amsterdam, the Rotterdam area and the region around The Hague.
Mayor says outsiders stirred up anti-asylum protests
Jan Kottelenberg, mayor of Neder Betuwe, says instigators from outside the municipality probably fuelled the anti-asylum protests in Opheusden and Kesteren. Where asylum seekers are housed is a sensitive local issue across the country. Internationals following it should note that this mayor puts much of the trouble down to people from elsewhere, not only local residents.
Source: NL Times
Cabinet asks schools to ban phones from January
The cabinet is calling on all primary and secondary schools to ban mobile phone use from January. Parents with children in Dutch schools should expect their school to announce new phone rules before then.
Source: DutchNews
MPs vote on age checks for sex advertising sites
The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament, votes today on an amendment to a bill that would require websites carrying sex advertisements to check the identity and age of people offering sexual services. JA21 and ChristenUnie proposed the amendment. They cite 2023 research by the Centrum Kinderhandel Mensenhandel, an expertise centre on child trafficking and human trafficking, which says minors still appear in adverts on legal sex websites.
Source: NOS
Rivierenbuurt playground loses its trampolines
In Amsterdam, the city district has removed trampolines it considers unsafe from a playground in the Rivierenbuurt. The decision has drawn criticism, with one reaction saying it “makes no sense at all, three times over”. Families in the area will find the trampolines gone on their next visit.
Source: Het Parool
Suspended Spijkenisse cardiologist still fighting the state
In Spijkenisse, near Rotterdam, cardiologist Remy Salomonsz was suspended overnight in 2012, along with two colleagues, from the Ruwaard van Putten hospital. He was 59 at the time. Fourteen years later he is still seeking rehabilitation and compensation from the Dutch state, and his lawyer is sharply critical of the rule of law: “Everything turned out to be an illusion.”
Source: Rijnmond
Car fire and shots at a dental practice in the region
Omroep West, the regional broadcaster for The Hague and the surrounding area, reports a car fire in a parking garage and shots fired at a dental practice. Both appear in its running list of emergency news for 5 to 11 October, which residents of the region can check for updates.
Source: Omroep West
Netherlands Today is a curated digest: we summarise and link, the reporting belongs to the publications named. Something wrong or missing? Tell us.
Sources
- NL Times: Anti-asylum riots fueled by instigators from outside municipality, mayor says, accessed 6 October 2026
- DutchNews: Cabinet wants phones out of schools from January, accessed 6 October 2026
- NOS: Nog altijd minderjarigen in seksadvertenties, Kamer stemt over aanpak, accessed 6 October 2026
- Het Parool: Stadsdeel verwijdert ‘onveilige’ trampolines uit speeltuin Rivierenbuurt: ‘Dit gaat drie keer nergens over’, accessed 6 October 2026
- Rijnmond: Advocaat cardioloog veegt vloer aan met de rechtsstaat: ‘Alles bleek een illusie’, accessed 6 October 2026
- Omroep West: Autobrand in parkeergarage – tandartspraktijk beschoten, accessed 6 October 2026
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