Nov 2024 | Amsterdam news roundup

🎧 2-minute news roundup

Here’s our latest 2-minute audio bulletin of local news, produced as a micro-podcast and shared on all podcast platforms, for listening to short news items on demand. Listen back here and/or follow on your preferred podcast platform.

Selected headlines

• • Amsterdam reduces fine rates for holiday rentals after Council of State | Het Parool | 25 Nov
  • Vincent de Kom, Anton’s great-grandson, becomes director of Zuidoost district | AD | 26 Nov 26
  • GVB removes 121 charging machines at bus and tram stops | 6 Nov, AT5

Unrest, unrest, unrest, and a calm voice from Mbarki

The task of all of us is to restore peace in the city.

A news roundup from 13 November …

• Amsterdam Alderman, Sofyan Mbarki, has responded defiantly to a statement by Prime Minister Schoof that there is an integration problem in the Netherlands, stemming from people with a migration, Islamic or Moroccan background. ‘Our city was hit by a wave of violence, racism and anti-Semitism”, Mbarki acknowledges. He goes on to share his personal story and argues against putting the blame on one group of society only. ‘The task of all of us is to restore peace in the city.” he says. (Amsterdam’s PvdA alderman Sofyan Mbarki responds to statement by Prime Minister Schoof that there is an integration problem in the Netherlands | November 13, Het Parool)
• Amsterdam police have opened an investigation following online threats to several middelbaar schools, in mainly West and Nieuwe West, AT5 reports. Threats were made via the messaging app, Snapchat, and concerned at least ten schools. Following the threats, the schools remained open, but with additional surveillance by the police.
  As well as this, Mayor Femke Halsema has issued a reminder about the consequences of making online threats against schools on social media: “Posting such messages online is punishable.” (More than ten high schools threatened online, detective starts investigation | November 13, AT5, Halsema warns perpetrators of school threats: “It is punishable” | November 13, 2024, AT5)
• Following the violent incidents in Amsterdam surrounding the recent football match of Ajax vs Macabbi Tel Aviv, that made shocking headlines across the world, an emergency ordinance was declared, banning demonstrations until noon on Thursday 14 November. The Amsterdam triangle granted an exemption for a demonstration announced for the evening of Wednesday 13 November on Dam Square, but only allowing it to take place at the Westergasterrein. The demonstration is protesting the genocide in Gaza and the demonstration ban itself. The ban has been flouted a number of times, and there have been accusations of police violence against protestors, causing further unrest. (Exemption from the emergency ordinance: demonstration moved to Westergasterrein | 12 Nov, amsterdam.nl)
• Due to the ongoing unrest in the city and the online threats aginast a number of schools in Amsterdam, the city has announced the safety risk area will remain in force until Sunday 17 November. This means that the police can perform preventive searches on anyone across the city. (Safety risk area will remain in force until Sunday 17 Nov | 13 Nov, amsterdam.nl)

These stories are also shared on BRAM RADIO, our 24/7 online radio station at broadcastamsterdam.nl, and via our mobile app. We also cover more local news stories on our weekday Dam Daily radio show.

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Volunteer reporters needed

There were lots more news stories in Amsterdam during this time but we may not have covered them on the station. Maybe you can help us? We’re looking for volunteer community news correspondents for online and radio to help us share hyper-local news. Get in touch with us at info@broadcastamsterdam.nl if you are interested.