News below sea level

Dutch F16 jets were in action along Libya’s coast, operating from the Italian island of Sardinia. The Dutch mission involves around 200 military personnel, and Dutch Defence Minister Hans Hillen said the F16 fighter planes “would only fire on other planes, not targets on the ground.” Meanwhile, a failed rescue attempt of a Dutch citizen in Libya almost cost Minister Hillen his job. A Dutch helicopter was sent to the Libyan city of Syrte to rescue a Dutch engineer working for Royal Haskoning, although the engineer wasn’t in a life threatening situation and had previously refused to be evacuated. When the Dutch helicopter landed, it was surrounded by local fighters and its crew captured.

The Dutch Green Party is demanding a referendum on nuclear energy following the crisis in Japan. The Dutch government had planned to start building a new nuclear power plant in 2015. Holland’s existing nuclear power station, built in 1976, will continue producing electricity until 2033. Meanwhile, the Netherlands celebrated its 10-year anniversary of the first same-sex marriage being performed in the country. Ten years ago this week, five gay couples were married in Amsterdam. Today, approximately 1,200 same-sex Dutch couples get married each year. Moreover, a study conducted in 2006 found that 15 percent of the population were negative about homosexuality, but the same study in 2008 revealed that the figure had dropped to 9 percent. 

Good news for working parents: a study by the University of Amsterdam revealed that young children who are sent to daycare (or crèches in Dutch) are smarter, more social and more self-confident than stay-at-home children. This is because the children “see what other kids are doing and copy it, while also challenging each other,” says Elly Singer, a development psychologist. Singer added however that it’s better for babies aged six months or less to stay at home with their mothers. 

Meanwhile, an old Dutch woman gave birth to a baby girl. 63-year-old Tineke Geessink is the oldest woman ever to become a mother in the Netherlands. She got pregnant via IVF treatment in Italy, as IVF in the Netherlands is only given to women under 45 years of age. Elsewhere, a 12-year-old Dutch girl gave birth while on a school trip. Apparently the girl did not know she was pregnant. The father’s identity is unknown and officials suspect the possibility of incest. Researchers at the University of Twente set up a study on underage drinking. In order to determine how easy it is for kids to buy alcohol, the researchers sent a group of twenty kids aged 14-15-year-olds out to try to buy alcohol in shops as quickly as possible. The kids returned, on average, ten minutes later.  And finally, Bieber-mania came to Holland, as 17-year-old Justin Bieber performed for a sell-out crowd of teenage girls at the Ahoy in Rotterdam. Dutch fans of the Canadian heartthrob were told to eat and drink before coming to the concert, to help prevent them from fainting upon seeing their teen idol heartthrob.