Now it is possible to see almost the entire Netherlands in Google Street View.

Recently, all areas in the Netherlands have been updated in Google Street View. In particular, the cities.

The total distance of about 75,000 kilometers has been captured.

Google used the Google-trike (trike) to capture twenty tourist attractions on street level.

The following Dutch attractions are available in Street View for a virtual visit: Apenheul, the theme park Archeon, the Aqua Zoo, Adventure Park Hellendoorn, Parliament Buildings, the Dolphinarium, the Efteling, the castle Arcen, Kinderdijk, the Hoge Veluwe National Park, Dutch Open Air Museum, Het Loo Palace, Scheveningen Boulevard, Slagharen Amusement, the Veenpark, Mondo Verde World, Walibi, the Zaanse Schans, Overloon Park Zoo and the Zuiderzee.

According to Jaap Rosen Jacobson, owner of NG Aircraft, Ministry of Economic Affairs has made available a loan of 20 million euros. Only the European Commission still needs to approve this.

The construction of new aircraft should sell around 40 planes to make them economically viable. The aim is to build the aircraft in the Netherlands.

The Fokker 100 NG (Next Generation) is based on the structure of the Fokker 100, but features include the latest electronics and engines. The aim is to create an aircraft that is more environmentally friendly then other comparable aircraft and will have about 120 seats.

The Dutch aircraft maker Fokker went bankrupt almost fourteen years ago.

The collapse of the Christian Democrat, Labour, ChristenUnie government was inevitable, opposition party leaders said in their initial reactions.

After several days of marathon discussions, Labor Party members quit the coalition government.

News of the Cabinet dissolving followed speculation that the political squabble over Afghanistan could not be settled.

The Netherlands has roughly 2,000 troops serving in Afghanistan’s Oruzgan province as part of NATO’s International Security and Assistance Force. The Dutch government extended the military mission by two years back in 2007.

Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos, leader of the Labour Party, opposed fulfilling NATO’s request to extend the mission again.

Bos said that the current Afghanistan policy was not sustainable, according to the official ANP news agency.

The Christian Democratic Alliance, Labour Party and Christian Union entered into a coalition agreement in 2007 but have disagreed on several issues including Afghanistan.

The debating champions of the Netherlands can now enjoy an early vacation.

Photo by Pixel Addict

People who don’t smoke and those who do sports and are not overweight should pay lower health insurance premiums the government is to be told.

To prevent the charges becoming too expensive for those on low earnings, the council will recommend that the basic health insurance premium should be income-related.

The council points to the fact that that over one-third of illness in the Netherlands is caused by unhealthy lifestyles. However, the major health insurance companies reject the idea of a range of premiums, saying such a system would be difficult to put into practice. They also argue that penalising unhealthy living risks making the Dutch health care system divisive.

Health Minister Ab Klink has already come out against higher premiums for unhelathy lifestyles.

Michael van Poppel started a Twitter feed called “BreakingNews” three years ago, from an apartment in Tilburg, the Netherlands. He aggregated news from the internet and linking to breaking headlines from around the world onto his feed.

Twitter was but a year old and Van Poppel just 17 at the time, but the novel idea drew an overnight following. BreakingNews’ first major scoop, to the astonishment of the European news establishment, was Van Poppel’s acquisition of a videotape carrying a statement from Osama bin Laden. How did a Dutch teen with a Twitter feed get hold of a Bin Laden tape? “It came to me from a source within the U.S. government,” is all Van Poppel will say.

After selling the video to Reuters, Van Poppel was deluged by social media fans in other countries eager to lend a hand tweeting news. This crowdsourcing soon paid off. In early 2008, when a small earthquake rocked the U.K. town of Grimsby, Van Poppel’s minions in the English countryside were jolted into action, pinging instant accounts. Those tweets triggered pre-set keywords on Van Poppel’s Twitter pages, which alerted him via instant messaging service GoogleTalk. Van Poppel, in turn, began posting quake bulletins, tweeting its estimated magnitude before the BBC even reported it.

By August of last year, Van Poppel had amassed 1.5 million followers–and the interest of MSNBC.

Charlie Tillinghast, president of MSNBC Digital Network sent an IM written in Dutch to the 20-year-old news mogul, asking whether he’d be interested in a deal whereby MSNBC’s digital division would manage the feed under MSNBC’s moniker. The network also contacted Twitter to get its blessing, says Tillinghast (Twitter doesn’t allow its account domains to be sold, only managed, by users). A meeting was arranged in September at MSNBC’s Rockefeller Center offices.

In a package deal, MSNBC acquired the rights to manage Van Poppel’s Twitter feed indefinitely and is paying him undisclosed fees to carry a separate headline service Van Poppel has launched, BNO News, for three years. Tillinghast now dedicates a full-time staff of three to the BreakingNews feed, aided by MSNBC reporters and editors in New York and Redmond, Wash.

This new Twitter newsfeed and new site BreakingNews.com will bring breaking news to the Web.

The announcement is great news for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, great news for millions of Saab customers and fans worldwide.

Spyker, which makes only a few dozen cars a year, will contribute $74 million in cash to the deal, while the European Investment Bank will provide a 400 million euro loan ($566 million) guaranteed by the Swedish government. Part of the deal is the formation of a new company: “Spyker Saab Automobiles. The final sale takes place mid-February.
As part of the agreement, Spyker intends to form a new company, Saab Spyker Automobiles, which will carry the Saab brand forward.  The sale will be subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory, governmental and court approvals.  Other terms and conditions specific to the sale will be disclosed in due time.

Spyker, founded in 2000, makes exotic sports cars costing more than $200,000. Only 250 have ever been sold. This year, the carmaker hopes to sell 100 of its Spyker cars worldwide. Spyker production was moved from the Netherlands to Great Britain late last year.

The Dutch manufacturer of exclusive sports cars tried to buy the loss-making Saab in recent months, since the parent company General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers is selling of their popular brands such as Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn.

Saab entered the auto business in 1949 with the first model 92.  Its aerodynamic shape and advanced technology drew from the company’s roots as an aircraft maker, and helped create what was to become a loyal and passionate customer base.

Last year over 1.3 million bicycles were sold in the Netherlands according to preliminary figures. The Revenue is expected to be around 950 million euros, an increase of 4 percent from 2008. According to the RAI Association FietsVAK, the exhibition for the bicycle industry.

When people buy a bike, they’d rather buy a good bike”, said a spokesman for RAI. The average amount that was spent on a bicycle last year increased 3.5 percent to an average of 713 euros. In 2008 that figure was 683 euros.

The rise of the electric bike set last year continued. An increase of 30 percent is expected for 2009 with more than 150,000 e-bikes. The electric bike has a market share of 10 percent, with an average selling price of around 1900 good for 25% of the total bicycle sales.

The market share for e-bikes will increase further.

Dealers are still gaining ground as a sales channel for bicycles. Last year 85 percent of the bikes were bought in a real bicycle shop and the previous year it was still 82 percent.

In the past ten years the Dutch bike fleet grew to a total of 18 million bicycles.

Photo by: FaceMePLS

CitizenM, located in the center of Amsterdam, was selected from 719 award-winning properties to take the “trendiest” title, chosen from the reviews and ratings from some 15 million TripAdvisor users. The hotel chain represents a “new type of hotel experience for a new type of traveler,” providing 14 square meter compact and high tech rooms that are built offsite and then stacked together to form the hotels. Internet connections and wifi on demand are free, and the rooms are lit by LED lights to save energy.

Chicago’s theWit Hotel took second place, with its onsite cinema and 42-inch in-room televisions proving a hit with guests. The 517-room beachfront W Fort Lauderdale hotel in Florida came third.

The eighth annual TripAdvisor TRAVELERS’ CHOICE Awards recognized 719 hotels around the world for outstanding service, value and quality. The results were compiled from millions of reviews submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor.com.

citizenM started as an observation. The world has seen the evolution of a new type of traveler. These modern individuals are explorers, trekkers, professionals and shoppers. They travel a lot – both long and short haul. They are independent, share a respect for different cultures and are young at heart. You might be one of them. If so congratulations – you are what we call a Mobile Citizen of the World – and you are so important to us, we named our hotel after you.

citizenM Hotel reflects and learns from the needs of these new global citizens.

Mobile citizens know what they like in a good hotel and what they don’t need from a bad one. What they like includes stylish design, great value, the best entertainment, sociable atmosphere, a comfortable bed and big fluffy towels. They need a hotel in a good location but one where they can rest easily. What they don’t want is unnecessary or hidden costs.

TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Awards 2010

Best Bargain in the World – Arcadia Residence, Prague, Czech Republic

Best Luxury (4&5 star hotels) in the World – Golden Well (U Zlate Studne), Prague, Czech Republic

Best for Families in the World – Sirkeci Konak Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey

Best for Service in the World – Golden Well (U Zlate Studne), Prague, Czech Republic

Best B&B and Inn in the World – Casa Portagioia, Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy

Best for Romance in the World – Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa, Moorea, French Polynesia

Best All-Inclusive in the World – Drowsy Water Ranch, Granby, Colorado, USA

Best Relaxation and Spa in the World – La Amada Hotel, Playa Mujeres, Mexico

Trendiest Hotel in the World – citizenM Amsterdam City, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Kevin Eyres, managing director of LinkedIn Europe, said: ‘The Netherlands is one of our most engaged and fastest growing markets. With Eugenie heading up the Dutch team we will offer the growing number of digitally connected professionals in the Netherlands the right tools to collaborate, making them more successful and productive.’

LinkedIn claims to have over 55 million members in over 200 countries. The Netherlands has over one million participants.

LinkedIn Official press release:

Amsterdam – January 6, 2010 – This week LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with more than 55 million members globally, appointed Eugenie van Wiechen as country manager in the Netherlands. Van Wiechen will lead the first LinkedIn office in continental Europe in Amsterdam, where she will be developing the LinkedIn offering for the more than one million members in the country.

Van Wiechen heads up a new team of local advertising and recruitment specialists to grow LinkedIn’s business comprised of user subscriptions, advertising sales and enterprise software licensing for the Dutch hiring market. Near-term the company’s strategy will focus on bringing additional value to Dutch users, establishing strategic local partnerships and founding general operations in the Netherlands.

“Today marks a significant stage in our continuing growth in Europe with the opening of our first office in continental Europe and the addition of Eugenie to our team,” said Kevin Eyres, Managing Director of LinkedIn Europe. “The Netherlands is one of our most engaged and fastest growing markets. With Eugenie heading up the Dutch team we will offer the growing number of digitally connected professionals in the Netherlands the right tools to collaborate, making them more successful and productive.”

Eugenie has extensive experience in leading and growing internet and publishing businesses. Prior to LinkedIn, Eugenie was Managing Director at Marktplaats.nl/eBay.nl. In this position she was responsible for the overall management and growth of Marktplaats.nl, the Dutch market leader in online classifieds. She was also a member of the eBay Global Classifieds management team, one of fastest growing business units within eBay Inc .

Commenting on her appointment Van Wiechen said, “It’s a privilege to be part of building out LinkedIn’s global presence. I’m excited about working with the new team here in Amsterdam to establish LinkedIn and to make sure we’re offering the best possible service for our Dutch members as well as our advertising and corporate partners.”

Between 2003 and 2008 van Wiechen held a number of positions at publishing house Sanoma Uitgevers, including Director Consumer & Trade Marketing and Publisher for Young Women’s Magazines. She started her career in 1995 with McKinsey & Company in Amsterdam as a Management Consultant. Eugenie holds a master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Amsterdam and a masters from INSEAD.

About LinkedIn
LinkedIn is an internet platform company focused on connecting the world’s professionals. The company is privately held and has a diversified business model with revenues driven from user subscriptions, advertising sales and software licensing. The LinkedIn web site was launched in 2003 and is the largest professional networking site in the world with more than 55 million m embers representing 200 countries and executives from every Fortune 500 company. The company’s worldwide corporate headquarters is based in Mountain View, Calif.

What is LinkedIn?

Dutch children have been rated the most fortunate children in Europe. Their parents go out of their way to please them, and teachers expect less of them than some of their European counterparts.

The German researchers studied children in 21 industrialised countries on the basis of six criteria: material wealth, health, education, relationships, safety and their own feelings of luck. The Netherlands has come top of a league table for child well-being across 21 industrialised countries.

Swedish and Finnish children were in second and third place. American children were bottom of the list where boys and girls are the most negative about their current situation and future possibilities.

Surveys by Britain’s Child Poverty Action Group, Unicef International and the World Health Organisation have all reached similar conclusions about Dutch children.

This is the second time Dutch children ranked happiest in Europe.

The happiest children
1 Netherlands
2 Sweden
3 Finland
4 Norway
5 Spain
6 Switzerland
7 Denmark
8 Germany
9 Belgium
10 Poland
11 Ireland
12 Czech Republic
13 Portugal
14 Austria
15 France
16 Italy
17 Canada
18 Greece
19 Hungary
20 Great Britain
21 United States

Source: Unicef