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The 33-year-old Erasmus University medical student should be convicted of murdering his 39-year-old neighbor, her 14-year-old daughter, and his 43-year-old professor in a shocking day of violence in Rotterdam over a year ago. Fouad L. Confessed to the killings but also claimed that an imaginary computer inside his head ordered him to carry out the murders. Prosecutors were not swayed by his claim and asked the District Court in Rotterdam on Thursday to send the man to prison for 30 years, and an additional indefinite period of mandatory institutionalization in a TBS psychiatric facility.

“September 28, 2023, is a completely dark day that many Rotterdammers, and actually the whole of the Netherlands, still remember clearly. That afternoon there was chaos and panic in the city,” said the Public Prosecution Service (OM). “A man who was angry because he did not receive a diploma after studying for a long time took revenge in a terrible way.”

He first attacked his neighbors, shooting and killing 14-year-old Romy and then her mother, Marlous, in their home on Heiman Dullaertplein in the Rotterdam district of Delfshaven. He then went to Erasmus MC, where he gunned down the 43-year-old lecturer and general practitioner Jurgen Damen. He started fires in both his home and the lecture hall where he murdered Damen. The police arrested him at the university hospital a short time later.

After his arrest, the man confessed to killing the three victims and explained his motives. He said he had been planning the murders for six months. “The suspect got up at 5:00 a.m. because it was an important day,” the OM said. “He already had gasoline ready in his home to set the fires. He had decided to kill his neighbor because he believed she had violated his privacy.” He said he murdered 14-year-old Romy as revenge on her father, who allegedly insulted him months earlier.

He wanted to kill the lecturer because of an earlier conflict with another lecturer.” According to L., the lecturers unjustly failed him on tests after this conflict and got him into trouble with other lecturers.

L. caused “unfathomable sorrow,” the OM said. “Sorrow for the loss of a father, mother, sister, brother, partner, child, and grandchild.” The devastation they feel was very apparent when they spoke during the trial earlier this week. But the case also had a massive impact outside the victims’ circle of loved ones. “On witnesses who carried the 14-year-old girl outside, or saw her lying there. On witnesses in the classroom who saw their lecturer murdered before their eyes. On others in the Erasmus MC who he threatened.”

The severity of these crimes justifies a life sentence, the OM said. However, the prosecutors believe that a long sentence and compulsory, institutionalized treatment are more appropriate. “This was also the advice of experts who examined the suspect at the Pieter Baan Center,” the OM said. “The suspect has diminished responsibility as a result of a personality disorder. The experts currently estimate that there is a risk of recurrence and that treatment is needed to limit this. The OM believes that a long prison sentence and TBS would better protect society against this suspect.”

Last year, around 70,000 new homes were added to the housing stock in the Netherlands, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported on Thursday. That is the lowest number in at least five years, including the first year of the pandemic. It is also well below the government’s target of adding 100,000 new homes per year to reduce the housing shortage.

Last year, 68,995 new homes were built in the country. Another 13,000 homes were created by splitting up buildings, converting office spaces, or other means. That amounts to around 82,000 new homes created.

But about 12,000 old homes were also torn down. On balance, the housing stock increased by a net of 70,364 homes, a decrease of 10.7 percent compared to the 78,819 homes added to the housing stock in 2023.

That means the policies from the current Cabinet and the Rutte IV caretaker Cabinet led to nearly 8,500 fewer homes added to the housing supply last year compared to 2023.

The Netherlands now counts almost 8.3 million homes, 0.9 percent more than in 2023.

In absolute figures, Zuid-Holland completed the the most new homes at almost 18,000. Flevoland saw the largest growth, with the province’s housing stock increasing by 1.5 percent. The fewest homes were built in Limburg, Friesland, and Drenthe, where the housing stock increased by 0.7 percent.

Of the municipalities, Amsterdam built the most new homes at 6,400. But the growth was greatest in Zoeterwoude. The Zuid-Holland municipality built 441 homes, increasing its housing stock by 9.6 percent.

The Dutch population grew by 103,000 people to 18.05 million inhabitants in 2024, a lower increase than the year before. The population growth decreased in the Randstad and increased in Noord-Brabant, Drenthe, and Overijssel. Flevoland gained the most inhabitants. Population decline happened mainly in Zuid-Limburg, the north of the Netherlands, and along the North Sea coast, according to figures Statistics Netherlands published on Thursday.

The Dutch population growth is solely due to migration. Natural growth has been negative for a few years, with more people dying than babies being born. Due to slightly lower immigration and slightly higher emigration, population growth last year was lower than in 2023 (+132,000 people) and 2022 (+221,000), CBS reported.

Last year, 314,000 people immigrated to the Netherlands (-22,000 compared to 2023), and 205,000 people emigrated (+7,000). Compared to previous years, fewer people came to the Netherlands from other countries in the European Union. EU immigration fell to 106,000, while emigration rose to 87,000. Of immigrants from outside the EU, the number of Syrians increased the most, On balance, almost 24,000 Syrians arrived in the Netherlands, about 6,000 more than in 2023. The number of people from Iraq, Somalia, and Eritrea also increased slightly, while the immigration of Afghans decreased sharply.

Over 165,000 babies were born last year, slightly more than in 2023. Almost 172,000 people died, over 2,000 more than in 2023. “The increased mortality compared to 2023 is the result of the aging population: there are more and more people in the oldest age groups,” CBS said. Natural population growth was negative in two-thirds of Dutch municipalities last year. “Municipalities, where more babies were born than people died, have a relatively young population and are mainly located in the Randstad, in Flevoland, on the Veluwe, and in the north of Overijssel.”

The population grew in 285 of the 342 municipalities. “In 2024, population growth shifted from the Randstad to several regions outside it,” CBS reported. Population growth increased in Noord-Brabant, Zeeland, Drenthe, and Overijssel. In the provinces of Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, and Utrecht, growth decreased sharply, mainly due to decreased immigration.

Flevoland gained the most inhabitants, followed by Noord-Brabant. The number of Flevoland residents increased due to natural growth, domestic relocations, and, to a lesser extent, foreign migration. In Noord-Brabant, the population growth was exclusively due to foreign migration. “This is partly due to several large asylum centers in the province, but many other Brabant municipalities also grew due to immigration,” CBS said. “Eindhoven, for example, attracted many migrant workers.”

The population shrank in 57 municipalities, mainly on the edges of the country and along the North Sea Coast. Many Zuid-Limburg municipalities and municipalities in the north of the province of Groningen saw their inhabitants decrease. “In Zeeland, growth and decline existed side by side: in Goes and Noord-Beveland, there was strong growth, while the number of inhabitants decreased in Veere, Sluis, and Schouwen-Duivenland,” CBS said. Several municipalities along the North Sea coast, including Bergen, Bloemendaal, and Zandvoort, also experienced population decline.

“The aging population was the main cause of the decline in many municipalities,” CBS said.

Erratic. That is the word the KNMI used to summarise the weather in 2024. It is also the direction in which the climate is increasingly moving. The Netherlands is already experiencing more extreme precipitation than it did a few decades ago. “A more erratic climate is our new reality,” wrote director Maarten van Aalst in the annual report The State of our Climate.

The increasing weather extremes are a cause for concern for the institute’s scientists. “We must be prepared for extremes we have never seen before,” warned Van Aalst. He added that there is still a lot of work to be done to better prepare the Netherlands for the consequences of climate change, such as the increasingly rapid rise in sea levels.

The institute previously announced that 2024 was, on average, just as warm for the Netherlands as the record year 2023. The heat record was equaled without a heat wave and with only four tropical days when maximums topped 30 degrees at the national measuring station in De Bilt, which is relatively few. The explanation is that the minimum temperatures were very high. In De Bilt, there was not a single ice day when temperatures remained below zero all day.

There were no ice days in 2023 either. The fact that this happened two years in a row has never happened before since temperature measurements began in 1901. The number of frost days, when temperatures remained below zero for part of the day, was 23 fewer than even last year.

There were plenty of mild days. Wet days too. The KNMI counted 13 days with extreme precipitation with more than 50 millimeters of rain falling locally. That happens more often in the changing climate because warm air can absorb more water vapor than cold air. Between August 2023 and July 2024, the Netherlands experienced the wettest period ever measured.

The number of days with heavy precipitation almost doubled in recent decades, from an average of five to nine per year. Last year, was therefore also an outlier in this respect, although it was not a record. 2021 counted 16 days with extremely heavy rainfall.

It is clear to the KNMI that the climate is changing so strongly due to greenhouse gas emissions. “Twenty years ago, the question was: are we sure that it is due to emissions?” said director Van Aalst. Now, the big question is mainly when the tipping points in the climate will be reached, resulting in even more severe climate change. According to climate scientists, this chance increases considerably above a temperature increase of 1.5 degrees.

Three people were arrested on Wednesday as part of the investigation into the brazen theft of Romanian gold artifacts from the Drents Museum last weekend. The gold helmet and bracelets stolen during the burglary have not yet been recovered, police said. All three suspects were being held in restricted custody, meaning they may only remain in contact with an attorney.

The three arrests were made by police in Heerhugowaard, a city less than an hour north of Amsterdam in the province of Noord-Holland. The city is also close to Alkmaar. A Volkswagen Golf was stolen from there last week, and used in the robbery. It was found burned out soon after the incident.

"Three people have been detained by the Dutch police, suspected of committing this theft with a particularly serious impact on Romanians. None of the three are Romanian," said Romania's Interior State Secretary Bogdan Despescu during a press conference.

“We are very pleased with the hopeful news regarding the arrests in Noord-Holland,” the Drents Museum said in a statement. “The safe return of the stolen artefacts would be a fantastic next step for all involved. Not only for us, but especially for the Romanian people.”

The robbery took place at about 3:45 a.m. on Saturday when explosives were used to make an entrance into the museum. Three individuals could be seen in camera footage of the incident. They were likely in and out within a short timeframe.

Police indicated more arrests are possible. Earlier on Wednesday, police released three photos of a man they believe to be involved in the burglary. He is still at large. The photographs were taken by a surveillance camera inside a hardware store in Assen, the same municipality where the museum is located.

“We are still looking for this suspect. Do you know who he is? Please let us know,” police wrote in an update. The photographs of the man were released a day after police said they wanted to know more about a sledgehammer and a deadblow hammer found at the scene which may have been used in the burglary. Authorities were also looking for information about a Volkswagen Golf that was stolen from Alkmaar, as well as a van that may have been used by the suspects.

In general, suspects must be brought before an examining magistrate for a preliminary hearing within three days, which can be delayed by up to three days in some urgent circumstances. The magistrate can remand them to jail for up to 14 days prior to an arraignment hearing at a district court.

“The theft has deeply affected many people; in Romania, but also here in Assen. We are extremely grateful for all the expressions of support we have received,” the Museum said.

Police investigating the daring burglary at the Drents Museum in Assen have released a series of photographs featuring a man wanted in connection with the robbery. The images were caught by a security camera at a hardware store in Assen, police said on Wednesday afternoon.

The robbers involved in the incident early Saturday morning made off with the gold helmet of Cotofenesti and three gold armbands on loan for the Dacia exhibit at the museum. The stolen items date back to about 450 BC, and were among the 670 objects on display in Assen which are part of the permanent collection at the Romanian National History Museum in Bucharest. The Dacia exhibit was set to close on Sunday.

The new photos from the police show a man with a lighter skin complexion is shown wearing a black Nike baseball hat and a black Nike top with long-sleeves. He was also wearing rectangular eyeglasses with a black frame at the front, which also have arms in a lighter clear or light color before which become darker at the ears.

Police on Tuesday night had appealed to the public for help in identifying the suspects, or perhaps the tools used in the robbery, during a broadcast of Opsporing Verzocht. Those tools included a dead blow hammer and a sledgehammer. Additionally, the authorities said they believe the suspects have connections to the Noord-Holland province.

While the robbery happened at 3:45 a.m. on Saturday, the images from inside the hardware store were taken at 1:14 p.m a few days earlier on Thursday. Police asked that the man contact authorities, or that anyone with information about him reach out to investigators.

At least three people were believed to be involved in the robbery, based on surveillance footage captured during the incident. “That night, a door of the building was forced open with explosives and several suspects entered the museum. In a short period, they managed to steal a number of Romanian archaeological masterpieces,” police said.

“The museum building was damaged in the explosion. There is footage showing the suspects opening an outside door and the explosion that followed. The suspects entered the museum in this way.”

Police believe a gray Volkswagen Golf stolen in Alkmaar was used in the robbery. It had license plate P-343-RL, but it was switched with a license plate taken off another vehicle in Witmarsum. That plate was K-813-BK.

The vehicle was likely stolen from around Ingelandstraat in Alkmaar after 8:30 p.m. on January 22. The license plates were stolen from Van Aylvaweg in Witmarsum after 6 p.m. on January 22. The car was spotted near Julianaplein in Groningen on January 23 between 3:45 a.m. and 5 a.m. It was at the scene of the robbery, and was then found burned out near the N33 in Rolde after the burglary.

Police are trying to piece together information about the car during that window. “The investigation team is also asking for attention to a dark-colored Ford Transit, which may have been involved in the robbery,” police said.

“A team of dozens of detectives and specialists are working on the case with the aim of tracking down the stolen goods and arresting the suspects. Extensive technical and tactical investigations were conducted in and around the Drents Museum,” police stated. “The investigation team also decided to bring in Interpol. This is an international organisation that helps police organisations prevent and combat crime.”