Netherlands

Rachel Eichhorn, a junior at Clark University majoring in international development and social change, was looking for a global perspective when she chose to study at Leiden University in the Netherlands. In Leiden she took courses focusing on social movements, environment and society, religion and modernity in a global context, and urban inequalities. She also learned about Dutch culture, politics, and history. As a dedicated bicyclist, she was well-prepared for living in a city where bicycles are one of the primary modes of transportation.

Dutch judges on Monday handed down an 18- year sentence, plus involuntary psychiatric treatment for an indefinite period of time, to a pedophile who molested dozens of extremely young children in Amsterdam preschools and then shared videos and images of the acts on the Internet. The Latvian-born Dutch defendant, identified under the Netherlands' privacy laws only as Robert M., has been dubbed "The Monster of Riga" by the national press. He was convicted of abusing 67 victims, though he confessed to more.

The U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, Fay Hartog Levin, says she has submitted her resignation to President Barack Obama. Levin said in a statement Monday she is quitting, effective in September, to give her family more attention and to serve "the public interest closer to my home in Chicago. " Levin came to The Hague in August 2009. She is the daughter of Dutch Jewish parents who fled Holland before World War II. Before her ambassadorial appointment she was a lawyer, an executive of the Field Museum in Chicago and a consultant to nonprofit groups.

Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders says he will file a lawsuit to block the Netherlands from ratifying the permanent European bailout fund. Wilders, leader of the Netherlands' third-largest political party, forced the collapse of the all-conservative government last month by walking out of austerity talks he said would hurt the economy to satisfy European budgetary rules. The Netherlands is in a mild recession. After Wilders' walkout, new national elections have been scheduled for September.

AMSTERDAM - Hendrix (Jimi) gazes down with bloodshot eyes from a portrait on the wall. Jagger (Mick, "Gimme Shelter") groans on the sound system. And sitting joyous amid clouds of swirling smoke at the 420 Cannabis Cafe is Savage (Jason, of Morgantown, W.Va.), a tourist who arrived a few days ago on one of his frequent trips to the Netherlands. He does not come for the tulips. Yet even as he eagerly anticipates his turn on a joint the size of Texas in his pal's hand, this 38-year-old visitor is troubled.

AMSTERDAM - DaMarcus Beasley may have boosted his World Cup chances. Jonathan Bornstein and Robbie Findlay did nothing to help theirs. And Stuart Holden joined the long US injured list. The US fell flat in Europe again, losing to the third-ranked Netherlands, 2-1, last night in the Americans’ last match before coach Bob Bradley picks his World Cup roster. Dirk Kuyt converted a penalty kick in the 40th minute after Bornstein pulled on Wesley Sneijder’s arm in the penalty area.

AMSTERDAM - The Netherlands plans to ban facial veils in public places, with women clad in burqas that cover their faces risking a fine of as much as $523. "Wearing clothes that partly or almost fully cover the face fundamentally breaches the character of social interaction, during which we meet each other with a recognizable visage equally," the Dutch government said in a statement on its website yesterday. The ban was first proposed in 2005 by Geert Wilders, who now leads the anti-Islam Freedom Party that supports Prime Minister's Mark Rutte's minority government of...

MAASTRICHT, the Netherlands - If you worship at the altar of grand design, this is one church you'll want to visit. The aesthetics of the Kruisherenhotel in many ways mirror its location. Maastricht is your typical Dutch city, with cobblestone streets and 17th-century shops and town houses. But cross one of the two bridges spanning the Maas River, and examples of 21st-century design abound. Similarly, the outside of the hotel looks like the 15th-century European monastery it once was. But stroll through the glowing tunnel leading to the lobby, and you'll find yourself...

HAARLEM, Netherlands — You see them from the air as you fly into Amsterdam. Multicolored bar codes, brilliantly striped. You see them in bicycle baskets, carried home on some of the 600,000 bikes in Amsterdam. You see them draped like necklaces over the front grills of buses and baby carriages. You see them piled on the tops of family cars, a celebratory ornament, not at all funereal. And, if you happen to be in Haarlem on the night of the spring festival parade, you will see hundreds of thousands of them in every possible color,...

AMSTERDAM -- Huib Drion, a former Dutch supreme court justice who was a major force behind the legalization of euthanasia in the Netherlands, died Tuesday. He was 87. A spokesman for the city of Leiden, where Mr. Drion lived for more than 40 years, said he had no information on the cause of death. Dutch state television said he "died in his sleep" -- which would make it unlikely that Mr. Drion had been euthanized, because under Dutch law doctors must be present. Mr. Drion sparked debate on mercy killings with his...

AMSTERDAM - Hendrix (Jimi) gazes down with bloodshot eyes from a portrait on the wall. Jagger (Mick, "Gimme Shelter") groans on the sound system. And sitting joyous amid clouds of swirling smoke at the 420 Cannabis Cafe is Savage (Jason, of Morgantown, W.Va.), a tourist who arrived a few days ago on one of his frequent trips to the Netherlands. He does not come for the tulips. Yet even as he eagerly anticipates his turn on a joint the size of Texas in his pal's hand, this 38-year-old visitor is troubled.

Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez won the Tour of Basque Country by overtaking fellow Spanish cyclist Joaquin Rodriguez during the final stage on Saturday. Sanchez, riding for local favorite Euskatel-Euskadi, rode through steady rainfall to clock the fastest mark in the 11.7-mile time trial around the medieval village of Onati. Rodriguez was the overall runner-up 12 seconds back, while Bauke Mollema of the Netherlands was third. Rodriguez entered the sixth and final day nine seconds ahead of Sanchez.

The Dutch government says that it will continue talks on bringing the Netherlands' budget deficit within European guidelines, apparently ending a crisis for the Cabinet. In an email message, the Government Information Service says that negotiators "see sufficient possibilities to reach agreements that will answer the problems facing our country. " The government is in talks to cut the Dutch budget deficit to 3 percent from a forecast 4.6 percent this year, which will likely entail painful reductions in health care and pension spending.

Bob de Jong of the Netherlands took the 10,000-meter title at the speedskating single distance world championships ahead of countryman Jorrit Bergsma on Saturday. American Jonathan Kuck won his first medal at a single worlds meet, claiming bronze. Olympic champion Christine Nesbitt of Canada edged Jing Yu of China in the women's 1,000. Margot Boer of the Netherlands picked bronze. Also, Martina Sablukova of the Czech Republic won the 5,000 ahead of Stephanie Bechert and Claudia Pechstein.

"Cheers" star George Wendt hosted the St. Patrick's Day party at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee over the weekend. . . . Bruin Tyler Seguin was spotted over the weekend dining at Red Lantern on Stanhope Street. . . . Meanwhile, comedian Lenny Clarke was at Red Lantern partner Ed Kane's Foxwoods resort spots, High Rollers and Shine at the MGM Grand. . . . The Boston-based Vantage Deluxe World Travel unveiled its River Discovery II ship in Amsterdam over the weekend. Locals in the Netherlands for the ship's maiden voyage included former congressman Bill Delahunt, PR guy...

ABN Amro NV, the state-owned Dutch bank, said Friday its "underlying" profit fell by 11 percent in 2011 as the Netherlands' economy fell into recession and the bank wrote down the value of its holdings of bonds insured by the Greek government. Underlying profit — a nonstandard figure — was euro960 million ($1.27 billion). Net profit was euro665 million, from a loss of euro417 million in 2011, with large one-time charges and gains distorting figures in both years. ABN, once the largest retail bank in the Netherlands, was nationalized in 2008...

ROTTERDAM -- Marielle de Vries, a single mother of six, doesn't have much choice about what to feed her family for dinner. These days, it's likely to be cold sandwiches -- the two bags of groceries she picked up last week from a program for the poor contained a loaf of white bread, cold cuts, nuts, tomatoes, and a pineapple. "It's bad in Africa, but people are going hungry here too. It's just that no one sees it," the 36-year-old said after lugging her provisions out of the God's Pasture church building.

World and European champion Spain remained at the top of FIFA's monthly world rankings on Wednesday, and the United States rose four places to No. 27 with a win over Italy for its highest place since June. The Netherlands beat England 3-2 in an exhibition last week and retook the No. 2 spot from Germany, which lost 2-1 to France. Uruguay is at No. 4, followed by 2014 World Cup host Brazil, which rose two places after beating Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-1. England and Portugal, which drew 0-0 with Poland, each fell one place to sixth and seventh, respectively.

Tucker Fredricks of the United States won the 500 meters Saturday at the speedskating World Cup to stretch his lead at the top of the event standings. Fredricks finished in 35.71 seconds, shaving more than six-tenths of a second off the time that left him in 19th place in Friday's 500. Michel Mulder of the Netherlands was second and Joji Kato of Japan was third. The win at the packed oval gave Fredricks a 99-point lead over Kato with two races remaining at the World Cup finals in Berlin next weekend.