NorthC has activated the temporary, redundant power supply and cooling systems at its data center in the Dutch town of Almere at 9:30 AM this morning. The restoration of power arrives six days after the fire on May 7 took out the facility. Customers' IT systems are now being restarted in phases. At the same time, the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
The Netherlands has the opportunity to build a European data center with 100,000 AI chips and 20 petabytes of storage, but the government is lagging behind in terms of financial commitment. Energy company Eneco and data center party Volt, who together want to build the AI gigafactory, warn that neighboring countries are moving ahead and emptying the EU subsidy pot of 20 billion euros. "While the Netherlands actually has very good conditions," according to Eneco.
Germany have quite an exciting year ahead. With a couple interesting friendlies in March, it only gets more interesting as Germany will look to redeem themselves at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after two extremely disappointing World Cups for Die Mannschaft. Soon after that tournament, the Germans will look to put together another strong campaign in the UEFA Nations League.
When it comes to safe travel destinations, the Netherlands consistently ranks at the top, especially for women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ travelers. Its progressive values, strong social systems, and long-standing reputation for peace create an environment where visitors feel welcome and secure. That sense of safety and inclusion is more than anecdotal. It's reflected in how travelers recently rated the country.
Qualification for the 2026 World Cup has thrown up some brilliant storylines. Jordan, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde and Curacao will all debut in Canada, Mexico and the United States, Scotland and Norway will be at the tournament for the first time since 1998, while Haiti are appearing for the first time in over 50 years, and their manager has never even stepped foot in the country.
Manchester City defender Nathan Ake is said to be 'bothered' by his situation at the Etihad Stadium. The Netherlands international has started just one Premier League game so far this season, with manager Pep Guardiola choosing to often partner Ruben Dias with Josko Gvardiol at the heart of his defence. Ake has since been called up to represent the Netherlands during the November international break, but has made it clear he is not best pleased with his situation under Guardiola at Manchester City.
The Netherlands took another commanding step toward World Cup 2026 qualification with a 4-0 win over Finland in Amsterdam. Ronald Koeman's side blew their visitors away with a ruthless first-half display, and a late Cody Gakpo strike capped off a dominant evening for the Oranje. It took just eight minutes for Donyell Malen to open the scoring, curling home from Memphis Depay's clever one-two. Depay then turned provider again nine minutes later, delivering a perfect free-kick for Virgil van Dijk to head in and double the lead.
A water cannon was deployed by Dutch police to disperse anti-immigration demonstrators in the Hague after some protestors began throwing bottles and rocks at police officers. A a spokesperson for the Hague local government on Saturday said the those targeted by the police water cannon had split from the main demonstration to block a highway. According to local Dutch media, thousands of people joined the protest, which also saw at least one police car set on fire.
Compared with England, where the beaver population is estimated at 500, that's quite a feat. But there's a significant downside to the booming Dutch beaver population. Beavers are increasingly digging burrows and tunnels under roads, railways and even more worrying in dykes. For a country where a quarter of the land sits below sea level, this is not a minor problem especially as beavers are not exactly holding back when digging.
