Amsterdam

Man nabbed at Schiphol airport trying to smuggle 1 million euros

Schiphol airportAmsterdam - Police at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport arrested a 22-year-old Mexican on Tuesday as he sought to smuggle 1 million euros (1.3 million dollars) in cash to Mexico.

The Mexican will be charged with money laundering, Dutch police said in statement.

The money, consisting of 500-euro-bills, was hidden in the double lining of a suitcase. The police discovered the money during check- in.

A 29-year-old Colombian who took the Mexican citizen to the airport was also arrested. The Colombian allegedly played a leading role in the affair.

Male domestic abuse victims get their own shelters in Netherlands

Netherlands MapAmsterdam - Male victims of domestic abuse in the Netherlands can seek refuge in special shelters such as that due to open Tuesday in The Hague by Deputy Health Minister Jet Bussemaker.

The four biggest cities - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht - each received 200,000 euros (255,920 dollars) to provide safe havens for abused men, the ministry said Monday.

Each city should provide 10 shelters. Half the total of 40 abused men's homes will be secret shelters.

Astronomers devise new technique to measure sizes and shapes of asteroids

Amsterdam, Feb 5 : A team of French and Italian astronomers has devised a new method for measuring the size and shape of asteroids, which would increase the number of asteroids that can be measured by a factor of several hundred.

This method takes advantage of the unique capabilities of ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI).

"Knowledge of the sizes and shapes of asteroids is crucial to understanding how, in the early days of our Solar System, dust and pebbles collected together to form larger bodies and how collisions and re-accumulation have since modified them," said Marco Delbo from the Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur, France, who led the study.

Dutch develop Obama flower

Dutch develop Obama flowerAmsterdam - Obama flowers are expected be the trend of the upcoming gardening season in Europe.

Dutch flower farm Royal van Zanten in Valkenburg in the southern Netherlands has developed a special chrysanthemum that it has named after the new US President Barack Obama.

"We expect to sell 250 million Obama flowers in the next three years," Ton Griekspoor of Royal van Zanten told Dutch TV.

"Yes, we can," he added, laughing.

Dutch Eredivisie leaders AZ beat Roda JC 1-0

Dutch Eredivisie leaders AZ beat Roda JC 1-0 Amsterdam  - Dutc

Scientists discover smallest terrestrial planet outside Solar System

Scientists discover smallest terrestrial planet outside Solar SystemAmsterdam, Feb 4 : The European Space Agency's (ESA's) COROT space mission has found the smallest terrestrial planet ever detected outside the Solar System, which has a surface to walk on.

The amazing planet is less than twice the size of Earth and orbits a Sun-like star. Its temperature is so high that it is possibly covered in lava or water vapor.

About 330 exoplanets have been discovered so far, most of which are gas giants with characteristics similar to Jupiter and Neptune.

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