This week’s podcast has good news for Brits wanting to vote in the European elections, bad news for parents with unvaccinated children in The Hague and fake news about Amsterdam’s coffeeshops that generated some home-grown ophef. We also look at why the justice department faced a grilling over a gruesome murder, how Ajax finally got back on top for 24 hours and how much you might have to fork out for the gun that might or might not have killed Van Gogh. In our discussion we ask if the Netherlands is facing a ‘silent epidemic’ of prescription painkiller use and what the government can do about it.

Ophef of the week: DutchNews April Fool’s coffeeshop story puts noses out of joint

Top story

Minister accepts ‘serious failures’ in system left sex offender free to kill Anne Faber

News

Pressure mounts for change in law to keep unvaccinated children out of nurseries

MPs back plans to ring-fence citizens’ rights if no-deal Brexit goes ahead

British citizens wil be able to vote in European elections if they register by April 9

Red Cross says it is willing to help bring Dutch jihadi children home

Gun Van Gogh may have used to take his own life goes up for auction

Sport

Title race back on as 10-man Ajax beat PSV 3-1 to close gap at top

Ajax end 1,000-day wait to return to top of Eredivisie

Discussion: Is the growing use of prescription drugs a problem?

Prescription opioid use soars in the Netherlands, more long-term users

Oxycodon overdoses on the rise as prescriptions for pain increase

200,000 Dutch people use painkillers long-term (De Groene Amsterdammer, Dutch)

America’s opioid crisis: how prescription drugs sparked a national trauma (Guardian)

More than 200,000 long-term opioid users in the Netherlands (Zorgverzekeraars Nederland, Dutch)