One of the two men arrested in Amsterdam over suspicious luggage has been living in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama’s homeland security director, Jim Walker, says Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi had been living in Tuscaloosa for about three months and working at a convenience store. He says there had been nothing to bring al Soofi to the attention of Alabama authorities.

A shoot growing from the splintered trunk of a chestnut that cheered Anne Frank during her time in hiding could give the tree a new lease of life after a storm toppled it, a spokeswoman for a group that campaigned to save the tree said Tuesday.

A storm that buffeted Amsterdam on Monday snapped the towering chestnut and sent it crashing to the ground in a garden behind Anne’s secret wartime hideaway.

THE HAGUE – REPLICAS of a Russian frigate from 1703 and a merchant vessel sunk in 1745 will lead a fleet of some 50 tall ships into Amsterdam on Thursday for what organisers say is Europe’s biggest nautical event.

The tall ships – large vessels with multiple masts and rigged sails – will sail from the port of Ijmuiden on the Dutch west coast inland to Amsterdam via the North Sea Canal on Thursday morning. ‘Tall ships from dozens of countries will take part’ in Sail Amsterdam 2010, event spokeswoman Lucette Bruinsma told AFP.

Adrian Tippetts reports from Amsterdam Pride, speaking to organisers ProGay about media attention, homophobic violence and why the city is not the safe haven it once was.

A downpour on Saturday afternoon was responsible for a low turnout of just 380,000 spectators at the Amsterdam Canal Parade, the climax of the city’s annual Gay Pride festival.

The beers are cold, the water off the harbor is warm (we hope), and the movies are not your standard fare.
Amsterdam’s popular Pluk de Nacht, which runs from Aug. 5 to 15 with a series of open-air screenings, is quite possibly the most laid-back film festival you’ll find anywhere.

During the festival, the Steenen Hoofd, a rocky outcropping on the IJ, the harbor north of the city center, becomes an under-the-stars living room for Amsterdammers looking to discover new movies — and anyone else looking to enjoy a cool summer night outside with friends.

A visit to Amsterdam usually entails trips to the Red Light District and stops at the strangely scented “coffee shops,” but you don’t need to be horny or high to enjoy the Dutch capital’s other popular destination: its museums.

Amsterdam is home to dozens of great museums, not the least of which are the Amsterdam Historical Museum (Kalverstraat 92), the Dutch Resistance Museum (Plantage Kerklaan 61), the Filmmuseum (Vondelpark 3), the Foam-Fotografiemuseum (Keizersgracht 609), the Royal Palace (Dam) and the remarkable Hermitage Amsterdam (Amstel 51). Ongoing renovation has temporarily closed the Stedelijk Museum (Museumplein 10), which houses an impressive collection of modern art.

Determined not to let defeat spoil a good party, some 700,000 fans turned out to welcome the Dutch soccer team home from the World Cup in a parade through Amsterdam’s canals on Tuesday.

After coach Bert van Marwijk and captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst were knighted by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the team were given a heroes’ welcome by fans despite their 1-0 defeat to Spain in Sunday’s final in South Africa.

Federal, state and county government officials sat around a table in Helena last week discussing the failed bridge on Amsterdam Road. The meeting was an effort to streamline the replacement process to avoid unexpected hiccups, Gallatin County Commissioner Steve White said. More >

A Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-400 carrying 377 passengers from Hong Kong to Amsterdam lost power in one of its four engines before landing safely in the Dutch capital.

Cathay Pacific spokeswoman Carolyn Leung said Monday the captain of CX 271 detected the problem shortly before landing on Sunday and shut off the damaged engine.

When American entrepreneur Adam Dunn moved to the Netherlands at age 19, his first business plan wasn’t anything to write home about. He’d crammed 300 Rolling Stones concert T-shirts into his luggage, hoping to sell them for some quick cash.