Two Holland America Line ships are departing on Grand Voyages Tuesday from Port Everglades.

A man has been convicted of dumping straw on a Dutch road last month and sentenced to perform 80 hours of unpaid community service work.

Police say cars crashed into tires and other garbage piled on a highway in the northern Netherlands by radical farmers protesting against government plans to rein in nitrogen emissions.

Dutch farmers are protesting government plans to reduce nitrogen emissions.

(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)BERLIN – A snowstorm and strong winds pounded northern and western Germany on Sunday, forcing trains to cancel trips and leading to hundreds of vehicle crashes. The German Weather Service DWD urged people to stay at home and authorities brought homeless people into warm shelters amid the sub-freezing temperatures. AdThe Bundesliga soccer game between Arminia Bielefeld and Werder Bremen was called off hours before kickoff Sunday because of the snowstorm. In Wuppertal, in western Germany, firefighters had to rescue six passengers out of the city's famous elevated railway after a train stopped moving due to the icy conditions. AdIn the Netherlands, snow blanketed much of the country, forcing the government to cancel a weekly crisis meeting to discuss the coronavirus pandemic.

Thirteen passengers and one crew member will be taken to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment, while 26 passengers will be staying on board to be quarantined for 14 days. The ship will not remain at the port for that entire time, officials say, but crew will be staying on board. Of the 1,211 passengers deemed fit for travel, most will be taken to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to board chartered flights back home on Friday, said Port Everglades’ Alinda Montfort. We’re thankful to the people of Broward County,” Rick de Pinho, of New Jersey, said. De Pinho and his wife were on a two week South American voyage on the Zaandam ship when the new coronavirus began spreading on their ship.

Broward County officials and Holland America, the company that operates the ships, announced that an agreement had been reached shortly before the ships were seen pulling into port. The plan noted that the company had secured access at two local hospitals for 13 passengers and a crew member who needed medical care. Four elderly passengers died on the Zaandam, at least two from COVID-19, said William Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corp., which owns the ships. There were 442 guests and 603 crew on the Zaandam, and 808 guests and 583 crew on the Rotterdam. The cruise was stranded off the coast of Panama after it was not allowed to dock in Chile and other ports along its path.

The ships can’t dock at Port Everglades or even enter U.S. waters until unified command approves the cruise line’s entry plan, which has to include measures to keep the passengers away from the general population in Broward County. Unified command is made up of members from the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Department of Health. We have over 300 U.S. citizens, fellow Americans, on the ships,” Broward County Mayor Dale Holness said. Both vessels are on their way to Port Everglades, but on Tuesday unified command rejected Carnival’s entry plan. Holness said meetings regarding the ships plans are ongoing, with Carnival and unified command sending documents back and forth and working to solidify an entry plan by Thursday.

Ron DeSantis said Monday that he believes it’s a mistake to allow Holland America’s Zaandam ship to dock in South Florida. Four people have died on the cruise ship. Zaandam and its sister ship, the Rotterdam, are both on their way to Port Everglades. Four passengers died on the Zaandam during what was supposed to be a two-week cruise from Argentina to Chile. “But clearly, what must be done is that we safeguard the people of South Florida.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Two cruise ships with almost 2,000 people aboard could be arriving by Wednesday or Thursday to Port Everglades. The ship had been anchored outside Panama Canal since Thursday waiting for approval from Panamanian authorities to allow the ship passage through the canal. Holland America planned to have passengers were not ill be transferred to a healthy ship, the cruise line’s Rotterdam, and then isolate those who were sick on the Zaandam. The Rotterdam would also dock at Port Everglades to have passengers disembark. Holland America stated on its web site that only passengers who have not been ill will be moved, and health screenings will be conducted before transferring.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The statement posted on a cruise line’s website was grim. “Holland America Line can confirm that four older guests have passed away on Zaandam. The cruise line has confirmed if they passed away from coronavirus. On Thursday, Zaandam received approval from Panamanian authorities to conduct ship-to-ship operations at anchor between the cruise ship and another ship, Rotterdam, which transferred medical supplies and additional medical staff to Zandaam. The cruise line is offering complimentary telephone counseling services from Empathia, an employee assistance program and crisis management service, for guests and crew.