This article lists some of the events that took place in the Netherlands in 2007. Incumbents Monarch: Beatrix Prime Minister: Jan Peter Balkenende Events January January 1: A redivision of local government in North Holland, South Holland, Gelderland and Limburg comes into effect. Twenty-four existing municipalities are merged to form nine new municipalities. The total number of municipalities of the Netherlands is decreased from 458 to 443. January 1: Three people are killed as a result of New Year's fireworks. An elderly couple in Maassluis dies when their house burns down as a result of fireworks gone astray. A 36-year-old man from Barendrecht dies in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht when fireworks explode in his face. January 1: A 19-year-old man from Bennebroek, North Holland, goes missing after a New Year's party. A search ensues, even leading to pleas for help and information being sent via the Hyves networking site. January 3: A container ship rams a railway bridge over the Oude Maas river between Dordrecht and Zwijndrecht, South Holland. January 4: Bram Moszkowicz, lawyer for Willem Holleeder, accuses Amsterdam police of inducing local real estate magnates to have his client assassinated. Holleeder is currently on trial for the alleged extortion and murder of several real estate magnates in Amsterdam. January 4: De Telegraaf newspaper reports that Jan Peter Balkenende and Maxime Verhagen (CDA), Wouter Bos and Jacques Tichelaar (Labour Party), André Rouvoet and Arie Slob (ChristianUnion) are having secret negotiations about the formation of a new government. The talks are being held at the Lauswolt mansion near Beetsterzwaag, Friesland. January 8: House of Representatives member Krista van Velzen (Socialist Party) is arrested during a demonstration against ballistic missile submarines outside Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde in Scotland. January 9: Police in Landgraaf, Limburg arrest a 36-year-old man on suspicion of the 1998 murder of 11-year-old Nicky Verstappen in nearby Brunssum. The suspect is alleged to have placed several letters on Nicky's monument throughout the years, detailing several aspects of the murder. January 9: Willem Holleeder gives an interview to crime journalist John van den Heuvel's RTL 4 program Bureau Van den Heuvel about his trial. Holleeder denies all the allegations made against him, and says that he will present new facts about murdered banker Willem Endstra. Holleeder is suspected of involvement with the murder, and of the extortion of Endstra. The interview was Holleeder's first interview since the Freddy Heineken kidnapping in 1983.