More than a million people in the Netherlands feel very lonely. A third of Dutch feel moderately lonely, the Telegraaf reported on Thursday - the start of the Week Against Loneliness. From Thursday until October 1st, a large number of civil society organizations are organizing events to show how to combat loneliness, according to the newspaper.
Health
Sep 21 '17 12:50
The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie decided not to increase healthcare own-risk deductibles next year, government formation mediator Gerrit Zalm announced in a letter sent at the insistence of the Tweede Kamer. To compensate for that, health insurance premiums will increase by an extra 10 euros per year, RTL Nieuws reports.
Sep 21 '17 07:51
Thousands of people gathered at the official residence of former Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan on Wednesday evening, to honor him and thank him with a minutes-long ovation, AT5 reports.
People started gathering in front of Van der Laan's Herengracht home at 7:00 p.m. At 8:00 p.m. there was thundering applause, that lasted for minutes. The ovation was followed by a song. Thousands of voices raised in singing 'Aan de Amsterdamse Grachten'.
Sep 20 '17 12:50
Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem of Finance thinks that there should be an emergency procedure in politics that will allow parliament to reassess unexpected additional costs above a certain amount, even if they are of a compulsory nature, he said in an interview with Financieele Dagblad, specifically referring to additional costs for nursing home care.
Sep 19 '17 12:30
Some 900 people indicated on Facebook that they will gather in front of former Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan's official residence on Wednesday evening, to give the terminally ill mayor a standing ovation. They want to honor Van der Laan for all he did for Amsterdam with thundering applause.
Sep 19 '17 09:16
Shocked and sad reactions met Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan's announcement that he is stepping down due to his metastasized lung cancer. Van der Laan (PvdA) announced on Monday afternoon that he is resigning, based on the advice of his doctors. One Amsterdam city council member described the news as "a punch to the face", RTL Nieuws reports.
Sep 18 '17 17:50
Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan officially stepped down from office on Monday, announcing his decision in a letter to the city’s residents.
Sep 18 '17 15:20
A 26-year-old football player for SC Helmondia collapsed on the field during a match against SPV in Vlierden on Sunday. The young man died in hospital on Sunday night, a board member of SC Helmondia confirmed to Omroep Brabant on Monday.
A few minutes after half time, the footballer went to sit down because he did not feel well. He collapsed a short time later. He went into cardiac arrest. Teammates and a player for SPV resuscitated him on the field and he was rushed to the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven. He was kept in a medically induced coma until he passed away.
Sep 18 '17 11:20
An increasing number of children are in need of help from youth care, while half of Dutch municipalities have no more money left in their youth care budget, according to a study by broadcaster NOS and Binnenlands Bestuur among 228 municipalities.
Over three quarters of the municipalities now have waiting lists for youth care, half of the municipalities call these waiting times irresponsible. Three quarters say they've seen an increase in demand for youth care. And 87 percent don't think they'll be able to get by with the youth care budget for next year.
Sep 18 '17 10:36
Despite improvements over the past years, the air in Gelderland is still anything but clean, according to a report from public health service GGD Gelderland-Midden. The researchers concluded that two babies per year die due to air pollution in the province and breathing the Gelderland air is, on average, equal to smoking six cigarettes per day, Omroep Gelderland reports.
Sep 14 '17 13:10
One in seven residents of nursing homes in the Netherlands are very rarely or never able to leave the nursing home to go visit friends or family, and a quarter of the elderly people almost never go outside, according to a report by social and cultural planning office SCP. According to the report, these elderly people would like to get out of the nursing home every now and again, but can't because there's no one to help them or their health problems don't allow it, RTL Nieuws reports.
Sep 13 '17 14:08
The VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie - the four parties currently negotiating forming a new Dutch government together - voted against permanently compensating the NIP-test for all pregnant women in the Tweede Kamer on Tuesday, NOS reports. Those four parties together make up a majority in the lower house of Dutch parliament.
Sep 12 '17 09:10
Dutch food and consumer product safety authority NVWA will get an extra 25 million euros next year due to concerns about the authority's capacity following the fipronil contaminated egg scandal, according to RTL Nieuws. The government will announce this extra investment on Budget Day, sources told the broadcaster.
Sep 11 '17 16:30
The number of bars in the Netherlands decreased by 4 percent to 8,950 over the past five years, according to hospitality consulting company Van Spronsen & Partners. The consultancy attributes the decrease in bars to Dutch teenagers and young people being increasingly focused on a healthier lifestyle, AD reports.
Sep 8 '17 16:50
A professional diver died after getting stuck while working on the sluice complex in the Rijn near Driel on Friday. His lifeless body was released after over an hour by lifting the sluice slightly, AD reports.
A fire department diving team freed the victim's body and brought it out of the water shortly after 1:00 p.m. Emergency workers tried to resuscitate the diver at the scene, but it was to no avail.
The Social Affairs and Employment Inspectorate is investigating what happened.
Sep 8 '17 08:49
A person who was found dead in the bathroom of an intercity direct train in Amsterdam Central Station on Thursday afternoon, died a natural death, a doctor determined. With that, the police investigation is closed, AD reports.
The body was found on a train that arrived in Amsterdam from Breda and Rotterdam at around 1:00 p.m. The police closed track 14 for investigation and removed the body.
Sep 6 '17 15:40
A child was critically injured when he fell from a playground on a schoolyard in Arnhem on Wednesday morning, the Telegraaf reports.
A doctor from the responding trauma helicopter resuscitated the boy on the spot before an ambulance rushed him to hospital with a police escort.
The incident happened around 10:30 a.m. at the school square of primary schools Toermalijn and Jeroen Bosch School on Brabantweg. What exactly happened is not yet clear.
Sep 6 '17 15:10
A massive 31 percent of people who receive welfare benefits in the Netherlands are also receiving psychological treatment, according to a study by Statistics Netherlands and Harvard University. Among people who work or go to school, 10 percent undergo psychological treatment, NOS reports.
Sep 6 '17 10:30
The health insurance premium and mandatory own risk contribution will increase further in the coming years, newspaper Telegraaf and news wire ANP report based on anonymous sources.
Sep 5 '17 11:40
The fipronil contaminated egg scandal is spreading to more and more countries. Since it was discovered that the toxic pesticide was used illegally in the Netherlands and Belgium a few months ago, 45 countries found fipronil in their eggs and egg products, the Telegraaf reports.
Sep 4 '17 11:30
Amsterdam is banning all ads about unhealthy foods that are aimed at children from subway stations in the city, the municipality announced in a press release on Monday. For this initiative, Amsterdam is partnering with the Alliance Stop Child Marketing.
Sep 4 '17 10:10
An increasing number of Dutch are not willing to provide first aid to strangers on the street, according to a study Kantar Public did on behalf of the Red Cross. The aid organization calls this a "dangerous development", because in the case of serious accidents, the first few minutes can be vital, RTL Nieuws reports.
Sep 1 '17 07:30
A 7-year-old boy died in hospital on Thursday evening after he collapsed on the field of football club AZSV's school in Aalten earlier that afternoon. Exactly what happened to the boy is still unclear, the Gelderlander reports.
Young Thijn was immediately helped by experts who happened to be on the sidelines of the field. An ambulance picked him up soon after his collapse and rushed him to hospital, where he passed away later in the evening.
Aug 30 '17 10:10
Ambulance workers in the Netherlands are concerned about not being prepared to deal with a terrorist attack, unions FNV and CNV Ambulance Care said to BNR. According to the unions, there are still no protocols in place to ensure the safety of ambulance workers while responding to an attack.
