Europe Netherlands Dutch authorities have decided to lower the temperature in all public sector buildings by 2 degrees to make the country less dependent on Russian gas
Europe Netherlands A court in Breda ordered the early release of two Ukrainians to fight the Russian invasion of Ukraine, finding that the situation was one of 'special and grave circumstances' and noting that the two men were 'insistent' on returning home to fight
Europe Netherlands Around 40% of people who receive disability benefits from the UWV social security agency because they cannot work for health problems have psychiatric problems; the national statistics office CBS counted 365.000 men and 394.000 women in 2020
Europe Netherlands There are about 63.000 vacant houses in the country; as a solution, a tax on vacant houses has been suggested, similar to one that in Vancouver has reduced vacancy by 25%
Europe Netherlands Utrecht city council has become the third of the big Dutch cities to make a formal apology for its role in slavery, following on from Amsterdam and Rotterdam
Europe Netherlands Dutch startup Ocean Grazer has developed the Ocean Battery, which stores power underneath the wind farm, to overcome the problem of wasting energy when turbines produce electricity with the wind but demand is low
Europe Netherlands All classrooms will have a CO2 meter as part of the ventilation system, for which the government has set aside €17 million
Europe Netherlands Dutch museums and concert halls are temporarily turned into hairdressing salons in protest against the Dutch government's Covid-19 restrictions, which allow the opening of beauty salons but not cultural venues
Europe Netherlands PM Mark Rutte’s fourth cabinet was formally sworn in on Monday 10th, nearly 10 months after the general election and a year since the cabinet resigned over the childcare benefit scandal
Europe Netherlands Amsterdam's city council has bought nine buildings in the red-light district after negotiations lasting more than a year and they will be managed by a non-profit company in a bid to curb the rise of budget tourism in the oldest part of the capital
Europe Netherlands 15% of Dutch people have had arguments about Covid with friends and family, particularly on the subject of vaccinations, a survey by EenVandag showed
Europe Netherlands A man was arrested and then released pending the conclusion of the investigation because he was selling online a Covid kit for €33, so customers could get infected and obtain a green pass avoiding the vaccine
Europe Netherlands The agriculture minister has promised to end the practice of boiling crabs and lobsters alive, reacting to a motion tabled by animal rights MP Frank Wassenberg, who pointed out that it is scientifically certain that these animals feel pain