The Netherlands: Top five castles in the Netherlands - by Victoria Séveno

 Countries across Europe are filled with gorgeous and historic castles, surrounded by beautiful landscapes. But, you don’t need to travel all the way to Germany or the United Kingdom to get a glimpse of some incredible castles - there are plenty right here in the Netherlands!

Here’s IamExpat’s list of the five castles and palaces in the Netherlands that are definitely worth a visit.

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Top five castles in the Netherlands

The Netherlands: Positivity in the Netherlands remains high in spite of coronavirus

Research by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) has shown that people in the Netherlands are still satisfied with their lives, in spite of the wide-ranging impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Positivity in the Netherlands remains high in spite of coronavirus

USA - California wildfires: California wildfire smoke reaches Europe

Wildfires continued ravaging portions of the western United States on Friday, stoked by gusty winds and dry conditions.

Although some weather relief appears to be en route in the coming days, millions of acres have already burned. Homes and businesses have been engulfed, and injuries to both residents and first responders continue mounting. More than a dozen deaths, including at least 10 in California, have been reported.

Note EU-Digest: Tonight the Dutch KNMI weather report also mentioned that the haze which covered the Netherlands today was directly related to high altitude smoke that was drifting in from the California fires over Europe.

 

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Western wildfires live updates: California wildfire smoke reaches Europe

The Netherlands: Weekly coronavirus update: 76.548 total cases in the Netherlands

The weekly report from the RIVM (National Institute for Public Healthand Environment) reveals that, since the update last week, another 5.427 people in the Netherlandshave tested positive for COVID-19, the illness that is caused by the new coronavirus. This means that the new total of infected people is 76.548.

Of the 76.548 people infected, another 17 people have died since last Tuesday*, September 1, bringing the death toll to 6.244. In total, 12.225 (+43) patients have been admitted to hospital. As not all people are getting tested, the true number of people infected with the new coronavirus is higher than reported.

*There may be a delay between the day of death and the day that it is reported.

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Weekly coronavirus update: 76.548 total cases in the Netherlands

The Netherlands: Sudden rise in Dutch coronavirus infections continues

Public health agency RIVM announced on Saturday that 654 more people were diagnosed with a SARS  week's total of new infections up to 3,732, up 21 percent compared to the same point last week. The Netherlands will conclude the week with more new infections from Monday through Sunday for the first time in three weeks.

It was not immediately clear if the increase in infections was linked to an increase in testing, or an increase in the percentage of people producing a positive test result.

That information was expected to be released in a weekly report from the RIVM on Tuesday. To date, about 74,500 people in the Netherlands have tested positive for the virus.

The RIVM also said that between Wednesday and Friday, 17 more people have been admitted to a Dutch hospital with Covid-19, the illness caused by the infection. Six people were also moved into intensive care during that time.

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Sudden rise in Dutch coronavirus infections continues | NL Times

The Netherlands:Inflation behind Netherlands' biggest rent increase in six years

In July, Dutch landlords increased rents by an average of 2.9 percent -the biggest increase since 2014 and higher than the 2.7 percent average of the last ten years, Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday.According to the stats office, the higher increase is mainly the resultof higher inflation.

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Inflation behind Netherlands' biggest rent increase in six years | NL Times

The Netherlands: Health insurance costs likely to rise by 62 euros next year

The price of the basic required health insurance package is likely to rise by 62 euros per year to about 1,476 euros annually, political sources told newspaper AD. The total increase was significantly lower than the 144 euro increase which had been predicted by analysts.

The announcement was expected to be made later this month when the Cabinet's proposed budget is revealed on September 15. The increase of about 5.17 euros monthly could still shift up or down by a few dozen cents, the newspaper said. The estimate was agreed upon by the coalition parties, and is based on an insurer having a deductible of 385 euros.

From that baseline price, health insurers then set their own fees. Discounts are often offered for bundled add-on coverage, opting out of coverage at some locations, or by making a full annual payment up front instead of dividing it over the course of the year. Raising the deductible is also an option for reducing the price a consumer pays. Consumers have the option of switching their health insurance at the end of the year.

The price increase had been expected to be larger due to the coronavirus crisis, though former Medical Care Minister Martin van Rijn said that was unlikely. This could still impact the cost of insurance in 2022, the newspaper reported.

Note EU-Digest: This is scandalous, and proves once again that healthcare is a common right for every citizen, just like education, and not a commodity for the greedy profit oriented private sector to control. The Netherlands healthcare system is, unfortunately, starting to resemble the US healthcare system.

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Health insurance costs likely to rise by 62 euros next year: Report | NL Times