Cabinet to eliminate 25,000 civil service jobs
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The government plans to remove one in five full-time roles from the central civil service as part of a €3.5 billion austerity drive. While the cabinet frames the cuts as an efficiency measure, ministers have noted that compulsory dismissals cannot be ruled out. The exact toll on each ministry will be confirmed in the spring.
New noise limits at Schiphol airport, ostensibly designed to protect residents, may instead permit an 80% increase in night-time noise over parts of Amsterdam. Separately, storm Boelo turned fatal when a falling tree killed a cyclist on Sloterweg; a surfer remains missing at sea.
The European Court of Human Rights has asked for an explanation of the detention regime for Ridouan Taghi, who has spent nearly seven years in solitary confinement. To the south, doctors at Beekse Bergen fear a zookeeper will not survive her injuries after she was attacked by a panther in its enclosure.