Positive News in the Netherlands: Combating Loneliness and Lowering Supermarket Prices

Dec 24, 2023 at 4:55 PM Update: 15 hours ago

Because negative news often dominates NU.nl, positive news is sometimes obscured. That is why we list cheerful messages every week. This time, this includes promotions against a lonely Christmas and cheaper basic products in the supermarket.

Numerous actions to combat loneliness during the Christmas holidays

For many people it is self-evident: celebrating Christmas together with friends and family around the tree. But many thousands of other Dutch people spend this period alone.

To combat loneliness, actions are organized throughout the country. For example, the Elderly Fund distributes Christmas cards to around 165,000 elderly people with a card campaign. Almost half of all cards are made and decorated in schools.

A living Advent calendar is organized in Axel in which no boxes but front doors open. Residents of the municipality can visit somewhere different each time. There are also special Christmas drinks and lunches.

NU.nl listed a few special initiatives in the article below.

Basic products in the supermarket are becoming slightly cheaper again

After significant inflation, some basic products in the supermarket are becoming slightly cheaper again. For example, milk, coffee, rice and potatoes have fallen in price by an average of about 3 percent over the past six months.

The Consumers’ Association surveyed the lowest prices in supermarkets for 120 important products. Fresh dairy in particular has become cheaper, according to the association. For example, a liter carton of semi-skimmed milk has become on average 20 percent cheaper in six months.

It should be noted that some products have actually become more expensive. For example, a can of chicken soup rose by an average of 13 percent in price. Consumers are also spending more money on sweets because the price of sugar has risen.

And if you calculate further back than the past six months, groceries are still 31 percent more expensive than two years ago. Inflation and energy prices are somewhat lower, so grocery prices may fall further.

American finds his missing puppy in a 7-meter-high tree

Last week there was the American who found his missing young puppy in a 7 meter high tree. This week there is an even more spectacular discovery.

Rose, a dog that had been missing for 6.5 years, was found in an English forest. The twelve-year-old dog survived all those years in the woods about 10 kilometers from her home.

The dog lived all these years on food left for badgers and other animals. Ultimately, the black Patterdale terrier was rescued from the forest with the help of cameras from an animal organization.

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Missing dog found alive in English forest after six years

Mystery surrounding painter Raphael’s masterpiece seems to have finally been solved

For years, art connoisseurs have been wondering about it: this is the world-famous painting Madonna with the rose was it made by painter Raphael?

Scientists from an English university now think they have solved that mystery, with the help of artificial intelligence.

An AI system was developed with 49 paintings that are undoubtedly by Raphael. With that she left Madonna with the rose judge. The artificial intelligence judged that 60 percent of the work was painted by Raphael.

The AI ​​then assessed individual pieces of the painting. The conclusion is that Joseph’s face was not painted by Raphael. Something that art experts have suspected for years, and for which, according to the English researchers, additional evidence has now been provided.

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Even more news that made us happy:

• A couple from Barendrecht won the Christmas jackpot at the Holland Casino in Venlo on Friday evening. This makes the two 1.5 million euros richer in one fell swoop. “I’m dreaming and I hope I don’t wake up,” the winner said of the win.
• Unemployment has fallen for the second month in a row. In November, 3.5 percent of the working population had no paid work. This amounts to 357,000 unemployed, a slight decrease of 4,000 unemployed compared to the previous month.
• On the penultimate day of Serious Request, the counter stood at more than 4.7 million euros. The amount raised with the Glass House goes to the ALS Netherlands Foundation. The amount could increase considerably in the final hours on Sunday.

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The State turns Nijmegen upside down with Serious Request

2023-12-24 15:55:00
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