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According to a study by the Institute of the German Economy (IW), the shortage of skilled workers could jeopardize the implementation of planned infrastructure projects in Germany, as there are already around 148,000 qualified professionals missing to effectively manage the investments of 500 billion euros. #Fachkräftemangel #Infrastruktur #Investitionen (translated)

Americans in the Netherlands demonstrated at the Museumplein in Amsterdam against President Trump and encourage fellow countrymen to vote in the crucial congressional elections on November 3, organized by the non-profit organization Indivisible. #NoTyrants #Stemmen #Democratie (translated)

All seven candidates for the UN leadership, including Costa Rican economist Rebeca Grynspan, received a veto vote in the sixth informal voting round, where Grynspan emerged as a slight favorite with nine votes, despite two opposing votes from permanent members. #VNleiderschap #RebecaGrynspan #stemronde (translated)

Without new construction, there is no relief – the housing market is completely freezing up. Empirica's managing director Reiner Braun warns: "Without new construction, there is no relief – the housing market is completely freezing up." Because potential owners can no longer manage the financing, they are involuntarily moving to the rental market and additionally blocking it. However, due to high construction costs and rising interest rates, very few new apartments are currently being sold, which, according to Braun, also has negative effects on rents: "Because potential owners can no longer manage the financing, they are involuntarily moving to the rental market and additionally blocking it." #Wohnungsmieten #Hamburg #Frankfurt (translated)

The author wrote that more than 100,000 euros had been raised for Wim (80), who according to her was threatened with homelessness by the municipality. She described the fundraising campaign as great. She also reported that Mona Keijzer had submitted a motion to prevent elderly people from being evicted from their holiday homes without suitable alternative housing. The author asked if anyone could vote against the motion. https://t.co/eKS0k4MjYo #Ouderen #Wooncrisis #Solidariteit (translated)

The cycling team Picnic-PostNL has evolved from an idealistic sports group into a radicalized sect due to a long-standing tyrannical culture, where riders were forced to conform to strict rules and dissenting voices had to be silenced. #Wielrennen #Doping #Sportethiek (translated)

Mona Keijzer wrote that entrepreneurs in the border region were being outcompeted, while Dilan Yeşilgöz said that work was being done on it. Keijzer stated that her proposals to lower the excise duty on gasoline and the VAT on flowers were ready and asked if the VVD would vote for them. https://t.co/BU624rqcmA #ondernemerschap #grensgebied #VVD (translated)

Fleur Agema wrote that the budget debate of Health, Welfare, and Sport (VWS) in the House of Representatives was, in her view, terrible. She named the low point as Lisa Westerveld having taken the measure of Vicky Maeijer. Agema stated that the Schoof cabinet had invested a net of 3 billion euros in healthcare, while the Jetten cabinet wanted to cut 8 billion euros from the most vulnerable, according to her. She criticized PRO because the party would keep the option open to vote in favor of the VWS budget for 2027. According to Agema, that budget would, among other things, scrap the AZWA and HLO agreements and raise the deductible to 400 euros per year. She added that PRO expected most healthcare cuts from 2028 onwards, but that this also applied to social security, in her opinion. Agema called the contributions from factions supporting the cuts out of touch with reality. She wrote that the VVD requested attention for the staff shortage, while scrapping the AZWA and HLO agreements, according to her, would remove an agreed measure that would reduce the shortage by 100,000 in 2028. D66, in her view, wanted to reimburse slimming medication but would simultaneously scrap the AZWA agreement that included 20 million euros for that purpose. Agema also pointed out that 50PLUS wanted reimbursement for the shingles vaccine but might vote in favor of a budget that would scrap that agreement. PRO member of parliament Julian Bushoff, according to her, advocated for stronger fraud prevention, while PRO considered cuts that would remove 50 million euros for that approach. Agema thought that industry organizations were too quiet and wrote that the media approved of the situation. She expected that the ministers would present deteriorations as improvements and suggested that they would get away with it. #zorgbezuinigingen #TweedeKamer #VWS (translated)

Scientists and diplomats will meet this Thursday in Versailles to vote on the future of the leap second, an extra second that is occasionally added to our clocks to synchronize them with the irregular rotation of the Earth, which could have billions of dollars in impact on the technology industry. #SecondeIntercalaire #Technologie #MesureDuTemps (translated)

Apollo News reported that an initial carnival parade in Cologne had to be canceled due to high security costs. The chairman of the association behind the Zollstock Tuesday parade described the situation as a "financial catastrophe" and stated that the requirements were unmanageable. https://t.co/KNP4sSzw2Y #Karneval #Köln #Sicherheit (translated)

Erik de Vlieger wrote that he and, according to him, the majority of the Netherlands had never cared about anyone's sexual orientation until D66 made it an issue. He stated that this stemmed from an inferiority complex and garnered votes. #Nederland #seksualiteit #politiek (translated)

In an opinion piece, Rahma Bavelaar argues that Western institutions do not want to listen to the voices of Palestinians, such as that of a Gazan student who was wrongfully accused after a social media video, which led to a smear campaign and threats against him. #Gaza #Palestijnen #VrijheidVanMeningsuiting (translated)