News in Easy Language (Tuesday, September 29)

Employees in primary education will receive a free flu shot starting August 1, 2027. This was reported by the General Education Union (AOb). The shot is voluntary, and school boards will decide for themselves how to arrange it from October to March.

Delays in maintaining bridges and locks will cause 20 billion euros in damage by 2035. The Economic Institute for Construction (Economisch Instituut voor de Bouw) writes this. The Merwede Bridge costs 1.9 million euros a day because trucks have been taking a detour since the end of July.

Patients at Amphia in Breda can log in to the patient portal again. The hospital says the outage has been resolved and that there was no hack. ETZ also experienced these problems after Z-CERT warned about vulnerabilities on Sunday.

During the first half of 2026, people from the Netherlands filled up across the border 20 percent more often. This is shown by data from De Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch central bank). In the Netherlands, there were 3 percent fewer refueling stops because petrol is cheaper in Belgium and Germany.

On Monday, SpaceX launched Starship into orbit around Earth for the first time. The test began at 2:49 p.m. Dutch time in Boca Chica, Texas. After the booster stage, one engine stopped, and later the rocket exploded over the Pacific Ocean.