The cabinet on Friday voted to ban burkas and other face-covering garments from public places. Once the legislation has passed through parliament, the Netherlands will become the third country in Europe to ban the Islamic garment, after France and Belgium. More...

A house in Blaricum costed an average €775,000 last year, making the town, south east of Amsterdam, the most expensive place to live in the Netherlands yet again. More...

Willem Holleeder, the Netherlands’ most notorious gangland figure, was released from jail on Friday after serving six years of a nine-year sentence for extortion and blackmail. More...

LinkedIn launches in Dutch
Business networking website LinkedIn launched a Dutch language version on Friday, which the company hopes 'will make it easier for three million Dutch professionals to communicate with each other'. More...

Foreign minister 'stops EU criticising Israel'
Foreign minister Uri Rosenthal pressured European colleagues to amend a statement about Israel earlier this week, the NRC reports, quoting sources in ‘Brussels and other EU cities’. More...

New poll emphasises Socialist rise
The latest Ipsos Synovate opinion poll is the second to emphasise the sharp rise in popularity of the Socialist Party this week. More...

National prize for the app that shows you the nearest toilet
A smartphone application which shows users where the nearest public toilet is has won the public's prize for best government-information app of the year in a new competition. More...

Record price paid for Dutch novel Het Diner
The American rights to Herman Koch's successful novel Het Diner have been sold at auction to US publishing house Hogarth for a record 'six-figure sum', Koch's Dutch publisher Ambo Anthos said on Thursday. More...

UPC will not block Pirate Bay either
Cable company UPC will not stop subscribers accessing file-sharing service The Pirate Bay, despite calls from a copyright lobby group for it to do so, a spokesman has told news agency ANP. More...

Dutch start using their savings
Hundreds of thousands of people have begun eating into their savings to keep up their current lifestyles, according to research by Friesland Bank quoted in the Volkskrant. More...

100,000 people sign petition for child refugee amnesty
Some 100,000 people have so far signed a petition calling on the government to stop deporting young refugees who have put down roots in the Netherlands, Trouw reports on Friday. More...

PVV votes against Dutch candidate for European job
Labour supporter and diplomat Frans Timmermans failed to win enough support to become the Council of Europe's new human rights commissioner on Thursday after the anti-Islam PVV voted against him. More...

Thousands of teachers demonstrate in Utrecht against longer hours
Thousands of striking teachers gathered in Utrecht on Thursday in protest at government plans to increase their teaching hours and cut holidays. More...

Some banks score on sustainability, others drag their feet
While all of the Netherlands' 11 banks have improved their sustainability over the past three years, some such as state-owned ABN Amro are dragging their feet, according to the Fair Bank Guide - a new monitoring group set up by development aid and green organisations. More...

The Netherlands, 12 other EU lands ticked off over battery hens
The Netherlands is one of 13 EU countries which has been ticked off by the European Commission for not banning traditional battery cages for hens from the beginning of this year. More...

Bankruptcy rate unchanged, but hospitality industry hard hit
Some 9,500 companies went bankrupt in the Netherlands last year, almost unchanged from 2010, the national statistics office CBS said on Thursday. More...

Van Gogh collection moves to the Hermitage during renovations
The Hermitage museum on the Amstel river has agreed to host some of Vincent van Gogh's most famous works while the Van Gogh museum is closed for seven months of renovations. More...

MPs, police call for tougher measures against football hooligans
The 2010 football law brought in to clamp down on hooliganism needs to be toughened up, according to a majority of MPs. More...

CDA lost 4,600 members last year
Last week's Christian Democratic party conference outlining a new political strategy generated some 50 new members for the CDA, news agency ANP reports. More...

Some 15% of dentists have put up their prices 'too much'
Some 15% of dentists have put up their prices so much since they were allowed to set their own fees that charges for some treatment has doubled, Nos television reports on Thursday. More...

Government must find more money for high-speed train services
The government will have to find €166m to plug losses stemming from the Dutch high-speed train network, Nos television reports, quoting confidential parliamentary documents. More...

Cabinet firm on tougher family reunion rules
Ministers will on Friday agree to press on with their plan to introduce tough new rules for immigrants who want to bring wives or husbands to the Netherlands, the Telegraaf reports. More...

Amsterdam elephant gets a contact lens
An elephant at Amsterdam's Artis zoo has been given a contact lens after damaging her eye in a tussle with other elephants, Nos television reports. The operation is a first for Europe, the broadcaster says. More...

Stolen bronze statues found hacked into pieces
Two bronze statues stolen from public places in small towns near the Veluwe national park have been found hacked into pieces in garden sheds. More...

Aid money was not used to build factory farms, says minister
No giant factory farms have been ‘initiated’ abroad using Dutch development aid money, but cash has gone to supporting ‘large-scale’ intensive farms in modernising and training staff, junior economic affairs minister Henk Bleker told MPs on Wednesday. More... comments (1)

14-year-old motorist drove at 100 kph in The Hague
A 14-year old boy has been picked up in The Hague for driving his neighbour’s car through a built up area at 100kph. More... comments (2)