Morning newspapers – 2 November 2007 02/11/2007 00:00

Parliament wants a crack down on driving under the influence of drugs, the AD reports. CDA MP Sander de Rouwe wants Transport Minister Eurlings to enforce a "zero tolerance" policy against driving under the influence of drugs. More checks should be conducted near nightclubs and events on the weekends. A clearer limit should also be included in the law, so that it is crystal clear when someone is in violation. In the current situation it is still unclear at what point someone under the influence of drugs is unable to drive.

The Volkskrant returns to the case of the 58-year-old woman who died in early October after a visit to a clinic for alternative medicine in Bilthoven. The Italian doctor Tullio Simoncini spoke to her at the clinic, but did not treat her, he tells the newspaper. Simoncini also claims the appointment was attended by director Eduard Schweden, who denied on Thursday that the woman was ever a patient of the clinic's. "Her death must have been a coincidence; maybe she took antibiotics or a painkiller," Simoncini says.

The AD shows a picture of Labour PvdA faction leader Jacques Tichelaar and Liberal VVD head Mark Rutte smiling and hugging each other on Curacao.  The faction leaders' visit to the Antilles gave them the chance to get to know each other better and work on the group dynamics, the newspaper reports. "It was above all a pleasant time," says speaker of Parliament and delegation leader Gerdi Verbeet. Alexander Pechtold of D66 says that his colleagues levelled overly harsh criticism at the Antilles. "A lot of damage was done to relations with the islands during this trip."

Hospitals should be more alert to child abuse. The seven hospitals in the province have agreed this, Trouw reports. During their education, paediatricians, surgeons and nurses should follow training on identifying signs of possible abuse. Health insurance companies were also involved in the covenant signed Friday. "It is important to them," says paediatrician Erica Post. "If you catch it on time, you can offer help to parents and children. That prevents more serious problems later on, deep depression for instance, which cost a great deal of money to treat."

 [Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Dutch news