Dutch news in brief, 18 November 2004

Schools told to watch for extremism

Education Minister Maria van der Hoeven has called on Dutch schools to watch out for signs of extremism among their pupils. After meeting with 20 educational organisations, Van der Hoeven said no new policy or rules were required. But schools had to talk to parents about the potential impact extremist views could have on their children. She also said teachers had to learn from each other to help spot problems at an early stage. Teachers, she said, had to be able to answer the question: “is there something really wrong, or is it just juvenile behaviour.”

Motorist faces six years for attempted murder

The public prosecutor has asked a court to jail a motorist for six years for attempted murder and attempted manslaughter charges. The 28-year-old man is accused of trying to kill people among a goup of 20 people by driving his car straight at them following an argument during the early hours of the morning in Steenwijk last August. He also faces losing his driving licence for 10 years. No one was injured in the incident and the suspect was arrested after the group managed to stop his car.

Unemployment begins to rise again

Unemployment has risen in the Netherlands for the first time in four months, according to new figures published by the Central Statistics Bureau (CBS). About 476,000 people were registered as jobless between August to October, compared with 409,000 in the same period last year. The CBS said 239,00 men and 222,000 women were currently out of work.

Subject: Dutch news