Dutch news in brief – 4 May - Expatica Netherlands

Man jailed for killing ‘friend’

A 28-year-old man from The Hague was jailed for eight years by a court on Tuesday for physically abusing his friend who died of his injuries. The prosecution had demanded the defendant be jailed for life. The court heard that the victim had a learning disability. The two men seemed to be close friends, but in reality, the defendant regularly assaulted the victim, who died after a savage beating on 15 August 2002.

Skeletons uncovered in Maastricht garden

The skeletal remains of at least seven people have been uncovered during renovation work on the front garden of a house on Picardenlaan in Maastricht, the police said Tuesday. Experts from the national forensic institute NFI have been called in to ascertain whether an old burial site has been disturbed or whether the remains are from victims of crime buried there in recent years, news agency Novum reported.

Dutch lawyer to train Saddam’s judges

Leading Dutch lawyer Michael Wladimiroff has told Radio Netherlands that he will be involved in the training courses being run for the judges who will try ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The United Nations has asked several leading lawyers to begin the training courses in the United Arab Emirates next month, the radio station reported.

400 building firms admit breaking the law

Some 400 construction firms in the Netherlands have admitted to the competition regulator NMa that they were involved in illegal price-fixing within the industry, newspaper De Volkskrant said on Tuesday. The admissions come almost three years after a whistleblower revealed construction firms conspired to artificially inflate the price of large infrastructure projects. This led to a parliamentary enquiry into the construction industry. The NMa has carried out its own investigations and found evidence of illegal cartel forming in six cases. As a result it imposed fines totalling EUR 100 million on 26 firms.

Donner slams the media

Justice Minister Piet-Hein Donner has told a conference that the basis of press freedom is being eroded due to increasing competition in the industry. The minister said increasing competition is contributing to inaccurate reporting that damages society. Stories dealing with crime and terrorism sell well, but also increase people’s fear and suspicion of each other, Radio Netherlands reported. Donner called on the media to introduce a voluntary code of social responsibility.

Fire breaks out on passenger ship

Nineteen passengers and three crewmembers were forced to evacuate a passenger ship, which caught fire in the Noordhollands canal in Amsterdam on Tuesday morning. The fire started in the engine room, forcing the captain to order everyone on board to abandon ship. The fire service extinguished the blaze in a relatively sort time, newspaper De Telegraaf said.

Idol’s CD hits the shops

Current affairs magazine Nieuwe Revu has beaten Idols backers, the Holland Media Groep and record company BMG, by rushing out its latest edition with a CD featuring Boris, the winner of the 2004 Dutch talent search competition. There are 10 numbers on the CD, which Boris recorded with band Sofuja before this year’s Idols competition began. Part of the allure of Idols is that the winner gets to record and release singles, which can be expected to enter the top 10. But Nieuwe Revu editor Mark Koster said the rights of the material Boris recorded two years ago are owned by Sofuja guitarist Gino Taihuttu, who will reap the largest financial benefit from the new CD. Ironically, the CD recording was organised by music promotion company Conamus. The firm’s director, Jerney Kaagman, was also an Idols jury member. She denies her involvement with the Sofuja sessions influenced her assessment of the Idols contestants, newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported.

Subject: Dutch news + Idols