Amsterdam  - All Dutch attorneys, including Muslims, should rise when a judge enters a court room, Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin told Dutch parliament on Tuesday.

Hirsch Ballin said the Dutch Council for Jurisprudence felt that rising for a judge is "the common way to show respect for the court and legal authority."

The minister was responding to a question posed by legislator Henk Kamp (Liberals), who inquired about a news report which said a Rotterdam court had made an agreement with a Muslim attorney that he could remain seated when a judge enters the courtroom.

Amsterdam  - The burka, a head-to-toe covering worn by some Muslim women, will be banned from Dutch schools and universities, Education Minister Ronald Plasterk said Monday.

The labour minister said in a letter to parliament that he was preparing a bill to outlaw the garb from mid-2009.

Not only pupils and teachers, but anyone entering the school or university premises will be prohibited from wearing the burka, he said.

The burka, also known as a niqab in some traditions, is a wide dress covering not only the entire body, hair and neck, but also the face, leaving only a slit for the eyes.

The minister said the dress obstructs smooth communication, which according to Plasterk is a major requirement for a proper education.

Amsterdam- Sales of computer game consoles and other gaming hardware in the Netherlands have jumped dramatically in 2008, the umbrella organisation for the Dutch entertainment industry for audio, video and interactive products NVPI said on Monday.

Releasing its 6-month results, the NVPI said the sale of game consoles increased by 39 per cent in the first half of 2008, reaching a turnover of 115.2 million euros (164.4 million dollars).

Accompanying hardware sales increased by 62 per cent, amounting to a turnover of 118 million euros (168.4 million dollars).

Amsterdam  - The International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague released a statement on Wednesday saying it held a former spokesman of the ICTY-prosecution office in contempt of court.

Florence Hartmann, described by the ICTY as "a one-time spokesperson of a former tribunal prosecutor" has been summoned to appear before the tribunal.

In the statement, the ICTY wrote that Hartmann was summoned "for knowingly and willfully disclosing information in knowing violation of an order of a chamber."

Amsterdam - Dutch homes for elderly should not implement a non-resuscitation policy for its residents who suffer cardiac arrest, the Dutch Health Care Inspection IGZ said in a statement to the press on Friday.

The IGZ also released its preliminary findings about the decision last week by of the St. Pieters en Bloklands Home in the city of Amersfoort, not to resuscitate its residents unless they had filled out a special form requesting resuscitation.

The IGZ said the home had acted properly in evaluating its resuscitation policy, but had not provided accurate information to its residents about the consequences of resuscitation.

Amsterdam - The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Moreno Ocampo, confirmed Wednesday reviewing the events in Georgia concerning the alleged commission of crimes under ICC jurisdiction.

In a statement released to the media on Wednesday, the ICC also confirmed meeting with a Georgian government official, while Russia has formally delivered information to the Office of the Prosecutor.