Amsterdam  - A Belgian baby bought over the internet by a young Dutch couple in July has been handed over to Belgian authorities, the Dutch child protection service said Wednesday.

On November 27, a Dutch family court ruled that baby Jayden, as the now five-month-old child is known in the media, should be placed in foster care under Dutch state custody.

The court said the sale violated international adoption laws.

Baby Jayden was transferred from the Dutch couple to foster care in late November under the temporary custody ruling.

The Dutch child protection service and the Justice Ministry said in a joint statement that temporary custody would not be renewed because the child has a better future in his native Belgium.

Amsterdam  - Dutch Chief of Staff Peter van Uhm on Friday confirmed the death of a Dutch soldier in Afghanistan earlier on Friday.

Van Uhm said 24-year-old Sergeant Mark Weijdt probably stepped on a roadside bomb during a confrontation with Taliban fighters.

Another soldier sustained mild injuries.

The soldier was the 18th Dutch soldier to die in Afghanistan since the start of the Dutch mission.

A total of 1,200 Dutch troops have been stationed in Afghanistan as part of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF).

Amsterdam - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende says he would consider a possible US request for a new Dutch contribution to the International Security and Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

Speaking in a late night Dutch television show on Thursday, Balkenende said US president-elect Barack Obama's advisors have given indications the US might ask the Dutch to maintain their military presence in Afghanistan after the current Dutch mission ends in August 2010.

Obama has already indicated on several occasions he will send more US troops to Afghanistan.

It is widely expected the US is going to request the European Union countries to strengthen their participation in ISAF as well.

Amsterdam - Women who are career-minded should only seek
employment with Royal Dutch Shell, electronics manufacturer Philips or
telecommunications company KPN - but the best treatment comes from the
Dutch government, according to a survey published Thursday.

A survey conducted by marketing research institute TNS NIPO among
1,096 Dutch managers of 150 companies showed the three multinationals
were the most women-friendly companies in the Dutch business sector.

The survey, published on Thursday in Management Team magazine, also
said civil-servant positions with national or local authorities were
considered most women-friendly.

Civil-servant jobs received 4,006 points from the managers

Amsterdam - The European parliament on Wednesday refused to allow the screening of an anti-Isla

Amsterdam - Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen should convince NATO to appoint an independent inspector-general to supervise Afghanistan's reconstruction, Dutch legislator Femke Halsema said in the Dutch parliament on Tuesday.

If the North Atlantic Treaty Organization does not want to appoint such an official in Afghanistan, then the Netherlands should appoint an inspector-general itself, Halsema said.

The leader of the Greens Party was speaking following the recent report in the US daily The New York Times citing a draft US federal government document as saying the