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.

Vienna  - Dutch beer brewer Heineken will consolidate its recent acquisitions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) rather than buy more breweries, Austrian news agency APA reported Tuesday.

With earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 177 million euros (253 million dollars) in the first half of this year, the CEE division of the world's third largest brewer faced a
12-per-cent decline in operating profits.

"High production costs, the economic slowdown and unfavourable weather conditions put us to the test," Heineken president for the CEE region Nico Nusmeier said in a statement.

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 main index of the Dutch stock exchange AEX rose sharply on Monday following the US government's bail-out of American largest mortgage banks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Sunday.

By 10:23 am (8:23 AM GMT) the AEX had risen by 3.89 per cent, with the financial funds gaining most.

Belgian-Dutch bank and insurance company Fortis rose 8.65 per cent and stood at 9.907 euros.

Insurer Aegon stood at 8.525 euros, up by 7.68 per cent, followed by ING Bank which rose by 7.64 per cent. Employment agency Randstad came in fourth, with shares rising 7.02 per cent.

Dutch-British food company Unilever was the only one to drop, down by 0.10 per cent.

The Hague - Threats posed by global warming to large parts of the Dutch coastline and river plains are more serious than estimated and countermeasures requiring billions of euros are needed, an expert group warned Wednesday.

The findings were contained in a long-term study by the Delta Commission set up by the Dutch government under the leadership of Cees Veerman, a former agriculture minister.

Sea levels are rising even quicker than feared, Veerman said when he handed over the study to Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

London, Aug 29 : A 12th-century church tower in the Dutch town of Bedum is challenging the Tower of Pisa as Europe’s ‘most steeply leaning tower’.