Amsterdam - The number of unemployed in the Netherlands will rise to 4.5 per cent of the Dutch labour force in 2008, government sources told Dutch news wire ANP on Thursday.

The calculations were made by the Dutch Central Planning Bureau (CPB), which provides statistics to the government, but have not been published yet.

According to the unnamed government sources, the CPB also adjusted the unemployment figure for this year upward from 4 to 4.25 per cent of the 7.5 million people in the work force.

If the calculations are correct, this will mark the end of almost 10 consecutive years of gradual unemployment reduction in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam  - A Dutch cameraman has been killed in Georgia, Dutch news agency ANP reported Tuesday citing foreign media sources.

Amsterdam - Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende has told his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao he is concerned about human rights violations in China, Dutch newswire ANP reported Sunday.

"This issue should be discussed. I did it before, I have done it today and I will continue to do so in the future," the Dutch prime minister was quoted as saying.

Balkende said he discussed freedom of the press, the position of human rights activists, minority rights and the situation in Tibet.

London - Private detectives are investigating reports that a little girl calling herself "Maddy" was seen in the Netherlands just a few days after British toddler Madeleine McCann vanished during a

Amsterdam - Dutch daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad on Thursday published the first photo of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic since he has been shaven and had a haircut.

The paper, which published the photo on its front page, said the picture was taken on Monday while Karadzic was still in his cell in Belgrade.

War crimes suspect Karadzic was arrested by the Serbian authorities in Belgrade on July 21. On the run for almost 13 years, he had long hair and a beard when captured.

The picture also appeared in other outlets including Serbian newspaper Blic and British tabloid The Sun.