The Hague - A Dutch court began hearings Wednesday to decide whether the surviving family members of the victims of a 1995 massacre of Muslims in Bosnia could sue the United Nations for failing to prevent the killings.

Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Muslims in one week in July 1995, overrunning the Srebrenica enclave that had been declared a United Nations safe zone.

Dutch peacekeepers failed to intervene as the male victims were led away from their custody for execution.

Amsterdam - US office supply manufacturer Staples has increased its bid for its Dutch counterpart Corporate Express, the company announced on Tuesday.
The US company is now offering 9.15 euros (14.24 dollars) per share, an increase of 1.15 euros per share.
The news comes two weeks before an extraordinary shareholders' meeting at Corporate Express, where the management is due to discuss the company's previous plans to takeover its French competitor Lyreco for 1.73 billion euros.
The takeover of Lyreco, which came shortly after Corporate Express rejected a takeover bid by Staples of 8 euros per share or 2.8 billion euros in total, including debts, is to be completed by the end of this year.

Amsterdam  - Heavy rains accompanied by thunder and lightning caused moderate damage in the Netherlands overnight, particularly in the southern provinces of Limburg and Zeeland, officials said Tues

Amsterdam  - Some 250 international fans of the famous Laurel and Hardy silent movies are due to convene in the Netherlands from July 9 to July 13 for the 16th Laurel and Hardy Convention.

Amsterdam - A leading Dutch architect under fire for designing official buildings in China believes his work there is an expression of support for change.

One of the projects undertaken by Rem Koolhaas and his partners in the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is for CCTV, the Chinese state television network, which is due to be ready in time for the Beijing Olympics in August.

Many people wondered why OMA, known for combining architecture with social and political consciousness, decided to go through with the scheme in a country accused of trampling on human rights.

But Koolhaas has few doubts about participating in projects in China as well as in other countries govered by non-democratic regimes.

Amsterdam  - Archaeologists have found a settlement dating back to the Bronze Age just north of Eindhoven, a city in the southern Netherlands, Dutch archaeologist Nico Arts told Dutch media Friday.

The discovery was made during preparations for the building of a highway junction at Ekkersrijt, north of Eindhoven.

The settlement may be the largest ever discovered in the Netherlands, and is definitely the largest settlement ever found in the southern Netherlands.

Bronze Age settlements (1500-850 BC) have also been discovered in the province of Drenthe in the eastern Netherlands. However, these are smaller than the Eindhoven settlement.