Today's a day when no big news dominates the Dutch press and the papers go their own merry - or not so merry - way. Protestant daily Trouw runs two stories on its front page that both have Jewish and art connections.

One covers the bizarre artwork on show in Tel Aviv depicting Ariel Sharon in coma. We are treated to a photograph of the lifelike model of the former Israeli leader, motionless (but, we are told, breathing) in a hospital bed.

The other informs us that the Restitution Commission here in the Netherlands, which judges claims concerning artworks stolen from Jewish people in the Second World War, is to be reappointed for another three years. The commission should have wound up some years ago but claims are still coming to light, says Trouw.

And, more or less all the Netherlands' 400 museums are taking part in a large-scale survey to find out whether works in their possession were stolen from Jewish citizens or others during the war. The survey should be finished in a couple of years and will probably lead to yet more claims.

Trouw reminds us that the Dutch record on this issue has not always been good. A single, half-hearted attempt to deal with the problem was made in the 1950s, but it was only in 1997, when the scandal of Jewish gold in Swiss bank vaults hit the news, that the subject was looked at again.

An official commission at the time condemned the "bureaucratic, cold and often heartless manner" in which claims had been assessed. The rules were made more flexible and 500 objects have since been returned to their rightful owners. The Nazi-art issue is not likely to be laid to rest for some time.

Billion lost in health lobbying
"Healthcare lobbying costs one billion", today's de Volkskrant tells us. There are apparently over 300 healthcare lobby groups employing more than 600 people. They try to influence the government's decisions on which institutions receive the 60 billion euros pumped into the Dutch health service each year. Their wages are paid for indirectly by taxes and health care premiums.

The information was collated by the director of one of the groups - the one that lobbies the government on behalf of health insurers. "Nowhere else in the world has so many interest groups," he says. Although careful to express no opinion about the situation, he estimates that one billion euros of public money is being spent. Institutions such as hospitals are putting substantial parts of their budget aside to pay for the lobbying rather than for patient care.

Wilders' on the defensive
A number of today's papers report on the first day of the defence speech in the trial of Geert Wilders. Nrc.next says the populist anti-Islam MP's lawyer called the trial unfair and claimed the court had decided from the very start that his client was guilty of group defamation, and incitement to hatred and discrimination.

Mr Wilders' star advocate Bram Moszkowicz criticised conclusions drawn by the court that originally ordered the trial. These included describing Mr Wilders' comments as "exceptionally hurtful" and "having an offensive character". The court had propagated the idea that his client was already guilty, thus denying him the chance of a fair trial.

The paper reminds us the defence lawyer will continue with his arguments on Thursday and that Mr Wilders will have the last word on Friday. Well, not quite the last word, the verdict is expected on 5 November.

Child murder in small Dutch town
De Telegraaf reports that a 16-year-old boy found guilty of the horrific murder of 14-year-old Dirk Post has been given the maximum sentence - 12 months in prison and psychiatric treatment under a youth custody order.

The murderer, known only as Jaap van der H, stabbed his victim 47 times in woods near Urk, the small town where they both lived. He had confided in Dirk that a ghost, seen during a ouija board session, had put a curse on him. He thought that Dirk had told his secret to others in the town and was frightened of becoming a laughing stock.

Preferring not mentioning ouija boards and ghosts, Trouw concentrates on the fallout in the small, predominantly fundamentalist Christian community of Urk. People there are relieved the court has ordered indeterminate detention in a psychiatric hospital which means Van der H will not immediately be set free.

"What do you think will happen to him if Jaap comes here?" asks a youth in a local playground. Despite these sorts of sentiments in the town, says the paper, the young murderer's family are not moving away. Urk's mayor says people in the town will have to move on, even after a child killing.

Big fright ends happily
A less gruesome story about youthful problems makes two front pages today. Both display photographs of a 12-year-old boy sitting, back to the camera, on a chimney stack in front of what looks like a church spire. "Furious nipper sits on roof for an hour and a half after row over a girl" reads AD's informative headline.

The headmaster of the boy's primary school tries to play down the drama. "It was a big scare, but it was a big relief that it all ended happily," he confides. The boy, who suffers from ADHD, stormed out of the school after the row. A police spokesman gives a practical explanation as to why the youngster gave up his angry display: "He only agreed to get in the cherry picker when he started feeling the cold".