Newsline 1 December 2009: The Dutch parliament debates banning the construction of minarets. Can the cultivation of rose replace poppy plants in Afghanistan? World AIDS Day is celebrated in Amsterdam.

A Dutch ban on minarets???
Following Switzerland's lead, the Netherlands is also attracting attention with an anti-minaret measure. Today, the parliament debated a motion, put forward by the small ultra-christian SGP party, urging "caution" when it comes to building minarets. Parliament rejected the motion. The MP who put it forward is Kees van der Staaij. He told NL's Paddy Maguire what his party was proposing. Listen to the report.

Growing roses instead of poppies
The fields surrounding the village of Pucha Kala in Afghanistan used to be filled with opium poppies. The flowers stretched as far as the eye could see. But times have changed. Pucha Kala is in Nagahar province, and its governor has put an end to drugs production, with farmers turning to cultivating roses for the perfume industry instead. Listen an interview with Tom Kramer, who just returned from Afghanistan where he was investigating drugs policy.  

World AIDS Day in Amsterdam
The treatment of HIV and AIDS in Africa is suffering from the global economic crisis, according to a new report by the Dutch foundation Stop Aids Now! The report was presented today in Amsterdam, where 5,000 white crosses with red AIDS-ribbons were erected on the Museum square to mark World AIDS Day. NL's Johan van Slooten was there and filed this report.