Save the world, build on water, that is Koen Olthuis' core business in a nutshell. His architectural studio Waterstudio.nl designs waterborne schools, parks, roads and houses, pretty much anything actually.

Waterborne structures are easy to move. Once they are required elsewhere, a push and a tug suffice for a change of scenery.

Olthuis has even coined a term for it: `scarless development.' A method of urban planning that makes for truly dynamic cities. Waterborne structures are not only useful to adapt to the fickle demands of citizens, they are also flexible enough to deal with the changing climate.

A 14-year-old Dutch sailor discovered on a Caribbean island after disappearing last week has been escorted home to the Netherlands.

Laura Dekker, barred from her attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, went missing last Thursday.

A Dutch court is expected to decide if the teen should be removed from her father's care after the incident.

It is still unclear how Miss Dekker managed to make the journey.

After Belgian newspaper tycoon Christian van Thillo in March obtained a majority share in Dutch publishing group PCM, he was told by anti-trust authorities to hive off one of its newspapers. NRC Handelsblad's management immediately said it would support its sale, as this would put an end to an undesirable situation where it was part of the same media group as its main competitors on the Dutch newspaper market.

Van Thillo's Persgroep accepted a bid by Egeria and Het Gesprek on Friday, after a controlled auction of NRC Media . The purchase amount has not been released but is estimated at about 70 million euros.

Egeria is a Dutch private equity investment fund set up by the wealthy Brenninkmeijer family, which made its fortune through the C&A clothing retail group. Het Gesprek is a commercial television channel focused on interviews. It was co-founded by Derk Sauer, who set up the Moscow Times and other publications in Russia.

Mexico City on Monday became Latin America's first municipality to approve gay marriage, an aide to a city lawmaker told AFP.

"It was approved overall by 39 votes in favor and 20 against, with five abstentions," said a spokesman for the bill's chief sponsor, assemblyman Davi Razu.

Spokesman Oscar Oliver said city legislators were now taking up a measure in the bill that would allow married same-sex couples to adopt children.

A ban on several drugs known as "legal highs" has come into force.

The substances, including GBL and BZP, become Class C drugs, with a possible two-year jail sentence for possession.

Ministers moved to classify them after a recommendation from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and fears they are a threat to user health.

GBL was linked to the death of medical student Hester Stewart, 21, in Brighton last April. Her mother, Maryon, campaigned nationally for the ban.

So-called legal highs are typically man-made chemical substances designed to act like banned drugs.

The government is to cut university funding by £533m - from £7.81bn this year to £7.29bn for 2010-11, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has said.

In a letter to the Higher Education Funding Council For England (HEFCE), he also asks universities to protect quality and access to higher education.

His letter confirms already announced cuts of £180m and £83m - and adds a further £270m budget reduction.

The Tories said they would make another 10,000 university places available.

The government also wants to see more degrees completed over two years rather than three as a way of easing the funding crisis and to broaden education to a wider range of students.