Netherlands

Convicted Lockerbie bomber Al-Megrahi terminally ill

Sahil Nagpal 21 October 2008

Amsterdam - Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who was convicted for the so-called Lockerbie disaster, is terminally ill with cancer and expected to die within "weeks or months," a Dutch documentary filmmaker told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa early Tuesday.

Libyan former intelligence agent al-Megrahi, 56, was sentenced for life imprisonment in 2001 for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988.

A terrorist bomb on board the aircraft brought the plane down over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing some 270 people.

The Dutch documentary maker says he was given the information about al-Megrahi by "reliable sources close to a Libyan delegation."

Shares government-aided banks lead rise in Dutch shares

Mohit Joshi 20 October 2008

Amsterdam - The Amsterdam bourse jumped 3.68 per cent Monday boosted by soaring banking stocks with ING Group's shares charging ahead by almost 20 per cent after the government threw the insurance and banking house a financial lifeline over the weekend.

By early afternoon trading, the bourse's main index stood at 261.55 points with shares in financial houses backed by the government's financial support plan helping to power the exchange.

Indeed, just one day after the government announced a capital injection of euro 10 billion euros (13.4 billion dollars) for ING, the bank's shares jumped by more than 8 per cent to stand at 8.66 euros. Shares in the Fortis financial house also raced ahead by about 14 per cent.

Dutch ING Group receives 10 billion from government support fund

Sahil Nagpal 20 October 2008

Dutch economy may shrink in 2009, Dutch central bank head says

Sahil Nagpal 17 October 2008

Amsterdam (dpa) - The Dutch economy will not grow, and may even shrink
in 2009, the director of the Dutch central bank DNB told journalists on
Friday.

"Depending on the level and speed of economic recovery, we will
have to assume a zero growth rate for 2009 or, possibly, a slight
minus," said Henk Brouwer, adding that he also expects limited growth
for 2010.

"The effects of the credit crisis on the real economy are now becoming visible," Brouwer said.

He added that continued problems in real estate markets in the US, Britain and Spain would have an impact on the Dutch economy.

Brouwer also said that the restructuring of the financial sector

Moroccan-born Muslim to be mayor of Rotterdam

Sahil Nagpal 17 October 2008

Amsterdam - Rotterdam, the second largest Dutch city, will have a Moroccan-born Muslim mayor from January 1, as Ahmed Aboutaleb was presented Friday as future mayor by the city council.

The government still has to approve 47-year-old Aboutaleb's appointment, but this is considered a formality.

The Labour politician is the first mayor to be born and raised outside the Netherlands. He is also the first Muslim to become a mayor in the Netherlands.

Aboutaleb was born in Morocco and migrated to the Netherlands at the age of 14. He is currently deputy minister of social affairs, and before served as an alderman in Amsterdam.

Negative mood persists on Amsterdam AEX, shares drop 6 per cent

Mohit Joshi 15 October 2008

Amsterdam stock exchangeAmsterdam  - The negative mood on the Amsterdam stock exchange persisted on Wednesday, with the main index AEX at 266 points, down 6 per cent, by mid-afternoon.

All but two companies - publisher Reed Elsevier and supermarket multinational Royal Ahold - trading at the AEX saw their share value fall.

Navigation software manufacturer TomTom dropped most (down 15.30 per cent), followed by construction giants Arcellor Mittal (down 10.94 per cent) and Royal BAM group (down 10.57 per cent).

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