Amsterdam - Dutch banking and insurance giant ING announced Wednesday it would scrap 2,700 jobs in the Netherlands as part of worldwide cutbacks unveiled last month.

The group told staff that 1,000 workers would be made redundant, with a further 1,700 positions lost as vacancies were cancelled and retiring staff not replaced.

ING announced on January 26 that it was to lose 7,000 employees worldwide, but Wednesday's announcment was the first concrete details of where the cuts would come.

Amsterdam - A Dutch Catholic priest has been allowed to retain a formal relationship with a woman after a deadline for an appeal against the union expired, Dutch media reported Wednesday.

A Catholic court had previously ruled that Dutch priest Ruud Huysmans could not be held accountable for violating Church law when he had entered a "registered partnership" - a kind of legal cohabitation system in the Netherlands - in the year 2000, a year before a church ban on such partnerships took effect.

The appeal deadline for the ruling expired Wednesday.

In 2008, Rotterdam bishop Ad van Luyn had requested the Catholic court to disband the registered partnership which Huysmans had entered with female theologian Freda Droes.

Rotterdam, Netherlands  - Andy Murray double-faulted on a match point but didn't let that slight setback stop his progress in a 6-3, 6-2 first-round defeat of Croatian Ivan Ljubicic at the ABN-AMRO World Tennis on Tuesday.

Murray claimed the opening set against the two-time finalist in 40 minutes, then raced off with the second out to 5-0 before his minor slip-up.

Murray's win came with seven aces and four breaks of the Ljubicic serve on an error-filled night for the Croatian who turns 30 next month.

Amsterdam - Police at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport arrested a 22-year-old Mexican on Tuesday as he sought to smuggle 1 million euros (1.3 million dollars) in cash to Mexico.

The Mexican will be charged with money laundering, Dutch police said in statement.

The money, consisting of 500-euro-bills, was hidden in the double lining of a suitcase. The police discovered the money during check- in.

A 29-year-old Colombian who took the Mexican citizen to the airport was also arrested. The Colombian allegedly played a leading role in the affair.

Copenhagen - Dutch authorities on Tuesday took custody of five suspected pirates held since early January on a Danish navy vessel that averted an attempted piracy attack off the Somalian coast, a Danish navy spokesman said.

The handover took place in Bahrain. The five men were likely to be taken to the Netherlands to face possible charges, the spokesman said.

The Absalon has been deployed in the waters off Somalia since early September, patrolling international shipping lanes in the region.

Dan B Termansen, commanding officer on the Absalon, issued a statement saying the vessel was heading back for the Gulf of Aden to resume patrols.

Rotterdam, Netherlands  - Rafael Nadal got back to work on court eight days after his historic Australian Open title, adjusting to indoor conditions during a doubles loss on Monday at the ABN-AMRO World Tennis.

The Spanish world number one teamed with fellow Mallorcan Ignacio Coll-Ruidavets but the wild card pair lost to experienced Frenchman Michael Llodra - last year's singles champion - and compatriot Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-4.