Amsterdam  - For the second week in a row, the main index of the Amsterdam stock exchange AEX dropped dramatically on Monday morning. By 10:42 am (0842 GMT) the index had lost
5.83 per cent and stood at 323.97 points, with some analysts speaking of a "blood bath."

There was no stock posting any gains in the morning, with Financial firms losing out most.

Leading the list of companies who saw their stock value drop was insurer Aegon (down 20.37 per cent), followed by bank and insurance company ING Group (down 10.92 per cent).

There was no trade in shares of Fortis NV. On Friday, the Dutch government nationalized the Dutch division of the former Belgian- Dutch bank and insurance giant.

Washington, Oct 6 : The world’s largest biomass power plant running exclusively on chicken manure has opened in the Netherlands, which will deliver renewable electricity to 90,000 households.

According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), the power plant has a capacity of 36.5 megawatts, and will generate more than 270 million kWh of electricity per year.

The biomass power plant is more than merely “carbon neutral”.

If the chicken manure were to be spread out over farm land, it would release not only CO2, but also methane, a very potent greenhouse gas.

Amsterdam - The governments of Belgium and Luxembourg have transferred their shares in bank and insurance giant Fortis to the Netherlands, including the Dutch ABN Amro banking division.

Dutch newswire ANP reported Friday that Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme had made the announcement following the Belgian government's weekly meeting.

The agreement is worth some 16.8 billion euros (23.27 billion dollars), Leterme was quoted as saying.

Amsterdam  - Paper, pencil and books are the key to developing one's creativity and maximizing one's intelligence, says Dutch psychologist Christof van Nimwegen.

The Dutch researcher recently completed a PhD dissertation at the University of Utrecht about the effects of software on the functioning of the human brain.

In "The Paradox of the guided user: assistance can be counter- effective," van Nimwegen asked two groups to perform the same tasks.

The first was allowed use a computer; the second group only got a pen and pencil.

Amsterdam - Schiphol Airport should grow to accommodate a maximum of 510,000 flights per year by 2020 from 433,000 today, according to an advisory committee report released Wednesday.

Additionally, the report recommends the transfer of charter flights to Eindhoven in the south and Lelystad in the central-north.

"The recommendations provide Schiphol with new opportunities to grow without compromising on sustainability," Ingrid Pouw, Schiphol Airport spokeswoman told Deutsche-Presse Agentur dpa Wednesday.

Amsterdam  - The Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem in the Netherlands announced the discovery of another previously unknown painting by the Laughing Cavalier painter Frans Hals (1583-1666).

It is the second time within four days the museum has made such an announcement.

On Sunday, the museum confirmed that five formerly unknown paintings were also made by the Dutch master.

Pieter Biesboer, spokesman for the museum, said the sixth painting was discovered at auction house Christies in Paris.

Bierboer saw the painting first in June.

The painting is a portrait of an unknown man and dated 1655.

Frans Hals is one of the most famous masters from the Dutch Golden Age.