The culling of thousands of pregnant goats and sheep carrying a disease that killed 6-people earlier this year, was begun by the Dutch government on Monday.

While, it is rare for humans to contract Q-fever, a bacterial sickness, however, the unusual outbreak in the Netherlands has continued to grow since 2007, infecting 2,300-people this year.

The outgoing Czech government on Monday decided to invite the Dutch-French airline Air France-KLM and a Czech consortium of investment Unimex Group and Travel Service low-cost carrier to bid for Czech Airlines, acting Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said.

The cabinet thus shut out Russia's Aeroflot and a private equity group, Odien, from privatizing the state's 91.5-per-cent stake in the national carrier.

Dutch Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop on Tuesday confirmed the death of a Dutch soldier in the southern Afghan province of Uruzghan.

Azdin Chadli, 20, died around 6 pm local time (1300 GMT) Monday when two 107-milimetre missiles hit Camp Holland, the Dutch military base. Five other Dutch soldiers between the ages of 19 to 24 sustained injuries, but were reportedly "stable."

Two Afghan soldiers also sustained injuries.

It is the first time a missile has hit Camp Holland.

The Hague - Seven terrorist suspects, identified as Dutch citizens of Moroccan heritage, were arrested Thursday in the Netherlands on charges they planned bombing attacks around Amsterdam, Dutch radio reported.

The suspects included six men and a woman, aged between 19 and 64 years.

Police chief Bernard Welten said investigators received a phone tip-off Wednesday from an informant in Brussels about the attack plans. The goal was to kill as many people as possible, the report said.

Amsterdam - Share values at Dutch insurer Giant Aegon gained 2.96 per cent Thursday morning, despite the release of final 2008 results confirming a historic net annual loss of 1.08 billion euros (1.38 billion dollars).

Investors had been prepared for a substantial loss after the company released its fourth-quarter results on February 17, confirming a loss of 1.2 billion euros in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Aegon said the loss is the result of write-offs on investments related to mortgages, corporate bonds and stock investments.

Dutch satellite-navigation-device manufacturer TomTom suffered a loss of 989 million euros (1.265 billion dollars) in the fourth quarter of 2008, the company announced on Tuesday.

TomTom had to write off more than 1 billion euros on the value of electronic mapmaker Tele Atlas, which it took over last year for 2.9 billion euros.

Reduced prices of TomTom's navigation products also contributed to the loss.

TomTom sold 44 million navigation systems in the fourth quarter of 2008, an increase of 4 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Dutch electronics manufacturer Philips is taking over led-light producer Italian Ilti Luce, the Dutch company announced on Tuesday, without releasing financial details.

Ilti Luce produces LED lighting for commercial spaces such as stores and museums. The Italian company has 30 employees.

The transaction would be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2009, Philips said.

Dutch insurer Aegon suffered a loss of 1.2 billion euros (1.53 billion dollars) in the fourth quarter of 2009, the company said in its preliminary Q4 report released on Tuesday.

Financial analysts had expected a loss of 800 million euros.

Following the publication of the results, the share value of Aegon dropped by 3.1 per cent at the Amsterdam stock exchange and stood at 3.6 euros shortly after trading began on Tuesday.