MUIDEN, Netherlands, Jan 17 (Reuters) – More than 500 Dutch Saab lovers toured on Sunday to support the Swedish car brand, which a fan described as the “Apple of the car industry,” while owner General Motors [GM.UL] was preparing the company’s wind down.

Saab owners in several parts of the world have staged events for the loss-making car maker, and fans in the Netherlands, Sweden and about 30 other countries drove in convoys to voice their support, Dutch organiser Sidney Polak said.

“It was a big success, there were many people. Some 585 cars joined the tour,” said Polak, who started organising the Dutch event about three weeks ago.

The future of Saab still hangs in the balance as U.S. owner General Motors nominated two wind-down supervisors on Tuesday but at the same said it was considering several bids for Saab.

AMSTERDAM, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Fifteen people at a Dutch financial services firm were released from quarantine after powder discovered in a letter caused slight breathing problems for three of them, police said on Thursday.

Officers at midday had evacuated everyone in the building housing the LaSer Nederland company in the southern city of Den Bosch, with the exception of the 15 workers who had all been in the room where the powder was.

“We are investigating what substance the letter held,” a police spokeswoman said.

The three staff affected by the powder had recovered after experiencing minor breathing difficulties, she said, adding no-one life’s had been in danger. They and the twelve others all received medical examinations and were free to return home after being held in quarantine.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch government supported an invasion of Iraq that had no legal backing and did not fully inform parliament about its plans in the run-up to the conflict, a long-awaited investigation concluded on Tuesday.

The committee’s scathing report, whose release was broadcast live on state television, also said that Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende had little to do with initial planning for the Netherlands’ participation in the war.

“The United Nations Security Council resolution on Iraq from the 1990s did not give a mandate to the US-British military intervention in 2003,” the Dutch Committee of Inquiry on Iraq said in its 550-page report.

The Netherlands gave political support to the war because of a risk that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, and to support its NATO allies the United States and Britain, who led the invasion, the committee said. It emerged later that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The Netherlands and Nigeria said on Wednesday they would use full-body scanners at airports after a failed Christmas Day attack on a U.S.-bound plane by a 23-year-old Nigerian suspect who passed through both countries.

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will begin using the scanners — which “see” through clothing — within three weeks to check people traveling to the United States, after consultations with U.S. authorities, the Dutch interior minister said.

Nigeria will equip its international airports with the scanners in the New Year, an aviation official said.

In the United States, the botched attack aboard the Detroit-bound U.S. airliner has prompted congressional calls for greater use of body scanners that advocates say would have detected non-metallic items like explosives smuggled aboard.

THE HAGUE, Dec 30 (Reuters) – The Netherlands and Nigeria said on Wednesday they would use full-body scanners at airports after a failed Christmas Day attack on a U.S.-bound plane by a 23-year-old Nigerian suspect who passed through both countries.

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will begin using the scanners – which “see” through clothing — within three weeks to check people travelling to the United States, after consultations with U.S. authorities, the Dutch interior minister said.

Nigeria will equip its international airports with the scanners in the New Year, an aviation official said.

In the United States, the botched attack aboard the Detroit-bound U.S. airliner has prompted congressional calls for greater use of body scanners that advocates say would have detected non-metallic items like explosives smuggled aboard.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The Netherlands and Nigeria said on Wednesday they would use full-body scanners at airports after a failed Christmas Day attack on a U.S.-bound plane by a 23-year-old Nigerian suspect who passed through both countries.

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will begin using the scanners — which “see” through clothing — within three weeks to check people traveling to the United States, after consultations with U.S. authorities, the Dutch interior minister said.

Nigeria will equip its international airports with the scanners in the New Year, an aviation official said.

In the United States, the botched attack aboard the Detroit-bound U.S. airliner has prompted congressional calls for greater use of body scanners that advocates say would have detected non-metallic items like explosives smuggled aboard.

THE HAGUE, Dec 30 (Reuters) – The Netherlands and Nigeria said on Wednesday they would use full-body scanners at airports after a failed Christmas Day attack on a U.S.-bound plane by a 23-year-old Nigerian suspect who passed through both countries.

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will begin using the scanners – which “see” through clothing — within three weeks to check people travelling to the United States, after consultations with U.S. authorities, the Dutch interior minister said.

Nigeria will equip its international airports with the scanners in the New Year, an aviation official said.

In the United States, the botched attack aboard the Detroit-bound U.S. airliner has prompted congressional calls for greater use of body scanners that advocates say would have detected non-metallic items like explosives smuggled aboard.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – General Motors has extended a December 31 deadline for bids for its Swedish car brand Saab, which will restart some production lines in January after a shutdown, Saab said on Wednesday.

GM had given itself to the end of this month to consider bids for loss-making Saab while continuing a process to wind down the company, which has drawn interest from Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker Cars and others.

Spyker Cars Chief Executive Victor Muller said in a text message GM had extended the deadline for a final offer from Spyker Cars until January 7, in an extension of GM’s original December 31 deadline for a deal. Muller added he believed there are multiple bidders for Saab.

A spokesman for GM in Europe said he had no information on the deadline being canceled and could not immediately comment.

THE HAGUE, Dec 30 (Reuters) – Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will begin using full-body scanners within three weeks to check people travelling to the United States, after consultations with U.S. authorities, the Dutch interior minister said on Wednesday.

Guusje ter Horst also said standard procedures were followed properly in the case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a flight from Schiphol to Detroit on Christmas Day.

“We will make these (scanning) machines, about 15 in total, available for flights to the United States within three weeks’ time,” ter Horst told a news conference in The Hague.

But since Schiphol has twice as many gates for U.S. departures as scanners, not all flights will be covered by the new machines. Passengers on flights not subject to the new scanners will instead receive thorough pat-downs.

AMSTERDAM, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Dutch ING <ING.AS>, which is splitting up its bank and insurance arms, will sell its stake in Chinese insurer Antai to China Construction Bank (CCB) <601939.SS> as part of its ongoing restructuring programme.

ING said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell its 50 percent stake to CCB as part of a restructuring announced in April. It aims to sell up to 8 billion euros ($11.51 billion) in assets and cut risks after being hit by the credit crisis and receiving state aid last year. [ID:nL996121]

The Dutch group, which in October announced it would split its insurance unit from the bank, will focus its Chinese insurance operations on ING Capital Life Insurance, its 50 percent joint venture with Beijing Capital Group, ING said. [ID:nGEE5AQ07B]

ING wants to pay back 5 billion euros ($7.19 billion) in state aid by selling its insurance arm and other assets, after it paid back 5 billion euros in aid last week and completed a 7.5 billion euro rights issue. [ID:nWEA6449] [ID:nLDE5BE103]