Stockholm - The Swedish parliament Thursday voted overwhelmingly to keep Sweden's military contingent in Afghanistan for another year.

Sweden has some 430 troops in northern Afghanistan, and the contingent was likely to increase to some 500 next year. The decision set a ceiling of 855 troops.

The Swedish contingent with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is based in Mazar-e-Sharif.

Stockholm  - A 2005 Norwegian law requiring women to comprise at least 40 percent of board members in Norwegian companies has boosted the country's share of women executives to the highest in Scandinavia, a new survey said Thursday.

According to the study by the Oslo-based Nordic Gender Institute (NIKK), Norway tops the list of Scandinavian countries with 36 per cent female board members at both Norwegian-listed and foreign companies.

Research director Kirsti Niskanen of the Oslo-based NIKK told the Goteborgs-Posten newspaper that Norway had a strong tradition of quotas, but said that legislation was not necessarily the right solution in other countries.

Stockholm  - More than 90 Swedish newspapers united Thursday in publishing a joint appeal on behalf of a Swedish-Eritrean journalist held in Eritrea for eight years without trial.

Dawit Isaak was arrested on September 23, 2001 after the Eritrean government's moved to shut down independent newspapers.

Thursday's publication marked Isaak's brief release on November 19, 2005 - but he was arrested a few days later.

Stockholm - The decision by Israel to expand a settlement in Gilo near Jerusalem on the West Bank will damage the peace process the Swedish presidency of the European Union said Wednesday.

The move was counter to "repeated calls by the international community," the presidency statement said.

"If there is to be genuine peace, a way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states," the statement added.

Stockholm - Norwegian Oystein Loseth has been named as new chief executive of the Swedish government-owned utility Vattenfall, the group said Monday.

The new chief executive will have to improve Vattenfall's image, tarnished by a fire and a short circuit at nuclear plants it operates in Sweden and Germany, as well as coal-fired plants in Germany and Poland that emit large amounts of greenhouse gasses.

Loseth will succeed Lars G Josefsson by the summer of 2010, and work parallel with Josefsson until then to become familiar with the operations.

"We are pleased to have found in Oystein Loseth an internal candidate who in the best of ways meets our needs," Vattenenfall Chairman Lars Westerberg said.

Phnom Penh  - A Swedish businessman visiting Cambodia has been murdered and his body dumped outside Phnom Penh, reportedly after he met a woman with whom he had corresponded online, national media reported Monday.

The Swedish embassy in Phnom Penh confirmed the victim was Jan Ola Jordansson, 45.

The embassy's counsellor, Karl-Anders Larsson, said he believed Jordansson was visiting the country when he was killed, but had previously lived in Cambodia.

Stockholm - Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall said Wednesday it was not planning to sell its electricity network in Sweden, partly to raise funds for investments in British nuclear power plants as suggested in a media report.

"No such decision has been taken either by the group management or the board," Vattenfall said in a statement.

Broadcaster TV4 earlier quoted a Vattenfall document suggesting that the sale of the grid would generate 50 billion kronor (7.3 billion dollars).

Stockholm - To the "great surprise" of new Sweden coach Erik Hamren, Barcelona forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has expressed doubts about his future career in the national team.

Hamren on Monday evening announced Ibrahimovic's decision when he presented his first squad for an upcoming friendly against Italy.

The squad for the November 18 tie was announced in connection with the annual Swedish football gala, hosted this year in the southern city of Malmo.

Stockholm - To the "great surprise" of new Sweden coach Erik Hamren, Barcelona forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has expressed doubts about his future career in the national team.

Hamren on Monday evening announced Ibrahimovic's decision when he presented his first squad for an upcoming friendly against Italy.

The squad for the November 18 tie was announced in connection with the annual Swedish football gala, hosted this year in the southern city of Malmo.

Stockholm - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt arrived Tuesday in Afghanistan for an unannounced two-day visit.

Sweden currently holds the presidency of the European Union. The visit was partly to follow up on an action plan for Afghanistan recently adopted by the 27-nation bloc.

"It is important that we start a very open and clear dialogue with the Afghan leadership about what needs to be done to turn events into a better direction," Bildt wrote in his personal blog.

Stockholm  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday called the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen that opens in one month's time "a unique opportunity that should not be wasted."

"It is crucial that we achieve an ambitious climate agreement in Copenhagen," Ban wrote in an article penned exclusively for the Stockholm daily Svenska Dagbladet.

Recent study has shown that children who drink full fat have lower chances of becoming overweight as compared to children who drink the skimmed version. It was found that children who consumed full fat milk have lower body mass index than children who consumed low fat milk.

Research team from Gothenburg University in Sweden studied the nutrition, body composition and bone mineralisation of 120 healthy eight-year-olds. Information regarding the dietary habits of the children was also collected from them. The blood samples of the children were also taken.

Stockholm - The SAS Group, operator of the joint carrier Scandinavian Airlines, on Thursday reported a third-quarter profit despite lower turnover in the wake of the global recession.

The net profit was 152 million kronor (21 million dollars), including nonrecurring items. A year ago the group posted a loss of 1.9 billion kronor.

Turnover fell 16 per cent to 11.06 billion kronor in the quarter.

New Delhi, Nov 4 : Leaders of India and Sweden will hold wide-ranging talks Thursday that will focus on evolving a consensus on a new global climate deal and promoting civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt arrives here Thursday morning on a three-day visit to attend the 10th summit between India and the 27-nation European Union
(EU) to be held Friday.

Stockholm  - Slovenia and Croatia on Wednesday signed a agreement ending a long-standing border dispute that has blocked Croatia's accession talks with the European Union.

The two country's prime ministers signed the deal in Stockholm - Sweden is the current holder of the rotating EU presidency.

The dispute centres on the obscure north Adriatic bay of Piran, and dates back to 1991 and the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Attending the ceremony in Sweden were the prime ministers of Croatia, Jadranka Kosor, Slovenia, Borut Pahor and Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden.

Stockholm - Owners of reactors should be prepared to pay higher damages in case of an accident, a government inquiry said Monday as Sweden moved to allow current reactors to be replaced by new ones.

Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren welcomed the proposal that is to be subject to a public consultation process.

"It is important that the owners of the reactors take full responsibility for security and insurances," Carlgren said.

Stockholm - The multi-million dollar legal wrangling over the estate of the best-selling Swedish crime writer Stieg Larsson's estate took a new twist Monday - with a surprise offer of 20 million kronor (2.8 million dollars) to his long-time partner, Eva Gabrielsson.

Larsson, who died of a heart attack at age 50 in 2004, has scored posthumous success with his so-called Millennium Trilogy that has been translated into several languages including English and German.

Stockholm  - Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah's decision to pull out of a scheduled runoff has to be assessed by Afghan authorities including the Independent Election Commission and Supreme Court, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said.

Bildt late Sunday said he had "no idea" if there would be a runoff or not, saying there were numerous conflicting reports from Kabul.

Stockholm - Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall and a group of five electricity-intensive companies Friday announced plans to cooperate on future power production.

A joint venture between Vattenfall and the Industrikraft group was to study the feasibility of various energy sources, including renewables as well as possibly building a new nuclear reactor to ensure cheap "baseload power."

The need to eat healthy food during pregnancy for the health of unborn child is a well established fact. Recent study has shown that intake of vegetables during pregnancy can reduce the risk of Type 1 Diabetes in the child. During type 1 diabetes, certain cells in the pancreas fail to produce insulin hence leading to insulin deficiency.