Stockholm - A majority of Swedes support continued use of nuclear power and support has reached a new high, Swedish researchers said Thursday.

The autumn 2008 survey by Gothenburg University researchers suggested that 51 per cent of the 3,250 people polled wanted to keep the 10 current reactors.

Of the 51 per cent, 30 per cent favoured replacing the reactors when they become outdated with new reactors while 21 per cent said they wanted to build even more reactors in future.

Are, Sweden - Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway defied an illness as he clinched the super-g World Cup title and took another step towards the overall crown on Thursday by finishing second behind Italian Werner Heel.

Austrian veteran Hermann Maier, by contrast, missed a 15th career trophy with an erratic ride at the World Cup finals.

Heel won the final super-g in 1 minute 13.41 on a sunny day on the Olympia piste, his second win of the season and third overall.

Stockholm  - Saab, the loss-making Swedish subsidiary of US giant General Motors Corp, Thursday said it planned to shed 750 employees from its workforce of about 4,000 in Sweden.

Broadcaster TV4 said 650 of the affected employees were blue- collar workers.

The employees were informed about the plans Thursday.

Saab last month filed for bankruptcy protection while it attempts to reorganize its business. That move came after GM said it planned to shed the brand as part of its restructuring efforts.

Are, Sweden  - Lindsey Vonn of the United States clinched a second straight overall World Cup title in alpine skiing in style on Wednesday by winning a downhill ahead of German title rival Maria Riesch.

Vonn, 24, clocked 1 minute 42.49 seconds on the 2,638-metres Olympia course at the World Cup finals.

Riesch had 1:42.89 and Austrian veteran Renate Goetschl was third on the podium in 1:43.75 minutes.

Vonn has 1,688 points and, with a victory worth 100 points, can not be caught by Riesch (1,299) in the final three season races. She also dominated the downhill World Cup with a final tally of 502 points from Austrian Andrea Fischbacher (326).

Stockholm - Higher taxes on vehicles and fuel are in store for Swedish motorists, transport companies and industry as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the government said Tuesday.

Finance Minister Anders Borg, Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren and Enterprise Minister Maud Olofsson said in a joint statement that the measures would take the current financial slump into account.

Are, Sweden - Lindsey Vonn should crown another superb alpine ski season by capturing the women's World Cup title for a second straight year in the season-enders from Wednesday.

However the battle for the men's overall title is wide open, with five skiers still realistically in with a chance of the crown.

Eight of the 12 crystal globes are still up for grabs in four days of racing in the Swedish resort of Are, hosts of the 2007 world championships.