Stockholm - Construction group Skanska said Tuesday it was to cut 3,400 jobs from its 20,500-st

Stockholm- A Swedish health agency Monday approved a general vaccination programme for young girls against the human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer.

As of 2010, all girls born 1999 and later are to be offered a vaccine against the HPV virus, the National Board of Health and Welfare said.

"It is good that girls get the protection that the vaccine offers, but it is important to continue to go to screening tests," Anders Tegnell, head of the agency's unit for communicable diseases, said.

Stockholm - Swedish opposition to introducing the joint European currency, the euro, has declined but a majority of voters still favour keeping the Swedish currency, a new survey said Monday.

The poll commissioned by the Dagens Nyheter newspaper showed that 48 per cent opposed replacing the krona with the euro while 44 per cent favoured introducing it.

The survey indicated that 7 per cent were undecided or would abstain from voting.

The November poll indicated that opposition to the euro was strongest in rural areas, among women and supporters of the opposition Left Party, Green Party and the Social Democrats.

Gallivare, Sweden - Charlotte Kalla delighted a Swedish home crowd on Saturday when she won the cross-country skiing World Cup season-opener.

Kalla, 21, dominated the 10 kilometres freestyle race in 24 minutes 7.8 seconds from former World Cup and world champion Marit Bjoergen of Norway (24:32.2) and Aino Kaisa Saarinen of Finland (24:39.8).

It was the fourth career World Cup win for the 2008 Tour de Ski champion Kalla, who used to train for several years on the slopes of Gallivare just north of the Arctic Circle.

Stockholm - The prime ministers of Sweden and Ukraine Friday discussed Ukraine's efforts to form closer ties with the European Union.

Sweden hoped to see an association agreement in place between the 27-nation bloc and Ukraine during Sweden's six-month presidency of the EU next year, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said.

Stockholm - Independent firms have been commissioned to assess the value of Carnegie Investment Bank AB recently taken over by the Swedish state, officials said Friday.

Bo Lundgren, head of the Swedish National Debt Office that took over the bank last week, said the two entities that make up Carnegie were to be sold separately but said it was unlikely a deal would be clinched before the end of the year.

The entities comprise Carnegie Investment Bank AB, and pension insurance advisor Max Matthiessen Holding AB that Carnegie took over in early 2007.