Stockholm - Swedish state-owned energy group Vattenfall on Wednesday reported a strong first-quarter 2009 with a rise in sales and operating profits. Operating profit before tax and interest was 12.8 billion kronor (1.55 billion dollars), up 12.6 per cent year-on-year.

First-quarter turnover increased by 15 per cent to 52 billion kronor, Vattenfall said, while net profit was up 12.6 per cent to 8 billion kronor.

"It is a strong result, a great result," chief executive Lars G Josefsson told analysts later.

Stockholm - The SAS Group, operator of the joint carrier Scandinavian Airlines, on Tuesday reported a higher pre-tax loss and lower turnover for first-quarter 2009. The pre-tax loss was 1.02 billion kronor (125 million dollars), compared to a year-on-year pre-tax loss of
875 million kronor.

Turnover fell some 8 per cent to 11.3 billion kronor, while the net loss was 748 million kronor. A year ago, the net loss was 1.1 billion kronor.

Stockholm- Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt on Tuesday said he has had to cancelled the trip he had planned to Sri Lanka along with his British and French counterparts after the government in Colombo said it would not receive him. Writing on his blog, Bildt said Sri Lanka had "not given any reason" for not accepting him. "No one seems to understand the reason for this very strange action. Everyone just shakes their heads."

Stockholm - The SAS Group, operator of the joint carrier Scandinavian Airlines, has launched a trial service allowing passengers to check-in and obtain a boarding pass using only their mobile phone.

Passengers flying between airports in Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Helsinki, London Heathrow, Oslo, Stavanger and Stockholm can use the trial service from April to July 1, the group said.

"Currently, approximately 10 per cent of SAS passengers check in via (text message) SMS," Lars Sandahl Sorensen of SAS said.

Stockholm/Copenhagen - Authorities in the Nordic region Monday said they were running tests on people who have visited swine flu-affected areas of Mexico and the United States. A few patients with flu-like symptoms have also been admitted to hospital for observation in Denmark.

The Danish cases included four young people admitted to Hvidovre Hospital near Copenhagen, public broadcaster DR reported.

Stockholm - Arms sales to the Middle East and East Asia have surged in recent years, according to a Swedish-based peace research institute report on Monday. World arms sales increased 21 per cent in the period 2004-2008, compared to 1999-2003, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.

Arms sales to the Middle East rose 38 per cent in 2004-2008 compared with the previous five year period.