Stockholm - A majority of Swedes oppose the Swedish state taking temporary control over troubled carmakers Volvo and Saab, according to a poll published Wednesday.

Both carmakers are owned by US groups. Volvo is owned by US giant Ford while Saab is owned by General Motors. Both US companies have posted huge losses and have said they are considering selling their Swedish subsidiaries.

The survey said 49 per cent were against the state stepping in as a temporary owner, while 36 per cent said the favoured it, the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper said.

Stockholm - Sweden has decided to freeze aid payments to Rwanda, citing a new United Nations report that alleges that Rwanda has supported Congolese rebels, the government said Wednesday.

Sweden gives Rwanda some 140 million kronor (17 million dollars) a year in aid, including budget support worth some 80 million kronor.

"Sweden views the UN report very seriously and has halted budget support payments," International Development Cooperation Minister Gunilla Carlsson said.

Stockholm - Swedish opponents of the introduction of the joint European currency, the euro, still have a majority in Swedish public opinion, a new survey said Tuesday.

The survey conducted by Statistics Sweden suggested that roughly 47 per cent opposed replacing the krona with the euro while about 38 per cent favoured introducing the euro if there had been a referendum in November. Some 15 per cent were undecided.

A similar poll in May suggested that some 52 per cent opposed the euro while 35 per cent favoured introducing it, the agency said.

Stockholm - Swedish heavy-vehicle maker Volvo on Tuesday said it would introduce stop days in production after November truck deliveries slumped 21 per cent year-on-year.

Gothenburg-based Volvo said it delivered 19,326 trucks during the month.

In order to prevent a build-up of inventory, the group planned some 20 to 25 stop days in production in the first quarter of 2009.

The group said "customers continue to be very cautious and are in most cases waiting with their investment decisions" and in Europe the weak trend from the third quarter continued.

Stockholm - The Swedish government unveiled a 28-billion- kronor (3.4 billion dollars) package Thursday aimed at securing the long-term viability of Swedish-based vehicle makers.

The government was to reserve 3 billion kronor for a research and development institute "to develop vehicles customers want," Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson said.

There was demand for vehicles with lower emissions that could run on new fuels and electrical vehicles, she said.

Some 5 billion kronor was to be used for "rescue loans" for companies that were part of the vehicle cluster.

Stockholm- Swedish defence group Saab on Wednesday questioned some of the assessments made by Norway in its recent decision to select a US-made jet fighter over the Sweden's JAS Gripen.

Norway last month said it would buy the US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) when it replaces its aging fleet of 48 F-16 jet fighters.

The US jet fighter fulfilled all criteria set up by Norway and also had a lower price tag than the JAS Gripen, Oslo said.

Saab is vying to supply jets to other countries and has some concern that the Norwegian assessment will impede those efforts.