Stockholm - A US diplomat Wednesday urged Sweden to "take the lead" in efforts within Europe to reduce dependence on energy supplies from Russia.

Stockholm should also "carefully consider" plans by a consortium to build an underwater Baltic Sea gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, the US ambassador to Sweden, Michael M Wood, said in an op-ed article in the Svenska Dagbladet daily.

Stockholm - Despite posting record sales for its latest financial year, Swedish furniture retail giant Ikea is gearing up for lower demand in several key markets, reports said Wednesday.

Ikea posted global sales of some 21 billion euros (29 billion dollars) for the financial year that ended August 31 and said it was the best in the group's history, Sweden's financial daily Dagens Industri reported.

Ikea's Chief Executive Anders Dahlvig attributed the strong sales to the 22 new department stores that were opened in the US, Europe, China and Russia.

Since 1999 the furniture giant's global sales have almost tripled.

Stockholm - Progress has been made in reducing the production of poppy used to make opium and heroin in Afghanistan, the head of the US government's Office of National Drug Control Policy said Tuesday in Stockholm.

John P Walters said that while conditions in Afghanistan were "very difficult" there had been signs of progress in reducing poppy fields in parts of the country where security had improved including in the north and east.

Stockholm - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and visiting Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said Tuesday that while they differ over the status of Kosovo, both support future Serbian membership in the European Union.

Bildt told reporters there was "nothing to fear" over Serbia's plans to ask the General Assembly of the United Nations next month to ask the International Court of Justice to give "an opinion" on the secession by the breakaway province of Kosovo.

Jeremic said Belgrade had "acted with utmost restraint" after Kosovo declared its unilateral declaration of independence in February and had "opted for diplomacy and international law" rather than sanctions or other means.

Stockholm - More than 150 nominations have been made for the 2009 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, one of the largest literary awards for writers and illustrators of literature for children and young people, organizers said Monday.

The prize was created 2002 in honour of Lindgren, the Swedish creator of numerous popular fiction characters, including Pippi Longstocking, who died 2002 aged 94.

In all, 153 candidates from 60 countries, including some 30 institutions that promote reading, were nominated for the 830,000- dollars prize.

Stockholm - Sweden was set to phase out the current tax break offered for ecologically friendly cars some six months earlier than planned, citing the aims of the tax had been "achieved," a cabinet member said Monday.

"The rebate scheme was introduced to give eco-cars a flying start. The rebate has been a success. Roughly every third new car sold today is an eco-car," Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren said

"We have achieved our aims," Carlgren said.

The scheme, offering a 10,000-kronor (1,500-dollar) rebate, was launched in April 2007 and was initially due to be in place until the end of December 2009, but was now slated to end in June 2009, Carlgren said.