Stockholm - A German woman who was extradited to Sweden on suspicion of beating two young children to death with a hammer was Wednesday formally charged with murder and attempted murder.

Prosecutor Frieda Gummesson filed the charges at the district court in Vasteras, and said the woman - a 32-year-old student - had used a hammer or similar tool to repeatedly hit the children, aged one and three, and their mother, who survived with injuries.

The attack took place March 17 in the small town of Arboga.

The motive appeared to be that the German woman refused to accept that her former partner had begun a new relationship with the mother of the children, the prosecutor said.

Stockholm - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt Tuesday welcomed the arrest of indicted Bosnian Serb war-crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic.

"This is very good news," Bildt said in a statement released by the foreign ministry, lauding the new Serbian government for showing its will "to live up to its international and European commitments."

Bildt said he hoped Karadzic will soon be brought to trial.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store attending talks in Geneva aimed at reviving the World Trade Organization's Doha Round also welcomed the news of the arrest.

Stockholm - Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson on Tuesday posted a 49-per-cent drop in operating income for second quarter 2008 partly impacted by ongoing cost cutting measures.

Operating income was 4.7 billion kronor (789 million dollars), down from 9.3 billion kronor in the corresponding business period 2007.

The group reported 48.5 billion kronor in sales for the quarter, up 2 per cent on the corresponding business quarter 2007 but a weak dollar rate impacted the group.

Net income was 1.9 billion kronor, down 70 per cent on second quarter 2007, the group said, adding that earlier announced cost cuts including plans to lay off some 4,000 employees impacted the group with 1.8 billion kronor in the quarter.

Stockholm  - A faulty drive shaft was being blamed Monday for last week's accident at an amusement park in the south-western city of Gothenburg that saw 30 people taken to hospital after a ride collapsed.

In all, 36 people were on the ride when it broke at the Liseberg amusement park in the coastal city on Tuesday. Two people sustained pelvic injuries.

The faulty drive shaft was detected when the ride was dismantled over the weekend. Constructed in 1983, the ride has a capacity of 40.

Stockholm - Mobile telephone maker Sony Ericsson on Fri

Stockholm - A German woman who was extradited to Sweden on suspicion of beating two young children to death will likely face charges next week, a police spokesman said Thursday.

Vasteras police spokesman Borje Stromberg told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the prosecutor was slated to present the charges on Wednesday but was not sure when the trial will begin.

Stromberg said the police have concluded their interviews with the suspect.

The woman, a student, was extradited to Sweden end of April after an attack on a 23-year-old woman and her children, aged one and three, on March 17 in the small town of Arboga.