Stockholm - Swedish internet traffic dropped by a third on Wednesday, the first day a new file sharing law went into effect, reports said Thursday.

The new law, based on the European Union's Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED), allows courts to order internet operators to hand over details that identify suspected illegal file sharers.

The 30-per-cent drop was reported by Netnod, which operates internet exchanges in five Swedish cities.

London, April 2: In what may lead to a change in the way air pollution is evaluated, scientists at Lund University in Sweden have shown that the tiny particles from traffic fumes are far "stickier" than other smoke and dust particles.

Research leader Jakob Londahl came to this conclusion after measuring how many airborne particles stay behind in the lungs.

For that purpose, the researchers used a new device called RESPI, which brings air being inhaled in through one chamber, and exhaled air out through a second chamber.

The device helped the researchers analyse particle number and size in both chambers.

Stockholm - A broad majority in the Swedish parliament Wednesday approved adoption of same-sex marriage legislation after a six-hour debate.

Six of the seven parties in parliament had backed the proposal drafted by the Committee on Civil Affairs to introduce a gender- neutral marriage law.

Only the Christian Democrats, one of the four parties in the ruling centre-right coalition, opposed the move.

Yvonne Andersson said her party wanted to maintain "a several hundred-year-old concept" about marriage.

Stockholm  - Damage to Swedish-funded projects in Gaza during the recent fighting there totalled some 2.3 million dollars, according to a survey published Wednesday.

The estimate was presented in a report commissioned by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

Consultant Johan Brisman, who conducted the study, added that "repair costs can be estimated to be between 2 and 4 times that amount."

Stockholm - Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux said Tuesday it would close its washing machine plant in Russia, citing the need to boost competitiveness.

The factory in St Petersburg has some 250 employees and was to close during the second quarter in 2010, the group said.

"The Russian market for household appliances is fiercely competitive. Unfortunately we can not manufacture products at a competitive cost level in the St Petersburg factory," Enderson Guimaraes, head of Electrolux Major Appliances Europe, said in a statement.

Stockholm - Several new incidents of pieces of glass found in chicken were reported in Sweden on Tuesday despite the recent recall of frozen chicken products by a leading producer, according to media reports.

A dozen cases have been reported since traces of glass was first found in frozen chicken breasts a week ago.

In Pitea, northern Sweden, a man eating a chicken dish at a Thai restaurant discovered two small pieces of glass in his food on Monday, the Pitea-Tidningen newspaper reported.