Stockholm - The Swedish government has approved an increase of funds for Sweden's royal family for their official duties next year, reports said Friday.

Business daily Dagens Industri reported that the overall budget for the Court Administration and Palace Administration was 112.1 million kronor (14.6 million dollars), up 2.7 million kronor (353,000 dollars) compared to 2008.

Roughly half the total sum - 57.4 million kronor - is allocated for the Court Administration.

Stockholm - Several cars and other vehicles were torched, while homemade explosives and stones were thrown at police in overnight clashes with youths Friday in the Swedish city of Malmo.

There were no injuries and some 20 people were briefly detained.

The troubles were described as the worst in protests linked to the recent closure of a basement used as a mosque in the Rosengard district. Most of the population in the district are immigrants.

The protests became violent after police on Monday evicted youths who for three weeks had occupied the basement, which also was being used as an Islamic centre.

Stockholm - A spokesman for Sweden's public prosecutor said Thursday that it had launched an investigation into members of the Nobel committee for receiving free gifts of trips to China.

The prosecutor had launched preliminary investigations based on the suspicion of passive bribe-taking, the spokesman said on SR radio.

The investigation was prompted by media reports earlier in the week that a leading member of each of the juries for the medicine, physics and chemistry prizes had travelled to Beijing on a state- sponsored trip.

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.