Stockholm - Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux on Monday said it was to cut some 3,000 jobs worldwide after a drop in sales and lowered its full-year outlook.

The group has noted a "sharp market decline" since mid-November with weak demand in Europe and North America.

Electrolux said that it had revised its outlook for full-year 2008.

Amman - Engineers working for the Iraqi Electricity Ministry will start receiving their training from Jordan's National Electricity Co (NEC), the company announced Sunday.

Under the agreement, the NEC agrees with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) to train the Iraqi engineers, NEC Director General Ahmad Hiyasat said.

"The agreement, which goes into effect early in 2009, provides for training Iraqi cadres to set up a system for the maintenance of power stations, transport lines and transformation stations," Hiyasat said.

Stockholm - The 2008 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Martti Ahtisaari, Friday shared some of his experiences on successful peace mediation at a seminar in Stockholm.

The former Finnish president arrived from Oslo where on Wednesday he received the coveted award in recognition of three decades of mediation efforts on several continents.

In addition to his role in negotiating Namibia's independence from then-apartheid South Africa, Ahtisaari has also been involved in Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Indonesia.

Stockholm - The Swedish government said Friday it was concerned over the US Senate's failure to agree on a loan package for the troubled US car industry, which owns Swedish carmakers Volvo and Saab.

The news from Washington also impacted the Stockholm bourse that dropped some 3.5 per cent in early trading.

Speaking to Swedish televison news on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Brussels, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said there was "more uncertainty" after the US decision.

Carmaker Volvo is owned by US auto giant Ford while Swedish-based Saab is owned by General Motors. Both US giants have posted huge losses and have said they were considering selling their Swedish subsidiaries.

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.