Stockholm - Doctors at a Swedish hospital said Friday they have successfully conducted surgery to fit a Swedish patient with a temporary artificial heart.

The operation - the first of its kind in the Nordic region - was conducted October 15 at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, in western Sweden.

The 31-year-old male patient was reported to be in stable condition, but remained in intensive care, said Dr Asa Haraldsson, a member of the team that conducted the operation.

Dr Ulf Kjellman, who performed the surgery, said both sides of the patient's heart had been failing. He added the patient had not been responding to treatment and other vital organs were threatened without the procedure.

Stockholm- Italian author Roberto Saviano, who has been threatened for his writings on the mafia, has been invited to give a lecture at the Swedish Academy, a spokesman for the body that selects the Nobel literature prize said Friday.

The academy decided on the invitation at its weekly meeting on Thursday, Odd Zschiedrich, administrative coordinator at the academy, told Deutche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Stockholm - Swedish heavy-vehicle maker Volvo on Friday reported a 37-per-cent drop in pre-tax income for the third quarter of 2008, citing the economic downturn in key markets.

Pre-tax income was 2.89 billion kronor (370 million dollars), compared to 4.57 billion kronor in the corresponding period 2007 for the Volvo group, excluding the Ford-owned car division.

Net sales were up 2 per cent to 69.6 billion kronor, while net income fell 36 per cent to 2 billion kronor.

Stockholm - The Swedish Academy that selects the Nobel literature laureate is reportedly split over how to respond to death threats against Italian best-selling author Roberto Saviano.

Saviano's book, Gomorra, has angered the mafia, or Camorra, in Naples, and he has been forced to live under police protection. A week ago he said in a newspaper interview that he was considering leaving Italy.

Stockholm - The Swedish government Thursday formally decided to halt an adoption programme with Vietnam over fears of irregularities.

Health and Social Affairs Minister Goran Hagglund said the decision hinged on the government's concern that "the rights of the individual child and biological parents are taken into account."

Hagglund's statement issued after the cabinet meeting said there were "disturbing signals" that children may even have been trafficked.

In September, the United States suspended adoptions from Vietnam over similar concerns.

Stockholm - Shares for main Swedish banking groups Nordea, Swedbank and SEB on Thursday declined after they reported third-quarter 2008 results.

While the reports suggested they had weathered the first phases of the financial turmoil, the banks' outlooks were more cautious.

Shares for the three groups initially opened in positive territory but fell off. Swedbank was down 8 per cent and SEB off some 5 per cent early afternoon on the Stockholm bourse.

The fourth major group Handelsbanken, which reported Wednesday, bucked the trend and remained up.