Stockholm/Helsinki - Nordic neighbours of cash-strapped Iceland said Thursday they have approved a 2.5-billion-dollar loan, supplementing a similar loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The election of Barack Obama as US president was described as "historic" Wednesday by Nordic leaders, who expressed hopes for more dialogue and cooperation.

The SAS Group, the operator of the joint carrier Scandinavian Airlines, on Wednesday posted a pre-tax loss for third- quarter 2008, citing high fuel costs, the economic downturn and a goodwill writedo

Children can polish their reading skills by practising to read aloud to their dogs, according to a new Swedish study.

Two Swedish students at a teacher's training college presented the suggestion in a joint essay at the University of Skovde.

The Swedish government and banks unveiled plans Monday to cooperate in freezing payments to criminal organizations engaged in child pornography.

"If we can prevent the payments, we strike directly at the criminal activities of the gangs," Financial Markets Minister Mats Odell and Fredrik Sauter, chief executive of online bank Skandiabanken, said in a joint op-ed article in the daily Dagens Nyheter.

Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux on Monday reported higher third-quarter income 2008 but said the financial crisis was now affecting sales.

Not all skin creams give the required effect, and can in fact make the skin drier, according to research conducted at the Uppsala University in Sweden.

Researcher Izabela Buraczewska has studied what happens in the skin at the molecular level the effects of various creams.

Swedish banking group Swedbank on Monday said it planned to raise 12.4 billion kronor (1.51 billion dollars) by issuing new shares.

Swedbank is one of Sweden's four major banking groups. In recent weeks, Swedbank has been in the sights of analysts over its presence in the Baltic region where economic growth has slowed to standstill and fears of loan losses have increased.