The European Commission said on Wednesday it had opened an investigation into 19 countries for violations of asylum laws, including Sweden, France and Germany.
The devastating shipwreck disaster in the Mediterranean has put the question of allowing EU embassies to process asylum applications back on the table, as the UN upped the death toll to 800 in the latest tragedy. But the Swedish coalition government remains divided on the issue.
UPDATED: As around 700 refugees remain missing after this weekend's shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea, devastated relatives in Sweden have told of their anxious wait to find out if their loved ones are dead or alive.
A car bomb exploded outside the Swedish consulate in the restive Libyan city of Benghazi on Friday, seriously damaging the building but causing no casualties, a security official said.
Newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) on Monday revealed the existence of a triple-agent in Sweden, a man who goes under the name “Joseph” and who has allegedly been carrying out intelligence gathering for Sweden, Britain and Libya at the same time.
More than two dozen Swedes were arrested in Brussels on Sunday for attempting to break into NATO headquarters along with hundreds of other peace activists.
Following the news of Muammar Qaddafi's capture by Libyan rebel forces on Thursday, several Swedish politicians have welcomed the demise of the Qaddafi regime.
Foreign minister Carl Bildt revealed his impressions of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi at a press conference held Monday, describing him as simultaneously “bizarre” and “fascinating”.
Sweden’s prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in an interview on Monday morning that he is ready to discuss the possibility of sending Swedish troops to Libya to help guarantee the country's security.
NATO has declined the offer from Sweden to provide a military unit especially trained to board naval vessels, a unit whose deployment was a condition for the Social Democrats to agree to the government's extension of the Swedish Libya mission.
Urban Ahlin, the foreign policy spokesman for the Social Democrats, said on Friday that he is "hopeful" to reach an agreement with the government on how the Swedish mission in Libya should continue.
The Social Democrats have altered their view on Sweden's military presence in Libya, expressing their support for an extension and expansion of the Swedish military and humanitarian contributions to the North African country.
During a visit to Stockholm on Wednesday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin offered to enhance Sweden's nuclear safety with Russian technology, which he described as the safest in the world.
During a visit to Sweden on Wednesday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blasted the gulf between words and practice in modern international relations, using an anecdote from his KGB past to denounce civilian deaths in Libya.
