Sweden

The Swedish cartoonist who depicted Islam's prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog has gone into hiding following a death threat from Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Lars Vilks, who was whisked away by the police when he returned to Sweden from Germany on Sunday, said police have described the threats against him as "very serious." The leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, offered $100,000 over the...

A Swedish Muslim group is planning to sue a local newspaper for publishing a drawing of the prophet Mohammed with a dog's body. The Nerikes Allehanda newspaper in Orebro printed the cartoon made by artist Lars Vilks in an August editorial that criticised Swedish art galleries for not displaying Vilks' art. Mahmoud Aldebe, chairman of the Swedish Muslim Federation, told the Associated Press (AP)...

More Islamic countries have protested against a Swedish newspaper's publication of a cartoon that has been deemed offensive by Muslims. The Swedish government has, however, refused to apologise on behalf of the Nerikes Allehanda newspaper. The Egyptian ministry of religious endowments Sunday denounced the cartoon as "irresponsible and offensive", according to Kuwaiti news agency KUNA. "Such an...

A last-minute agreement between Swedish Journalists' Union SJF and the Swedish Newspaper Publishers' Association over new pay and conditions for the country's journalists Thursday averted a major confrontation between more than 5,000 newspaper journalists and the country’s press employers. The deal means that industrial action planned to start mid-day Thursday was called off. The action would have...

Another cartoon row seems to be brewing up in – this time in Sweden where a newspaper has published a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a dog. Iran summoned Sweden's charge d'affaires on Monday to protest against the publication of the “disrespectful" drawing of the prophet. Leading figures in Sweden's media industry have backed newspaper Nerikes Allehanda, which has published the cartoon...

Artist Lars Vilks has made three drawings ridiculing the prophet Mohammed. The prophet is portrayed as a “roundabout dog”. So far three art exhibitions have declined to publish his pictures. The Art Association in Tällerud said no. Then the school Gerlesborgsskolan in the county of Bohuslän said no. Now the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm has also said no. This is unacceptable self-censorship. A...

For centuries, readers thumbed through the crackling pages of Sweden's Post-och Inrikes Tidningar newspaper. No longer. The world's oldest paper still in circulation has dropped its paper edition and now exists only in cyberspace. The PoIT, which began in 1645, published its last print issue on Dec. 29 but is continuing on the Internet. 9Sven Nackstrant/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images) The...

Sweden's Post och Inrikes Tidningar, regarded as the world's oldest newspaper though it had actually become a government bulletin, has suspended publication to become available only on the Internet. Founded in 1645 by Queen Christina, the Post och Inrikes Tidningar (PoIT), or Post and Domestic Newspapers, was a staple for Swedish readers throughout the late 17th and 18th centuries. But its...

On New Year's Day an era came to a close as the world's oldest newspaper went out of print. Post- och Inrikes Tidningar (Post and Domestic Newspapers) has been churning out announcements since 1645. But from now on, following a parliamentary decree, the newspaper will only be available online. In 1645 Queen Kristina and her advisor, Axel Oxenstierna, were urged by the state to ward off rumour...