The bodyguard to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt was shot and injured at the prime minister's residence, Reuters reported, citing the Aftonbladet newspaper.

The Nordic countries Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland reached an agreement to in the future operate a joint fleet of military transport planes, The Copenhagen Post reported Nov. 8.

Finland and Sweden are ready to help Iceland with air surveillance, Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said Oct. 30, Reuters reported.

The U.S. Embassy in Stockholm was evacuated Oct. 17 and police were investigating a letter that contained an unidentified white powder, Thelocal.se website reported.

Sweden will not agree to allow taxpayers to bail out "ill-managed" banks in other European countries, Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said Sept. 21, Bloomberg reported.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko fired Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov on Aug. 20, according to the president's office, Reuters reported. Lukashenko's former chief of staff, Vladimir Makaei, was named the new foreign minister. Lukashenko has fired several top officials in recent weeks following the Swedish teddy bear incident.