Moving funeral for Swedish MP

The private funeral followed the public memorial to Lindh

Family and close friends of murdered Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh have attended a private funeral service in Stockholm, nine days after her killing shocked the nation.

The ceremony at the Ersta church was attended by Lindh's widower, Bo Holmberg, and their two children, Filip, 9, and David, 13, as well as people close the family.

A day earlier, world leaders joined hundreds of mourners to bid an emotional farewell to Lindh at a public memorial service in front of Stockholm's city hall.

Also on Friday, a judge ruled that the 35-year-old Swedish man who is the key suspect in Lindh's murder could be held in police custody for a further week.

Lindh was due to be buried later on Saturday at an undisclosed location.

'Crown princess'

The one-hour ceremony was led by pastor Thorbjoern Larsson, who is a family friend, a parish official said.

According to the newspaper Aftonbladet, one of Lindh's favourite singers - Tommy Koerberg - sang Paul Simon's 1970s hit "Bridge over Troubled Waters" at the Saturday service.

Swedish actress Stina Ekblad gave the bible reading.

Anna Lindh was respected on the world stage for her candid and determined way of defending Swedish views on democracy and human rights.

The Swedish newspapers nicknamed her the "crown princess - the guiding light of Sweden's future" as she was widely tipped to become the next prime minister.