A senior Swedish official said Monday Swedes abroad and businesses linked to Sweden"should observe increased vigilance and caution," following recent Quran burnings in the country and protests in the Muslim world.

Henrik Landerholm, Sweden’s National Security Adviser, said there are signs of "a heightened threat" to the country and to Swedish interests abroad, adding the security situation has worsened.

In a statement, Landerholm said that "representatives of terrorist groups have called for attacks against Sweden. States and other actors have helped amplify such messages." He said Sweden has gone from being considered a "legitimate" target to being a "priority" target. The statement did not identify those involved.

SWEDISH CONSULATE IN TURKEY TARGETED IN GUN ATTACK; EMPLOYEE INJURED, ASSAILANT ARRESTED

Landerholm said there also were "indications" that groups are planning other acts against Swedish interests abroad, and cited the storming of Sweden’s Embassy in Baghdad last month and an attempted attack on the diplomatic mission in Beirut last week.

The Swedish government and relevant authorities "are monitoring developments, taking a variety of measures and working closely with international partners to protect Swedes and Swedish interests abroad and to counteract the hate messages being spread about Sweden," he said,

This month, Sweden stepped up border controls and identity checks at crossing points.

AMERICAN SOLDIER KILLED IN GERMANY AFTER TRUCK STRIKES ARMORED MILITARY VEHICLE

A recent string of public Quran desecrations by a handful of anti-Islam activists in Sweden — and more recently in neighboring Denmark -- has sparked angry demonstrations in Muslim countries.

Sweden does not have a law specifically prohibiting the burning or desecration of the Quran or other religious texts. Like many Western countries, it doesn’t have any blasphemy laws; Sweden’s were abandoned in the 1970s.

The right to hold public demonstration s is protected by the Swedish Constitution. Police generally give permission based on whether they believe a public gathering can be held without major disruptions or risks to public safety.

Swedish officials repeatedly have condemned the desecrations and have also debunked claims that the government in Sweden grants permission for people to burn Islam’s sacred text or other religious books,

Last month, the Scandinavian country’s domestic security service SAPO said the overall security situation has deteriorated and said the risk of terrorism in Sweden remains at an elevated level.

New Zealand on Monday removed the last of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions, marking the end of a government response to the pandemic that was watched closely around the world.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the requirement to wear masks in hospitals and other healthcare facilities would end at midnight, as would a requirement for people who caught the virus to isolate themselves for seven days.

New Zealand was initially praised internationally for eliminating the virus entirely after imposing nationwide lockdowns and strict border controls.

NEW ZEALAND SCRAPS ALMOST ALL COVID RESTRICTIONS AS PANDEMIC CONCERNS DECLINE

But as the pandemic wore on and more infectious variants took hold, the nation's zero-tolerance approach became untenable. It eventually abandoned its elimination strategy.

Reflecting on the government's response to the virus over more than three years, Hipkins said that during the height of the pandemic he had longed for the day he could end all restrictions, but now it felt anticlimactic.

He said about 3,250 New Zealanders from a population of 5 million had died with COVID-19 as a primary or secondary cause — about one-fifth of the mortality rate in the United States.

"While there were no doubt fractures in our collective sense of unity, I believe that New Zealanders can be enormously proud of what we achieved together," Hipkins said. "We stayed home, we made sacrifices, we got vaccinated, and there is absolutely no question, we saved lives."

NEW ZEALAND'S DEATH RATE FROM COVID AT RECORD HIGH IN WAKE OF OMICRON WAVE

Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said coronavirus case numbers and hospitalizations were low and had been trending down since June, and the publicly funded health system had faced less disruption from the virus this southern winter.

"We have been able to complete 16,000 more operations than we did last year, and so that is a very good indication our health system is on a much more even keel than it was," she said.

The announcement comes two months before a general election.

David Seymour, the leader of the opposition ACT Party, said the government had been treating people like children for too long.

"They have been happy to impose high costs with little benefit and have taken their sweet time getting around to fixing it," Seymour said in a statement.