The Dispatch

Youth unemployment soars in Sweden

Youth unemployment in Sweden hit its highest level this century in July due to the widespread economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic and measures to halt its spread, figures…

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Maersk sees container demand at pre-COVID levels in first-half of 2021

Shipping group Maersk issued full-year earnings guidance above its forecast at the beginning of the year and said it expects demand for moving containers at sea to return to pre-COVID…

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Sweden records most deaths in 150 years in first 6 months of 2020

Sweden saw its highest death tally for 150 years in the first six months of 2020, the country's statistics office has announced. Coronavirus had claimed around 4,500 lives in Sweden by…

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Norway adds Britain, Greece, Austria and Ireland to quarantine list

Norway announced it will impose a 10-day quarantine on all people arriving from Britain, Austria, Greece and Ireland from Aug. 22 due to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in those…

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Finland returns travel restrictions for several countries including Malta

Finland said on Wednesday it will bring back travel restrictions for several countries which it had for months considered safe destinations, including Germany and its Nordic neighbours, to stop the…

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New criticism on Sweden’s approach towards Covid-19

Emails showing Sweden's chief epidemiologist asking whether a higher death rate among older people might be acceptable if it led to faster herd immunity, triggered renewed criticism towards the country's…

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Study finds Greenland ice has shrunk beyond return

Greenland’s ice sheet may have shrunk past the point of return, with the ice likely to melt away no matter how quickly the world reduces climate-warming emissions, new research suggests.…

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Limit on public gatherings in Denmark to remain in force

Wearing face masks on public transport will be compulsory in Denmark from 22nd August following a spike in numbers of new coronavirus cases, prime minister Mette Frederiksen said on Saturday.…

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Carlsberg says profit to fall 10%-15% as lockdowns hurt China, W. Europe sales

Danish brewer Carlsberg said on Thursday it expects organic operating profit to decline 10%-15% this year as lockdowns will impact sales in the second half of the year in its…

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Swedish economy to shrink less than feared in 2020

Sweden's economy will shrink less than previously expected this year due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and measures to control its spread, a leading think tank said on…

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Norway to extend worker furlough scheme to 1 year

The Norwegian government will extend the country's furlough scheme for workers to a maximum of 52 weeks from the current 26 weeks amid the downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak,…

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Finland recommends use of facemasks on public transport

Finland's government backs public health authorities' new recommendation to use facemasks on public transport and in other situations where social distancing is not possible, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on…

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Swedish inflation stronger than expected in July

Swedish inflation rose more than expected in July, figures from the Statistics Office published on Wednesday showed, though price pressures remain muted by measures to cub the spread of the…

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Norway to impose quarantine for travellers from Malta and other countries

Norway is reimposing quarantine on more travellers from foreign countries, the government said on Wednesday, and reiterated its advice that Norwegians should avoid travelling abroad amid a jump in the…

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Photo Story: Masks mandatory on public transport in Aarhus, Denmark

Passengers wear masks on a tram in Aarhus, Denmark, 10 August 2020. The rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Aarhus forced the local government to make face masks mandatory on…

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Photo Story: New Anonymouse shop on streets of Lund, Sweden

A view on mouse-themed miniature Ricotta record shop created by the Swedish artist collective Anonymouse at Nygatan street in Lund, Sweden. The record shop is the latest work by the…

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Norway puts reopening on hold as COVID-19 cases rise, reimposes quarantine for certain countries

Norway is halting its planned easing of coronavirus restrictions and will likely reimpose others to prevent a full lockdown of society as experienced earlier this year, Prime Minister Erna Solberg…

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Denmark drops plan to lift curbs on public gatherings as infections spike

Denmark will not raise a limit on public gatherings, originally planned for this month, after seeing a spike in COVID-19 infections, the Danish health ministry said late on Thursday. As…

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Copenhagen Airports to lay off 650 staff

Denmark's Copenhagen Airports is considering laying off 650 staff as a result of the low level of activity in the aviation sector due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company said…

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Record drop in Swedish GDP

Sweden's gross domestic product fell a record 8.6% in the second quarter from the previous quarter and 8.2% from a year earlier, according to a flash estimate from the statistics…

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Fears of another breakout of coronavirus on a Norwegian ship

The ship Seadream 1 docks in Bodo, Norway, 05 August 2020. There is a suspicion of a COVID19 infection on board the Norwegian passenger ship ship Seadream 1. This is…

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Norway’s Hurtigruten halts cruises after COVID-19 outbreak

Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten is halting all its so-called expedition cruises until further notice following an outbreak of COVID-19 on one of its vessels last week, the company said on…

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At least 40 infected with COVID-19 on Norway cruises amid scramble to trace passengers

At least 40 passengers and crew from a luxury cruise liner have tested positive for COVID-19 and the authorities are still trying to trace a number of passengers from two…

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Four crew members on Norwegian cruise ship hospitalised with COVID-19

Four crew members on a Norwegian cruise vessel were diagnosed with COVID-19 after it arrived at the Arctic port of Tromsoe early on Friday, said the University Hospital of North…

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Norway imposes 10-day quarantine on travellers from Belgium due to COVID-19

Norway will re-impose a 10-day quarantine requirement for people arriving from Belgium from Aug. 1 after a rise in COVID-19 cases there, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on…

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Photo Story: Knights on patrol in Visby, Sweden

Thomas Lindgren on horse Soprano (L) and Anders Mansson on horse Sara, both from the knight society Tornamenteum, carry flags reading 'Keep distance' and 'Wash your hands often'as he patrols…

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Sweden lifts travel curbs to Norway and Denmark

Sweden will scrap recommendations against travel to four European countries from Thursday, including neighbours Norway and Denmark, amid signs that coronavirus infections are falling. Sweden decided to forego a hard…

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Female priests now outnumber male ones in Church of Sweden

The Church of Sweden has more female than male priests for the first time, according to numbers released this month, a sign of huge strides for gender equality since women…

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Sweden’s strategy to tackle coronavirus triggers new controversy on immunity levels

Sweden's maverick response to the coronavirus has thrown up a new controversy: immunity levels. This week, officials at the Swedish Public Health Agency, which devised the country’s no-lockdown strategy, claimed…

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Photo Story: World record attempt with Kjell Elvis in Oslo

Norwegian artist Kjell Elvis performs at the start of his challenge of the world's longest Elvis Presley singing marathon in Oslo, Norway, 23 July 2020. His plan is to perform…

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Danish shipper Maersk to stop taking waste to China, Hong Kong from September

Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk , the world's top container shipping firm, said on Wednesday it would stop accepting solid waste shipments bound for China and Hong Kong from September. "We sent…

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Photo Story: Special Royal Lifeguards for Danish Queen Margrethe

The 9-year old twins Malthe and William patrol around Amalienborg in Copenhagen, Denmark. T The twin likes to dress as the Danish Queen Margrethe's Royal Lifeguards amusing visiting tourists and…

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Abba to release five new songs next year

Abba will release five, rather than two, new tracks as their reunion is pushed back to 2021. The Swedish four-piece were originally going to put out new music later this…

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Photo Story: Scandinavian Airshow pilots in Sweden draw a heart on sky

A heart around the Turning Torso drawn by the pilots of Scandinavian Airshow in Malmo, Sweden, 17 July 2020. Scandinavian Airshow have been drawing hearts in the sky above Swedish…

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51-year-old British man arrested following bomb threat on RyanAir flight to Oslo

Police are investigating a bomb threat made against a RyanAir flight that landed in the Norwegian capital, authorities have said. "The plane has landed safely on the runway," police said…

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Danske Bank warns of more layoffs

Danske Bank's falling second-quarter net profit beat expectations on Friday but it warned of further layoffs as part of a four-year strategy of cutting costs. The Nordic lender is struggling…

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Norway minister warns of poorer trade conditions with post-EU Britain

Norwegian business should brace for poorer trade conditions with Britain when the country exits the European Union's single market at the end of this year, Norway's trade minister said on Thursday.…

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One killed in triple stabbing in Norway

Police in Sarpsborg in southern Norway arrested a man after three women were stabbed in several locations in the town late Tuesday, with one of the victims dying from critical…

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Photo Story: Denmark launches Covid-19 passport

A Covid-19 passport printed from the website Sundhed.dk, in Copenhagen, Denmark. With the new Covid-19 passport issued by the Danish authorities, Danes now have official documentation for testing on their…

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Photo Story: Construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Denmark and Germany

Tons of stone are lifted into the water building a pier at the construction of the Fehmarnbelt connection (Femern Baelt-forbindelsen) in the water outside Roedbyhavn, Denmark. The Fehmarnbelt connection is…

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Norway lifts many European travel curbs, including parts of Sweden

Norway will lift travel restrictions to and from more than 20 European countries from July 15, including France, Germany and Britain as well as three of the 21 provinces of…

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Photo Story: Iconic ‘Little Mermaid’ statue in Copenhagen vandalised once more

Police officers take pictures of the iconic 'Little Mermaid' statue after the rock that serves as its plinth appeared with the message 'Racist Fish' in English spray-painted on it overnight…

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Sweden’s confirmed Covid-19 cases cross the 70,000 mark

Sweden’s number of confirmed Covid-19 crossed the 70,000 mark on Thursday, while deaths rose by 41 to 5,411, health agency statistics showed. Sweden recorded 947 new cases to put the…

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Toymaker Lego joins social media ad boycott campaign

Toymaker Lego announced it would pause social media advertising for at least a month, joining a long list of companies that say Facebook is not doing enough to stop hate…

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Immunity levels to coronavirus ‘higher than antibody tests suggest’, according to Swedish study

More people have got immunity to coronavirus than antibody tests suggest, according to new research from Sweden. Scientists found that those with mild COVID-19 or who didn’t show symptoms still…

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Photo Story: Helsinki adapts to the new times

People sit on the Super Terrace that has been opened at Senate Square in Helsinki, Finland. The terrace provides seating for 480 people and a number of pop-up restaurants to…

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Photo Story: Oresund Bridge celebrates its 20th birthday

People enjoy the sunset and the view of the Oresund Bridge from a viewpoint outside Malmo, Sweden. The bridge, which connects Sweden and Denmark, celebrates its 20th birthday. Via…

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Photo Story: Social distancing in Sweden

Office colleagues have some after-work drinks next to the water while social distancing from other tables to reduce the risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the pandemic…

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Iceland’s president easily wins re-election

Iceland's President Gudni Johannesson won a landslide election on Sunday, according to partial results, after the European country became the second to hold polls since coronavirus lockdowns were lifted. Since…

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Greta Thunberg criticises the way world leaders behaved after her UN climate change speech in September

Greta Thunberg has voiced her frustration with world leaders who want selfies with her just so they can "look good". The 17-year-old environmental campaigner criticised the behaviour of high-ranking figures…

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Photo story: Hug station for coronavirus times

Lizen Johansson and Josefine Mollerberg at the hug station at The Minc company in Malmoe, Sweden. The hug station was created so that those working at Minc would have the…

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Poll finds Swedes rapidly losing trust in Covid-19 strategy

Swedes are losing trust in authorities’ handling of the coronavirus, as the man behind the country’s light-touch approach called lockdowns a form of madness and political parties demanded the Swedish…

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Denmark’s PM postpones wedding for third time

Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, thought she had finally found a date for her wedding, but has now had to postpone it for a third time due to an EU…

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Photo Story: Toxic algae bloom along Swedish coast

An image taken with a drone shows an aerial view of a bloom of toxic algae on the Baltic Sea coast at Tyreso, south-eastern Sweden. Via EPA-EFE/PONTUS LUNDAHL

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Maersk heads zero-carbon drive in shipping sector with $60 million research center

The world's largest container shipper, A.P. Moller-Maersk, will team up with industry majors to set up a research center in Denmark with the aim of reducing carbon emissions in the…

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Finland scraps coronavirus quarantine for certain European tourists

The Finnish government announced plans on Tuesday to scrap a 14-day quarantine period for leisure travellers arriving from some other European countries from July 13, provided COVID-19 infection rates do…

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Nokia to cut 1,233 jobs at French subsidiary Alcatel-Lucent

Finland's Nokia Oyj plans to cut 1,233 jobs at its French subsidiary Alcatel-Lucent International, equivalent to a third of the local workforce, two union officials said on Monday. The maker…

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