World News

Norway again postpones end to COVID lockdown

Norway postponed for a second time on Wednesday a planned final step in the reopening of its economy from pandemic lockdown, due to the continued spread of the Delta variant…

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Rumbling meteor lights up Norway, a bit possibly landing near Oslo

An "unusually large meteor" briefly lit up southern Norway on Sunday, creating a spectacular sound and light display as it rumbled across the sky, and a bit of it may…

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Photo Story – 10-year commemoration of the 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway

(L-R) Governing Mayor of Oslo Raymond Johansen, Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) president Peggy Hessen, Labour Party member Thorbjorn Jagland, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Labour Party leader Jonas…

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Norway marks ten years since Breivik’s deadly attacks

Norway on Thursday marks 10 years since anti-immigrant extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in the worst act of violence in the country since World War Two. Breivik detonated…

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Norway says cyber attack on parliament carried out from China

Norway said on Monday that a March 10 cyber attack on parliament's e-mail system was carried out from China, calling on authorities there to take steps to prevent such activities.…

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Kurt Westergaard, Danish cartoonist behind Muhammad cartoon, dies at 86

Kurt Westergaard, a Danish cartoonist whose caricature of the Prophet Muhammad outraged many Muslims worldwide, has died at the age of 86. His family said he died after a long…

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Greenland puts an end to unsuccessful oil adventure

Greenland has ended its 50-year ambition to become an oil producing nation after announcing it would suspend a strategy of searching for oil and would stop granting exploration licences. Oil…

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Sweden to ease pandemic curbs despite worries over mounting Delta cases

Sweden's government said on Monday it will move ahead with a planned easing of pandemic restrictions this week but warned that new variants of the virus demanded vigilance as it…

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Swedish PM Lofven names unchanged cabinet

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven reappointed his previous cabinet of Social Democrats and Greens on Friday following his re-election as premier this week. Lofven resigned last month after losing a…

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UPDATED: Sweden’s Lofven re-elected PM in parliament vote

Swedish Social Democrat leader Stefan Lofven was re-elected as prime minister by parliament on Wednesday, ending weeks of political turmoil since his resignation last month. But Lofven, who had quit…

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UPDATED: Swedish Social Democrat Lofven is asked to return as PM

Social Democrat Stefan Lofven will try to win a new term as Sweden's prime minister in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday after the assembly's speaker asked him to return to…

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Norway delays reopening as Delta variant threat looms

Norway is delaying the next major step in unwinding restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic to the end of the month at the earliest, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on…

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Swedish manufacturing PMI dips again in June

Activity in Sweden's manufacturing sector fell for the second month in a row in June, dropping to 65.8 points from a downwardly revised 66.0 points the previous month, data showed…

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Lofven eyeing return as Swedish premier

Swedish caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said he would be willing to return to head a government that did not yet have backing for a budget, potentially making it easier…

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Finland’s plan to ease COVID restrictions set back by rise in infections in soccer fans

HELSINKI (Reuters) - At least 300 Finns who went to cheer on the national team at the Euro 2020 soccer tournament have contracted COVID-19, health officials said on Tuesday. The…

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Swedish PM Lofven resigns in wake of no-confidence vote

STOCKHOLM, June 28 (Reuters) - Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Monday he had handed in his notice of resignation, giving parliament's speaker the job of finding a new…

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Bottles to bricks: Lego finds the right fit with recycled plastic

Lego expects to begin selling toy building bricks made from recycled plastic bottles in 18 to 24 months, having found a suitable green alternative to oil-based plastic, the Danish toymaker…

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Swedish PM Lofven still voters’ favourite leader despite crisis

Social Democrat Prime Minister Stefan Lofven is Swedish voter's most trusted leader, a poll showed on Thursday, despite a crisis that saw parliament pass a vote of no-confidence in him…

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Denmark continues exclusion of J&J, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines

Danish health authorities said on Friday that COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson would remain excluded from Denmark's vaccine roll-out following a review of new safety data. "The…

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Swedish government ups GDP forecast as economy bounces back from pandemic

Sweden's economy will grow substantially faster than previously expected this year, as it recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government said. Gross domestic product is expected to…

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Swedish snap election looms as Liberals urge PM to step aside

A snap election looked increasingly likely in Sweden on Thursday after the Liberal Party said it would not help restore a Social Democrat-led government after Prime Minister Stefan Lofven lost…

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Copenhagen tops Monocle’s list of best cities for quality of life

Copenhagen has topped media outlet Monocle’s list of the world’s best cities for quality of life, the fourth time Denmark’s capital has won the honour since the survey began in…

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Swedish think tank says economic recovery accelerating

Sweden's economy is picking up pace and will grow 4.4% this year, a leading think tank said on Wednesday in a fresh forecast. "The economy is accelerating in the second…

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Swedish IT provider says COVID-19 test database breached

A Swedish information technology firm said a database containing patient data, including COVID-19 test results, had been breached but it was unclear if any contents had leaked. InfoSolutions said in…

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Swedish PM Lofven ousted in parliament no-confidence vote

Sweden's parliament ousted Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a no-confidence vote on Monday, giving the Social Democrat leader a week to resign and hand the speaker the job of finding…

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Swedish PM faces defeat in Monday no-confidence vote

Stefan Lofven was on Sunday hours away from becoming the first Swedish Prime Minister to lose a no-confidence vote, after failing in a last-ditch effort to secure majority support in…

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Norway relaxes COVID restrictions as infections plummet

Norway will begin on Sunday the third major phase of its plan to reopen society from the pandemic as COVID-19 infections continue to decline, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on…

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Last-ditch efforts to defuse Swedish political crisis go on

Efforts to defuse a crisis that has left Sweden's centre-left minority government facing likely defeat in a no-confidence vote next week will carry on throughout the weekend, Finance Minister Magdalena…

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UPDATED: Denmark to immunize 12-15 year-olds against COVID-19 ahead of winter

Denmark will offer COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 12-15 after the adult population has been inoculated to boost its overall immunity against the virus ahead of the winter, health authorities…

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UPDATED: Swedish Left Party to seek support for no-confidence vote in PM Lofven

Sweden's Left Party said on Thursday it would seek support from other parties to put forward a no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Stefan Lofven over plans to ease rent control…

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Swedish government faces possible no-confidence vote

Sweden's government dismissed demands from the Left Party to stop working on a proposal for the abolition of rent controls on new-build properties, setting up a showdown that could topple…

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Eriksen says he feels OK, expresses appreciation towards fans for support

Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen posted his first photo since the terrible episode which last Saturday saw him collapse on the ground after a cardiac arrest during a EURO2020 match against…

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Sweden sees worrying local outbreaks of the COVID Delta variant

Swedish health officials have warned of worrying local outbreaks of the COVID delta variant and urged people to get vaccinated to avoid a fourth wave of the pandemic. Sweden, an…

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Denmark says Russian aircraft violated its airspace twice

Denmark's defense ministry said there had been two Russian violations of Danish airspace on Friday near the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm. "(It is) completely unacceptable that Russian planes violate…

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Pace of inflation slows in Sweden in May

The pace of inflation slowed in Sweden in May, figures from the Statistics Office showed on Thursday, despite production bottlenecks and supply issues that have boosted price pressures across the…

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UPDATED: Denmark ditches masks

Denmark will ditch the use of masks and allow 9,000 more fans to attend European Championship soccer matches in Copenhagen, its government said on Thursday, under a deal to ease…

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Norway to test first power interconnector to Britain from June 15

Norway will start testing on June 15 its first power interconnector with Britain, North Sea Link (NSL), Norwegian transmission system operator Statnett said. The testing of the cable follows the…

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Remains of missing Kurdish-Iranian baby found in Norway identified

Police in Norway have said the body of a baby found on the country's coast is that of a missing 15-month old who died in the English Channel last year.…

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UPDATED: Photo Story: Finnish flagged cargo ship Ramona runs aground in Sweden

The Finnish flagged cargo ship Ramona lies aground on the shore of the small island of Faro, northeast of Gotland, Sweden. The ship with five crew members ran aground early…

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Sweden’s Left Party threatens to topple government over rent reform

Sweden's centrist government came under threat on Friday after the Left Party vowed to bring it down over the prospective abolition of rent controls on new residential housing. The Left…

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U.N. refugee agency scorns Denmark’s law on asylum claims

The U.N. refugee agency has voiced strong opposition to a law passed by Denmark's parliament that would allow processing of claims lodged by asylum seekers outside Europe, calling it an…

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UPDATED: Britain in post-Brexit trade deals with Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein

Britain has reached post-Brexit trade agreements with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, the countries said on Friday. The three countries, which are part of the European Economic Area allowing them access…

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U.S. says it stopped spying on allies in 2014, says Norway PM

Norway's prime minister Erna Solberg said on the United States had given assurances it had stopped spying on its allies in 2014, after Oslo launched a protest against the practice.…

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Sweden failed to protect elderly from COVID, parliament panel says

Sweden's centre-left minority government, which neverordered a COVID-19 lockdown and relied instead mostly on voluntary curbs, failed in several aspects of its handling of the pandemic, parliament's constitutional committee said.…

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Denmark passes law to process asylum seekers outside Europe

Denmark on Thursday passed a law enabling it to process asylum seekers outside Europe, drawing anger from human rights advocates, the United Nations and the European Commission. The wealthy Scandinavian…

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Ten years after Breivik attacks, survivors seek to confront far-right extremism

Nearly 10 years after Anders Behring Breivik tried to kill her on the Norwegian island of Utoeya, Astrid Hoem is back there to explain to a group of teenagers how she ran for her…

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H&M’s online second-hand shop Sellpy launches in 20 more countries

Swedish online second-hand shop Sellpy, which is majority-owned by fashion giant H&M , said on Monday it was opening in 20 more European countries, in a bet demand for sustainable…

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UPDATED: Germany seeks clarification on report U.S. spied on Merkel

The German government is following up on a report that the United States used a partnership with Denmark to spy on senior officials of neighbouring countries, including German Chancellor Angela…

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‘Social contagion’ as Sweden sees surge in deadly shootings

Sweden has gone from having one of the lowest rates of gun violence in Europe to having one of the highest, a report said this week, describing what one researcher…

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Norway unemployment drops as pandemic fades

Norwegian registered unemployment fell to 3.3% in May, the country's labour agency (NAV) said on Friday, down from 4.0% in April as many COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and private-sector hiring…

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Sweden’s Handelsbanken to help test central bank digital currency

Sweden's central bank will work with commercial lender Handelsbanken to test how the country's proposed digital currency - the e-krona - could handle payments in the real world, the Riksbank…

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Swedish PM sees “beginning of the end”, eases COVID restrictions next week

Sweden will ease some of its COVID-19 restrictions from June 1 as new cases have fallen sharply in recent weeks, the government said, as it presented a roadmap to open…

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Airline SAS gets $361 million loan guarantee from Denmark, Sweden

Sweden and Denmark said they had agreed to offer ailing airline SAS, in which both countries own stakes, a 3 billion Swedish crown ($361 million) loan guarantee. The COVID-19 pandemic…

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Iceland takes first step to reduce bank ownership after 2008 collapse

Iceland intends by next month to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of wholly state-owned Islandsbanki, taking the first step to reduce its significant ownership in the sector. Islandsbanki was…

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Booming Danish housing market raises concerns- central bank

A booming Danish housing market is raising concern about bank credit risks linked to mortgage loans, and lending rules might need to be tightened, the central bank said on Thursday.…

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Swedish ‘risk tax’ on banks to apply to lending operations abroad

A controversial proposal to introduce a “risk tax” on Swedish banks is being expanded to cover lender’s operations outside of the country, Sweden’s finance ministry said. The proposed tax, which…

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Norwegian Air, saved from collapse, reinvents as regional carrier

Norwegian Air emerged from six months of bankruptcy protection on Wednesday with a smaller fleet and its debt almost wiped out but also facing stronger competition and lingering uncertainty wrought…

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