Sweden

Sweden to cut development aid to five countries, divert money to Ukraine

Sweden will phase out development aid to five countries in coming years and use the money to increase support for Ukraine, the government said on Friday. The Nordic country plans…

Read More Here

Sweden wants long-range weapon systems able to strike inside Russia

Sweden's military wants long-range cruise missiles able to strike targets deep inside other countries, a deterrent which the defence minister said on Tuesday was needed to match Russia's own long-range…

Read More Here

Sweden to boost anti-drone defences amid growing threats

Sweden will invest 3.5 billion Swedish crowns ($367.11 million) in more anti-drone systems, its defence minister said on Friday, citing a growing threat posed by aerial violations. A wave of…

Read More Here

Russia Avoids Comment on Reported Western Threat Against Its Military Flights

The Kremlin said on Friday it did not want to talk about a Bloomberg report that European diplomats had privately warned Moscow that NATO would be ready to shoot down…

Read More Here

Two Drones Enter Restricted Swedish Airspace Adjacent to Naval Headquarters

Two unidentified drones were observed overnight from September 25 to 26 over the Karlskrona archipelago in Sweden, SVT reported, citing police representative Mattias Lundgren. The archipelago houses Sweden’s main naval…

Read More Here

Sweden to lower age of criminal responsibility

Sweden will lower the age of criminal responsibility from the current 15, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said, following an increase in cases of crime gangs recruiting children via social media…

Read More Here

Sweden to lower VAT on food

Sweden will halve its VAT on food products as part of its 2026 budget as it looks to reduce the burden of inflation on Swedish families. A statement from the…

Read More Here

Sweden eyes extending military officers’ conscription age to 70

Sweden should raise former officers' upper conscription age limit to 70 from 47, a government-appointed review suggested, as part of the country's moves to strengthen its defence in the face…

Read More Here

US urges Americans in Sweden to remain vigilant, citing threat of attack

The U.S. embassy in Sweden said Americans in the country are "advised to exercise increased caution" due to local media reports on Iran potentially pressuring local criminal gangs to attack…

Read More Here

Sweden eyes EU fireworks ban

Sweden is asking the European Union for help in cracking down on … fireworks. Two Swedish ministers have warned top EU officials of a rapid shift by criminals in Sweden…

Read More Here

Sweden to hire prison cells in Estonia for up to 600 inmates

Sweden will send up to 600 criminals to serve their sentences in an Estonian prison under an agreement announced by the government aimed at reducing pressure on the country's overcrowded…

Read More Here

Swedish Boycott Supermarkets in Protest Against Surging Food Prices

Thousands of people across Sweden decided to vote with their feet, boycotting the country’s biggest supermarkets for seven days from last Monday, after the biggest rise in food prices for…

Read More Here

Sweden to tighten gun control laws, limit access to semi-automatic weapons

The Swedish government has just announced its intention to pursue a gun control law reform in the aftermath of the Örebro attack, in which 11 people died, including the attacker.…

Read More Here

Five people shot in school shooting in Örebro, Sweden

Swedish police said on Tuesday five people were shot in an attack at a school in the city of Orebro some 200 km (125 miles) west of Stockholm, triggering a…

Read More Here

Man who burned Quran ‘shot dead in Sweden’

A man who sparked violent protests after burning the Quran has been shot dead in Sweden, according to local media reports. Salwan Momika, 38, is reported to have been killed…

Read More Here

Swedish police arrest man trying to force his way into Russian embassy in Stockholm

Swedish police said they had arrested a man who tried to force his way through the gates of the Russian embassy in Stockholm in a car early on Tuesday morning.…

Read More Here

Sweden seizes ship after suspected Baltic Sea cable sabotage

Swedish authorities have seized a ship suspected of damaging a data cable running under the Baltic Sea to Latvia. Prosecutors said an initial investigation pointed to sabotage, and an inquiry…

Read More Here

Sweden plans to remove citizenship from people seen as threat to state

Sweden's political parties have agreed that dual citizens who commit crimes that threaten national security should lose their citizenship. A cross-party committee recommended that the change could be applied to…

Read More Here

Sweden neither at war nor at peace, says PM

The Swedish prime minister has said that his country is neither at war nor at peace as he announced that Sweden would be sending armed forces into the Baltic Sea…

Read More Here

Sweden to purchase 44 German Leopard tanks

In a significant move to bolster its security, Sweden, the newest NATO member, is set to invest over €1.9 billion into acquiring new tanks and refurbishing its existing fleet. Sweden…

Read More Here

Sweden is a nearly cashless society – here’s how it affects people who are left out

By Moa Petersén, Associate Professor in Digital Cultures, Lund University and Lena Halldenius, Professor of Human Rights Studies, Lund University Around the world, cards and apps are the default way…

Read More Here

Three men charged in Sweden with preparation of IS-linked terrorist crime

Swedish prosecutors on Monday charged three men with preparation of terrorist crime in Sweden in the name of Islamic State (IS), saying the suspects also had links to domestic organised…

Read More Here

Spanish police bust gang that recruited Swedish and Danish minors as hitmen

Spanish police have dismantled a gang based in the eastern city of Alicante that allegedly recruited Swedish and Danish teenagers to carry out murders as hitmen. Police said on Wednesday…

Read More Here

Nordic neighbours release new advice on surviving war

On Monday, millions of Swedes will start receiving copies of a pamphlet advising the population how to prepare and cope in the event of war or other unexpected crises. “If…

Read More Here

Sweden scraps plans for 13 offshore windfarms over Russia security fears

Sweden has vetoed plans for 13 offshore windfarms in the Baltic Sea, citing unacceptable security risks. The country’s defence minister, Pål Jonson, said on Monday that the government had rejected…

Read More Here

The extraordinary life of Alfred Nobel

The Nobel prizes may be one of the most famous and prestigious awards in the world – but who was the man behind them? As I explain in my lectures…

Read More Here

Swedish children to start school a year earlier

Children in Sweden are to start school at six years old from 2028, a year earlier than at present, in an overhaul of the country’s education system that signals a…

Read More Here

Sweden accuses Iran of hacking messaging service

Swedish authorities said on Tuesday that Iran hacked into a text messaging service last year and sent thousands of messages urging Swedes to take revenge against Koran burners. In 2023,…

Read More Here

Sweden appoints new foreign minister

Sweden appointed Maria Malmer Stenergard as foreign minister, choosing the former migration chief to lead policy on Ukraine just six months after her predecessor helped secure traditionally non-aligned Sweden's accession…

Read More Here

Sweden detains person suspected of terrorism offence

Swedish police on Wednesday detained a person suspected of a terrorism related crime, a national prosecutor said on Friday. "We are now working unconditionally and intensively on the investigation," senior…

Read More Here

Swedish foreign minister Billstrom steps down

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said he will step down next week after almost two years in office, during which his traditionally non-aligned country joined NATO. "It is with a…

Read More Here

Denmark and Sweden Pledge to Hunt Down Gang Leaders Who Recruit Child Assassins from Abroad

The Danish and Swedish justice ministers vowed to go after organized crime leaders abroad, whom they say have been hiring teenagers in Sweden to carry out deadly shootings in Denmark.…

Read More Here

WHO confirms first case of new mpox strain outside Africa

Global health officials confirmed an infection with a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden and linked it to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its…

Read More Here

Sweden nominates EU minister as its next European commissioner

Sweden wants Jessika Roswall to be the country’s next European commissioner, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced Monday. Roswall, from Sweden’s governing Moderate Party, is no stranger to Brussels, having served…

Read More Here

Sweden gives radar surveillance planes to Ukraine air force

Sweden will donate two radar surveillance and command aircraft to Ukraine to boost its defences in the war with Russia, the Swedish government said on Wednesday, its largest aid package…

Read More Here

Belgium to send 30 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by 2028, Swedish plan for Gripen jets to Ukraine put on hold

Belgium has pledged to send 30 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by 2028, with the first deliveries scheduled to arrive later this year, as the two countries signed a ten-year…

Read More Here

Suspected gunshots near Israeli embassy in Stockholm, synagogue arson averted in Rouen, France

Swedish police have detained several people and cordoned off an area in Stockholm after a patrol heard suspected gunshots, they said on Friday, with the Israeli embassy located in the…

Read More Here

Israel secures spot in Eurovision 2024 grand final

Switzerland and the Netherlands, two of the favourites to win Eurovision 2024, secured spots in Saturday's grand final alongside Israel despite large protests against the country's participation and booing during…

Read More Here

Israel in spotlight at Eurovision semi-final as pro-Palestinian protests loom

The second semi-final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Sweden on Thursday, with Israel's performance expected to draw attention due to large pro-Palestinian protests planned in…

Read More Here

All you need to know about Eurovision 2024

The world's biggest live music event, Eurovision Song Contest, will take place in Sweden in the second week of May with 37 participating countries. Roughly 100,000 visitors from 89 countries…

Read More Here

Finland is stockpiling military equipment in Norway and Sweden

Finland has started storing military equipment in neighbouring Norway and will soon begin doing the same in Sweden, the Financial Times has reported. Lieutenant General Mikko Heiskanen, deputy chief of…

Read More Here

Israel issues Sweden Eurovision travel warning amid planned protests

By Jacob Gronholt-pedersen Planned protests against Israel taking part in this year's Eurovision Song Contest have made members of the Jewish community in Swedish host city Malmo anxious and prompted…

Read More Here

Eurovision 2024: Song Contest host Sweden braces for anti-Israel protests

Sweden said it plans to host a dazzling Eurovision Song Contest, watched by 200 million people worldwide, but visitors face heightened security amid planned protests over Israel's participation and a…

Read More Here

Sweden expels Chinese journalist over national security fears, lawyer says

Swedish authorities have ordered the expulsion of a Chinese journalist, saying she could pose a serious threat to national security, a lawyer representing the woman said. The 57-year-old Chinese woman…

Read More Here

Pace of Swedish inflation dips in February, rate cut looms

Headline inflation slows to 2.5% vs Feb 2023 Excluding energy prices inflation was 3.5% Outcome better than Riksbank, analysts'forecasts Data supports hopes for rate cut by summer By Simon Johnson…

Read More Here

Sweden joins NATO as war in Ukraine prompts security rethink

WASHINGTON/STOCKHOLM, (Reuters) - Sweden joined NATO in Washington on Thursday, two years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced it to rethink its national security policy and conclude that support for…

Read More Here

Sweden police arrest suspected Islamists believed to prepare attack

STOCKHOLM, (Reuters) - Swedish police on Thursday apprehended four people on suspicion of preparing a terrorist crime tied to violent Islamist extremism, the Sapo security service and prosecution agency said.…

Read More Here

Sweden clears final hurdle to join NATO as Hungary approves accession

Hungary's parliament approved Sweden's NATO accession on Monday, clearing the last hurdle before the historic step by the Nordic country whose neutrality lasted through two world wars and the simmering…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Hungary will approve Sweden’s NATO bid on Monday, PM Orban says

Sweden to join NATO after Hungary ratification due Monday NATO membership will end long military non-alignment NATO accession spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine Finland already joined NATO last year…

Read More Here

Hungary buys Swedish fighter jets, prepares to approve NATO bid

By Krisztina Than and Johan Ahlander BUDAPEST/STOCKHOLM, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Hungary said on Friday it had signed a deal to buy four Saab JAS Gripen fighter jets from Sweden,…

Read More Here

Sweden has around 62,000 persons linked to criminal gangs, police say

STOCKHOLM, Feb 23 (Reuters) - About 62,000 persons are active in, or have connections to, criminal networks in Sweden, the police said on Friday, where the authorities have struggled for…

Read More Here

Russia is biggest security threat to NATO-hopeful Sweden, security service says

STOCKHOLM, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russia is the main international security threat to Sweden, and foreign enemies may try to exploit an elevated risk of extremist violence from Islamists and…

Read More Here

Sweden must join NATO now, German defence minister says

BRUSSELS, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Sweden's planned joining of the NATO military alliance is overdue and needs to happen now, Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday. "Any further…

Read More Here

Sweden ends investigation into Nord Stream pipeline blasts

STOCKHOLM, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Swedish prosecutors said on Wednesday they would drop further investigation into explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, confirming earlier media reports.…

Read More Here

Swedish economic growth ‘subdued’ in 2024, IMF says

OSLO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Sweden's economic growth is projected to remain subdued in 2024 following a mild recession last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a regular…

Read More Here

Hungary under pressure to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid after EU deal

Hungary agreed on Thursday to EU aid package for Ukraine PM Orban said he "went to the wall" for Hungary Hungary is only NATO state yet to ratify Swedish accession…

Read More Here

Swedish economy sluggish in Q4 2023

STOCKHOLM, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Sweden's economy remained sluggish in the final quarter of 2023, growing 0.1% from the previous three month period and unchanged against the same quarter a…

Read More Here