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Swedes begging to fund Australia backpacking
Melbourne, Australia. Photo: TT

Swedes begging to fund Australia backpacking

As hundreds of thousands of Swedes head for sunshine over the winter holidays, police in Australia have reported a rise in young Scandinavians posing as bogus beggars. READ  

Zlatan joins Sweden's growing billionaire list
Zlatan crept into Sweden's exclusive billionaire list. Photo: TT

Zlatan joins Sweden's growing billionaire list

There are more Swedish billionaires than ever before, an annual list has found, with 147 Swedes able to put at least nine zeros on the end of their bank account balance. READ  

Four in ten Swedes want New Year firework limit
Photo: Shutterstock

Four in ten Swedes want New Year firework limit

Swedes love to set off fireworks as they see in the New Year but new research suggests increasing numbers want the practice banned or limited to improve safety. READ  

The Local's top ten Swedish songs of 2014
You ain't getting any younger, says Swedish soul star Seinabo Sey. Photo: TT

The Local's top ten Swedish songs of 2014

The Local's music guru Paul Connolly hand picks his top ten Swedish songs of 2014. Put on your headphones, sit comfortably, and enjoy the best sounds Sweden has had to offer this year. READ  

Why 2014 was Sweden's hottest year in history
A beach in southern Sweden. Photo: Shutterstock

Why 2014 was Sweden's hottest year in history

2014 has been the warmest year Sweden has ever experienced, according to meteorologists. READ  

Analysis
Five consequences of Sweden's cancelled vote
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and acting Moderate Party leader Anna Kinberg Batra. Photo: TT

Five consequences of Sweden's cancelled vote

Analysts, journalists and voters are still trying to get their heads around the shock news that Sweden's government has cancelled plans for a snap election. With some help from two leading political scientists, here's The Local's beginner's guide to what happens next. READ  

Sweden announces date for new bank notes
A selection of Sweden's new bank notes. Photo: Riksbank

Sweden announces date for new bank notes

In autumn next year, Swedes will experience the biggest switch in bank notes and coins that the country has ever seen, a move that will include a brand new 200 kronor note and two kronor coin. READ  

Northern Dispatches
How I used fake sun to beat the winter blues
Sunglasses photo: Shutterstock

How I used fake sun to beat the winter blues

The Local's northern Sweden reporter Paul Connolly, has strapped on his sunglasses and paid a visit to an Umeå sun room, in an effort to combat the region's long, dark winter. READ  

Imam says Islamophobia to blame for mosque fire
Local imam Samir Muric. Photo: TT

Imam says Islamophobia to blame for mosque fire

UPDATED: Police suspect a mosque in southern Sweden was deliberately torched on Monday, with a local imam blaming rising Islamophobia in the region. READ  

My Swedish Career
Expat pianist seeks key to Sweden's music scene
Ho Wan Jeremy Leung says happiness is when music comes together. Photo: Private

Expat pianist seeks key to Sweden's music scene

For this week's My Swedish Career, Mimmi Nilsson meets Ho Wan Jeremy Leung, a British-Chinese pianist and music teacher based in southern Sweden. Rediscovering his passion for music, he hopes to pass on his enjoyment of playing the piano to others. READ  

Features
Analysis
'Sweden can't avoid immigration debate'
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven arrives at the December 27th press conference in Stockholm. Photo: Maja Suslin/TT

'Sweden can't avoid immigration debate'

Sweden may have narrowly avoided snap elections that would have been dominated by a debate on immigration, but with asylum seekers arriving in record numbers the issue is unlikely to stay off the agenda for long, analysts say. READ  

High chance of Northern Lights in Sweden skies
Photo: TT

High chance of Northern Lights in Sweden skies

A particularly active sun alongside clear cold nights has dramatically raised the chances of experiencing the Northern Lights in Swedish skies in 2015. READ  

Opinion
Romanians go hungry as mega-cathedral rises
Homeless people queueing for food in Bucharest. File photo: TT

Romanians go hungry as mega-cathedral rises

The EU should demand that Romania meets its membership obligations and prioritizes its destitute people ahead of 'pharaoh-esque' building projects, the Liberal Party's Jenny Sonesson argues. READ  

South-East Asian tsunami: Ten years on
The wave Sweden will never forget
Tsunami "Wall of Remembrance" in Mai Khao in northern Phuket. Photo: TT

The wave Sweden will never forget

The Local looks at how Swedes are remembering the tidal wave that shook South-East Asia exactly ten years ago, leaving 543 Swedes dead. READ  

My Swedish Career
Meet the Italian sketching a new Swedish future
Filippo Vanzo. Photo: Private

Meet the Italian sketching a new Swedish future

For this week's My Swedish Career, The Local chats to Filippo Vanzo, a freelance illustrator who started to picture life in Stockholm after meeting his Swedish girlfriend online. READ  

More News
Forty new entries in Sweden's 2014 word list
Bradley Cooper takes an "usie". But what is an usie? Photo: TT

Forty new entries in Sweden's 2014 word list

The word wizards at the Swedish Language Council have revealed 40 new words taken up by the Swedish language this year, explaining new phenomena from taking snaps with celebrities to giving away TV show plots. READ  

Major rail delays as Swedes return to work
Stockholm in the snow. Photo: TT

Major rail delays as Swedes return to work

Hundreds of commuters in Stockholm and southern Sweden were facing delays during the first rush hour since Christmas, after a signal failure north of Norrköping. READ  

Swedish ski season slides into action
Hammarbybacken in Stockholm on Sunday. Photo: TT

Swedish ski season slides into action

Many snowboarders and skiers are strapping on their boots for the first time this winter, as slopes start to open in the south and west of the country. READ  

Sweden's Christmas goat survives holidays
Standing tall...The Gävle goat pictured during the Christmas period. Photo: Marko Säävälä/TT

Sweden's Christmas goat survives holidays

The infamous Christmas goat in Gävle has beaten off the arsonists and made it through the holiday season for the first time in years, with its spokesperson telling The Local that the goat is now set for China. READ  

Swede among those on burning Italian ferry
Smoke rises from the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic ferry after it caught fire in the Adriatic Sea, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. AP Photo/SKAI TV Station

Swede among those on burning Italian ferry

A Swede is believed to be among the near 500 passengers battling for survival onboard an Italian ferry which caught fire off the Greek island of Corfu on Sunday. READ  

No breakthrough for police after mosque fire
Officers inspect the scene of the mosque fire in Eskilstuna. Photo: Pontus Stenberg/TT

No breakthrough for police after mosque fire

Police in central Sweden have yet to make any arrests following a fire at a mosque on Christmas Day, which left several people hurt. READ  

Sweden Democrats blast March election U-turn
The acting leader of the Sweden Democrats Mattias Karlsson. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

Sweden Democrats blast March election U-turn

The acting party leader of the Sweden Democrats has hit out at Social Democrat Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and the centre-right Alliance parties for backing out of next year's planned election, and stated that his nationalist party is now the main opposition as a result. READ  

Sweden cancels snap election in March 2015
Stefan Löfven pictured with his parliamentary colleagues at the press conference on December 27th 2014. Photo: Maja Suslin/TT

Sweden cancels snap election in March 2015

Sweden's government has abandoned plans to hold a snap election in March 2015, after crisis talks between Social Democrat Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and the country's four centre-right parties known as the Alliance. READ  

Swedes rally against mosque arson attack
Protesters leave tributes near the scene of the mosque attack in Eskilstuna. Photo: Pontus Stenberg/TT

Swedes rally against mosque arson attack

Hundreds of Swedes took to the streets on Friday to denounce an arson attack on a mosque that injured five people, with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven branding the attack as "hateful violence." READ  

South-East Asian tsunami: Ten years on
Swedes in Thai tsunami remembrance events
Khao Lak beach in Thailand. File photo: TT

Swedes in Thai tsunami remembrance events

The Swedish embassy and Swedish Church has organized a ceremony on the beach at Khao Lak in Thailand on Friday in remembrance of the devastating 2004 tsunami which claimed almost 228,000 lives, including over 500 Swedes. READ  

Read older articles »

From our other editions:
Pig's head hung on Mosque door in Vienna
Photo: HaberJournal.at

Pig's head hung on Mosque door in Vienna

In a barbaric affront to Muslim sensibilities, part of a pig's head and some pork tripe was attached to the door of a Mosque in Vienna's 21st district on Christmas day. READ  

Novartis to launch psoriasis drug in Japan
Photo: Sebastien Bozon/AFP

Novartis to launch psoriasis drug in Japan

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis said on Friday it has won approval to market its Cosentyx psoriasis treatment in Japan, making it the first country to authorise commercialisation of the drug. READ  

Germans hit back at anti-immigrant movement
Demonstrators protest against PEGIDA. Photo: DPA

Germans hit back at anti-immigrant movement

Business leaders, the political class and average Germans are pushing back against a growing anti-immigrant movement, saying it threatens the values and image the country fought hard to establish since the war. READ  

A holiday message from The Local Denmark
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from The Local Denmark. Photo: Colourbox

A holiday message from The Local Denmark

With the holidays here and The Local Denmark celebrating its first six months of existence, editor Justin Cremer takes a moment to evaluate the site's start and thank those who have helped it along the way – particularly you, the reader. READ  

Spanish soprano avoids jail for tax fraud
The singer did not declare her earnings in 2010, listing her official residence as being in the tiny country of Andorra. Photo: Lluis Gene/AFP

Spanish soprano avoids jail for tax fraud

Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé, famous for her 'Barcelona' duet with Freddy Mercury, later used as the official anthem of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, will escape prison after coming to an agreement with Spain’s public prosecutor over tax fraud charges. READ  

France deploys 300 extra soldiers after attacks
Hundreds of extra soldiers will be on duty across France over Christmas. Photo: AFP

France deploys 300 extra soldiers after attacks

France has reacted to three shocking attacks on members of the public and police officers by deciding to deploy up to 300 extra soldiers over Christmas. READ  

Circus tricked kids with dogs painted as pandas
One of the chow chow dogs seized by police. Photo: Corpo Forestale dello Stato

Circus tricked kids with dogs painted as pandas

Two painted chow chow dogs posing as pandas have been seized from a circus in northern Italy, after tricking children into handing over cash, police have said. READ  

US radio star buried in Oslo after family row
Casey and Jean Kasem, pictured at the 1993 Emmy Awards. Photo by Alan Light

US radio star buried in Oslo after family row

American radio legend Casey Kasem was buried last week in Oslo, six months after his death, it has emerged. The burial followed a long and bitter dispute between his widow and his children over the cause of his death. READ  

RECEIVE OUR NEWSLETTER AND ALERTS
Gallery
Your December snow snaps
Finest.se
Gallery
People-watching: December 28th
National
How Sweden's Christmas goat avoided annual arson
National
Why has Sweden cancelled March's snap election?
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Swedes remember 2004 Tsunami ten years on
Blog updates

23 December

Editor’s Blog, December 23rd (The Local Sweden) »

"Hello readers, It is time for the weekly news round up. On a Tuesday? Yes, on a Tuesday. Most of..." READ »

 

22 December

A Tale of Three Cities (The Diplomatic Dispatch) »

"Today I am pleased to welcome a guest blogger on my blog, Sir David King, The..." READ »

 
 
 
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