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Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday

TT/AFP/The Local
TT/AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
American missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman in harbour in Stockholm. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

Find out what's going on in Sweden today with The Local's short roundup of the news in less than five minutes.

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Sweden to give out 14 billion kronor in fuel and power subsidies

Sweden announced plans on Monday for a 14 billion kronor (€1.32 billion) subsidy package to help Swedes cope with soaring prices resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the heels of winter's sky-high energy prices.

The proposed subsidies include a temporary reduction of petrol and diesel taxes, a one-time minimum payout of 1,000 kronor ($104, 95 euros) to car owners, a one-month extension through March of a winter electricity subsidy for homeowners in central and southern Sweden, and a temporary increase in housing subsidies for the poorest families.

Sweden has among the highest prices in the world for fuel due largely to its high taxes, at around 21 kronor ($2.20, 1.99 euros) per litre for petrol and 25 kronor for diesel.

If approved by parliament, the measures would come into effect on June 1st.

Swedish vocabulary: stödpaket - subsidy package

US missile destroyer docks in Stockholm

The USS Forrest Sherman, a US Naby missile destroyer, arrived in Stockholm last night. According to the Swedish Armed Forces, the ship had been taking part in training exercises in the Baltic Sea over the weekend.

"She has been taking part in training exercises with one of our ships this weekend, a minesweeper, out in the Baltic Sea," Jimmie Adamsson, head of communications at the third naval warfare flotilla, told the TT newswire.

Adamsson did not comment on the specific reason for the training exercise, or the reason why the ship was now docked in Stockholm's harbour.

"It's not unusual for this kind of visit to occur. They're coming in to bunker now," Jonas Olsson, press secretary for the Swedish Armed Forces, told TT. "They've been at sea a long time, now they're coming in to rest the crew and fill up on supplies for the ship." 

He said that the ship had permission to be in Swedish territorial waters until Thursday. 

Swedish vocabulary: missiljagare - missile destroyer

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Rising feed costs will force up supermarket prices: Swedish farmers

Swedish farmers are struggling to make ends meet after seeing the price of animal feed increase "three times in a single week". 

"Feed prices have gone up massively due to prices on the grain market," Johan Söderbom, a dairy farmer, told Swedish state broadcaster SVT.

The rising feed prices are coming on top of both the lingering supply chain shortages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and increased fuel and electricity prices.

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According to Söderbom, Ukraine and Russia together produce around 30 percent of global wheat production. The ongoing war in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions imposed on Russia now threaten to cause major disruptions to feed supplies, which are already affecting farmers, and will ultimately have consequences for consumers in Sweden as well.

"Prices will have to go up if we're going to survive," Söderblom said.

Swedish vocabulary: foderpriserna - prices of animal feed

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