Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
Summer weather returning, two foreigners dead in kayak accident and Spotify reports losses. Here's Sweden's news on Thursday.
Summer weather looks to return
After a few days of grey weather, sunny weather is expected to return over most of the country in the next few days.
"In the coming days, it looks like there'll be good chances of sun over quite a large area of the country," Emelie Karlsson, meteorologist at SMHI, told TT news wire.
This week has been cold and dreary in across much of the country, with temperatures "lower than normal", Karlsson said.
A slight high pressure front is expected to move over Sweden today, bringing with it temperatures of around 20 degrees in southern Sweden, slightly colder further north.
This is expected to continue over Friday and Saturday, with grey skies and rain expected to return next week.
Swedish vocabulary: grått - grey
Two dead in kayak accident on lake Vänern
Two adults have died in a kayak accident on the Vänern lake, the largest lake in the EU, which lies in western Sweden.
People on board a private motorboat raised the alarm at 4:30pm on Wednesday.
"They saw something in the water and later when they got closer, they saw that it was a person," Maria Boman, deputy rescue leader at the Swedish Maritime Administration's sea and air rescue centre.
A search effort was launched in the lake, which has an area of over 5,500 square kilometres, concentrating the search around the Djurö and Lurö archipelagos. The Marine Administration's helicopters were involved, as well as boats from the Swedish coastguard.
"The person in the water had a buoyancy aid like the ones used when practising water sports," Boman said.
A short while later, another person was found in the same area. Both were taken to hospital, and at 9pm that evening, the police stated that they had both died. Neither has been identified.
"Our assessment is that they are foreign citizens," said Lars Hedelin, police press spokesperson. "We have contacted that country's police who will help us further with this case."
During the search, two kayaks and two paddles were found, along with camping gear. The search was called off around 8pm. Police do not suspect that a crime was committed.
"These are two adults who have got into trouble on open water," Hedelin said.
Swedish vocabulary: flytväst - buoyancy aid
Spotify losses widen as costs and subscribers increase
The world's most popular streaming service Spotify recorded wider losses on rising costs on Wednesday, even though subscriber numbers beat expectations in the second quarter.
Between April and June, the Swedish giant suffered a net loss of 125 million euros, compared to 20 million euros in the second quarter of 2021.
In the same period, the number of paying subscribers rose by 14 percent to 188 million out of a total of 433 million including non-paying users.
The 19 percent increase in overall users is the largest ever in the second quarter, the company said.
Analysts had expected a loss of 127 million euros ($128 million) and a rise in paying subscribers to 187 million, Bloomberg reported.
The rise in paying subscribers confounded concerns that the rising cost of living would push consumers to cut back on non-essential spending such as entertainment.
Spotify's operating losses hit 194 million in the second quarter, compared with operating profits of 12 million euros a year earlier.
Spotify blamed the losses on higher staff costs after expanding its team and new acquisitions as it widens its reach into the world of podcasts.
Swedish vocabulary: prenumeranter - subscribers
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Summer weather looks to return
After a few days of grey weather, sunny weather is expected to return over most of the country in the next few days.
"In the coming days, it looks like there'll be good chances of sun over quite a large area of the country," Emelie Karlsson, meteorologist at SMHI, told TT news wire.
This week has been cold and dreary in across much of the country, with temperatures "lower than normal", Karlsson said.
A slight high pressure front is expected to move over Sweden today, bringing with it temperatures of around 20 degrees in southern Sweden, slightly colder further north.
This is expected to continue over Friday and Saturday, with grey skies and rain expected to return next week.
Swedish vocabulary: grått - grey
Two dead in kayak accident on lake Vänern
Two adults have died in a kayak accident on the Vänern lake, the largest lake in the EU, which lies in western Sweden.
People on board a private motorboat raised the alarm at 4:30pm on Wednesday.
"They saw something in the water and later when they got closer, they saw that it was a person," Maria Boman, deputy rescue leader at the Swedish Maritime Administration's sea and air rescue centre.
A search effort was launched in the lake, which has an area of over 5,500 square kilometres, concentrating the search around the Djurö and Lurö archipelagos. The Marine Administration's helicopters were involved, as well as boats from the Swedish coastguard.
"The person in the water had a buoyancy aid like the ones used when practising water sports," Boman said.
A short while later, another person was found in the same area. Both were taken to hospital, and at 9pm that evening, the police stated that they had both died. Neither has been identified.
"Our assessment is that they are foreign citizens," said Lars Hedelin, police press spokesperson. "We have contacted that country's police who will help us further with this case."
During the search, two kayaks and two paddles were found, along with camping gear. The search was called off around 8pm. Police do not suspect that a crime was committed.
"These are two adults who have got into trouble on open water," Hedelin said.
Swedish vocabulary: flytväst - buoyancy aid
Spotify losses widen as costs and subscribers increase
The world's most popular streaming service Spotify recorded wider losses on rising costs on Wednesday, even though subscriber numbers beat expectations in the second quarter.
Between April and June, the Swedish giant suffered a net loss of 125 million euros, compared to 20 million euros in the second quarter of 2021.
In the same period, the number of paying subscribers rose by 14 percent to 188 million out of a total of 433 million including non-paying users.
The 19 percent increase in overall users is the largest ever in the second quarter, the company said.
Analysts had expected a loss of 127 million euros ($128 million) and a rise in paying subscribers to 187 million, Bloomberg reported.
The rise in paying subscribers confounded concerns that the rising cost of living would push consumers to cut back on non-essential spending such as entertainment.
Spotify's operating losses hit 194 million in the second quarter, compared with operating profits of 12 million euros a year earlier.
Spotify blamed the losses on higher staff costs after expanding its team and new acquisitions as it widens its reach into the world of podcasts.
Swedish vocabulary: prenumeranter - subscribers
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