Sun all over Sweden – on the darkest day of the year
All of Sweden south of the Arctic circle had a welcome sight on the darkest day of the year – sun.
The sun came out on the same day as the winter solstice because of a high-pressure ridge that came in over Scandinavia.
The high pressure is believed to bring one or more days of colder weather, according to Swedish weather agency SMHI. The weather will continue to be dry and there will likely be no white Christmas where snow has not already fallen.
Swedish vocabulary: mörkaste – darkest.
Russian ship allowed to leave Swedish waters
A Russian cargo ship called Adler that anchored off Höganäs and was then boarded by Swedish authorities has been cleared to leave Swedish waters.
The Adler left a port outside St. Petersburg earlier this week. During the night on Saturday, it anchored off the Kulla Peninsula. The ship stated that it had engine problems and therefore entered and anchored in Swedish waters.
Adler is owned by the company M Leasing LLC, which is on sanctions lists in the EU and the US. The company's ships are said to have transported North Korean ammunition that Russia then used in the war in Ukraine.
The Swedish Customs and Coast Guard boarded the Adler during the night through to Sunday. On Sunday afternoon, the Swedish authorities released the ship.
"I have been informed that the prosecutor will not initiate a preliminary investigation into suspected sanctions violations," said Martin Höglund, press spokesman at the Swedish Customs, to TT late in the evening.
What the ship had in its cargo is not known. The Swedish Customs Board assesses that this information is confidential.
Late in the evening, the Marinetraffic website shows that the Adler has begun moving in a northwesterly direction. There is a ship from the Coast Guard nearby
Swedish vocabulary: Kustbevakningen – the coast guard
Swedish krona top of the G10 this year
The Swedish krona has strengthened slightly against the US dollar this week – and has fared by far the best this year of the ten most traded currencies in the world (called the G10 group).
On Sunday one US dollar cost 9.27 kronor, according to the Bloomberg news agency. The krona has thus strengthened 19.46 percent against the dollar this year, a slight increase from 19.40 percent in the survey a week ago.
The Swiss franc and the euro have also performed strongly – up 14.05 and 13.10 percent against the dollar this year, respectively.
The Japanese yen has performed worst among the ten currencies, down 0.35 percent. Otherwise, the US dollar has generally lost ground.
The New Zealand and Canadian dollars have also performed relatively weakly within the G10 group, but have still risen 2.91 and 4.22 percent respectively against the US dollar.
Swedish vocabulary: valutor – currencies.
Gun violence is decreasing sharply – but more children are involved.
Shootings have fallen dramatically in Sweden for the third year in a row.
The police have registered 151 shootings in Sweden between January and November this year. This is almost half the number of shootings in 2024, which had 296 shootings, which in itself was a major decline from 2023.
The decline is probably due to both reduced conflict levels in criminal environments, as well as strengthened and targeted police work. This includes arresting more perpetrators of serious acts of violence and taking more gang leaders abroad through cooperation with other countries.
At the same time, the number of children suspected of involvement in murder plots is reaching record levels. During the first eleven months of this year, 158 children under 15 have been suspected of murder plans, compared to 109 in the same period last year and 36 in 2023.
"Every 13-year-old walks around with a computer in their pocket and is accessible to serious criminals around the world," says Sven Granath, PhD in criminology.
Swedish vocabulary: skjutvåldet – gun violence.
Problems with BankID
As of 7 a.m. this morning the site Downdetector is reporting problems logging in via BankID.
The disruptions are causing problems logging in to several sites, including Kivra and Swish.
"I can confirm that we have an operational disruption that may affect usage. We are currently working to resolve the problem," says Malina Röstlund, acting press spokesperson for BankID
It is currently unclear what is causing the disruptions and there is not yet a forecast for when the problem may be resolved.
Swedish vocabulary: oklart – unclear.
Fewer Arctic foxes – but the trend is pointing upwards
The number of Arctic foxes is decreasing slightly in Sweden, Finland and Norway.
At this year's inventory of arctic foxes, there were nearly 530 adult foxes in the three countries. This is a decrease from the previous year when the number of adult animals was estimated at just over 580.
Despite this, the long-term trend for the animal looks quite good, according to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's assessment. The number of arctic foxes has increased sharply since 2000 when there were around 40–60 adult foxes.
"Now that the increase appears to have slowed in recent years, continued work is needed to reach a population that is sustainable in the long term," the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency writes in a press release.
Swedish vocabulary: fjällrävar – Arctic foxes.
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