Sweden

Suspected Russian ‘spy’ arrested in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, February 27. /TASS/. The Swedish Security Police (SAPO) have taken a man into custody suspected of spying for Russia, the press service said on Wednesday.

"A man suspected of illegal intelligence activity against Sweden has been detained. The security police are carrying out a preliminary investigation, led by prosecutors from the national security department," the statement said.

Stefan Lofven elected as Sweden's PM for second term

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- After 131 days without government, the Swedish Parliament approved on Friday Stefan Lofven as Prime Minister for a second four-year term.

A total of 115 MPs voted yes, 153 voted no and 77 abstained. To be elected, Lofven did not need to secure a majority of the vote. As long as fewer than 175 of the 349-member parliament voted against him, he would be elected.

"I take on this mission with humility and determination," Lofven said at the press conference held soon after the announcement.

Sweden to end months without a government

16 Jan 2019; DW: Stockholm has been trapped in deadlock, with no party wanting to govern with the far-right Sweden Democrats. Social Democrat PM Stefan Lofven is set to retain his post by promising to bring his party to the right.

Sweden looked set to finally resolve four months of political deadlock on Wednesday and allow Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to take a second term in office. The Left party said it would abstain in a crucial vote on Friday, clearing the way for Lofven and his patchwork coalition.

'Uneasy calm' in Yemen's Hodeida as combatants await UN truce team

20 Dec 2018; AFP: An uneasy calm returned to the battleground Yemeni city of Hodeida on Thursday after further overnight skirmishes as the warring parties await the promised deployment of UN staff to oversee a hard-won but fragile truce.

The ceasefire in the Red Sea port city which is a vital aid lifeline for millions at risk of starvation is the centrepiece of a peace push that is seen as the best chance yet of ending four years of devastating conflict.

Yemen's warring parties agree ceasefire for key port at UN talks

14 Nov 2018: AFP: Yemen's warring parties on Thursday agreed to a ceasefire on a vital port in a series of breakthroughs in UN-brokered peace talks that could mark a major turning point after four years of devastating conflict.

If implemented, the deal on the Hodeida port, a key gateway for aid and food imports, could bring relief to a country where 14 million people stand on the brink of famine.

Heart attack risk highest on Christmas Eve, study says

13 Dec 2018; DW: A study has singled out quite possibly the most dangerous holiday of the year: Christmas Eve. While the researchers couldn't explain why, they did have a hunch.

Swedish scientists have found that people are most at risk of suffering a heart attack on December 24, often observed as Christmas Eve, than any other day during the holiday season, said a study published on Wednesday in the medical journal BMJ.

Yemen’s warring sides set date for prisoner swap

RIMBO, Sweden (AP) — Yemen’s warring government and the Houthi rebels say they have set Jan. 20 as a final date to exchange more than 15,000 prisoners from both sides.

The two sides said Tuesday in press conferences in Sweden that they have exchanged prisoner lists, allowing four weeks for review, ahead of a final swap to be facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The two sides met for a sixth day on Tuesday at a castle outside Stockholm.

Rebel delegates at Yemen peace talks report some progress

RIMBO, Sweden (AP) — Yemeni rebel delegates at talks underway in Sweden to try end their country’s ruinous civil war reported progress on Saturday on the key issues of reopening the airport at the capital, Sanaa, and the implementation of an agreement reached earlier this week on the exchange of prisoners.

U.N. special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, struck a positive note, saying in a brief statement read to reporters that the two sides were demonstrating a “positive spirit” in the talks, held at a castle in the town of Rimbo, north of Stockholm.

Man at center of Nobel Literature scandal loses rape appeal

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The man with ties to the Swedish Academy that awards the Nobel Prize in literature lost his appeal Monday to have his rape conviction and a two-year prison sentence reversed and instead was convicted of a second rape.

The Svea Court of Appeal on Monday gave Jean-Claude Arnault 2 ½ years in jail for raping the same woman twice seven years ago.

Subscribe to Sweden