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TODAY IN SWEDEN

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

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

Northvolt's battery factory in Västerås
Northvolt's battery factory in Västerås, pictured, is set for investment and expansion. Photo: Simon Rehnström/SvD/TT

Sweden pauses Moderna vaccine for under-30s

Sweden will stop using the Moderna vaccine in anyone born in 1991 or later, the Public Health Agency said on Wednesday. The decision was motivated by rare side effects, mostly in young people and particularly young men, shown in Swedish and Nordic data.

Instead, the Pfizer vaccine will be used for this age group until at least December 1st.

State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said people aged under 30 who had already been vaccinated with Moderna should not worry due to the rarity of the potential side effects, but should be aware of the symptoms to look out for: fatigue and shortness of breath; irregular heartbeat; fever and body aches; pain when breathing deeply; a feeling of pressure over the chest; or pain in the left or middle of the chest.

Swedish vocabulary: side effect – biverkning

Swedish GDP plummets

Sweden’s GDP fell sharply in August, according to preliminary figures from Statistics Sweden (SCB). The so-called GDP indicator decreased by 3.8 percent in August compared to the previous month, according to seasonally adjusted statistics, which is thought to be partially explained by reduced exports.

Swedish vocabulary: GDP – BNP

It’s Nobel Literature Prize day

The final Nobel Prize to be announced in Stockholm is the Literature prize with its reveal later today.

The Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, has hinted that it will look beyond Europe, after pledging to make the prize more diverse. Of the 117 literature laureates since the first Nobel was awarded in 1901, more than 80 percent have been Europeans or North Americans.

Swedish vocabulary: Nobel Prize winner – nobelpristagare

Gothenburg apartment blast suspect found dead

Prosecutors have said that the man suspected as being behind a detonation in Gothenburg last week has been found dead on Wednesday after an apparent suicide.

Named as Mark Lorentzon by Swedish media, the man was suspected of being behind the pre-dawn blast last Tuesday that injured 16 people at the building where he lived and forced residents of 140 apartments to evacuate. Lorentzon was due to be evicted from the building on the day of the blast.

Swedish vocabulary: to evict – vräka

Northvolt plans Västerås expansion

Battery company Northvolt is planning a ‘campus’ in Västerås for research, manufacture of batteries and recycling, creating at least an extra 600 jobs.

“This will be, which is unique, the world’s first battery research campus that has the entire battery value chain gathered in one place,” Northvolt’s communications manager Jesper Wigardt told TT.

Swedish vocabulary: battery – batteri

Skansen’s four wolves put down

Stockholm open air museum Skansen killed the park’s four wolves on Wednesday morning following a decision that it would no longer keep wolves.

“It was of course a very tough decision and [killing the animals was] always our last alternative. We have looked at relocation opportunities but it is difficult with wolves,” said the museum’s communications director Yvonne Nordlind.

The zoo wants to focus more on species conservation and biodiversity. They are investigating the possibility of keeping mountain foxes instead, perhaps as soon as next year.

Swedish vocabulary: wolves – vargar

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TODAY IN SWEDEN

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

Right bloc strikes government deal, Sweden Democrat to lead Sweden in OSCE, Russia's Nord Stream 'bewilderment', and inflation nears 10 percent: find out what's going on in Sweden with The Local's roundup.

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

Moderate leader strikes government coalition deal

Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson has completed his deal with the Sweden Democrat, Christian Democrat and Liberal parties, and will announce it at 10am on Friday, state broadcaster SVT has reported.

According to a story published at close to 11pm on Thursday night, the four parties will hold a press conference at 10am where they will lay out the details on the new government’s plans to reform Sweden over the next four years.

The agreement contains both policy details and details of which parties will be part of the coalition and how they will work together.

After the press conference, at 11am, Kristersson will visit the parliament’s Speaker Andreas Norlén to inform him that the deal is complete, after which the Speaker will call a parliamentary vote on Kristersson as prime minister, probably for Monday.

Swedish vocab: en överenskommelse – an agreement 

Far-right politician appointed to lead Sweden in OSCE

One of the leading politicians in the far-right Sweden Democrats has been appointed to lead Sweden in the OSCE, a body that monitors elections and seeks to bolster security in Europe.

Björn Söder, one of the so-called ‘gang of four’ who transformed the Sweden Democrats, has been appointed chair of the Swedish delegation of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The OSCE was founded in Helsinki in 1975 as a forum for discussion between the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc and gained its current name in 1995.

Söder has faced criticism for saying in 2018 that in his opinion members of Sweden’s Sami and Jewish minorities were not Swedish. “They are recognised as minorities because they are not Swedish,” he argued, stressing that ethnicity and citizenship were two different concepts.

Many had expected the Sweden Democrats to put Söder forward as deputy speaker of the parliament, a position he held between 2014 and 2018, but the party instead nominated his less controversial colleague Julia Kronlid.

Swedish vocab: valobservatör – election monitor

Russia aggrieved at Germany, Denmark and Sweden over Nord Stream probe

Russia’s foreign ministry said Thursday it had summoned envoys of Germany, Denmark and Sweden to express “bewilderment” over Moscow’s exclusion from an investigation into leaks on the Nord Stream pipelines.

Multiple leaks were discovered on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines connecting Russia to Germany, further raising political tensions already sky high since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February. All four leaks were located near Danish island Bornholm.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the leaks were an act of “international terrorism” that would benefit the United States, Poland and Ukraine.

Both Moscow and Washington have denied responsibility for the leaks, which were discovered in late September. Germany, Sweden and Denmark have formed a joint investigation unit to probe the apparent sabotage.

“The heads of the diplomatic missions of Germany, Denmark and Sweden in Moscow have been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry in recent days,” the Russian ministry said in a statement.

Swedish vocab: att kalla upp diplomater – so summon diplomats

More rate hikes on cards as Swedish inflation nears 10 percent

Inflation in Sweden hit a higher than expected 9.7 percent in September, making it likely that the country’s central bank will have to hike interest rates even more rapidly.

In a press release issued on Thursday morning, Statistics Sweden blamed “higher electricity prices and higher prices for groceries and alcohol-free drinks” for driving price increases over the month.

The rise was higher than market expectations of about 9.3 percent, judging by a survey carried out by Bloomberg, a financial news service.

The goods that saw the highest price increases were bread and other products made from grain, and coffee, the agency wrote. 

“This is high, well above the Riksbank’s target. That indicates we will see continued big [rate] hikes,” Annika Winsth, chief economist at Nordea, told the TT newswire. 

She said that it was likely now that the 50 point rate rise planned for November would be increased to 75 points. 

“Both households and companies need to be prepared for rates continuing to rise,” she said. 

Swedish vocab: att rusa – to soar (literally “rush”) 

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