Sweden signs nuclear energy deal with US
Sweden has signed a Memorial of Understanding with the US to cooperate on the building of new nuclear plants, something Sweden’s minister for business and energy said would help make it possible for her government to meet its ambition of a “massive expansion of nuclear power”.
“Sweden and the US are going to have a concrete cooperation on nuclear power,” Busch said. “This is a good day for Sweden. It’s a good day for the USA, for jobs, for competitiveness and, of course, for the green transition.”
Busch signed the memorandum at a meeting in Washington DC alongside her US counterpart Jennifer Granholm.
Swedish vocabulary: samförståndsavtal – a memorial of understanding
Number of people caught drunk sailing sinks
Less than 2 percent of people at sea given random breath tests by the Swedish coastguard were charged for drunk sailing in July, a dramatic fall from the same month in 2023, 2022 and 2021, when 3.65 percent, 3.71 percent and 5.57 percent were found to be over the limit.
Of the 1,377 people checked in July on Sweden’s coasts and in Lake Vännen and Lake Mälaren, only 25 were over the allowed alcohol limit, or 1.82 percent.
“These checks provide further evidence of the positive trend towards sobriety at sea,” said Mikael Furberg, head of the coastguard’s operational division. Yachtspeople know the rules and are following them to a large extent.”
Swedish vocabulary: sjöfylleri – drunk sailing
Bankruptcies in Sweden up in July
The number of bankruptcies increased again in July, after falling in June, with the worst-hit industry, property, seeing a 50 percent increase.
In July, the number of bankrupties in Sweden was up 12 percent compared to the same month in 2023, according to new figures from the privately owned credit checking company, Upplysningscentralen (UC).
“This is a disappointment. We had hoped that things were on the turn, but that’s not the way it turned out,” said Petter Alvsten, a credit analyst at the company.
He blamed the continuing decline in the Swedish kronor, which increased purchasing costs for companies while reducing the value of revenues earned in Sweden. In the construction industry, the number of bankruptcies grew by 14 percent.
Swedish vocabulary: konkurs – bankruptcy
Swedish handball team go to IKEA in Paris for better beds
The Swedish women’s handball team has made a name for itself at the Paris Olympics, but perhaps not for the right reasons.
Unhappy at the hardness of the mattresses in the Olympic village, they took a trip to the local branch of Sweden’s Ikea to buy softer ones, news that was picked up in the French press.
“They were so hard,” complained Jamina Roberts, one of the players to the TT newswire. “The problem isn’t the beds made out of cardboard, those are fine, but the mattresses which are so hard. They are completely new, so it’s going to taken a while before they soften up, but we felt we couldn’t face waiting as we needed to sleep well from the start.”
Sweden’s coach, Tomas Axnér, said that while it may seem like a trifle, good sleep was crucial to good performance.
Swedish vocabulary: en bagatell – a thing of little importance/a trifle
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