News

Last updated: 31/1-2023

Links to news in easy-to-understand Swedish and Swedish news translated into other languages. You can also read the latest news from Sveriges Radio.

News from Radio Sweden

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​This is the latest news from Radio Sweden. We have used the Swedish newsfeed if your language is not availa​ble.

Click on a headline in the list to read the item on the Radio Sweden website. The link will open in a new window.

  • Sweden moves into recession

    Sweden's economy is in recession, it was officially confirmed today, following two consecutive quarters of negative growth.Swedish GDP decreased by 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2023, according to new statistics today from Statistics Sweden.”Households are struggling, consumption has declined for more than a year, and they are under pressure from high inflation and higher interest rates,” says Torbjörn Isaksson, chief analyst at Nordea Bank, one of two bank economists speaking to Radio Sweden about the recession and what it means.

  • Teenagers sentenced for murder of man found hanged in forest

    Four teenage brothers and a teenage girl have been found guilty of murder, and aiding and abetting the murder of a man found hanged from a tree in a nature reserve outside Enköping in April this year.The sentences range from life in prison to three and a half years' institutional youth care. All of them deny the charges.

  • Islamic free school in Stockholm must close

    An Islamic free school in Kista, northern Stockholm, must close over radicalisation fears.The Schools Inspectorate is withdrawing the school's licence after warnings from the intelligence service, Säpo.Individuals in the school's management have had connections with violent Islamist extremism, according to Säpo. School owners refute the allegations that pupils could be radicalised.

  • Swedish Foreign Minister: Turkey may approve Nato membership within weeks

    Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström says he's received assurances from his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan that Ankara could ratify Sweden's Nato application within weeks.He says he's also spoken with the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who's said Hungary's promise not to be the last member to ratify still holds.The paperwork is still with the Turkish Foreign Affairs committee. They're meeting again on Wednesday, but Billström says he doesn't know whether they'll discuss it then.

  • Young people carrying out explosions to pay off debts

    Several young people who have carried out explosions or helped prepare them were heavily indebted at the time, and were looking to earn money to pay them off.That's according to an investigation by Swedish Radio News, which has looked at every case in the past five years where a minor has been sentenced in connection to an explosion. Alex, whose name's been changed, is one of those minors, and says he wanted to return to a normal, debt-free life.

  • Global climate 'stocktake' expected at UN conference in Dubai

    More than 140 heads of state and government are due to address COP28 on Thursday and Friday, the start of nearly two weeks of talks to address the climate crisis.Sweden is part of the EU's delegation and has negotiated a common line together with other member states on global climate action.Mona Hambraeus, Swedish Radio News' reporter working with climate and the environment, says a ”global stocktake” looking at progress toward the goals of the Paris Agreement will be one of the key parts of the COP28 climate talks.

  • Tesla gets permission to collect licence plates

    The District Court has given Tesla permission to collect licence plates for its cars directly from the manufacturer. Tesla had sued both the Swedish Transport Agency and Postnord for not delivering them. Norrköping District Court says the agency has a week to act, or it will face fines of a million kronor.

  • Story of 7 fathers in 7 years wins top Swedish literary prize

    The novel 'Jävla karlar' has been awarded the August Prize for the best Swedish fiction book of the year.It's author Andrev Walden's first novel. The non-fiction winner was Per Svensson for his book on artist Anders Zorn, while Oskar Kroon and Hanna Klinthage won the children's and youth literature prize.

  • Many young criminals diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders

    The number of minors sentenced for involvement in explosions has increased significantly in recent years.A majority of the 26 convicted for crimes relating to explosions in the last five years have, or are thought to have, some form of neurodevelopmental disorder, according to a unique investigation by Swedish Radio News.Police officer Nadim Ghazale in Borås thinks this makes it easer for gangs to recruit them, as they offer 'very clear guidelines' for the youngsters.Correction: In an earlier version of the headline we used the phrase ”intellectual disabilities”, this was incorrect, and we have now used the correct term ”neurodevelopmental disorders” instead. The correction was made 29/11/2023.

  • Swedish astronaut in final training for space mission

    Sweden's next astronaut into space, Marcus Wandt, is approaching the final countdown towards fulfilling his dream journey onboard the International Space Station (ISS).From his mission training base in Houston, US, the chief test pilot for Saab Aeronautics tells Radio Sweden how preparations are going ahead of the commercial launch, scheduled shortly after Christmas.”It is a fulfilment of a dream. It's fantastic. The biggest gift of all to me is my family but it will be a great Christmas having this to look forward to in just a couple of weeks after.”
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