Photo: TT

'High chance' of northern lights in Sweden skies

A particularly active sun and clear cold nights are a combination which have dramatically raised the chances of experiencing the northern lights in Swedish skies this new year. READ

South-East Asian tsunami: Ten years on

Khao Lak beach in Thailand. File photo: TT

Swedes in Thai tsunami remembrance

The Swedish embassy and Swedish Church has organized a ceremony on the beach at Khao Lak in Thailand on Friday in remembrance of the devastating 2004 tsunami which claimed almost 228,000 lives, including over 500 Swedes. READ 6 comments

22/12 The wave Sweden will never forget »
04/10 Sweden seeks to bury tsunami tapes »

Photo: TT

Five hurt in mosque arson attack

An arsonist set fire to a mosque in central Sweden on Thursday injuring five people, police said, in the latest of a spate of attacks targeting Muslims. READ 7 comments

Dreaming of a faster wifi? Photo: TT

Fast wifi tops Swedes' holiday wish list

Nice views are all well and good but the item that Swedes prioritize above all when kicking back on holiday is the speed of their wifi connection, a new survey has shown. READ 3 comments

Photo: The Royal Court

Princess Madeleine plans Europe move

Sweden's Princess Madeleine has said that she and her husband Chris O'Neil plan to soon leave the US and move to Europe as the couple await their second child. READ 13 comments

Photo: TT

Teenager arrested over Malmö bomb

A 15-year-old has been arrested after a series of new explosions rocked the Malmö suburb of Rosengård on Christmas Eve. READ 51 comments

22/12 Bomb blasts rock Malmö's Rosengård »

Photo: Screenshot Maria Melin

Sweden's legal elite take ice bucket challenge

A group of some of Sweden's top prosecutors, police officers and legal powerbrokers have joined the legions of people worldwide and subjected themselves to an icy shower to promote awareness of ALS. READ 9 comments

File photo: TT

Sweden braces for Christmas Eve snow

The Swedish weather agency has issued a warning for heavy snow in Sweden's east and near north on Christmas Eve as a winter takes a belated grip on the country. READ 2 comments

Swedish Christmas smorgasbord. Photo: TT

'Avoid politics for Christmas peace': expert

Ban political discussions at Christmas and go easy on the alcohol - two tips from Swedish experts for a peaceful and cordial family festive season after a stormy political autumn. READ 43 comments

Photo: TT

Swedish help hotlines ready for festive rush

Help hotlines across Sweden are preparing themselves for what is typically one of the busiest periods of year. READ 6 comments

Features

South-East Asian tsunami: Ten years on

Tsunami "Wall of Remembrance" in Mai Khao in northern Phuket. Photo: TT

The wave Sweden will never forget

The Local looks at how Swedes are remembering the tidal wave that shook South-East Asia exactly ten years ago, leaving 543 Swedes dead. READ

My Swedish Career

Filippo Vanzo. Photo: Private

Meet the Italian sketching a new Swedish future

For this week's My Swedish Career, The Local chats to Filippo Vanzo, a freelance illustrator who started to picture life in Stockholm after meeting his Swedish girlfriend online. READ 3 comments

Video

Tom says he is a big fan of the food. Photo: The Local

Video: The best & worst of Swedish Christmas

What's the best thing about Christmas in Sweden? The worst? And perhaps most importantly, the tastiest? The Local's Paul O'Mahony hits the Old Town's Christmas market as the first snow of the season falls to find out more. READ

The Local Recipes

The traditional Christmas ham. Photo: Max Holmberg/Flickr

How to make Swedish Christmas ham

Every year Swedes devour the Christmas ham - or julskinka - with relish, with an estimated 7,000 tonnes sold annually. But just how do you prepare this succulent delight? Fear no more as The Local finds out. READ 4 comments

The Local List

The sun sets early in Umeå, but luckily there is still plenty to do. Photo: Umeå2014

Eight things to do when it gets dark in Umeå

After a recent trip to the wild north, The Local's Oliver Gee recommends eight things to do in Umeå when the sun isn't shining. Which at this time of the year, is almost all day. READ 13 comments

More News

Zlatan peeved with nod for 'second-best athlete'

Swedish footballing superstar has expressed his dissatisfaction at being ranked as the second best sports star in Swedish history. "Being second is as good as coming last," he said. READ 43 comments

Opinion

Homeless people queueing for food in Bucharest. File photo: TT

Romanians go hungry as mega-cathedral rises

The EU should demand that Romania meets its membership obligations and prioritizes its destitute people ahead of 'pharaoh-esque' building projects, the Liberal Party's Jenny Sonesson argues. READ 202 comments

Stockholm in the snow last year. Photo: TT

Stockholm promised a white Christmas

Sweden's weather agency has predicted a white Christmas for the Swedish capital, with snow expected to fall on Christmas Eve. READ 10 comments

A Swedish elk complete with head. File photo: Älgriket

Severed elk head found in Swedish parking lot

A severed head of an elk has been found in a parking lot in Ringenäs in western Sweden, the third such find in recent years and which has left locals baffled. READ 10 comments

Photo: TT

Swedish wolf hunt put on hold after protests

The plan to cull eight wolves in the county of Dalarna in central Sweden has been halted following legal challenges from animal conservation groups. READ 11 comments

Former Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. File photo: TT

Swedes keep the faith in Reinfeldt: poll

Former Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt remains hugely respected among Swedish voters despite being on the losing side of September's election, with 60 percent expressing confidence in him. READ 6 comments

Photo: TT

Whale escapes Sweden after five-hour ordeal

A whale which had got itself stuck in Kungshamn harbour in western Sweden on Monday evening was able to find its way back out to sea after a five-hour struggle. READ 2 comments

Photo: TT

More Swedes take to the skies for Christmas 2014

Swedes have shown a massively increased interest in travel this year, with up to 300,000 more people taking a flight over the Christmas period compared to last year. READ 4 comments

Photo: The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis (ASIM)

US-Swedish newspaper archive nears completion

The Swedish-language press flourished in the US in the late 19th century as Swedes moved in, and a new project to archive and digitize the wealth of historical material is set to go live in 2015. READ

A family of lynx. Photo: Shutterstock.

Sweden's wild carnivore population on the rise

An extensive European study has found that the numbers of carnivorous animals are on the rise across the continent, with Sweden seeing a hike in the populations of bears, lynxes, wolves, and wolverines. READ 4 comments

Read older articles »

From our other editions:

A neighbour photographed the damage. Photo: Grossenzersdorf council

Egyptian man cuts down 'eyesore' Jesus on cross

An Egyptian man who moved into a house in Grossenzersdorf in Lower Austria told his neighbours the 60-year-old figure of Jesus on a cross outside his home was an 'eyesore' - so he cut it down with an angle grinder. READ

In the streets rather than on the pistes. Photo: www.soaktuell.ch

Swiss head to shops rather than slopes

The lack of snow in many Swiss ski resorts has had a beneficial effect on the shops, with many people shopping rather than skiing on the Sundays leading up to Christmas. READ

Demonstrators protest against PEGIDA. Photo: DPA

Germans hit back at anti-immigrant movement

Business leaders, the political class and average Germans are pushing back against a growing anti-immigrant movement, saying it threatens the values and image the country fought hard to establish since the war. READ

An estimated 500 people took part in Friday's protest action. Photo: Jens Nørgaard Larsen/Scanpix

Eritreans protest against disputed Danish report

Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers march through Copenhagen to denounce the results of Denmark's controversial fact-finding mission to the east African country. READ

The area around the head office of Spain's ruling Popular Party in Madrid was off by police after the attack. Photo: George Mills/The Local

Attack on ruling party HQ targeted 'all politicians'

Updated: The man who rammed a car loaded with gas bottles into the headquarters of Spain's ruling Popular Party in Madrid on Friday morning has said any party could have been the target of the attack as "all politicians are the same". READ

Photo: Shutterstock

French ex-airline boss: Missing MH370 a cover up

A former airline boss is making waves in France after he claimed that the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in March had been covered up, and that the aircraft was likely hijacked by a hacker and possibly shot down by the US. READ

One of the chow chow dogs seized by police. Photo: Corpo Forestale dello Stato

Circus tricked kids with dogs painted as pandas

Two painted chow chow dogs posing as pandas have been seized from a circus in northern Italy, after tricking children into handing over cash, police have said. READ