WorldcrunchStay updated with comprehensive news on Sweden from Worldcrunch. Discover insights on Swedish politics, economic strategies, societal issues, and cultural landmarks with translations from top international sources. Highlights include Stockholm, Swedish history, and events like the Nobel Prize ceremonies.
As Israel’s devastating war on Gaza continues, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg draws a clear link between environmental devastation and political violence. Her stance is based on a reality: in Gaza, like elsewhere, environmental destruction is yet another weapon of war.
Sweden was early in shifting to digital, but also in reversing itself to limit technology from classrooms because of poor student performance. Some ask how useful is digital learning. But it also poses the question: is “digital de-escalation” even possible?
From a vanished child in 1974 to systemic injustices unraveled decades later, Tak-un’s story exposes the fraught past of international adoption in South Korea and the profound impact on separated families.
With remarkable shots from Stockholm, Tehran, and Leipzig, among other places.
Volvo is setting records, especially with its electric cars. At its plant in Belgium, it becomes clear why the Swedish-Chinese brand is better equipped than its competitors to ride out a looming global trade war.
The country supports some of the world’s most important satellites. But experts worry about its proximity to Russia.
Wild nature, good childcare, equal rights: Sweden is often romanticized as a paradise for parents to raise kids. But the reality is far more complicated.
Over the past two decades, global warming has allowed the wine industry to grow in unexpected latitudes. In Sweden, some winemakers are experimenting with hybrid grapes, while others are giving a chance to traditional grapes, and taking advantage of a more stable climate.
Two undersea communication cables were severed in the Baltic Sea this weekend, prompting Germany’s defense minister to say that “no one believes” it was an accident. Many suspect a new escalation of hybrid warfare in a sea where Russia is the only country not part of NATO.
Sweden recently announced that the country’s schools will remove digital technology from classrooms because of poor student performance. Some ask how useful is digital learning. But it also poses the question: is “digital de-escalation” even possible?
The Swedish island of Gotland is the last bastion between Russia and the entire Baltic region. Now that Sweden has officially joined NATO, the country plans to accelerate its fortification of the island and make it a priority to repel a rapidly militarizing Russia. Life for locals makes it clear that something has changed.
Hygge dreams and happy extended families are increasingly fading away.
Russia’s president only has himself to blame for historically neutral Finland acquiring NATO status.
The Mapping Diversity platform examined maps of 30 cities across 17 European countries, finding that women are severely underrepresented in the group of those who name streets and squares. The one (unsurprising) exception: The Virgin Mary.
Umeå in northern Sweden is a veritable feminist city. And the initiatives go much deeper than just policies and promises — they shape how the city is built.
Turkey’s objections to Swedish membership of NATO may mean that Finland joins first. But as he approaches his highly contested reelection bid at home, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ready to use the issue to his advantage.
Poland has announced plans to build its first nuclear power plant with the help of a U.S. firm. But it’s not the first time the country has tried to build such a plant. So, will it actually happen this time?
MALMÖ — On one of the final Fridays of 2020, I passed through the Malmö airport customs and underwent that subtle metamorphosis from The Swede to a Swede. This crossing from the definite to the indefinite is familiar to all returning expats, and its downside (deflated exceptionalism) and perks (nostalgia, familiarity) are felt at the […]
Sweden was not driven by any libertarian ideas when it chose not to impose lockdowns. It simply opted to play a long-game when on the pandemic, for better or worse.
For Afghan asylum seekers arriving in cold Sweden, the transition isn’t always simple — but a new project is aiming to ease the way.
Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA’s famously frugal founder died last month at 91. In southern Sweden, where his mega-business began and continues to thrive, locals remember him fondly.
In Stockholm and around the country cash has disappeared from businesses and banks. Everyone, except the elderly or those without digital access, pays with credit cards or mobile apps.
Swedish hospitals are a model for a more natural, less clinical approach to caring for newborn and premature babies.
SKARA — As Bert Karlsson enters the refugee center’s cafeteria, dark-haired boy greets him with a “Hey!” The four-story building called Stora Ekeberg is just one of many refugee centers started by Karlsson’s Jokarjo AB group, which respond to Sweden’s burgeoning need to house refugees. This center is reaching its capacity of 570 people. “Here, […]
Tensions rise between northern European neighbors. Sweden is second only to Germany for hosting the most refugees, while Denmark is dubbed Hungary of Scandinavia.
STOCKHOLM — Ing-Britt Akerberg, 70, receives us in front of paintings of nymphs and a beautiful Persian carpet. A swaggering spaniel licks her toes. “I live in the apartment below,” she explains. “But I’m keeping my friend’s three dogs; she went to town to do a bit of shopping.” The apartment building is squeezed between […]
STOCKHOLM — Tove likes math because it’s so logical, the sixth grader says. If she doesn’t understand a question, the boy who sits next to her, Viggo, repeats it for her. Tove is deaf and wears a hearing aid, though it’s not visible under her long blonde hair. But it’s the reason that during class […]
The October 2013 shipwreck that killed 366 off the Italian coast moved the world to the plight of Africa’s desperate migrants. A survivor from Eritrea tries to start a new life in Sweden.
As white supremacists proliferate in Sweden, a reformed neo-Nazi has been dissuading youths from following his own former path. Now he’s trying to stem growing Islamic radicalism.
Sweden has long been a haven for Christians from the Middle East. Will it show the same humanitarian spirit for Muslims fleeing Iraq? The debate heats up before national elections.
GÄVLE — Under the dark of a freezing arctic night, Jimi arrived at his destination. They welcomed him with a plate of Swedish meatballs, before showing him to a soft, white bed in a room that sleeps eight. “Welcome to Sweden,” says a man of African origins, shaking his hand. Jimi, 25, who is from […]
Exactly 40 years after a hostage situation in a Stockholm bank, the now 72-year-old ex-convict recalls the bond formed with his captives. The psychiatrist who coined the term helps explain.
In seven decades, Ikea has spread to 41 countries, shaping the globe’s domestic habits. But looking closer at the Swedish standard also shows national cultural differences holding strong.
A vast number of planet music’s cash cows – including a little act named Madonna – originated on the synthesizer keyboards of Swedish songwriters, but can the country hold its high note?
Even if the urban riots in Sweden last week took many by surprise, the signs were all around.
Imagine your child’s school is always open — and serves breakfast, and takeaway meals at pickup. It exists, affordably, in Sweden, where the private sector pushes education innovation.
Known for its gender equality, Sweden has begun to turn ugly. Some point to a “Breivik effect” spreading through Scandinavia since the 2011 massacre in Norway by a right-wing extremist.
STOCKHOLM – “This is happening right now in Homs, Syria…” Hans Eriksson shows a shaky video of column of smoke just after a bombing from Bashar al-Assad’s troops. Bambuser is the name of the service launched by this 44-year-old Swede, which allows any smartphone user to broadcast live what’s happening in front of him – […]
SWEDEN – Sagas are epic tales full of symbolic details, and the IKEA saga is no exception. The story of the Swedish furniture giant, founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, who is now 86 years old, definitely qualifies as a saga. It combines successes, setbacks and the carefully maintained mythology around the patriarch, who even […]