Page 3 - Sweden

Turkey's parliament approves Sweden's Nato membership, lifts key hurdle

Turkish legislators on Tuesday endorsed Sweden's membership in NATO, lifting a major hurdle on the previously nonaligned country's entry into the military alliance. The legislators ratified Sweden's accession protocol by 287 votes to 55, with four abstentions. The ratification will come into effect after its publication in the Official Gazette, which is expected to be swift. Hungary then becomes the only NATO ally not to have ratified Sweden's accession. Today we are one step closer to becoming a full member of NATO, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Jeff Flake, also welcomed the Turkish parliament's decision calling it a great move for Sweden, Turkey and NATO. NATO-member Turkey had been delaying Sweden's membership for more than a year, accusing the country of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara regards as security threats. It has been seeking concessions from Stockholm, including a ..

Iran charges Swedish national Johan Floderus with spying for Israel

Iran on Sunday held the first hearing for a Swedish citizen who was detained last year on charges of spying for Israel, media reported. A report by Mizanonline.ir news website, which is affiliated with the country's judiciary, said that the prosecutor accused the man who was identified as Johan Floderus of having links with Israeli elements" and gathering information for Israel in the framework of projects through American, Israeli and European institutes that were active against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The prosecutor said Floderus had traveled to Israel, worked with Swedish intelligence and transferred money to Iran for projects aimed to toppling its government. He asked the judge to prosecute Floderus based on articles of Iranian law that carry penalties from six months to capital punishment. Judge Iman Afshari said a date for the next session will be decided later. The report also published images of Floderus and his lawyers in the courtroom. The report did not say anythin

Elon Musk forces eco-conscious Scandinavians to choose between EVs, unions

A small walk-out at Tesla's seven repair shops in Sweden over unfair working conditions has in the past month spiralled into a storm of labor strikes

NATO chief tells Erdogan 'time has come' to let Sweden join the alliance

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has told Turkiye's president that the time has come to let Sweden become a member of the military alliance. Turkiye and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have not yet formally approved Sweden's accession bid. Stoltenberg told The Associated Press that he urged Turkiye to finalise the process as he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. I met with President Erdogan this morning and I reiterated my message that the time has come to finalise the accession process for Sweden, he said. Turkiye has delayed ratification for more than a year, accusing Sweden of not taking Turkiye's security concerns seriously enough, including its fight against Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara considers to be security threats. An apparent breakthrough happened at a NATO summit in July when Erdogan said he would submit accession documents to Parliament, but a debate on the

Tesla sues Swedish co as striking workers halt delivery of license plates

Tesla has filed a lawsuit against the Swedish Transport Agency as striking workers in the Scandinavian country halted the delivery of license plates of new vehicles manufactured by the Texas-based automaker, reported Sweden's Dagens Industri on Monday. Mikael Andersson, a press spokesman for the agency, told local broadcaster SVT that the lawsuit was filed early morning so we have not seen it yet. We need to hear their reasoning first before we can give any further comment, Andersson told SVT. Leading business paper Dagens Industri reported that Tesla which is non-unionized globally was suing the government agency because not accessing the registration plates constitutes an unlawful discriminatory attack directed at Tesla. On October 27, 130 members of the powerful metalworkers' union IF Metall walked out at seven workshops across the country where the popular electric cars are serviced, demanding that the carmaker sign a collective bargaining agreement, which most employees in .

Turkey's president submits protocol for Sweden's admission into Nato

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has submitted a protocol for Sweden's admission into NATO to Turkiye's parliament for ratification, his office said on Monday, bringing the Nordic country a step closer to membership in the military alliance. Erdogan had been delaying ratification of Sweden's membership, accusing Stockholm of being too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups his country considers to be security threats. Turkiye also was angered by a series of Quran-burning protests in Sweden. All 31 NATO allies must endorse Sweden's membership. Turkiye and Hungary are the only two allies that have yet to ratify it. A brief statement from the presidential communications directorate said Erdogan had signed the protocol on Sweden's NATO accession, which was then submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly. It was not immediately known when Sweden's membership would come to the floor. Sweden welcomed the move. Glad to hear that Turkish President Erdogan has now handed o

NATO chief presses Turkey to advance Sweden's membership application

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday pressed Turkey to quickly ratify Sweden's membership in the military organisation, three months after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would help hasten the process in the Turkish parliament. Many allies would like to see speedy progress on this ratification," Stoltenberg told The Associated Press after chairing a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels. Sweden has delivered on what they promised, and now we need the ratification of Swedish membership. Sweden and its neighbor Finland turned their backs on decades of military non-alignment after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Their aim was to seek protection under NATO's security umbrella, and Finland joined in April. All 31 NATO allies must endorse Sweden's membership. Turkey and Hungary are dragging their feet. Erdogan spent months publicly saying he was withholding his country's approval because he believed that Swed

Climate activist Greta Thunberg fined again for climate protest in Sweden

A Swedish court on Wednesday fined climate activist Greta Thunberg once again for disobeying police during an environmental protest in July in southern Sweden. The Malmo District Court ordered her to pay a 2,250 kroner ($206) fine. Thunberg, who already had been fined for a similar offence, took part in a July 24 environmental protest at an oil terminal in Malmo, where activists temporarily blocked access to the facility by sitting down and were removed by police. On Sept 15, she was charged with disobedience to law enforcement for refusing to obey police asking her to leave the scene. She then was dragged away by two uniformed officers. Thunberg, 20, has admitted to the facts but denied guilt, saying the fight against the fossil fuel industry was a form of self-defense due to the existential and global threat of the climate crisis. We have the science on our side and we have morality on our side. Nothing in the world can change that and so it is. I am ready to act based on the ..

India-Sweden partnership pivotal in addressing global challenges: Minister

Nine Swedish companies have joined hands with India bolstering the commitment to nurturing bilateral relations and advancing green technologies, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday. The Science and Technology Minister made the comments on 10th India-Sweden Innovation Day, focusing on the theme "Accelerating Green Growth". "In a significant development this year, nine Swedish companies have joined hands with India, bolstering our commitment to nurturing bilateral relations and advancing green technologies. Our partnership is pivotal in addressing global challenges and aligning with the United Nations' sustainability goals," Singh said. Andreas Carlson, Minister of Infrastructure, Sweden, stated, "The innovation partnership underlines our commitment to tackling pressing challenges like green energy and sustainable development." "The relations between our nations are poised to grow even stronger in the years ahead as Sweden, renowned for its innovation prowess, complements ..

Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus, Alexei Ekimov win Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 rewards the discovery and development of quantum dots

As tensions rise between India-Canada, it should be a wakeup call for West

India's rage is misplaced and hardly serves to endear the country to those appalled by the idea that it may have had a Canadian citizen killed

Nobel Foundation raises amount for Nobel Prize awards to 11 million kronor

The Nobel Foundation said Friday that it will raise the award amount for this year's Nobel Prizes by 1 million kronor (USD 90,000) to 11 million kronor (USD 986,270) as the Swedish currency has plummeted recently. "The Foundation has chosen to increase the prize amount because it is financially viable to do so, it said in a brief statement. The rapid depreciation of the Swedish currency has pushed it to its lowest level ever against the euro and the US dollar. Sweden has been struggling with high inflation it was 7.5 per cent in August, down from 9.3 per cent in July, far from the 2 per cent target set by the Riksbank, Sweden's central bank. When the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, the prize amount was 150,782 kronor per category, the foundation said. Over the past 15 years, the amount has been adjusted several times, it said. In 2012, it was reduced from 10 million kronor to 8 million kronor as a broad-based program to strengthen the Nobel Foundation's finances was ...

On the brink of joining Nato, Sweden seeks to boost defence spending by 28%

The Swedish government said on Monday it wants to increase its defence budget by 28 per cent, putting it on track to reach the military spending target 2 per cent of gross domestic product set by the NATO alliance, which the Scandinavian country is preparing to join. We are in the most serious security policy situation since the end of World War II, which requires Sweden to have a defence that is ready to protect Swedish territory, defence minister Pal Jonson said. Unveiling a defence bill for 2024, Sweden's centre-right coalition government said military spending would increase by a total of 27 billion kronor (USD 2.4 billion). Of that amount, approximately 700 million kronor (USD 63 million) will be spent on Sweden's future membership of NATO. Jonson said Sweden must adapt its preparedness and its military exercises to prepare for NATO membership but must also continue its support for Ukraine. In May last year, Sweden and neighbouring Finland sought protection under NATO's ...

Sweden brings more books, handwriting practice back to tech-heavy schools

As young children went back to school across Sweden last month, many of their teachers were putting a new emphasis on printed books, quiet reading time and handwriting practice and devoting less time to tablets, independent online research and keyboarding skills. The return to more traditional ways of learning is a response to politicians and experts questioning whether the country's hyper-digitalised approach to education, including the introduction of tablets in nursery schools, had led to a decline in basic skills. Swedish Minister for Schools Lotta Edholm, who took office 11 months ago as part of a new centre-right coalition government, was one of the biggest critics of the all-out embrace of technology. Sweden's students need more textbooks," Edholm said in March. Physical books are important for student learning. The minister announced last month in a statement that the government wants to reverse the decision by the National Agency for Education to make digital devices ...

7 killed in Russian missile attack in Ukraine as Zelenskyy visits Sweden

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Sweden on Saturday, his first visit to the country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, while at home a missile strike in the center of a northern city killed seven people and wounded scores of others. The Swedish government said Zelenskyy will meet officials at Harpsund, the prime minister's official summertime residence, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Stockholm. He will also meet Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at a palace in the area. Sweden abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine with weapons and other aid in the war against Russia. The government says Sweden has provided 20 billion kronor (1.7 billion euros) in military support to Ukraine, including Archer artillery units, Leopard 2 tanks, CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers, anti-tank weapons, mine clearing equipment and ammunition. Sweden also applied for NATO membership but is

Greta Thunberg to appear in Swedish court on charge of disobeying police

Climate activist Greta Thunberg will appear in court on Monday on a charge of disobeying police at a protest in southern Sweden last month. Local newspaper Sydsvenskan reported that Thunberg and other activists were detained after they stopped traffic in the oil terminal of the port in Malm on June 19. Thunberg was charged because she refused to comply with police orders to leave the scene during the protest, according to Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Annika Collin and a statement from prosecutors. Prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen told the newspaper that the crime of disobedience is typically punishable with fines. Thunberg inspired a global youth movement demanding stronger efforts to fight climate change after staging weekly protests outside the Swedish Parliament starting in 2018.

Protesters storm Swedish Embassy in Baghdad ahead of planned Quran burning

Protesters angered by the planned burning of a copy of the Quran stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday, breaking into the compound and lighting a small fire. Online videos showed demonstrators at the diplomatic post waving flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr ahead of a planned burning of the Islamic holy book Thursday in Stockholm. The videos showed dozens of men climbing over the fence at the complex, with the sound of them trying to break down a front door. Another showed what appeared to be a small fire being set. Other footage showed men, some shirtless in the summer heat, inside what appeared to be a room at the embassy, an alarm audible in the background. Others later performed predawn prayers outside of the embassy. As dawn broke, police and other security officials gathered at the embassy as small plumes of smoke still rose. Firefighters tried to douse the flames from the ladder of a fire truck. So

NATO summit results in mixed news for Ukraine, hope for Sweden's entry

US President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts wrapped up a two-day summit Wednesday with pledges of long-term support for Ukraine but no offer of the country's protection under the alliance's security umbrella. Results from the meeting in Lithuania, a nation on NATO's eastern flank that borders Russia, were mixed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky was grateful for the pledges of more arms and ammunition but disappointed that his country has no clear time frame for joining the world's biggest security alliance. After an evening of pre-summit intrigue, Sweden took a big step toward becoming NATO's 32nd member country when Turkey signaled it would give its approval but not before October. The allies also launched sweeping changes to their defense plans in case of an attack from Russia or by terrorists. They agreed to step up defense spending, too, but set out no timetable for meeting the targets. UKRAINE'S FUTURE IN NATO NATO allies offered more weapons, ammunition and other

Turkey's support for Sweden's Nato entry is tied to goals on security

Turkiye made a surprise pledge to drop its opposition to Sweden joining NATO, paving the way for the Nordic country to become a member of the Western military alliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg heralded the agreement Monday after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Stoltenberg said Turkiye had agreed to support Sweden's NATO bid by putting the issue to a vote in Parliament -- in return for deeper cooperation with Sweden on security issues and a pledge from Sweden to revive Turkiye's quest for EU membership. The agreement also says Sweden and Turkiye will step up trade and investment with each other. Hungary, the only other NATO holdout on Sweden, is also expected to drop its opposition. Hungary's foreign minister said Tuesday that his country's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership was now just a technical matter. Erdogan has been uncharacteristically quiet since the agreement was publicized, declining to

Nato summit boosted by deal to advance Sweden's bid to join alliance

NATO's summit will begin Tuesday with fresh momentum after Turkiye withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the alliance, a step toward the unity that Western leaders have been eager to demonstrate in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a significant move toward Sweden's membership and it will alleviate tension in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital. This is a historic day, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said late Monday as he announced the agreement following days of intensive meetings. As part of the deal, Erdogan said he would ask Turkiye's parliament to approve Sweden joining NATO. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is expected to take a similar step. The outcome is a victory for US President Joe Biden as well, who has touted NATO's expansion as an example of how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has backfired on Moscow. Finland has already become the 31st member of the alliance, and Sweden is on deck to become th