Latest Sweden government News

Sweden charges a woman with war crimes for allegedly torturing Yazidi women and children in Syria

Sep. 19, 2024 10:48 AM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Swedish authorities on Thursday charged a 52-year-old woman associated with the Islamic State group with genocide, crimes against humanity and serious war crimes against Yazidi women and children in Syria — the first such case on trial in the Scandinavian country. ...

Sweden gets a new foreign minister after Billström's shock departure last week

Sep. 10, 2024 20:33 PM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A new foreign minister was named in Sweden on Tuesday, nearly a week after the post was vacated in a surprise resignation. The move to appoint Maria Malmer Stenegard, 43, came after Tobias Billström said on Sept. 4 that he was leaving the government in a...

Sweden joins countries seeking to end screen time for children under 2

Sep. 06, 2024 07:57 AM EDT

Sweden says children under the age of 2 should not be exposed to any digital screens. The recommendations, issued by the Scandinavian country’s public health agency earlier this month as a new school year begins, are the latest in a worldwide effort to limit screen time for young children. The...

Sweden's foreign minister announces shock departure from politics

Sep. 04, 2024 11:46 AM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billström, who steered the Scandinavian country along a sometimes bumpy road to NATO membership and stood tall on supporting Ukraine, stunned the political establishment Wednesday by saying he was leaving the Swedish government next...

German prosecutors charge 2 men accused of planning an attack in Sweden over Quran burnings

Aug. 21, 2024 10:08 AM EDT

BERLIN (AP) — Two men accused of planning an attack in Sweden for an affiliate of the Islamic State group in response to the burning of copies of the Quran have been charged in Germany, where they were arrested earlier this year, prosecutors said Wednesday. The two Afghan citizens,...

Sweden reports 1st case of more infectious form of mpox first identified in Congo

Aug. 15, 2024 14:13 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Swedish health officials said Thursday they have identified the first case of a person with the more infectious form of mpox first seen in eastern Congo, a day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreaks there and elsewhere in Africa to be a global emergency. ...

Mali ousts Swedish ambassador amid strained relations with the West

Aug. 09, 2024 13:02 PM EDT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Sweden's ambassador to Mali was ordered to leave the country within 72 hours following what it said was a hostile statement by a Swedish minister, the government said Friday. The ousting of Ambassador Kristina Kuhnel comes days after Mali severed diplomatic...

A 19th-century shipwreck is filled with Champagne bottles and Sweden won't allow anyone a sip

Aug. 07, 2024 07:37 AM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — No one will be allowed to fish out any of the nearly 100 bottles of 19th-century Champagne and mineral water nestled in a shipwreck off southern Sweden without proper authorization, officials said Wednesday. Though the wreck's location has been known...

Oil tanker held by Iran for over a year heads reaches international waters, tracking data shows

Jul. 11, 2024 13:10 PM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An oil tanker held by Iran for over a year after being seized amid tensions between Tehran and the United States reached international waters on Thursday, tracking data showed. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet traveled through...

Swedes take a new step in parental leave. Grandparents can now get paid to take care of grandkids

Jul. 01, 2024 16:29 PM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden launched a groundbreaking new law on Monday that allows grandparents to step in and get paid parental leave while taking care of their grandchildren for up to three months of a child’s first year. The development comes after the Swedish...