Sweden

STOCKHOLM, December 25. /TASS/: Swedish Armed Forces Supreme Commander Micael Buden considers the crisis caused by the situation around Ukraine to be an exceptionally serious one. Amid the general tensions, Sweden increased its combat readiness level, he said in an interview for Dagens Nyheter.

"We've brought our readiness in a accordance with the current situation. It is serious and it is concerning. Naturally, we are doing more now and are ready for faster action than usual. We are ready to various developments, including in direct proximity of our border," Byden said.

17 Dec 2021; MEMO: The head of a Swedish political party has announced that he will file a criminal complaint against the country's foreign minister, after she was seen meeting with the leadership of a Kurdish militia based in Syria.

Last week, Foreign Minister Ann Linde met with Ilham Ahmed, the co-president of the autonomous administration of the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, in north-east Syria.

STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN, Dec 13 (Reuters) - One of two Danish crew members missing from a capsized barge has been found dead in the hull after an overnight collision on Monday with a British cargo vessel in a busy Baltic Sea route off Sweden.

The 55-metre Karin Hoj barge and 90-metre Scot Carrier were sailing in the same direction off the island of Bornholm when they crashed in fog and darkness at 3.30 a.m. (0230 GMT), maritime agencies in Denmark and Sweden said.

STOCKHOLM, Dec 5 (Reuters) - A fire on a cargo ship carrying timber off Gothenburg on Sweden's west coast was still not under control on Sunday after more than 24 hours, authorities said.

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) said it had sent two helicopters, while several other authorities and organisations, including the Coast Guard, were also fighting the fire.

The ship's cargo, timber, had caught fire on Saturday, and while the ship itself was not burning, the fire was difficult to extinguish, MSB said in a statement.

02 Dec 2021; MEMO: Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on Thursday, discussed bilateral relations and regional challenges with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Stockholm, Sweden's capital, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Cavusoglu tweeted that he "discussed bilateral relations & regional issues including Syria, Libya, Ukraine & Caucasus" with Lavrov on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council meeting.

STOCKHOLM, Dec 2 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Russian counterpart on Thursday to warn him face-to-face of the "serious consequences" Russia would suffer if it invaded Ukraine and to urge him to seek a diplomatic exit from the crisis.

Blinken delivered the warning to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting in Stockholm, a day after declaring that Washington was ready to respond resolutely, including with hard-hitting sanctions, in the event of a Russian attack.

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Swedish parliament elected on Monday once again Magdalena Andersson as the country's new prime minister, after she was elected and later resigned last Wednesday.

Andersson is scheduled to announce her cabinet members on Tuesday, and she is scheduled to take office after a meeting with King Carl XVI Gustaf.

STOCKHOLM, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, who resigned only hours after winning lawmakers' backing as prime minister earlier this week, will get a second chance to form a government, the speaker of parliament said on Thursday.

Andersson's resignation as prime minister on Wednesday was prompted by a decision by coalition partner the Greens to leave the government after the budget bill was defeated in parliament. 

STOCKHOLM, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson became Sweden's first female prime minister on Wednesday but immediately faced a crisis over a budget vote that her government looks set to lose.

Andersson, 54, won approval as prime minister after reaching a last-minute deal with the former communist Left Party. But a fragmented political landscape means her grip on power is already tenuous.

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish parliament elected on Wednesday Magdalena Andersson as the country's new Prime Minister, the first female PM in Swedish history.

Less than half of the parliament members voted against Andersson, thus making her the country's new prime minister.

Under Sweden's system of negative parliamentarism, a prime ministerial candidate does not need a majority to vote for him or her, as long as the majority does not vote against.