Sweden

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Three scientists were jointly awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for developing a way of “snapping molecules together” that can be used to design better medicines, including ones that target diseases such as cancer more precisely.

Americans Carolyn R. Bertozzi and K. Barry Sharpless, and Danish scientist Morten Meldal were cited for their work on click chemistry and bioorthogonal reactions, which are used to make cancer drugs, map DNA and create materials that are tailored to a specific purpose.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Three scientists jointly won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for their work on quantum information science that has significant applications, for example in the field of encryption.

Frenchman Alain Aspect, American John F. Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger were cited by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for discovering the way that particles known as photons can be linked, or “entangled,” with each other even when they are separated by large distances.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish scientist Svante Paabo won the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for his discoveries on human evolution that provided key insights into our immune system and what makes us unique compared with our extinct cousins, the award’s panel said.

Paabo spearheaded the development of new techniques that allowed researchers to compare the genome of modern humans and that of other hominins — the Neanderthals and Denisovans.

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Andreas Norlen was reelected on Monday as the speaker of the Swedish parliament.

The speaker of the parliament is second only to the King in terms of formal rank. Norlen, who comes from the Moderate party, had been nominated by the opposition blue block that narrowly won the election on Sept. 11.

"I would like to thank the parties that acted differently than they usually do in speaker elections," local media quoted Norlen as saying, referring to both blocs' support for his nomination.

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Forty-eight people have been shot dead so far in Sweden this year, making 2022 the deadliest year the country has seen since 2016, the Swedish Police Authority said on Friday.

The previous annual record was set in 2020, when 47 people died of gun-related injuries.

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Sweden's central bank Riksbank announced its sharpest policy rate hike in nearly three decades on Tuesday, raising it by 100 basis points to 1.75 percent to curb soaring inflation.

This is the third hike in a row following Riksbank's declaration in February that its policy rate would remain at zero percent until 2024. In April, the policy rate was raised to 0.25 percent, and then in June, to 0.75 percent.

STOCKHOLM, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The head of Sweden's Moderate Party, Ulf Kristersson, said on Wednesday he would begin the work of forming a new government after Prime Minster Magdalena Andersson conceded her Social Democrats had lost the weekend's general election.

The Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals appear set to get 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament to the centre-left's 173 seats, according to the latest figures from the election authority. 

A handful of votes remain to be counted, but the result is unlikely to change significantly.

STOCKHOLM, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Sweden's Social Democrat prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, accepted defeat on Wednesday after a close-fought election, handing the four-party right-wing opposition bloc victory and first go at forming a new government.

A handful of votes remain to be counted, but Andersson, who became Sweden's first woman prime minister last year, said the results showed the right bloc had won.

"In parliament, they have a one or two seat advantage," Andersson told a news conference. "It's a thin majority, but it is a majority."

STOCKHOLM, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Sweden's right-wing opposition on Wednesday held on to a narrow lead over the ruling centre-left bloc as counting neared the end after Sunday's close-fought vote for parliament, election authority data showed.

The Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals held a one-seat lead after Sunday's election but the results were too close to call before the final postal and overseas votes had been counted. 

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A populist anti-immigration party surged to become Sweden’s second largest political force in a weekend election dominated by fears of gang violence that has made the once-safe Scandinavian country one of Europe’s most dangerous.

Overall, a conservative opposition bloc including the anti-immigration party, the Sweden Democrats, had an extremely narrow lead over the incumbent center-left with 94% of the votes counted.