News in Sweden

Submarine activity confirmed. Swedes outranked in English. Dog brings unexpected race results. 

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  After years of alternating with the Danes and Dutch for being known as the world’s best speakers of English as a second language, Swedes are again ranked at No. 1.

• Submarine activity confirmed
  Armed Forces have confirmed speculation that a small submarine did in fact violate Swedish territory, a serious, unacceptable violation of foreign power. After millions of dollars and a week spent investigating the waters of Stockholm in October, a new report submitted to the government on the foreign submarine activity shows that Swedish territorial waters were violated and the violation was likely made by a military submarine at a speed of about one knot. It is not known exactly how big the craft was or the national origin of the submarine.

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  Swedish team captain Mikael Lindnord from Örnsköldsvik with his new friend, the now world famous dog Arthur. Photo: Krister Göransson/Team Peak Perfomance

• Outranked in English
  After years of being known as the world’s best speakers of English as a second language, Swedes have been outranked by the Danes and Dutch. But third place isn't a bad thing. Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands are all small countries that have long been dependent on communication for foreign trade, so these results aren’t surprising, says Claes Cedar, executive vice president of the global language company EF. Language tests among 750,000 adults ages 18-62 in 62 countries reveal the results, although it’s not so much a cross-section of the population as much as it shows adults who want to improve their English. This may be in part because many northern European companies test their employees in English. “It's partly a generational question. Those coming up to middle management level today interact more often and more intensively with the outside world. There’s a great need for English,” says Cedar.

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  A strange submarine in the waters of Stockholm’s archipelago? The photo was taken by the Hanna Horge early one morning when she was out walking her dog.

• Dog brings unexpected race results
  Several days of running, biking and rafting at high altitudes makes multisport one of the toughest sports in the world. But the Swedish team of four athletes, which included one American, increased by one when a dog showed up and refused to leave their world cup competition in Ecuador last week. “He just kind of chose us,” said team captain Mikael Lindnord from Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, who named the dog Arthur. Five days into the competition, the bedraggled dog appeared during a lunch break in the Andes. Lindnord gave him a meatball, and the rest is history. Officials weren’t keen to having a dog join the race, and the team regretfully said good-bye to Arthur. But despite deep mud and an almost impenetrable jungle, Arthur traveled alongside the team, even in the water. “We started paddling and he jumped in and followed us. So I paddled back and picked him up.” It was difficult to paddle with a dog on his lap, but Lindnord couldn’t leave him. They didn’t win the race, but they finished with a new friend. Lindnord plans to do everything he can to bring him back to Sweden. “For me it's not an option to leave him here. It was meant for Arthur to come with us. It was fate.”