Swedish News:

Journalist to lead Swedish Social Democrats. These Swedes find food in the garbage. Jonas Bergström moves on...  

• Journalist to lead Social Democrats
  Sweden's main opposition party, the Social Democrats, Thursday moved one step closer toward electing defense committee spokesman, news journalist and photograper Håkan Juholt as its next party leader, following months of internal squabbling over who could best restore voters' confidence and win back the governing seat at the next election. "We have chosen a person who corresponds well to our requirements. A person who can bring courage to our members, strengthen our organization, develop our politics and take us to an election victory," said Berit Andnor Bylund, chairman of the nomination committee. Juholt, a member of parliament since 1994 and chairman of the defence committee, was Thursday singled out by the Social Democrats' nominating committee as its preferred candidate to replace Mona Sahlin, who resigned as party leader after the Social Democrats' historic defeat in the last election in September 2010. Håkan Juholt, who lives in Oskarshamn in southeastern Sweden, is described as a compromise candidate, able to unite the party after a bruising period of conflict between the district and its fractions. But he is also described as “somewhat to the left” in the party, and as "a classic social democrat" who said that he is "so freaking tired of these almost religious exclamations of renewal". The Social Democratic Party, Sweden's oldest and largest political party, governed for the majority of the 20th century, but lost its stronghold to the center-right coalition in 2006.

• They find food in the garbage
  Here’s a housing collective that lives on food you and I throw away. Twice a week they hunt among garbage containers for stuff to put on the dining table. Tons of food is thrown away every year, and sometimes unnecessarily so. And according to four food activists who have started a housing collective in Bergsjön, Göteborg it is possible to live mainly on food that stores throw out. “We view it as a small measure against the waste of resources, at the same time we find different things and it is always nice with some variety,” says Steve Nyberg. What they find mostly: Bananas, citrus fruit, and salads. “Once we found 60 loaves of bread that had been baked three days prior. People trust the ‘before date’ much too much, when it’s actually mostly false.” Nyberg has lived on so-called dumpster diving for almost three months, and neither him nor Peter have any plans on quitting. Every Swede throws out approximately 100 kilos (220 lbs) of food every year. Half of which is still edible. Supermarkets and other stores throw out approximately 1200 kilos (2640 lbs), and an employee at a restaurant throws out around 3000 kilos (6600 lbs) of food a year.

• Jonas Bergström moves on
  Nordstjernan has reported on Princess Madeleine’s new love interest (the American financier Chris O’Neill). But Jonas Bergström, her ex-fiancé, has also found love again. And this time in Madeleine’s best friend the 28-year old Stephanie af Klercker. Svensk Dam reports that the two have been a couple for the past 3 weeks. Stephanie broke up from her boyfriend Ludvig Blomqvist at the same time Madeleine and Jonas parted ways. Today she is on a leave of absence from her job as marketing director at the events group Stureplansgruppen.