Swedish News:

Prestigious prize for Tomas Alfredson. Sweden expells Rwandan diplomat for spying. Swedish eggs selling like hot cakes. 'Yes' is best. Warmer shoes for police. 

  • Prestigious prize for Tomas Alfredson
    Swedish director Tomas Alfredson received a prestigious prize for his film “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” at the British Bafta Award Ceremony last Sunday. Alfredson collected the award for Best British film and said, as he picked it up, that it was “easy to be outstanding when you’re surrounded by talented people”. The film also took home Best Adapted Screenplay prize. “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”, a film that stars Gary Oldman and John Hurt, is an espionage thriller based on the 1974 novel with the same name by John le Carré.

  • Rwandan diplomat expelled for spying
    According to sources, a Rwandan diplomat has been expelled from Sweden after having spied on Rwandan refugees. Utrikesdepartementet (the Ministry for Foreign Affairs) confirms that a diplomat has been expelled, but will not say what country he is from. Sweden is home to a small community of Rwandans, some of whom run blogs and online newspapers that are critical of Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Though officials at the Swedish Foreign Ministry and the Rwandan Embassy declined to comment, another source told Associated Press that the diplomat in fact was Evode Mudaheranwa, the Rwandan embassy’s second-highest-ranking official. Says Anders Jörle, Director at Ministry for Foreign Affairs: “We have expelled a diplomat last week. We have our reasons not to talk about it, it’s a delicate matter.”

  • Swedish eggs selling like hot cakes
    In many parts of Europe there’s craving for Swedish eggs at the moment. The already heavy egg export increased significantly in January, when the European Union put a ban on keeping laying hens in unfurnished cages. Since Sweden for a long time has fulfilled EU’s demands on furnished cages, the Swedish egg producers have an edge over their competitors in the rest of Europe. “The Swedish eggs are free of salmonella and are highly sought after now as prices are getting steeper,” explains Håkan Burlin, managing director at Stjärnägg.

  • 'Yes' is best
    There are some brands Swedes seem to consistently prefer over others—this became clear when Ikea took out all brand items but their own. Kalles Kaviar is one, Marabou chocolate is another.
    The real darling, however, is not a food item but a dishwashing detergent, and if you’re a Swede you probably nod knowingly now. That dishwashing detergent is Yes. According to a fresh study made by ISI Wissing, over 1000 people were asked to rank 468 brand items, and now Yes tops the list with the highest number of satisfied customers. “We are very pleased over this result,” says Cecilia Udekwu, Communication Officer at Procter and Gamble who markets Yes. “We view this as an acknowledgment from our consumers.”
    Yes is the Swedish trademark for the British dishwashing detergent Fairy. Both Yes and Fairy used to come in an iconic white bottle with a red cap—these bottles have now been replaced with PET bottles. Traditionally Yes (and Fairy) was green in color, today the detergent comes in green, yellow, and orange.
    The entire top ten list of favorite brands among Swedes looks like this:
    1. Yes (dish detergent)
    2. Apoteket (brand name for health and skin care sold at Apoteket)
    3. Ikea (the furniture and design store)
    4. Lambi (toilet and tissue paper)
    5. Sony Ericsson (mobile phones)
    6. Adidas (sports apparel)
    7. Svinto (brand name for steel wool)
    8. Nokia (mobile eletronic device)
    9. Ajax (cleaning product)
    10. Levis (apparel)

  • Warmer shoes for police
    The police in Kiruna have been freezing their feet off due to bad footwear and a cold winter. Now they are about to receive better shoes. Norrbotten’s county police commissioner Per Karlsson promises that his employees will get warm winter boots. “Finally! It sounds great. We have waited so long for this, so we are very happy,” says Maria Haara, a police in Kiruna. Police in Stockholm started a campaign earlier in the winter to help their colleagues in the north.