Sweden Today:

Pope celebrates Reformation in Sweden / Snow chaos expected in Sweden / Dylan finally accepts Nobel / Stockholm third most expensive in Europe / Can health and fitness ideology qualify as a religion  

  • Happy Halloween!!

  • Pope arrives in Sweden
    (National) Hailed as an historic visit, Pope Francis arrived in Malmö this morning and was welcomed by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven. The Pope is in Sweden for two days to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and provide a Catholic mass in Malmö. It is the first time in 27 years that a pope has visited Sweden. The royal family will meet Pope Francis in Lund before worship services at the Lutheran cathedral. Follow the events live streaming at http://www.lund2016.net/media/livestream/

  • Snow chaos expected in Sweden
    (Weather) Sweden is in a flurry with headlines that winter has arrived. SMHI has issued a class 2 warning in Dalarna and meteorologists are calling for 10 to 20 centimeters (4 to 8 inches) of snow — in Sweden that means “snow chaos.” Snow has begun to fall in northern parts of the country, and reports say colder air will continue to move south during the week and large parts of Värmland and Svealand will see snow. Gothenburg, the coast, and southern areas will see mainly rain with slight chances of snowfall on Wednesday and next weekend.

  • Dylan finally accepts Nobel
    (Nobel) Bob Dylan, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, has broken his silence, and in accepting the award said, “of course,” as he spoke with Sara Danius of the Swedish Academy by phone. The songwriter took two weeks before making a statement, acceptance or even an acknowledgment was released. A brief announcement regarding the prize was noted on Dylan’s website but was deleted within 24 hours. Calls from the Academy went unanswered. The songwriter said that being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature had made him "speechless.”

  • Stockholm third most expensive in Europe
    (Real Estate) Results from a recent survey of the cost of living in the EU, compiled by Eurostat, shows Stockholm the third most expensive city in Europe, trailing London and Copenhagen. Only 7 percent of the respondents from Stockholm believe it is easy to find good housing at a reasonable rate, which is the same in Paris — the lowest in Europe. The results also show that only 38 percent believe integration is working well. Stockholmers, however, do feel satisfied with the financial status of their households with a whopping 90 percent believing it is satisfactory.

  • Can health and fitness ideology qualify as a religion
    (Culture) Researchers at the University of Halmstad and in Linköping have concluded that specific characteristics of health and fitness practices meet the criteria for identifying a religion. In this case criteria includes ideas for salvation, deliverance, community and leadership. Britt Pelters, lecturer at the University of Halmstad, notes that this applies to moral values as well.