Melodifestivalen draws 3.9 million viewers
A bumper week for public broadcaster SVT saw ratings explode for the finals on consecutive evenings of song competition Melodifestivalen and ever-popular game show På Spåret.
Day: March 15, 2010
Sweden
Germany
Ministry calls lawyers’ demands for Kunduz bombing victims unrealistic
The German Defence Ministry may break off negotiations with lawyers after they demanded €7 million for the families of victims of a September 2009 bombardment that killed scores of Afghan civilians near Kunduz.
Sweden
King’s pal seeks bumper payout for country estate
Torgils Bonde, a member of Sweden's high society, has raised eyebrows by putting his 2,800 hectare property up for sale for close to a record sum of 200 million kronor ($28.3 million).
Germany
France attacks hefty German trade surplus
France on Monday accused Germany of trying to boost trade at the expense of Berlin's eurozone partners by squeezing salaries and pushing exports, as Europe seeks to emerge from the global economic crisis.
Sweden
Government goes ahead with drug tests for kids
The Swedish government has ignored the advice of Sweden's Council on Legislation (Lagrådet) and proposed the introduction of drug tests on children below the age of 15.
Germany
Catholic groups chastise pope’s silence on sex abuse scandal
German Catholic groups on Monday criticised the pope's silence over a snowballing child sex abuse scandal rocking his native country's Church.
Germany
Westerwelle’s taboo travels
Homophobia didn’t disappear once Guido Westerwelle became Germany’s foreign minister. But questions about him promoting personal interests on official trips abroad have nothing to do with him being gay, argues Tissy Bruns from Der Tagesspiegel.
Sweden
Riksbank off base with finance crunch rate hikes
The Swedish Riksbank has concluded that while everyone failed to see the impending finance crunch, it's own board was furthest behind.
Germany
Audi blasts past French speed trap at 300 kph
French police have arrested a man caught driving a German-registered sports car so fast that their speed trap couldn't clock the estimated 300 kilometres (186 miles) per hour he was travelling.
Sweden
Swedish road deaths plunge to record low
The wintry weather in Sweden has led to a record low number of road deaths, new figures from the Swedish Road Administration (Vägverket) show.
Sweden
Sweden blitzed by ten-goal Canada
Sweden's sledge hockey team received a thumping in Vancouver on Sunday as Canada posted a 10-1 win in the second group game at the Paralympic Games.
Germany
Week off to a slippery start as icy roads cause multiple accidents
Wintery road conditions caused one death, traffic jams and several accidents across Germany, as commuters began their work week on Monday.
Germany
Deutsche Telekom introduces quota for women executives
Europe's biggest telecommunications group, Deutsche Telekom, said Monday it would introduce a 30-percent quota for women in senior positions by the end of 2015.
Germany
German arms exports double in five years
Germany has doubled its arms exports over the last five years, making it the world’s third largest weapons dealer after the United States and Russia, according to a new study released on Monday.
Sweden
Champs held as football season gets underway
Swedish champions AIK got off to a slow start with a home draw against top-flight newcomers Mjällby. The 2009 runners-up IFK Gothenburg meanwhile opened the season with a flurry of goals, dispatching Kalmar 0-3.
Germany
Rösler mulling extra per capita health insurance premium
German Health Minister Philipp Rösler plans to tack a monthly per capita premium of €29 on health insurance beginning in 2011 to make up for deficits at statutory insurers, a media report said on Monday.
Germany
Neo-Nazis resort to subtler tactics
Neo-Nazis in Germany are changing their recruitment strategy to include subtler tactics that target young people, a domestic intelligence expert said on Monday.
Sweden
Reinfeldt denounces genocide vote
Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt called his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Saturday in a bid to distance the Swedish government from a parliamentary vote which recognized the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.
Germany
Westerwelle calls criticism of trips ‘slander’
Germany Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has rejected charges that he used foreign trips to promote the business interests of his partner, family and party donors, calling them "slander" in an interview.
Sweden
Shots fired at Malmö police station
At least one shot was fired at the main police station in Malmö on Sunday evening. Police immediately cordoned off the building.
Sweden
Man held over university massacre threat
A 33-year-old man has been arrested for threatening a student massacre at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm.