TOPIC

/ location

Sweden

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Sweden. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Stockholm

Head of State

King Carl XVI Gustaf

Head of Government

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson

Flotilla crew during an interception by Israeli forces. Photo: Global Sumud Flotilla via Reuters

Israel-Gaza war

Israel intercepts Gaza aid flotilla in international waters off Greece, detaining dozens

Organisers accuse Israel of ‘abduction’ after boats are seized nearly 1,000km from the Palestinian enclave.

5 hours ago

European Union

Sweden targets social media giants over ‘murder ads’ recruiting children

29 Apr 2026 - 11:42PM

US-China relations

Are US agents around Trump armed with Chinese red dot sights?

29 Apr 2026 - 10:28PMvideocam

United Nations

Landmark UN nuclear summit opens as world’s warhead count grows

UN chief urges world to ‘breathe life’ into a landmark non-proliferation treaty as nations gather in New York.

28 Apr 2026 - 12:35PM

An unarmed US Minuteman III missile inside a silo. The US and Russia hold nearly 90 per cent of nuclear weapons globally. Photo: 90th Missile Wing

China-India relations

Why China won’t like India’s latest defence deal with South Korea

After Lee Jae Myung’s recent visit to New Delhi touting expanded bilateral cooperation, Beijing is likely to be uneasy, analysts say.

25 Apr 2026 - 9:00AMvideocam

Food and Drinks

The soy sauce artisans making the Chinese condiment with a dash of attitude

Two craft soy sauce makers in Sweden and Australia are turning away from ‘boring’ mass production methods to make the condiment in new ways.

23 Apr 2026 - 12:45PM

Americas and the Caribbean

Top Peru ministers quit in protest over stalled US F-16 jet deal

Peru’s interim president defers decision on the US$3.5 billion deal to his successor who will emerge from a run-off vote in June.

23 Apr 2026 - 1:53PM

A US Air Force F-16 fighter jet. Photo: AP

Israel-Gaza war

Sumud aid flotilla departs Spain for Gaza to break Israeli blockade

The Israeli military halted 40 boats assembled by the same organisation in October last year, arresting more than 450 activists including Greta Thunberg.

12 Apr 2026 - 6:40PM

Fame and celebrity

Meet Joel Kinnaman, who plays ‘monster’ Robert in Imperfect Women

The Swedish-American actor also stars in For All Mankind and Detective Hole – and is known for blockbusters like The Killing and 2014’s RoboCop.

9 Apr 2026 - 6:00AMvideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

Rights groups raise alarm after Iran executes 2 more opposition group members

The hangings are the latest targeting members of the banned People’s Mojahedin of Iran after four others were executed earlier in the week.

4 Apr 2026 - 2:31PMvideocam

People protest outside the US State Department on Monday to highlight the executions of MEK members in Karaj, Iran. Photo: AP

Japan

Why Japan’s advanced fighter project may get Canadian tailwinds

With Ottawa’s interest in the stealth fighter, Tokyo hopes the multinational project for its air force’s modernisation can regain momentum.

2 Apr 2026 - 8:04AM

A concept design of the Global Combat Air Programme sixth-generation fighter jet displayed at the 2024 Farnborough International Air Show. Photo: AFP

Crime

Sweden charges ‘monster’ man for selling wife to over 120 men

The man, 62, had for years benefited financially from pressuring his wife ‘to perform and submit to sexual acts’.

30 Mar 2026 - 8:47PMvideocam

Art

Fried bananas and family lore: a Swedish-Chinese art story

Lam turns Swedish-Chinese restaurant culture and digital defects into haunting works about migration, memory and generational loss.

27 Mar 2026 - 12:15PM

SCMP Highlights

Hong Kong Michelin star list; monthly zodiac forecast: 7 Lifestyle highlights

From a study linking poor-quality sleep and dementia to this lunar month’s predictions, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.

26 Mar 2026 - 4:43PM

Chocolate dessert by Leo Faler at Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic. The restaurant has been promoted from one Michelin star to two. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

Food and Drinks

Trailblazing Chinese restaurant is showing Swedes what the culture is all about

From baijiu to Sichuan cuisine, Surfers in Stockholm has it all. Now, this Chinese culture hub is gearing up to celebrate 20 years.

22 Mar 2026 - 12:45PM

Surfers chef Cao Dayu prepares a dish at the Chinese restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden. The restaurant has come a long way from its humble roots on a Swedish island to become one of the capital’s most popular Chinese restaurants. Photo: Emil Lif

China travel

Middle East oil shock sparks global airfare rises, with 9% increases feared

Surging jet fuel prices are pushing airlines – including several Chinese carriers – to raise fares, with a warning of 9 per cent price rises.

21 Mar 2026 - 11:00AMvideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

Military escort for tankers in Strait of Hormuz not long-term fix: IMO head

The UN organisation head said an international naval operation, as suggested by Trump, would not be sustainable.

17 Mar 2026 - 5:17PMvideocam

Trending in China

Swede owns vehicle test centre in China’s Inner Mongolia; likely only foreigner there

Enterprising 44-year-old sees business boom after local authorities build huge artificial lake so he can ‘ice test’ vehicles when it freezes over.

10 Mar 2026 - 6:00PM

A Swedish man has lived in the cold city of Yakeshi, Inner Mongolia, for two decades, running a leading ice surface vehicle testing facility. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Douyin

China-EU relations

EU strips AI, chips and quantum from industrial plan aimed at countering China

Leaked draft shows biotechnology and robotics are other cutting-edge sectors to be cut from Industrial Accelerator Act ahead of unveiling.

4 Mar 2026 - 1:16AMvideocam

France

France to boost atomic arsenal, could deploy nuclear-armed jets to allies

France’s Macron says eight European countries have agreed to a ‘forward’ deterrence plan to bolster continental security.

3 Mar 2026 - 4:41PM

Ukraine war

4 years into Ukraine conflict, Zelensky says Putin ‘did not win this war’

The president said Kyiv wanted ‘lasting peace’ and any truce agreement ‘must not simply be signed, it must be accepted by Ukrainians’.

24 Feb 2026 - 8:41PM

Ukrainian troops attend a training session at an undisclosed location in the Zaporizhzhia region on Sunday. Photo: EPA/Press service of the 65th Separate Mechanised Brigade

Electric & new energy vehicles

Geely’s Zeekr shifts into Italy as China’s European EV push gathers speed

The carmaker is pressing ahead despite tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, betting on demand for high-spec models.

20 Feb 2026 - 12:43PM

Zeekr is betting on European demand for high-spec models in its foray into Italy. Photo: Getty Images

Russia

Russia demands ‘concrete’ proof that it poisoned Navalny with dart frog toxin

Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands claim Russia had the ‘means, motive and opportunity’ to kill its opposition leader.

18 Feb 2026 - 9:38PM

My Take

My Take | Forget Canada, the real 51st American state appears to be gullible Australia

Aside from the first island chain of encirclement against China, much of the other island ‘defence’ chains look more like vassalising the not so ‘lucky country’ among others in the South Pacific.

23 Feb 2026 - 4:40PM

Marco Rubio

Rubio says US not disputing report of Navalny’s fatal poisoning by frog toxin

Five European governments blamed Russia for killing Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny while he was held in an Arctic penal colony.

16 Feb 2026 - 1:15PM

Alexei Navalny appearing on a screen via video link from the IK-6 penal colony in 2023. Photo: Reuters