Following his first round of chemotherapy, the Wallander author contemplates the medical professionals whose work has allowed some hopeful cancer sufferers moments of quiet contentment After nearly five months, the first basic round of chemotherapy treatment for my cancer is complete. It was concluded with a week of intensive testing. I'm preparing myself for the follow-up appointment with Dr Bengt...
A herd of bison are gathered from across Europe for release into the wild in Romania. The animals were shot with a tranquiliser gun to immobilise them, then loaded onto a truck to drive to Romania. In all 17 bison were collected from wildlife parks and breeding centres across Europe Continue reading... ...
Reintroduction of short-haired bumblebee queens from Sweden to wildflower meadows of Kent expected to restore population Warm spring conditions should help Britain's rarest bumblebee as wildlife experts reintroduce a new batch of queens to help boost the species. The short-haired bumblebee vanished from the UK in 1988, having suffered declines over the previous 60 years as its habitat was lost, and...
She is part of the Swedish dynasty thrust into the tabloids when her brother's heroin addiction ended in tragedy. In a rare interview, Sigrid Rausing tells how her retreat to an impoverished village changed her life When I meet Sigrid Rausing, she has just returned to London from a short book tour to her native Sweden and is still somewhat in between worlds. The previous evening, she had been the headline...
Swedish designers have come to the aid of hair- and fashion-conscious cyclists with a hi-tech collar that inflates on impact With one in every four journeys being taken along its 300-mile network of cycle lanes, Sweden's third city of Malmö is often cited as one of the most cycle-friendly cities in a cycle-friendly country. But even in a place that appears a paradise for thousands who use cargo...
Boss Ian Read among senior figures at US drug firm to offload stock on 26 February and 3 March, regulatory filings shows Pfizer executives made millions by cashing in their shares in the US pharmaceutical firm, just weeks before renewing a £63bn bid for AstraZeneca. Ian Read, Pfizer's chief executive and public face of the takeover bid, sold $10.6m in shares on 26 February, according to regulatory...
Film-maker whose Searching for Sugar Man, about the hunt for a forgotten folk musician, won an Oscar The Swedish documentary film-maker Malik Bendjelloul, who has died aged 36 after reportedly taking his own life, had only a single feature credit to his name, but it was a notable one. He wrote, directed, edited and co-produced the low-budget 2012 film Searching for Sugar Man, about the commercial rediscovery...
Swedish police say no crime suspected in death of filmmaker who won 2013 Oscar for documentary about elusive musician Malik Bendjelloul, the Swedish film director who made the Oscar-winning music documentary Searching for Sugar Man, has died at the age of 36. Police spokeswoman Pia Glenvik told the Associated Press that Bendjelloul died in Stockholm late on Tuesday. The police did not specify the...
Pfizer boss Ian Read to face parliamentary scrutiny this week over the proposed £60bn takeover of AstraZeneca MPs will this week demand that the US drugs company Pfizer guarantee British scientists' jobs for at least 10 years as its boss Ian Read flies in to face parliamentary scrutiny over his proposed £60bn takeover of AstraZeneca. Andrew Miller, the Labour MP who chairs the science and technology...
Prison populations have fallen in the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany but elsewhere it is a mixed picture The Netherlands has more prison staff than prisoners. Sweden is shutting down jails because prisoner numbers have fallen by 10% in under a decade. In Germany, the decline is even starker: a fall of almost 20% since 2005. In the Netherlands, almost half of all prison capacity is empty. "Community...
Acclaimed Swedish film-maker is to direct the seventh book in Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole crime detective series Xan Brooks meets Tomas Alfredson Tomas Alfredson is to direct The Snowman , an adaptation of the seventh book in Norwegian author Jo Nesbø's series of crime novels about hardboiled Oslo detective Harry Hole. Variety reports the acclaimed Swedish director of Let the Right One In and Tinker...
Sweden is the place in Europe most friendly to Syrian asylum seekers but the reality of life there is tough. Here, some talk about their lives 'My life in Syria was amazing, I had everything," says Salah Debas, 23, with a mix of nostalgia and desperation. Until two years ago, Debas worked for a radio station belonging to Maher Assad, the brother of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. As a DJ,...
As chemotherapy for the cancer in his neck and lung continues, the Wallander author has an anxious wait for news I slept badly during the night of 23 March. I was worried about what was in store the next day. The following morning, I had x-rays and blood tests at the Sahlgrenska Hospital in Gothenburg. At about 11 o'clock I had an appointment with Dr Bengt Bergman at the lung clinic. It was the...
A new pilot project is being launched which will introduce us to self-driving and self-parking cars. The project called 'Drive Me', is being trailed in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, with 100 self-driving Volvos due to take to the roads. The scheme is aimed at reducing accidents and cutting down fuel consumption Continue reading... ...
The star of Lukas Moodysson's new film, We Are the Best!, on landing a movie role at the age of 13 Moments after Mira Grosin arrives, four of her schoolfriends requisition the table next to us, kicking back their chairs and studying the junk shop decor in an exaggerated display of inconspicuousness. "Oh my God, they're stalkers to me," she moans, throwing out her arm to block them from view....
In 1974 Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest. Forty years on, they are one of the best-loved and most respected bands in pop history. Björn Ulvaeus and Frida Lyngstad talk about sadness, jealousy and why they don't rule out recording together again Abba: from Eurovision to the split in pictures Björn Ulvaeus and Frida Lyngstad are sitting in a London hotel bar remembering the decadent 70s that...
It is 40 years since Swedish pop pioneers Abba won the the Eurovision Song Contest. To commemorate this anniversary Abba: The Official Photo Book gathers together 600 photographs that chronicle the band's history from their first taste of fame to their last recording sessions. Published by Max Strom Publishing at £35 Continue reading... ...
New building, expected to be completed in 2018, will provide a base for awards ceremonies and house a museum The Nobel Foundation has unveiled the winning design for a building that will give the world's most prestigious prize a home for the first time in its 114-year history. The foundation hopes to inaugurate the 25,000 sq metre building in 2018, when it is expected to house nearly all its activities,...
Swedish star of Prometheus and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy in the frame for role in London bio-terror drama Noomi Rapace is in talks to join the spy thriller Unlocked for director Mikael Hafstrom, reports Deadline . Written by Peter O'Brien, the film's screenplay made the 2008 Black List of the best unfilmed scripts in Hollywood. The plot revolves around a female CIA interrogator who becomes...
Newly declassified 1961 cable called for grounding of Belgian mercenary hours after UN secretary general crashed in Africa Hours after a plane carrying the UN secretary general, Dag Hammarskjöld, crashed over central Africa in September 1961, the US ambassador to Congo sent a cable to Washington claiming that the aircraft could have been shot down by a Belgian mercenary pilot. In the newly declassified...