Police scour CCTV for clues after Uppsala fatal shooting
Police are looking for a suspect after a man aged around 20 was shot dead in Uppsala last night.
Police were called to the Kvarngärdet district of the university city at 9.11pm on Sunday after loud bangs were heard. The man was found dead at the scene.
The crime scene was cordoned off for a forensic investigation, as officers worked to gather evidence.
"We have witnesses, and we will also be looking into whether there are any CCTV cameras set up near the scene – either our own or those of others," police spokesperson Pelle Vamstad told the TT news agency.
"In tandem with that, an active manhunt is under way as we search for whoever is behind this."
Swedish vocabulary: a crime scene – en brottsplats
Over 10,000 lightning strikes recorded as severe thunderstorms batter Sweden
Lightning struck more than 10,000 times on Sunday as a powerful thunderstorm swept across Sweden.
The southern parts of the country bore the brunt of the weahter. Erik Höjgård-Olsen, a meteorologist at the Swedish weather agency SMHI, stated that the storm was at its most intense in an area stretching from Småland up to southern Gästrikland. The 10,000 lightning strikes take in figures from the whole of the country.
"In the last half hour we've had just over 2,000 strikes, and around 3,000 during the half hour before that, which is proof that it is starting to ease off," Höjgård-Olsen told TT at around 6pm on Sunday.
The storm then moved on towards the Baltic coast. In its wake, a yellow weather warning was issued for large amounts of rain in Västerbotten and Västernorrland, just south of Umeå, which is in place until around 2pm on Monday.
The thunder and lightning caused disruption in several areas. Aftonbladet reported that a barn in Haninge, south of Stockholm, caught fire, while a water leak occurred in Huddinge as a result of the storm. In Kalmar, a football match between Kalmar FF and Örgryte IS had to be abandoned when heavy rain and thunder moved in over the area, according to local newspaper Barometern.
Swedish vocabulary: a yellow warning – en gul varning
Expert warns toxic caterpillar could spread to Sweden
The oak processionary moth caterpillar (OPM) – nicknamed "the caterpillar from hell" – has been spotted in several locations across Denmark and may make its way to Sweden.
Germany has been battling an aggressive outbreak of OPMs this summer, as our sister site The Local Germany has reported, and they have recently hit headlines in neighbouring Denmark.
"If the climate gets warmer and the caterpillar establishes itself in Denmark, it will very likely spread step-by-step to the Copenhagen area and subsequently appear in Sweden," Didrik Vanhoenacker, a biologist at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, told TT.
DON'T MISS: The Local Games – find the Swedish word in WordroW and crack the daily sudoku
The OPM is a nocturnal insect which gets its name from the fact that it feeds on oak leaves, and the caterpillars move together in a procession-like line when searching for a new host tree. They build distinctive white-grey, web-like nests on tree trunks or branches, which can range in size from a tennis ball to a football.
The toxic substances found in the caterpillar's hairs can cause allergic reactions, severe itching and blistering.
"The oak processionary moth has been present in Central Europe for a long time, but it has now spread northwards across Europe. It can also be found further down towards the Mediterranean. It is a relative of the pine processionary moth, which eats pine needles and is already found in Sweden, primarily on southern Gotland," said Vanhoenacker.
The caterpillars build communal nests in the oak trees. Before pupating to become moths, they shed their skin several times. The shed skins, complete with the toxic hairs, remain in the nests, and the hairs can then be carried by the wind. People standing underneath a tree with a nest risk getting the caterpillar hairs on them.
Denmark's first live populations of the OPM caterpillar were discovered in Odense in 2024. Since then, the species has also been found in Nyborg on Funen and Horsens in Jutland, according to public radio broadcaster DR, which also reports that the Ørbækparken preschool in Odense was forced to close temporarily after several children suffered from itching and rashes caused by the caterpillar hairs.
It is possible that the OPM arrived in Denmark via oak trees imported from plant nurseries in Germany and the Netherlands, Vanhoenacker believes.
"Sweden also buys trees from other countries, and there is no way to know for sure if the OPM's eggs might be tagging along on the trees. The moth eggs are only a millimetres or so in size, so you have to look very closely to spot them. They are often found on trunks and thin twigs, and they prefer older oaks where they spend the winter," he said.
Odense residents are reportedly dissatisfied with how authorities have handled the caterpillar problem so far. A joint effort against the OPM is needed, according to Denmark's minister for environment and animal welfare, Christian Rabjerg Madsen, who has initiated a coordinated response with the relevant authorities and the country's municipalities, DR reports.
Swedish vocabulary: oak processionary moth – ekprocessionsspinnaren
Gotland tourists urged to skip showers and wash in the Baltic Sea
The island of Gotland is facing a severe water shortage. In response, the regional authorities are now urging tourists to forgo their traditional showers and wash in the sea instead.
Region Gotland has teamed up with several hotels across the island in a joint effort to conserve water, reports Aftonbladet.
"We are providing free saltwater soap to guests and encouraging them to swim in the sea and wash themselves there instead," Johan Gustafsson, head of sustainability at Region Gotland, told the newspaper.
The saltwater soap can be picked up at the tourist information centre in Visby, as well as at the various participating hotels.
Swedish vocabulary: to wash oneself – att tvätta sig
Swedish campaign to persuade Afghan migrants to return home yields zero takers
The Swedish government spent over eight million kronor on a campaign aimed at getting 200 Afghan nationals to return voluntarily to Afghanistan. However, not a single person has taken the bait so far, reports Aftonbladet.
Officially, the international organisation Seefar is listed as the sender of the project, which aims to attract Afghans with the promise of a fresh start in the Taliban-ruled country. However, the project – named "Zindagi Taza" – is funded entirely by the Swedish government and has been running since 2025.
The goal was to reach 2,000 Afghans currently residing in Sweden and persuade 200 of them to return home. With only two months left before the project wraps up, no one has signed up.
"I think we should wait until the project ends before we evaluate it," Migration Minister Johan Forssell told Aftonbladet.
The campaign is targeted at Afghan nationals who can't be deported. According to Forssell, the objective is to address the issue of individuals going underground to evade authorities.
Swedish vocabulary: to take the bait – att nappa
Chinese foreign minister makes first visit to Sweden in 22 years
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi was received by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard in Stockholm on Saturday – marking the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Sweden in 22 years.
Trade relations with China were among the most important items on the agenda.
Speaking at a makeshift press briefing outside the Foreign Ministry in central Stockholm, Malmer Stenergard told the TT news agency that the EU is more united now than before regarding its trade relationship with China. The statement comes against the backdrop of the EU's 27 member states pushing for a tougher policy to reduce China's trade dominance within the bloc.
"We are united in the view that we must achieve a level playing field. The EU is also prepared to take measures to accomplish this. It is vital that our Swedish companies can compete on equal terms globally," Malmer Stenergard told TT.
China has positioned itself as a potential peacemaker in the Ukraine war. At the same time, the country stands accused of supporting Russia economically in its warfare and of training Russian soldiers – an accusation the EU recently levelled against Beijing.
The war in Ukraine was a key issue raised by the Swedish foreign minister during the meeting with Wang Yi, though no clear progress was achieved in the discussion. Malmer Stenergard declined to comment on the response she received.
"But it is obvious that we have two different views on the matter," she said.
Sweden's demand for the release of the Swedish-Chinese publisher Gui Minhai was also a prominent point during the day's meeting. Minhai, who was detained in 2015 on charges of "providing intelligence to foreign powers", has been deprived of his liberty in China for over a decade.
"We are told that he is in good health. We will continue to work towards his release," Malmer Stenergard said.
Swedish vocabulary: a level playing field – konkurrens på lika villkor (literally "competition on equal terms")