Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday​on August 13, 2025 at 6:03 am

Foreign minister says she is ‘following government’s line’ on Israel

Sweden’s foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, has reiterated Sweden’s government’s call for the EU to suspend a trade deal with Israel, saying that this is the government’s agreed line, after the Christian Democrats’ leader Ebba Busch claimed she had not agreed on the position.  

“I am following the government’s line,” she told TV4. “This is a very difficult conflict and every party has their own positions to drive. I am putting forward the government’s line.”  

The government’s position, she said, was “coordinated and clear”.    Busch said last week that the government’s position gave a “one-sided focus” on Israel. 

Swedish vocabulary: ensidigt fokus – one-sided focus 

Significant risk of forest fires in southern Sweden 

Sweden’s weather forecaster SMHI has warned of an “extremely significant risk” of forest fires this week on Öland, parts of Skåne, and the area around Gothenburg, with forest fires also likely across much of southern and central Sweden. 

The agency is advising people to be aware that fires can easily be set off by barbecues, campfires, sparks from machinery, or lightning strikes, and are asked to check at all times whether there is a fire ban in their area.   

The warning covers all the days from Wednesday until the end of the week. 

Swedish vocabulary: en riskbedömning – a risk assessment  

FC Copenhagen hammer Øresund rivals Malmö in Champions League qualifier

The rivalry across the Øresund between FC Copenhagen and Swedish team Malmö FF rarely gets a new chapter, given the two teams play in different national leagues and can only meet in European competition.

Because of this, the match between the two in the qualification stages of the Champions League was given a big billing ahead of their clash in Copenhagen last night.

Following on from a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the tie in Malmö, FC Copenhagen ran out 5-0 winners after a dominant performance at Parken, sending their Swedish opponents back across the bridge with their tails between their legs.

“We knew who the best team was. We’ve been talking about it for a long time. We stayed calm and humble and let our feet do the talking,” FC Copenhagen attacker Mohamed Elyounoussi told DR Sport after the match.

Swedish vocabulary: en förlust – a loss

No bids for new sleeping wagons for Stockholm-Norrland train

The Swedish Transport Administration did not receive a single bid for new trains, sleeping wagons and couchette carriages for the night train between Stockholm and the far north of Sweden which met its requirements. 

The administration plans to put out a new tender for the carriages, which should be delivered by 2030 at the latest. The current wagons are between 30 and 40 years old. The administration intends to order ten new locomotives and 91 new carriages. 

Swedish vocabulary: liggvagn – couchette carriage

Traffic over Öresund Bridge sets new record in first half of 2025

Traffic over the Öresund Bridge reached record levels in the first half of 2025, as residents of Sweden sought better pay on the Danish side, and Danes crossed to Sweden on shopping and leisure trips to take advantage of cheaper prices.

An average of 20,404 vehicles crossed the bridge daily between January and June – a 6.6 percent increase compared with the same period last year, according to operator Øresundsbro Konsortiet. Leisure travel among ØresundGO members rose 7.7 percent, freight traffic grew 3.3 percent, and commuting surged by 9.7 percent.

The Konsortiet’s chief executive, Linus Eriksson, said the figures showed the bridge, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, is playing an increasingly important role in everyday life and business in the region.

Swedish vocabulary: rekordstor – record high