Tom Sullivan - Freelance Journalist

The Swedish national baking and pastry team head to Paris next month for the world baking and pastry championships. So what chance do they have to beat the French at croissants and the Americans at muffins? Read more / Listen

Every year hundreds of young Swedes harm themselves or attempt suicide and traditional psychiatric treatments don’t always help them. But a new form of outpatient therapy with roots in cognitive psychology and Buddhist meditation is getting surprising results. Read more / Listen

A demonstration at the weekend targeting Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt brought about 600 onto the streets in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. They were protesting what they see as the minister’s complicity with the Swedish oil company Lundin Oil. Listen here

An estimated 4,000 Swedish women bought so-called PIP implants which have caused a storm in France and the UK. The French implants were banned here in 2010 and clinics have been under fire for not following up cases properly. Listen here

Private schools are siphoning off millions of crowns of taxpayers' money instead of re-investing it in better education, according to the National Union of Teachers.In a report today the union claimed a handful of companies have earned close to US$20 million dollars from running private schools funded by the state. Listen here

Is the tabloid press in Sweden getting out of control? That is the view of Anders Letterström, a friend of the Swedish King at the centre of a growing media scandal. Listen here

Destruction of property, racist websites and vandalism of Sami street signs are on the increase in Northern Sweden according to the Sami Centre Against Discrimination and Racism. Read more

Food from Sweden’s indigenous Sami people is being marketed as climate friendly. But given that reindeer meat is the central ingredient in the traditional Sami diet, and the herds are moved long distances, between summer and winter grazing areas, how climate friendly can it be? Listen here

At least 30 Swedes have paid for organ transplants in developing countries in recent years, according to new figures obtained by Swedish Radio. That might not seem like many, but it is just the tip of the iceberg, say experts tracking the flow of organs, mainly kidneys, from poorer to richer countries. Read more / Listen

Although Sweden may enjoy an international reputation for gender equality, there are still big income differences between men and women. On average Swedish women earn 85 percent of a man’s salary or US$700 less per month. Areas dominated by female workers – education, health, childcare, services – continue to have low status, and low pay. Read more / Listen

Depopulation is a growing problem across the sparsely populated north of Sweden. More than 20 districts set to fall below 5000 inhabitants within a decade, as young people leave for higher education and jobs in cities further south. But the far northern district of Sorsele, with a population of 2700, or less than three people per square kilometre, may have found a way to reverse the trend. Read more / Listen

The biggest Nordic winter festival kicked off yesterday in the tiny Lappland town of Jokkmokk - just north of the Arctic Circle, It's also the most important gathering of indigenous Sami people in northern Europe, culminating on Sunday with Sami national day. And this year, in addition to the traditional Sami market - with its bustling trade in reindeer meat and handicrafts - the town is also hosting an international conference on climate change in the Arctic. Read more / Listen

More and more foreign prospecting and mining companies are coming to Sweden - attracted by the country's largely untapped mineral and ore deposits and by the ease of doing business here. But what effect is that having on the country's indigenous population who still herd reindeers across vast areas of the north? Read more / Listen

With temperatures in the capital dropping close to 20 degrees below freezing on Christmas Eve, you might wonder how anyone without a roof over their heads could survive outdoors. Read more

High ore prices and rising demand from nuclear power stations are causing a uranium prospecting boom in Sweden. Read more

The Sami National Association (SSR) has rejected accusations of widespread illegal slaughter and mistreatment of reindeer in Sweden. Read more

One of the largest wind farms in the world is being built in northern Sweden but not everyone is pleased about it. The turbines cut across an area used by Sweden's indigenous Sámi reindeer herders. Read more

Depopulation is a growing problem across Sweden. The far north is particularly affected as the population ages, fewer babies are born and young people leave. A major mineral find is often seen as the last hope for dwindling communities to hold onto their young people. Yet the region boasts other natural resources. Read more

With growing international interest in Arctic oil and gas reserves, Sweden's icebreaker fleet are set to play a bigger role in shipping, prospecting, and research expeditions in the region. Read more

In just a few years time space enthusiasts will be able to board private spacecraft bound for the Earth’s upper atmosphere from launch sites such as Esrange, near Kiruna in northern Sweden. And the funding generated from ticket sales may herald a new era in space research. Read more

Sweden’s most northerly town, Kiruna, has to re-locate. The mine it grew up around has caused subsidence that has reached the outskirts of the town. And a controversy has erupted over where the new town should be built. Read more

Controversial American author, Ophelia Benson, was in Stockholm last month to launch a translation of her book - ” Does God Hate Women?”- which argues that religion is used to justify oppression and violence against women and girls around the world. Read more

It’s not often you hear politicians speaking out against Sweden’s pioneering sex purchase law which makes it illegal to pay for sex but legal to be a prostitute. Read more

A Swedish icebreaker has been contracted to a US company involved in Arctic oil prospecting, north east of Greenland, sparking a protest from the environmental group Greenpeace. Read more

According to a number of reports, melting ice can totally transform the Arctic within the next 20 to 100 years, cutting transport times to East Asia by up to 40 per cent and throwing the region into the mainstream of global economic activity. Read more

Finding a place to stay is one of the biggest problems newcomers to Sweden face. To tackle the problem, Stockholm city council is planning denser housing developments, not only in the city centre but in the leafy near suburbs. Read more

The preparations for the royal wedding between Crown Princess Victoria and her fiancée, Daniel Westling, on the 19th of June have created a storm of media coverage in Sweden in recent months. Read more

Stockholm has a new museum of photography located in an old customs house - on the city centre's picturesque waterfront facing the old town. And to set the tone - the works of two of the world's most iconic photographers are on show there from now until the end of the summer.Read more

A Swedish magazine has published anti-royal poems and artwork in protest at what some see as the slavishly pro-monarchy media coverage in the run up to next month’s royal wedding in Stockholm. Read more

Stockholm and its surrounding areas are getting a makeover, with dozens of major building projects underway or planned for the decade ahead and the changes have upset a lot of people. Read more

Two walkers fell through melting ice on Lake Mälaren in central Stockholm yesterday as warmer temperatures and underwater currents prompted police to issue a melting ice alert. Read more

Diplomatic efforts are underway to mend a rift between Sweden and Turkey, caused by the Swedish parliament's decision to recognize the mass killing of Armenians and other ethnic groups in 1915 as genocide. Read more

The Swedish Maritime Administration has criticized ferry companies in the Baltic Sea for ignoring warnings and failing to change routes to avoid thick ice sheets. Read more

The Swedish Armed Forces has proposed to scale down the country's domestic defences, closing at least one air force base, eliminating one troop regiment and halving training resources for home defences. Read more

When pest control workers were asked to help remove a dangerously long icicle hanging from a building in Norrköping in eastern Sweden, they took the unusual step of shooting it down with a rifle. Read more

Swedes are increasingly afraid of encountering wild animals in the countryside, particularly bears, according to a new report. Read more

Swedish author and anti-war activist Jan Myrdal, 82, has sparked outrage following a public lecture in which he appeared to welcome the killing of Swedish, US and other soldiers. Read more

Eva Gabrielsson, long-time partner of best-selling author Stieg Larsson, has slammed a new book claiming he was a mediocre journalist who lacked objectivity. Read more

A washing machine is not the first place you'd expect to find a threatening note. But in Sweden, where communal laundry rooms are standard in apartment blocks, laundry stirs strong emotions. Read more

A controversial nuclear power plant in Finland - which is 3 billion euros over budget with several construction irregularities - is being held up as an example of all that could go wrong in such ventures. Read more

In Stockholm, Sweden, a new 'Yes in My Backyard' group is celebrating urban growth. Read more

The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Barack Obama appears to be an effort to spur on, rather than reward, peacemaking. Read more

Sweden celebrated its 30th anniversary of becoming the first country to ban hitting children. But activists split on whether sparing the rod is kind to kids – or makes them criminals. Read more

The founder of IKEA, one of the richest men in the world, described how his humble rural origins and well-known frugality shaped the multinational corporation over the past five decades. Read more

The Swedish government protests that it's legally prevented from commenting on press reports as Israel complains about an unsourced article alleging organ theft from Palestinians. Read more

Young voters gave a seat in EU parliament to new party that campaigned to loosen copyright laws. Read more

Last week Greenpeace failed in its bid to force Norway's StatoilHydro to abandon a $2 billion investment in a project that it says produces 10 times the greenhouse gases as North Sea drilling. Read more

As Obama tries to rein in Wall Street and raise taxes on the wealthy, critics say he is trying to turn America into Sweden. Meanwhile, in Sweden, it's full-speed ahead for capitalism. Read more

A growing battle between the Hells Angels motorcycle club and ethnic minority gangs in Denmark and Sweden is prompting renewed concern that long-simmering gang tensions are intensifying. Read more

Pirate Bay judge under fire for conflict of interest

Revelations that he is a member of several copyright protection groups are prompting calls for the guilty verdict to be overturned. Read more

Last week's conviction of the founders of The Pirate Bay did not shut down the filesharing website. Instead, it has boosted the ranks of its supporters and raised awareness of an ideological and legal battle for control of how the Internet is used. Read more

The four founders of the file-sharing website say they will appeal the jail sentence and fines. The site remains active. Read more

When Swedish politicians launched ambitious plans to increase internet access in the 1990s, creating a haven for online piracy was probably the last thing on their minds. Read more

DESPITE RISING unemployment, Sweden relaxed its immigration rules last week giving companies a free hand to recruit foreign workers without quotas. Read more

Despite rising unemployment, Sweden relaxed its immigration rules earlier this month, giving companies a free hand to recruit foreign workers without quotas. Read more

At first glance Hammaryby Sjöstad might seem like just another docklands development. But a closer look reveals some quirky differences. Read more

Sweden and the Nordics (selected clippings)

Swedish uranium prospecting boom

Sámi opposition to giant wind farms

Pirate Bay judge under fire for conflict of interest