March
Finland again ranked world’s happiest country, as US hits new low
Believing in the kindness of others is also much more closely tied to happiness than previously thought, according to the latest findings.
Europe’s biggest battery hope Northvolt files for bankruptcy in Sweden
The Swedish company boasted $US10 billion in funding and was set to challenge China’s electric vehicle battery dominance. Instead, it has collapsed.
January
NATO alarm as another undersea cable ‘sabotaged’
Disruption of the line between Sweden and Latvia follows earlier incidents linked to suspected sabotage by Russia and China.
November 2024
Chinese ship dragged anchor for 160km to ‘sabotage’ sea cables
An investigation into the Baltic Sea incident focuses on whether Moscow directed the captain of the Yi Peng 3 to deliberately cut the cables.
Goldman Sachs takes $1.4b hit on green battery investment
The US bank is the second-largest shareholder in Swedish battery maker Northvolt which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Chinese vessel spotted where Baltic Sea cables were severed
A Chinese-registered vessel on its way from the Russian port of Ust-Luga to Port Said in Egypt passed close to both the cables around the time each was cut.
September 2024
What Taylor Swift and Oasis can teach us about the economy
The music industry’s shift from product to performance foreshadows a widespread move towards intangible assets in the wider economy.
Inside the Swedish lolly craze sweeping TikTok
The world has gone mad for Scandinavian confectionery, thanks to a viral social media post about the high-quality, low-sugar sweets.
June 2024
Assange ‘won’t be silenced’ after guilty plea deal
Julian Assange is officially a free man, with the WikiLeaks founder now a convicted felon after pleading guilty in a remote US Pacific island courthouse.
A timeline of Julian Assange’s legal saga
A deal has brought an abrupt end to an extraordinary legal saga that has raised novel issues of national security, press freedoms, politics and diplomacy.
EU to impose multibillion-euro tariffs on Chinese electric cars
The European Commission is set to tell carmakers that it will provisionally apply additional duties of up to 25 per cent on imported Chinese EVs from July.
May 2024
High Court might rule on Assange extradition
Two judges at the High Court in London are set to rule on whether the court is satisfied by US assurances that Julian Assange, 52, would not face the death penalty.
It’s economically naive to cut China out of direct investment
There may be more “like-minded” investors out there for Australia’s resources sector, but will they be as competitive and efficient as China has proven to be?
Russia plotting sabotage across Europe, intelligence agencies warn
Russia has begun to more actively prepare covert bombings, arson attacks and damage to infrastructure on European soil, directly and via proxies, officials say.
April 2024
China set to launch high-stakes mission to moon’s ‘hidden’ side
China has made leaps forward in its lunar exploration, narrowing the technological chasm with the United States and Russia.
Bernanke tips BoE towards ‘scenario forecasts’ over Fed dot plots
This week, the former Fed chairman is expected to suggest the Bank of England adopt something new to update its forecasting process and repair its battered reputation.
March 2024
Sweden and Canada resume funding UN’s Palestine aid agency
The countries were among those that suspended payments to UNRWA after accusations by Israel that some of its employees had been involved in the October 7 attacks.
Do you really want to know if you’ll get Alzheimer’s?
A blood test will be able to predict which people in their 50s and 60s will develop the debilitating cognitive disease, which cannot be stopped.
Newly enlarged NATO starts drill in Finland, Norway and Sweden
With more than 4000 Finnish soldiers taking part, the Nordic Response 2024 represents the newcomer’s largest ever participation in a foreign exercise.
Sweden’s plan to ditch uranium ban will boost this ASX-listed stock
Australia isn’t the only country debating nuclear, and Melbourne-based company Aura Energy stands to be a big winner from Sweden’s renewed enthusiasm.