25th anniversary of Olof Palme murder
Or make that murder mystery. It’s been said Sweden lost its innocence the night Palme was gunned down on an open street in Stockholm, on his way home from the movies with wife, Lisbet. The murder set off a massive manhunt, yet 25 years later the case remains unsolved. The murder investigation was fraught with mistakes from the offset, according to two government commissions and writers who have studied the probe. Numerous theories have been presented and investigated as part of the attempt to find and convict a killer. Meanwhile, Lisbet Palme picked out her suspect in a police lineup—petty criminal Christer Pettersson, who was later acquitted on appeal. Pettersson died in 2004 at age 57. In a Swedish radio interview aired recently, Lisbet Palme declined to talk about her personal feelings of the events but said this: “I’ve done my part. I’ve identified the murderer.” About Palme’s political contribution, she said his effort was “to keep democracy alive.”

Roxette on tour again
The entire world wants to see Swedish band Roxette on their comeback tour, which kicks off in Kazan, Russia. A total of 50 concerts are planned. “When Roxette completes this tour in August, some one million tickets will have been sold,” says Roxette booker Thomas Johansson at Live Nation. “No other Swedish artist comes close to such sales. Internationally there are only two Swedish bands who have become really famous—Abba and Roxette. And Abba didn’t tour enough.” Per Gessle, lead singer, is also amazed at the interest: “It’s staggering,” he says. “Just as amazing as the fact that our record is really taking off as well. The single ‘She’s got nothing on (but the radio)’ is topping the German charts. When did that last happen to a band of our age? U2? R.E.M.? Depeche Mode?” He has a hard time pointing out his favorite places during the tour. “Sure, the concerts in South America and South Africa have always been sensational. And the German audiences are wonderful. And Spain. And Prague. And the gig in Göteborg in 2001 wasn’t bad either.” Though Roxette in recent years has been taking a break, it’s clear the fans haven’t. In case you're a fan, here are the tour dates: Roxette World Tour and a Youtube interview about the upcoming tour Roxette on the world tour

Sweden paid part of Wallström’s salary
When UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon appointed Margot Wallström as Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, there was a lack of money in the UN’s regular budget. Last year, therefore, the UN fund that works with sexual violence in conflict, paid a million dollar to Wallström and her collaborators in New York. At the time of Wallström’s appointment, Sida (the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) was the greatest contributor to this particular fund. As of January 1 this year, Wallström’s work is being paid with money from the UN’s general budget.