The first qualification round fo the Eurovision took place this weekend. Two artists went directly to the Swedish final in Stockholm Globe Arena in March: Salem Al Fakir with "Keep on Walking" and Ola Svensson's "Unstoppable".

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A moose on a bridge over the Pite river in north-Sweden, was so frightened when when a car was approaching that it jumped over the fence onto the ice on the river. Despite the height of ten meters, the mosse seems to have survived. The area was searched without finding neigher the moose nor a whole in the ice. (Piteå-Tidningen)

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At least fifty animals were found dead today on a farm in Skåne, south-Sweden. After a tip-off the county administrative board sent the animal inspector. Many years of maltreatment were behind this. (SVT)

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The Stockholm Police had a watch over a Thai massage place suspecting it for being a cover for selling sexual services. But during their watch, they noticed one of their colleagues among the customers. The police officer claimed that his back problems are behind his visit and it was impossible to prove anything since the place had both massage and sexual services. The police officers got a warning though for not doing his job. (SR)

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Many wild animals have a hard time in the cold weather. Both owls and other predator birds but also roe deers have difficulties in reaching their food under the hard snow crust. Swans and herons on the other hand have difficulties with the thick ice. The association Catastrophe Help to Birds and Game has helped many tired, starved animals who have not managed to find food. (SR/TT)

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The Moderate Party in the Stockholm region has decided to say no to free exchange of injection needles for drug addicts. The majority in the regional assembly (Sw: Landsting) is still likely to vote yes to the suggestion. Malmö and Lund already have similar programs, as do some cities in Norway. (Sr)

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An eighteen year old man is missing after a party in Varberg in south Sweden last night. The police is searching for him but so far unsuccessfully. The police do not want to speculate in public about whether they believe he is victim of a crime. (DN)

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There is a significant increase in number of Swedes who buy things online with their cell phones. During the last year the number has gone up from two to four percent. Twenty-five percent say they might do it in the near future. (DN)

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A sixty year old man got burn injuries when his apartment at Östermalm in Stockholm was totally destroyed in a fire today. The man is suspected of causing the fire by carelessness; he is an artist and had a lot of flammable material. He has also almost caused a fire before but at that time it stayed with smoke development. (SvD)

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Swedish soldiers in Afghanistan have for several days participated in an operation where they have been attacked by roadside bombs and been involved in the gunfight. “No Swedes are injured," says Henry Eskilsson, Communications Officer at the Swedish ISAF force. The Swedish force became involved after an attack on a police station in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday. Two policemen were seriously injured. The Swedish force stayed in the village until yesterday but has now returned to their ordinary tasks. (TT)

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There is a growing criticism among the public in Stockholm about the snow situation, with among else slippery streets, and congested side-walks. It has been the worst winter in many years, but it is hard to find a solution. City commissioner Ulla Hamilton understand that many feel frustration over the situation, but explains that the city can not break the rules of the Environmental Protection Agency. “Snow is considered as waste, and that can't be dumped anywhere”, says Hamilton. The Traffic Office has for years tried to find a place to dump the snow, but would-be neighbours have always stopped the plans. (SVT)

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Student who writes at the blog of Lund University, south Sweden, are not allowed to write about religion or politics. In an agreement the students promise not to blog about these issues “because it may be offensive”, writes local daily Sydsvenskan. Gunilla Jarlbro, who is a professor of media studies at the university, think the rules are remarkable. “That you should not discuss politics and religion sounds strange. It's like not to discuss social issues at all.” The management of the university is developing an guideline for social media use and is now examining what the law says. (TT)

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Since the economic crisis Sweden has plunged in the so-called wealth league from the Economic Organization OECD. In addition to hard-hit Ireland, and Iceland, Sweden belongs to the countries that have fallen the most in the ranking. The wealth league is measured by GDP per capita in the leading industrialized countries. In 2007, before the crisis, an average Swedish citizen had a standard of living eleven percent higher than the average in other OECD countries. 2009 it was only seven per cent higher. The figures may however be revised. (SR)

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Sweden has relatively few elevator accidents according to a report from Boverket (The Swedish Board of Housing, Building and Planning). However, they warn that many elevators are not checked as often as they should. According to Swedish law all elevators shall be controlled once a year. (SvT)

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The secondary court confirmed today the verdict from the municipality court in the so called Stureby case. One boy and one girl, both 16 years old, were sentenced to one year and eight months in youth care. The boy killed a fifteen year old girl while the convicted girl urged and encourage him to do so.(SvT)

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Stockholm plans to double its capacity to accept refugee children who arrives alone without adults this year. 200 more places will be created. All 26 municipalities in the region are part of the cooperation. (Sr)

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A funeral car that transported a dead body dropped the coffin in the middle of the traffic in Stockholm today. The rear door of the car went open and the coffin landed on the streets among surprised car drivers. No one was injured and since the body was unharmed the relatives might not be informed. (DN)

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In the snowy weather in Stockholm, several people have been injured by falling icicles and snow from the rooftops. One woman, 55-years-old, was seriously injured today when a large amounts of snow collapsed down on her. The snow fell from a seven-store house in the city district Blackeberg, western Stockholm. Another woman was this morning taken to the hospital after she had been hit in the head by a falling icicle in Södermalm, central Stockholm. (TT)

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“This will have consequences for the whole of Stockholm,” says one of the garbage men to daily Svenska Dagbladet. Stockholm's garbage men lost a ruling in the Labour Court, which makes them likely to get far less in pay in the future. Yesterday evening, they gathered for an emergency meeting and agreed to henceforth interpret health and safety legislation to the letter. “We are not going to force snow banks or retrieve garbage where the snow has not been cleared. We will not lift the 30-kg bags.“ The court ruling was about eight employees who did not agree to move from unit wages to a monthly salary, and thus was fired.

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The winter weather causes problems in the train traffic in the Stockholm area. An express train moving between Arlanda Airport and Stockholm derailed early this morning, something that lead to large delays in the train traffic north of Stockholm during the mid-morning. The driver had been ordered to move slowly to ensure that a switch was right. The driver drove very slowly, barely 10 kilometres an hour, but because of the snow a pair of wheels came off the rail. Thanks to the low speed, no one was injured. (SvD)

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The staff at Sweden's largest morning newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, were shocked by the news that more than 100 employees will loose their jobs. "It hit us like a bomb," says local union chairman, Hans Arbman, to trade paper Dagens Media. At a meeting earlier today, the newly appointed editor-in-chief Gunilla Herlitz, told that between 100 and 120 employees must go, a significant portion will be from the editorial staff. Dagens Nyheter has around 300 people in the editorial staff today.

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