Scandinavia

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Finland, Sweden Are Seeing Record Freezing Temps

Just another day in frigid paradise on Tuesday as cold snap puts Nordic countries on blast

(Newser) - Finland and Sweden recorded the coldest temperatures of the winter Tuesday as thermometers plummeted to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit as a result of a cold spell prevailing in the Nordic region. In Nikkaluokta, a small village inhabited by the Indigenous Sami people in northern Sweden, thermometers showed temps of minus...

If Ikea Has Its Way, Your Baby Will Be Named Malm

Swedish retailer's Norway branch offers 'name bank' with hundreds of ideas based on its products

(Newser) - Have you thought about Malm, Kivik, or Trotten? Swedish retailer Ikea is known for the distinctive names of its flat-pack home products. Now, the company's Norway branch wants to use the brand's experience to help parents browsing the baby-naming department. Ikea Norway has built a "name bank"...

Scandinavian Airlines Ad Sparks Outrage
Scandinavian Airlines
Ad Sparks Outrage
video

Scandinavian Airlines Ad Sparks Outrage

'What is Scandinavian for real? Absolutely nothing'

(Newser) - Scandinavian Airlines temporarily removed an online ad after criticism on social media, particularly from anti-immigration parties, that the video detracts from the region's culture and history. The video, titled "What is Scandinavian for real? Absolutely nothing," was uploaded Tuesday and was taken down hours later, the AP...

Oil Tanker Sinks Navy Ship
Collision Sinks Navy Ship

Collision Sinks Navy Ship

Norway's navy reeling from loss of KNM Helge Ingstad

(Newser) - A Norwegian warship has pretty much sunk after colliding with an oil frigate and getting a nasty hole torn in its side, CNN reports. The KNM Helge Ingstad, one of five frigates in the nation's navy, was navigating western Norway's inner fjords earlier this month when it struck...

Ring Links Vikings to Ancient Islam

Colored-glass ring is inscribed with either 'to Allah' or 'for Allah'

(Newser) - Those Vikings really got around: Not only did they land in North America long before 1492, they may have visited the Islamic world as well. As possible evidence, researchers say a ring from a ninth-century Viking woman's grave looks exceptionally Islamic, Science News reports. The silver ring was first...

Why Scandinavia Stinks at Figure Skating
 Why Scandinavia Stinks 
 at Figure Skating 
VANCOUVER OLYMPICS

Why Scandinavia Stinks at Figure Skating

Fault the Soviets, and other reasons for no medals since 1936

(Newser) - Though the Scandinavian nations generally fare well in the Winter Olympics, there’s a gaping hole in their success when it comes to figure skating (no medals since 1936), leading some bloggers to try to figure why. Some theories:
  • Blame the Soviets. During the Cold War, the Eastern Bloc sunk
...

Scandinavia Battles Genital Mutilation

African, Middle Eastern immigrants arrested after mutilations abroad

(Newser) - Scandinavian countries are hitting perpetrators of genital mutilation with heavy fines and prison sentences, even when the act is committed in other countries, Global Post reports. African and Middle Eastern immigrants who take their daughters abroad for genital mutilations—which are considered normal and even necessary in some cultures—are...

Iceland PM Wins Mandate in Crisis Election

Leftist coalition seeks EU membership after economy's collapse

(Newser) - Iceland's interim center-left government, which came to power in February after the spectacular collapse of the nation's economy, has won a resounding victory in a snap election, reports the Times of London. The "great, historic victory" was an endorsement of her plans to have Iceland "start thinking about...

Swedish Princess Will Marry Personal Trainer

Swedish couple met at a gym

(Newser) - In what sounds like a real-life Disney movie, the crown princess of Sweden lifted her country out of a glum mood—at least for one day—by announcing her engagement to her personal trainer, the Times of London reports. Crown Princess Victoria's fiancé has undergone a royal makeover: no more...

Britney to Front Furniture Biz
 Britney to Front Furniture Biz 

Britney to Front Furniture Biz

Spears' dad trying to wrangle endorsement deal with Danish line

(Newser) - Britney Spears, who once ditched a custody hearing to await a furniture delivery, may be going into the ottoman and end table business herself. In an attempt to salvage his daughter's bleeding fortune, Jamie Spears has spent two months on a deal whereby the struggling pop star would endorse a...

Kids' Clothes Give Teacher a Real Headache

Swedish school bans stripes, polka dots to ease migraines

(Newser) - Bad news for Pippi Longstocking wannabes—a Swedish preschool has banned striped and polka-dotted children's clothing because the patterns trigger one teacher's migraine headaches. The ban is driving some fashion-conscious parents dotty, but the school's principal defends the teacher's right to "an appropriate work environment," reports the Local ...

11 Stories