News about Ulf Kristersson

Queen Silvia of Sweden enjoyed a joyful moment during her visit to Thailand where she sang and danced to Dancing Queen by ABBA. It has sentimental meaning for the royal after ABBA performed the hit at a pre-wedding gala aehad of her marriage to King Carl XVI Gustaf in 1976, and again at the Queen 50th birthday celebrations in 1993. She donned a glamorous wine red gown, heeled silver slippers and chunky silver bracelet as she stepped out onto the dance floor.

In light of the downward spiral of East-West relations - not to mention the alarming escalation of tensions further afield in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific - the UK and its European partners could soon be forced to contend with any number of major military threats. As a result, many countries are reversing decades of peacetime policy to reignite their war engines. Others never stopped and are only consolidating efforts to ensure they are fit for conflict. But there is little doubt that all Europe is now scrambling to prepare in anticipation of what may lie over the horizon. Here, MailOnline assesses what Britain and its continental allies are doing to ready their armed forces, economies and citizens for the prospect of war.

Crown Princess Victoria looked sophisticated as she arrived for lunch with the Danish royals in Stockholm.(left) The Swedish Royal, 46, looked summary in a bright pink gown as she arrived at the City Hall with husband Prince Daniel on Tuesday, ahead of a meal with Queen Mary of Denmark and King Frederik X. It is Danish royal couple's second day of their state visit to Sweden , after they arrived on the royal yacht Dannebrog on Monday. On arrival to the venue Princess Victoria, who appeared in great spirits, received a bouquet of flowers from a young girl. (right)

Sweden has been rocked by a new bout of gangland horror after a 39-year-old father was fatally shot and killed in front of his young son in broad daylight after allegedly challenging a group of youths. The victim identified in media reports only as Mikael was shot in the head just after 6pm on Wednesday evening as he cycled to a swimming pool with his child, succumbing to his injuries early Thursday, according to police. Several media outlets, including television chain TV4 and tabloids Expressen and Aftonbladet, said he was shot because he confronted the gang. Police have not confirmed those reports.

The Ilyushin Il-20 electronic signals intelligence (ELINT) aircraft was registered breaking into the Swedish flight information region close to the island of Gotland, which is widely seen as the most strategic location in the Baltic Sea. A pair of Eurofighter Typhoon jets were scrambled from an airbase near the German town of Laage to meet the Il-20, with Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe, sharing unsettling images of the fighter jets closely flanking the Russian plane. Codenamed 'Coot-A' by NATO, the Il-20 ELINT plane is packed with radar arrays and sensors designed to gather intelligence and help other aircraft and armed forces identify key vulnerabilities in their adversaries' defence networks. 'A deployment of our alert squadron of the Tactical Air Force Wing 71 ''Richthofen'' out of Laage. Together with our [Swedish] partners we checked a [Russian] reconnaissance aircraft at Gotland,' a post by the Luftwaffe read.

Göttingen, a 'giant aircraft carrier', is just 120 miles off the coast of NATO's Baltic triad of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, but also 230 miles north of Kaliningrad, who has been characterized by analysts and commentators as a "giant aircraft carrier." Its prime location provides significant benefits in the deployment and monitoring of air and sea traffic in the Baltic Sea, and military analysts and commentators in Russian media have often referred to it as a highly coveted target. During the Cold War, Sweden maintained a military presence on Gotland, with the island's peak housing up to 25,000 troops in 2005, but it was almost totally demilitarized in 2005. Now, with Sweden's accession to NATO complete, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the possibility of re-arming Gotland was "one obvious thing to be discussed with our new NATO allies" as part of a growing increase of military readiness in the Baltic region.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, 46, looked sophisticated in a cerulean trench coat with black leather gloves in Stockholm today. Princess Estelle, 12, (pictured left and right) and Prince Oscar, eight, posed outside the palace in Stockholm's capital with her husband Prince Daniel, 50, (far right) and their children, Princess Estelle, 12, (pictured left and right) and her children. (second from right) According to tradition, such names align with particular dates, and Crown Princess Victoria's is commemorated on March 12. Although the heir has opted for more muted shades, such as grey or cream, over the past two years, she has decided to dress more vibrantly today.

Russian warplanes intercepted Russian warplanes over the Baltic Sea, marking a critical moment in the country's integration with NATO. After their flag was hoisted at NATO headquarters in Brussels, the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen jets stormed the skies in their first real-world mission alongside German and Belgian aircraft on Monday morning. Following Sweden's formal admission to the alliance on March 7, its multirole jets served in their first visual identification mission as part of the NATO Air Policing Mission over the Baltic Sea. The JAS-39 Gripens were scrambled twice on March 11 to find and intercept Russian military aircraft in a show of operational readiness. An unidentified track over the Baltic Sea stretching from Kaliningrad to mainland Russia has been detected by NATO's Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC), which has triggered controllers to deploy Swedish jets from Sweden.

The 'Marine Security Belt 2024' naval drills take place later today, and Iranian, Russian, and Chinese warships (left, inset) will cover some 172,000 square miles (6,600 square miles) of sea with the intention of 'fostering peace and multilateral cooperation.' According to Iranian Admiral Mostafa Tajaddini, the three nations' drill, which was the fourth since 2019, was also designed to increase trade, combat 'piracy and terrorism, aid to humanitarian causes, and exchange data in the field of rescue.' After Sweden officially became part of the security bloc last week, the trinations naval drills came as Swedish troops joined some 20,000 NATO troops on massive military exercises in Norway and Finland (right). The 'Steadfast Defender' war games, some of the alliance's biggest ever, will see 90,000 troops deployed in drills over several months aimed at showing how US troops could help European allies if a war erupted with a 'near-peer' rivalry - often as Russia.

In a protest at NATO headquarters on Monday, Sweden's flag was unveiled at the NATO headquarters in 2024, two years after Russia's complete takeover of Ukraine. After being forced to seek protection under the alliance's security umbrella, he has cemented Sweden's place as the 32nd member of the alliance. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Crown Princess Victoria, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stood on as two soldiers raised the blue banner among the official circle of national flags at the alliance's Brussels headquarters amid continuous rain. "The Russian, brutal, full-scale insurgation against Ukraine united Sweden behind the conclusion that a fully fledged NATO membership is the only viable option,' says Sweden's prime minister, who declared that Sweden had abandoned decades of post-World War II neutrality when it officially joined NATO on March 7.

I'm not sure what the White House medicine man did with the IV or if old Joe dabbled in Hunter's disco dust, but if PepsiCo bottles whatever juiced up President Brittle Bones for 67 minutes last night, they've got a billion-dollar product. Joe was welcomed by fangirling Democrats with a rousing dose of 'Get Off My Lawn' - like Popeye if he swapped out spinach for uppers.' They chanted as Tripsy Magoo marched toward the lectern, halting every three feet for sloppy glad-handing and a tumbling selfie with a nameless backbencher.' Our unethical president started on a strange note, as the majority of the country watched to see if he'd wandered offstage mid-speech or face-plant into the Supreme Court Justices' laps. This was not a State of the Union address. It was the re-launch of Biden's flat-lining campaign, which was the re-launch.

Sweden's formal admission to NATO today is a dramatic smörg'sbord of a body blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin's (top right) worldview and global domination plans. Not only does it turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake, but it also isolates the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which lies between Poland and Lithuania, and creates a strategic chokehold on the Kremlin's main port in St. Petersburg. Althoughtfully, Russian nuclear submarines were largely free to run amok along the coasts of Sweden and Finland. No longer exists. Not since Finland joined NATO in April 2023 - and now Sweden nine months later. Top right: In Washington, 2024, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson accepts Sweden's accession from Sweden's instruments of accession.

It's been almost two years of political debate and a war of words with several member states, not to mention a string of troubling threats from Vladimir Putin. Sweden, on the other hand, is expected to officially join NATO in a dramatic departure from a two-century-long policy of military neutrality. Prompted by Ukraine's February 2022 invasion, the Scandinavian nation and its Nordic partner Finland did an extensive analysis of their long-serving national security strategy and applied for membership in the mammoth security bloc just two months later. And now, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is in Washington to sign over the final documents, with the White House announcing in a tweet that Sweden will officially be granted member status in today's State of the Union Address.

Fire from both directions from above Britain's second aircraft carrier could be seen from a Merlin helicopter from 820 Naval Air Squadron. The Royal Navy said that "flares are only one part of the Defensive Aid Suite (DAS). The flares form only part of the DAS system; they are specifically designed to combat Infra-Red seeking missiles (MANPADS). 'NATO forces will be deployed in numerous countries and in several domains (maritime, air, space, and cyber),' the spokesperson said.

Since an 'unknown drug' was released, 500 people in the office were evacuated by police. Although mask-wearing officers dealt with the situation, the building was cordoned off. The country is expected to pass its final hurdle in joining NATO on Monday after Hungary casts its vote so the country is on high alert

They will'hunt down and defeat' violent criminal cartels with support from the Armed forces, according to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Following Albania's defiance in Sweden, the country now has the second-highest rate of fatal shootings in Europe. Kristersson said they are investigating a scheme in which officers will be allowed to search people and their vehicles in definite areas. According to The Times, officials do not have to have a clear suspicion that the passerby has committed a crime in order to carry out the search.

Turkey has officially accepted Sweden's membership in NATO, removing the biggest remaining obstacle to expanding the Western military alliance. Hungary is the only NATO member to accept Sweden's application after 20 months of delays. Turkey's general assembly, where President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling alliance holds a majority, voted 287-55 to accept the application submitted by Sweden in 2022 to improve its defense in reaction to Russia's full invasion of Ukraine. It comes just days after Sweden's civil defense minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin warned his world to prepare for war.

The French president said on television today that all European states are in danger...this Islamist terrorism is back!' We all have a vulnerability.' It's what comes with being a democracy, a rule-of-law nation in which there are people who will commit the worst acts at any moment,' Macron told reporters in Tirana, Albania's capital. His remarks came just hours after Belgian police shot and killed a suspected gunman in Brussels following an intense manhunt for an ISIS fanatic who killed two Swedish football fans with an automatic rifle last night. In the aftermath of the assault, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called for tighter border controls in Europe. In a knife attack at a school in Arras, a 20-year-old Chechen refugee stabbed a French schoolteacher to death and injured two others in just days.

Three people were killed in and around Stockholm last week, the first to be caught up in gangland violence that has gripped the region as a result of a feud between two gang leaders (bottom-left and center). Soha Saad (bottom-right), 24, was killed in an explosion caused by a bomb that was supposed to be placed to kill her neighbors. In the same 12 hours, an 18-year-old rapper was shot dead at the Mälarhöjden sports ground in Fruängen, southern Stockholm, during a brazen attack during a football training session, and one man was killed and another was wounded in a shooting in Jordbro, south of the capital. When the feud between the 37-year-old's criminal network Foxtrot and the Dalen gang, led by Mikael 'The Greek' Tenezos, 25 years ago, erupted in many towns last Christmas, 'Kurdish Fox', a popular drug market in Sweden, sparked fear in several cities. The feud between the two gang leaders seemed to have ended soon, but many violent offences connected to Foxtrot involving teenagers and young adults, both as criminals and victims, would occur in the months that followed.

As the country's prime minister prepares crisis meetings with the head of the armed forces today, Sweden is considering sending troops to put an end to gangland violence that has claimed the lives of 12 people this month. Ulf Kristersson has pledged to fight criminal gangs and will consult with military chief Micael Byden and national chief of police Anders Thornberg today to see how the armed forces can support the police fight gangs.' It came after a bloody 12 hours saw an 18-year-old rapper executed on a sports field (bottom right), a second man was shot dead, and a 25-year-old woman was killed in a devastating bomb blast in Stockholm (top right). And this month has been the deadliest for shootings with 12 people killed so far. Prosecutors say a 13-year-old boy (left) was discovered dead in the woods in Stockholm's suburbs after being shot in the head in yet another case of 'gross and completely reckless gang violence.' In recent years, the Scandinavian country has been gripped by a brutal conflict between gangs and heroin trafficking, which has escalated over vendettas between the gangs. Explosions have frequently rocked apartment buildings and homes around the country, while shootings, which have previously been restricted to impoverished areas, have now become common sights in public places in the usually prosperous, wealthy world.

The foundation, which hosts the awards ceremony and banquet in Stockholm each year, has decided not to invite ambassadors from the two countries due to the war in Ukraine. The Swedish foundation announced on Thursday that it would be welcoming ambassadors from around the world, a decision that enraged many. Many leading Swedish politicians, including leaders from the Centre, Green, Left, and Liberal parties, have said they would cancel the function unless the Russian ambassador attended.

Two men set the Quran ablaze outside parliament in Stockholm today, the latest in a sequence of similar events that have sparked tensions between Sweden and Muslim countries. Salwan Momika (pictured left and top right at a similar protest on July 20th) and Salwan Najem stomped and stomped on the book before setting it on fire at a protest outside Stockholm's main mosque in late June. Demonstrators said they had been granted a ticket for Monday's march, according to local media, as protesters said they wanted to see the Muslim holy book banned in Sweden.

Erdogan's surprise announcement before leaving for a NATO summit in Lithuania's capital added to the confusion surrounding Sweden's 32nd member, which Turkey had initially dismissed because Sweden was too soft on Kurdish rebels and other groups that Ankara considers security threats. It was the first time Erdogan cited his country's aspirations to join the EU with Sweden's attempts to become a NATO member. Erdogan has been waiting at the door of the European Union for more than 50 years, and nearly all of NATO member countries are now members of the European Union,' Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.

On a nearby avenue after one group of protesters managed to penetrate the embassy yesterday, police blocked the street outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad with concrete blocks today. They managed to stay inside for 15 minutes before removing when security forces arrived. The protest was also staged by supporters of firebrand Shiite cleric Moqta Sadr, whose party is not part of the current Iraqi government but still has a huge following. Salwan Momika, 37, an Iraqi civilian living in Sweden, stomped on the Islamic holy book and set several pages ablaze in front of the capital's largest mosque. Police in Sweden had given him a license in accordance with free expression rights, but authorities later said they had opened an investigation into 'agitation.'