Swedish exhibition explores life of 18th-century Black diarist Born into slavery, Adolf Ludvig Couschi Badin became part of Swedish royal court and left legacy of books and letters

New Stockholm exhibition explores life and writings of Badin, who was born into slavery and became part of the Swedish royal court

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

‘I want to make myself obsolete’: the MP fighting for Greenland’s self-governance Qarsoq Høegh-Dam aims to use his seat in Danish parliament to shift power from Copenhagen to Nuuk

Qarsoq Høegh-Dam, who last month became the first member of the Greenlandic pro-independence party Naleraq to be elected to the Danish parliament, tells the Guardian he aims to make his role "obsolete"
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Mette Frederiksen’s leftwing bloc fails to win majority in Danish election Centre-left coalition appears likely as Social Democrats and other left-leaning parties win 84 seats, while right-leaning bloc wins 77 seats

Denmark wakes up to no left or right wing majority and centrist pipe-wielding Lars Løkke Rasmussen as likely kingmaker
Our report from last night: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Denmark election: far right has slowed under Frederiksen – but at what cost? Polling for anti-immigration DPP is relatively low, but many feel its ideas have been co-opted by Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats

Denmark goes to the polls today in what looks to be a super tight election.
Reported from Kokkedal on how the growth of the far right has slowed under Frederiksen – but at what cost?
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

A wealth tax for schools: Frederiksen’s shift left stirs debate before Denmark’s early election PM’s proposal to tax super-rich and fund schools wins praise as her handling of the Greenland crisis boosts her standing across party lines – but not all voters are convinced

Denmark goes to the polls next week. My report from Copenhagen:

A wealth tax for schools: Frederiksen’s shift left stirs debate before Denmark’s early election
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

‘Can Mette-Marit be queen after this?’: Rape trial and Epstein files bring double crisis for Norway’s royals Marius Borg Høiby pleads not guilty in court while pressure mounts against his crown princess mother over Epstein friendship

‘Can Mette-Marit be queen after this?’: Rape trial and Epstein files bring double crisis for Norway’s royals
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

‘They were humans’: inquiry into mass Channel drowning hears from families Relatives of at least 27 people who died in November 2021 describe their loved ones and their grief to Cranston inquiry

Relatives of at least 27 people who died in November 2021 describe their loved ones and their grief to Cranston inquiry
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Human Rights Watch researchers resign after report on Palestinian right of return blocked The organization claims the report, which finds Israel’s denial of the right of return is a crime against humanity, is ‘paused pending further analysis and research’

Two @HRW employees who make up the organization’s entire Israel and Palestine team are stepping down from their positions after leadership blocked a report that deems Israel’s denial of Palestinian refugees the right of return a “crime against humanity”.

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

‘Under pressure’: Greenland’s PM gains fans at home and abroad after his rebuke of Trump Jens-Frederik Nielsen, impressed Danes with his handling of the crisis but he says many Greenlanders are ‘afraid and scared’

‘Under pressure’: Greenland’s PM gains fans at home and abroad after his rebuke of Trump
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

‘A lot of fear’: the families bearing brunt of Sweden’s immigration crackdown Many of those moved into an asylum return centre have held jobs for years and can speak the language

My report from an asylum return centre in Stockholm where families have been living in limbo for years (pictures by Josefine Stenersen)

‘A lot of fear’: the families bearing brunt of Sweden’s immigration crackdown

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

‘We need to fight’: Trump Greenland threat brings sense of unity in Denmark The US president has galvanised the Danish population against him, while Danes’ relations with Greenlanders are ‘under reparation’

my report from Copenhagen (with pics by Donald Chambers)

‘We need to fight’: Trump Greenland threat brings sense of unity in Denmark www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

What do people in Greenland think of Trump’s threats? – video Amid Donald Trump's push for control of the Arctic island, Miranda Bryant reports from Greenland’s snow-covered capital, Nuuk, where the fear is palpable

What do people in Greenland think of Trump’s threats? – video
www.theguardian.com/world/video/...

‘Are they going to bring their violence here?’: Fear – but little preparation – as threat of invasion looms over Greenland Ahead of high-stakes talks, people tell of alarm, thoughts of fleeing and lack of information on what to do if US invades

As Greenlandic and Danish foreign ministers prepare to meet JD Vance and Marco Rubio in Washington, my report from Nuuk: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Why is Donald Trump renewing calls for takeover of Greenland? US refuses to rule out military force to take control. This is why an attack on Nato ally would end alliance. And what do Greenlanders think?

Why is Donald Trump renewing calls for takeover of Greenland?www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/06/why-is...

European leaders rally behind Greenland as US ramps up threats Support comes after presidential aide Stephen Miller says ‘no one will fight US militarily over future of Greenland’

European leaders have dramatically rallied together in support of Denmark and Greenland after one of Donald Trump’s leading aides suggested the US may be willing to seize control of the Arctic territory by force.
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

US attack on Greenland would mean end of Nato, says Danish PM Mette Frederiksen criticises Donald Trump’s ‘unacceptable pressure’ as Greenland counterpart condemns ‘fantasies’

An attack by the United States on a Nato ally would mean the end of both the military alliance and “post-second world war security”, Denmark’s leader has warned, after Donald Trump threatened again to take over Greenland.
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Santa at war: ‘home’ town in Finland hosts Nato soldiers as Russian threat looms Christmas tourists are noticing a growing military presence in Lapland, where Santa Park doubles as a bomb shelter

Santa at war: ‘home’ town in Finland hosts Nato soldiers as Russian threat looms

Santa at war: ‘home’ town in Finland hosts Nato soldiers as Russian threat looms Christmas tourists are noticing a growing military presence in Lapland, where Santa Park doubles as a bomb shelter

Santa at war: our report from Rovaniemi, Finland where growing numbers of Nato soldiers are training amid growing Russian threat from border
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
pictures by Jouni Porsanger; video producer Lauren Hurrell

Rising levels of hate forcing women out of Swedish public life, says equality agency Country seen as champion of equal rights faces reckoning after senior politician says she felt compelled to quit

Increasing hate, threats and harassment against female politicians are scaring women away from public life and forcing them to censor themselves, the Swedish government’s equality agency has said, warning that this poses a “big threat to democracy"
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Four ‘active club’ members sentenced to prison in Sweden for racist assaults Men aged 20 to 23 convicted at trial that showed pattern of far-right activists assembling in gyms

Four Active Club members sentenced to prison in Sweden for racist assaults
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Centre-left tipped to lose Copenhagen for first time in electoral history Political rivals say PM’s divisive politics have encouraged voters to ditch the Social Democrats for the far right

Denmark's Social Democrats tipped to lose Copenhagen for first time in electoral history
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

The UK wants to emulate Denmark’s hardline asylum model – but what does it actually look like? Denmark has slashed asylum numbers by granting only short-term status and by targeting ‘ghettoes’, which critics say has damaged the country’s values

The UK wants to emulate Denmark’s hardline asylum model – but what does it actually look like?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

thanks so much have emailed

Not to be: Hamlet rages in Stockholm against the political closure of a cultural institution The experimental annex of Sweden’s national stage, Elverket, has fallen victim to severe government cuts. Its final play is a powerful protest against being forced to leave its home

My piece from Stockholm on the closure of Elverket, the experimental stage of Dramaten (the royal dramatic theatre), and its final production, Hamlet

www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/o...

‘Still work to be done’: Iceland marks 50 years since Women’s Day Off protests President says country is not free from feminist backlash being seen around world

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

As Iceland celebrates 50th anniversary of kevnnafrí (women's day off), president Halla Tómasdóttir told me her country is "powered by two sustainable energies: geothermal power and girl power" but warned of "red flags" including rising gender-based violence, and called for an “inclusion revolution”

Fréttamyndir frá kvennafrídeginum 1975 - RÚV.is Þann 24. október 1975 lögðu um 90 prósent kvenna á Íslandi niður störf til að sýna fram á mikilvægi kvenna á vinnumarkaði. Búist er við að stór hluti kvenna og kvára leggi niður launuð og ólaunuð stör...

incredible footage from this day in 1975 when 90% of Icelandic women went on strike for “kvennafrí” (“Women’s Day Off”) and kickstarted a gender revolution www.ruv.is/frettir/innl... via RÚV

‘There are hundreds in the Baltic’: tracking Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ of oil tankers The Guardian joins the Swedish coastguard to patrol an area that has become a hybrid warfare battleground

Joined the Swedish coastguard in the Baltic to track Russia's shadow fleet. During the patrol they followed a Malta-flagged ship who said it was heading for Turkey from Primorsk, Russia carrying 30,000 metric tonnes of diesel
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Norway heads to the polls in highly polarised ‘Maga-fication’ election Centre-left has rallied but uproar over cost of living and oil fund investment in Israel means outcome is hard to predict

Norway goes to the polls today after an unusually close-fought and polarised election dominated by the cost of living, wealth taxes, oil fund investment in Israel and relations with Donald Trump
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Israel has killed the equivalent of 20 Palestinian journalists EVERY SINGLE MONTH for almost two years with impunity. Many of their families have also been murdered. Today 200 newsrooms are participating in a blackout to protest this war crime and crime against humanity