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André Malraux predicted that the 21st century would be religious, or it would not be at all. Sociologists note that, even in secularized societies, people thirst for things spiritual. Despite the aforementioned social and cultural visibility of Protestantism in Northern Europe, however, the Lutheran and Anglican Churches there are dying... In Sweden, 4 percent of Lutherans attend services regularly, while the corresponding figures in Norway and Finland are below 2 percent. By contrast, the Catholic Church is experiencing a mini-renaissance in Northern Europe. There are currently more practicing Catholics than Anglicans in Britain. In Scandinavia, there are about 600,000 Catholics,...

Good Morning, we will have details on what appears to be a deteriorating situation in Syria later. But first we go to Sweden where the anti-European Union, anti-mass immigration Sweden Democrats made gains in yesterday's election, holding the balance of power between the "Left" and "Right" coalitions in Swedish politics. Sweden Democrats picked up 17.6 percent of the vote, up from 12.9 percent in 2014..... Last night in Paris seven people were injured in a knife attack, four seriously..... In Germany, protests on the streets again after a German is dead following a fight with foreign born nationals. Two Afghans...

(UPDATED AND REVISED AT 1030PM EASTERN TIME) "Reacting to the exit polls, Peter Lundgren, an SD member of the European Parliament told the BBC: 'They can no longer ignore us. They will have to let us in on the discussions about how to form a new government in Sweden.'" BBC News-9/9/2018 Speaking to supporters at an election night rally, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said: "We will increase our seats in parliament and we will gain huge influence over what happens in Sweden during the coming weeks, months and years" The Sweden Democrats gained 17.6 percent of the popular vote...

In Sweden, the influx of 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015 - the most in Europe in relation to the country’s population of 10 million - has polarized voters and fractured the political consensus. The ruling center-left Social Democrats and Greens and their Left Party parliamentary allies were seen winning 39.4 percent of the vote, while the opposition center-right Alliance were seen at 39.6 percent. “I think we are going to top 20 percent and maybe a bit more than that, so I am still hopeful it can go up even more than we see now,” Sweden Democrat party secretary Richard...

Exit poll projects center-left party will win Swedish election, far-right party with white supremacist roots coming in second. STOCKHOLM (AP) — An exit poll indicated that Sweden's first general election since the Scandinavian country accepted a significant number of asylum-seekers was likely to have the center-left party governing now as its winner, but an anti-immigrant party with white supremacist roots placing second in balloting Sunday. Public broadcaster SVT said immediately after polls closed that its exit poll indicated the ruling Social Democrats would remain Sweden's largest party, but making its worst-ever showing with 26.2 percent of the vote. The exit...

Join us as we cover this historic election in Sweden.

"Don't know how to take it don't know where to go go my resistance running low. And everyday the hold is getting tighter and it troubles me so" ABBA-"Under Attack" "Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has begun the final day of the general election campaign by warning about extremism and fascism...." "SD leader Jimmie Akesson said Sweden had been 'an extreme country in many ways, not least when it comes to immigration'"..... BBC News-9/8/2018 "It is you Social Democrats, you Moderates and you in the Swedish media that continue to create problems for our country....People have been killed, and will...

Sweden’s prime minister denounced an increasingly popular far-right party as racist and a threat to the nation’s European values Saturday as political candidates made their final pre-election pitches to voters. The parliamentary election being held Sunday will be Sweden’s first since the government in 2015 allowed 163,000 migrants into the country of 10 million. While far less than what Germany took in that year, it was the most per capita of any European nation. […] The Sweden Democrats, a party rooted in a neo-Nazi movement that has worked to soften its image, has played a role in breaking down longstanding...

The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats (SD) is expected to win around 20% of the vote, becoming the second biggest party in parliament. Mr Lofven said an SD vote was "dangerous" and "counterproductive". … Immigration has been a central issue of the election campaigns. The nationalist SD doubled its seats in the 2014 election and it is predicted to double them again on Sunday. On Saturday, SD leader Jimmie Akesson said Sweden had been "an extreme country in many ways, not least when it comes to immigration" and that his plan to take in fewer migrants would be regarded as "normal politics...

Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has begun the final day of the general election campaign by warning about extremism and fascism. Neither his centre-left Social Democrats nor the main centre-right party is likely to win a majority. The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats (SD) is expected to win around 20% of the vote, becoming the second biggest party in parliament. Mr Lofven said an SD vote was "dangerous" and "counterproductive". He said it was "like trying to quench fire with alcohol", according to the Omni news site. Immigration has been a central issue of the election campaigns. The nationalist SD doubled its...

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia has "conclusive evidence" that militants in Syria are preparing chemical weapons incidents to blame on Syrian authorities. Putin spoke at a news conference after a summit meeting with Iranian and Turkish leaders... Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his concern about the humanitarian situation in the event of a Syrian government military offensive in the north..... The Civil War in Syria began in 2011 with street demonstrations that turned violent. In Iraq violent street demonstrations in the main southern city of Basra have led to a curfew... For the third Friday in a row,...

To understand why Sweden, a bastion of social democracy, might end up with a far-right party in government after national elections on Sunday, you need to take a walk with Ahmed Abdirahman. An American-educated Somali immigrant who works as a policy analyst at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Abdirahman grew up and now lives in the suburb of Rinkeby-Tensta, where some 90 percent of residents have a foreign background, roughly 80 percent live on welfare or earn low incomes and 42 percent are under age 25. It is a violent place: Sixteen people were killed there in 2016, mostly...

A meeting at the UN Security Council today will discuss the nerve agent incidents in the Salisbury region of England earlier this year that killed one and sickened three others. The UN Security Council will discuss Syria on Friday..... The United States is chairing the Security Council this month and Nikki Haley has already chaired a meeting on the crackdown against opposition protesters by the government of Nicaragua.... "TREASON?" President Trump tweeted last evening in response to an anonymous op-ed piece in the "New York Times" said to be from a top Administration official.... In Sweden, the final poll from...

The Hungarian government is openly asking “What’s wrong with the Swedes?” as the Scandinavian country’s pro-immigration government lashes out at Budapest, while the leader of Poland’s governing Law and Justice Party has said his country must avoid Western Europe’s “social diseases”. In a public blog post on the official About Hungary website, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács posed the question: “Why are these senior Swedish figures portraying Hungary as Europe’s bogeyman, spreading falsehoods and distorting facts about our government’s policies on migration? Could it have something to do with the fact that the country faces general elections on September 9th?”...

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - The anti-immigration far-right is expected to soar in Sweden's September 9 general election, capitalising on voter discontent as Swedes punish traditional parties over immigration, integration and health care. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's Social Democrats, who have dominated Swedish politics since the 1930s, will remain the biggest party in the country but likely with a record low score, polls suggest. The far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) are heading to make the most gains and come in a close second, followed by the conservative Moderates. A Skop institute poll published on Sunday, a week before the election, credited the Social...

Asia Nader didn't know whether to worry more about being diagnosed with a hole in her heart at the age of 21, or having to wait a year for Swedish doctors to fix it. "I completely fell apart when I found out," she told AFP, remembering the long agonising months until she finally had her operation in June this year, one month before her 23rd birthday.

Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says the UK will get 'diddly squat' with Prime Minister Theresa May's plans for withdrawl from the European Union. In his "Daily Telegraph" column, Johnson said the Brexit plan Mrs. May unveiled in July would be a disaster for the country.... With six days to go until Sweden's General Election there are conflicting numbers in a host of polls with two polls showing a lead for the anti-European Union, anti-mass immigration Sweden Democrats..... On this Labor Day, President Trump tweeting this morning about record low unemployment in the United States and the great potential...

Women cheer as Sweden's man-free music festival kicks off Matilda Hagerman laughs with her friends as she queues at a man-free music festival, which kicked off in Sweden on Friday in protest against a wave of sexual assaults at festivals in recent years. "This festival was necessary because of everything that happened during festivals last year," says the 27-year-old student with long pink hair and purple lipstick as her friends nod in agreement. Held in Sweden's second-largest city of Gothenburg, the two-day Statement Festival, forbids men but not transgender people. It was announced last year after police received four rape...

...."in his memoir "The Restless Wave". published last May, he called for a return to old-fashioned Republican values, pointed to the danger of the information onslaught being waged by Russia, and described how in December 2016 he passed on the dossier compiled by Christopher Steele alleging that Moscow held compromising material on Trump to the FBI...." "The Guardian"August 25, 2018 "Yemen Conflict: Saudi-led coalition admits mistakes in deadly bus strike" "Amsterdam stabbing: Afghan suspect 'had terrorist motive'" "Western countries urge calm after deadly Tripoli clashes" BBC News Headlines of September 1, 2018-The Day of John McCain's Funeral "You Social Democrats,...

"This festival was necessary because of everything that happened during festivals last year," says the 27-year-old student with long pink hair and purple lipstick as her friends nod in agreement. Held in Sweden's second-largest city of Gothenburg, the two-day Statement Festival, forbids men but not transgender people. It was announced last year after police received four rape and 23 sexual assault reports at Sweden's largest Bravalla Festival, which was cancelled this year as a result. "What do you think about us creating an awesome festival where only non-men are welcome until ALL men learn how to behave?" Swedish comedian Emma...