In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists James Savage, Richard Orange and Becky Waterton, as well as special guest Diamant Salihu, a crime reporter for public broadcaster SVT and the author of the award winning Tills Alla Dör, or Until Everyone's Dead.

But first we look at what's coming up in February. Visit the link below to get all the key info you need on: accessing Sweden's new energy subsidy, registering a pre-paid SIM card, the likelihood of new interest rate hikes, and dates for sportlov - the mid-term school holiday. 

• What changes in Sweden in February 2023
• How to register for Sweden's energy price subsidy
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Next, we chat to Eurovision expert Ben Robertson about what makes Melodifestivalen so compelling and who's likely to win this year's national song contest.

• How do you watch the Swedish extravaganza that is Melodifestivalen?

This week Annie Lööf formally handed over the reins of the Centre Party to Muharrem Demirok. What does he need to do to attract voters to the only centre-right party that refused to collaborate with the far-right Sweden Democrats? 

• Who is the new leader of Sweden's Centre Party and why is it important?

We also chat about why the prime minster's closest aide resigned over an eel-fishing scandal. 

• Swedish PM's top aide resigns over illegal eel fishing

In the latest of our interviews with ambassadors, we catch up with Mehdi Hasan, Bangladesh's ambassador to Sweden, to find out about relations between the countries, how many Bangladeshis there are in Sweden, and his personal reflections on his time in Sweden. We'll have an article featuring more from the interview in the coming days. 

Finally, we ask Diamant Salihu to explain the roots of Sweden's deadly gang conflicts and why they have spread around the country. We had a really good chat with Diamant and will release a bonus episode during the week featuring more of his insights. 

• INTERVIEW: 'Everybody in Sweden who buys cocaine should know the money is used to buy bullets'

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