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KARLSKRONA

Woman threatened to set fire to her children

A woman was taken into psychiatric care on Friday afternoon after threatening to set fire to herself and her three children in an apartment in Karlskrona in southern Sweden.

Published: 26 February 2010 17:35 CET

Police and emergency services arrived at an apartment block in the city following reports that a woman armed with a knife and a container of petrol had locked herself in with her children.

A family member informed police of the women’s identity but it is not yet known why she threatened to end the lives of herself and her children.

The area was cordoned off for two hours as police negotiated with the woman. Police also put in place preparations for an eventual evacuation of the area.

Eventually however officers at the scene were able to convince the woman to open the door. She was apprehended in accordance with the Compulsory Mental Care Act.

KARLSKRONA

Swedish city to put all workers through LGBT course

A municipality in Sweden is to put all 5,700 of its workers to through a course on issues affecting homosexual, bisexual, trans- and queer people.

Published: 26 November 2016 12:43 CET
Swedish city to put all workers through LGBT course
Revellers at Karlskrona's gay pride festival in 2014. Photo: Mattias Mattson/Karlskrona Pride/Facebook
The move will put Kalskrona municipality in southeast Sweden at the forefront of the battle to end discrimination against sexual minorities in public services. 
 
The municipality plans to put all staff through an online education programme and expects them to discuss the issue “continually” in workplace meetings, the Blekinge Läns Tidning reported on Friday. 
 
“It is extremely important that everyone understands the values which affect HBTQ peoples’ lives,”  Börje Dovstad, a municipal councillor for the Liberal party, told the newspaper. “This is a way to show that this issue is important for us. We want to increase understanding and the chance for good treatment among employees.” 
 
The project, which will cost around 10,000 Swedish kronor ($1,100) is part of Kalskrona’s ambition to be an “open city”, where gay, bi and trans people can feel safe, he explained. 
 
Staff caring for the elderly and school health services have already been HBTQ-certified after undergoing a course run by the Swedish gay rights organisation RFSL. 
 
The municipality does not expect all staff to receive similar certification, Dovstad added. It is also not yet clear if politicians in the municipality will also be expected to do the course.