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FIRE

Swede jailed for torching own luxury villa

Magnus Lundberg, the boyfriend of Swedish celebrity doctor Åsa Vilbäck, was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison for burning down a luxury villa in February.

The Stockholm mansion, which Lundberg himself had bought for 19 million kronor ($2.7 million) in late February, was destroyed in a ferocious blaze, and police first arrested Lundberg on suspicion of arson three months ago.

Lundberg continually denied the allegations that he had torched his own house, but the evidence piled up against him.

The Attunda District Court decided Tuesday that Lundberg was indeed guilty and sentenced him to prison for arson, as well as fraud and receiving stolen goods.

Among the evidence was a surveillance video of Lundberg buying large containers of lighter fluid from a store only days before the blaze, which forensic investigators revealed was the same type used in the fire.

Lundberg claimed in court that the lighter fluid was bought with the intention of burning weeds in his garden.

The GPS of his car also showed that he was in the area at the time, which Lundberg claimed was the result of someone borrowing his car.

According to Aftonbladet, the motive for the crime may be that his plans to renovate the house had not been approved, and he wanted to get his deposit back.

The case had received widespread media attention in national media as Lundberg’s girlfriend Åsa Vilbäck is a Swedish celebrity, TV host and ex-pin up model.

The house had previously belonged to the late Harry Schein who founded the Swedish Film Institute.

TT/The Local/og

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FIRE

Situation ‘unstable’ at Copenhagen’s old stock exchange after fire

Three days after a fire which ravaged Copenhagen's historic former stock exchange broke out, emergency services said Friday that the situation was "unstable" due to equipment issues and a strong breeze.

Situation 'unstable' at Copenhagen's old stock exchange after fire

In the morning, during work to dismantle the scaffolding surrounding the building, a crane’s cutters came loose for as of yet unknown reasons.

It is currently wedged between the scaffolding — put up for the renovation of the historic building that was ongoing — and what remains of the walls.

“It is affecting our efforts”, Tim Ole Simonsen, leader of the operation at the rescue services, told a press conference.

Coupled with the wind picking up, the incident, which has temporarily halted work on dismantling the scaffolding, has made the situation “unstable”.

“The wind is blowing harder and harder, and there are tarps over the scaffolding that can catch the wind,” Simonsen said.

He added that this increases the risks, in particular of further collapse of the burnt-out facade which started collapsing late Thursday afternoon.

Located close to the Christiansborg parliament and seat of government, the Borsen building was commissioned by King Christian IV and built between 1619 and 1640. It was the stock exchange until the 1970s.

The fire began Tuesday morning under the copper roof of the building, which was undergoing renovations ahead of its 400th anniversary.

The cause of the blaze was unknown and Copenhagen police said Wednesday that a major investigation had been launched.

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