Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Sweden to get new anti-segregation authority

Sweden is to get a new government agency tasked with tackling segregation in Swedish society.

Published: 24 March 2017 07:41 CET
Sweden to get new anti-segregation authority
File photo of apartments in a Gothenburg suburb. Photo: Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT

The new agency will be charged with helping to improve socially deprived areas and breaking structural inequality, the Swedish government explained.

An inquiry will prepare the first details of the “delegation on segregation”, headed by Jonas Nygren, who was previously the chairman of the municipal board in Sundbyberg and is head of the Swedish Union of Tenants (Hyresgästföreningen).

“Counteracting segregation is one of our most important issues today and for the future. We're very happy that Jonas Nygren has said yes to leading the work. He has knowledge of municipalities and politics, understands the relationship between the national and the local, and is a person who can make things happen,” Minister for Policy Coordination Ibrahim Baylan said in a press release.

The Swedish government’s program to reduce segregation between 2017 and 2025 will focus on crime, long-term unemployment, schools, social services and housing.

READ ALSO: Gothenburg 'one of Europe's most segregated cities'

PM Stefan Löfven first announced plans for a new government programme to combat segregation last summer in a speech at at the annual Almedalen politics meet-up, when he warned that Sweden may be fractured if it is not tackled.

“There must be an end to the shootings, car burnings and drug trade,” he said. 

CRIME

Three injured in suspected knife attack in central Sweden

At least three people have been injured in a suspected knife attack which took place in broad daylight in the centre of Västerås in central Sweden on Friday afternoon.

Published: 19 April 2024 15:32 CEST
Three injured in suspected knife attack in central Sweden

Police were called to the scene at shortly before 1.30pm on Friday after several women who Swedish police described as “elderly” were found injured with stab wounds. 

The man suspected of attacking the three women, who is reportedly in his late 20s, was later shot by police. According to Region Västmanland he is “seriously injured”.

“They have been injured with a sharp object but whether it is a knife or something else, we do not know right now,” Tobias Ahlén-Svalbro, a spokesperson from the local police told Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT. 

The three women have been taken to hospital, with one, in her 70s, described as having serious injuries. The others’ injuries are less severe.

“We are investigating two crime scenes,” Ahlén-Svalbro said. “As far as I understand the situation, two of them were injured in one area and the other somewhere else, but both areas are in central Västerås.”

The police have opened an investigation into aggravated assault, he added.

“We have already received several witness statements and would like to hear from any other witnesses who have seen or heard something.”

SHOW COMMENTS