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TODAY IN SWEDEN

Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Wednesday

Find out what's going on in Sweden today with The Local's short round-up of the news in less than five minutes.

Published: 6 January 2021 13:08 CET
Updated: 6 January 2021 17:48 CET
Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Wednesday
Pupils at a school in Limnhamn, Malmö. Photo: Alexander Olivera/TT

Swedish crisis chief resigns over Canaries trip 

The leader of Sweden's crisis preparedness agency has offered his resignation after being accused of breaking coronavirus recommendations with a trip to the Canary Islands.
 
The Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) said in a press release on Wednesday afternoon that its director, Dan Eliasson, had decided to step down following a meeting with Mikael Damberg, Sweden's interior minister. 

The leader of Sweden's centre-right opposition had called for the head of the country's crisis preparedness agency to resign, as part of growing pressure on Eliasson over the trip, which came to light shortly after the country's prime minister, Stefan Löfven, was photographed shopping, and the finance minister Magdalena Andersson was photographed hiring skis in a Swedish resort. 

Swedish vocabulary: resign – avgå
 
 
Swedish researchers call for schools to stay closed 
 
A group of dissident university professors, doctors and researchers, has called for Sweden to keep schools closed for between two to four weeks at the start of the spring term in order to reduce the spread of coronavirus. 
 
In a debate article published in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper, the 30 researchers said the Public Health Agency was wrong to claim that children were not significant spreaders of coronavirus. 
 
“The mantra which the Public Health Agency has had is that children do not transmit, do not get infected and do not spread the infection is just not correct and there's a big spread of the virus in schools,” Anders Vahlne, Professor Emiritus in Clinical Virology at Stockholm's Karolinska institutet.
 
“We just within firing range of getting the vaccine, and to then not do what we can to prevent more people getting infected, get seriously ill and die is totally crazy.” 
 
Swedish vocabulary: totally crazy — fullständigt vansinnigt
 
 
More than 100 children in Sweden ill with Covid-19 
 
More than a hundred children in Sweden have become seriously ill after becoming infected with coronavirus, and as many as 30 have been close to losing their lives, Sweden's TT newswire has reported. The children have suffered from Hyperinflammation, which means their immune systems have begun to attack their own bodies. 
 
According to TT, doctors in Lund are warning that the city's intensive care wards for children are already full. 
 
“We are seeing that children who have had Covid-19 are being hit by this inflammatory syndrome, MIS-C, about three to six weeks after going through the infection,” said Maria Mossberg, the head of Lund's children's clinic.
 
Swedish vocabulary: The body's immune system — kroppens immunförsvar

 
 
 
 
 

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TODAY IN SWEDEN

Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Right bloc strikes government deal, Sweden Democrat to lead Sweden in OSCE, Russia's Nord Stream 'bewilderment', and inflation nears 10 percent: find out what's going on in Sweden with The Local's roundup.

Published: 14 October 2022 08:06 CEST
Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Moderate leader strikes government coalition deal

Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson has completed his deal with the Sweden Democrat, Christian Democrat and Liberal parties, and will announce it at 10am on Friday, state broadcaster SVT has reported.

According to a story published at close to 11pm on Thursday night, the four parties will hold a press conference at 10am where they will lay out the details on the new government’s plans to reform Sweden over the next four years.

The agreement contains both policy details and details of which parties will be part of the coalition and how they will work together.

After the press conference, at 11am, Kristersson will visit the parliament’s Speaker Andreas Norlén to inform him that the deal is complete, after which the Speaker will call a parliamentary vote on Kristersson as prime minister, probably for Monday.

Swedish vocab: en överenskommelse – an agreement 

Far-right politician appointed to lead Sweden in OSCE

One of the leading politicians in the far-right Sweden Democrats has been appointed to lead Sweden in the OSCE, a body that monitors elections and seeks to bolster security in Europe.

Björn Söder, one of the so-called ‘gang of four’ who transformed the Sweden Democrats, has been appointed chair of the Swedish delegation of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The OSCE was founded in Helsinki in 1975 as a forum for discussion between the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc and gained its current name in 1995.

Söder has faced criticism for saying in 2018 that in his opinion members of Sweden’s Sami and Jewish minorities were not Swedish. “They are recognised as minorities because they are not Swedish,” he argued, stressing that ethnicity and citizenship were two different concepts.

Many had expected the Sweden Democrats to put Söder forward as deputy speaker of the parliament, a position he held between 2014 and 2018, but the party instead nominated his less controversial colleague Julia Kronlid.

Swedish vocab: valobservatör – election monitor

Russia aggrieved at Germany, Denmark and Sweden over Nord Stream probe

Russia’s foreign ministry said Thursday it had summoned envoys of Germany, Denmark and Sweden to express “bewilderment” over Moscow’s exclusion from an investigation into leaks on the Nord Stream pipelines.

Multiple leaks were discovered on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines connecting Russia to Germany, further raising political tensions already sky high since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February. All four leaks were located near Danish island Bornholm.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the leaks were an act of “international terrorism” that would benefit the United States, Poland and Ukraine.

Both Moscow and Washington have denied responsibility for the leaks, which were discovered in late September. Germany, Sweden and Denmark have formed a joint investigation unit to probe the apparent sabotage.

“The heads of the diplomatic missions of Germany, Denmark and Sweden in Moscow have been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry in recent days,” the Russian ministry said in a statement.

Swedish vocab: att kalla upp diplomater – so summon diplomats

More rate hikes on cards as Swedish inflation nears 10 percent

Inflation in Sweden hit a higher than expected 9.7 percent in September, making it likely that the country’s central bank will have to hike interest rates even more rapidly.

In a press release issued on Thursday morning, Statistics Sweden blamed “higher electricity prices and higher prices for groceries and alcohol-free drinks” for driving price increases over the month.

The rise was higher than market expectations of about 9.3 percent, judging by a survey carried out by Bloomberg, a financial news service.

The goods that saw the highest price increases were bread and other products made from grain, and coffee, the agency wrote. 

“This is high, well above the Riksbank’s target. That indicates we will see continued big [rate] hikes,” Annika Winsth, chief economist at Nordea, told the TT newswire. 

She said that it was likely now that the 50 point rate rise planned for November would be increased to 75 points. 

“Both households and companies need to be prepared for rates continuing to rise,” she said. 

Swedish vocab: att rusa – to soar (literally “rush”) 

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