The southern regions of Skane, Blekinge and Smaland are already suffering from snowy, slippery road conditions and hundreds of train departures, including trains bound for Denmark, have been cancelled in the most southern county of Skane. The largest national train operator SJ, however, reports that its trains are currently running but with delays. Even more snow is expected over southern Sweden tomorrow. Several arrivals to Landvetter and Arlanda airports have been cancelled due to the heavy delays on flights from London, Paris and Frankfurt. Additionally, due to weather conditions in the rest of Europe, some flights to and from Skavsta Airport have also been cancelled. … [Read more...] about Snow and cold continue to cause trouble in Sweden
Sweden
Finnish language rights expanded in Sweden
Under the expanded scheme, Finnish will become an optional language for residents in retirement homes and in pre-schools in eight new districts: Örebro, Luleå, Finspång, Motala, Enköping, Finspång, Uddevalla and Enköping.The move comes more than two years after EU measures prompted Sweden to classify Finnish as one of the country’s four minority languages amid a bid to protect minority tongues across the continent. Following the change, Finnish services were offered in 40 districts in Sweden, compared to just seven before. Recent figures show that over 5.5 percent of Sweden’s population speak Finnish or originated from a Finnish family. Katarina Popovic said on behalf of the Unit For Minority Affairs at Stockholm County Administrative Board that the change is particularly important for aging Finnish speakers: “Some lose their Swedish even though they’ve lived here for many many years, so in these cases, we are talking about a … [Read more...] about Finnish language rights expanded in Sweden
Sweden’s government monopoly on pharmacies ends
The government plans to sell almost half of its existing pharmacy outlets to private companies. As of 1 July, the country’s Medical Products Agency began accepting applications from firms hoping to open new pharmacies, according to The Local.But the privatisation won’t happen overnight. The government is working with Apotekens Omstrukturering AB to oversee the bidding for 466 of Sweden’s 1,000 or so national pharmacies. The pharmacies will only be sold in eight groups that contain between ten and 200 stores each; and only companies that are fairly large and established will be considered. Smaller business owners can buy stakes in a new state-owned company that will operate 150 pharmacies. The old state-run company, Apoteket AB, will keep around 300 of its pharmacies to ensure prescription medication remains available to Swedes throughout the country regardless of how the market reacts. On 1 November, retail outlets such as grocery stores will be allowed to sell a … [Read more...] about Sweden’s government monopoly on pharmacies ends
Sweden’s security police alerted to potential terror plans ‘every other day’
This article is available to Members of The Local. Read more Membership Exclusives here. Five people were killed and several more injured when Isis sympathizer Rakhmat Akilov stole a large beer truck and drove it down the capital's busy street Drottninggatan last year, mowing down people in his way. A year after the attack, The Local interviews Fredrik Hallström, deputy head of Säpo's unit for ideologically motivated actors, who tells us that potentially violent extremist movements are still growing in Sweden. "We're seeing, as we have flagged up before, a growing extremism environment with violent Islamist ideology as well as political extremism in the form of autonomous (far-left) and white power environments," he says. "Growing both in terms of the number of individuals, and the threat in itself, as the movements grow." Now-former Säpo director-general Anders Thornberg said last year that some 3,000 violent extremists are thought to be based in Sweden, … [Read more...] about Sweden’s security police alerted to potential terror plans ‘every other day’
Assange denied residency in Sweden
As the website has several servers based in Sweden, the move would have afforded WikiLeaks’ sources better protection under Sweden’s press freedom laws. A person must, however, have a residence permit to secure legal responsibility as a publisher in the country. “We have made the decision to reject his application. He has received the notice today by email,” Gunilla Wikstrom, from the Migration board in Norrkoping, told Aftonbladet. The board refused to elaborate further on the details the case.Assange applied for a residency permit during the summer when visiting Sweden to lecture on his website’s publication of thousands of secret documents about the war in Afghanistan. The Pentagon has been fiercely critical of the publications, however, and the lectures were abruptly overshadowed when allegations of rape and molestation against Assange began to circle in the international media. An arrest warrant was issued for Assange and withdrawn the next day before … [Read more...] about Assange denied residency in Sweden