Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Monday
Find out what's going on in Sweden today with The Local's short round-up of the news in less than five minutes.
Sweden's new anti-terror law has not led to any charges
A year ago Sweden tightened its anti-terror laws to make it a criminal offence to have various kinds of interaction with a terror organisation, such as handling weapons, explosive items or vehicles on the organisation's behalf. But no one has yet been remanded by a court or charged based on the new law, reports Swedish public radio.
Unlike several other countries, it is not necessarily a criminal offence to be a member of a terror organisation and nothing else; a prosecutor needs to prove that a suspect had closer ties than that. Chief prosecutor Per Lindqvist told the radio's news programme Ekot on Monday that this makes it more difficult to prove such a case in court.
Swedish vocabulary: remanded – häktad
Swedish boarding school on fire
Firefighters were on Monday morning battling a blaze at the century-old sport hall at the Sigtuna Humanistiska Läroverket school – one of Sweden's few boarding schools, with King Carl XVI Gustaf and former Prime Minister Olof Palme among its alumni.
The fire broke out at around 1am on Monday. Fire crews arrived seven minutes later, but later in the morning the fire had spread from the basement and ground floor to the roof. "It is hard when it's burning in so many places and it's and old building," control room officer Lars Lindberg told the TT news agency at around 3am, saying that it would take a while for the firefighters to get the blaze under control.
No one was inside the building when the fire broke out, and at 5.40am there was no risk of it spreading to other buildings. The boarding school has at the time of writing not had to be evacuated.
Police told TT they suspect the fire was started deliberately.
Swedish vocabulary: boarding school – internatskola
Firefighters at the scene of the blaze in Sigtuna, central Sweden. Photo: Christine Olsson/TT
Warning: Thin ice alert in southern and central Sweden
Swedish emergency authorities have issued a warning to avoid ice-covered lakes in Uppsala, Stockholm, Södermanland, Jönköping, Dalarna, Västmanland, Örebro, Värmland and Kronoberg regions – after a spate of accidents, some fatal, in recent days.
"The warm spring weather means that the ice on lakes and watercourses is weak and dangerous, and there is a high risk of accidents," writes the Krisinformation website.
Swedish vocabulary: weak ice – svag is
A thin-ice warning in Malmö in February. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT
What you need to know about Sweden's new coronavirus measures
New coronavirus measures begin in Sweden today, affecting how customers use restaurants and cafés.
Under the new rules put forward by the Public Health Agency last week, only one person should be served in restaurants and cafés that do not have their own entrances. This means that you should eat alone at restaurants located in, for example, shopping centres and larger department stores, where the entrances are shared within another space. The rule doesn't apply to children or people in need of support. This ties in with a Public Health Agency guideline, which states that people should go shopping alone.
All restaurants and cafés in Sweden will also have to close at 8.30pm and may not open until 5am the next morning. Takeaway will be allowed at these venues after 8.30pm.
You can read more about the new measures HERE.
Swedish vocabulary: alone – ensam
EXPLAINER: What you need to know about Sweden's new coronavirus measures https://t.co/0yjHCasxBt
— The Local Sweden (@TheLocalSweden) February 27, 2021
Norway allows Sweden and Finland's commuters back to work
Day commuters from Sweden and Finland are now, as of today, able to travel to work in Norway again, as long as they take a Covid-19 test every seven days.
After Norway tightened its entry regulations on January 29th, almost all workers from Sweden and Finland who commute daily to Norway have been prevented from going to work, with the exception of health workers and people transporting goods.
This has had significant consequences on a group of around 3,000 people who have been unable to work. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) now believes that a weekly coronavirus test is sufficient to reduce the risk of infection for this group.
Swedish vocabulary: commuter – pendlare
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Sweden's new anti-terror law has not led to any charges
A year ago Sweden tightened its anti-terror laws to make it a criminal offence to have various kinds of interaction with a terror organisation, such as handling weapons, explosive items or vehicles on the organisation's behalf. But no one has yet been remanded by a court or charged based on the new law, reports Swedish public radio.
Unlike several other countries, it is not necessarily a criminal offence to be a member of a terror organisation and nothing else; a prosecutor needs to prove that a suspect had closer ties than that. Chief prosecutor Per Lindqvist told the radio's news programme Ekot on Monday that this makes it more difficult to prove such a case in court.
Swedish vocabulary: remanded – häktad
Swedish boarding school on fire
Firefighters were on Monday morning battling a blaze at the century-old sport hall at the Sigtuna Humanistiska Läroverket school – one of Sweden's few boarding schools, with King Carl XVI Gustaf and former Prime Minister Olof Palme among its alumni.
The fire broke out at around 1am on Monday. Fire crews arrived seven minutes later, but later in the morning the fire had spread from the basement and ground floor to the roof. "It is hard when it's burning in so many places and it's and old building," control room officer Lars Lindberg told the TT news agency at around 3am, saying that it would take a while for the firefighters to get the blaze under control.
No one was inside the building when the fire broke out, and at 5.40am there was no risk of it spreading to other buildings. The boarding school has at the time of writing not had to be evacuated.
Police told TT they suspect the fire was started deliberately.
Swedish vocabulary: boarding school – internatskola
Firefighters at the scene of the blaze in Sigtuna, central Sweden. Photo: Christine Olsson/TT
Warning: Thin ice alert in southern and central Sweden
Swedish emergency authorities have issued a warning to avoid ice-covered lakes in Uppsala, Stockholm, Södermanland, Jönköping, Dalarna, Västmanland, Örebro, Värmland and Kronoberg regions – after a spate of accidents, some fatal, in recent days.
"The warm spring weather means that the ice on lakes and watercourses is weak and dangerous, and there is a high risk of accidents," writes the Krisinformation website.
Swedish vocabulary: weak ice – svag is
A thin-ice warning in Malmö in February. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT
What you need to know about Sweden's new coronavirus measures
New coronavirus measures begin in Sweden today, affecting how customers use restaurants and cafés.
Under the new rules put forward by the Public Health Agency last week, only one person should be served in restaurants and cafés that do not have their own entrances. This means that you should eat alone at restaurants located in, for example, shopping centres and larger department stores, where the entrances are shared within another space. The rule doesn't apply to children or people in need of support. This ties in with a Public Health Agency guideline, which states that people should go shopping alone.
All restaurants and cafés in Sweden will also have to close at 8.30pm and may not open until 5am the next morning. Takeaway will be allowed at these venues after 8.30pm.
You can read more about the new measures HERE.
Swedish vocabulary: alone – ensam
EXPLAINER: What you need to know about Sweden's new coronavirus measures https://t.co/0yjHCasxBt
— The Local Sweden (@TheLocalSweden) February 27, 2021
Norway allows Sweden and Finland's commuters back to work
Day commuters from Sweden and Finland are now, as of today, able to travel to work in Norway again, as long as they take a Covid-19 test every seven days.
After Norway tightened its entry regulations on January 29th, almost all workers from Sweden and Finland who commute daily to Norway have been prevented from going to work, with the exception of health workers and people transporting goods.
This has had significant consequences on a group of around 3,000 people who have been unable to work. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) now believes that a weekly coronavirus test is sufficient to reduce the risk of infection for this group.
Swedish vocabulary: commuter – pendlare
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