Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Find out what's going on in Sweden today with The Local's short roundup of the news in less than five minutes.
Sweden to investigate international adoptions
The Swedish government today appointed an inquiry to look into how overseas adoptions were handled in the 1970s to 1990s.
It comes on the back of a series of reports about irregular or even illegal adoptions which saw some children effectively being stolen from their mothers, with their new family being told false stories about the children’s backgrounds. The scandal was recently given new attention after the Dagens Nyheter newspaper covered it.
There is also an ongoing criminal investigation in Chile. The Swedish inquiry will focus on Chile and China, but will include adoptions from anywhere in the world.
Swedish vocabulary: children – barn
A litre of petrol now costs more than 18 kronor
Sweden’s leading fuel companies on Tuesday raised their guideline price – the recommended price at manned fuel stations – of unleaded petrol (gasoline) to 18.09 kronor per litre ($2.10). That’s an increase of 0.20 kronor in just one day.
The price of a litre of diesel also got more expensive on Tuesday, a 0.15 kronor increase to 19.37 kronor – the same as last week’s record for diesel.
The reason for the hikes is a global rise in market prices for oil, currently at a three-year high. Diesel is particularly affected because it contains more biofuels, due to policies aimed at protecting the environment, and these are more expensive than fossil fuels.
Swedish vocabulary: unleaded petrol – blyfri bensin (95-oktanig bensin)
A litre of petrol has for the first time risen to more than 18 kronor in Sweden. https://t.co/cRQYYxfMOl
— The Local Sweden (@TheLocalSweden) October 27, 2021
Covid-19 cases on the rise in Sweden
Covid-19 infections are on the increase again in parts of Sweden. In southern region Skåne, 605 cases were confirmed last week, up from 406 the week before. It’s spreading in all age groups in the region apart from over-90s, but mainly 0-19 and 30-39.
Stockholm meanwhile noted 1,486 new cases of Covid-19 last week, up from 1,143 the week before. “It is concerning,” said the region’s chief medical officer Johan Bratt.
Swedish vocabulary: an increase – en ökning
Economic gaps widen between children in Sweden
A total of 23.1 percent of children in Sweden are living in relative poverty, according to a new report by Rädda Barnen, the Swedish branch of Save the Children. That shows how many live in households whose disposable income is less than 60 percent of the country’s median income, so it illustrates the gaps between rich and poor in Sweden.
The corresponding percentage in the rest of the EU is the lowest in Denmark (13.2 percent), according to the report, which also notes that Sweden and Finland are the only countries in the EU that offer free lunches to schoolchildren.
According to the report, children who have at least one foreign-born parent is at higher risk (43.7 percent) of growing up in a socio-economically vulnerable household than children whose parents are both born in Sweden (7.3 percent), the largest gap in the EU.
Swedish vocabulary: poverty – fattigdom
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Sweden to investigate international adoptions
The Swedish government today appointed an inquiry to look into how overseas adoptions were handled in the 1970s to 1990s.
It comes on the back of a series of reports about irregular or even illegal adoptions which saw some children effectively being stolen from their mothers, with their new family being told false stories about the children’s backgrounds. The scandal was recently given new attention after the Dagens Nyheter newspaper covered it.
There is also an ongoing criminal investigation in Chile. The Swedish inquiry will focus on Chile and China, but will include adoptions from anywhere in the world.
Swedish vocabulary: children – barn
A litre of petrol now costs more than 18 kronor
Sweden’s leading fuel companies on Tuesday raised their guideline price – the recommended price at manned fuel stations – of unleaded petrol (gasoline) to 18.09 kronor per litre ($2.10). That’s an increase of 0.20 kronor in just one day.
The price of a litre of diesel also got more expensive on Tuesday, a 0.15 kronor increase to 19.37 kronor – the same as last week’s record for diesel.
The reason for the hikes is a global rise in market prices for oil, currently at a three-year high. Diesel is particularly affected because it contains more biofuels, due to policies aimed at protecting the environment, and these are more expensive than fossil fuels.
Swedish vocabulary: unleaded petrol – blyfri bensin (95-oktanig bensin)
A litre of petrol has for the first time risen to more than 18 kronor in Sweden. https://t.co/cRQYYxfMOl
— The Local Sweden (@TheLocalSweden) October 27, 2021
Covid-19 cases on the rise in Sweden
Covid-19 infections are on the increase again in parts of Sweden. In southern region Skåne, 605 cases were confirmed last week, up from 406 the week before. It’s spreading in all age groups in the region apart from over-90s, but mainly 0-19 and 30-39.
Stockholm meanwhile noted 1,486 new cases of Covid-19 last week, up from 1,143 the week before. “It is concerning,” said the region’s chief medical officer Johan Bratt.
Swedish vocabulary: an increase – en ökning
Economic gaps widen between children in Sweden
A total of 23.1 percent of children in Sweden are living in relative poverty, according to a new report by Rädda Barnen, the Swedish branch of Save the Children. That shows how many live in households whose disposable income is less than 60 percent of the country’s median income, so it illustrates the gaps between rich and poor in Sweden.
The corresponding percentage in the rest of the EU is the lowest in Denmark (13.2 percent), according to the report, which also notes that Sweden and Finland are the only countries in the EU that offer free lunches to schoolchildren.
According to the report, children who have at least one foreign-born parent is at higher risk (43.7 percent) of growing up in a socio-economically vulnerable household than children whose parents are both born in Sweden (7.3 percent), the largest gap in the EU.
Swedish vocabulary: poverty – fattigdom
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