Three held over fatal shooting south of Stockholm

Three people are being held in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in his 30s at a restaurant in Fittja, south of Stockholm, on Thursday evening. A district court remanded the trio in custody on Monday, with the prosecutor given until April 22nd to press charges.

The prosecutor declined to give any further details when approached by Swedish news agency TT, as the court had imposed a confidentiality order on the case, which is something it can do in relatively rare circumstances in order to protect the identity of the people in custody. 

“It can for example be done if the people or their relatives could be put in danger if their identity is revealed. I can’t comment further on why the court decided on confidentiality in the particular case,” prosecutor Niksa Lucic told TT.

The three men are described as one man in his teens and two teenage boys.

Swedish vocabulary: to remand in custody – att häkta

Consultant accused of leaking vaccine data ‘has links to far-right extremism’

A former consultant for Sweden’s Public Health Agency, who is accused of leaking the vaccination data of around 800 children, has connections to far-right extremism, according to an investigation by anti-racism magazine Expo.

Expo reports that one of the man’s contacts includes a person in the far-right extremist milieu, who has been seen in circles promoting conspiracy theories about Covid-19.

According to Expo, the man is against the Covid-19 vaccine and sees the Public Health Agency as a threat to freedom.

The man, who is not a Swedish citizen, has previous convictions of, among other things, assault and weapons offences.

The Public Health Agency told Expo that they carried out an “in-depth check” on the consultant before hiring him, but no security classification, before he was given access to Sweden’s vaccination register.

He is set to face court in April, writes TT.

Swedish vocabulary: to leak – att röja

Police warn of rise snow mobile accidents

The number of people injured in snow mobile accidents increased last year, but fatalities decreased, according to new statistics from the police. A total of 367 accidents caused three deaths in 2023, compared to seven deaths out of 315 accidents the year before that.

The most common accident is crashing into a fixed, solid object. 

“To decrease snow mobile accidents, each and every individual has to take more responsibility. The more snow mobiles in operation, the more accidents,” Daniel Pettersson, traffic police chief in Sweden’s northern policing region, said in a statement.

Police warned people to take it easy during the Easter weekend. Most accidents happen in Sweden’s four northernmost regions and Dalarna in March and April, when the ice is slowly starting to melt and it might be hard to assess just how good the snow conditions are. 

Swedish vocabulary: a snow mobile – en snöskoter

Ericsson to lay off 1,200 staff in Sweden

Swedish telecoms equipment giant Ericsson has warned it may cut 1,200 staff in Sweden, or 8.6 percent of its Swedish workforce, as it faces a “challenging” market for mobile networks.

The company said it “expects a challenging mobile networks market in 2024, with further volume contraction as customers remain cautious.”

“In line with managing lower volumes, Ericsson today announces proposed staff reductions in Sweden,” it said in a statement.

It said it had initiated negotiations with unions for a “headcount reduction of approximately 1,200 in Sweden”.

Here’s everything you need to know about losing your job in Sweden.

Swedish vocabulary: a company – ett företag