Iraqis

The following articles have been tagged with "Iraqis":

Iraqi expats flock to polling booths in Sweden

National: 7 Mar 10
At least 26,000 Iraqis living in Sweden cast their absentee ballots at the weekend, ahead of the Iraqi general elections on Sunday. Some 80,000 Iraqis live in Sweden. READ »

Fifth of Swedish population foreign

National: 29 Jan 10
Latest figures from Statistics Sweden reveal that in the last 50 years the number of foreigners living in Sweden or people with two foreign-born parents has risen from four to nearly 20 percent. READ »

Sweden boasts record high population growth

National: 21 Dec 09
Sweden's population grew more in 2009 than it has in any year since 1946, according to new figures from Statistics Sweden. READ »

Thousands of Iraqis granted Swedish asylum

National: 8 Dec 09
Sweden granted protection to 8,700 asylum seekers in 2008, with Iraqis accounting for almost half the total, according to new figures from EU statistics office Eurostat. READ »

Sweden to pay more asylum seekers to leave

National: 6 Nov 09
Sweden has decided to expand a programme which gives unsuccessful asylum seekers money to voluntarily return to their homelands, at the same time as the number of refugee applications continues to drop. READ »

Sweden refuses asylum to gay Iraqis

National: 18 Aug 09
A Swedish gay rights organisation has called on the government not to deport any homosexual Iraqi asylum seekers in the light of a shocking new report categorising an extermination campaign against gay men in the Middle Eastern country. READ »

Fewer seeking asylum in Sweden

National: 16 Aug 09
The number of foreigners seeking asylum in Sweden has fallen by 17 percent in the first half of 2009, compared to the same period last year. READ »

Amnesty slams Sweden over refugee policies

National: 28 May 09
Shortcomings in Sweden’s refugee policies and the country’s dismal record at bringing reported rapes to trial have come in for criticism by Amnesty International in its 2008 annual report. READ »

Sweden offers asylum to Iraqi who aided US military

National: 23 May 09
An Iraqi man who assisted the United States military during the war in Iraq has been granted asylum in Sweden. READ »

Five charged over Iraqi human smuggling ring

Society: 30 Mar 09
Three men and two women were formally charged on Monday for human smuggling on suspicions they helped transport 24 Iraqis into Sweden in return for large sums of money. READ »

Stockholm flight re-opens Iraqi air links with the EU

National: 28 Mar 09
The first flight in 19 years to take off from Iraq bound for the European Union touched down in Stockholm on Friday evening. READ »

Sharp drop in asylum applications to Sweden

National: 20 Mar 09
Fewer people are seeking asylum in Sweden, with the number of applications dropping 33 percent last year, according to new statistics. READ »

'Fake' universities operating in Sweden

Education: 10 Mar 09
The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education has issued a warning about two so-called fake universities operating in Sweden. Both universities offer courses up to and including doctoral level. READ »

Sweden's annual immigrant tally hit six figures in 2008

Society: 18 Feb 09
More than 100,000 people emigrated to Sweden in 2008, marking the first time the country’s annual immigrant count hit six figures, according to new statistics. READ »

'Tap the potential of immigrant entrepreneurs'

Analysis & Opinion: 3 Feb 09
Sweden could learn a lot from Canada and the UK when it comes to leveraging the power of entrepreneurship to help integrate immigrants, writes Nima Sanandaji of the Captus think tank. READ »

More Iraqis at risk of losing asylum appeals in Sweden

Politics: 14 Jan 09
Most of the thousands of Iraqis waiting for asylum in Sweden will likely have their applications rejected because of improved security conditions in the country. READ »

Immigrants central to swelling population

National: 18 Dec 08
Sweden’s foreign-born population is expected to reach 14 percent by the end of 2008, a year in which the country’s overall population had its greatest increase since 1970. READ »

'Every Swede has a cousin in America'

Analysis & Opinion: 20 Nov 08
Sweden has deep historic ties with the United states, writes Olle Wästberg, director-general of the Swedish Institute. And even though some Americans mistakenly associate Sweden with the cuckoo clock, the relationship remains largely one of mutual understanding and respect. READ »

Scania dodged UN sanctions in Iraq

National: 13 Nov 08
Swedish government agencies allowed truck maker Scania to ignore United Nations sanctions in order to sell buses and trucks in Iraq in the early 2000s, Sveriges Radio reports. READ »

Iraqis go underground in greater numbers

National: 2 Nov 08
The number of Iraqi asylum seekers going into hiding has increased seven-fold since 2006. A ruling by the Migration Court that Iraq is not in a state of civil war has made it harder for Iraqis to gain asylum. READ »

'Little Baghdad' hosts US relocation fair

Society: 16 Oct 08
A Swedish town with a large concentration of Iraqi immigrants played host on Thursday to a unique fair designed to provide information about the United States to prospective job seekers. READ »

Failed asylum seekers going underground

Politics: 25 Aug 08
More unsuccessful asylum seekers are going into hiding in Sweden, new figures from the Migration Board show. Tighter rules permitting authorities to send back more refugees from war-torn countries are given the blame. READ »

Iraqis in suspected repatriation grant racket

Society: 19 Aug 08
A financial incentive scheme encouraging asylum seekers to return to their homelands has been abused by hundreds of Iraqi refugees, Swedish authorities believe. READ »

Stockholm population reaches highest level since 1960s

Society: 14 Aug 08
High immigration figures have contributed to increased population figures across Sweden. READ »

Sweden's welfare programmes hinder Iraqi integration

Analysis & Opinion: 15 Jul 08
By emphasizing welfare programmes over work and entrepreneurship, Sweden makes it harder for Iraqi immigrants to achieve success in their new country, argues Nima Sanandaji of the Captus think tank. READ »

Steep drop in Iraqi asylum claims

National: 14 Jul 08
The number of Iraqi asylum requests in Sweden plunged by half in the first six months of 2008, due primarily to stricter asylum criteria, the Swedish Migration Board said on Monday. READ »

Churches vital for Christian Iraqis in Sweden

Analysis & Opinion: 2 Jun 08
For many Christian Iraqis who have found a safe haven in Sweden, integrating into a strange new culture is a trying process. But their churches, present in Sweden for decades, play a big role in easing the way, writes AFP's Sophie Mongalvy. READ »

Iraqis leave Sweden

National: 31 May 08
300 Iraqi citizens left Sweden in the first four months of 2008. This represents an increase on the 233 Iraqis who returned home in the corresponding period of 2007. READ »

Making sense of the Iraq conference

Analysis & Opinion: 30 May 08
David Landes reviews what the Swedish press had to say about the importance of the Iraq conference held this week in Stockholm. READ »

Sweden to reopen Baghdad embassy

Politics: 30 May 08
As Sweden announced plans to reopen its Baghdad embassy later this year, Iraq's prime minister also called for Iraqi refugees to return to their former homeland. READ »

Conference ends with joint declaration

Politics: 29 May 08
Following what Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt called “the first forward aiming meeting on Iraq”, world leaders unanimously approved a declaration acknowledging Baghdad's efforts to improve security and "combat terrorism". READ »

Rice: US to take in more Iraqi refugees

Politics: 29 May 08
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has promised that the United States will take in more refugees from Iraq, according to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. READ »

Iraq conference opens in Sweden

Politics: 29 May 08
An international conference on Iraq aimed at assessing progress made in the war-ravaged country opened in Stockholm on Thursday. READ »

Swedish UN envoy sees 'light at end of tunnel' in Iraq

Politics: 28 May 08
Major tensions remain in Iraq but there are signs the situation is improving, according to the top UN envoy in Baghdad. READ »

Iraqi Christians demonstrate in Stockholm

National: 26 May 08
Hundreds gathered in Stockholm on Sunday to highlight attacks on Christians in Iraq, days before a United Nations conference on Iraqi peace and development opens near the city. READ »

Sweden shutting door on refugees: critics

Society: 18 Apr 08
Recent decisions by Sweden to send refugees back to Baghdad and other war-ravaged areas have tarnished its reputation for welcoming victims of conflict, critics say. READ »

The path to Swedish asylum: A smuggler speaks

Lifestyle: 19 Mar 08
Rami Abdelrahman travels to Jordan and tracks down the first link in the chain of an underground operation involved in the smuggling of Iraqi refugees to Sweden. READ »

UNHCR criticizes Sweden's Iraqi refugee policy

Society: 18 Mar 08
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has criticized Sweden's policy of deporting rejected Iraqi asylum seekers to the southern and central regions of their home country. READ »

Swedish aid to Iraqi 'emigrant' entrepreneurs

Politics: 19 Feb 08
Foreign Aid Minister Gunilla Carlsson has proposed setting aside funds for Iraqis leaving Sweden to start a business in their homeland. READ »

Iraq to take back asylum seekers rejected by Sweden

Politics: 18 Feb 08
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has said his country will take back asylum seekers rejected by Sweden, clearing the way for forced deportations. READ »

Iraqi refugees get 18-month crash course on Sweden

Lifestyle: 17 Feb 08
AFP's Sophie Mongalvy sits in on a introductory programme offered by Södertälje municipality to help set new immigrants on the path to financial independence in Sweden. READ »

Big trouble in 'Little Baghdad'

Lifestyle: 17 Feb 08
Part 1: Having taken in more Iraqi refugees per capita than any other Swedish town, officials in Södertälje are now warning that the town's infrastructure may be close to bursting point. READ »

Refugees refuse to leave Sweden

National: 10 Feb 08
An increasing number of refugees are refusing to leave Sweden voluntarily. The police were informed of deportation orders for 1,500 Iraqis in 2007. READ »

Sweden slashes asylum grants to Iraqi refugees

Society: 2 Feb 08
Sweden has slashed the proportion of Iraqi asylum seekers it has allowed to stay in the country. READ »

Sweden gives go-ahead for Iraq flights

National: 31 Jan 08
A Swedish airline is to be allowed to resume flights to northern Iraq, six months after air links were suspended following a suspected missile attack on a plane. READ »

Germany foils smuggling ring

National: 9 Jan 08
Police in Germany have cracked down on a criminal gang suspected of smuggling Iraqis into Sweden. READ »

Asylum seeker figures soar

Society: 7 Jan 08
Iraqis and Somalis contributed to a sharp rise in the number of asylum seekers coming to Sweden in 2007. READ »

'Deport people smuggled into Sweden'

Society: 27 Nov 07
A leading Social Democrat has called for all people smuggled into Sweden to be sent back to their home countries. READ »

Sweden gets EU cash for refugees

Society: 18 Nov 07
Sweden is to receive nearly half the EU's immigration budget after taking in record numbers of Iraqi refugees. READ »

Immigration to Sweden maintains record pace

Society: 13 Nov 07
New figures have shown that immigration to Sweden remains high despite the disappearance of last year's temporary asylum law. Emigration and births are also on the rise. READ »

Swedish army vehicle used to smuggle refugees

National: 6 Nov 07
The Swedish military has pledged to review its procedures after one of its transport vehicles was allegedly used to smuggle a large group of refugees. READ »

Police seek Iraqi 'temptress' over murder

National: 31 Oct 07
Police in Sweden are asking Iraqis to identify a woman they believe lured an Iraqi dissident to a hotel room in Stockholm, where he was murdered and his body cut into 48 pieces. The suspected temptress may have been working on the orders of Saddam Hussein's regime, police believe. READ »

Sweden heads world asylum league

Society: 23 Sep 07
Sweden received more asylum applications than any other country in the world apart from the United States in the first six months of this year, with Iraqis making up the bulk of requests. READ »

Muslim ambassadors 'made no demands'

Politics: 7 Sep 07
Sweden's prime minister met on Friday with ambassadors from 22 Muslim countries for talks surrounding the publication in a Swedish newspaper of a caricature of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. READ »

Migration Board continues to grant Iraqis asylum

Society: 7 Sep 07
Nine out of ten asylum seekers from Iraq are still being granted residence permits to stay in Sweden despite the Migration Board's decision that the situation in their home country should not be categorized as a war. READ »

Bildt warns Iraq of refugee clampdown

National: 2 Sep 07
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt was to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Sunday for talks expected to be dominated by Stockholm's stricter policies for Iraqi refugees. READ »

Afghans add voice to Muhammad cartoon row

National: 2 Sep 07
The cartoonist behind a caricature of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad has said he has no intention of apologizing. Meanwhile, Afghanistan has joined Pakistan and Iran in condemning the publication. READ »

Rosengård: hardship and hope

Lifestyle: 23 Aug 07
For many, the Rosengård area of Malmö has become a symbol of segregation, deprivation and unrest. Four months after disturbances there gained international attention, Genevieve Worrell finds real problems remain, but also a will to turn the situation around. READ »

Iraqis celebrate football triumph in Stockholm

Sport: 29 Jul 07
Hundreds of Iraqi exiles poured on to the streets of Stockholm on Sunday to celebrate their team's Asian Cup victory over Saudi Arabia. READ »

Iraqi refugee to appeal controversial ruling

Society: 13 Jul 07
An Iraqi asylum seeker is to appeal last week's controversial Migration Court decision to send him back to Baghdad. READ »

Top parties step in to defend Iraqis

Politics: 8 Jul 07
Representatives from Sweden's two largest parties have indicated that they would support an amendment of current asylum legislation to include refugees fleeing 'the chaos and terror that we are now seeing in Iraq'. READ »

Swedish television viewers sold short on Iraq

Analysis & Opinion: 2 Jul 07
Swedish public television would do well to avoid casting doubt on a legitimate story of US soldiers and their Iraqi allies uncovering fresh evidence of the horrific criminality of the ousted regime, argues Billy McCormac of think-tank Timbro. READ »

Amnesty criticizes Baghdad deportation

Society: 18 May 07
Amnesty International has levelled criticism at Sweden following the forced deportation to Baghdad of an Iraqi citizen. READ »

Iraqis bring wealth - and jobs - to Sweden

Lifestyle: 12 Apr 07
The world in Sweden series:The cost to Sweden of receiving asylum seekers – many of them Iraqis – is set to rise to more than 12 billion kronor by 2010. But far from being a drain on resources, many Iraqis are bringing money - and jobs - to Sweden, as Rami Abdelrahman reports. READ »

Cost of receiving immigrants 'to double' by 2010

Society: 14 Mar 07
The cost to the Swedish state of receiving asylum seekers is set to rise to more than 12 billion kronor by 2010, partly due to rising number of Iraqi refugees, partly due to more relaxed Swedish laws. READ »

Asylum applications cause Migration Board to expand

National: 7 Mar 07
The Swedish Migration Board is setting up four new units to handle a marked increase in the number of asylum applications to the country. The units will focus on asylum seekers from Iraq and Somalia. READ »

'People smugglers' arrested in Gothenburg

National: 20 Feb 07
Fourteen people have been arrested in Gothenburg on suspicion of illegally smuggling Iraqis into the country. READ »

Sweden demands EU help over Iraqi refugees

National: 12 Feb 07
Over half the asylum applications made in Europe by Iraqis are made in Sweden. Now migration minister Tobias Billström is demanding that other EU member states take more responsibility. READ »

Iraqi ambassador denies passport accusations

National: 31 Jan 07
Iraq's ambassador to Sweden was called to the foreign ministry on Wednesday amid reports that the Stockholm embassy had issued some 26,000 passports on false grounds. READ »

Danish People's Party fears influx of Swedish immigrants

Politics: 29 Jan 07
Iraqis are coming to Sweden in their thousands. Now the Danish People's Party is worried they might cross the Öresund bridge. READ »

More people want to become Swedes

Society: 3 Jan 07
More people are taking Swedish citizenship, new figures show. Iraqis were the keenest applicants for Swedish passports last year, but plenty of Americans also applied. READ »

Asylum seekers surge from world's war zones

Society: 1 Jan 07
Around 24,000 people sought asylum in Sweden in 2006 - a rise of almost 40 percent compared to 2005. READ »

Iraqis look to Sweden as safe haven

Analysis & Opinion: 22 Dec 06
The increasingly volatile situation in Iraq is prompting a growing number of Iraqis to seek a safe haven in Europe. A generous refugee policy means that Sweden is proving particularly attractive. READ »

Record immigration boosts Sweden's population

Society: 20 Dec 06
More people have moved to Sweden in 2006 than during any other year since records began, 131 years ago. Swedes are also giving birth at a higher rate than they are dying. READ »

Iraqis smuggled over Öresund Bridge

Society: 21 Nov 06
Thirteen Iraqis have been found trying to enter Sweden over the Öresund Bridge to Malmö. Two men have been arrested for trying to smuggle the Iraqis into the country. READ »

Iraq immigration swells Swedish population

Society: 14 Nov 06
Sweden's population has increased significantly in the past year, with immigration a major source of the rise. Iraq was one of the largest sources of immigrants, a new report shows. READ »

Bildt on Saddam: right verdict, wrong sentence

National: 5 Nov 06
Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt says it is "extremely satisfying" that Saddam Hussein has been made to answer for his crimes, but he criticises the use of the death penalty. Iraqis in Sweden have no such qualms. READ »

Illusory success of Swedish immigration

Politics: 13 Sep 06
Immigration is a dominant political issue throughout Europe, but in Sweden, where a general election is to be held on Sunday, the thorny subject has been markedly absent from the campaign. READ »

Iranian refugees accepted by Sweden

Society: 17 May 06
Over a hundred Iranian Kurd refugees who fled Iran during the Islamic Revolution, then left Iraq during the war, are now on their way to Sweden from their desert camp in Jordan. READ »

Immigration brings population rise

Society: 15 Mar 06
Fewer people are seeking asylum in Sweden, but immigration still accounts for most of the increase in Sweden's population, according to figures out on Wednesday. READ »

Failed firebomb attack on Iraq election centre in Sweden

National: 15 Dec 05
With some 32,000 Iraqis from Sweden, Norway and Finland expected to vote at two election offices in Stockholm on Thursday, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the voting centre in Kista. READ »

Gulf between immigrants on job market

National: 9 Dec 05
Sweden's job market looks very different for a Briton than it does for a Somalian. Whereas only 13 percent of Somalians had a job, 57 percent of Brits did. And Americans were trailing on 43 percent. READ »

Budget ready despite asylum issue

Politics: 12 Sep 05
The government budget for next year is ready for Göran Persson to present to parliament on Tuesday - but he could do so without the support of the Greens and the Left Party, who demand an amnesty for thousands of asylum seekers. READ »

Terror sentence appeal begins

National: 22 Aug 05
Two Iraqis sentenced in Sweden to six and seven years in prison for plotting and financing a massive suicide bombing campaign in Iraq in 2004 begin their appeal in Stockholm. READ »

Jailed Iraqis to appeal

National: 30 May 05
Two Iraqis convicted in Sweden earlier this month of plotting and financing a massive suicide bombing campaign in their home country will appeal against the ruling, say their lawyers. READ »

Iraqi pair jailed for terror plots

National: 12 May 05
A Stockholm court has convicted two Iraqis of plotting and financing a massive suicide bombing campaign in their home country and sentenced them to long prison sentences and deportation. READ »

Deportation of "apathetic children" put on hold

National: 1 May 05
The Swedish Migration Board freezes all deportations of the so-called "apathetic refugee children", who are suffering from a form of acute depression, after a report suggests that the phenomenon is unique to Sweden. Not true, say critics. READ »

Iraq terror suspects face long Swedish sentences

National: 29 Apr 05
The trial of two Iraqis charged with helping to plot attacks in their home country wrapped up in Stockholm on Thursday with the prosecutor calling for up to 10 years behind bars for both men. READ »

Nine million Swedes - and counting

Society: 13 Aug 04
Sweden goes population crazy as the big nine-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh is breached. Cue legions of journalists in maternity wards pacing up and down like expectant fathers. READ »

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