Axe

The following articles have been tagged with "Axe":

Springtime skiing - just a bus ride from Stockholm

Travel: 19 Mar 10
If watching the Olympics gave you an itch to hit the slopes, consider Romme Alpin, a bus ride from Stockholm, says Davrell Roberts Tien. READ »

'Every wasted krona amounts to theft'

Analysis & Opinion: 18 Mar 10
Recognizing frustration among a heavily taxed electorate, the Swedish Taxpayers Association has joined hands with the free-market think tank Timbro to appoint a special ombudsman to which citizens can report wasteful government spending. READ »

'Jihad Jane' pleads not guilty

National: 18 Mar 10
Colleen LaRose aka 'JihadJane', and the two men held in Ireland in connection with the alleged plot to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks, are set to face court on Friday. READ »

What's On in Sweden: March 19th - 25th

Lifestyle: 17 Mar 10
What’s on in Sweden: Ship shape tour in Stockholm, Cameroonian Jazz in Gothenburg and a spin on Cinderella in Malmö. Plus English comedy in Linköping. READ »

Swedish prisoners seek higher learning

Education: 17 Mar 10
An increasing number of prisoners at Swedish correctional facilities are taking the chance to study, with a near doubling in completed courses from 2007 to 2009. READ »

Axelsson takes aim for biathlon challenge

Sport: 17 Mar 10
Håkan Axelsson, the only athlete at the Vancouver Paralympics with both a visual impairment and an amputation, is gunning for gold on Wednesday in the 12.5 km biathlon. READ »

Vilks 'not shaking with fear' over murder plot

National: 10 Mar 10
Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks said he was undaunted by revelations of a plot on his life after seven people were arrested in Ireland on Tuesday. READ »

Swedes extend warm embrace to 'cuddle party' movement

Society: 8 Mar 10
Swedes are often partial to picking up on trends from "over there" with the latest offering a new way to socialize American-style - introducing... the "cuddle party". READ »

Bankruptcies continue to decline

Business & Money: 8 Mar 10
The number of business failures in Sweden declined in February by 21 percent, continuing the positive trend of the last few months, a new report shows. READ »

'Inflexible welfare model keeping young Swedes out of work'

Analysis & Opinion: 5 Mar 10
An excessively rigid labour market is at the root of Sweden's high youth unemployment and helps explain the recent proliferation of young people in early retirement schemes, argues Nima Sanandaji, CEO of the Captus think tank. READ »

Swedes back housekeeping tax relief

Politics: 3 Mar 10
A new poll shows Swedes are in favour of the system of household services tax relief that the left-green opposition has declared it will abolish - despite its popularity among top Social Democrats - if it wins the autumn election, READ »

Olsson claims new cross-country bronze

Sport: 1 Mar 10
Johan Olsson claimed Sweden's 11th medal of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games when fortune favoured him in the battle for the bronze in the men's 50 kilometre cross-country classic. READ »

Fees make competition for students more equal

Analysis & Opinion: 19 Feb 10
A bill proposing tuition fees for students from non-EU countries will enable Sweden to compete on a more level playing field with universities in other countries, argues Niklas Tranæus from the Swedish Institute. READ »

Swede signs up to Virgin Galactic space flight

National: 18 Feb 10
A Malmö man has become the first Swede to sign up to Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space adventure after he shelled out 1.4 million kronor to fly to the frontier of space. READ »

Sweden's Borg talks tough on Greece debt

Politics: 16 Feb 10
Sweden's finance minister Anders Borg has led the chorus of European partners calling on Greece to "surpass" market expectations in dealing with its debt crisis. READ »

Telia Sonera doles out billions on strong report

Business & Money: 11 Feb 10
Swedish-Finnish telecom firm Telia Sonera has reported a profit after financial items of 6.98 billion kronor ($947 million) for the final quarter 2009, with shareholders in line for a bumper pay out. READ »

'Backward' rental market must be fixed: expert

Analysis & Opinion: 10 Feb 10
The wait for a rental apartment in Stockholm averages 104 weeks, according to a new report published this week. The Local has found that behind the heated dialogue there lie few easy solutions. READ »

Swedish daily slashes workforce

Business & Money: 4 Feb 10
Dagens Nyheter, a Swedish daily newspaper, has announced that it is slashing more than 100 jobs after a year of continued losses. READ »

Taxes and jobs dominate party leader debate

Politics: 1 Feb 10
Sunday's televised debate between the five leaders of Sweden's major political parties was dominated by taxes and labour market policy, while exposing divisions within the opposing blocs. READ »

AstraZeneca to axe jobs despite profit rise

Business & Money: 28 Jan 10
Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca plans to slash 8,000 more jobs worldwide by 2014, continuing its efforts to cut costs despite rising profits, the company announced on Thursday. READ »

Sick leave dominates first election year debate

Politics: 20 Jan 10
Sweden's two political blocs each set out their stalls on Wednesday in the first parliamentary debate of 2010, with sickness benefits proving the main bone of contention. READ »

Danish artist's attacker 'tried to recruit Swedes'

National: 12 Jan 10
Young Swedes were encouraged to join the militant Islamist group al-Shabaab by the Danish-Somali man who attacked Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard with an axe, according to Danish media reports. READ »

Tooth and nail meet over McDonald's burger

National: 8 Jan 10
A trip to McDonald’s for Gothenburg resident Yusuf Bercil proved more than he could chew after biting into his burger and chomping on a nail two-centimetres in length. READ »

January in Sweden: Week one, thirteenth day, thinking time

Lifestyle: 5 Jan 10
The Year in Sweden - January: Journalist Kim Loughran sketches a month by month account of the country he has called home ever since his accidental migration in 1966. READ »

Somali threats against Swedish illustrator

National: 4 Jan 10
Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who sparked outrage with caricatures of the Muslim prophet Muhammad as a dog, has received threats via telephone from Somalia. The threats come just days after a Danish cartoonist was attacked by a terrorist. READ »

Attempted tax dodge ends up costing Swedish firms dearly

Business & Money: 26 Dec 09
Several hundred Swedish companies will have to pay back a total of half a billion kronor ($70 million) in back taxes after having moved funds to Cyprus in order to evade taxes, reported Swedish Television (SVT). READ »

What's On in Sweden: December 25th - 31st

Lifestyle: 23 Dec 09
What’s on in Sweden: Choral Christmas in Stockholm, a New Year's Eve run in Gothenburg and get your skates on in Malmö. READ »

Young Swedish women more likely to have sex with each other: study

Society: 23 Dec 09
Young Swedes have ever more fluid definitions of sex and sexuality, according to a new study from Malmö University in southern Sweden. Women in particular are more likely to pursue sexual activities with others of the same gender. READ »

Swedish generosity on the rise

National: 21 Dec 09
Swedes have become all the more generous despite – or perhaps because of – the economic crisis. The total amount donated to charity in 2009 will be around 5.2 billion kronor ($715 million). READ »

Top ten Swedish songs of the decade

Lifestyle: 18 Dec 09
Songs of the decade: The Local's editor Paul O'Mahony dips into the vaults and pulls out his ten favourite Swedish tracks of the last ten years. READ »

Victim says axe attack 'politically motivated'

National: 10 Dec 09
A politically active business-owner from Södertälje south of Stockholm is recovering from an axe attack he claims was carried out on the orders of a political rival. READ »

Arvika festival campaign reaches its climax

Society: 4 Dec 09
In the latest marketing blitz from the Arvika Festival organizers, a twenty-year-old girl masturbates in front of the camera for a promo video. "People have sex at our festival," explains the festival's spokesman. READ »

Borg sees the light for State’s finances

National: 4 Dec 09
The State’s finances will recover faster than what was earlier estimated, following Sweden’s faster-than-expected recovery from the financial crisis, the government has announced. READ »

Elin Woods did not club Tiger: lawyer

National: 2 Dec 09
A Florida lawyer has said Tiger Woods did not look like he was beaten up by his wife after he emerged from a car crash, the cause of which remains cloaked in mystery. READ »

Gay men may donate blood: health board

Society: 1 Dec 09
Gay men in Sweden are to be permitted to donate blood provided they have not had sex with another man for at least a year, according to a new health board ruling. READ »

Woods backs wife: 'Elin acted courageously'

Sport: 30 Nov 09
Tiger Woods has played down rumours about his love life and praised the actions of his Swedish wife after the golfer was involved in a Florida car crash that remains shrouded in mystery. READ »

Trustor 'mastermind' questioned by Swedish police in Brussels

Business & Money: 26 Nov 09
Joachim Posener, accused of being the brains behind the Trustor investment scandal, has been questioned by Swedish authorities after more than a decade on the run. READ »

Sweden among favourites to claim World Cup of Golf title

Sport: 25 Nov 09
Swedish golfers Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson are facing tough competition in their attempt to help Sweden repeat its 2008 victory at the World Cup of Golf this week. READ »

Bildt in tax probe over nanny’s fees

Politics: 21 Nov 09
Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt and his wife EU parliamentarian Anna Maria Corazza Bildt have been reprimanded by the Swedish tax authority for dodging payments for their Ukrainian nanny. READ »

Liberals call for lower taxes at party congress

Politics: 20 Nov 09
Liberal party leader Jan Björklund has rallied members during a speech at the party conference in Växjö calling for lower taxes, developments in nuclear power production and for Sweden to adopt the euro as its currency. READ »

Tanya endures six-month wait for jobless benefits

Society: 17 Nov 09
As jobs in Sweden continue to disappear, the country’s unemployment insurance funds have been struggling to keep up with jobless claims, forcing many to wait more than six months before receiving their benefits. READ »

Swedish town restricts 'immigrant weddings'

Society: 16 Nov 09
A local politician from Landskrona in southern Sweden has decreed that only one “immigrant wedding” can be held at the town’s local community centre every month. READ »

Government mulls new law to force care for asylum kids

National: 13 Nov 09
Government parties have called for legislation to force municipalities to care for children seeking asylum amid recent protests over the housing of young refugees in Vellinge in southern Sweden. READ »

SEB settles with wealthy widow over bad advice

Business & Money: 10 Nov 09
After a decade receiving misguided investment advice, an 89-year-old Swedish woman has negotiated a settlement with the SEB bank worth hundreds of thousands of kronor. READ »

Social Democrats target pensioners on tax

Politics: 31 Oct 09
In a bid to boost support from Sweden’s older generation, the Social Democrats promised to close the tax gap between pensioners and wage earners at their party conference on Friday. READ »

Unique Stone Age burial items unearthed in central Sweden

Science & Technology: 29 Oct 09
Swedish archaeologists are marveling over a collection of 9,000 year old artifacts recently uncovered at an excavation site in central Sweden. READ »

Greens and Left best for business: survey

Business & Money: 14 Oct 09
Sweden’s Green Party has the best ideas to help the country’s small business owners, a new survey reveals, with the Left Party ranking a close second. READ »

Anger as deportees held in solitary confinement

National: 13 Oct 09
Sweden continues to isolate asylum seekers awaiting deportation in remand centres, despite continued criticism from torture committees at the United Nations and the Council of Europe. READ »

Swine flu vaccinations underway in Sweden

National: 12 Oct 09
The largest vaccination programme in Swedish history got underway on Monday as health workers in the south of the country received the first shots to protect against the swine flu. READ »

Passed out vodka lover comes to sporting lewd tattoo

Society: 5 Oct 09
A 27-year-old man from northern Sweden has certain regrets about drinking a full bottle of vodka after waking up the morning after with a six inch penis tattooed on his leg. READ »

Outrage over drunken Swedish pastor's funeral service

Society: 2 Oct 09
A family from Skåne in southern Sweden has demanded compensation from the Church of Sweden claiming that the pastor employed to conduct a funeral had consumed a glass too many in the vestry. READ »

American filmmakers take a crack at Swedish Midsummer

Lifestyle: 30 Sep 09
As Swedish cinemas prepare for Friday's opening of the romantic comedy “Äntligen Midsommar” ('Finally Midsummer'), The Local spoke with Ian McCrudden and Schif Musarra about how a pair of American filmmakers ended up making one very Swedish movie. READ »

Less trouble and strife: Swedes and the single life

Analysis & Opinion: 29 Sep 09
Fed up of being cut off from the couples-only dinner party circuit, Swedish singles are fighting back. As The Local’s Christine Demsteader finds out, they are throwing their frozen meals-for-one aside to attend Sweden’s Biggest Singles Party. READ »

Police probe Serb ties to helicopter heist

National: 29 Sep 09
Police in Serbia suspect the mastermind behind last week's brazen helicopter heist is a 40-year-old Bosnian Serb living in Belgrade known as the 'gangster king'. READ »

Police in traffic camera scheme talks

National: 26 Sep 09
Sweden's National Police Board want to conduct a pilot scheme using traffic cameras with automatic number plate recognition. But the question of integrity for drivers must first be overcome. READ »

Sweden in new round of cut taxes to boost employment

Politics: 19 Sep 09
A new measure to tackle Sweden's rising rate of unemployment has been proposed by the Swedish government, with tax cuts of 10 billion kronor ($1.4 billion) hoped to stimulate the job market. READ »

Flying logs crush Swedish man's home - again

Society: 18 Sep 09
Erold Sigurdsson, a 65-year-old man from northern Sweden, is once again counting his blessings and picking up the pieces after a truckload of timber slammed into his house on Thursday – for the third time. READ »

Beyond the insults: Swedish Model 2.0

Analysis & Opinion: 16 Sep 09
As Sweden takes a battering in the US health care debate, Swedish Institute chief Olle Wästberg examines two of the insults most frequently flung: that Sweden is rampantly socialist, and that it's the poster child for neo-liberal market excesses. READ »

Sahlin keen to raise taxes

Politics: 9 Sep 09
The opposition Social Democrats have said they are preparing to raise taxes and reintroduce wealth tax if elected next year in a bid to save jobs, and raise the quality of schools and health care. READ »

Suspected double murder near Stockholm

National: 6 Sep 09
Police in Stockholm have arrested a man suspected of killing two people on the archipelago island of Ingarö just east of Stockholm. READ »

'Taxpayers should not have to fund feminist porn'

Analysis & Opinion: 3 Sep 09
The idea of feminist porn may be attractive to some but there is no reason for the state to cough up half a million kronor to fund its production, argues Beatrice Fredriksson, a member of the Moderate Party's youth organisation and author of the Anti-Feminist Initiative blog. READ »

September in Sweden: Forest foods, politicians return, birds leave

Lifestyle: 3 Sep 09
The Year in Sweden - September: Journalist Kim Loughran sketches a month by month account of the country he has called home ever since his accidental migration in 1966. READ »

Alliance parties agree to reduce taxes

Politics: 28 Aug 09
The Alliance parties have agreed to reduce income tax by 10 billion kronor next year, as part of the fourth stage in the parties’ in-work tax credit programme, meaning individual tax cuts of up to 250 kronor per month. READ »

Sweden score three in dream Euro 2009 opener

Sport: 26 Aug 09
Sweden's women stamped their intentions on Euro 2009 in Finland with an impressive 3-0 win over Russia in their group C opener. READ »

What's on in Sweden: August 21 - 27

Lifestyle: 20 Aug 09
What's on in Sweden: Cirkus Cirkör and "progg" poster exhibition in Stockholm; Midnight run and Stephen Lynch (US) in Gothenburg; Orquesta Faela and music festival in Malmö. READ »

Child benefits must be raised: Sahlin

Politics: 16 Aug 09
Mona Sahlin, leader of the Swedish Social Democrats, has said child maintenance support benefit levels will be raised if there is a change of government next year. READ »

'Spotify are the new pirates': Swedish artist

Business & Money: 13 Aug 09
Swedish musician Magnus Uggla has withdrawn his music from streaming music service Spotify saying that he'd rather be "raped by the Pirate Bay than shafted by Sony Music". READ »

Councils to cash in on autumn budget

Business & Money: 10 Aug 09
Local council finances, investments in welfare services and measures to counter unemployment are to be given priority in the autumn budget, according to Sweden's prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. READ »

The lost art of travel: Catching the ferry to Britain

Travel: 10 Aug 09
This summer, for the inevitable trip back to the UK, Ben Kersley was determined to avoid air travel and attempt to recapture the lost art of travel. READ »

Swedish women keep working after 65 despite job cuts: study

Business & Money: 28 Jul 09
Despite recent job cuts in the wake of the financial crisis, there are almost twice the number of women over the age of 65 working in Sweden today than four years ago, new statistics published on Tuesday show. READ »

Docs tell 83-year-old Swede she's 'too old' for treatment

Science & Technology: 24 Jul 09
An 83-year-old Swedish woman was forced to pay for back surgery out of her own pocket after doctors at her local public hospital told her she was too old for the treatment. READ »

Anders Borg: Sweden's long-haired maverick minister

Analysis & Opinion: 22 Jul 09
With Anders Borg, Sweden’s pony-tailed Minister of Finance, now helping the EU navigate through the global economic slump, the AFP’s Marc Preel takes a look back at the rise of this self-described pragmatist. READ »

Serious deficiencies at Sida field office

National: 21 Jul 09
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency's Bukina Faso field office has been plagued by deficiencies for several years, according to an internal audit. READ »

Online tax evasion worth billions

Society: 18 Jul 09
The Internet has enabled many companies to operate outside the purview of public authorities. The Swedish Tax Authority (Skatteverket) estimates that online tax evasion amounts to around 5 billion kronor ($638.7 million). READ »

81-year-old axe murderer sentenced to prison

National: 18 Jul 09
An 81-year-old man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for murder after hitting his longtime girlfriend repeatedly in the head with an axe. READ »

Octogenarian charged in fatal axing

National: 9 Jul 09
An 81-year-old Swedish man was charged on Wednesday with murder for killing his girlfriend with an axe because she refused to speak with him. READ »

British journalist fishes for the real Sweden

Analysis & Opinion: 8 Jul 09
British author Andrew Brown talks to James Savage about living in Sweden in the seventies, fishing, and how immigration has changed the country. READ »

Sweden urges EU states to tighten belts

Politics: 1 Jul 09
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has said the country's EU presidency will push member states to curtail spending and work towards sustaining public finances across the union. READ »

Tax agency targets Chinese pop star

Society: 30 Jun 09
Chinese pop music star and Stockholm resident Wei Wei has been targeted by Swedish tax authorities, who recently attempted to freeze 50 million kronor ($6.5 million) of the singer’s assets. READ »

Business leaders urge cut in Sweden's capital gains tax

Business & Money: 24 Jun 09
Sweden needs to cut its capital gains tax in order to maintain its competitiveness, according to a new report from an influential business group. READ »

Axeman rampage comes to bloody end

National: 14 Jun 09
A man was seriously injured when he was attacked by an axe-wielding man near Stockholm on Saturday. The axeman fled, crashed his car and was later found bleeding at a nearby metro station. READ »

Tax agency in 2 billion kronor tax haven haul

Business & Money: 12 Jun 09
Swedish tax authorities have managed to recoup more than 2 billion kronor ($258 million) from overseas foreign tax havens in the last five years. READ »

Stockholm suburb ranked best place to live in Sweden

Society: 12 Jun 09
For the second year in a row, the municipality of Danderyd outside of Stockholm has been voted the best place in Sweden to live, according to a magazine’s annual ranking. READ »

Can I import alcohol over the internet?

Analysis & Opinion: 8 Jun 09
Ask The Local: Is it legal for a private person to import alcohol to Sweden via the internet? READ »

Commercial fishing to come under new scrutiny

National: 30 May 09
The impact of environmentally sensitive fishing on biologically important marine areas along Sweden’s coasts is to be the subject of a new inquiry. READ »

'High taxes do not equate to an effective welfare state'

Analysis & Opinion: 25 May 09
Sweden's high tax regime is counterproductive: rather than focusing on the improvement of core services, it has led to a bloated bureaucracy and an inefficient welfare state, argue Nima Sanandaji and Robert Gidehag of the Swedish Taxpayers Association. READ »

'Cut taxes to boost competition': Experts

National: 25 May 09
Sweden's Globalisation Council has proposed 28 billion kronor in reforms to taxes and social insurances in its final report published on Monday. READ »

Mark Majzner: 'I like to stand up to the establishment'

Lifestyle: 22 May 09
Wine merchant Mark Majzner explains that his blog on The Local provides "an interesting insight into wine, alcohol politics, running your own business, and life in Sweden as an expat.” READ »

A Swedish island idyll

Travel: 20 May 09
Sponsored article: A holiday on the beautiful island of Hässelö in southern Sweden is the perfect way to sample traditional Swedish archipelago life. READ »

Stopping meds made Swedish woman's 'dementia' disappear

Society: 20 May 09
An 86-year-old Swedish woman who had been ill for several years and was thought to be suffering from dementia made a rapid and unexpected recovery when doctors stopped her medication. READ »

Modern-day Vikings pillage streets of Stockholm

Lifestyle: 19 May 09
With picturesque cobblestone streets, cozy cafes and an abundance of history, Gamla Stan is, with good reason, one of Stockholm’s main tourist attractions. Join Lydia Parafianowicz on a Viking pillage through the Old Town. READ »