Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
MS Estonia investigation, defence minister in Oslo, and judge rules on school stabbing: find out what's going on in Sweden with The Local's roundup.
Swedish authorities may bring part of wrecked Estonia to land
The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority is considering removing the bow ramp from the wrecked MS Estonia and bringing it to land for an inspection, the organisation's Director General, Jonas Bäckstrand, has told the TT newswire.
"One possibility that might happen is to salvage the bow ramp, because that is an important part of the puzzle in the chain of events which led to the sinking," Bäckstrand said. "Today, that part of the ship is loose and leaning against the hull. Two remaining hinges have been released."
The sinking of the MS Estonia in 1994 is the deadliest peacetime sinking in European waters, with 854 lives lost.
The authority has launched a new investigation into the disaster after a documentary, "Estonia - the find that changes everything", claims to have found holes in the hull with an underwater drone.
The authority is photographing the wreck underwater and will only bring pieces to land if necessary, he added.
"If it is good enough, there may not be a need to salvage it either. We'll wait and see, quite simply."
It will take three to four months to compile all the data from the expedition, after which the photographic material will be published.
Swedish vocab: att bärga – to salvage
Court to rule on southern Sweden school attack
A court will pass its judgement today on the 17-year-old who carried out the second in a string of three school stabbings seen in southern Sweden.
The youth carried out his attack on January 10th at the NTI-gymnasiet school in Kristianstad. He has been charged on three cases of attempted murder and two case of unlawful threat.
According to the police, the boy planned his attack in advance, and was in contact with the youth who carried out the first school attack in Eslöv last year. The two were close friends.
During the trial, the 17-year-old expressed regrets and said that the knife attack should be seen as a call for help.
Swedish Vocab: ångerfull – regretful
Swedish defence minister in Oslo for defence meet
Sweden's defence minister, Peter Hultqvist, is in Oslo on Tuesday for a meeting with his nine counterparts from the Joint Expeditionary Force defence grouping on the war in Ukraine.
"It's positive that the JEF, through various exercises, has now increased its presence in the Baltic Sea region in the time that Sweden and Finland are awaiting a decision on Nato membership," Hultqvist told TT ahead of the meeting.
JEF was created in 2014 on the initiative of the UK, and groups together Sweden and Finland with the UK, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and The Netherlands.
Swedish Vocab: en utökad närvaro – an increased presence
Sweden has taken ‘important steps’ to meet Turkey’s Nato objections
Sweden has already taken "important steps" to meet Turkey's demands for approving its Nato membership application, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday during a visit to Sweden.
“I welcome that Sweden has already started to change its counter-terrorism legislation and that Sweden will ensure that the legal framework for arms export will reflect the future status as a Nato member with new commitments to allies,” he said during a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. “These are two important steps to address concerns that Turkey has raised.”
Andersson reiterated her willingness to listen to Turkey’s objections. “We take the Turkish concerns very seriously, not least the security concerns when it comes to the fight against terrorism.”
The meeting at Harpsund, Sweden’s official prime minister’s residence, comes less than a week after the ruling Social Democrats reaffirmed a deal struck with the independent MP Amineh Kakabaveh to support the Kurdish government in northern Syria, something that experts see as bound to anger Turkey. Read the full article here.
Swedish vocab: ett krav - a demand
Shortage of train drivers in Sweden could lead to major summer delays
Sweden's state-owned rail company SJ is facing such a severe shortage of train drivers and stewards that it may have to cancel trains this summer, according to the Arbetet newspaper.
According to the newspaper, the company is now trying to lure back train drivers and stewards from their summer holidays in order to fill gaps in the schedule, with union representatives in the company telling the newspaper that the situation is “extremely tight”.
“We are doing everything we can to avoid needing to cancel departures at short notice,” Martina Nord, a press spokesperson for SJ, told the newspaper. “It’s impossible to say right now whether departures will eventually need to be cancelled.”
Swedish Vocab: att ställa in – to cancel
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Swedish authorities may bring part of wrecked Estonia to land
The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority is considering removing the bow ramp from the wrecked MS Estonia and bringing it to land for an inspection, the organisation's Director General, Jonas Bäckstrand, has told the TT newswire.
"One possibility that might happen is to salvage the bow ramp, because that is an important part of the puzzle in the chain of events which led to the sinking," Bäckstrand said. "Today, that part of the ship is loose and leaning against the hull. Two remaining hinges have been released."
The sinking of the MS Estonia in 1994 is the deadliest peacetime sinking in European waters, with 854 lives lost.
The authority has launched a new investigation into the disaster after a documentary, "Estonia - the find that changes everything", claims to have found holes in the hull with an underwater drone.
The authority is photographing the wreck underwater and will only bring pieces to land if necessary, he added.
"If it is good enough, there may not be a need to salvage it either. We'll wait and see, quite simply."
It will take three to four months to compile all the data from the expedition, after which the photographic material will be published.
Swedish vocab: att bärga – to salvage
Court to rule on southern Sweden school attack
A court will pass its judgement today on the 17-year-old who carried out the second in a string of three school stabbings seen in southern Sweden.
The youth carried out his attack on January 10th at the NTI-gymnasiet school in Kristianstad. He has been charged on three cases of attempted murder and two case of unlawful threat.
According to the police, the boy planned his attack in advance, and was in contact with the youth who carried out the first school attack in Eslöv last year. The two were close friends.
During the trial, the 17-year-old expressed regrets and said that the knife attack should be seen as a call for help.
Swedish Vocab: ångerfull – regretful
Swedish defence minister in Oslo for defence meet
Sweden's defence minister, Peter Hultqvist, is in Oslo on Tuesday for a meeting with his nine counterparts from the Joint Expeditionary Force defence grouping on the war in Ukraine.
"It's positive that the JEF, through various exercises, has now increased its presence in the Baltic Sea region in the time that Sweden and Finland are awaiting a decision on Nato membership," Hultqvist told TT ahead of the meeting.
JEF was created in 2014 on the initiative of the UK, and groups together Sweden and Finland with the UK, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and The Netherlands.
Swedish Vocab: en utökad närvaro – an increased presence
Sweden has taken ‘important steps’ to meet Turkey’s Nato objections
Sweden has already taken "important steps" to meet Turkey's demands for approving its Nato membership application, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday during a visit to Sweden.
“I welcome that Sweden has already started to change its counter-terrorism legislation and that Sweden will ensure that the legal framework for arms export will reflect the future status as a Nato member with new commitments to allies,” he said during a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. “These are two important steps to address concerns that Turkey has raised.”
Andersson reiterated her willingness to listen to Turkey’s objections. “We take the Turkish concerns very seriously, not least the security concerns when it comes to the fight against terrorism.”
The meeting at Harpsund, Sweden’s official prime minister’s residence, comes less than a week after the ruling Social Democrats reaffirmed a deal struck with the independent MP Amineh Kakabaveh to support the Kurdish government in northern Syria, something that experts see as bound to anger Turkey. Read the full article here.
Swedish vocab: ett krav - a demand
Shortage of train drivers in Sweden could lead to major summer delays
Sweden's state-owned rail company SJ is facing such a severe shortage of train drivers and stewards that it may have to cancel trains this summer, according to the Arbetet newspaper.
According to the newspaper, the company is now trying to lure back train drivers and stewards from their summer holidays in order to fill gaps in the schedule, with union representatives in the company telling the newspaper that the situation is “extremely tight”.
“We are doing everything we can to avoid needing to cancel departures at short notice,” Martina Nord, a press spokesperson for SJ, told the newspaper. “It’s impossible to say right now whether departures will eventually need to be cancelled.”
Swedish Vocab: att ställa in – to cancel
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