Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Man shot in central Helsingborg, Sweden Democrat judge appointed to lead asylum inquiry, gang criminals 'branching out into healthcare sector' and more news from Sweden on Friday.
Man shot on central Helsingborg square
A man was shot on Thursday evening in Gustav Adolfs torg, a central square in the southern Swedish city of Helsingborg.
The man was moved to hospital in an ambulance and was conscious when found by police.
The square was closed off on Thursday evening for investigation.
"We are going to search the area with a special search dog, a so-called weapons dog, and there will be a technical investigation," police press spokesperson Patric Fors told TT newswire.
Police would not comment on how serious the man's injuries were. He was questioned at the scene before he was moved to hospital and will also be questioned again after receiving treatment.
The alarm was raised at around 18:30 on Thursday. Police were unwilling to provide details on how many possible witnesses there may have been on the square when the shot was fired.
"It's too early to say," Fors said.
One man was arrested late on Thursday evening on suspicion of attempted murder.
Swedish vocabulary: attempted murder – försök till mord
Sweden Democrat judge appointed to lead asylum inquiry
Sweden's government has appointed Josephine Boswell, a judge who as recently as August representented the far-right Sweden Democrats in a government committee, to lead an inquiry on tightening asylum rules to the EU legal minimum.
In an article in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper, Maria Malmer Stenergard, Sweden's migration minister, and the Sweden Democrats' migration spokesperson, Ludvig Aspling, said that the aim was to tighten up Sweden's asylum rules to the minimum level allowed under EU law.
"The government is now carrying out a necessary paradigm shift in Swedish migration policy," they wrote. "The inquiry's chair will now analyse Swedish law and propose what changes are necessary to ensure that Swedish asylum commitments do not exceed those that follow from EU law and other international obligations."
The two argued that Sweden's historically light-touch system had made Sweden a magnet for asylum seekers and brought unnecessary costs.
"A regulatory framework that has been far too generous compared to countries in our immediate region has not only created a strong incentive to travel long distances through the EU, but also made asylum assessments unnecessarily slow and expensive," they wrote.
Swedish vocabulary: asylum – asyl
Swedish gang criminals 'branching out into healthcare sector'
Sweden's Economic Crime Authority warned that gang criminals are starting to establish themselves within the healthcare industry, opening healthcare and vaccination centres to access regional and municipal funding.
"We can see early signs that they are starting to enter into the healthcare sector, run healthcare centres and vaccination centres," Sara Persson, crime prevention specialist at the Economic Crime Authority, told Sveriges Radio.
The authority predicts that potential profits from healthcare welfare fraud amount to almost six billion kronor, around twice as much as profits from the drug trade.
It can see evidence of welfare fraud within the Foxtrot network, whose members often commit multiple different types of crime.
"We've seen that they are involved in the drug trade, of course, and that's what they're charged for. But we can also see that the same people have run companies which we have charged with tax crimes, where, for example, they are listed as providing support to foster homes, and have received money from municipalities for looking after unaccompanied refugee children," Persson said.
Swedish vocabulary: economic crime – ekobrott
Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse wins Nobel literature prize
The Swedish Academy on Thursday awarded the Nobel literature prize to Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse, whose plays are among the most widely staged of any contemporary playwright in Europe.
He was honoured "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable", the Swedish Academy said.
- READ ALSO: Who is Norwegian writer Jon Fosse?
His writing is defined more by form than content, where what is not said is often more revealing than what is. Often compared to Samuel Beckett, Fosse's work is minimalistic, relying on simple language which delivers its message through rhythm, melody and silence.
His major works include Boathouse (1989), which was well-received by critics, and Melancholy I and II (1995-1996).
Swedish vocabulary: a playwright – en dramatiker
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Man shot on central Helsingborg square
A man was shot on Thursday evening in Gustav Adolfs torg, a central square in the southern Swedish city of Helsingborg.
The man was moved to hospital in an ambulance and was conscious when found by police.
The square was closed off on Thursday evening for investigation.
"We are going to search the area with a special search dog, a so-called weapons dog, and there will be a technical investigation," police press spokesperson Patric Fors told TT newswire.
Police would not comment on how serious the man's injuries were. He was questioned at the scene before he was moved to hospital and will also be questioned again after receiving treatment.
The alarm was raised at around 18:30 on Thursday. Police were unwilling to provide details on how many possible witnesses there may have been on the square when the shot was fired.
"It's too early to say," Fors said.
One man was arrested late on Thursday evening on suspicion of attempted murder.
Swedish vocabulary: attempted murder – försök till mord
Sweden Democrat judge appointed to lead asylum inquiry
Sweden's government has appointed Josephine Boswell, a judge who as recently as August representented the far-right Sweden Democrats in a government committee, to lead an inquiry on tightening asylum rules to the EU legal minimum.
In an article in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper, Maria Malmer Stenergard, Sweden's migration minister, and the Sweden Democrats' migration spokesperson, Ludvig Aspling, said that the aim was to tighten up Sweden's asylum rules to the minimum level allowed under EU law.
"The government is now carrying out a necessary paradigm shift in Swedish migration policy," they wrote. "The inquiry's chair will now analyse Swedish law and propose what changes are necessary to ensure that Swedish asylum commitments do not exceed those that follow from EU law and other international obligations."
The two argued that Sweden's historically light-touch system had made Sweden a magnet for asylum seekers and brought unnecessary costs.
"A regulatory framework that has been far too generous compared to countries in our immediate region has not only created a strong incentive to travel long distances through the EU, but also made asylum assessments unnecessarily slow and expensive," they wrote.
Swedish vocabulary: asylum – asyl
Swedish gang criminals 'branching out into healthcare sector'
Sweden's Economic Crime Authority warned that gang criminals are starting to establish themselves within the healthcare industry, opening healthcare and vaccination centres to access regional and municipal funding.
"We can see early signs that they are starting to enter into the healthcare sector, run healthcare centres and vaccination centres," Sara Persson, crime prevention specialist at the Economic Crime Authority, told Sveriges Radio.
The authority predicts that potential profits from healthcare welfare fraud amount to almost six billion kronor, around twice as much as profits from the drug trade.
It can see evidence of welfare fraud within the Foxtrot network, whose members often commit multiple different types of crime.
"We've seen that they are involved in the drug trade, of course, and that's what they're charged for. But we can also see that the same people have run companies which we have charged with tax crimes, where, for example, they are listed as providing support to foster homes, and have received money from municipalities for looking after unaccompanied refugee children," Persson said.
Swedish vocabulary: economic crime – ekobrott
Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse wins Nobel literature prize
The Swedish Academy on Thursday awarded the Nobel literature prize to Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse, whose plays are among the most widely staged of any contemporary playwright in Europe.
He was honoured "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable", the Swedish Academy said.
- READ ALSO: Who is Norwegian writer Jon Fosse?
His writing is defined more by form than content, where what is not said is often more revealing than what is. Often compared to Samuel Beckett, Fosse's work is minimalistic, relying on simple language which delivers its message through rhythm, melody and silence.
His major works include Boathouse (1989), which was well-received by critics, and Melancholy I and II (1995-1996).
Swedish vocabulary: a playwright – en dramatiker
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