Swedish inflation figures fall below 2 percent target
Swedish inflation figures have fallen below the Riksbank central bank's 2 percent target for the first time in three years, according to national numbers agency Statistics Sweden.
CPIF inflation, the consumer price index with the effect of mortgage rates removed, fell to 1.3 percent, down from 2.3 percent.
This is lower than expected - economists at Bloomberg had expected inflation to drop to 1.6 percent.
Swedish vocabulary: inflationsmålet - the inflation target
Sweden looks to tighten control on parental allowance to combat 'vobbing' fraud
Sweden's Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson has announced a plan for new measures to enhance oversight of both parental allowance and the temporary parental allowance, known as VAB (Vård av Barn), or paid leave to look after a sick child.
The new proposal aims to reduce instances of "vobbing" (a combination of VAB and "jobba", meaning work), which is illegal as it involves claiming both a salary and VAB simultaneously.
By distinguishing between these practices, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) can target and eliminate fraudulent claims more effectively while ensuring legitimate VAB is accurately reported.
Under the proposed legislation, employers would be required to report to the Tax Agency monthly on employees' absences due to parental leave and VAB days.
The government would like to see the proposal enter into force on January 1st, 2025.
Swedish vocabulary: vabba - taking time off work to care for a sick child, or 'vabbing' among English-speakers in Sweden
Just six percent of Swedes believe climate change is a hoax
A new survey from the European Investment Bank (EIB) has shown that just six percent of Swedes believe that climate change is a hoax. Swedes also had more knowledge on climate change than the citizens of most other EU countries, placing third, after Finland in first place and Luxembourg in second.
There was also a generational divide - people aged 20-29 were less well-informed than people in older age groups.
The majority of Swedes asked - 82 percent - chose the correct definition of climate change: "a long-term shift in global climate patterns", while 88 percent answered correctly that climate change worsens wrold hunger by affecting crop yield due to extreme weather.
More than three quarters (77 percent) of respondents correctly identified the three countries responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions: the US, China and India.
Swedish vocabulary: en bluff - a hoax
Fish able to swim through Stockholm's Slussen for first time in 382 years
For the first time since 1642, fish can pass through Slussen in Stockholm, due to a newly-built water passageway which also counts the number and type of fish passing through.
The Swedish word sluss translates as 'sluice' in English, and literally refers to a sliding gate or other device for controlling the flow of water. When Slussen in Stockholm was built in the 1600s between Gamla stan and Södermalm, it cut off a migration route for fish between lake Mälaren in the west and the Saltsjön bay in the east.
The new passageway, which is around 100 metres long, has enabled fish to swim through Slussen once again. The most common fish to pass through so far is the perch, while researchers have also spotted zander, tench, asp, eel and trout. Around 25,000 fish have been counted moving through the passageway since June 15th.
You can watch the fish on a live webcam here.
Swedish vocabulary: abborre - perch
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