Greenland crisis could cause 'stagflation' in Sweden
The Swedish economy will grow by 2.7 percent this year, according to economists from Handelsbanken, while warning that the Greenland crisis risks jeopardising this if it sparks a trade war between the EU and the US.
"The US' new tariff threat connected to Greenland has risen up as a big possible concern," the economists wrote in a report on the state of the Swedish economy. They said that the worst case scenario is a serious trade war resulting in "stagflation" in Sweden ‒ pushing down growth and fuelling inflation as a result of high import prices and disruptions to supply.
"Sweden would be hit hard," they wrote.
The scenario they believe to be most likely, however, is that the Greenland de-escalates quickly, in which case growth will be higher than previously predicted at 2.7 percent, above the 1.8 forecast for 2026 it predicted last year.
The bank also predicted that the central bank will wait until 2027 to increase the key interest rate.
Swedish vocabulary: handelskrig ‒ trade war
New wolf pack in Östergötland
Two wolves have formed a wolf pack in a new territory between Söderköping and Valdemarsvik in Östergötland, local government reports.
The territory, which has been given the name Storlångan, has been confirmed through tracking, photographs and DNA analysis.
"We've been following the two wolves for a while and now we're seeing them mark their territory together, so we can classify them as a couple with a shared territory," wild animal caseworker Lovisa Häggström wrote in a press statement.
Swedish vocabulary: revir ‒ territory of a wild animal
Social Democrats propose new law after murder in Rönninge
The Social Democrats want to bring in a new package of laws targeting male violence against women after the murder of a 25-year-old woman in Rönninge just after Christmas.
The new laws would among other things allow violent men to be put in "area arrest", meaning that their movements would be limited to a specific geographical area.
The party also wants men who commit sexual or violent crimes against women to be monitored for longer once they have been released on probation, at least four years as opposed to the current two.
Men who request assistance to treat "dangerous sexual behaviour" should also be able to get assistance straight away. The man suspected of murdering the 25-year-old in Rönninge reportedly sought treatment during an earlier prison sentence but it took over a year for his first appointment to take place.
Finally, the Social Democrats proposed fast-tracking a law which would allow dangerous criminals at high risk of repeat offences to be put in prison indefinitely. That law is currently scheduled to come into force in April.
Swedish vocabulary: mäns våld mot kvinnor ‒ mens' violence against women
Northern Lights likely to remain visible this evening
The solar radiation storm which has caused impressive displays of the Northern Lights as far south as Germany this week is still ongoing, meaning that there's a good chance of seeing the natural phenomenon this evening, if weather permits.
The Civil Defence Agency (MCF) warns that the sunstorm could also bring with it risks, even potentially disrupting the energy supply.
"Aside from the beautiful Northern Lights display, it could affect critical infrastructure to a large degree if preparations have not been made for these storms," Christoffer Hultgren, head of section at MCF told Swedish radio in Jönköping.
The agency has therefore issued a number of warnings concerning the storm, which could for example affect GPS signals.
Hultgren ranked the storm at 4 on a 5-point scale, telling P4 Jönköping that the lights will likely be visible tonight in many areas.
Swedish vocabulary: norrsken ‒ the Northern Lights
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