Swedish News

Not happy with their jobs. Chalmers-U.S. accident study. Economy outpaces early projections. Greenpeace activists face fines for break-in. Two face charges in attack on cartoonist’s home. 

  • Not happy with their jobs
    People in Sweden are not very satisfied with their job. The young are less satisfied than the older. EPSI Rating has asked 4,000 Swedes aged between 20 and 67 years to rate their workplace. The degree of satisfaction is measured on a scale from zero to one hundred. This year's average grade is 71, which is slightly lower than last year's 72.7, but in line with the outcome in 2007 and 2008. There is no difference between public sector and private sector jobs. Least satisfied are those working in the manufacturing industry.
    So, who are we to believe? In May, the consulting firm Ennova reported fast growing job satisfaction in Sweden... http://www.nordstjernan.com/news/sweden/2291/
    For more info on the research entities, see
    http://www.epsi-rating.com
    http://www.ennovaconsulting.com/

  • Chalmers-U.S. accident study
    In a project co-sponsored with a university in Michigan, Chalmers University in Gothenburg is studying whether drivers can do several things at the same time while the car systems sufficiently help to warn about driving hazards ... or if they add to the problems. Among some 40 traffic safety projects currently underway at the SAFER research center at Chalmers, one measures drivers' movements and data from rapid braking or sudden increases in speed.
    The results thus far show that lack of attention causes 80 percent of road accidents. "Inattentive drivers are a growing problem," states Dr. Trent Victor, a psychologist and head of the SAFER project, which will collect data from 18 vehicles during six months.

  • Economy outpaces early projections
    Sweden's economic growth rate this year will be much higher than expected due to the substantial increase in household consumption and foreign trade, the Swedish government said June 28.
    Sweden's GDP will grow by 3.3 percent in 2010, up from the 2.5 percent forecast in April, the government said in a statement. It also expected that household consumption would grow by 2.9 percent, 0.8 percentage points higher than forecast in April, and the export and import would increase by 6.6 percent and 7.7 percent, much higher than the previous forecast three months ago.
    The unemployment rate and inflation rate this year would be 8.9 percent and 1.1 percent, lower than the 9.2 percent and 1.3 percent it forecast in April, the government said.
    "The Swedish economy is strong and appears to be a clear bright spot in Europe where many countries have serious problems," Finance Minister Anders Borg said in the statement.
    The Swedish economy suffered the biggest fall in 2009 since World War II and its GDP fell by 5.1 percent.

  • Greenpeace activists face fines for break-in
    A court in central Sweden July 1 handed out fines to 29 Greenpeace activists who broke into a nuclear power plant earlier this summer, according to judicial sources.
    The activists - 13 Germans, eight Poles, four Danes, a Frenchman, a Finn, a Swede and a Briton - received fines ranging from 190 to 1,600 euros ($230-$2,000) for trespassing, according to a copy of the judgment by the court in Uppsala. In a statement, Greenpeace welcomed the fact the activists were found guilty of the lesser charge of trespassing, and not aggravated trespassing as sought by the prosecutor. A Polish activist was also found guilty of a lesser arms law violation for possession of pepper spray.
    On June 14, around 50 activists entered the nuclear plant in Forsmark, 150 kilometers (95 miles) north of the capital Stockholm, to protest the reversal of a moratorium on nuclear power by the centre-right government. Three days later, the Swedish parliament approved the decision, clearing the way for the replacement of 10 reactors that are coming to the end of their lifespan.

  • Two face charges in attack on cartoonist’s home
    A Swedish prosecutor charged two men with arson June 29 for an attempted attack on the home of the artist Lars Vilks whose cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad infuriated some Muslims. Prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson said evidence investigators found linked a 19-year-old and a 21-year-old to the case. Both denied the charges, presented in the Helsingborg District Court. Persson said the suspects tried to set fire to the inside of the house with flammable liquid, but the flames fizzled out.
    Lars Vilks, who lives in Nyhamnsläge in southern Sweden, was not at home during the incident May 14. The attack was discovered by passers-by who noticed a smashed window. Police said they found plastic bottles filled with gasoline outside the house and a coat containing a key to one of the men's apartments.
    The arson attempt was one of several attacks in May on the 64-year-old cartoonist, who was assaulted while giving a university lecture. His Web site was also hit by a hacker. Vilks has faced numerous threats over his 2007 sketch of Muhammad, including from al-Qaida. American investigators said he was the target of an alleged murder plot earlier this year, involving an American woman who went under the nickname "Jihad Jane." She now faces the possibility of life in prison, but has pleaded not guilty in the case.
    Vilks depicted Muhammad more than a year after 12 Danish newspaper cartoons of the prophet sparked furious protests in Muslim countries in 2006. Images of Muhammad, even favorable ones, are considered blasphemous by Muslims.