Swedish News:

Sweden's housing minister quits after controversy. Telia makes offer to friendly users. Denmark and Sweden may merge border controls. 

  • Sweden's housing minister quits after controversy
    Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said in a press conference on April 18 that he accepted the job resignation request from his minister for housing, urban development and information technology, Mehmet Kaplan. "I've come to know Mehmet Kaplan as a man of humanistic and democratic values, but a minister should be able to represent Sweden in an unquestionable way," Löfven said. The announcement came after a week during which Kaplan, 44, was accused of being too closely affiliated with members of radical organizations, which he strongly rejected. But, after a somewhat spotted history of similar accusations, he chose to resign because his position as minister had become "untenable" following the recent media storm that criticized his comments on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and his presence at a dinner with a far-right Turkish organization. Kaplan's fellow Green Party member Per Bolund, who is currently financial markets minister, will step in as interim housing minister.

  • Telia makes offer to friendly users
    Swedish mobile giant Telia announced April 18 that it will allow customers to chat on social media without affecting data fees. The catch: Users must promise not to abuse the privilege by posting hateful comments. Various studies show that social networks account for 15 to 30 percent of mobile data traffic. In addition to being "the glue of the family life puzzle and one of the most important things we deliver to our customers," according to head of Telia's Consumer Business unit Jonas Hasselberg, mobile devices are also vehicles for bullying and hate posts, which Telia has been actively campaigning against for some time. The company already collaborates with Friends, a Swedish anti-bullying organization, and is part of a campaign called #hatahat (hate hate) designed to promote "a more loving internet." So, while Telia hopes to win new customers with this freebie, and has a plan for continuing to make money on data packages, they still expect users won’t take advantage of this new free platform to spread hate.

  • Denmark and Sweden may merge border controls
    In a bid to drastically reduce travel time between the neighboring countries, Danish Minister of Justice Søren Pind and Swedish Minister of Justice Anders Ygeman are discussing the option of having just one border control. January’s enhanced border controls, established because of the refugee crisis, have increased travel time between Denmark and Sweden by up to an hour with multiple stops and ID checks — sometimes twice within each country. According to a new report from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Southern Sweden, it’s also costing both countries, and especially the Oresund region, a great deal. “It is difficult for employees to travel back and forth,” said Per Tryding, the deputy head of CCISS. “Some visitors experience being profiled at the border control because they are not blonde, and many people worry about long-term investment in the region.” The ministers of justice are considering options that would merge an ID and border control at Copenhagen Airport. They hope to have a plan in place within the next few months.