Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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Here are the richest and poorest areas in Sweden

Published 26 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Djursholm in Stockholm.

The gap between Sweden’s richest and poorest is still significant, although it has narrowed somewhat, according to Statistics Sweden (SCB). Djursholm tops the list of the wealthiest areas, while the student-dense area of Flogsta ranks at the bottom.

Sweden’s economic standard declined for the second consecutive year in 2023, according to SCB’s latest figures. The median income amounted to just over €26,000. Meanwhile, the proportion of people living in “relative poverty” decreased slightly, and the gap between the richest and poorest shrank for the first time in many years.

SCB’s statistics also include figures on Swedes’ net incomes, which EFN Finansmagasinet has analyzed at the municipal level. Southern Djursholm ranks at the top with a net income of just under €172,000. It is followed by northern Djursholm and several other exclusive areas in Stockholm. Eight of the ten municipalities with the highest economic standards in 2023 are located in the capital region.

At the bottom of the list is the student-dense area of Västra Flogsta in Uppsala, where the average net income is around €11,000. Other areas with low incomes include student areas and immigrant-dense neighborhoods such as Rosengård in Malmö, Kronogården in Trollhättan, and Tjärna Ängar in Borlänge.

Highest incomes at municipal level

Average net income in EUR

  • Danderyd: 85,149
  • Lidingö: 54,467
  • Vellinge: 44,651
  • Täby: 43,886
  • Nacka: 43,491

Lowest income at municipal level

Average net income in EUR

  • Högsby: 22,621
  • Ljusnarsberg: 22,646
  • Filipstad: 22,691
  • Överkalix: 22,596
  • Munkfors: 23,159

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Suspicious object found in Mall of Scandinavia

Published yesterday 10:43
– By
According to reports, the dangerous object was some kind of thermos bomb.

A suspicious object was discovered inside the Westfield Mall of Scandinavia on Sunday evening. The police have initiated a preliminary investigation into preparations for public destruction and violations of the law on flammable and explosive goods.

A security guard discovered the object at 21.30 on Sunday evening in the shopping center, located in Solna north of Stockholm. Shortly after midnight, the National Bomb Squad arrived and assessed that the object was live. No danger to the public remains, and the object has now been removed from the site.

– I can not go into what kind of object it was, but it is no longer in the mall but has been taken care of by the bomb squad, says Daniel Wikdahl, press spokesman at the police to the tax-funded SVT.

The police have initiated a preliminary investigation into preparations for public destruction and violations of the law on flammable and explosive goods. Among other things, surveillance cameras from the shopping center will be reviewed.

According to the tabloid Aftonbladet, the dangerous object was some kind of thermos bomb.

Swedish soldiers could be sent to Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published yesterday 10:21
– By Editorial Staff
Swedish conscripts during training.

There are many indications that Swedish peacekeeping troops may be sent to Ukraine after the end of the war.

– Our government is not ruling anything out, says Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard (M).

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that the country is prepared to send so-called peacekeeping troops to Ukraine if a peace agreement is reached. This has raised questions about whether other European countries, including Sweden, might follow suit.

Speaking on the Swedish state radio program P1 Morgon, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) said that it is not inconceivable that Sweden would also participate in such an operation.

We are not there yet. First and foremost, a just and lasting peace must be negotiated that respects international law, respects Ukraine and, above all, ensures that Russia cannot withdraw and build new forces and attack Ukraine or another country in a few years’ time, she explained.

Once we have that in place, then we have to ensure that that peace can be kept, and our government is not ruling anything out, the Minister continued.

Similar message from the Minister of Defense

According to the Associated Press, several European countries, led by the UK and France, have been discussing since last year a joint strategy to establish a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. The plan would be activated in the event of a peace agreement, with the stated purpose of monitoring security and preventing further escalation in the region.

The issue of Swedish participation has been debated in the past, with Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M) declaring in December that he “does not exclude the possibility” of Sweden sending soldiers to the country after the war ends.

At the same time, however, he emphasized that there was currently no concrete proposal for such an operation or what it would look like in practice.

Price explosion in the Baltics after disconnection from the Russian grid

The energy crisis in Europe

Published 14 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff

The Baltic countries have recently disconnected from the Russian electricity grid and joined the European system. Electricity prices in the countries are now skyrocketing.

Over the weekend, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania disconnected from the Russian grid and connected to the grid in Finland, Sweden and Poland. Shortly afterwards, electricity prices rose sharply, Euronews reports.

Last week, the price of electricity in Estonia stood at €126 per MWh. After the switch, it has risen to €191 per MWh, the highest recorded so far in 2025.

However, the Estonian electricity and gas network operator says that the price increase is mainly due to weather conditions and the market situation.

Less wind this week, higher electricity consumption due to colder weather and a slight increase in gas price”, it states.

Gas prices have reached record levels on the Dutch TTF market in recent years, but are expected to fall. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian-Swedish Estlink 2 submarine cable has recently been damaged by an anchor, which has negatively affected electricity prices.

TV4’s Örebro mass shooting coverage sparks backlash from experts

Disinformation in the media

Published 14 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff

Following TV4’s reporting on the mass shooting in Örebro, where the channel claimed, on unclear grounds, that the perpetrator had uttered the phrase “you should get out of Europe”, ten experienced sound engineers are now questioning the channel’s methods in an open letter.

The information provided by the state-owned Telia TV4, which was allegedly based on an “expert analysis” of an audio recording, was widely circulated and used to imply a racist motive behind the Örebro attack.

Critical voices questioned TV4’s reporting early on, pointing out that there was a lack of transparency about how the claim was arrived at. Now, ten experienced sound engineers have also published an open letter in the magazine Kvartal, criticizing the channel’s conclusions and general journalistic credibility.

The ten sound engineers, with extensive experience in sound analysis, recording and editing, state that it is impossible to determine with certainty what is being said in the audio clip in question and criticize the channel for giving the impression that there is a clear conclusion when this is not the case.

No one in our profession would be able to establish that”, they clarify.

“Not up to scratch”

They emphasize that TV4’s handling of the material cannot be considered anything other than a serious case of false journalism.

It is dishonest to claim that this is the case. Instead, many of us in our forum have been disturbed by the fact that our professional knowledge and professional honor seem to be used as an alibi for frivolous and irresponsible click journalism”.

They are calling for the channel to report exactly how it went about the analysis that TV4 News says it did.

We do not think that TV4’s defense is up to scratch and we do not believe that the publication can withstand further scrutiny. If TV4 wants to be transparent, they should make available exactly in what format they have taken part of the original audio and make a file without further compression or processing available for independent review”, it concludes.

For its part, the state broadcaster SVT has linked the criticism of TV4 as an expression of Islamist propaganda, associating criticism of the channel’s reporting on the Örebro killings with a Salafist social media account.