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Thursday, October 30, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/economy/norwegian-schibsted-buys-swedish-tv4/

Economy

Norwegian Schibsted buys Swedish TV4

Published February 25, 2025 – By Editorial staff
Schibsted already owns or co-owns Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, Norwegian Aftenposten and TV2, among others.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Norwegian media group Schibsted buys Swedish TV4 and Finnish MTV. The company says the deal will strengthen "independent journalism" in both countries.

Schibsted is one of the largest media groups in the Nordic region and owns or co-owns a number of companies, including Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, Norwegian Aftenposten and TV2. The group also owns the loan site Lendo, the weather service Klart.se and the comparison site Prisjakt.

Schibsted has now reached an agreement to acquire both Swedish TV4 and Finnish MTV.

– Since Aftonbladet became part of Schibsted in 1996, we have been strongly committed to Sweden, making this a truly historic day for us. As competition in the media market intensifies, it is more important than ever to build complete and nationally anchored media positions with sufficient size and investment power to ensure editorial independence. This agreement marks a decisive step towards creating a leading Nordic media destination with strong independent media houses, said Siv Juvik Tveitnes, CEO of Schibsted Media in a press release.

"Fits our ambitions"

Schibsted already owns the Finnish online marketplaces Tori.fi and Oikotie.fi. The acquisition of MTV, one of Finland's most popular TV channels, is the company's first in the Finnish media market.

– MTV's strong position in the Finnish market and its attractive brands fit perfectly with our ambitions, and we look forward to contributing to the continued growth and development of news, sports and entertainment in Finland, says Juvik Tveitnes.

"Our democracies depend on independent journalism. That is our mission", Schibsted states in a press release.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/how-sweden-could-be-affected-by-denmarks-bandidos-ban/

The Nordics

How Sweden could be affected by Denmark’s Bandidos ban

organized crime

Published today 11:52 am – By Editorial staff
Researchers disagree on whether gang bans actually work in practice.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The motorcycle gang Bandidos has been banned and dissolved in Denmark through a ruling by the Helsingør District Court. The decision means that the gang's symbols will be illegal to use in the country.

Swedish experts are now warning that the ban could have unwanted consequences on the Swedish side – Danish members may move their operations here.

David Sausdal, associate professor of sociology at Lund University in southern Sweden, has had contact with Bandidos members in his research who openly stated that if they are banned from wearing their gang vests in Denmark, they will cross over to Skåne (the southernmost region of Sweden) to do so there instead.

— They meet and know each other. MC gangs are quite large in Sweden. It's not unthinkable that they might think, well then we'll move to Sweden, or operate more in Sweden, he tells the Swedish news agency TT.

Kim Moeller, professor of criminology at Malmö University in southern Sweden, believes the consequences for Sweden are difficult to predict.

— Bandidos in Sweden, Denmark and the rest of Europe cooperate, so a ban could in one way weaken Bandidos in Sweden, he explains.

At the same time, Moeller also points to the risk that Danish members will become more visible on Swedish soil.

— It could also strengthen Swedish Bandidos if some of the most motivated Danish members start traveling more to Sweden or perhaps even move here.

Significant capacity for violence

During the trial, Bandidos defense attorney Michael Juul Eriksen argued that the organization is fundamentally a motorcycle club with a long tradition of fellowship. He also highlighted charity work, including collections for Ukraine.

But the district court didn't buy that argument and instead pointed to the crimes committed by members as part of the motorcycle club's activities. Bandidos is considered one of the gangs in Denmark with the greatest capacity for violence.

This is not the first time a gang has been banned in Denmark. Five years ago, Loyal to Familia was banned, but the gang is still active in the country.

Unclear effect

In Sweden, work is underway to introduce a ban on participation in criminal gangs, but new legislation is not expected until January 2027 at the earliest because it requires a constitutional amendment.

Whether gang bans actually work is also debated among researchers. Kim Moeller believes the effect is obvious and points out that Loyal to Familia has become both less visible and less criminally active after the ban.

David Sausdal, however, has a different view and regards gang bans as a costly and complicated symbolic measure with limited effect on crime.

— They haven't succeeded in breaking them up. Several reports indicate that they exist and are still involved in various types of serious crime.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/finland/fewer-young-people-died-from-drugs-in-finland/

Finland

Fewer young people died from drugs in Finland

Published today 8:20 am – By Editorial staff
Last year, 197 men died as a result of drug use, compared to 50 women.
1 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Significantly fewer young people died from drugs in Finland last year compared to the year before. At the same time, the number of drug-related deaths continues to increase in other age groups, where men still account for the majority of fatalities.

In Finland, the most common cause of drug-related deaths is the medication buprenorphine in combination with other drugs – something seen in both younger and older victims. Often it involves a mixture with, for example, benzodiazepines or alcohol. Amphetamine and the synthetic drug alpha-PVP are also not uncommon in fatal cases.

Primarily, it is men who die as a result of drugs, with 197 men dying from drug use last year compared to 50 women.

Last year, however, significantly fewer young people died than the year before in Finland. The largest decrease can be seen among men in the 20-24 age group, but also among the younger population, though what lies behind the decrease is unclear, says forensic chemist Pirkko Kriikku at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

— I cannot say with certainty why so many fewer young people died from drug poisoning in 2024, but it may be due to measures taken in municipalities and welfare regions to prevent deaths, she tells Finnish national broadcaster Yle and continues:

— I hope, of course, that this positive development continues.

The number of drug-related deaths continues to increase in other age groups, however. Among other things, an increase could be seen, primarily among men, in the 40-44 and 45-49 age groups.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-government-moves-forward-with-plans-for-a-swedish-cia/

Sweden

Swedish government moves forward with plans for a “Swedish CIA”

Published yesterday 3:55 pm – By Editorial staff
Critical voices compare the new agency with the American CIA.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The Swedish government is moving forward with plans for a new civilian intelligence service directly under the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The idea is that the agency will strengthen Sweden's analytical capacity regarding events and alleged threats abroad and complement the military intelligence service.

A special investigator, Annika Brändström, has been appointed to prepare the establishment of the new intelligence service, which according to the government's press release is to be operational on January 1, 2027.

The proposal is based on an investigation led by former Swedish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who proposed that parts of the military intelligence service should be transferred to a civilian agency under the government.

– It will be an independent agency that, among other things, handles collection through technical means and with open information, and will be under the government like all other agencies, said Bildt at a press conference together with Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson, earlier this summer.

According to the press release, the new agency will meet the Government Offices' intelligence needs and work closely with the Swedish Armed Forces, FRA (the Swedish National Defence Radio Establishment), the Swedish Security Service, and other relevant actors within the total defense.

"Broader security threats"

Today, much of the intelligence operations are handled by the Swedish Security Service (Säkerhetspolisen) and the military intelligence service Must, which provide the defense forces and government with analyses.

According to Carl Bildt, this system has shown shortcomings, including in the assessments before the war in Ukraine escalated in 2022.

– We have seen a broader security threat against Sweden, just take cyber threats, terrorist threats, technology threats, investment controls and hostile state actors using different methods. We have not had quite as much control over things in our immediate area, which lie outside the immediate military sphere, as we should have had, he claimed in connection with the summer press conference.

"Swedish CIA" or British model?

Critics have compared the new intelligence agency to the notorious American intelligence service CIA.

– Well, it's difficult to make that comparison. It's more a larger version of what the British have with their Joint Intelligence Organisation. An independent agency that is collecting to some extent, but primarily analyzing, said Bildt.

Sweden's former prime minister emphasizes that the international community will perceive the agency as a significant increase in ambition.

– We have tripled resources over the past 15 years, there has been a continued expansion of this activity. It is an organization that is then a bit more similar to what most other countries already have.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/swedish-gang-crime-spreads-throughout-norway/

The Nordics

“Swedish” gang crime spreads throughout Norway

organized crime

Published yesterday 11:02 am – By Editorial staff
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre views combating gang crime as a top priority and wants to stop the development before Norway ends up in the same situation as Sweden.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The same gang crime that has long plagued Sweden has now reached all Norwegian police districts. This was stated by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during the Nordic Council session in Stockholm, Sweden, where he called for deeper cooperation between the Nordic countries to combat the crime.

During the Nordic summit in connection with the ongoing Nordic Council session in Stockholm, the Nordic prime ministers gathered together with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Crime was high on the agenda, particularly given that gang conflicts in Sweden have increasingly spread to neighboring countries in recent years.

Especially in Norway, Swedish criminal networks have expanded their operations, and Jonas Gahr Støre noted that traces of "Swedish" gang crime can now be found in all Norwegian police districts, which according to him underscores the cross-border nature of the problem.

— It is a less extensive problem in Norway than in Sweden, but for me it is a top priority to combat this, said the Norwegian prime minister.

Deeply concerned about Sweden's development

Gahr Støre welcomed that gang crime is now being discussed at the prime ministerial level, but simultaneously called for further intensification of cooperation. He wants the issue to be raised at upcoming meetings between the Nordic heads of government as well.

— What we see is that when such crime is allowed to develop, it becomes a very difficult task to push it back, warned the Norwegian leader, and continued:

— We have followed this societal problem that Sweden has had in recent years with deep concern.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expressed understanding that the other Nordic countries want to avoid at all costs having Sweden's gang crime establish itself on their territories.

— Gang criminals respect no borders at all. We know that better than anyone since we are now physically apprehending them in completely different countries far away. They do not respect the Nordic borders and they abuse the openness that exists in the Nordic region. Our ambition is not to export gang criminals to Norway but to lock them up in Swedish prisons, he claimed.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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