In Iceland, asylum seekers who do not qualify for any form of assistance will still have access to food and lodging under a new agreement with the government and the Red Cross. The state – and the tax payers will cover all costs.
A new agreement with the Icelandic government and the Red Cross aims to prevent asylum seekers from ending up on the streets. Those foreigners who are not entitled to assistance or have no place to stay will be provided with food and shelter, reports the Icelandic state channel RUV.
– We guarantee this through an agreement with the Red Cross, which includes providing people with minimum services – that is, shelter and food, says Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment.
Guðbrandsson says that local authorities are obliged by law to help people in need, but can refer them to the Red Cross. However, the costs will not be borne by the municipalities.
– These costs will only be paid by the state. We don’t want a society where people live on the streets, says Guðbrandsson.
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The number of minors suspected of planning murders has skyrocketed in a short time, according to new figures from the Swedish Prosecution Authority. More than 120 children under 15 are currently under investigation for planning deadly violence.
At the same time, the Swedish government reports that the fight against gang crime shows some progress – but the development raises concerns.
The government’s initiative against gangs has been a central part of the Tidö Agreement between the governing parties and the Sweden Democrats. Three years after the cooperation began, several sentences have been toughened, the justice system has received increased resources, and police have gained access to new tools.
Despite this, it remains unclear whether organized crime is actually decreasing. However, one clearly positive trend is that the number of shootings has decreased sharply in recent years.
According to police statistics, 314 shootings occurred through September 2022. During the same period this year, the number has dropped to 113. The number of fatal shootings has decreased from 49 to 26 during the corresponding period – excluding the ten people killed in the attack at Risbergska School in Örebro, central Sweden.
Police assess that more violent crimes are being stopped in time thanks to expanded possibilities for secret surveillance and other intelligence methods. More murder investigations are also being solved, according to the authority.
Antalet barn under 15 år som misstänks för inblandning i mordplaner ökar dramatiskt i Sverige. Mellan januari och september 2022 misstänktes 14 barn under 15 år för mordplaner. Under samma period i år är siffran 127.
Samtidigt i MP ♀️ pic.twitter.com/lN1LZxAA54
At the same time, the trend points in the opposite direction regarding bombings and arson attacks. These have increased but rarely lead to fatalities. Recently, many of the bombings have been carried out with powerful pyrotechnics instead of military explosives.
Police also see successes on the international front. So far this year, 183 gang-connected individuals have been arrested abroad – a record figure – of which 35 are classified as so-called priority actors. Despite this, the total circle of gang criminals is not assessed to be decreasing.
According to police’s latest situation report from autumn 2024, around 14,000 people are actively involved in the gang environment and an additional 48,000 have connections to it. When the next report is presented in November, the numbers are expected to rise.
Directing crime from abroad
Police also estimate that approximately 700 gang criminals now operate from abroad – an increase of 100 people since previous calculations.
The most concerning trend, however, involves children and young people. In 2022, 14 children under 15 were suspected of involvement in murder plots. This year, the figure has risen to 127, according to new data from the Swedish Prosecution Authority.
The suspicions mainly concern attempted murder, preparation, conspiracy and aiding and abetting murder, but also nine completed murders and a couple of cases of incitement.
Bombings are increasing alarmingly in Sweden (archive image Uppsala, Sep. 2023). Photo: Facsimile/Aftonbladet Play/YT
Children recruiting children
According to the Swedish Ministry of Justice, children are often recruited via social media, where gang criminals post orders for violent acts. A growing trend is also that children themselves recruit other children. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (Moderate Party) believes that crime has not worsened, but that it has changed character.
Criminologist Manne Gerell assesses that the development is largely moving in the right direction: – The best indicator for me is how many people die or are seriously injured, and there we have seen a massive decrease in shootings.
Gerell believes the decrease is mainly due to increased resources for police rather than individual reforms in the Tidö Agreement: – Everything else is small puzzle pieces that individually could hardly have played any role, he says.
Among the measures that have had the least effect, he mentions the visitation zones, which have been used less than expected and have not produced any clear results.
Police simultaneously warn that the level of violence within gangs remains high and that new spirals of violence may arise: – One concern is that hundreds of children and young people who were taken for involvement in these crimes a few years ago will, to a large extent, be back on the streets soon if they aren’t already, says Manne Gerell.
Swedish defense company Saab has secured a contract worth almost €50 million from NATO’s procurement organization NSPA to extend the lifespan of Arthur radar systems for the Spanish army.
This marks the first time Saab’s radar systems have been procured through NATO’s purchasing organization.
The contract involves enabling the Spanish army’s artillery locating force to maintain its operational capabilities through modern technology.
The life extension of the systems will provide higher operational mobility and more accurate fire control. The upgrade means more targets can be located at longer distances. The system will also have a smaller signature against electronic warfare sensors, which increases protection for personnel and equipment.
Carl-Johan Bergholm, head of Saab’s Surveillance business area, comments on the order:
— We are pleased to continue strengthening Spain’s artillery locating capability, which is crucial for warning against hostile artillery as well as directing our own artillery fire. The order is also the first for our radar systems to go through NATO’s procurement organization, which is an important step for us,he says.
Largest in the Nordic region
Saab is by far the largest defense company in the Nordic region with approximately 25,000 employees and manufacturing operations in the United States, Germany, and Brazil, among other countries. In 2023, the company ranked as the world’s 35th largest arms manufacturer.
In addition to its well-known fighter jets, Saab also produces and maintains military command and control systems.
The largest shareholder is the Wallenberg sphere, which through the investment company Investor controls around 30 percent of the capital and 40 percent of the votes. Marcus Wallenberg has been chairman of the board since 2006.
An increasing number of Swedes are living in material and social poverty. According to this year’s poverty report from Sweden’s City Missions, poverty in Sweden has nearly doubled since 2021.
Last year, 698,000 Swedes lived in some form of poverty, according to the report. The increase in poverty in Sweden stands out across Europe, particularly in terms of speed – having nearly doubled in four years. Jonas Rydberg, secretary general of Sweden’s City Missions (a charitable organization), believes the rising poverty is largely due to the economic downturn and sharp increases in food prices.
— But what we can show in our report is that it’s also because it’s becoming increasingly difficult to have one’s rights met. For example, financial benefits. They are inaccessible and difficult to obtain, he says in Nyhetsmorgon.
Rydberg notes that many of those seeking help from the city mission don’t receive the general social insurance benefits they’re entitled to, making it significantly harder to manage daily life. Social welfare support, for example, has become more complicated to obtain and the payments are very low.
— It has become increasingly difficult and the ultimate safety net is being eroded in Sweden.
The Swedish government recently presented a welfare reform that involves stricter requirements for social benefits, with the goal of getting more people into work. According to Rydberg, the proposal risks instead pushing more people into poverty.
— It’s difficult and the labor market in Sweden is not accessible, he states.
With proposals for mass deportations, citizenship reviews, and extensive bans on Islamic expressions, the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti) is campaigning on an immigration policy that is very radical by Nordic standards.
— We must get Denmark back. A Denmark where there are no headscarves in schools. Where Danish is spoken in nursing homes. Where Danes are once again masters in their own house, argues party leader Morten Messerschmidt.
The DF notes that the demographic composition of Denmark has changed drastically since the 1980s, when the proportion of residents with non-Western backgrounds was 1 percent. Today, 10.1 percent of the population, equivalent to over 500,000 people, have non-Western origins.
The party particularly points to immigration from the Middle East and North Africa – including from Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Somalia – as the cause of the country’s extensive social problems.
In the manifesto, a series of negative consequences are listed: ghetto formation, ethnic conflicts, radicalization, clan cultures, honor violence, social control, persecution of Jews and sexual minorities, infiltration of public authorities, Islamic censorship, and gender segregation. The DF claims this constitutes “the largest demographic change in Danish history”.
“Immigration from the Middle East and North Africa in particular brings a lot of crime and is fundamentally changing our country. If you do not want to adopt Danish culture and Danish values, the Danish People’s Party will work to ensure that you stay somewhere else”, it states.
Citizenship review
The program contains proposals that go significantly further than current Danish legislation. The DF wants to review all citizenships granted over the past two decades. For those who received citizenship in the past eight years, new language and citizenship tests should be introduced. Those who fail the tests should lose their Danish citizenship.
Criminals should also lose their citizenship, and the party wants Denmark to try to leave or renegotiate international agreements that limit the ability to make people stateless.
To enforce deportations, the DF wants to use economic pressure against countries that oppose receiving their citizens. Aid should be withdrawn and economic sanctions imposed. The party proposes that a special ministry for returns should be established.
Those who accept financial support to leave Denmark should be banned from ever returning. Border controls should be made permanent and strengthened.
REMIGRATION OG HJEMSENDELSER NU! ✈️
Siden Mette Frederiksen blev statsminister, er den islamiske masseindvandring steget med svimlende 124%.
Faktisk har hun lukket hele 40.000 islamiske udlændinge ind i vores land, siden hun satte sig på magten i 2019.
The DF’s program also includes a series of measures specifically targeting Islam and Muslims. The party wants to ban or heavily tax halal products, stop foreign financing of mosques, and withdraw state recognition of Islamic religious communities.
Domestically, the party wants to ban the call to prayer, prohibit headscarves in public buildings, and shut down Muslim independent schools. Permanent residence permits should only be granted to persons of Danish origin. Foreign citizens whom police list as gang members should be deported.
“Remigration now”
Messerschmidt has intensified his criticism of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s immigration policy in recent weeks, which he calls “the great immigration fiasco”.
“We must have Denmark back. A Denmark where there are no scarves in schools. Where Danish is spoken in nursing homes. Where the Danes are masters of their own house again. The most important issue of all is the issue of repatriations. That is why we need a remigration policy”, Messerschmidt wrote on social media last week.
In another post, he claimed that immigration has increased sharply during Frederiksen’s time as prime minister:
“REMIGRATION AND HOME SHIPMENTS NOW! Since Mette Frederiksen became Prime Minister, Islamic mass immigration has increased by a staggering 124 percent. In fact, she has allowed as many as 40,000 Islamic foreigners into our country since she came to power in 2019”.
