The gang leader Rawa Majid, who is considered the leader of the criminal organization Foxtrot, is expected to once again strengthen his power in Swedish gang crime.According to reports, arms contacts are a core part of his position of power.
Majid has been deemed to be behind a large number of shootings and explosions in Sweden and since 2020 the gang leader has been internationally wanted for serious drug offenses and preparation for murder.
In October 2023, he was arrested in Iran, but in May the following year, the Israeli intelligence service stated that the Swedish crime network Foxtrot and its leader Rawa Majid are now working for Iran, something that the Bonnier newspaper DN reported on with reference to documents they had access to.
At the same time, Majid is once again strengthening his power in Sweden from abroad via Foxtrot, according to sources to the Schibsted newspaper SvD.
– Foxtrot is gaining ground all the time.We see it in signals intelligence, in the conversations between those involved and in the weapons used, the source says.
According to the newspaper, one of Majid’s many factors for success in his criminal activities is contacts for arms smuggling from Bosnia to Sweden.
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Skyrocketing housing prices, economic insecurity, career pressure, changing relationship ideals, and an ultra-individualistic culture are highlighted as reasons why fewer people are having children.
Swedish childbearing has reached historically low levels. During the first half of 2025, only 49,700 children were born – the lowest number since 2002.
Meanwhile, new figures from Statistics Sweden (SCB) show that population growth has almost completely stalled, with an increase of only 5,000 people since the turn of the year.
The Swedish population crisis is deepening. Despite Sweden now having 10.5 million inhabitants – compared to approximately 9 million in 2002 – fewer children are being born now than 23 years ago. This means that birth rates per capita have plummeted to extremely low levels.
— The low population increase during 2024 and 2025 is largely due to the number of people registered as having emigrated being at a higher level than in previous years, but it is also affected by the fact that fewer children are being born, says Guadalupe Andersson, population statistician at Statistics Sweden (SCB).
The figures from Statistics Sweden’s new report make for depressing reading. During the first six months of the year, 840 fewer children were born compared to the same period in 2024, a decrease of 1.7 percent. The downward trend that has been ongoing for several years shows no signs of reversing either.
At the same time, the number of deaths has increased. During the first half of the year, 47,000 people died, which was 1,400 more than the same period the previous year. The combination of fewer births and more deaths creates a demographic crisis that risks threatening the country’s future.
Number of births and deaths during the first half of the year, 2000–2025. Photo: Statistics Sweden
Far below critical level
Sweden’s birth rate last year was only 1.43 children per woman – far below the 2.0 children per woman required to prevent the population from declining over time. Without large-scale mass immigration to Sweden, the population would already be shrinking dramatically.
The statistics also include all women residing in Sweden, including those from immigrant groups who traditionally have significantly more children than ethnic Swedes. The actual birth rate for Swedish women is therefore likely considerably lower than what the statistics show.
Despite continued mass migration under the Tidö government (Sweden’s current center-right coalition), Sweden’s population increased by only 5,000 people during the first half of 2025. While this is somewhat higher than last year’s record-low increase, it still remains at a historically low level for the 21st century.
The birth collapse is not unique to Sweden but a phenomenon affecting the entire Western world. Experts list a long range of reasons why fewer people are choosing to have children: sky-high housing prices, economic insecurity, career pressure, changing relationship ideals, and an individualistic culture where childbearing is seen as an obstacle to self-realization.
According to demographic projections, the consequences of this development will be devastating: a shrinking workforce that must finance pensions and healthcare for a rapidly growing elderly population, staff shortages in all sectors of society, collapsing housing markets in rural areas, and a tax system that can no longer support the welfare state. Statistics Sweden’s calculations show that the dependency ratio – the number of working people per retiree – will be halved within 30 years if the trend continues.
Gisslén is ending his role as state epidemiologist at the Swedish Public Health Agency after losing confidence in the leadership. He directs strong criticism at the agency, claiming it has “serious deficiencies in both leadership and medical expertise”.
Magnus Gisslén, who is a senior physician and professor of infectious diseases at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, took on the role of state epidemiologist in 2023, but after two years he has had enough of the agency. One of the biggest problems is the lack of medical competence in the leadership.
“Today there is not a single doctor or person with deeper medical expertise in the agency’s management group. This is remarkable. We’re talking about the agency responsible for infectious disease control issues in everyday life and crisis situations“, he writes in the Bonnier publication DN.
“Important infectious disease control aspects may be overlooked”
Gisslén writes that the role of state epidemiologist previously, for example when Anders Tegnell held the title, involved a management role and a place in the agency’s leadership group. Now those mandates have been removed and the state epidemiologist has only an advisory role, without decision-making authority. In practice, this means that people without medical knowledge make decisions about Swedes’ health.
“Managers without medical competence lack the ability to evaluate complex medical issues, which risks leading to wrong priorities and important infectious disease control aspects being overlooked”.
Furthermore, he points out that his attempts to “strengthen the agency’s scientific foundation and medical competence” have not succeeded due to a lack of “willingness to change”, and that he has lost confidence in the agency.
“Change is required, and ultimately it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that Sweden has an infectious disease control agency that possesses the necessary competence to fulfill its mission”.
Senior physician Erik Sturegård will become the new state epidemiologist from September 1, according to the Swedish Public Health Agency.
Instead of turning to professional therapists and seeking human contact, many Swedes have now begun seeking support and guidance from AI tools.
Psychologists simultaneously see serious risks with the development of treating the new technology as a substitute for therapy.
The trend is growing rapidly. When influencer and mental coach Alexandra Bylund shared a private text message conversation with her partner and asked ChatGPT for an assessment, the result was decisive.
“The answer? You could say it was clear. Raw. True… And it was the beginning of the end”, Bylund wrote afterward on Instagram about her divorce decision.
Her followers’ response was overwhelmingly positive. Bylund and her followers are also far from alone in viewing AI chatbots as conversation partners and guides that help them make important life decisions.
— People say it’s their best friend and best advisor, notes SVT (Swedish public television) reporter Alice Uhlin.
“Who is the sender?”
Psychologist Maria Farm sees the phenomenon as a logical consequence of societal development, despite it potentially seeming impersonal to discuss emotional life with an algorithm – but also emphasizes obvious dangers with the development.
— Who is the sender, is the first thing I think. It’s not a person who has intentions, and there can be ethical problems with that, she believes.
She points out that the advice isn’t necessarily bad, but often impersonal, general and anonymous.
— Several are good pieces of advice and I could absolutely give them myself, she admits at the same time.
“Doesn’t replace psychologists”
The effects of “AI therapy” is a largely unexplored area, and it’s highly unclear what impact the widespread use of chatbots actually has on users’ mental health.
Despite AI tools’ ability to often provide useful advice, Maria Farm emphasizes that the technology can never practically replace human professional help.
— It doesn’t replace psychotherapists and psychologists, she states firmly.
There have already been reported several cases where extremely vulnerable users have taken their own lives after relying too heavily on AI bots’ advice, which according to assessors underscores the need for caution.
At the end of July, just over 373,000 people were registered as unemployed with Arbetsförmedlingen (the Swedish Public Employment Service). This represents an increase of approximately 16,000 compared to the same month last year.
The number of unemployed is increasing in Sweden, according to the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen). Youth unemployment, however, has remained relatively stable during the year.
Unemployment has increased from 6.8 to 7.1 percent in July compared to the same period last year. This means that approximately 373,000 people were registered with the employment service, an increase of around 16,000 compared to the same month last year.
— Uncertainty in the global environment dampens both consumption and investments. Households continue to tighten their purse strings, which affects the labor market, says Lars Lindvall, chief forecaster at the Swedish Public Employment Service, in a press release.
Among young people aged 18–24, 8 percent were registered as unemployed in July, which is only a modest increase from 7.9 percent last year.
— Young people are generally more flexible, willing to move between professions, Lindvall tells Bonnier-owned daily DN.
