8.+Sweden+News

“We’re all in Shock” Anna Lindh Ylva Anna Maria Lindh (June 19, 1957 – September 11, 2003) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician. Anna was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She was Chairman of the Social Democratic Youth League 1984-1990 and a Member of Parliament 1982-1985 and 1998-2003. She managed to combine her work schedule and a rich family life with her husband and two sons. Protesting against the Vietnam War was one of her priorities when she was in the Social Democratic Youth League. In April 2004, Lindh was awarded ‘Statesmen of the Year Award’. September 10, 2003 Mijailo Mijailović attacked Lindh while she was shopping. The murderer of Anna Lindh escaped the scene. At the time, she was not protected by body guards. She was rushed to the Karolinska Hospital. Her liver was seriously damaged and she had internal bleeding. She was pronounced dead on the early morning of September 11, 2003. Many memorials were made to celebrate her life.

“SWEDEN: Yes, Thanks to Nuclear Power” Nuclear Power in Sweden At one time in Sweden, the Swedes started a nuclear power program. The program was not for sure to be completed, so the government took a vote. Not everyone is happy about the nuclear power. Before the final vote, the citizens expressed their thoughts. “Hardly a telephone pole or lamppost was unpostered”. If someone supported the nuclear power, they wore a badge that read “Energy for Sweden”. The people who did not support the power wore yellow buttons with red sunburst that said: “Atomic Power? No, Thank You.” When the voting was completed, there were 4.7 million votes. 58% of the population voted yes to finish the nuclear power program; 39% voted to abandon the nuclear power program. The government obligated to keep supporting the nuclear power program. Other countries throughout Europe had also started nuclear power programs. Sweden was in need of a power source.

 “Education: Sweden’s Test Crisis”

Some test scores in Sweden are plunging down, which is causing panic. At one time, Sweden ranked 11th in world science rankings. Between 1995 and 2007, eighth graders’ test scores fell 42 points on average. That is one of the worst declines among 35 countries tested. Reading and math scores showed the same trend. One reason of the fall may be because a nine percent increase of population because of immigrants. Some of the immigrants are refugees from countries such as Somalia and Iraq. Other people say the cause of the declining test scores are because students’ works are not graded until the eighth grade. There is an easygoing attitude from some of the students and also teachers. 

“Sweden helps South Korea Convert Food Waste into Clean Fuel”  Some cities in South Korea let water from processing food waste run into the ocean. That can generate a harmful methane gas that hurts the environment. With the help of Sweden, they are converting the harmful waste water into biogas. Biogas is a clean type of fuel that can be used to heat buildings and even run vehicles.  South Korea and Sweden are looking for more ways to increase the use of the biogas and other clean energy alternatives. Letting the harmful water flow into the ocean will be banned by 2013 according to the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime affairs. Some people say that within ten years they think biogas will be the main fuel of Sweden.    <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">       <span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';"> <span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';">"Why Iraqi Christians Are Running Scared — in Sweden" <span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';"> Not only are Iraqi Christians scared in their home country of Iraq, but also in Sweden. Swedish immigration officials have been deporting Iraqi refugees back to Baghdad. Some of the Swedish immigration officials say that the refugees have to legitimate claim to be in Sweden. There are about 80,000,000 Iraqi refugees in Sweden; about 6,000 of them are Christian. <span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif';"> Some of the refugees are hiding in churches or basements, working illegal jobs, and moving place to place. They are just trying to survive. Some of the other counties with Iraqi refugees are: Britain, Norway, and Denmark. They U.N. warned these countries that if the refugees are sent back to Iraq, they face serious dangers. After all of the controversies, Sweden now welcomes Iraqi refugees. At one point, anyone fleeing central or southern Iraq was offered state-funded shelter, and monthly food vouchers.