A fire evacuation at Malmö’s new mall caused chaos this week, a planned visit from the extreme populist Geert Wilders spurs protest, and two men accused of fraudulent dealings with senior citizens have been sentenced to prison. This and more in your weekly news update.
Prison sentence for “the grandchildren gang”
Two men, 45 and 47, have been sentenced to prison by the Hudiksvall court for serious fraudulent dealings with elderly individuals posing as their grandchildren. The men worked systematically according to police and managed to pocket up to 1 million kronor in cash as well as jewelry worth up to 350 000. In one scenario one man made a phone call to an elderly individual and had his “buddy” come over to “pick up” a cell phone.
Geert Wilders, known populist and party leader, comes to Malmö
The Dutch leader, well-known in Europe for his radical views on Islam, has been invited to a conference in Malmö at Tryckfrihetssällskapet. Wilders, party leader of the PVV or the “Freedom Party”, had made large strides in the last election, but has alienated one third of his electorate since according to recent polls. His coming arrival has already launched protests in Malmö, also via Facebook in “Skåne mot Racism”.
Opening of “Emporia” attracts thousands
The opening yesterday of the super-mall ‘Emporia’ in Malmö was a huge hit for local residents. An estimated 2500 people came to the opening to take their first look at enormous shopping centre, with a surface area of over 90 000 square meters. Additionally 15 000 visitors were evacuated through the emergency exit as a precaution to the sound of a smoke alarm. Notifications from the loudspeakers indicated that there was a fire in the building causing further chaos. However, the actual culprit – merely a hot pizza oven – was soon found.
Nationally-renowned Lund carneval to appeal decision on taxation
A backlash of 108 430 kronor in taxes will be appealed and Carneval general, Erik Neppelberg, hopes that the expenses will be withdrawn altogether. The total in question was an additional charge from meant as a benefit taxation for the over 5 000 voluntary participants of the event. However, Neppelberg argues that the events surrounding the carneval are meant for leisure and that this is not so much ‘work’ for the volunteers so much as it is a ‘hobby’. The quadrennial Lund Carneval is a major event for not only the university, but the whole town of Lund, and dates back over a 150 years to its start in 1800s.
