Erik Hamrén: Sweden´s new coach

The prosecutor would not say whether or when Wikileaks founders Julian Assange will be heard again by the police after that criminal allegations against him changed once again. Yesterday, the Director of Public Prosecution, Marianne Ny, decided to upgrade the suspicions. Julian Assange is now suspected of rape, sexual coercion and sexual molestation. “Due to the investigation and the persons involved in the matter, I cannot give more information concerning details in the investigation,” she says in a statement.

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Today the Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, gave their latest key interest statement. As expected, the repo rate is raised with 0.25 percentage points to 0.75 per cent. The Riksbank is expected to continue to raise the rate in the future, fully in line with the previous forecast of the interest rate path.

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The former Swedish Foreign Minister and former President of the UN General Assembly, Mr Jan Eliasson says that Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt should go to the UN meeting on the Millennium Development Goals in New York at September 20-22. Foreign Minister Carl Bildt writes however that the government can not make any commitments for the time after the election at September 19 out of respect for the democracy. (DN)

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The chief prosecutor in Stockholm again has rape suspicions against the founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange. The suspicions were downgraded to sexual harassments last week. (SvT)

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The Swedish EU-commissionaire Cecila Malmström says that she will think of different ways to support the Romani population in a better way with the EU-funds. The reason is the debate lately about bad treatment of Romani people in many EU-countries. (DN)

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There were severe delays in the train traffic in south Sweden today after a power wire had fallen down on the rail. Some trains could go other ways while others were replaced by buses. (SvD)

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If the state monopoly on selling alcohol would be abolished, the alcohol consumption would rise with 17%. 770 more people would die each year and there would be 4.5 million more sick days per year. All this according to a study at Stockholm University. The study has however been criticised for using too old data, emerging from an attempt to sell strong beer in ordinary shops during the 1960:s. (SvT)

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The founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange has applied for a permanent residence permit in Sweden. The application was made three days before the rape accusations against Assange, suspicions that were later written off. Wikileaks currently uses the Swedish Pirate party’s servers and to be formally legal responsible for the site, Assange needs to have a residence permit. (SvD)

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The qualification game for the European championship in handball between Sweden and Israel will be played in Karlskrona as planned. The city said yes to the game. An employed official had written a letter to the responsible politician and recommended them to say no the game, something he has regretted.  A Davis cup game in tennis between Sweden and Israel in Malmö last year, shortly after the Gaza war, caused a long and upset debate. (DN)

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Ikea’s plan to build several new stores in Russia has been postponed after conflicts with local authorities. Two new stores, in Samara and in Ufa will however be opened later this year according to Ikea. (Sr)

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Election 2010: The Center Party opens up for an extension the metro system in Stockholm to meet the needs for better public transports as the region grows writes two of the leading local figures in DN today. They want to make Stockholm the world’s leading capital region when it comes to climate smart growth. The Social democrats has also proposed a radical extension of the metro system.

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The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority did today handle in the application for liquidation of HQ. The work will now be focused on trying to find someone who can take over the bank and run it. The HQ stock fell today with 83.8 Percentage points. (SvT) Read background here.
 

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According to a survey from RFSL (The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights) claim that many more young homosexual men sell sex on the internet than previously anticipated. They have therefore initiated a campaign to put focus on this group. They support their conclusion on, among other things, a survey on their homepage. 393 persons replied. (DN)

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The negotiation between Milan and Barcelona has ended. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is currently at the Camp Nou. “I am here to write a new contract with Barcelona, Guardiola wanted it," Ibrahimovic joked when he arrived. Ibrahimovic signed a four-year contract and an official statement is expected shortly. Milan is expected to borrow the Swedish football star for this season, but be bound to buy him next summer. (MilanNews/SVT)

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Today's heavy rains led to the shut down of both roads and railways in the provinces of Värmland and Dalsland, western Sweden. Route E 45 has been partly closed since parts of the road washed away. Also a number of smaller roads in the area became inoperable. The rail service is likewise affected by major disorders and is expected to start no sooner than Monday morning, according to the Transport Administration.

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