Sweden News

“Divorce Refunds” Offered by Swedish Hotels

March 24th 2017

Divorce refunds are offered by Countryside Hotels group. The Anna Madsen, the marketing officer of this group, says that the purpose of this “radical approach” is to show “how beneficial it can be to get away for a while and devote time to each other.” This may seem like a joke, but the hotel chain has confirmed the legitimacy of the offer. Couples who divorced within a year of their stay at the hotel will receive a refund of a two-day stay. Many wonder if this offer will financially harm the hotel chain. To solve this problem, there is a fine print to this refund. The married couple MUST stay in the same room. Furthermore, they need to provide a relationship guarantee when booking a room.   

Battle Against Sugar: A Swedish Mum’s Story

March 27th 2017

Anna Larsson, a Swedish mum and former physiotherapist, decided to cut down the amount of sugar. "I thought, she has real cravings for sugar. She did not want to eat the food we are making, all she wants to eat are things like sweet yoghurts." Mrs. Larsson said. After a few difficult days, results started to show. Her daughter is no longer asking for sweets like yoghurt and iced buns. Instead, she is willing to eat healthy food that she used to reject. After cutting out the sugary treats, the four-year old had better control over her temper and was sleeping better than she used to. The results later went viral on Facebook with more than 2,000 likes.  "I was in shock at the response, I really don't know why it happened,” said Anna. Her guess for the popularity of her story was the fact she wasn’t a doctor or nutritionist, but an ordinary mom like everyone else.

Maternity Care Crisis in Sweden

March 28th 2017

Women in numerous Swedish counties have complained of maternity care shortages. Countless pregnant women all around Sweden were turned down by congested hospitals or were forced to drive to far-away wards to give birth. Stina Naslund, a midwife, described the chaotic situation after a hospital in Sollefteå shut down in early February. This shutdown forced many women to drive 100 to 220 kilometres to another ward on a dangerous road that has no light and no mobile connection. Others gave birth in peculiar places such as a car, a fire engine, and a taxi. These terrible experiences aroused anger from locals, and they surrounded the ward, protesting. “Thousands of people from all political [affiliations] are supporting us," said Naslund, "Children, 80- and 85-year-old women, old men, football teams, different companies." To solve this crisis, the government set aside an extra 500 million krona for maternity care.