Sweden top EU living destination
Gallup has just released its 2010 Potential Net Migration Index, a survey that estimates what would happen to countries' populations if everyone in the world who wanted to migrate were able to. Sweden is placed as number eight, as the top EU country, with a potential percentage increase in adult population of 78%.

New mother had to clean up after C-section
To say the Sundsvall Hospital has a staff shortage is to put it mildly. Elin Andersson had just delivered a baby via a C-section at Sundsvall's Hospital, when she was told to clean up her room. Prior to that, Andersson herself had to call on the midwives and “remind them” to give her medication. When Andersson decided to leave the hospital on the second morning following her operation, one of the midwives came with a big laundry bag and told her to clean out the room and her bed. “Yes, she gives an accurate picture of our working place,” said the midwife Gunnel Westerlund. “She describes the work we have no time to do. The medical part of our job always comes first, and we cannot leave a woman giving birth. It’s correct that we sometimes have to ask the parents for help, and it doesn’t feel good.”

Malin Åkerman takes the streetcar
When in Rome do as the Romans, and when in Stockholm take the tram. Hollywood star Malin Åkerman was one of many stars who rode the new environmentally friendly Spårvagn City with her father Magnus Åkerman last weekend. Both enjoyed the new streetcar, which replaces bus number 47 and runs between Sergels torg and Djurgården. Malin has been in her native Sweden for a week’s worth of vacation. “It’s great to be in Sweden and meet with my family in Falsterbo,” she says. Malin was 3 years old when she left Sweden for Canada with her mother. Her father remained in Sweden where he remarried. In Hollywood, Malin just wrapped up a new film, “Catch.44”, in which she acts with Bruce Willis, whom she calls “charming”. More film projects are waiting in the fall, but as no contracts are signed, Malin has to keep mum about them.

More Swedes in foreign prisons
More and more Swedes are imprisoned abroad. Anders Solemo and Stefan Cederholm are locked up at the infamous Lumbia prison in the Philippines, under the suspicion of having managed a website with prostitutes. Both of them are Swedish, and both of them may get life in prison. “We know what was going in, but it was nothing illegal,” says Solemo. According to Utrikesdepartementet (The Ministry for Foreign Affairs) in the past 10 years, the number of Swedes being imprisoned abroad, has multiplied by four. “The trend in general is international, more people move across the borders than ever before,” says Anders Jörle, the Ministry’s Head of Press Service. “Most of it has to do with drug smuggling and crime surrounding it.” Today there are 173 Swedes in prisons around the world (not including the other Scandinavian countries). Anders and Stefan’s nightmare began at Patong Beach in Thailand where they met a man with business contacts in the Philippines. His plan was to open a virtual brothel, a cyber sex site where customers could see semi-naked women pose in front of a web camera in exchange for money. The Swedes were involved in the project through their technical expertise. Last year in April, Filipino police made a collected raid during which the Swedes were jailed. Having prostituted women pose live in front of web cameras is a crime that can mean a lifetime sentence in the Philippines. The Swedes admit to being involved in the activity, but maintain it wasn’t illegal. “The girls had Swedish working conditions, real salaries and made more money than they would in a brothel. Some of them made up to 8,000 SEK monthly ($1,083),” explains Andreas. The trial commenced in June of this year, but the sentence isn’t expected to come until April, 2011. The Swedes will have been in jail for 2 years by then. The prison in Lumbia is one of the most dangerous prisons in the Philippines. Behind its bars there are professional killers, rapists and drug dealers.

Home baked for the 'fika'
Swedes love their fika (coffee break with something sweet to eat on the side). Swedes are also quite good at making the sweet stuff themselves. It’s also the trendy thing to do. According to a new survey made from Ögon/Novus, 4 out of 10 Swedes chose to serve their home baked goods to friends foremost, on second place they serve it to children or relatives. Almost one in every four Swedes bake something sweet or make a dessert once a month or more often, and the only thing that prevents them from making it more often is lack of time. Why not be like a trendy Swede and make something sweet for this week’s fika? “This cake is a favorite in our family,” claimed 15-year old Adam to Alltommat about his own vanilla-filled cake. “We like to eat it warm, but it’s just as good the day after, and it is perfect for a picnic.” Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 4 eggs 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup flour 2 oz water, boiling Vanilla filling: 125 g butter 2 oz milk 4 Tablespoons vanilla Decoration: Confectioner’s sugar Preheat oven to 390F. Beat sugar and egg. In another bowl mix the baking powder with the flour and stir into egg batter. Pour in the boiling water. Butter and breadcrumb a 9-inch round cake pan. Pour in the batter and bake in oven for 40 minutes. Melt the butter in a pan, add the milk and the vanilla. Bring to a boil and let boil for 3 minutes, continuously stirring. Take out the cake from the oven. Cut it horizontally into two halves before it has cooled. Spread the vanilla filling on one of the halves, and put the other back on top. Put confectioner’s sugar on top and, if you have access to it, serve with coffee and a glass of saft.