Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker winner of the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will embark on a Champion’s Tour of his home country with the Borg-Warner Trophy this week earned his first victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in the No 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda The offseason Champion’s Tour unofficially kicked off with the unveiling of his likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy on Oct Ericsson and the trophy are touring his home country from Nov 3-7 to celebrate his victory and promote the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis 500 Stops will include a Stockholm media swing and fan-facing events additional activities organized by Huski Chocolate and BorgWarner Inc. as well as a special celebration in the city square of his hometown of Kumla “It feels amazing to be able to bring the Borg-Warner Trophy over to Sweden and share this victory with friends family and all the fans,” Ericsson said “It is going to be so special for me and especially on Sunday bringing the trophy to my hometown of Kumla and being in town square with that party-like feeling and I am very proud to bring it home.” the Borg-Warner Trophy is leaving the United States It previously traveled to Japan in 2017 for a celebration of Takuma Sato’s victory in the 101st Indianapolis 500 the Borg-Warner Trophy was displayed at the Silver Anniversary Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex and later at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking It also traveled to Paris in 2019 for the likeness unveiling of 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud Gearing Up: Indy Roars to Life This Week with Sonsio Grand Prix Instant Recall: Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix Paddock Buzz: Lundgaard Continues Breakout Year with Second Peerless Alex Palou Marches into May with Cruise to Barber Victory Pole Winner Alex Palou Stays on Top in Warmup; Race at 1:30 p.m Stay up to speed on the latest INDYCAR news exclusive offers and more — delivered straight to your inbox 2025 INDYCAR® is a registered trademark of Brickyard Trademarks When I moved from Michigan to Eastern Iowa over eight years ago I was introduced to a ton of foods that I had never heard of before Last week, the website 24/7 Wall Street posted an article titled 'The Strangest Food From Every State,' and I was genuinely surprised by the pick for Iowa According to the article, a Kumla is a "heavy Norwegian ham-and-potato dumpling," which is often served with lots of butter and sour cream. Norwegian American says that the dish is also referred to as "potet klubb those babies will fill you up in a hurry!" Back in 2018, Adam Byersdorf won the Scandinavian Days Kumla Eating Contest by devouring ten Kumla balls Another popular food at the festival is called Kringla, which is a soft cookie often served during the Christmas season. The website Bake it With Love says the traditional Norwegian and Swedish cookie is very similar to a sugar cookie To check out Kumla, Kringla, and all the other Norwegian Foods that Story City has to offer, check out Scandinavian Days coming up June 2nd and 3th! You can get the latest updates about the festival on Facebook HERE Have you ever had a Kumla? Because I haven't!\nRead More Last week, the website 24/7 Wall Street posted an article titled, 'The Strangest Food From Every State,' and I was genuinely surprised by the pick for Iowa. Have you ever had a Kumla? Because I haven't! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bryggeloftet restaurant (@bryggeloftet_restaurant) According to the article, a Kumla is a "heavy Norwegian ham-and-potato dumpling," which is often served with lots of butter and sour cream. Norwegian American says that the dish is also referred to as "potet klubb We had a great turnout for the Kumla and Kringla eating contests today Congratulations to our winners:\n\nKringla- Isaac.. Another popular food at the festival is called Kringla, which is a soft cookie often served during the Christmas season. The website Bake it With Love says the traditional Norwegian and Swedish cookie is very similar to a sugar cookie. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jaimie Kahle (@lottalovecookies) To check out Kumla, Kringla, and all the other Norwegian Foods that Story City has to offer, check out Scandinavian Days coming up June 2nd and 3th! You can get the latest updates about the festival on Facebook HERE The website 247Tempo has assembled a list of strange food items found and commonly enjoyed in all 50 states Don't think of these items as deep-fried Oreos or something quintessential to a county fair and some don't sound good for the faint of heart While the term "strange" is of course subjective, 247Tempo was clear in their approach with this list They wanted to find food/food items that aren't commonly found on restaurant menus and/or grocery stores some of these items might indeed be a part of someone's daily meal planning To give you an idea of where 247Tempo went with this list, they've included items such as New Mexico's ice cream sundae topped with green chiles I decided to do a deep-dive into what they pegged as Iowa's strangest dish: [Kumla is] made from russet potatoes that are grated into a paste and held together with flour. Bits of pieces of salt pork or ham are placed in the center of the potato dough and formed into a ball or dumpling. The dumpling is then cooked in a flavorful broth for about 1-hour and viola! Kumla Norwegian Dumplings are served! - per Jett's Kitchen So what about this is said to make you puke? Well, in polling some people's opinions on Kumla, 247Tempo states the dumplings have been nicknamed "Norwegian stinkers," which is such an affectionate way to describe any cuisine One individual, who claims to be able to eat no more than three Kumla in one sitting, said that 10 of them would make competitive eating champion Joey Chestnut vomit Apparently, the traditional way to serve Kumla is with copious amounts of butter. Whether or not that makes it more palatable, I'm not sure, but Jett's Kitchen offers some great tips on how to prepare it perfectly (again Read more about Kumla on Jett's Kitchen's website, and see more of the strangest foods from the other 49 states on 247Tempo's website The food is commonly known as \"Norwegian stinkers.\"\nRead More The website 247Tempo has assembled a list of strange food items found and commonly enjoyed in all 50 states While the term "strange" is of course subjective, 247Tempo was clear in their approach with this list To give you an idea of where 247Tempo went with this list, they've included items such as New Mexico's ice cream sundae topped with green chiles [Kumla is] made from russet potatoes that are grated into a paste and held together with flour. Bits of pieces of salt pork or ham are placed in the center of the potato dough and formed into a ball or dumpling. The dumpling is then cooked in a flavorful broth for about 1-hour and viola! Kumla Norwegian Dumplings are served! - per Jett's Kitchen So what about this is said to make you puke? Well, in polling some people's opinions on Kumla, 247Tempo states the dumplings have been nicknamed "Norwegian stinkers," which is such an affectionate way to describe any cuisine One individual, who claims to be able to eat no more than three Kumla in one sitting, said that 10 of them would make competitive eating champion Joey Chestnut vomit Apparently, the traditional way to serve Kumla is with copious amounts of butter. Whether or not that makes it more palatable, I'm not sure, but Jett's Kitchen offers some great tips on how to prepare it perfectly (again Read more about Kumla on Jett's Kitchen's website, and see more of the strangest foods from the other 49 states on 247Tempo's website millions of Scandinavians immigrated to the United States Americans remember their ancestors making a hearty stick-to-your-ribs potato dumpling called klub (also spelled klubb) others call them ball (the names reflect the region from which their families hailed) often served with nothing but a generous helping of melted butter while others opt for a ladleful of ham broth and many simmer their dumplings in pork stock the process becomes something of a choose-your-own adventure They might tuck a bit of meat in the center cooks simply worked with what they had: salt pork and congealed blood were all fair game for stuffing Regional and necessity-based variations aside many chefs have taken the same approach to day-old leftovers cutting them into chunks and frying them in butter families enjoyed klub alongside cuts of ham or bacon You can still find the hefty dumplings served this way in a couple of restaurants Though klub is nowhere near as prevalent as it once was as well as at Scandinavian special events and fundraisers around the Midwest stick-to-your-ribs potato dumpling called klub (also spelled klubb). Some know them as kumla others call them ball (the names reflect the region from which their families hailed).  and congealed blood were all fair game for stuffing. Regional and necessity-based variations aside as well as at Scandinavian special events and fundraisers around the Midwest.  Sign up for our newsletter and get the best of Gastro Obscura in your inbox Ham and kumla are served every Wednesday night Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders There have been over 150 different incidents – among them fires and leaks of dangerous substances – at waste disposal company Fortum's facility in Kumla Swedish Radio's local P4 Örebro channel reports that these incidents occurred without people living near the facility being informed Former environmental lawyer Stefan Karlmark says the incidents are so significant and serious that he wants to see an investigation Radio Swedenenglish@sverigesradio.se plus weekly summary on Fridays at 4.30pm on P2 (P6 89.6FM in Stockholm) Kontakta gärna Sveriges Radios forum för teknisk support där vi besvarar dina frågor vardagar kl But are the country's prisons a soft option The head of Sweden's prison and probation service, Nils Oberg, announced in November that four Swedish prisons are to be closed due to an "out of the ordinary" decline in prisoner numbers Although there has been no fall in crime rates between 2011 and 2012 there was a 6% drop in Sweden's prisoner population A similar decrease is expected this year and the next Oberg admitted to being puzzled by the unexpected dip but expressed optimism that the reason was to do with how his prisons are run "We certainly hope that the efforts we invest in rehabilitation and preventing relapse of crime has had an impact," he said "The modern prison service in Sweden is very different from when I joined as a young prison officer in 1978," says Kenneth Gustafsson he doesn't think the system has gone soft."When I joined the focus was very much on humanity in prisons But after a number of high-profile escapes in 2004 we had to rebalance and place more emphasis on security." One of those escapes was made by a man called Tony Olsen serving life imprisonment for shooting dead two police officers from a maximum security prison in collusion with a prison guard The then director general of the prison service was forced to step down the highest rate of reoffending within a year of release among adults is recorded by those serving 12 months or less The overall reoffending rate in Sweden stands at between 30 and 40% over three years – around half that in the UK One likely factor that has kept reoffending down and the rate of incarceration in Sweden below 70 per 100,000 head of population – less than half the figure for England and Wales – is that the age of criminal responsibility is set at 15 children aged 10-17 and young people under the age of 21 record the highest reoffending rates: almost three quarters and two thirds respectively – a good proportion of whom go on to populate adult jails where a life sentence can be handed down to a 10-year-old in Sweden no young person under the age of 21 can be sentenced to life and every effort is made to ensure that as few juvenile offenders as possible end up in prison Photograph: Fredrik Persson/Press Association ImagesOne strong reason for the drop in prison numbers might be the amount of post-prison support available in Sweden A confident probation service – a government agency – is tasked not only with supervising those on probation but is also guaranteed to provide treatment programmes for offenders with drug/alcohol or violence issues The service is assisted by around 4,500 lay supervisors – members of the public who volunteer to befriend and support offenders under supervision When I tell Gustafsson that Chris Grayling, Britain's justice secretary, recently announced that inmates in England and Wales are to be made to wear prison uniforms and have limited access to television "[Politicians] keep their fingers away from us We are allowed to get on with our jobs without any interference." He talks about broader goals and objectives for the Swedish justice department: "This year and next year the priority of our work will be with young offenders and men with convictions of violent behaviour For many years we have been running programmes to help those addicted to drugs Now we are also developing programmes to address behaviours such as aggression and violence These are the important things for our society when these people are released." I spoke to a former prisoner who now runs a social enterprise called X-Cons Sweden. Peter Soderlund served almost three years of a four-year sentence for drug and weapons offences before he was released in 1998. He was helped by a newly formed organisation run by former prisoners called Kris For some years he worked to help build Kris until 2008 when following organisational disputes and conflicts "The big difference between Kris and us is that we are happy to allow people who are still taking addiction medications to join us," he says Both organisations work with the same goal: helping prisoners successfully reintegrate into society after they have been released And what is life like for the prisoner in Sweden In Osteraker prison where I served my sentence the governor was enlightened But I knew that not all Swedish prisons were like that I met so many people in there who needed help – after I received help from Kris I knew I wanted to help others we meet them at the gate and support them into accommodation and offer a network of support." that the Swedish public is losing its appetite for genuine rehabilitation for prisoners "In Sweden we believe very much in the concept of rehabilitation without being naive of course," says Gustafsson "There are some people who will not or cannot change But in my experience the majority of prisoners want to change and we must do what we can to help to facilitate that It is not always possible to achieve this in one prison sentence "Also it is not just prison that can rehabilitate – it is often a combined process involving probation and greater society but when they leave prison these people need housing and jobs." Polish racer Dominik Kubera is set for his fourth season with Swedish champions Lejonen in 2025 Kubera helped the Lions to their first Bauhaus Elitserien title since 2009 this season This completed a sensational double for the 2023 FIM Speedway World Cup winner after he also helped Polish side Lublin retain their PGE Ekstraliga crown Kubera finished third at the FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice on October 4 to keep his place in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series for 2025 having finished eighth in his Speedway GP World Championship debut season this year He is joined in the Lejonen team by compatriot Kacper Woryna local Swedish stars Oliver Berntzon and Casper Henriksson Polish SGP2 rider Sebastian Szostak has completed a switch to Indianerna for 2025 Szostak was part of Rospiggarna’s squad this season and hopes to be a busy man as he lines up in Kumla He said: “I am happy that I have signed a contract with Kumla I have heard many good things about the club from riders who were there last year so it's good that we have reached an agreement.  “My goals for the new year at the Kumla club are that I want to ride in every meeting Szostak lines up alongside former world No.2 Patryk Dudek EKSTRALIGA | VACULIK LEADS GORZOW TO DERBY DELIGHT ZMARZLIK LANDS MAXIMUM POINTS IN LANDSHUT AFTER SPEEDWAY GP & SPRINT DOUBLE ZMARZLIK TAKES SPEEDWAY GP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD AFTER WINNING LANDSHUT SPRINT RACE Rising 330 feet above the plains outside the town of Kumla, Sweden But there’s more to it than first meets the eye What was once a heap of ashes left over from producing oil has today turned into a whimsical creative landscape an eclectic exhibit containing about 30 sculptures The Kvarntorp Pile (Kvarntorpshögen in Swedish) is a result of World War II It’s where the country processed shale to extract the oil needed to supply its military and continuing onward for a couple more decades the ovens in the area produced the precious black gold the world still so desperately desires They also produced some 23 million tons of ashes which eventually grew in to a gigantic pile that towered over the surrounding landscape many years after the oil extraction ended in 1966 steam can still be seen rising from the ground at the Kvarntorp Pile The ashes put there had a temperature that averaged about 1100° F and whatever combustible material that was still there continued to burn underground temperatures of up to 1300° F have been detected though considerably lower temperatures are more common there isn't anything to worry about—the steam is mainly just water vapor be adhered to since sinkholes do appear in some areas and new additions are typically added each year concerts and theatrical performances are held near the sculpture park There is no admission to A Pile of Art and parking is free The road leading up to the top is open from 10 a.m but it can be reached by foot during all months of the year and August there is a cafe and a building for smaller exhibitions open between 12.30 p.m A Pile of Art is located 12 miles south of the city of Örebro along road 51 or 7 miles east of Kumla There are also buses going there from Kumla but activists have since recontextualized it as a way to educate visitors about the dangers posed by fascist regimes This sculpture of disembodied body parts forms a poignant memory of the horrors of World War II An enigmatic sculpture depicts a ruined home with debris stretching for over half a mile along the river An army of sleeping knights sculpted by a self-taught local artist beautifully depict an old Czech legend Abstract monuments express sorrow and resilience at the site of a horrific massacre in Nazi-occupied Serbia An unusual bronze bus shelter is actually an art installation commenting on the city's history with the Nazi party This piece of Australian modern art is part joke and part history Mobile telecoms firm will halt 140 years of manufacturing in home country as part of cost cuts Mobile telecoms company Ericsson is reportedly planning to close the last of its Swedish manufacturing sites as part of planned savings cutting about 3,000 jobs and ending 140 years of production in its home country Ericsson said in July it would step up cost cuts in the face of deteriorating market conditions having already announced a 9bn Swedish krona (£800m) cost-cutting programme in 2014 Manufacturing facilities in the cities of Borås and Kumla will be closed, the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported The decision ends 140 years of production in Sweden for the company that began as a producer of telegraph and telephony equipment The planned closures are expected to save about 3bn krona union representative Per Norlander told Swedish radio that negotiations had not resulted in a final decision “It’s absolutely not certain they will be closed,” he said Ericsson told Reuters on Thursday it would reduce staff worldwide. “We have large operations in Sweden which are not excluded,” its communications department said in an email union representatives will always be informed first.” Svenska Dagbladet reported that the affected jobs are in the network products division which has about 120,000 employees worldwide including 17,000 in Sweden has been contending with stagnant demand in developed markets where the most advanced networks have largely been built already From the Swedish Alpine National Team to conscious consumers – more and more people are discovering the advantages of Kavat’s repair service Over the last few years, repair has gained increasing attention within the outdoor industry. But in certain segments this is nothing new. In footwear – particularly shoes and boots made of leather – this service has always been offered which has passed the craft on for centuries The Swedish footwear brand Kavat was founded in 1945 in what was then the heart of Sweden’s shoe manufacturing the company’s quality and environment manager is the grandson of the founder Ragnar Karlsson and “grew up in the factory,” as he says “We have always taken in worn-out shoes from our customers and repaired them the company stood at a crossroad: Either we had to focus on quality shoes – which can be repaired – or begin competing with low prices,” shares Karlsson one of the industry’s pioneers in sustainability wanted to see if the service could be scaled up as a way to make the business more circular The company has its own shoemaker in Kumla but also many knowledgeable shoemakers in its own factory in Bosnia A pilot project began to take form: to offer a service package at a fixed price in their domestic market the customer could have a total restoration of their worn-out Kavat shoes It is no exaggeration to say that their timing was good “The first year we received 50 pairs of shoes The response from our customers has been incredible the service is offered only within the Swedish market but the next step is to look at possibilities to also offer it in Kavat’s other major markets “We’re looking into environmental impacts with regards to transport Working with local actors would be a good alternative,” says Calle Karlsson Kavat initiated another pilot project in parallel The company is the Swedish Alpine National Team’s official shoe sponsor The norm within this type of sponsorship is that each year the athletes are provided with the latest products The company’s marketing manager Anders Blomster explains: “We make shoes that are meant to last for years – giving away new shoes every year just didn’t match with our values We began discussing with officials from the ski association if we could offer service and repairs instead as a part of the sponsorship.” The Swedish Alpine National Team had just elevated sustainability and climate mitigation to two of its primary focus areas “Kavat’s environmental profile is one of the reasons why we want to partner with them When we began discussing their repair service if felt like a natural choice,” says Kalle Olsson Bexell the national team’s marketing and communications manager not just from an environmental perspective perhaps the skiers wouldn’t see the advantages of not receiving new shoes each year leather shoes are of course more comfortable and beautiful once they’ve been broken in.” And for elite skiers who are used to having their skis cared for and waxed with virtually scientific precision it’s not a great leap to also take good care of the shoes we can inspire others to choose quality products that can be given a new life instead of throwing away shoes as soon as they get worn out,” says Olsson Bexell Discover how outdoor brands are using reclaimed fibers to reduce waste and resource use — from polyester and down to wool and cotton Outdoor industry leaders reveal what it really takes to meet climate goals—public targets and emissions cuts that beat revenue growth The outdoor industry faces mounting challenges but EOG’s new Director Christian Schneidermeier argues that deeper collaboration can drive real impact While the road to textile landfills is wide more outdoor brands are choosing sustainability over convenience Discover how waste reduction and the circular economy are transforming the outdoor industry FIM North America champion Luke Becker is on his way to Swedish side Indianerna for 2025 The Californian completes a switch from Vastervik and can’t wait to line up in Kumla next season He told the Indians’ website: “I am really looking forward to joining Kumla in 2025 I've only heard good things about the club and think it could be a really good place for me to settle down Indians boss Peter Johansson said: “Luke is a good guy who is backed by (four-time Speedway GP world champion) Greg Hancock and has a bright future in the world of speedway He fits well into our intended group and will contribute with young hunger and enthusiasm for the sport This is a rider who has been on my radar for a long time so it will be fun to work with him in 2025.” Speedway GP fifth substitute rider Becker joins Swedish youngster Jonatan Grahn in the squad Triple world champion Tai Woffinden racked up 12 points for Vastervik as they roared to a 48-42 win away to Indianerna in Sweden’s Bauhaus Elitserien on Wednesday Woffinden collected two race wins and three second places Danish star Anders Thomsen continued his strong cameo appearance in the coastal club’s colours this week by bagging 11 paid 12 while Holmgrens Bil FIM Swedish Speedway GP wild card Jacob Thorssell stormed to 10 paid 13 French international David Bellego notched nine paid 10 Aussie ace Max Fricke led the Indians scoring on 14 with his compatriot Jason Doyle registering 10 paid 11 FIM SGP2 star Bartlomiej Kowalski scored six Latvian racer Andzejs Lebedevs bagged 12 points for Dackarna as the Malilla club saw off Lejonen 47-43 at the Skrotfrag Arena He was supported by a 10-point haul from Australia’s Brady Kurtz Denmark’s Rasmus Jensen scoring seven paid nine and world No.3 Maciej Janowski contributing five paid seven Triple world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik topped the Lions scoring on 11 with Swedish star Oliver Berntzon tallying 10 France star Dimitri Berge accrued 11 points for Rospiggarna as they grabbed a 46-44 win over Piraterna in Hallstavik Swedish racer Antonio Lindback notched nine with Germany’s Kai Huckenbeck adding eight paid 11 and Finland’s Timo Lahti picking up eight paid nine Polish rider Oskar Polis was Pirates’ top performer on 13 with Oskar Fajfer adding nine paid 11 and Piotr Pawlicki scoring a straight nine Several conflicts have arisen between inmates and staff at one of Sweden's high-security prisons Almost all jails and prisons in Sweden are currently full And since April some inmates at Kumla prison which lies outside of Örebro in central Sweden told Swedish Radio no serious incident has been linked to doubling up inmates in one room Radio Swedenenglish@sverigesradio.se Daily news podcast Mon - Fri at 4.30pm, plus weekly summary on Fridays at 4.30pm on P2 (P6 89.6FM in Stockholm), repeated on Mondays at 4.30pm on P6. Kontakta gärna Sveriges Radios forum för teknisk support där vi besvarar dina frågor vardagar kl. 9-17. KARAI A MUNGGA KAW NA SUT GAN NI | ROMA 15-16 Yehowa gaw shi a Mungga hku nna, anhte hpe shalan shabran ya ai hte hkam jan lu ai atsam lu hkra karum ya ai. Lawu na Chyum Laika kasi ni gaw nang hpe gara hku nna, shalan shabran ya ai hte n-gun jaw lu ai kun? Aussie icon Jason Doyle is set to start 2023 in Indianerna colours after converting his end-of-season cameo appearance into a full contract, while Maciej Janowski has penned a new deal with Dackarna. Doyle joined the Kumla club for the play-offs, but the team was unable to advance beyond the quarter finals this time around. The Newcastle-born racer is determined to lead the Indians further in 2023 as he makes his full-time Bauhaus Elitserien comeback, having opted to race for British club Ipswich instead of competing in Sweden this year. Doyle told the club’s website: “I am super excited to continue in Kumla 2023! It was fun to come in and ride for the club at the end of last season. “It feels like a very professional club, with a healthy and long-term winning instinct, which made the choice easy for me to sign for 2023. I hope that we can fight for the medals and the ultimate goal is of course to win gold together. “Thank you for allowing me to be part of the club and I want to take the opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.” Elsewhere, Polish racer Janowski is back in Dackarna colours after extending his Malilla stay into 2023. Magic first moved to the Skrotfrag Arena in 2016 and helped the club to league-title gold in 2021. Dackarna boss Mikael Teurnberg insists Janowski’s extension was never in doubt. He told the club’s website: “We are very happy about this extension. He is an important piece of the puzzle in the team building and fits in well in every way. “Regarding 2023, we have had a good discussion for a long time. Already at the last GP in Torun, Maciej told me that he was not at all interested in changing clubs, but that it was only Dackarna that mattered. We have been in agreement for some time and now all the papers are in order.” Polish international Piotr Pawlicki has confirmed he will be back in Piraterna colours next year. Former World Under-21 champion Jaimon Lidsey is on his way to champions Smederna for 2023, while Danish racer Mads Hansen has signed a fresh deal with Vastervik. Johannes Stark lines up for Rospiggarna and Lejonen have added Polish riders Wiktor Jasinski and Oskar Paluch to an already-strong Polish contingent in Gislaved. Passing the time playing poker and other card games is getting a lot harder at some Swedish correctional facilities, who are fed up, because they say the card games have been causing too much conflict among the inmates.  Kumla, Salberga and Hällby are three prisons that on October 1, decided to pull decks of cards from their facilities, because of the rifts they were causing among the inmates. Kenneth Gustafsson, the head of the correctional facility at Kumla, tells Swedish Radio P3 that card games were giving rise to threats and violence among the inmates. He says that card games have been a growing problem there for a long time. At times, the prison has looked like a card club when inmates who are usual visitors to gambling clubs start playing. At the little shop kiosk at the Kumla facility, you can't buy cards anymore. But the decision hasn't gone without criticism. Jonas Klinteberg, the publisher of the prison newspaper, Filen, has himself served time at several of the facilities in Sweden, and he says that weekends are all about playing cards, and that it's a pastime that's been extremely popular, at least in the prisons where he's been. He says that prisoners he's talked to at other facilities are uneasy that they might also lose the right to play cards, and that even if the inmates can't get a hold of cards, there are other ways to gamble. "You can play rock-paper-scissors for ten-thousand kronor, too," he says. At Hällby, another penitentiary, while making their rounds, the staff has found lists of debts in some of the cells, with inmates in some cases owing others tens of thousands of kronor after playing cards. Peter Kjellin, head of security at Hällby prison, says that when poker got popular, the problem got a lot worse, and he describes how certain alpha prisoners may decide to play cards and then sort of force the others to join in. Kirseberg in Malmö was the first penitentiary to restrict card-playing. They reigned it in two years ago, and they think it's made a big difference: fewer threats, less violence, and a better atmosphere. Richard Boström, who's the head of the prison there, explains why they decided to limit card-playing: He says the problem came to a head when people came to the prison to leave money for their relatives who were inmates, because of the inmates' debts. He says that you have to act when it gets to that point. While the Parliamentary Ombudsmen got complaints when Kirseberg decided to restrict cards at its facility, staff at Hällby and Kumla say that most of their inmates were relieved about the decision. For the moment, the decision whether to allow a prisoner to use cards is made on an individual basis. Mobile telecoms equipment maker Ericsson has announced jobs cuts of 3,000 in Sweden with significant reductions in the last of its manufacturing sites in the country, at Borås and Kumla. The company said on Tuesday that it "intends to make significant reductions of operations in Borås and Kumla." The job losses will also impact operations on sites in Gothenburg, Karlskrona, Linköping and Stockholm. Ericsson today has approximately 16,000 employees in Sweden. One thousand jobs will go in production, approximately 800 in R&D and 1,200 in other operations. The proposed redundancies are intended to be met through a combination of voluntary and forced redundancies as well as other alternatives such as outsourcing. Ericsson also said that it will make general cost reductions and take out external costs, primarily by reducing the number of consultants in Sweden by 900, but also through general reductions in operating expenses. In a statement, Jan Frykhammar, President and CEO, Ericsson said: "Ericsson is going through a large transformation. We continue to have a strong focus on R&D, and since many years, most Ericsson employees work in software development and services, rather than hardware production. The measures are necessary to secure Ericsson's long term competitiveness as well as technology and services leadership." Ericsson, which has about 120,000 employees worldwide, has seen demand stagnate in developed markets where the most advanced networks have mostly already been built. It said in July that it needed to make annual savings of some SEK 10 billion from the second half of 2017 compared to 2014. About 100 households in Hallsberg in central Sweden have been evacuated from their homes due to flooding after heavy downpours. In some parts, one metre of rain has fallen in less than 24 hours. The Swedish met office has issued a weather warning due to the heavy rains in central and eastern parts of the country. Flooding is reported from Närke and Stockholm, and one person in Kumla got trapped in a lift as the water started pouring in. "It was highly unpleasant, but it went well in the end," said Magnus Bern, head of the Nerikes rescue service, about the lift-incident. Speaking to the news agency TT, Bern also said they had been called out to a house in Hallsberg that had been flooded and a little boy was feared to have drowned. Thankfully he was found outside the house, wet, but safe and sound. According to Swedish Radio's local channel in the area, at least 50 houses have had their cellars flooded in Kumla and Hallsberg. The calls to Nerikes rescue service started coming in around 9 pm on Saturday evening from people wanting help to pump out the water. Now, the emergency services have run out of pumps and are encouraging people to go and buy pumps themselves. Some reports also say that the milldam at Sörby kvarn between Hallsberg and Pålsboda is at risk of bursting, Swedish Radio News reports. The rescue services have also had to come to the aid of people who were trapped in their cars as they entered too deep puddles and the engines died. Flooding of houses in the Stockholm area is now also reported and news agency TT reports of disruption in the railway traffic between Gothenburg and Stockholm, due to the water levels between Hallsberg and Laxå. The disruption is expected to last for the rest of the day, according to TT. The band of clouds that caused all the rain over western Sweden during the night, has now moved to the eastern parts of central Sweden, with 35-50 millimetres expected to fall during the course of the day. The met office SMHI warns of the risk of flooding on roads, by viaducts and in cellars. Police have arrested a man suspected of serious sexual offences against children – he has allegedly forced girls to undress themselves in front of webcams, or send him naked pictures. Swedish Television SVT reports that the man, in his early 30s, was arrested in the suburb of Husby in Stockholm. Girls across the whole of Swede have reported the same internet chat user for forcing them to undress, using various forms of pressure. There are 15 cases so far. Police expert Jörgen Lindeberg says to Swedish Television News that there will probably be more reports once the case becomes known, and that the police would be far from surprised if the suspect is linked to physical assaults. SVT reports that many of the girls are suffering, but that police are glad to have stopped the man before the abuse ended in suicide, as in the case of a 13-year-old from Kumla who killed herself, allegedly as the result of internet sexual abuse. After a spate of prison breaks a few years ago, Sweden invested heavily in new security technology. But it's been expensive and at the weekend the new Prison Services Director warned his staff could not work all the technology. When Iohan Ursut died this year, a black and white photo of him made its way around the front pages of the newspapers. That's because he had gained notoriety by escaping prison here three times - in 1989, for example, he covered himself in butter and slithered to freedom through a 17 by 49 centimetre hole. But legendary escape artists are only one glamourous facet of what became a real problem a few years ago. After several high profile escapes in 2004, and one case where two wardens were taken hostage that same year, the Swedish public had had enough. Ignoring political opponents' demands for his resignation, then Justice Minister Thomas Bodström promised improvements. He said money was no object. But today money appears to be one of the problems. Janne Ruden, head of the union Seko, which represents prison wardens, says the real problem is that complicated technology drains the budget for staff. "The government is sitting on the money box," he says. "We've talked to them but we haven't seen any money." There have been big upgrades since 2004. High security wings have been added to the prisons of Kumla and Hall, and by 2010 the Saltvik prison had undergone a complete renovation and security overhaul. Although no one has escaped a Swedish prison for several years, it was recently revealed that staff cannot parts of the new technology. On Saturday, the new Prison Services General Director, Nils Öberg, gave as an example that several cells at a newly built Gothenburg detention centre have not been put into use. He told Swedish Radio News, "Part of the equipment we've bought has become very expensive and requires a lot of personnel to run it. I'd rather we invest in a better working relationships with the prisoners." On this point, Öberg has the union's support. Janne Ruden says, "There is not enough money to employ more people on the floor in Swedish prisons. We need people to take care of the prisoners etc and today we have too few staff on the floor. That's important because we can see the frustration from the prisoners, this frustration also has an impact on the people who work in the prison." The regional director for prison services in the west of Sweden, Lennart Palmgren, thinks that despite initial problems with technology, it's important for tomorrow's prison system. "The prison we are building now will stand for a hundred years," he says. "So it's important we included everything we can from the start." He also adds, "Sure, there is technology which has caused us problems, but some of our facilities were basically test facilities for new products. When things work the way they are meant to work, we'll definitely have higher security." He was convicted for inciting the murder of his wife in 2004 but it was later discovered that she was acting on anonymous text messages she believed were coming from God Those texts were eventually linked to the phone of Pastor Helge Fossmo He’s now served 17 years of his life sentence Initially, Helge was sent to a prison in Kumla, Sweden, where he got married to a 30-year-old woman he met via mail. Per the Aftonbladet, the two wed at the Kumla prison chapel in 2007 a couple of years after she’d written her first letter to Helge “We got to know each other through letters but since then the relationship has developed through phone calls and regular visits,” Helge said at the time She was given a suspended sentence and 120 hours of community service granting him parole after two thirds of his sentence is served He’s now expected to be released in early 2022.