From orphanage to power — the rise of Sweden’s likely new PM |
- From orphanage to power — the rise of Sweden’s likely new PM
- Amid the anger, beheaded victim’s brother insists Islam ‘not to blame’, quotes verse from Quran
- Don’t engage with Dr Mahathir’s criticism of Malays, Perkasa chapter tells non-Malays
- Greg Norman almost severs hand in chainsaw accident
- Ebola: Warning bells sounded as fourth devoted Sierra Leonean doctor dies
| From orphanage to power — the rise of Sweden’s likely new PM Posted: 14 Sep 2014 05:59 PM PDT
Put into an orphanage by his mother as an infant, he has had his critics in his short time as opposition leader. Yet others see the former welder as a man more in touch with "the real Sweden". "I have other relevant experience from working in industry and from leading a large trade union," he told AFP just ahead of the vote. "And I'm very proud of my background," he added, referring to his working class roots. Despite the stocky 57-year-old's lack of parliamentary experience, he may have what it takes to lead the Social Democratic Party — which dominated the Nordic nation for most of the 20th century — back to power after a painful eight years in opposition, observers said. "He isn't particularly charismatic," Ulf Bjereld, a political science professor at Gothenburg University, told AFP. "But I think he radiates what people call 'authenticity' — he is seen as reliable and honourable and that can create sympathy among voters who want more real politics and less political games." His unpolished side came to the fore in a TV debate last week when he crudely brushed away the outstretched hand of enterprise minister Annie Loeoef when she tried to give him a document on energy policy. The clash drew a stinging rebuke from his conservative rival, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who said that's how Social Democrat "strongmen behave". 'Afraid of conflict' Ironically up until then it was Loefven's cautious campaign that was getting him into trouble. One critic at trade union group LO told the political magazine Fokus that Loefven was "afraid of conflict", while another described him as "a little cowardly, or perhaps he chose his battles carefully". After losing power for so long to Reinfeldt's four-party conservative-liberal coalition, the Social Democrats may not have wanted to take unnecessary risks. "He's done a big job of uniting and pulling together the party," said Professor Bjereld. "That's one of his strengths. He's good at bringing people together and creating unity." His former colleague and successor at the IF Metall trade union, Anders Ferbe — who remembers long evenings listening to Ulf Lundell, Sweden's answer to Bob Dylan — told AFP that Loefven was a consensus maker. "That is the trade union tradition here — to try and find a consensus," he said. "That's what he's trained for all his life." Repairing the damage Loefven was appointed Social Democrat leader in January 2012, tasked with repairing the damage done by the 2010 election defeat and the short-lived leadership of Haakan Juholt, whose media gaffes brought support to an all-time low. Strongest when attacking the right's record on social welfare and education, Loefven has been caught off guard by conservative adversaries who lampooned his policy differences with Green and Left Party allies on nuclear power and on profits in the welfare sector privatised by the right. He has closely shadowed conservative policies, emulating the government's vocabulary of "taking responsibility" for the economy, yet criticising what he describes as the right's destruction of Sweden's welfare model. Foster home Loefven was born in Stockholm but his single mother could not afford to keep him and after a short time at an orphanage he grew up in a foster home in the northern sawmill district of Aadalen, where his foster father was a factory worker. "I had a really good upbringing up there, I didn't suffer because of it," he told Expressen newspaper. When he met his wife Ulla she was already married with children, but she left her husband for Loefven. Supporters point out that he is one of very few Swedish politicians to have had a "real job" — having worked as a welder at an armaments factory for 16 years. Shift work has also left its mark, according to his staff, who say he still rises at five each morning and arrives first at the office. — AFP  |
| Amid the anger, beheaded victim’s brother insists Islam ‘not to blame’, quotes verse from Quran Posted: 14 Sep 2014 05:52 PM PDT
"We are seeing more and more radicalisation in every walk of life. It is not a race, religion or political issue, it is a human issue," Mike Haines told British media. His voice breaking with emotion, Haines read out a passage from the Quran saying: "Since good and evil cannot be equal, repel thou evil with something that is better." He added: "The Muslim faith is not to blame for ISIL, nor is it the fault of people of Middle Eastern descent." Aid worker Haines was kidnapped in Syria in March 2013. His murder was revealed in a video released late on Saturday by militants from Islamic State—also referred to as ISIL—an extremist group that has taken over a vast territory in Iraq and Syria in recent months. "ISIL are extremely dangerous and pose a threat to every nation, every religion, every politics, every person," Mike Haines said, adding that British jihadists who return to the country should "face the consequences of their actions". He had earlier issued a written statement paying tribute to his brother, who he said was "most alive" when doing aid work. — AFP |
| Don’t engage with Dr Mahathir’s criticism of Malays, Perkasa chapter tells non-Malays Posted: 14 Sep 2014 05:49 PM PDT
Dr Mahathir was widely panned for describing Malays as being lazy and dishonest in a speech last Thursday but the group thanked the former prime minister for his remarks, saying any advice from him must be taken as that being given by a father to his children. "Only those who can't take the reality or are with vested interests cannot take his opinions and criticisms," the group said in a brief statement on its Facebook page. "If he reprimands the Malays, hopefully other races will not be stirred into frenzy, because they may not understand what he means," it added. Dr Mahathir truly understands the quirks of every race in the country given his age and having been Malaysia's prime minister for over 20 years, it said. "Selangor Perkasa accepts whatever criticism he has with an open heart. In addition we thank him for his willingness to share any knowledge and insight that he has," the group added. The 89-year-old Dr Mahathir said last week that Malaysia's majority race lacks good values, ethics and was not hardworking enough, causing them to trail other races economically. Over the weekend, Dr Mahathir added that ethnic Chinese and even migrant workers from Myanmar are more honest compared to the native Malays where money is concerned. The former prime minister also claimed that many Malays do not repay debts, and therefore many companies prefer to award contracts to ethnic Chinese, whom he insisted were more trustworthy. |
| Greg Norman almost severs hand in chainsaw accident Posted: 14 Sep 2014 05:45 PM PDT
Australia's former world No.1 posted a photo to Instagram of himself lying in a hospital bed with his left arm heavily bandaged. Norman, 59, issued a warning alongside the photo and suggested he had come close to severing one of his hands. "Working with a chainsaw ALWAYS be respectful of the unexpected. I was one lucky man today. Damaged, but not down & out. Still have left hand," Norman tweeted. Norman last week posted a photo of himself working with a chainsaw to cut back a small tree at what appears to be one of his seaside properties. Norman had one of the most high-profile careers in golf, winning two British Opens and reigning as world No.1 for 331 weeks in the 1980s and 1990s. Norman inspired many current day Australian professionals to play golf, including world No.2 Adam Scott. Scott paid tribute to the two-time major winner after becoming the first Australian to capture the Masters at Augusta last year. "Part of this is for him (Norman) because he's given me so much time and inspiration and belief," Scott said at the time. Norman's mishap invoked memories of a near-fatal accident to fellow Australian and former British Open and Augusta Masters runner-up Jack Newton. In 1983 at the height of his professional career, Newton nearly died when he walked into the spinning propeller of a light plane he was about to board at Sydney Airport. He lost his right arm and eye and sustained severe abdominal injuries. Newton spent several days in a coma and eight weeks in intensive care before a prolonged rehabilitation from his injuries to return to public life as a television and radio golf commentator. — AFP |
| Ebola: Warning bells sounded as fourth devoted Sierra Leonean doctor dies Posted: 14 Sep 2014 05:34 PM PDT
Doctor Olive Buck, who was in charge of Lumley Government Hospital in the Sierra Leonean capital, tested positive for Ebola on Tuesday and was admitted to the Connaught Hospital in central Freetown. "It's another sad loss for the profession," the country's chief medical officer Brima Kargbo told AFP by telephone. "The ministry of health is in deep grief to miss another devoted Ebola fighter." At the same time, two Dutch doctors who may have been contaminated with Ebola at a clinic in Sierra Leone have been repatriated to the Netherlands, a spokeswoman for the foundation they work for said Sunday. The doctors have been placed in quarantine at a hospital in the western city of Leiden where they are undergoing tests to confirm whether or not they have the disease, she said. Patients of the late doctor Buck, who was in her early sixties, described her as "very friendly and jovial". "This is a big blow. She was much loved for her caring spirit. I cannot believe that she had died," said 35-year-old Joko Sutton, one of her patients. Buck is the first female doctor to die from Ebola in Sierra Leone. Three male doctors have succumbed to the tropical virus since July. Some 50 nurses in the country have also died from the disease. Sierra Leone's emergency services also announced they had sent more teams to assist in burying those who died from Ebola in the west of the country, including the capital Freetown, to reduce the delays in funerals for the victims. The Ebola outbreak ravaging west Africa has killed more than 2,400 people since it erupted earlier this year, according to the World Health Organization. Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia are the hardest-hit countries. The World Food Programme said Sunday it has stepped up its assistance to the three countries grappling with the worst-ever outbreak of Ebola. The UN food agency said it wanted to "support the 353,000 people in the zones most affected by the Ebola crisis... to prevent this health crisis from becoming a food crisis." In Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's office said Sunday that she had sacked 10 senior government officials who defied an order to return to the west African nation to lead the fight against the deadly outbreak. "These government officials showed insensitivity to our national tragedy and disregard for authority," her office said in a statement. — AFP |
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