Pyongyang said Ri Yong-ho’s trip was for “bilateral relations and issues of mutual concern”.

Sweden has a long history of mediating between Washington and Pyongyang.

So the visit has prompted speculation it might be part of preparations for the US-North Korea summit.

Donald Trump last week accepted an invitation for direct talks with Mr Kim, a shock announcement from the two leaders who have traded threats and insults for months.

There has been no official word from North Korea since the invitation was delivered via South Korean officials in Washington.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told his country’s news agency TT that “if the main actors want Sweden to play a role then we are ready to do that”.

“We are a country that is militarily non-aligned and have a longstanding presence in North Korea, and with the trust we enjoy we think we can play a role. But it has to be the main actors who decide which role Sweden will play.”

The US said it was aware of the meeting in Stockholm, but did not know whether it was related to any US-North Korean talks.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters in Washington that the US had yet to hear directly from Pyongyang on the planned summit.

No sitting US president has ever met a North Korean leader.

Such a summit, which Pyongyang has long wanted, has previously been seen as possible only after major concessions from the North Koreans.

North Korea’s defiant nuclear and missile programme has led to severe international sanctions against Pyongyang in the hope they would force the regime to abandon its military threats.

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Source: BBC

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Bibihal Uzbeki is severely disabled and can barely speak. Her family has appealed against the rejection, and she is allowed up to three appeals, a process that could take a long time. The applications of other family members are in various stages of appeal.

Their journey made headlines in 2015 when they were part of a huge influx of people who came to Europe from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries. They travelled by foot and on trains through the Balkans before finally reaching Sweden.

The Swedish Migration Agency confirmed it has made a decision on the case and said age doesn’t by itself provide grounds for asylum.

Uzbeki arrived at the Opatovac refugee camp in Croatia in October 2015 after what she said had been a 20-day journey with her 17 family members to reach Europe, with her 67-year-old son and a 19-year-old grandson often carrying her on their backs.

Her rejection letter came during Ramadan. While the family avoided telling her, the constant grief from her granddaughters made her suspicious.

“My sisters were crying,” explained 22-year-old Mohammed Uzbeki. “My grandmother asked, ‘Why are you crying?’”

The family said that soon after she understood her request was denied, her health started deteriorating and she suffered a debilitating stroke.

The family feels the plight of Afghans is being ignored by Swedish authorities. Many countries in Europe deny asylum to Afghans from parts of the country considered safe.

“The reasoning from the migration agency is that it’s not unsafe enough in Afghanistan,” said Sanna Vestin, the head of the Swedish Network of Refugee Support Groups. But she said many of the big cities cited as safe are not at the moment.

Before their journey to Sweden, the family had been living illegally in Iran for eight years. They left Afghanistan because of an ongoing war and insecurity, but Mohammed Uzbeki said it’s difficult to prove that the family faces a specific enemy if they return.

“If I knew who was the enemy, I would have just avoided them,” he said, citing Islamic State, the Taliban and suicide bombers as possible dangers.

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Source: The Guardian

The post Sweden rejects asylum claim by 106-year-old Afghan woman appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The 39-year-old man from Uzbekistan is suspected of having driven a truck into a department store in the city on Friday.

Police said on Sunday the man is known to have had extremist sympathies.

His application for asylum was rejected in June last year and he was being sought by immigration officials, police said.

Four people are confirmed to have died in the attack – two Swedish nationals, a Briton and a Belgian, but police have not released their identities.

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Source: BBC

The post Stockholm attack suspect had been facing deportation – Police appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.