Sweden

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Swedish Princess Will Marry Personal Trainer

Swedish couple met at a gym

(Newser) - In what sounds like a real-life Disney movie, the crown princess of Sweden lifted her country out of a glum mood—at least for one day—by announcing her engagement to her personal trainer, the Times of London reports. Crown Princess Victoria's fiancé has undergone a royal makeover: no more...

Saab Seeks Protection From Creditors, Break From GM

(Newser) - Saab applied for protection from creditors today, after parent company General Motors said this week it planned to cut the company loose, Bloomberg reports. In a process much like Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Swedish automaker will restructure and look for funding with the goal of spinning off from GM or...

Alba to O'Reilly: No, You're a Pinhead!

Sweden is neutral; siren says scornful Fox anchor had it wrong

(Newser) - History is on Jessica Alba's side in her ongoing feud with Bill O'Reilly, MSNBC reports. After the Fox anchor ridiculed Alba and called her a "pinhead" for apparently confusing Sweden with Switzerland by telling a reporter to "be neutral, be Sweden about it," Alba fired back with...

Sweden's Advice on US Banks: Be Wise, Nationalize

Taxpayers eventually benefited from early '90s move to recapitalize busted system

(Newser) - One option to save US banks: follow Sweden’s lead and nationalize them. Sweden’s banks were essentially bankrupt in the early 1990s, but a center-right government took them over, and taxpayers ultimately reaped the benefits, the New York Times reports. Troubled assets were isolated into a single “bad...

Jumbo Hostel: In This Plane, It's Safe to Crash

Swede converts jumbo jet into hostel

(Newser) - Once, jumbo jets were simply a way from point A to point B—but a new Swedish hostel makes a grounded plane a destination in itself, Wired reports. The 25-room, 85-bed Jumbo Hostel, situated by the Stockholm airport, opens next week. For $45, you can stay in a dorm; if...

Swedes Launch Nobel Prize Bribery Probe

Drug firm accused of influencing this year's pick in medicine

(Newser) - Swedish prosecutors are investigating claims of corruption in the awarding of this year's Nobel Prize in medicine, the Toronto Star reports. German scientist Harald zur Hausen won part of the prize for discovering the link between human papilloma viruses and cervical cancer. The discovery could make a fortune for drug...

Veg Group to Ikea: Keep Rudolph Off Menu

(Newser) - A British vegetarian group is calling on Ikea to stop selling reindeer salami in its in-store cafes, citing cruel hunting practices, the Independent reports. In Sweden, reindeer are herded by snowmobile and helicopter then shipped hundreds of miles to slaughterhouses, which the group says causes “considerable physical and mental...

Ford May Sell Off Volvo
 Ford May Sell Off Volvo 

Ford May Sell Off Volvo

Company's US sales off 28% in '08; Swedish government in talks

(Newser) - Ford is looking to cut costs wherever it can, and that might mean selling off its Volvo unit, the Wall Street Journal reports today. US sales for Volvo dropped off 28% in the first 10 months of 2008, and Ford, bleeding cash, plans to trim down and focus on its...

World Narrows Eyes at Exec Pay
 World Narrows Eyes at Exec Pay 

World Narrows Eyes at Exec Pay

Germany's bailout plan imposes broader curbs than US version

(Newser) - As governments worldwide implement bailouts for ailing financial institutions, the movement to curb executive compensation at those firms, and others, is gathering steam. Golden parachutes and pay practices that encourage excessive risk-taking are extremely unpopular in the public eye, the Wall Street Journal reports, and governments are finding restrictions necessary,...

Bipolar Risk Rises With Father's Age

Kids with dads over 30 have greater chance of developing disorder

(Newser) - Children born to fathers older than 30 have an 11% higher chance of developing bipolar disorder than kids with younger dads, and the risk increases with the father’s age, new research reveals. The rate climbs to 37% of offspring of fathers aged 55, Reuters reports, compared to the overall...

Irate Wrestler Chucks Bronze
 Irate Wrestler Chucks Bronze
OLYMPICS

Irate Wrestler Chucks Bronze

Sweden's Abrahamian only out for the gold

(Newser) - Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian threw his bronze medal to the floor during the ceremony, stormed off, and vowed to quit the sport, the Telegraph reports. "I don't care about this medal. I wanted gold," Abrahamian said. The wrestler had earlier confronted the judges’ over their decision that eventually...

Stockholm Apartment for Sale, Stepdad Included

(Newser) - A beautiful apartment for sale in Stockholm comes complete with a balcony that overlooks one of the city's trendiest districts—and the current owner's ornery stepfather. The man is defying a court order by refusing to move out, but that's not stopping his stepdaughter from selling the residence, reports The ...

Big Brother Comes to Sweden
 Big Brother Comes to Sweden 
Opinion

Big Brother Comes to Sweden

New surveillance law has country partying like it's 1984

(Newser) - Don’t believe the hype: “Sweden is no cuddly liberal democracy,” writes Nathalie Rothschild for Spiked, berating her home country for “introducing the most Draconian surveillance law in Europe.” Known as the FRA law but nicknamed "Lex Orwell" by opponents, the legislation gives intelligence agencies...

What's Your Salary? In Sweden, It's No Secret

In Scandanavia, everyone's pay is made public

(Newser) - In America, tax information is kept private by law. In Sweden, "you can see what your brother-in-law made, your neighbor made," says one Justice Ministry official. Like its Scandinavian counterparts Norway and Finland, Sweden makes all tax returns public every year—and no one seems to care, reports...

Surveillance Law Gives Sweden Broad Powers

No warrant needed for cross-border phone, e-traffic; foes outraged

(Newser) - Sweden's intelligence service will have broad new powers to intercept cross-border calls and emails, without a warrant, under a law passed yesterday, the BBC reports. Critics, meanwhile, say it is impossible to fully distinguish domestic from international traffic without compromising the transmissions. Protesters handed out copies of George Orwell's 1984...

Kiss Cuddles With Condoleezza
 Kiss Cuddles With Condoleezza 

Kiss Cuddles With Condoleezza

Secretary of state crossed paths with the band in Sweden

(Newser) - In a crossing of paths fit for Madame Tussauds, ‘70s icons Kiss were staying at the same Stockholm hotel as Condoleezza Rice yesterday. Not content to be strangers passing in the Swedish night, the rockers asked if the secretary of state could stop by after dining with the country’...

Pernod Spirits High After $8.3B Absolut Buy

French company pays $8.3B for premium vodka brand

(Newser) - French liquor giant Pernod Ricard's spirits were soaring after its $8.34 billion bid won it ownership of Sweden's state-owned Vin & Spirit, the parent company of Absolut vodka. Pernod topped US-based Fortune Brands in an auction for the purchase, the Wall Street Journal reports, and is now the wine...

Ikea's Names Enrage Danes
Ikea's Names Enrage Danes

Ikea's Names Enrage Danes

Danish monikers on Swedish outfit's doormats, floor runners wound pride

(Newser) - Danes are hopping mad about a discovery that Swedish furniture giant Ikea uses Danish place names for its doormats and floor coverings, while reserving Swedish and Norwegian monikers for higher-end items, Der Spiegel reports. Some Danish academics argue that this reinforces Sweden’s perception of Denmark as a “doormat”...

Move Over, Heisenberg: Electron Caught on Film

Elusive negative charge stars in Swedish researchers' breakthrough video

(Newser) - Electrons are tiny, fast, and, until recently, impossible to capture on film. But a short, super-slow-mo video offers the first direct look at the wily subatomic particle. Coaxing the reclusive electron into the limelight took major maneuvering by Swedish scientists, LiveScience reports. The paparazzi of physicists caught the negative particle...

Kids' Clothes Give Teacher a Real Headache

Swedish school bans stripes, polka dots to ease migraines

(Newser) - Bad news for Pippi Longstocking wannabes—a Swedish preschool has banned striped and polka-dotted children's clothing because the patterns trigger one teacher's migraine headaches. The ban is driving some fashion-conscious parents dotty, but the school's principal defends the teacher's right to "an appropriate work environment," reports the Local ...

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