Sports Portal

4 May 2012 Last updated at 14:52 GMT Sweden's position as one of the world's most highly developed post-industrial societies looks fundamentally secure.

Unemployment is low and the economy strong. Public-private partnership is at the core of "the Swedish model", which was developed by the Social Democrats, who governed for most of the last 70 years until 2006.

This mixed economy traditionally featured centralised wage negotiations and a heavily tax-subsidised social security network. The Swedes still enjoy an advanced welfare system, and their standard of living and life expectancy are almost second to none.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt from the centre-right Alliance for Sweden heads a coalition governmentEconomy: Engineering is a key sector in the export-based economy. Voters have rejected eurozone membershipInternational: Sweden joined the EU in 1995. Though a famously neutral country, a security doctrine has allowed for the deployment of Swedish forces overseas

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

The country is also a common destination for refugees and asylum seekers - immigrants make up more than 10% of its population.

Swedes voted in a referendum in 1980 to phase out nuclear power, and the country began to decommission reactors in 1999. However, fears over climate change and energy security persuaded the government to reverse the decision in 2009, and plans are on the table to replace the country's 10 remaining reactors.

Sweden is known throughout the world for its neutrality. This policy has led to a number of Swedish politicians taking on international roles, often mediating between conflicting groups or ideologies. With the ending of the Cold War, Sweden felt able to join the European Union in 1995 although it still declines to become a Nato member.

Sweden was one of three EU countries not to join the single European currency. In the first referendum on membership after the euro's introduction in 12 of 15 EU countries, Swedish voters rejected it by a clear majority in September 2003.

Sweden is seen as one of the world's most highly developed post-industrial societies

View the original article here

4 November 2012 Last updated at 13:12 GMT A landlocked, mountainous country, Switzerland's geographical position in central Europe and studious neutrality have given it the access and political stability to become one of the world's wealthiest countries, largely through its banking industry.

Formally neutral since just after the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century and informally for about 300 years before that, Switzerland joined the United Nations only in September 2002. Surrounded by the European Union, it is gradually engaging more closely with its powerful neighbour and other international organisations.

Although it lies close to the geographical centre of Europe, and most of its trade is with its European neighbours, it is not an EU member. A referendum in 2001 went against opening talks on joining.

Membership of the European Economic Area was also rejected by referendum in 1992 and Swiss-EU relations are now based on an extensive range of bilateral agreements.

Much of Switzerland's wealth is based on it's banking sector Continue reading the main story Politics: Switzerland has a collective head of state, the Federal Council. Each year, a council member is chosen to fill the post of Federal President. Referendums are central to the political system of direct democracyEconomy: Switzerland is a centre of global wealth. Investors use its banks as a safe haven from world financial turmoil. Banking secrecy is a cornerstone of the industry, but has come under fire outside SwitzerlandInternational: Formally-neutral Switzerland joined the UN in 2002. It remains outside the EU, but is in the passport-free Schengen zone. Immigration is becoming an area of dispute with the EU

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Ties became closer in 2005 when a referendum backed membership of the EU Schengen and Dublin agreements, bringing Switzerland into Europe's passport-free zone and increasing cooperation on crime and asylum issues. A further referendum the same year opened the job market to workers from the 10 newest EU member countries.

At the same time Switzerland has been gradually acceding to international pressure to allow greater scrutiny of its famously secretive banking sector, amid growing concerns about money-laundering and the financing of terrorist groups.

The country forms a European cultural and linguistic crossroads, with about two-thirds of the population speaking German, around one-fifth French and about 7% Italian. Romansch, the fourth national language, is spoken by less than 1% of the population.

The people are given a direct say in their own affairs under Switzerland's system of direct democracy, which has no parallel in any other country.

They are invited to the polls several times a year to vote in national or regional referendums and people's initiatives. Constitutional proposals and major international treaties must be put to the vote, and parliamentary decisions can be subjected to a vote by collecting 50,000 signatures.

The question of immigration has risen sharply in public life in the early 21st century, as foreign nationals - overwhelmingly from the rest of Europe, including Turkey - rose to number 20% of the population. The anti-immigration Swiss People's Party became the largest party in parliament in 2009, and minarets on mosques were banned in a referendum in 2009. The government has taken steps to cut immigration from eastern Europe.

The tradition of a citizen army, seen as an essential part of Swiss neutrality, runs deep. During the Cold War the Swiss maintained one of Europe's largest land-based armies. The extremely costly militia system, under which every adult male was conscripted and remained in the reserves until middle age, has been slowly streamlined.

The government expressed its regrets over the country's behaviour in World War II following a report by an independent panel of historians on Swiss relations with the Nazis. The report found that the authorities had known what lay in store for the Jewish refugees to whom they closed their borders in 1942, and had assisted the economy of Nazi Germany, although not to a degree that prolonged the war.

Swiss scenery includes fertile meadows, spectacular Alpine peaks as well as mountain lakes

View the original article here

BBC News - Ten moments that defined Pope Benedict XVI Accessibility links Skip to content Skip to local navigation Accessibility Help bbc.co.uk navigation News Sport Weather Travel Future Autos TV Radio More… Search term: World Home UK Africa Asia Europe Latin America Mid-East US & Canada Business Health Sci/Environment Tech Entertainment Video 12 February 2013Last updated at 11:16 GMT Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print Ten moments that defined Pope Benedict XVI Latest World's Catholics Legacy Pope election Next Pope's inbox Key moments #newsspec_4933 .panel h2 {font-size: 30px;line-height: 32px;}#newsspec_4933 .panel h2, #newsspec_4933 .panel p { width: 232px; float: left;padding: 0 16px;}#newsspec_4933 .ns_emp {top: -32px;position: relative;}#newsspec_4933 .panel_playlist {position: relative;}#newsspec_4933 ul#carousel1 li div.panel div.ns_emp a.panel_playlist div.ply_btn {top: 0;position: absolute;}.story-body h1.story-header {width: 976px;}.ns-wide-include {margin-bottom: 16px;height: 511px;}#soundslide_newsspec_4933 {height: 460px;padding-top: 50px;background: #000;}#ss-intro {height: 700px;}#newsspec_4933 #clickable,#ss-intro.ns-intro-noshow {display: none;}/**/#newsspec_4933 .panel p {font-size: 13px;}#newsspec_4933 .panel img.no_video {margin-top: 18px;}#newsspec_4933 div#mapping.static-t li.active a.hotspot {border: 3px solid #D2700F;}.gelui-carousel .gelui-carousel-button-prev,.gelui-carousel .gelui-carousel-button-prev:hover,.gelui-carousel .gelui-carousel-navigation.gelui-carousel-navigation-left {margin-right: 1px;border-right: 1px solid #FFF;}.ns-wide-include {overflow: hidden;position: relative;}#st-intro{position: relative;}.st-intro-cta {position: absolute;bottom: 0;left: 0;width: 560px;}.st-intro-cta p {background: transparent url(/news/special/panels/13/feb/skeleton_interactive/img/launcher_cta24x33.png) no-repeat right 0;}.ie #st-intro:hover .overlay, .ie7 #st-intro:hover .overlay, .ie8 #st-intro:hover .overlay{background:#000000;}.st-overlay{position: absolute;display: block;padding: 8px 16px 12px;background: #000000;background: rgba(0,0,0,0.6);font-size: 16px;font-weight: normal;color: #FFFFFF;}.ie .st-overlay, .ie7 .st-overlay, .ie8 .st-overlay {background:transparent; filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr=#aa000000,endColorstr=#aa000000); zoom: 1;}#ss-intro a:hover,#ss-intro a:active,#ss-intro a:hover p,#ss-intro a:active p {text-decoration: none;}#ss-intro a:hover h2,#ss-intro a:active h2 {text-decoration: underline;}#ss-intro a:hover .st-overlay,#ss-intro a:active .st-overlay{background: #000000;}div#st-intro a.skipping div.st-intro-cta h2{color: #FFFFFF;font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Helmet,Freesans,sans-serif; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 34px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;font-size: 2.461em;margin: 12px 0 12px 0;}.st-overlay h2 {font-size: 26px;line-height: 39px;padding-right: 23px;color: #FFFFFF;width: 474px;}.st-overlay p{line-height: 24px;padding-right: 45px; width: 518px;font-size: 17px;font-weight: normal;margin-bottom: 6px;color: #FFFFFF;}#soundslide_newsspec_4933 #audio_slideshow {height: 401px !important;border-bottom: 1px solid #FFF;}#newsspec_4933 #panel6 .panel-container img:first-child {border-right: 1px solid #FFF;margin: 0;}div#mapping.static-t a.hotspot:focus,div#mapping.static-t a.hotspot:hover{border: 3px solid #D2700F;}div#mapping.static-t a.hotspot{z-index: 10;/*temp*/border: 3px solid transparent;-webkit-box-sizing: border-box;-moz-box-sizing: border-box;box-sizing: border-box;}Ten moments which defined a Pope

With the shock resignation of Benedict XVI after nearly eight years as Pope, we look back at his time at the head of the Catholic church and identify some key events which helped define his papacy.

CLICKABLELabelsOffOn

New Pope

Across the divide

Celibacy issue

Holocaust prayers

Abuse apology

Pope attacked

Irish apology

UK visit

The social Pope

Resignation shock

New Pope

Benedict XVI was the oldest man to become Pope for 275 years when he succeeded John Paul II at the age of 78 in April 2005.

Before his papacy, Joseph Ratzinger spent 24 years as a senior cardinal in the Vatican, where he rose to preside over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - once notoriously known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition.

His papacy would bring a restating of traditionalist, conservative views, and resistance to calls for change against a backdrop of growing outrage over child abuse within the Catholic Church.

Across the divide

In an effort to improve inter-religious relations, in late 2006 Benedict XVI visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, where he joined Muslim clerics in silent prayer.

The visit was only the second papal visit to an Islamic holy site in history, and drew protests from some Islamic groups.

Celibacy restated

Benedict XVI's papacy has reflected his belief that the Catholic Church should retain its core traditional, conservative values in an era of rapid change.

In March 2007 he rejected tentative calls for a debate over the issue of clerical celibacy by stating that abstinence "remains obligatory" for Roman Catholic priests.

He went on to reaffirm the ban on Communion for divorced Catholics who remarry, on abortion, euthanasia, and gay partnerships, which he said were "not negotiable".

Holocaust remembered

On a visit to Austria in September 2007, Pope Benedict paid tribute to the victims of the Nazi Holocaust at a memorial in Vienna.

The pontiff, who grew up in the neighbouring German province of Bavaria, expressed his "sadness, repentance and friendship" towards the Jewish people.

A few months later the Pope - who spent time in the Nazi Hitler Youth during his childhood - spoke about growing up under the "monster" of Nazism.

Abuse apology

In July 2008 the Pope apologised for the sexual abuse of children by some Catholic priests.

In a speech to a gathering of bishops in Sydney, assembled for the Catholic World Youth Day, the Pope described "the shame we have all felt", and called for abusers to face justice.

Pope attacked

A shocking incident on Christmas Eve 2009 saw the Pope knocked to the ground by a woman shortly before celebrating Mass in St Peter's Basilica.

The woman - later named as Susanna Maiolo and described as "mentally unstable" - was detained by security officials, who said they had recognised her from an attempt to grab the Pope a year earlier.

The shaken Pope recovered to celebrate Mass, but the incident prompted an urgent review of Vatican security.

Irish apology

Amid continuing revelations of institutionalised paedophilia within the Catholic Church, in March 2010 Pope Benedict took the unprecedented step of writing a pastoral letter to Irish Catholics in which he acknowledged and apologised to those who had "suffered grievously".

The letter went on to "openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel", and said that those guilty of abuse must "answer before God".

The apology fell short of demands from some victim groups, who had urged for an admission that abuse was systematically covered up by the church.

UK visit

Almost 30 years after the last papal visit, in September 2010 Pope Benedict visited the UK, drawing crowds of thousands of people.

In Scotland, about 125,000 lined the streets of Edinburgh to witness a parade celebrating Scotland's Christian history. A mass in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park attracted some 65,000 - a turn-out some way short of the reported 250,000 who assembled to see John Paul II in 1982.

The visit concluded with visits to London and Birmingham, where Pope Benedict beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman in the city's Cofton Park.

The social Pope

Defying his conservative image, December 2012 saw Pope Benedict extend his remit to social media with the launch of the account @pontifex.

Media adviser Greg Burke said the Pope wanted to "reach out to everyone" with the Twitter account, which would be available in eight different languages.

Resignation shock

On Monday 11 February, Pope Benedict stunned the world by announcing that he would step down as pontiff within two weeks, the first papal resignation in almost 600 years.

In his resignation statement the 85-year-old Pope said that having "repeatedly examined my conscience... I have come to the certainty that my strengths are no longer suited to the adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry".

More on This Story Pope resigns Background and analysisWorld's Catholics

Infographics showing the distribution of the Roman Catholic population in the world, where it has risen and fallen in recent years, and how the number of voting cardinals breaks down.

Runners and riders The Pope's inboxLegacy of retirementElecting a popeA reluctant leader?Full resignation textViewpoint: Disappointing leaderModern Pope?How does pope resign?Reaction in quotesIn his own wordsRecap: The day the Pope resigned ProfilesPope profileVatican profileAn eventful life Watch In picturesLife in picturesPope Benedict's travels Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print More World stories RSSPope Benedict holds last public Mass

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates his last scheduled public Mass, for Ash Wednesday, two days after shocking Catholics by saying he would resign.

EU and US launch free-trade talksPlane crash-lands in eastern Ukraine Services  Mobile  Connected TV  News feeds  Alerts  E-mail news About BBC News Editors' blog BBC College of Journalism News sources Media Action BBC links Mobile siteTerms of UseAbout the BBC Advertise With UsPrivacyBBC Help Ad ChoicesCookiesAccessibility Help Parental GuidanceContact Us BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

View the original article here

12 February 2013 Last updated at 00:25 GMT By Sylvia Smith Business reporter, BBC News, Tuscany Italian fashion capital being led by Chinese

The transformation of a town in Tuscany from a traditional stronghold of the Italian textile industry into a capital of cheap clothing is causing widespread discontent among locals who complain they are losing out to the Chinese on their own turf.

But the Chinese view the rapidly expanding fast-fashion market in Prato, a satellite town of fashionable Florence, as an opportunity for Italian companies to exploit the desirability of the "Made in Italy" brand in new ways.

According to Marco Landi, president of the Tuscany branch of trade body CNA, which represents small and medium-sized firms, the remaining 3,000 small-scale Italian enterprises in Prato's industrial district face unprecedented upheaval.

Continue reading the main story

Italian companies can't compete on price, their strength lies in the area of aesthetics”

End Quote Xu Lin Chinese entrepreneur in Italy "As a result of backdoor globalisation, Italian businesses are being forced to restructure," he says.

"At the moment there are approximately 4,000 Chinese-run clothing factories in Prato. These new production dynamics are compelling the remaining Italian businesses based there to rethink their markets."

'Can't compete'

The long thread of history connecting Prato with textiles stretches back to the 12th Century, when garment manufacturing was regulated by the wool merchants' guild.

Before the arrival of the Chinese, thousands of small Italian textile units were a source of cheap "Italian made" clothes, producing them on the side from Italian-made fabric - often with the help of hired Chinese workers.

Italy-based Chinese model Lu Chen says China wishes to learn Italian fashion skills

But the Chinese have beaten the Italians at their own game by setting up their own businesses and driving down prices by importing far cheaper fabrics from China.

The Prato industrial zone now accounts for more than 30% of Italy's textile imports from China.

"More than half of Italian-owned businesses in the industrial zone have gone to the wall over the past decade," Mr Landi continues. "There are now more Chinese garment manufacturers than there are Italian textile producers."

The Chinese newcomers have opened up the market in mainland China in a way Italians never could. They are exporting millions of low-cost garments bearing the Made in Italy tag in a seemingly unregulated export drive. They have also notched up increased demand in Europe through cost-cutting.

But Xu Lin, a Chinese entrepreneur who set up Giupel, a clothing business, in Prato more than 10 years ago, believes that economic currents are set to favour Italian companies if they innovate and wake up to new opportunities.

"Italian companies can't compete on price, their strength lies in the area of aesthetics," he says.

"Italian textile companies have long outsourced the early stages of tissue production. But they have the traditional skills needed for the unique finishes and state-of-the art features that come at the end of the fabric production chain. The same is true of clothes."

'World leaders'

Prato still remains the world's fabric development leader - a sort of laboratory where future fabric trends are tested out.

Xu Lin says that while Italian companies cannot compete on price, they have other advantages

Italian companies invest heavily in technological research producing innovative textiles for the couture end of the market.

Mr Xu believes that there is a burgeoning market back home not only for cheap apparel, but for the most expensive and refined Italian garments and fabrics.

"Hand-made in Tuscany is the best you can find," confirms Ermanno Scervino, one of Italy's top couture designers. "Its artisans are the most creative in the world and that is why my business is here in Florence and not in Milan or Paris."

Mr Scervino uses Tuscan specialist knowledge to produce original technological fabrics for each of his collections. He is planning to open shops in Shanghai and Beijing within the coming year.

Chinese signs can be seen in Prato

The long hours put in by the Chinese in Prato are helping fill High Street chains such as Primark, H&M and Topshop in Europe with trendy, disposable fashion. But the Chinese have already raised their sights to the top end of the fashion market.

Lu Chen, a 24 year-old Chinese model living in Italy, says that young Chinese are studying at fashion schools in Italy in order to pick up the Italian design skills - the benchmark for international couture fashion .

"The Chinese really connect with the best quality Italian fashion and want to learn how to replicate that," she says.

Mr Xu says that he is already employing Italians as designers and in key factory positions.

"If the Chinese weren't in Prato and the clothes were made in mainland China instead, the Italians would be suffering far more," he says. "We have helped the Italians by ensuring the Made in Italy brand is ever more popular in China."

As Mr Scervino fits an exquisite leather and silk skirt in his Florentine studio on the tall and elegant Ms Lu, he expresses doubts that flair and chic can be taught in schools.

"You need to live in a country where beauty, art and craftsmanship have been treasured since the Renaissance," he says.

"It isn't something you can copy. I have Chinese customers in my shops around the world who want to buy Italian flair and handwork. It's unique and that is what wealthy people seek."

View the original article here

12 February 2013 Last updated at 02:18 GMT By Pascale Harter BBC News, Barcelona Anti-austerity demonstrations have been widespread in Spain There is fury in Spain after accusations that politicians have been lining their pockets while ordinary people are making painful sacrifices in the name of austerity.

There is a phrase in Spain I used to find admirable for its infinite pragmatism - "es lo que hay" - which means, "that's what there is".

It is said with a shrug of the shoulders and it works on nearly any occasion.

For example: "I ordered my squid without batter."

Waiter: "Well, that's what there is."

Or: "The politician you voted for has embezzled millions in public money and your town hall is bankrupt."

Response: "Ah well, that's what there is."

But such an epidemic of corruption is now coming to light in Spain that it seems to me the national shrug of apathy is finally falling out of fashion.

Taking its place is a look of abject disgust and the spat-out words "que verguenza". This means, "the shame of it".

Continue reading the main story Insight and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the worldBroadcast on Radio 4 and BBC World ServiceFor the last few months the corruption scandals have been so numerous that the television news began lumping them together in a swift round-up, rather than reporting on each one. They had to leave room for other news items - like the effects of austerity cuts and rocketing unemployment.

There is now a regular spot on Spaniards who used to have a job and a home, but do not have either any more. One featured a man who now lives in his car outside his former home.

Austerity came up at a dinner party I was at, as it does in most conversations here these days. Spain's anti-austerity protesters call themselves "los indignados" (the indignant).

"Why aren't you more indignant about corruption though?" I asked. A shrug. Someone poured more wine. Someone else said, "corruption? that's just what there is".

"We can't be indignant if the politicians steal," he explained, "because we're all at it. Take the man who came from the gas company to fix my boiler and offered to do it for me for half the price if I paid him personally in cash. Of course I said 'yes'."

It is hard to get a receipt in Spain - from the taxi drivers who tell you the ink has run out of the printer they are legally required to have, to the eminently respectable estate agent, who had a framed photo of the king in his office.

From behind his spectacles he told me if I wanted a receipt for his fee, he would have to charge me 250 euros (£215) in tax. So, in Spain you have to pay if you want to be indignant - and righteous.

'Slow' justice

Economists say that without the black economy there would be rioting on the streets. People are getting by. They are just not telling the taxman.

But suddenly the corruption scandals have become too big, and the justice system is seen as too slow when it comes to punishing those with power.

Former treasurer Luis Barcenas was questioned by prosecutors in Madrid

People are not saying, "ah, that's what there is" now.

"The shame of it", they are shrieking at, for example, the news that a mother who used a cash card she found on the street is going to prison for a year and a half. She used it to buy food and nappies.

People are angry that the king's son-in-law will only have some assets frozen if he does not pay his bail. His charitable organisation is accused of embezzling millions in public money that was supposed to be used to stage sporting events. He denies any wrongdoing.

There are also the rumbling cases of the flamenco star who refutes charges that she money-laundered for her husband while he was mayor of Marbella, and another ex-mayor who says no he did not take cash off the Russian mafia.

And then there is the big one. The recent revelations that the former treasurer of the governing Popular Party (PP) has been operating a 20 million euro (£17.25m) Swiss bank account. The PP has strenuously denied that this money, from no-one knows who, was handed over in cash-stuffed envelopes to the party's top brass, in exchange for who knows what?

And this time the politicians are being pressed to answer the questions. And they are not used to it. They stand before cameras blinking uncomfortably, like moles newly emerged into sunlight.

Thousands demonstrated outside the ruling party headquarters calling for the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, to resign. They are not satisfied with the party announcement that it is going to investigate the allegations while simultaneously dismissing them as certainly untrue.

Mr Rajoy says the reputations of the majority of politicians, honest men and women dedicating their life to public work, are being unfairly tarnished by the alleged dishonesty of a few.

But then documents were published in the left-leaning El Pais newspaper which alleged that the prime minister was among the party members who had received one such bulging envelope from the Swiss bank account. It is a charge Mr Rajoy strenuously rejects.

And Mr Rajoy is right, Spaniards are cynical about all their politicians in all the parties. Although wrongdoing has not been proved Spaniards are angry, they are not shrugging anymore.

The other day a TV news crew was on the street asking people what should be done.

One middle-aged, mild-looking woman, replied "you know the French Revolution, where they cut off their heads? Well something like that might do the trick".

How to listen to From Our Own Correspondent:

BBC Radio 4: Saturdays at 11:30 and some Thursdays at 11:00.

Listen online or download the podcast.

BBC World Service: Short editions Monday-Friday - see World Service programme schedule.

You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook

View the original article here

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

View the original article here

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

View the original article here