Latest news with #Malmo
Times
14 hours ago
- Business
- Times
Oresund Bridge is £58 to cross. Is the toll just daylight robbery?
For four centuries the Oresund, a strait between Denmark and Sweden that is the gateway to the Baltic Sea, was a geopolitical chokepoint. The Danish kings would routinely top up their treasury by extorting transit fees from passing ships. In 1658 the Swedes got their own back by crossing the frozen waters and surrounding Copenhagen. Urban legend holds that there is still a law on Denmark's statute books that permits loyal Danes to take up a cudgel and bash any Swede attempting to traverse the ice. The sound last became passable on foot in 1996 but no heads were staved in. Four years after that, though, Sweden and Denmark opened a five-mile, €2.6 billion bridge across the strait, whose 25th birthday falls on Tuesday. The kings and queens of both countries will mark the occasion by travelling in a convoy from the Swedish side to the Danish one, pausing halfway on the island of Peberholm. The bridge has become a symbol of European integration, all but turning Copenhagen and the Swedish port of Malmo on the other side of the water into a single conurbation. 'There is a before and after the bridge,' said Linus Eriksson, the chief executive of the company that runs it. 'Before the bridge, Malmo was a town in crisis. Even Copenhagen had a tough situation. Both cities had a tough situation with poor growth. Now it's a totally different region economically.' The crossing was also made famous from Tijuana to Bulawayo by The Bridge, a noirish crime drama in which a chilly Swedish detective called Saga Noren and her Danish partner Martin Rohde solved a series of grisly trans-strait murders. Now, however, many commuters who bought into the dream of living in one country and working in the other are complaining of what they regard as a lower-level but higher-volume crime: daylight robbery. • How Swedish gangs are exporting young contract killers across Scandinavia Weeks before the anniversary, the basic price for a one-way car journey across the bridge has been jacked up to 510 Danish kroner, or £58. For the largest vans, it is the equivalent of £218. Research by Sydsvenskan, a regional newspaper in southern Sweden, suggests this is by far the most expensive bridge toll on the planet, costing about twice as much as its nearest rivals in Japan and Canada. Tommy Frandsen, a Danish warehouse manager, is the embodiment of the Oresund ideal. He lives in Staffanstorp, a Swedish town 12 miles from the bridge, and commutes across it every weekday to his workplace on the Danish side. Even though he gets a reduced rate, this now costs him nearly £350 a month, or slightly more than 10 per cent of his salary after tax. 'I feel like it's terrible because they raise the prices every year,' Frandsen said. 'The ferry is not an option. The train is not a possibility because I live out in the country and there's no trains from here.' Aravin Chakravarthi, who is based in Malmo but works in Hedehusene, Denmark, said he could not afford to traverse the bridge by car and was forced to take longer rail journeys instead. 'I don't drive by car because of the bridge toll, even on desperate days when I'm juggling tight schedules to drop off or pick up my two kids,' he said. Although the bridge consortium is jointly owned by the Swedish and Danish states, it is financed with sizeable loans, which have to be paid back. The toll is also linked by law to the cost of the privately operated ferry that runs between Helsingor and Helsingborg further up the strait, to protect the commercial viability of the latter. 'We are state-owned, so we would not be able to cut the price by half because then the commercially operated ferry company would complain or even sue us,' said Eriksson. Despite the vehicle toll, the total number of people crossing the Oresund by car, train or ferry hit a record 38 million last year, equivalent to about 105,000 trips a day. A one-way railway journey between central Copenhagen and Malmo typically costs only £13. Locals' sentimental attachment to the bridge remains largely undiminished. 'It has created love relationships. It has created party culture and university research,' said Niels Paarup-Petersen, a Swedish Centre Party MP from Malmo. 'There are such gains that have actually become a reality because of the bridge.'
South China Morning Post
20-06-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hongkonger thriving in Sweden after football degree course at Real Madrid
If it sounds far-fetched that Matthew Mak Pak-hei has targeted winning the Champions League, the Hongkonger's ascent to a plum European football job suggests he is entitled to dream big. Mak, 25, is into his third season as an analyst for Swedish champions Malmo, only seven years after he began 'looking into tactics for fun'. He got there by studying for a degree at Real Madrid, but was initially fixated on the methods of Pep Guardiola, perfected at Barcelona and now practised at Manchester City. 'There were debates about whether he was really good, or a fraud who always had top players,' said Mak, who as a City fan favours the former argument. 'I didn't start with any ambitions to be in the industry; I just began looking at more teams and tactics as a hobby.' During his Global Studies degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mak estimates he watched up to 500 matches per year. He began writing for Total Football Analysis magazine, and Malmo head coach Henrik Rydstrom, then in charge of Kalmar, admired his work. Real Madrid's Luka Modric takes a corner at the club's Bernabeu Stadium. Photo: AFP 'I liked how his team played, and he liked how I saw the game,' Mak said. 'He didn't have much analytical support, so we spoke a lot.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
22-05-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sweden to Charge Militant over Jordanian Pilot Burnt to Death in Syria
Prosecutors said Thursday they plan to indict a convicted Swedish militant on charges including the 2015 killing of a Jordanian pilot burned to death in a cage in Syria. Sweden's Prosecution Authority said in a statement it planned to charge a 32-year-old Swedish citizen on May 27 with "serious war crimes and terrorist crimes in Syria". The trial is scheduled to begin on June 4. Prosecutors did not name their suspect in the statement, but Sweden asked France for the extradition of 32-year-old Osama Krayem, already sentenced for the 2015 attacks in Paris and the attacks in Brussels a year later, AFP reported. The prosectors' statement said an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force was shot down in Syria on December 24, 2014. The pilot was captured by the ISIS group the same day near the central city of Raqqa, it added. The pilot was locked in a cage and burned alive and images of his death were broadcast by the extremist group. Krayem "is suspected of having executed the pilot, together with other perpetrators belonging to ISIS said prosecutors. "The investigation has shown that the man, armed and masked, together with others forced the pilot into a metal cage," they added. "The cage was subsequently set on fire by one of the co-perpetrators, and the pilot died as a consequence of the fire." Krayem, who is from Malmo in southern Sweden, joined ISIS in Syria in 2014 before returning to Europe. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison in France for assisting in the planning of the 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people died. The following year, he was given a life sentence in Belgium for participating in the bombings on March 22, 2016, at Brussels' main airport and on the metro system, which killed 32 people. He has been "temporarily handed over to Sweden to participate in the trial", the prosecution said.
BreakingNews.ie
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Eurovision organisers still hope Celine Dion might take to the stage
The organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest are in 'close contact' with Swiss winner Celine Dion, following reports that she had ruled out performing this year in Basel. Switzerland, where the competition began in Lugano in 1956, will host Tuesday's first semi-final in Basel. It will see the Netherlands return to the stage after their act was kicked out of the competition shortly before the final last year. Advertisement Dion, 57, won in Dublin 1988 with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi, and there has been speculation that since there has been no Swiss entry triumph until Nemo clinched victory with The Code last year at Malmo, she would return to the stage. The Canadian singer has stepped away from touring in recent years, because of increasing health issues while living with stiff-person syndrome (SPS), but made an emotional come back at the 2024 Paris Olympics singing Edith Piaf's classic Hymne A L'Amour while in the Eiffel Tower. It was reported that Dion sent in a video message for the first semi-final rehearsals wishing the contestants luck, appearing to rule out her return, but this appeared to be dismissed by Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR. An SRG SSR spokesman said: 'All elements of the first semi-final show were played through and rehearsed intensively. Advertisement 'There are currently no changes regarding Celine Dion – we are still in close contact with her.' The Dutch have placed their hopes on Claude Kiambe, 21, whose entry C'est La Vie reflects on his early musical aspirations and his mother's support. He will compete against Sweden representatives and contest favourites KAJ with the upbeat comical Bara Bada Bastu (Just Sauna), inspired by the Nordic sauna culture, and Ukrainian group Ziferblat's dramatic track Bird Of Pray. Basel-born Zoe Me will perform French language song Voyage for the Swiss but is already through to the final, because Nemo won in Malmo 2024 with The Code, along with some of the big financial contributors – Italy with glam rocker Lucio Corsi's Volevo Essere Un Duro (I Wanted To Be A Tough Guy) and Spain with Melody Gutierrez's Esa Diva (That Diva). Advertisement Claude Kiambe said he hopes that the organisers have 'listened', after his country's disqualification in 2024 (Tim Buiting/AVROTROS/PA) Kiambe is seen as among those in contention for the top prize on Saturday, and is already a star of the Dutch charts, with the release of his 2022 debut single Ladada (Mon Dernier Mot), which has had more than 60 million listens on Spotify and which prompted him to leave his restaurant job. Kiambe told the PA news agency that he hopes to see Joost Klein, who was disqualified by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) over alleged verbal threats to a female production worker, 'doing great and doing the best', after his song Europapa went viral. Dutch broadcaster Avrotros called the disqualification 'unnecessary and disproportionate', while the singer denied any wrongdoing, and Swedish prosecutors dropped the case against him. Avrotros also warned that it might not return to the competition, but after a meeting with the EBU to discuss the disqualification and backstage issues, it appears they have returned to the fold. Advertisement The EBU conducted a review and pledged that a new code of conduct and a raft of new measures, would help 'protect' the wellbeing of artists. Kiambe feels this means they have 'listened to everything what happened'. However, Avrotros did reportedly ask the EBU to rethink its policy on an on-stage LGBT+ flag ban for contestants, although fans are allowed to bring in these symbols along with pro-Palestinian flags, after controversy last year on what could be brought into the arena. Also in the line-up for the first semi-final is Slovenia's Klemen with How Much Time Do We Have Left, electronic musician brothers Matthias Davio Matthiasson and Halfdan Helgi Matthiasson who formed Vaeb and are entering with the futuristic Roa, and Estonia's Tommy Cash with the absurd Espresso Macchiato. Advertisement Others who are thought likely to make strong showing on Tuesday are San Marino's Gabry Ponte with the catchy beat heavy Tutta L'Italia, Poland's Justyna Steczkowska with her dramatic Gaja, Norway's Kyle Alessandro with the fiery Lighter, Cyprus' Theo Evan's blend of singing and spoken word in Shh and Albania's folksy Shkodra Elektronike with Zjerm. Shkodra Elektronike from Albania performs Zjerm during the dress rehearsal for the first semi-final (Martin Meissner/AP) After the public voting, the top 10 countries going through to the final will be announced. They will join the 'big five' and Switzerland on Saturday. On Thursday Ireland's Emmy Kristiansen and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attacks, will take to the stage in the second semi-final. There are expected to be protests throughout the week, and a pro-Palestinian group is planning a large gathering for Saturday amid the war in Gaza. More than 1,000 police officers are on duty in Basel this week, and there has been an increase in security during Eurovision. Eurovision's semi-finals will air on Tuesday and Thursday on RTÉ from 8pm, and the final at the same time on Saturday.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Eurovision organisers still hope Celine Dion might take to the stage
The organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest are in 'close contact' with Swiss winner Celine Dion, following reports that she had ruled out performing this year in Basel. Switzerland, where the competition began in Lugano in 1956, will host Tuesday's first semi-final in Basel. It will see the Netherlands return to the stage after their act was kicked out of the competition shortly before the final last year. Dion, 57, won in Dublin 1988 with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi, and there has been speculation that since there has been no Swiss entry triumph until Nemo clinched victory with The Code last year at Malmo, she would return to the stage. The Canadian singer has stepped away from touring in recent years, because of increasing health issues while living with stiff-person syndrome (SPS), but made an emotional come back at the 2024 Paris Olympics singing Edith Piaf's classic Hymne A L'Amour while in the Eiffel Tower. It was reported that Dion sent in a video message for the first semi-final rehearsals wishing the contestants luck, appearing to rule out her return, but this appeared to be dismissed by Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR. An SRG SSR spokesman said: 'All elements of the first semi-final show were played through and rehearsed intensively. 'There are currently no changes regarding Celine Dion – we are still in close contact with her.' The Dutch have placed their hopes on Claude Kiambe, 21, whose entry C'est La Vie reflects on his early musical aspirations and his mother's support. He will compete against Sweden representatives and contest favourites KAJ with the upbeat comical Bara Bada Bastu (Just Sauna), inspired by the Nordic sauna culture, and Ukrainian group Ziferblat's dramatic track Bird Of Pray. Basel-born Zoe Me will perform French language song Voyage for the Swiss but is already through to the final, because Nemo won in Malmo 2024 with The Code, along with some of the big financial contributors – Italy with glam rocker Lucio Corsi's Volevo Essere Un Duro (I Wanted To Be A Tough Guy) and Spain with Melody Gutierrez's Esa Diva (That Diva). Kiambe is seen as among those in contention for the top prize on Saturday, and is already a star of the Dutch charts, with the release of his 2022 debut single Ladada (Mon Dernier Mot), which has had more than 60 million listens on Spotify and which prompted him to leave his restaurant job. Kiambe told the PA news agency that he hopes to see Joost Klein, who was disqualified by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) over alleged verbal threats to a female production worker, 'doing great and doing the best', after his song Europapa went viral. Dutch broadcaster Avrotros called the disqualification 'unnecessary and disproportionate', while the singer denied any wrongdoing, and Swedish prosecutors dropped the case against him. Avrotros also warned that it might not return to the competition, but after a meeting with the EBU to discuss the disqualification and backstage issues, it appears they have returned to the fold. The EBU conducted a review and pledged that a new code of conduct and a raft of new measures, would help 'protect' the wellbeing of artists. Kiambe feels this means they have 'listened to everything what happened'. However, Avrotros did reportedly ask the EBU to rethink its policy on an on-stage LGBT+ flag ban for contestants, although fans are allowed to bring in these symbols along with pro-Palestinian flags, after controversy last year on what could be brought into the arena. Also in the line-up for the first semi-final is Slovenia's Klemen with How Much Time Do We Have Left, electronic musician brothers Matthias Davio Matthiasson and Halfdan Helgi Matthiasson who formed Vaeb and are entering with the futuristic Roa, and Estonia's Tommy Cash with the absurd Espresso Macchiato. Others who are thought likely to make strong showing on Tuesday are San Marino's Gabry Ponte with the catchy beat heavy Tutta L'Italia, Poland's Justyna Steczkowska with her dramatic Gaja, Norway's Kyle Alessandro with the fiery Lighter, Cyprus' Theo Evan's blend of singing and spoken word in Shh and Albania's folksy Shkodra Elektronike with Zjerm. After the public voting, the top 10 countries going through to the final will be announced. They will join the 'big five' and Switzerland on Saturday. On Thursday the UK's girl group Remember Monday, Ireland's Emmy Kristiansen and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7 2023 Hamas attacks, will take to the stage in the second semi-final. There are expected to be protests throughout the week, and a pro-Palestinian group is planning a large gathering for Saturday amid the war in Gaza. More than 1,000 police officers are on duty in Basel this week, and there has been an increase in security during Eurovision. Eurovision's semi-finals will air on Tuesday and Thursday on the BBC from 8pm UK time, and the final at the same time on Saturday.
