Police in southern Sweden are investigating claims by an anonymous officer that he and a colleague secretly dabbed the tips of their sex organs against parts of a car driven by female co-workers. Writing a blog under the pseudonym Farbror Blå (Uncle Blue), the self-professed officer revealed that he and his cop buddy "bell-ended* the door handles, window buttons, gear stick, steering wheel, stereo buttons and the police radio buttons, as well as the receiver used to talk to the operations room". The practice of bell-ending, or ollning, involves a man touching an object with his glans and has established itself as a recurring form of practical joke in Sweden. The term comes from ollon, the Swedish word for glans. "When the girls had driven around for an hour or so in the bell-ended police...

In a global first, a lucky Belgian competition winner has traveled into the depths of the black stuff in the first ever Guinness Deep Sea Bar. Evelyne Gridelet, 30, of Seraing, Belgium, won the incredible trip in the futuristic custom-built Guinness submarine as part of the Guinness Experiences competition, held during the global Guinness 250 celebrations. Along with her husband, Arnaud Splendore and sister, Virginie Gridelet, Evelyne was flown to Sweden for an unforgettable four-day trip to explore the remote island of Högmarsö in the Stockholm Archipelago. Set against a winter wonderland, the highlight of their adventure, which took place during the last week of January 2010, was travelling to the bottom of the Baltic Sea in the Guinness Deep Sea Bar which was designed and...

With just over 15 weeks left until the 19th World Cup begins in South Africa and one player is making a real case to force his way in to the starting line up. Joe Hart could have been put out by Manchester City signing Shay Given last January, a smack in the face for his aspirations to make himself City’s number one. Thankfully for Hart, Alex McLeish rode to the rescue in the summer taking the young stopper to Birmingham City on a season long loan and what an inspired piece of business it has turned out to be. Of course, at the beginning of the season, Hart seemed a little unsure of his surroundings and his place at St. Andrews but over the last few months, he has been head and shoulders above every other English goalkeeper in the Premiership. Week by week, Hart’s...

The independent Kunskapsskolan schools certainly look better*As regular BOM readers will know, Tyler is a big fan of the Swedish free schools model - the one that allows new independent schools to set up in competition with state schools, and then lets parents choose whether to have their children educated in a state school or have the state pay for a place at the free school. Choice and competition to drive improvement - what could be better? Which is why Tyler is so excited about the Tories' promise to adopt roughly the same model in the UK. So you can imagine Tyler's distress at Monday's Newsnight report which basically said the Swedish model is failing in Sweden itself, and has not delivered the improvement in standards supporters claim (you can watch the report here,...

A superb profile of England's captain, Catherine Spencer, appears in today's Independent on Sunday. "With her 51st cap for England just under her belt", the article opens, "as captain of a team that's seeded second in the world; with a body of steel, a training schedule from hell and a sense of commitment to make grown men weep, Catherine Spencer is probably the most successful sportsperson that you've never heard of."Well, hopefully everyone reading this will have heard of her - but what you may not know about (until your read this) is her astonishing routine which - in between work and training it seems to barely leave time for eating and sleeping!But it obviously works. England opened their Six Nations last night with a 31-0 shut-out against Wales. With five tries from Heather...

The Swedish parliament has approved its first wolf cull in 45 years, to control the species’ numbers. You might think this must mean the animals number in their tens of thousands at least—but no. There are thought to be around just 180-220 wolves in Sweden. Around 10,000 hunters are said to be lining up with the intention of getting involved in what is seen by them as a rare opportunity. It’s normally the moose that gets it, and thinking back to my own considerable time spent in Stockholm I distinctly recall it seemed like every other bar I visited had a moose head displayed on the wall. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has said only 27 wolves can be shot. You’d think they’d make the arrangements themselves, with a handful of government-approved...

Alfredo Astiz was and still is a complete and utter piece of human excrement. Who was responsible for the death of innocent people during Argentina’s “Dirty War” in the late 70s. He has already been tried in absentia (and found guilty) for the murder of two French nuns, Alice Domon and Léonie Duquet. He was responsible for the kidnap and murder of Azucena Villaflor, the founder of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. He was almost certainly responsible for the murder of Dagmar Hagelin, a 17 year old Swedish citizen, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.Sadly we had him in captivity during the Falklands War. We should have packed his sorry arse off to France or Sweden to face trial for the murder of the nuns ir Hagelin but we did not, fearing reprisals against British...

File-sharing has prompted one of the most hotly contested debates in modern history. Everyone seems to have an opinion on it (except for 99% of musicians who don’t want to appear uncool by moaning about their bills or appearing to side with their record companies as opposed to the fans). On both sides of the fence, the arguments are based on flimsy theories. Pro file-sharers think that it is saving music from the evil clutches of commerce and point toward the middle ages when music was passed around freely. However, not one of these people have looked at how penniless these middle ages musicians died. By the same token, the music industry is happy to assume that this Grand Theft Audio is ruining everything for everyone without actually knowing if this is true. As such, everyone is...

One thing that has never been in question about Jermaine Defoe is his undoubted ability. Since West Ham United nicked him off of Charlton Athletic as a 15 year old, Defoe has scored goals. Be it for AFC Bournemouth on loan, West Ham United, Portsmouth, both spells at Tottenham and England, Defoe scored. Yet, there was always something missing, some final piece of the jigsaw that hadn’t fallen in to place. Was it application? Was it work rate? Did he want it enough? During his first spell at Tottenham, Defoe was always one of my favourites, the kind of player that gets you out of your seat. With a vicious shot and pace to burn, Defoe was a player that demanded your attention. Yet, as is often the case with terrace favourites, some managers couldn’t work him out. Five managers...

We all know our public sector wastes squillions, but just how inefficient is it? How does it look against public sectors elsewhere in the world?There are a number of studies that have attempted to answer such questions. One of the best known was published by the European Central Bank in 2003 - Public Sector Efficiency: An International Comparison, by Afonso, Schuknecht, and Tanzi.The ECB study seeks to compare the outputs of government with their costs. The costs comprise the share of government expenditure in GDP, which is straightforward. The outputs are more difficult to measure, but include a wide range of indicators, from economic growth and stability, to health and educational outcomes (see paper for more detail).These calculations are done for 23...

Business secretary warns against European Union's proposed regulation of hedge funds and private equity firmsThe business secretary, Lord Mandelson, warned in Brussels today that the European Union's proposed regulations on hedge funds and private equity firms may threaten future investment."We must be vigilant against burdening industry with excessive costs, and resist any moves that place restrictions on investor choice, leaving the EU open to accusations of protectionism," Mandelson said at an event hosted by the thinktank Bruegel. "The EU must remain an attractive destination for venture capital."Earlier this year, the EU Commission proposed tough new regulations on European private equity firms and hedge funds, mostly based in London.UK officials are lobbying EU representatives in...

Which are the countries which matter when it comes to space activity?  The US of A, Russia, China, India, Japan and France/ EU.  By my reckoning, and broadly backed up here.And which countries decided that they had something to add to the UN's debate on 'international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space'?This rather motley crew:Sweden (for the EU), Pakistan, St Lucia (yes, really), Uruguay, Thailand, Cuba, Kazakhstan, India, Syria, Sudan, China, Colombia, Philippines, Libya, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, and Indonesia. None of the comments are of any great quality, interest, so I will swear off quoting them, bar this nice piece of DPRK logic:"The action taken in the Security Council against his country was a clear indication that the Council was not...

[Scottish lawyers' magazine The Firm has picked up and expanded upon yesterday's story about the release of Abu Talb from prison in Sweden. Its article can be read here. The full text appears below.]Mohammed Abu Talb, the Palestinian militant implicated in the Pan Am 103 atrocity, is understood to have been freed from jail in Sweden where he had been serving a life term.The Firm understands Talb was quietly released in early September, only weeks after Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was released from jail in Scotland and returned to Libya. Talb was named by Megrahi and co-accused Fhimah in their special defence of incrimination during their trial, although no charges were ever brought against him.In April a Swedish court overturned Talb's life sentence and reinstated a fixed tariff of...

• Rooney 'played a few times against us and never won'• Queiroz says Rooney was showing respect for PortugalCristiano Ronaldo believes his former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney was joking when the England striker said he would be pleased if Portugal failed to qualify for the World Cup."I am sure he was joking," the Portuguese forward said today. "He is a good friend of mine and he knows Portugal are a top team. He played a few times against us and never won. But I am sure he was joking as he has friends here [in the Portugal squad]."Rooney yesterday said "it would be nice" if Portugal failed to qualify as the country knocked out England in their last two appearances in major tournaments, the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2004."When we didn't qualify for Euro 2008, we [the United...

    Finally, we’re at the end of qualification, so I thought I’d look at the key battles in each group Group 1 That’s the group with Portugal’s fading hopes – they are third, two points behind Sweden and have two home games against Hungary and Malta – Malta is three points guaranteed, so any hope for us opponents is in their game against 4th placed Hungary, should they win then Sweden probably need to beat leaders Denmark, a draw would put it down to goal difference, and they would need to score at least two more against Albania than Portugal beat Malta by to do that – so our best hopes are a Portugal upset at home to Hungary (Portugal are yet to win at home) or Sweden to beat their cousins in Copenhagen Matches to watch out for: Denmark v Sweden Portugal v...

Japan are on tour in Canada at the moment, in preparation for the Asian World Cup qualifier in a few weeks time. As a gentle warm-up to the tour a small club team call Burnaby Lake were asked to give them a game - a bit like (in European terms) Hitchin being asked to give someone like Sweden a game*.To say that the girls of Burnaby Lake rose to the challenge sounds like an understatement as, with only one player borrowed from another club, they managed to beat possibly Asia's second strongest team (with, if they had such things, a probable world ranking of around 15 or so) in the last seconds of what sounds a very exciting game.If anything, though, the result may be a testament to preparation. Burnaby Lake prepared by playing against their men's team. All goes to show what effective...

Lennon’s cross arcs over the box. It hones in on Steven Gerrard who waits just outside the crowd. He jumps, coils his neck and smashes the ball toward goal. His header flies down into the net. 2-0 to England. I’m an American, but I still get chills when Gerrard scores for his country. His header against Sweden in the 2006 World Cup was one of the moments that first drew me to English football, to the English Premier League and to Liverpool FC. That summer I wanted to eat up as much international football as possible. I watched every match I could. And I’ll do the same in 2010. While my heart will be with the US team, I’ll take in as many of the other fixtures as my schedule allows, preferring to watch matches with at least one Liverpool player involved. The only...

Well that was funEngland whooped Croatia 5-1 - meaning we finally sealed qualification, and have now scored a ridiculous 31 goals in 8 games, leaving the Croats sweating on Ukraine's performance against us in KievScotland failed and went out in predictable style - Norway are through to the second round on GDHowever I have some good news for the Scots - it seems that Norway are probably boned anyway - they are the only team to have finished playing and lie second from bottom in 'round two', Sweden need two points from a line up that includes Albania at home, so neither they or Portugal will likely finish below themIreland need a point (off Montenegro), Greece need a point off Latvia, and should Latvia win then they'll finish second and be ahead anyway, and the only other team they can rely...

I'm not quite sure what to make of this article. Its about a group of girls in a school in New Zealand who are campaigning for the right to play in an inter-house school rugby tournament.On the one hand the school authorities seem to be jaw droppingly inept - "Let them play netball" being a response just as sensitive and just about as likely to be as effective in dealing with the protest as "Let them eat cake" was 220 years ago. And while it is possible that the statement "18-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl were at different stages in their physical development and it would be unfair on both to have them tackling each other on a rugby field"may have been taken out of context, its a pretty stupid thing to say in the first place. I mean it would be pretty damn dangerous for 13 year old...

Zlatan is East and West, North and South; he is a blend of different cultures and influences. In his journal he wrote that he doesn’t have a problem with that, on the contrary he sees that as his advantage. His portrait goes as follows: a guy from the Balkans, born in Sweden, with southern mentality, America and western civilization oriented. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a man of the world. He is on East, West, North, South, his origin, passion for football make him the denizen of the planet. Here is what he wrote in his journal. I am from north, born in Malmo, where my friends are and I will return there. Sweden is my home. On the other hand I am from South too, a hot-tempered man with the Mediterranean mentality. I like to play big games, like feeling strong emotions and playing in...

The senior England sevens team will be aiming to put World Cup disappointment behind them this weekend when they attempt to retain their European Sevens crown in Hanover.This will be the sixth women's European championship , and England have never failed to reach the final. They did not enter the first tournament in 2003 (which was won by Spain), but did enter the next event in 2005 beating Spain 14-0 in the final of an event they totally dominated, conceding one try over a weekend of six games.England were similarly dominant in 2006, with a total shutout until the final when Wales shocked them, winning a dramatic final 10-7.2007 was far tougher, with England losing to France in their group, sneaking through the final with a two point win over Spain, and then losing the final...

That hardly seems fair If you were wondering why Sweden U21 striker Marcus Berg was running rings around most defenders he came up against at the recent European Under 21 Championships it was because he was about four years older than most of the other players in the tournament. That’s according to the BBC gossip column, [...]...

• Owen hoping to join United if he comes through medical• Striker to have stringent tests on his right kneeMichael Owen has arrived at Manchester United's training ground Carrington to have a medical with the Premier League champions. The 29-year-old hopes to complete a move to United after his contract with Newcastle United ran out.The former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker is expected to be put through stringent tests, especially on the right knee he injured during the 2006 World Cup. He ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and had lesser damage to his medial ones only a minute into the group game against Sweden.Owen scored 30 times in 65 starts for Newcastle but scored his last goal in January. He will be extremely motivated to prove his critics wrong but would nevertheless...

This has been one of the most exciting editions of the Under 21 European Championship and a lot of players have shown great deal of potential. This is my choice for the Team of the Tournament and be free to give your thoughts and comments on how this team should look like. Keeper: Manuel Neuer (Germany) Schalke keeper has been in tremendous form throughout the tournament and no wonder that Joachim Low already sees him as the part of the senior national team. Clubs like Chelsea and Bayern has shown interest in the player and I can definitely see him as future Germany number 1. Right-back: Marco Motta (Italy) Italy Under 21 captain arrived to this tournament with a wealth of Serie A experience and he has proven his potential in Sweden. Reliable at the back, while dangerous when going...

James Milner missed a penalty in the (England U21 Vs Sweden U21) , U21 Euro 2009 semi final match when he tried to do a David Beckham. He sent the ball skywards in a rugby style punt. A hilarious miss but England managed to progress to the Finals after winning the shootout 5-4. They will face Germany in U21 Euro 2009...

• England Under-21 players not celebrating semi-final victory• PFA chief bemoans youngsters' lack of first-team chancesThe England Under-21 coach, Stuart Pearce, is relishing his first international final and has urged his youngsters to show "guts" against Germany on Monday. After the drama of throwing away a three-goal lead against the hosts Sweden but still coming through 5-4 on penalties, Pearce's side will be European Under-21 champions if they win in Malmo."The team who has the most guts, takes their chances when they come and maybe have enough fit players will win the game," Pearce said. "It's a fantastic final. It's the furthest I've been in international football as a player or a manager so it's a step in the right direction. We need to win one more match and one team stands...

David Beckham eat your heart out What is it with England number 7s and their inability to remain vertical when taking a penalty? Well, we can laugh heartily at James Milner’s disastrous effort since it was of no consequence in the end. Despite their best efforts to throw it away, Stuart Pearce and his construction team [...]...

England under 21 boss enjoys a touchline cuppa At the time of writing, England Under 21s are in danger of capitulating against Sweden having let the hosts back into the semi-final at 3-2. England were 3-0 up at half-time. Stuart Peace might have to re-think his pitchside demeanour!...

Michael Owen injured, unfortunately a familiar scenario. With his international career apparently over and his club’s Premier League status under major threat it begs the question, ‘What will happen to Micheal Owen’? On 30 June 1998, 18 year-old Michael Owen’s name resonated around the football world after scoring THAT goal for England against Argentina. Michael James Owen had made his debut just a year previously, scoring after coming on as substitute in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat away at Wimbledon. The following season the teenager bagged 18 league goals and finished as the league’s joint top goalscorer. Owen spent seven years at Anfield scoring 118 goals in 216 games for the Reds. While Owen was neither big nor strong, he was blessed with pace,...

More information has come out today about the hero of Sweden's remarkable win over Italy yesterday - she is probably young enough to play for our U18s, and most of you have played more rugby that she has!Wing Jennifer Lindholm is barely 18 year old - and has only been playing rugby for a year. She was originally a baseball player, but with nothing much to do at the end of her season she and a few friends came along to a rugby training at her home club in Enköping - and was captured by the game straightaway. She soon gained a place in her club team (at an age when she would probably not, under current rules, be allowed to even train with adults in England!) and within months was selected for the national development squad. Her lightening rise through the ranks continued with her...