Stockholm

Climate tops meeting of religious leaders

Climate tops meeting of religious leadersStockholm  - Climate issues including how to tackle global warming were to top discussions at a gathering of some 30 religious leaders and policy-makers from various faiths of the world, Swedish Archbishop Anders Wejryd said Friday.

The two-day meeting was to adopt a manifesto that contains "demands and commitments," Wejryd said of the envisaged document to be signed November 28 in Uppsala, north of Stockholm.

"We call on international policy- and decision-makers to take certain steps and we also call upon our own faiths to be active," he said of the tract.

Swedish energy group Vattenfall buys into Polish group ENEA

ENEAStockholm  - Swedish state-owned energy group Vattenfall on Wednesday said it is buying an 18.7-per-cent stake in Polish energy company ENEA S. A. for 4.5 billion kronor (584 million dollars).

ENEA is one of four state-owned energy groups in Poland and accounts for some 8 per cent of the country's energy production, the Vattenfall statement said.

Vattenfall chief executive Lars G Josefsson noted that ENEA's energy production is mainly coal-based. He said this would present an opportunity for Vattenfall to gain from the group's knowledge of CCS, or carbon capture and storage, technology.

Government split over same-sex marriage; bill pending,

Same Sex MarriageStockholm - Sweden's centre-right government has failed to agree on new legislation allowing same-sex couples the right to marry, but will press ahead with legislation to that effect, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said Wednesday.

Opposition from the Christian Democrats, one of the four parties in Reinfeldt's four-party coalition, has forced the other three parties to go it alone and seek support from the opposition.

Reinfeldt said his conservative Moderate Party, the Liberal Party and Centre Party would present a bill on same-sex marriage with an amendment stating it would take effect as of May 2009.

SAS airline operator in the red

Stockholm - The SAS Group, the operator of the joint carrier
Scandinavian Airlines, on Wednesday posted a pre-tax loss for third-
quarter 2008, citing high fuel costs, the economic downturn and a
goodwill writedown in its Spanish-based carrier.

SAS chief executive Mats Jansson said the group needed to implement
more belt-tightening measures saying the "crisis in the air travel
industry strikes indiscriminately."

He noted the recent bankruptcy of low-cost rival Sterling Airlines, one of some 30 carriers to fold so far this year.

The SAS Group posted a third-quarter pre-tax loss of 1.78 billion
kronor (231 million dollars) compared to a pre-tax profit of 457
million kronor in the corresponding business period of 2007.

SAS airline operator in the red over writedown and high fuel prices

SAS airline operator in the red over writedown and high fuel pricesStockholm - The SAS Group, the operator of the joint carrier Scandinavian Airlines, on Wednesday posted a pre-tax loss for third- quarter 2008, citing high fuel costs, the economic downturn and a goodwill writedown in its Spanish-based carrier.

The SAS Group posted a third-quarter pre-tax loss of 1.78 billion kronor (231 million dollars) compared to a pre-tax profit of 457 million kronor in the corresponding business period of 2007.

Third-quarter sales were 16.36 billion kronor, slightly up year- on-year.

Former coach of Swedish tennis great Bjorn Borg dies, aged 83

Lennart BergelinStockholm  - Lennart Bergelin, former coach of Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg, has died at the age of 83, news reports said Tuesday.

Bergelin was the first Swede to win a Grand Slam when he won the 1948 mens' doubles at the French Open. He was among the best players in the world 1946-1955. , Bergelin coached Borg 1971-1983, with the now 52-year-old Borg winning 11 Grand Slams highlighted by five consecutive Wimbledon titles.

Bergelin also coached the Swedish Davis Cup team for five years, and during his tenure Sweden won its first Davis Cup title in 1975.

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