Posts Tagged ‘World Stage’

Nordic tax fraud probe stretches to Bahamas

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

nordicAn information sharing contract has been signed between the Nordic nations and the Bahamas, intended to hinder Nordic tax evasion.

The contract signed yesterday allows Nordic tax authorities access to information on taxes paid and deposits made by Nordic citizens in the Bahamas and will help them track and assess those trying to hide taxable assets overseas.

The contract is the latest in a joint Nordic campaign against tax fraud and was signed at the Danish Embassy in Paris yesterday.

The project has been enthusiastically endorsed by the OECD and has strengthened the position of the Nordic nations on the world stage, RUV reports.

Since project negotiations began in 2007, similar contracts have come into force with Aruba, Andorra, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, the Antilles, the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands, Gibraltar, the Cook Islands, Samoa and San Marino.

Denmark has also independently signed similar contracts with St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadine, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda.

Calls for a single united Nordic nation

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

kalmar-unionMany things come up for discussion at meetings of Nordic Prime Ministers. One thing on the PMs’ agenda todayhas particularly piqued public interest: Swedish historian Gunnar Wetterberg’s suggestion that the Nordic countries revive the Kalmar Union and become one single nation once more.

Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark would become queen of the whole new country, because Margrethe I was queen during the time of the Kalmar Union, RUV reports. All the Scandinavian nations were united as one between 1397 and 1523.

Wetterberg says that a single Nordic nation would have the world’s tenth biggest economy and could have significant influence on the world stage.

Wetterberg wrote his ideas in a Dagens Nyheter newspaper article yesterday; but if the Prime Ministers’ discussion is anything to go by, Margrethe II will not be made Queen of Nordicland in the very near future.

Norway Cup football tournament nears climax

Friday, July 31st, 2009

football-boyNorway is home to one of the world’s biggest annual football tournaments, the Norway Cup, which attracts youth players from around the globe to compete in the prestigious event. The matches have been underway in Oslo since Sunday, and will culminate in high-profile finals played today and tomorrow.

The Norway Cup is a boon for young footballers, as it allows them a rare chance to show off their skills on a world stage watched by many talent scouts and fans. Up to 30,000 boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 19 have competed for the top honours this year. They represent an amazing 48 different countries.

The 1,400 teams involved in the Norway Cup have played most of the 4,000 games at Ekeberg. This scenic location sits atop a plateau overlooking Oslo, making an ideal setting for passionate football involving some of the world’s best up-and-coming young players. Other matches took place at smaller fields around Oslo and more than 60 stadiums across Norway.

The tournament is a trendsetter in many ways. The Norway Post reports that girls have been playing in the Cup since its first year in 1972, an extraordinary move even in gender-friendly Norway. It wasn’t until 1976 that the Norwegian Football Association officially recognised women’s football.

Another commendable feature of the Cup is it invites 20-30 teams from underprivileged areas each year. The teams are flown to Norway and given free room and board for the week. This has helped boost the role football plays in many impoverished places, especially Africa, which has a strong connection with the Norway Cup.

Icelandair preparing for Holland football invasion

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

icelandair-logo-back-wingThe Dutch and Icelandic men’s football teams will clash again in Reykjavik on 6th June after an October meeting in Rotterdam which Holland won 2-0. The Reykjavik match is the second leg in the countries’ qualification clash for the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

As runaway group leaders, the Dutch are probably already packing their bags for South Africa; but third place Iceland still have a chance to join them and will be pushing their visitors hard in June.

Icelandair, Iceland’s biggest airline is one of the national soccer team’s biggest sponsors and also offers special football travel deals for fans eager to see the game in person.

Icelandair has increased the size of its aircraft for departures around the time of the game and added two flights to its daily Amsterdam schedule.

Holland and Iceland last met on Icelandic soil in 1988. The two teams were together for Olympic qualifying that year and for European Cup qualifying in 1984. Both Iceland home games in those competitions ended in a draw.

“The Dutch team is very strong, but Our Boys (common Icelandic nickname for the team) have frequently shown how at home they are playing stronger teams on the world stage – especially if the support in the stadium is as powerful as recently,” the Icelandic ticketing website extols.

Football fans from the Netherlands are therefore eager to visit Iceland, if only to make some noise and put the Icelanders off their game!

More information can be found at www.icelandair.com

(Advertisement)