Stockholm  - Timing is of the essence - a lesson several big Swedish banking groups as well as private and government-run pension funds and corporations have learned in recent days.

And proposing large bonus payments to top management is simply not on amid daily reports of layoffs and financial turmoil.

Yet the proposals have been made - and in some case executed - to the surprise and anger of critics.

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Stockholm - A Swedish national was in "good spirits" following his release by leftist rebels in Colombia after almost two years in captivity, a Swedish diplomat said Wednesday.

Roland Larsson, 69, was abducted in May 2007 by members of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) from his home in the province of Cordoba some 350 kilometres north of the capital, Bogota.

Stockholm - Four Swedish slaughterhouses face action by authorities for failing to secure proper protection for pigs going to slaughter, reports said Tuesday.

Several cases where pigs were scalded to death were documented by the National Food Administration in 2008, Swedish radio news reported.

Food group HK Scan that operates or has interests in the four slaughterhouses in question conceded the mistakes. Scan slaughtered some 1.9 million pigs in 2008.

Sydney  - Sweden's Therese Alshammar broke her own world record Tuesday in the 50-metre butterfly at the Australian swimming championships in Sydney.

Alshammar, 31, clocked 25.44 seconds - 0.02 seconds faster than the world record she set in Barcelona in 2007.

"I'm a bit shocked myself, and I'm very happy," Alshammar said. "I've had a great couple of months in Australia."

She has been in Sydney training with local rival Libby Trickett for the past two months.

Are, Sweden  - Italy beat Austria on countback for first place in a team event which ended the alpine skiing World Cup season on Sunday.

Nicole Gius, Daniela Merighetti, Nadia Fanchini, Peter Fill, Werner Heel and Michael Moelgg had 21 points from four rounds each of slalom and super-g skiing. Austria also had 21 points but won only two of the eight rounds to Italy's three.

Switzerland were third with 23 points as only five teams took part in the event.

The winner of each round received one point, the second-placed team two, down to five points for the last-placed finisher Sunday.