Sweden

AUGSBURG, Germany - Lotta Schelin scored one goal and set up another Sunday as Sweden beat Australia, 3-1, to reach the semifinals at the women's World Cup. After setting up Therese Sjogran for the opening goal in the 11th minute, Schelin pushed the lead to 3-1 in the 52d to set off the players' traditional Swedish dancing celebrations. The result means Sweden also qualifies for the London Olympics next year. Japan upset host Germany in a quarterfinal on Saturday and will play Sweden on Wednesday.

LEVERKUSEN, Germany - Jessica Landstrom scored to give Sweden a labored, 1-0 win over Colombia on a sweltering day at the Women's World Cup on Tuesday. Colombia reserve goalkeeper Yineth Varon failed a drug test taken on Saturday and was suspended before the match. Sweden kept Colombia's 17-year-old star, Yoreli Rincon, in check, but her coach, Ricardo Rozo, said he expects her to have an impact in the tourney. He refused to comment on Varon's suspension.  

Welsh-born Princess Lilian of Sweden, 97, whose decades-long love story with the king's uncle was one of the better-kept secrets of the royal household, died Sunday. A brief statement on the Royal Palace's website said Princess Lilian died at her home in Stockholm. It didn't give a cause of death, but she had Alzheimer's disease and had been in poor health for several years. Lilian Craig met Prince Bertil in 1943, but the prince's obligations to the throne and Lilian's status as a divorced commoner prevented them from making their love public, and it would take more than 30 years before they could marry.

STOCKHOLM - Sweden said Friday that Belarus had expelled its ambassador for "being too supportive of human rights. " Belarus countered that it merely chose not to extend the envoy's accreditation, calling his activities destructive. The dispute was the latest in a series of diplomatic spats between Belarus and Western nations, especially European Union states that have taken steps against the ex-Soviet country and its longtime leader, President Alexander Lukashenko, over its stifling of human rights.

Sweden shut out the defending champion Czech Republic, 4-0, yesterday in Riga, Latvia, to win hockey's world championship, becoming the first country to win that title and Olympic gold in the same year. It was the eighth world title for Sweden, which had eight Olympic champions on its roster. In the Winter Olympics, Sweden beat Finland in the final. "It's fun to be part of hockey history," coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson said. "I think we played more or less a perfect game today.

The Nordic Museum was closing one afternoon last week, but that was no problem for Henrique Ruiz. His black, chauffered Mercedes arrived just as the last tourists were leaving at 4 p.m., and he popped inside for a private, after-hours tour led by the museum director himself. In fact, that personal touch awaited the diminutive, mustachioed Nicaraguan everywhere he traveled during a weeklong visit to Sweden. There was a room at the elegant Grand Hotel on the harbor. There was a limousine available to whisk him where he wanted.

LEVERKUSEN, Germany - Jessica Landstrom scored in Sweden's labored, 1-0 win over Colombia in hot conditions at the Women's World Cup yesterday. Landstrom scored from close range in the 57th minute, set up by a fine cross from Lotta Schelin on the right wing. "We won our opening match. It's been a while since that last happened," Sweden coach Thomas Dennerby said. Colombia, playing in its first World Cup game, had a player suspended before the match when reserve goalkeeper Yineth Varon failed a drug test taken on Saturday.

Sweden won its doubles match over India yesterday to clinch the Davis Cup for the host nation. Mats Wilander and Joakim Nystrom defeated the Amritraj brothers, Anand and Vijay, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, giving Sweden a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five series in Goteborg. Sweden, playing its fifth consecutive final, had won the opening singles Friday in straight sets. Wilander, ranked third in the world, easily beat Ramesh Krishnan, and Anders Jarryd beat Vijay Amritraj. It was the fourth victory in six final appearances since 1975 for Sweden in the premier men's team tennis competition.

England's Wayne Rooney returned from a two-match suspension to head in the lone goal on Tuesday and give his team a 1-0 win over cohost Ukraine in Donetsk, clinching a spot in the European Championship quarterfinals. Needing a win to advance, the Ukrainians thought they had equalized in the 62d minute when Marko Devic's looping shot appeared to cross the line before it was hooked clear by England defender John Terry. But the goal was not awarded by the referee or his extra assistant, who was half-standing on the field only a few meters from the post.

The U.S. players are doing all the trash-talking. Jeremy Roenick promised that tomorrow's game against Canada would be a "bloodbath. " Team Canada, though, is not getting drawn into the war of words. "Every game is important," Eric Lindros said with a smile after Canada beat Sweden, 3-2, yesterday. "We really haven't thought about" the U.S. game, Canadian coach Marc Crawford said. "We want to savor this victory for a couple of hours, relax a little bit, and then come up with a strategy for the U.S. " The Canadians are acting as if this is a bigger game for the United States than it is for them.

Welsh-born Princess Lilian of Sweden, 97, whose decades-long love story with the king's uncle was one of the better-kept secrets of the royal household, died Sunday. A brief statement on the Royal Palace's website said Princess Lilian died at her home in Stockholm. It didn't give a cause of death, but she had Alzheimer's disease and had been in poor health for several years. Lilian Craig met Prince Bertil in 1943, but the prince's obligations to the throne and Lilian's status as a divorced commoner prevented them from making their love public, and it would take more than 30 years before they could marry.

At 25, Matt Read was considered an "old" rookie when he led all first-year NHL players with 24 goals last season. Now the unflappable Flyers winger is hoping his experience and relatively old age for a second-year player will help him avoid the proverbial sophomore jinx. "Hopefully being more mature and older than most [in this position], I can withstand the pressure and try to be a top player in this league," Read, now 26, said after taking part in the Flyers' informal practice Thursday at their Voorhees training facility.

AFTER SUSTAINING a neck injury while playing in Germany on Nov. 17, Flyers star Claude Giroux was back on the ice in Ottawa on Wednesday. Giroux, 24, participated in a 90-minute skate at the Carleton Ice House in Ottawa, where he makes his summer home. "I skated for the first time today," Giroux said in a message to the Daily News. "It was a slow skate. Just trying to get the legs going again. " Giroux is not fully recovered and said he had "no idea" when he would be back at 100 percent.

Rory McIlroy made five straight birdies down the stretch to overtake Justin Rose and win the Dubai World Championship on Sunday, ending a historic year in which the 23-year-old Northern Irishman won the PGA Championship and the European and PGA tour money titles. The top-ranked McIlroy recovered from early putting woes to finish at 6-under 66 for a total 23-under 265 at the season-ending tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Rose, who was tied for seventh after three rounds, surged down the stretch into contention after shooting a course-record 62 that included an eagle and eight birdies.

WITH NO NEW formal bargaining sessions scheduled between the NHL and its players' association this week, we figured this was a prime opportunity to update you on the Flyers' happenings abroad:   Germany Claude Giroux and Danny Briere continue to tear up the German Elite League for Eisbaren Berlin. Giroux led a seven-goal third-period explosion for the Polar Bears by notching the first goal of a 7-1 win in front of 14,000 fans. Briere assisted on the Polar Bears' final goal of the game.

After a wait of several minutes, the doors of a no-frills construction elevator open precisely at noon. We enter the metal-framed box that scales the outside rear of the Royal Opera House (   Kungliga Operan   ) of Stockholm, transporting us from the street to our rooftop destination, the Electrolux Cube. At the end of the elevator ride, Ludvig Jureskog, tall, blond, and immaculately attired in a black suit, greets us and the other luncheon guests with flutes of champagne.

Reason to fear extradition Julian Assange is rightly concerned that extradition to Sweden is the first step in an extradition to the United States ("Assange extradition not about freedom of speech," Sunday). Neither Sweden nor Britain is willing to guarantee that an extradition to the United States will not happen, although either could easily do so. The United States has already drawn up an indictment against Assange, so obviously it intends to prosecute if possible, even though Assange was not in the United States when he leaked the documents, and is not a U.S. citizen.

As much as Julian Assange would like the world to think his plight is all about freedom of speech, it isn't. It's not about taking sides on how WikiLeaks has been disclosing the contents of secret documents. That's important. But it doesn't mean Assange should be allowed to manipulate the issue to avoid facing rape charges. The founder of WikiLeaks has been holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London, trying to avoid extradition to Sweden now that the British courts have ruled he should face accusations of rape and sexual molestation there.

LONDON - He has won asylum in Ecuador, but Julian Assange is no closer to getting there. The decision by the South American nation to identify the WikiLeaks founder as a refugee is a symbolic boost for the embattled ex-hacker. But legal experts say that does little to help him avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual-assault allegations. Instead, with British officials asserting they will not grant Assange safe passage out of the country, the case has done much to drag the two nations into an international faceoff.

STOCKHOLM - Belarus on Wednesday ordered Sweden to close its embassy in Minsk by the end of the month, a move that comes only days after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's regime effectively expelled the Swedish ambassador. The dispute is the latest in a series of diplomatic spats between Belarus and Western nations, especially European Union states that have taken steps against the ex-Soviet country and its longtime leader, Lukashenko, over the stifling of human rights. EU spokesman Sebastien Brabant reiterated the 27-member bloc's "grave concern" about the earlier decision to bar Sweden's Ambassador Stefan Eriksson and said it was "urgently seeking clarification" over Minsk's latest move.