Olympic Medals.1896-2008..[ 2889 ]

Olympic Medals

All time 1896 - 2008 Updated: 11:59 BST02 May 2012

Position	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	929	729	638	2296
2	Soviet Union	395	319	296	1010
3	Germany	247	284	320	851
4	Great Britain	207	255	253	715
5	France	191	212	233	636
6	Italy	190	157	174	521
7	China	163	117	105	385
8	Hungary	159	141	159	459
9	East Germany	153	129	127	409
10	Sweden	142	160	173	475
11	Australia	131	137	164	432
12	Japan	123	112	126	361
13	Russia	108	97	112	317
14	Finland	101	83	115	299
15	Romania	86	89	117	292
16	Netherlands	71	79	96	246
17	South Korea	68	74	73	215
18	Cuba	67	64	63	194
19	Poland	62	80	119	261
20	Canada	58	94	108	260
21	Norway	54	48	42	144
22	Bulgaria	51	84	77	212
23	Czechoslovakia	49	49	45	143
24	Switzerland	45	70	66	181
25	Unified Team	45	38	29	112
26	Denmark	41	63	66	170
27	Belgium	37	51	51	139
28	Turkey	37	23	22	82
29	New Zealand	36	15	35	86
30	Spain	34	49	30	113
31	Greece	30	42	36	108
32	Yugoslavia	28	31	31	90
33	Ukraine	28	22	46	96
34	Kenya	22	29	24	75
35	Brazil	20	25	46	91
36	South Africa	20	24	26	70
37	Austria	18	33	35	86
38	Ethiopia	18	6	14	38
39	Argentina	17	23	26	66
40	Jamaica	13	25	17	55
41	Mexico	12	18	25	55
42	Iran	11	15	22	48
43	Belarus	10	19	35	64
44	North Korea	10	12	19	41
45	Czech Republic	10	12	11	33
46	Kazakhstan	9	16	14	39
47	Estonia	9	8	14	31
48	India	9	4	7	20
49	Ireland	8	7	8	23
50	Mixed team	8	5	4	17
51	Slovakia	7	8	5	20
52	Egypt	7	7	10	24
53	Thailand	7	4	10	21
54	Indonesia	6	9	10	25
55	Morocco	6	5	10	21
56	Georgia	5	2	11	18
57	Portugal	4	7	11	22
58	Uzbekistan	4	5	8	17
59	Lithuania	4	4	8	16
60	Azerbaijan	4	3	9	16
61	Algeria	4	2	9	15
62	Bahamas	4	2	4	10
63	Croatia	3	6	8	17
64	Slovenia	3	5	7	15
65	Australasia	3	4	5	12
66	Zimbabwe	3	4	1	8
67	Pakistan	3	3	4	10
68	Cameroon	3	1	1	5
69	Latvia	2	11	4	17
70	Nigeria	2	9	12	23
71	Mongolia	2	7	10	19
72	Chile	2	7	4	13
73	Chinese Taipei	2	6	11	19
74	Uruguay	2	2	6	10
75	Tunisia	2	2	3	7
76	Dominican Republic	2	1	1	4
77	Trinidad and Tobago	1	5	8	14
78	Russian Empire	1	4	3	8
79	Colombia	1	3	7	11
80	Uganda	1	3	2	6
81	Peru	1	3	0	4
82	Venezuela	1	2	8	11
83	Armenia	1	1	7	9
84	Israel	1	1	5	7
85	Costa Rica	1	1	2	4
86	Syria	1	1	1	3
87	Hong Kong	1	1	0	2
88	Luxembourg	1	1	0	2
89	Ecuador	1	1	0	2
90	Panama	1	0	2	3
91	Suriname	1	0	1	2
92	Mozambique	1	0	1	2
93	Afghanistan	1	0	1	2
94	Burundi	1	0	0	1
95	United Arab Emirates	1	0	0	1
96	Namibia	0	4	0	4
97	Philippines	0	2	7	9
98	Moldova	0	2	3	5
99	Lebanon	0	2	2	4
100	Malaysia	0	2	2	4
101	Iceland	0	2	2	4
102	Sri Lanka	0	2	0	2
103	Vietnam	0	2	0	2
104	Serbia and Montenegro	0	2	0	2
105	Tanzania	0	2	0	2
106	Singapore	0	2	0	2
107	Puerto Rico	0	1	5	6
108	Bohemia	0	1	3	4
109	Ghana	0	1	3	4
110	Serbia	0	1	2	3
111	Independent Olympic Participants	0	1	2	3
112	Kyrgyzstan	0	1	2	3
113	Saudi Arabia	0	1	1	2
114	Zambia	0	1	1	2
115	Tajikistan	0	1	1	2
116	Haiti	0	1	1	2
117	Virgin Islands	0	1	0	1
118	Tonga	0	1	0	1
119	Côte d'Ivoire	0	1	0	1
120	Senegal	0	1	0	1
121	Paraguay	0	1	0	1
122	Netherlands Antilles	0	1	0	1
123	Sudan	0	1	0	1
124	Albania	0	1	0	1
125	Qatar	0	0	2	2
126	British West Indies	0	0	2	2
127	Eritrea	0	0	1	1
128	Mauritius	0	0	1	1
129	Bermuda	0	0	1	1
130	Togo	0	0	1	1
131	Barbados	0	0	1	1
132	Djibouti	0	0	1	1
133	Niger	0	0	1	1
134	Macedonia	0	0	1	1
135	Kuwait	0	0	1	1
136	Iraq	0	0	1	1
137	Guyana	0	0	1	1
138	Mauritania	0	0	0	0
139	Micronesia	0	0	0	0
140	Monaco	0	0	0	0
141	Montenegro	0	0	0	0
142	Myanmar	0	0	0	0
143	Nauru	0	0	0	0
144	Nepal	0	0	0	0
145	Nicaragua	0	0	0	0
146	Marshall Islands	0	0	0	0
147	Malta	0	0	0	0
148	Mali	0	0	0	0
149	Kiribati	0	0	0	0
150	Laos	0	0	0	0
151	Lesotho	0	0	0	0
152	Liberia	0	0	0	0
153	Libya	0	0	0	0
154	Madagascar	0	0	0	0
155	Malawi	0	0	0	0
156	Maldives	0	0	0	0
157	Oman	0	0	0	0
158	Palau	0	0	0	0
159	Sierra Leone	0	0	0	0
160	Solomon Islands	0	0	0	0
161	Somalia	0	0	0	0
162	Swaziland	0	0	0	0
163	Timor-Leste	0	0	0	0
164	Turkmenistan	0	0	0	0
165	Tuvalu	0	0	0	0
166	Vanuatu	0	0	0	0
167	Seychelles	0	0	0	0
168	São Tomé and Príncipe	0	0	0	0
169	Palestine	0	0	0	0
170	Papua New Guinea	0	0	0	0
171	Rwanda	0	0	0	0
172	Saint Kitts and Nevis	0	0	0	0
173	Saint Lucia	0	0	0	0
174	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0	0	0	0
175	Samoa	0	0	0	0
176	San Marino	0	0	0	0
177	Yemen	0	0	0	0
178	Jordan	0	0	0	0
179	Honduras	0	0	0	0
180	Bhutan	0	0	0	0
181	Bolivia	0	0	0	0
182	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0	0	0	0
183	Botswana	0	0	0	0
184	British Virgin Islands	0	0	0	0
185	Brunei	0	0	0	0
186	Burkina Faso	0	0	0	0
187	Cambodia	0	0	0	0
188	Benin	0	0	0	0
189	Belize	0	0	0	0
190	American Samoa	0	0	0	0
191	Andorra	0	0	0	0
192	Angola	0	0	0	0
193	Antigua and Barbuda	0	0	0	0
194	Aruba	0	0	0	0
195	Bahrain	0	0	0	0
196	Bangladesh	0	0	0	0
197	Cape Verde	0	0	0	0
198	Cayman Islands	0	0	0	0
199	Fiji	0	0	0	0
200	Gabon	0	0	0	0
201	Gambia	0	0	0	0
202	Grenada	0	0	0	0
203	Guam	0	0	0	0
204	Guatemala	0	0	0	0
205	Guinea	0	0	0	0
206	Guinea-Bissau	0	0	0	0
207	Equatorial Guinea	0	0	0	0
208	El Salvador	0	0	0	0
209	Central African Republic	0	0	0	0
210	Chad	0	0	0	0
211	Comoros	0	0	0	0
212	Congo	0	0	0	0
213	DR Congo	0	0	0	0
214	Cook Islands	0	0	0	0
215	Cyprus	0	0	0	0
216	Dominica	0	0	0	0
217	Liechtenstein	0	0	0	0

UK Olympics...[ 2887 ]

Business leaders put UK on Olympic trial

By Brian Groom, Chris Giles and George Parker, FT.com

July 30, 2012 -- Updated 0445 GMT (1245 HKT)

The giant Olympic rings are pictured next to Tower Bridge on the final day of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay on Friday.

Olympics to raise tough questions about the coalition's management of Britain's stagnant economy and the country's vulnerability to a euro break-up.

While David Cameron is trying to use the games as a showcase to boost UK trade and investment, chief executives from the US and Asia -- many of them big investors in Britain -- are privately voicing anxiety at the state of the economy.

"Cameron is giving us a big sales pitch, but we are not taking any notice of that," said the head of an Asian multinational. "We want to know what's happening to the economy and what are the prospects for us."

One US corporate chief called bluntly for the government to change course after last week's official figures showed the UK economy shrank 0.7 per cent between April and June.

"You need a short-term fiscal policy to boost demand and a credible long-term plan to address welfare, taxes and the labour market. If you do that, the bond market will be fine," he said.

As business leaders gathered to watch the games, in which ironically Britain's industrial past played a major part of the opneing ceremony, the chatter in corporate hospitality suites was less about sport, and more about London's competitiveness as a financial centre. One financier, referring to the forced resignation of Bob Diamond, the former Barclays chief executive, said: "What's going on in London? You are killing your bankers."

"Bob got shot by the regulators," added another high-profile executive, expressing concern about pressure exerted by the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority for Mr Diamond to quit. "There are big implications for London from all of this. When you're abroad you get a lot of people saying 'who would ever want to work for a British bank?' "

Some of the concerns surfaced publicly at last Thursday's global investment conference at Lancaster House in London, where Mr Cameron faced awkward questions about airport expansion and immigration in front of 200 business leaders and policy makers.

What's going on in London? You are killing your bankers

- Financier visiting Olympics

Government officials say there was a "solid, constructive" atmosphere at a series of meetings and that it is right for Britain to use the Olympics as a trade opportunity, even if the benefits are hard to define at this stage. The government hopes to win £1bn in UK trade deals from conferences at Lancaster House, converted into a British Business Embassy for the Olympics.

So far, Jaguar Land Rover -- part of India's Tata industrial group -- has announced 1,100 more car-making jobs in the Midlands.

But the executives' worries may increase pressure on George Osborne, the chancellor, who told the conference he would resist "siren voices" calling for a change of economic course.

Many are preoccupied by the eurozone crisis and its implications for the UK. "What is Britain going to do? What is the plan?" asked one international policy maker. "Why is Britain not being more proactive?"

Additional reporting by Patrick Jenkins

Bulgaria Attack...[2886 ]

U.S. Says Bulgaria Attack 'Bears Hallmarks' Of Hizballah

An Israeli wounded during the attack.

By RFE/RL

July 21, 2012 

=

The Pentagon says an attack this week on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria "bears some of the hallmarks of Hizballah."

Pentagon spokesman George Little made the comment after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier blamed Iran and the Lebanese militant group for the July 18 suicide bombing, which killed five Israeli tourists.

Tehran and Hizballah deny any connection.

The attack at Burgas airport also killed the Bulgarian bus driver and the bomber and injured more than 30.

Bulgarian authorities on July 20 said the suicide bomber was a foreign citizen.

Also on July 20, the five victims, who were returned to Israel by military transport overnight, were buried.

U.S. President Barack Obama called Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, and condemned "the barbaric attack."

The FBI is assisting Bulgarian authorities in the investigation.

Triumph...[ 2885 ]

Image of the Day,Triumph

In the Mission Operations Control Room of the Mission Control Center, Building 30, Manned Spacecraft Center, flight controllers applaud the splashdown and success of the Apollo 11 lunar mission.

Four days earlier on July 20, 1969, mission commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Armstrong, Aldrin and command module pilot Michael Collins splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, successfully completing the mission.

Image Credit: NASA

Friends of Syria in Paris meeting...[ 2884 ]

Friends of Syria seek tough action in Paris meeting

BBC.,6 July 2012 Last updated at 08:40 GMT

 

The US is expected to push for tougher sanctions
- 

Representatives from more than 100 countries are holding talks in Paris in a fresh attempt to decide what should be done to end the violence in Syria.

Opening the Friends of Syria group meeting, French President Francois Hollande said Syria's crisis was now a threat to world peace and security.

However, Russia and China - two of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's most important allies - are not attending. 

-

On Thursday it emerged a senior member of Syria's regime had fled to Turkey.

The pro-government website Syriasteps said Brig Gen Manaf Tlas had made an "escape" but that this was "insignificant".

Sources confirmed his departure to the BBC. But it is not clear whether he has defected.

-

It would be the highest-level defection of a supporter of President Assad since the rebellion against him started 16 months ago.

Earlier rumours about his possible defection in March proved to be false.

Brig Gen Tlas, of the Republican Guard, is the son of a former Syrian defence minister. As a young man he attended military training with Mr Assad.

Push for sanctions

The Paris meeting follows similar events in Tunis and Istanbul which demanded tougher action against the Assad regime.

The US and its Western allies are expected to encourage Gulf states to do more to push for global sanctions.
-

But Russia and China, which both hold vetoes in the United Nations Security Council, are not at the meeting.

Opening the meeting, French President Francois Hollande said it was a "human and political necessity" to stop the conflict.
-

"The crisis has become a threat to international peace and security," he said, "and we have to draw the conclusions."

The description refers to Chapter 7 of the UN charter, which allows for the possibility of the use of military force.
-

UN diplomats are working on a document calling for restrictions on commercial activity if Mr Assad fails to abide by UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's ceasefire plan and roadmap for a political transition.

The roadmap - announced last weekend by Annan after a meeting of world powers in Geneva - includes an interim government to enable the Syrian people to live ''independently and democratically''.
-

The Western powers believe that Mr Assad should play no part in Syria's future, but the roadmap allows Mr Assad an effective veto over any interim candidate he opposes.

Meanwhile UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected to release a report on the status of the UN monitoring mission in Syria.
-

The BBC's Barbara Plett at the UN says the general expectation is that Mr Ban will recommend a downscaling of the mission, keeping its civilian component - political and human rights experts - and significantly reducing the military observer part.
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Some 15,800 people have died in more than a year of violence in Syria, activists say.