Islamic demonstration faced boycott

UPDATED: Muslims themselves were urged to boycott a planned demonstration in front of the Norwegian Parliament on Friday by an Islamic group considered to be extremist. With only around 15 participants assembled and no action a half-hour after the demonstration was due to begin, it appeared the boycott call had an effect, or simply that [...]

Video threatens Crown Prince, Stoltenberg with ‘painful revenge’

A video published on the social media site Facebook threatens Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre with both “painful revenge” and death, in retaliation for Norway’s military involvement in Afghanistan. The video promotes a demonstration organized by an Islamic group and planned for Friday in front of [...]

Defense minister escaped bombing

New Norwegian Defense Minister Espen Barth Eide was still in Afghanistan on Tuesday when a series of suicide bombers went on the attack, but neither Eide nor other Norwegian soldiers were caught in the explosions. Eide had earlier briefed Norwegian troops on an earlier pullout from Afghanistan than initially planned. The bombings, which Eide described [...]

Norway winds down in Afghanistan

Norwegian military forces are getting ready to pull out of Afghanistan after years of participation in NATO-led operations and several casualties. Norway’s role is already in the midst of major change, while experts worry whether Afghan forces are ready to take over. Norwegian soldiers and officers will, in practice, be withdrawn from the front lines [...]

Norway to host talks on Afghanistan

Top diplomats from all of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries plus several others, including the US, will meet for talks at a hotel in Oslo Friday morning. The Norwegian government has quietly gathered all the parties to promote regional cooperation. The talks, revealed by newspaper Bergens Tidende on Thursday, come 10 years after Norway first sent troops [...]

Police interview US al-Qaida suspects

Three members of al-Qaida are being questioned by Norwegian police in the USA as part of the case against an alleged Norwegian terrorist cell. The three men – Zarein Ahmedzay, Bryant Neal Vinas and Najubullah Zazi – are American citizens charged for the planning of a suicide bombing attack on the New York Metro system [...]

Ambassador’s food blog boils over

Norway’s ambassador to Afghanistan stirred up a storm of controversy this week when he wrote about his passion for good food and wine, and how he had to train his cook in Kabul, on the Foreign Ministry’s blog site for diplomats. Hattrem’s blog was viewed by many as being not only undiplomatic, but also in [...]

Afghan civilian killed ‘by accident’

Norwegian military officials were trying to fend off violent reaction from either the Taliban or Afghan civilians, after a Norwegian soldier accidently unleashed a grenade that sent splinters into a police station in northern Afghanistan earlier this week, killing an occupant inside. The incident occurred when a Norwegian soldier set off a weapon called the [...]

Stoltenberg admits to medal error

A hard-pressed Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg admitted, under tough questioning in Parliament on Wednesday, that it was an error to have the country’s defense chief, and not King Harald, award Norway’s highest military medals of honor to new war heroes at the government’s first Veterans’ Day ceremonies on Sunday. The decision to have Defense Chief [...]

Stoltenberg denies snubbing the king

UPDATED: Reports of a touchy, alleged conflict between the government and King Harald were playing out in Norwegian media on Tuesday, after newspaper Dagbladet wrote that Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg wanted the monarch to stay away from the government’s first Veterans’ Day ceremonies on Sunday. The king himself later said he agreed to let Stoltenberg’s [...]

Liberation Day now Veterans’ Day

Military installations and communities all over Norway celebrated Liberation Day on May 8 a bit differently this year. The government is making a concerted effort to use the day to celebrate Norwegian veterans of military service, with defense officials doling out three more of its highest wartime decorations. Since 1945, May 8 has been listed [...]

Norway still world’s best for mothers

Save the Children’s annual international report on mothers and their children, State of the World’s Mothers, has once again named Norway as the best country in the world in which to be a mother. Nonetheless, within Norway, new statistics show that child poverty has increased over the past decade. 164 countries are included in the [...]

Norway welcomes bin Laden death

Norwegian foreign minister Jonas Gahr Støre has hailed the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden as “a pleasing breakthrough in the fight against terror,” while Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg warned that “the fight against terrorism is not over.” Speaking to news agency NTB, Støre said, “I praise the American action that led to the [...]

Officer’s body arrives back home

UPDATED: Crown Prince Haakon, Defense Minister Grete Faremo and top military officials were among those attending the arrival in Oslo Thursday of the flight carrying Lt Col Siri Skare. The career military officer was killed in last week’s attack on a UN office in Afghanistan. “It is with deep sorrow that we return Siri to [...]

Aid office closed after attack on UN

Memorial services were held over the weekend in honor of Norwegian officer Siri Skare, killed in Friday’s attack on the UN. Meanwhile, Norway’s largest humanitarian organization in the country announced Monday it was closing its office where the attack occurred in Mazar-i-Sharif, as violent demonstrations continued to sweep across Afghanistan. The Norwegian Refugee Council (Flyktninghjelpen) [...]

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