Elderly woman’s assault sparks anger
February 8, 2012
An elderly woman was found beaten, robbed and possibly raped in a forested area at Korsvoll in Oslo late Monday, and local residents are expressing shock and outrage. Police have sought help from national crime unit Kripos as the investigation continues. “First I felt shock, then I got really angry at men who assault elderly [...]
Restaurants caught evading taxes
February 8, 2012
City officials in Oslo are threatening to withhold liquor licenses for cafés, bars and restaurants caught cheating on their taxes, after authorities uncovered accounting irregularities at more than half of all eating establishments that were audited last year. It’s suspected that most of the irregularities were an attempt to evade taxes, since they involved underreporting [...]
Sex scandal rocks another party
February 8, 2012
Norway’s small Liberal Party (Venstre), which has been building itself up again under new leadership, was rocked by rape charges filed Monday against its deputy leader Helge Solum Larsen. He was immediately stripped of all party posts and was admitted to the psychiatric unit of a west coast hospital. Larsen, age 43, has also been [...]
Former mayoral candidate in court
February 7, 2012
A man who had seemed to be the leading candidate to become mayor of Stavanger in last autumn’s election instead wound up defending himself in a city court on Tuesday against a long list of charges involving sexual misconduct. Trond Birkedal, long a top politician for the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet, Frp), admitted to many of [...]
Norway’s ‘other’ terrorists file appeal
February 6, 2012
UPDATED: Mikael Davud, sentenced last week to seven years in prison in Norway for planning a terrorist attack, has decided to appeal his conviction. One of his two partners was also sentenced to prison in what were called “historic” court rulings, and he’s appealing, too. Davud and Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak, both of whom came [...]
Handcuffed Breivik back in court
February 6, 2012
Mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik dressed for the occasion when he knew he’d be photographed and filmed just before his latest custody hearing began on Monday. Wearing a dark suit and tie, along with a pair of handcuffs, he posed willingly and then pulled out notes for some prepared remarks. It was the last custody [...]
Breivik coverage draws great debate
February 6, 2012
Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) was among media outlets planning live photographic coverage, for the first time, of the latest custody hearing for confessed terrorist Anders Behring Breivik at midday on Monday. That upset many survivors of Breivik’s bombing and massacre last summer. They don’t want to see any photos of the mass murderer, and claim he’s [...]
Memorial held for father of Eurovision winner
February 5, 2012
Memorial services were held on Sunday for Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia, father of singer Stella Mwangi, after he was killed by a hit-and-run driver at Dal in Akershus last week. The 54-year-old native of Kenya was hailed for integrating his children into Norwegian life without letting them forget where they came from. The memorial was organized [...]
Kidnapping victim released in Yemen
January 27, 2012
Norway’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Friday morning that a Norwegian man who’s been working for the United Nations in Yemen has been set free by a band of local kidnappers. The 34-year-old Norwegian had been held captive for nearly two weeks. Gert Danielsen, who worked for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), was snatched from a street [...]
Police find human smuggling route
January 27, 2012
Norwegian and British police have uncovered what they believe is an organized human smuggling route between Brevik on Norway’s southern coast and Immingham in England. The smugglers allegedly hide their human cargo in containers shipped on board ferries that run in scheduled service between the two cities. The alleged smuggling route was revealed publicly after [...]
Breivik may get own private hospital
January 24, 2012
Norwegian authorities are reportedly considering building a one-man’s psychiatric hospital unit to accommodate confessed terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, inside the prison where’s now being held. Meanwhile Breivik refuses to answer more questions from police until they promise him ongoing access to a computer. Breivik, who spent years plotting his attacks on government headquarters and the [...]
Woman stabbed in Oslo restaurant
January 23, 2012
UPDATED: A 73-year-old woman out eating lunch with a friend in Oslo was stabbed on Monday by an unknown assailant. Police launched a manhunt in and around the central train station (Oslo S) where the stabbing occurred and a suspect was in custody Monday evening. Police said the woman was sitting at the Egon Restaurant [...]
Terror trauma six months later
January 22, 2012
The flowers in front of the Norwegian Parliament are long gone, as they are from other impromptu memorials around the county, but Sunday marked a half-year since Norway was attacked by a home-grown right-wing terrorist. Mourning for his victims continues and survivors are calling for more help in the run-up to the trial that begins [...]
Hate-video maker held in custody
January 20, 2012
A local court in Telemark County went along with prosecutors who asked to keep a 21-year-old man in custody for at least two more weeks, with media and personal communication prohibited. The young man has admitted producing and publishing a video that threatened Norway’s crown prince, prime minister and foreign minister. Prosecutors intend to keep [...]
Intelligence chief quits under fire
January 19, 2012
Janne Kristiansen, embattled chief of Norway’s police intelligence unit PST, resigned on the spot during the night, after making a major blunder at a public hearing on Wednesday: Kristiansen revealed classified information that Norway has intelligence agents working in Pakistan. The intelligence gathering efforts in Pakistan, tied to anti-terrorism efforts, likely come as no surprise, [...]
