Embassy reaches out to its own

The Romanian Embassy in Oslo has arguably had more than its share of dealing with a less-than flattering image of its citizens in Norway. Ambassador Daniel Ionita decided it was time to instead turn the spotlight on some highly educated and successful resident countrymen, and opened up the embassy on Monday with a ceremony and [...]

Man indicted for spying on refugees

A 38-year-old man from Sudan has been indicted for allegedly spying on refugees from his homeland, and handing his information over to the Embassy of Sudan in Oslo. The information is believed to have endangered the lives of the refugees. Embassy officials have consistently denied involvement in the spying case, which led to an expulsion [...]

Iranian diplomat defects in Oslo

Another high-ranking diplomat at the Embassy of Iran in Oslo has defected, but his Norwegian lawyer won’t say why. It’s the third known defection in as many years, but the veteran diplomat involved now seems intent on maintaining a much lower profile. “He wants to remain anonymous out of consideration to himself and his family,” [...]

Ex-PST informant stirs new debate

Debate over how Norway’s police intelligence unit PST does its job has fired up again, after Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) aired a program in which a former PST informant who infiltrated extremist organizations told his story on national TV. The program included chilling tape recordings of the informant’s meetings with both PST officials and, for example, [...]

Foreign spies pressure state workers

Norway’s police intelligence unit PST (Politiets sikkerhetstjeneste) has resorted to issuing a public warning over how agents for foreign countries keep trying to extract sensitive, often classified, information from state employees. Their attempts can involve skillful nurturing of contacts, extortion or outright bribes, and they’re active in the private sector as well. PST, which released [...]

City loses embassy zoning battle

City government officials in Oslo have given up trying to get the Israeli embassy to abide by local zoning regulations. For 12 years, the city has demanded that the embassy tear down a controversial security wall around its property that violates the regulations, but the embassy refused and now city politicians just want to end [...]

Diplomats refuse to pay parking fines

Foreign embassies in Oslo currently owe the city nearly half-a-million kroner (around USD 80,000) in parking fines. Some of the fines are up to three years old, but embassy staff can claim diplomatic immunity and refuse to pay. “International law allows the embassies to ignore the fines,” Halvard Leira, a senior researcher at the Norwegian [...]

No tax amnesty for embassy agents

Eight former Norwegian police officers hired by the US Embassy in Oslo to carry out controversial surveillance on behalf of the embassy are now being hit with fines and face prison terms for failing to report their embassy income to Norwegian tax authorities. The surveillance, first revealed two years ago by TV2, set off debate [...]

Diplomat expelled in spying case

The Norwegian government has asked a diplomat at the Embassy of Sudan in Oslo to leave Norway as soon as possible, after police linked the diplomat to a man arrested earlier in the day for spying on refugees from Sudan in Norway. Sudan’s ambassador denies the embassy was involved in the alleged refugee spying. Officials [...]

Taiwan waits for a nod from Norway

Autumn is high season for diplomatic gatherings in Oslo, when local embassies host receptions or celebrate national holidays. One country is almost always left out, at other times of the year as well, but this week it held its own party once again and some “friends” from the Norwegian Parliament came with warm words of [...]

Demonstrators arrested outside Russian Embassy

Three persons were arrested after a demonstration outside the Russian Embassy in Oslo late Monday afternoon. The demonstration’s organizers hadn’t applied to the local police for permission to hold the event, which protested Russia’s treatment of the political band Pussy Riot. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that just under 20 persons took part in the demonstration [...]

Police braced for demonstrations

UPDATED: Police in Oslo took up positions around the US  and French embassies, the French school and the central square, Youngstorget, on Friday as various Muslim organizations protested what they consider to be insulting characterizations of their prophet Mohammed. US officials had warned US citizens to stay away from the area around their embassy on [...]

Diplomatic shuffle may include Solheim

Two of Norway’s most important ambassador posts, in Washington DC and Moscow, will be opening up this summer as part of routine moves within the Norwegian diplomatic corps. Former government minister Erik Solheim is among those likely to have another stab at an overseas posting, when 14 new ambassadors are named later this year. Norway’s [...]

Muslim groups plan demonstrations

Several demonstrations to protest the controversial film “Innocence of Muslims” were being planned in Oslo this week, with one of them due to take place in front of the US Embassy on Friday. Oslo police said they intended to approve the application for the embassy demonstration, but would also be on hand themselves. The film, [...]

Thai culture on the Oslo Fjord

As Oslo held its annual “Kulturnatt” (Culture Night) on Friday, with free concerts and entertainment all over town, an entirely different cultural offering was playing out on the Oslo Fjord. It was all organized by an active participant in the local diplomatic community, the Embassy of Thailand in Norway. Thai Ambassador Theerakun Niyom, who’s only [...]

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