Embassy ‘regrets the disruptions’
August 1, 2012
The US Embassy in Oslo issued a brief statement Tuesday night in which officials regretted setting off a bomb scare earlier in the day that paralyzed a large area of the Norwegian capital. The statement did not address what local police have called the “human error” behind what turned out to be a false alarm, [...]
City leader expects embassy apology
July 31, 2012
The head of Oslo’s city government said he expects officials at the US Embassy to apologize for setting off a bomb scare and major emergency operation on Tuesday. Stian Berger Røsland also thinks some compensation should be offered. “If sloppiness at the USAs embassy is the reason for today’s drama in Oslo, it must be [...]
Embassy sparked own bomb scare
July 31, 2012
UPDATED: An almost eerie quiet descended on the area around the US Embassy in Oslo on Tuesday, as police dealt with what they feared was a bomb found under a nearby car. Now there may be some noise, after police indicated the bomb scare was sparked by the embassy itself. A major emergency response to [...]
Area evacuated around US Embassy
July 31, 2012
Police and royal guards evacuated the area around the US Embassy and the adjacent Royal Palace in Oslo on Tuesday, after finding “a suspicious object” underneath a car parked near the embassy. A police helicopter hovered overhead, around an hour after the first alarm came in. Police launched a major operation around midday and were [...]
Politician-turned-diplomat finally gets visa to India
July 27, 2012
Abid Raja, a lawyer and former reserve Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party, can finally take up a new job at the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi after encountering a lengthy delay in obtaining a visa from India. Raja, who started working for Norway’s Foreign Ministry last year, was supposed to move with his family [...]
Israel sends ‘unconventional’ envoy
June 8, 2012
After years of tensions between Israel and Norway, the Israeli government has responded by sending a new ambassador to Oslo who’s a non-Jewish professor and poet of Arab background. Naim Araidi has told Israeli media that he’s looking forward to his new assignment. Oslo newspaper Dagsavisen reported on Friday that Araidi believes both he and his new [...]
Construction begins on new US Embassy
May 17, 2012
After years of controversy and delays, construction has finally begun on a new US Embassy in Oslo. The embassy’s prospective neighbours still aren’t happy, but their appeals process has all but run out. Mayor Fabian Stang and US Ambassador Barry White symbolically broke ground this week on the new embassy site at Huseby, northwest of [...]
Embassy closure sends ‘a political signal’ to Syria
March 26, 2012
Norway shut its embassy in Syria on Monday in a move mostly based on security reasons but also, according to Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, as an indirect political signal to the regime in Damascus. “When we say that we find it unsafe to be there, that we’re pulling out our people because it’s not [...]
Talks continued in child welfare case
January 26, 2012
Norwegian authorities confirmed that negotiations were continuing to find a solution in a child welfare case that’s sparked international media attention, but said no agreement had been reached or affirmed by the court involved. The case involves two small children, both citizens of India, who were taken from their parents’ home in Stavanger and placed [...]
Støre involved in child welfare case
January 24, 2012
Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has taken the unusual move of involving himself in a child welfare case involving a family from India, after it sparked international media coverage over the weekend and allegations of cultural prejudice. Both Støre and officials at Noway’s child protection agency Barnevernet insist no prejudice or misunderstandings are involved. The [...]
Locals react to embassy’s crime warning
January 18, 2012
A warning about recent violent assaults in Oslo that was sent out this week by the US Embassy to resident American citizens hasn’t been particularly well-received by local Norwegians. Several claim the embassy has over-reacted, and that crime in Oslo is no worse than in most American cities and towns. The warning, called a “Personal [...]
Children’s book upsets ambassador
December 5, 2011
Israel’s ambassador to Norway is so upset over the content of a Norwegian children’s book, and its pending distribution in state libraries, that he’s warned the Norwegian government it could affect future cooperation between the two countries. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported over the weekend that Ambassador Michael Eligal sent a letter to Norway’s government [...]
Embassy warns of demonstration
November 18, 2011
The US Embassy in Oslo was warning US citizens to stay away from certain areas in the Frogner area of the Norwegian capital on Saturday, because of a planned demonstration in the early afternoon. Embassy officials, in what they called an “emergency message to American Citizens” sent to those registered with the embassy, said they’d [...]
Bhatti thrown out of terror trial
November 18, 2011
Arfan Bhatti, the first Norwegian to be indicted but later acquitted of terrorist charges, showed up on Friday in the Oslo courtroom where three other men are defending themselves against similar charges. The judge evicted Bhatti, who then allegedly threatened a TV2 photographer. Now TV2 may file charges against Bhatti. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that [...]
State visit ended with diplomatic spat
September 16, 2011
A recent state visit to Norway ended on a sour note, when South Africa’s foreign minister refused to submit to routine security controls at Oslo’s main airport at Gardermoen. After a loud verbal quarrel with airport security personnel, she ended up chartering a private jet, which allowed her to avoid having her purse examined. Maite [...]
