Russia: US will send ships to Norway

A Russian diplomat has claimed that American authorities are hoping to place warships in Norwegian waters as part of the planned NATO missile defense system. The Russian ambassador to NATO, Dmitrij Rogozin, told news agency NTB that “when I talked with my American colleagues, they did not rule out the possibility of placing missile defense [...]

Ex-Labour leaders deny halting book

Former leaders of Norway’s Labour Party, including current Council of Europe leader Thorbjørn Jagland, flatly deny a report in newspaper Dagbladet over the weekend that they tried to halt publication of a book in the UK that allegedly exposed two more Norwegian spies for the Soviet Union. Both of the alleged spies reportedly had ties [...]

Russia admits nuclear weaknesses

Russia’s atomic energy agency Rosatom has admitted that Russia’s nuclear power plants are seriously underprepared to deal with a natural disaster on the scale of the recent earthquake in Japan – confirming Norwegian fears over northern Russian power stations considered a threat to Norway. Newspaper Aftenposten reported over the weekend that a report authored by [...]

Smooth sailing for Norway and Russia

Relations seem better than ever between Norway and Russia, following a few recent conflicts over salmon imports, human rights, business trouble for Telenor and Russian fighter jets buzzing the coast. Now the two countries seem to think it’s in both their interests to promote peace and harmony, and not only in the northern areas they [...]

Russian extremists have police photos

Photographs of 82 men that appear to be taken by the Norwegian police and would only be accessible to police officers have been published on an extreme Russian nationalist website, which claims that the men are anti-fascist activists and threatens violence against them. The pictures, which have appeared during the past two weeks, are alleged [...]

Chernobyl fallout still felt in Norway

Fallout from the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant continues to affect Norwegian farmers 25 years later, as environmental organizations demanded that the government do more to help efforts to secure remaining vulnerable reactors in both Chernobyl and northern Russia. Emissions of radioactive material from the Ukrainian nuclear facility began on April 26 1986, [...]

Amelie could be safe in Ossetia

North Ossetia, the republic in the Caucasus where Norway’s award-winning illegal alien Maria Amelie was born, was dominated by criminal organizations in the 1990s. According to people who know the country well, the situation is much different today and Amelie could be sent back safely. During the 1990s the Russian government had relinquished power in [...]

Visa-free zone for Norway and Russia

Norway’s border with Russia opened up, at least a bit, this week when the two countries agreed on a visa-free zone that will allow residents on both sides of the border to cross it more easily. Residents can apply for a so-called grenseboerbevis (border traffic permit) that Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said will “significantly [...]

Georgia de-mined with Norwegian aid

Jonathon Guthrie (R), a program manager of Norwegian People’s Aid, and Norwegian ambassador to Georgia Jon Ramberg hold a button to detonate the last cluster of munitions found near the Georgian and South Ossetian de facto border in the village of Variani, some 100 km (68 miles) northwest of Tbilisi June 22. Non-governmental organization Norwegian [...]

Statoil still keen to drill off Lofoten

Statoil’s chief executive, Helge Lund, still wants to pursue oil and gas exploration off the coast of Lofoten and Vesterålen, even after other opportunities have opened up in the Barents Sea. Agreement on a new Barents border with Russia isn’t diverting Statoil’s attention from its controversial Lofoten plans. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) caught up with [...]

Power struggle threatens critical polar research

Norway managed to settle a 40-year-old conflict with Russia this week over their Arctic areas, but two Norwegian government ministries reportedly can’t agree themselves on funding for a new vessel needed for critical research in the same area. The power struggle deeply worries the researchers. The head of Norsk Polarinstitutt (The Norwegian Polar Institute) took the [...]

Human rights activists disappointed

Human rights activists from around the world have gathered in Oslo this week for a conference that’s partially financed by Norway’s Foreign Ministry. No high-ranking ministry officials turned up for the opening, however, and that disappointed participants and organizers. The Oslo Freedom Forum conference, organized by Human Rights Foundation and conservative think tank Civita, collided [...]

Condom art moved to prevent offense

Military brass at Norway’s Defense Museum in Oslo didn’t want to risk offending Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his wife Svetlana when they came to visit this week. A controversial artwork involving a giant condom was discreetly removed from outside the museum before they came to call. The artwork had raised eyebrows among many Norwegians [...]

Border pact can ease Lofoten pressure

Norway’s new border agreement with Russia in the Arctic was still drawing rave reviews on Wednesday, and being hailed as a major breakthrough. Some experts also think it may ease the pressure to open up the seas off scenic Lofoten to oil exploration, as oil firms may be more keen to search for oil and [...]

‘Historic’ pact yields ‘huge’ promise

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s state visit was being called “historic” as it wound down on Tuesday, as was the surprise settlement of a longtime border dispute in the Barents and Arctic seas. The new agreement can lead to “huge” new “possibilities” in the northern areas, claimed Norway’s cabinet minister for business and trade. The agreement [...]

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