Prime Minister Erna Solberg was among allied government leaders invited to D-Day memorials in Portsmouth this week, because of the role exiled Nowegians played in the massive invasion 75 years ago. She said it was sad that many members of Norway’s merchant marine never received the recognition they deserved. “It’s an honour to be able […]
Police, military tied to weapon scandal
May 22, 2019
Norwegian police have revealed a fairly brisk illegal weapons trade, after finding and seizing stashes of more than 2,000 firearms believed to stem from illegal sales. Several of the nearly 70 people charged in the case so far have worked within the armed forces or the police themselves. Police for Norway’s southeastern police district in […]
Once-proud frigate set to be scrapped
May 16, 2019
It will cost more to repair the ill-fated frigate KNM Helge Ingstad than to build a new one, Norwegian defense officials have confirmed. Both the chief of Norway’s armed forces and the defense minister are now resigned to scrapping the frigate after it collided with an oil tanker last November and then sank. Attempts to […]
Norway celebrates veterans, freedom
May 8, 2019
It was perhaps ironic that a large German cruiseship would sail into Oslo early Wednesday morning, just as an historic US military vessel was sailing out. Things were different on May 8, 1945, when Norway could first celebrate its liberation from five years of Nazi German occupation during World War II, and efforts continue to […]
Spy chief candid to the bitter end
May 6, 2019
In his unusual but typically candid manner, Lt General Kjell Grandhagen told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) last December that he didn’t know how long he’d live after New Year. Terminally ill with bone marrow cancer, the highly decorated career officer and former chief of Norway’s military intelligence agency made it all through the winter, remaining […]
Norwegian defense ‘has been weakened’
April 24, 2019
Only their smiles were perhaps surprising when Norway’s defense chief, Admiral Haakon Bruun-Hanssen, presented his annual report to Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen this week. It came as no surprise when the former submarine commander had to admit that Norway’s defense was weakened by last autumn’s frigate collision, just as Russian sabre-rattling has worsened security. “The […]
Probe launched into frigate’s salvage
April 12, 2019
The Norwegian Navy’s ill-fated frigate KNM Helge Ingstad was refloated this week, just six weeks after the sunken vessel was raised from the waters of the Hjeltefjord northwest of Bergen. Members of Parliament, meanwhile, have called for an investigation into the salvage operation itself, because of concerns over how it was carried out and its […]
Labour celebrated Jens and Gro
April 8, 2019
Jens Stoltenberg had just turned 60 and addressed the US Congress, while the woman who propelled his political career and went on to lead the UN’s World Health Organization, Gro Harlem Brundtland, will turn 80 later this month. What better opportunity for the Norwegian Labour Party to hail two of its most internationally famous former […]
‘Jens’ charms Trump and NATO at 70
April 3, 2019
NEWS ANALYSIS: Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg has always been known as a likeable guy, from his years as a radical young politician through his three terms as Norway’s prime minister. Now, as secretary general of NATO, the man Norwegians still refer to simply as “Yens” has also managed to charm US President Donald Trump and thus […]
Three face blame for frigate collision
April 3, 2019
No charges have been filed yet, but the police investigation into the spectacular collision between a Norwegian frigate and an oil tanker last fall is now targeting three people. They’re all believed to have played “central roles” in the maritime drama. “These are the three who were responsible for the three entities involved,” Ole Bjørn […]
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