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| Norway's military to conscript women |
| [Norwaynews] [14.06.2013, 11:15pm, Fri. GMT] |
| Norway will soon become the only country in Europe to extend its military conscription to women in peacetime, after parliament reached agreement on the issue. All of the parties represented in parliament, with the exception of the small Christian Democrat party, agreed on Friday to back a proposal by the centre-left government for a "gender neutral" military conscription. In practice, that means Norway's mandatory one-year military service will be extended to women, probably as of 2015, according to the defence ministry's proposal. |
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Norwegian Aid
| Nepal gets USD 3.6 mln from Norway |
| [Norwaynews] [29.05.2013, 05:56am, Wed. GMT] |
| The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have partnered together for a grant assistance of $3,611,350 to support the Election Commission of Nepal through UNDP’s Electoral Support Project phase II. The agreement was signed by Norwegian Ambassador Alf Arne Ramslien and UNDP Country Director, Shoko Noda, at the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) in presence of Chief Election Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety on Tuesday. |
| | | | Nobel Peace Prize laureate exhibition goes to Brussels |
| [Norwaynews] [07.05.2013, 07:00am, Tue. GMT] |
| We are delighted that the European Parliament shows our Nobel Peace Prize laureate exhibition in Brussels, and proud that the Parlamentarium is our venue. President Martin Schulz opened the exhibition in Oslo in December, and now a greater audience gets to experience it and learn about the reasons for EU being awarded the Prize”, Bente Erichsen, Executive Director at the Nobel Peace Center states. |
| | | | Colombia tops global list for internally displaced people |
| [Norwaynews] [01.05.2013, 01:17pm, Wed. GMT] |
Almost 29 million people lived in internal displacement in 2012, with 6.5 million newly displaced just in the past year, a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council suggests, according to BBC News. For the fourth year running, Colombia has the highest number of internally displaced people on the list. Globally, the total number of displaced people has risen, with the conflict in Syria blamed for much of the spike. A third of all internally displaced are in sub-Saharan Africa, the report says.
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| | | | Norway pledges USD 130mn to Afghanistan |
| [Norwaynews] [19.04.2013, 05:25am, Fri. GMT] |
| Norway’s Ambassador to Afghanistan announced that USD 130mn would be released in aid to the Afghan government during his visit to Faryab province on Wednesday. “Norwegian government will pledge an annual aid of USD 130mn to Afghanistan until 2017. Twenty percent of the aid money is allocated for the development of Faryab province,” said the Ambassador. The Ambassador said the aid money allocated for Faryab province is based on the demands of the province. He asked the governor to specify any problems presents in the projects that have been so far implemented in the province by the Norwegian government. |
| | | | Romania to receive EUR 306 mln in EEA and Norway grants by 2014 |
| [Norwaynews] [15.04.2013, 05:29pm, Mon. GMT] |
| The funding allotted to Romania in the second phase of the EEA and Norway grants program, which aims to bring the domestic economy in line with the standards of more mature EU members, has tripled to EUR 305.6 million. Romania received the second biggest allocation after Poland out of the 15 states that qualify for the grants system supported by Iceland and Liechtenstein, along with Norway, which provides 97 percent of the financing. Public authorities, private companies and NGOs are eligible for grants. |
| | | | Norway to support Tanzanian rural energy fund |
| [Norwaynews] [12.04.2013, 04:37pm, Fri. GMT] |
| Norwegian Minister of International Development Heikki Holmås has announced that Norway and Tanzania have signed an agreement under which Norway will provide NOK 700 million over a four-year period. This funding will be channelled to a rural energy fund in Tanzania that will give people in rural areas access to electricity. “Access to electricity is essential for reducing poverty and generating economic growth. Providing electricity in rural areas is a way of giving the majority of the population in Tanzania the freedom to choose not to use paraffin, diesel and other less reliable energy sources that are damaging to health. |
| | | | UNDP, Norway to improve India's healthcare services |
| [Norwaynews] [23.03.2013, 06:00am, Sat. GMT] |
| UNDP and the Norwegian government have signed an agreement to continue an initiative to reduce maternal and infant mortality in 13 districts in four Indian states. Selected interventions under the five-year Norway India Partnership Agreement Initiative (NIPI) will also be made in several other states, including Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Jharkhand, a Norwegian embassy statement said Friday. |
| | | | Norway To Assist Afghanistan In Training, Equipping National Police |
| [Norwaynews] [02.03.2013, 06:54am, Sat. GMT] |
| The Norwegian ambassador to Afghanistan in meeting with interior minister General Ghulam Mujtaba Patang here yesterday assured his country would continue to support Afghanistan in giving training and equipping the national police, press office of interior ministry said. In the meeting, the interior minister thanked Norway for its support to Afghanistan over the past decade. |
| | | | Norway disburses budget support to Palestine |
| [Norwaynews] [23.02.2013, 03:56pm, Sat. GMT] |
“Norway is disbursing the whole amount of its budget support to Palestine for 2013 now because Palestinian public sector employees urgently need to be paid again,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide. Norway’s support is helping to provide education, health services and security to the Palestinian people. The budget support provided by Norway, which amounts to USD 43 million, will be used to build and run public institutions in Palestine. These funds are channelled through the World Bank, which ensures that they are used in accordance with the Palestinians’ own development and reform plans, as well as the World Bank’s strict requirements.
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| | | | PACE delegation to arrive in Armenia |
| [Norwaynews] [17.02.2013, 08:09pm, Sun. GMT] |
| A PACE delegation comprising 31 members and led by Norwegian Deputy Karin Woldseth will make a visit to Armenia on February 16-19 to carry out an observation mission at the presidential election on February 18, Armenia Today said. The observation mission will be carried out jointly with OSCE ODIHR observers. At the request of the Venice Commission, the PACE delegation will provide legal assistance in the framework of the observation mission. |
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| Lack Of Funds: NRC To Leave |
| [Norwaynews] [09.05.2013, 05:59pm, Thu. GMT] |
| The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is to leave Sri Lanka by June this year owing to funding constraints, the humanitarian agency said. The Secretary General of NRC, Ms Toril Brekke will be visiting Sri Lanka this week to host a farewell function. The Norwegian Refugee Council has been engaged in humanitarian activities in Sri Lanka since 2004 providing assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Southern, North-Western, Northern and Eastern Provinces in Sri Lanka. Within this broader framework, two programmes now remain in Sri Lanka: Shelter and ICLA. |
| | | | Norway to give additional NOK 100 million to help Syrian refugees |
| [Norwaynews] [04.05.2013, 05:56pm, Sat. GMT] |
“The refugee crisis in Syria is on its way to becoming the worst since the Second World War. The Government is therefore increasing Norway’s assistance by NOK 100 million,” announced Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide. The humanitarian situation in Syria and its neighbouring countries is become becoming more serious than the worst prognoses at the beginning of the year.
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| | | | Norway provides NOK 240 million to efforts to eradicate polio |
| [Norwaynews] [25.04.2013, 03:58pm, Thu. GMT] |
Polio can be eradicated within the space of five to six years. Norway is to increase its level of support for efforts to eradicate polio by NOK 190 million, to NOK 240 million (USD 40 million). “I am pleased to announce that the Norwegian Government is proceeding with plans to support the new polio eradication plan by providing an allocation of NOK 240 million in 2014. We intend to continue our strong support for this important initiative for a further five years,” Minister of International Development Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås said.
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| | | | Norway allocates NOK 700 million to Tanzanian rural energy fund |
| [Norwaynews] [15.04.2013, 05:30pm, Mon. GMT] |
Norway and Tanzania have signed an agreement under which Norway will provide NOK 700 million to Tanzania over a four-year period. This funding will be channelled to a rural energy fund in Tanzania that will give people in rural areas access to electricity. “Access to electricity is essential for reducing poverty and generating economic growth. Providing electricity in rural areas is a way of giving the majority of the population in Tanzania the freedom to choose not to use paraffin, diesel and other less reliable energy sources that are damaging to health.
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| | | | Norway-funded project comes to farmers’ aid in Tamil Nadu |
| [Norwaynews] [12.04.2013, 04:57pm, Fri. GMT] |
| The Clima Adapt Project funded by Norway, will benefit 1,000 to 1,500 farmers in seven villages of the Ponnaniar Basin, Tamil Nadu in India. V. Geethalakshmi and A. Lakshmanan, scientists of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, accompanying a team of Norwegian officials and engineers visiting the basin on Thursday, said Norway had extended Rs.10 crore for benefiting Ponnaniar Basin and Kalingarayaan Canal basin, both of the Cauvery. The project, which focuses on adaptation to climate change by the farmers tilling 2,100 acres of land in Ponnaniar Basin, is aimed at economising water usage and improving productivity. Similar programme is in progress in the Krishna Basin of Andhra Pradesh. |
| | | | Norway to participate in Darfur donor conference |
| [Norwaynews] [04.04.2013, 07:31pm, Thu. GMT] |
| Norway and Sweden will attend Darfur donors conference scheduled to take place this week in the Qatari capital Doha on 7 and 8 April. Tadjadine Bechir Niam, Minister of Reconstruction, Development and Infrastructure in Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), led a delegation to the two Scandinavian countries to brief them about the International Donor Conference for Reconstruction and Development in Darfur (IDCRDD), and to invite them to participate. |
| | | | Want more investments in developing nations |
| [Norwaynews] [06.03.2013, 08:35pm, Wed. GMT] |
| The Norwegian Church Aid hopes that the Norwegian National Oil Fund to a greater degree will invest in developing nations, where some of the world's fastest growing economies are found. The developing nations constitute 13 per cent of the World economy, Aftenposten writes. Despite this, the Oil Fund has adopted a wait and see attitude, in the opinion of Norwegian Church Aid. |
| | | | Guyanese Indian communities to receive Norway aid |
| [Norwaynews] [02.03.2013, 06:15am, Sat. GMT] |
| Indian communities in Guyana's interior Amazon region are slated to receive $5 million in aid from Norway to launch environmentally friendly businesses. The funds are part of a $250 million payment that Norway has pledged to give the South American country for protecting its Amazonian rainforest. The finance ministry said in a statement late Thursday that low-carbon-emission projects would get priority. |
| | | | Norway cuts off $2.7m environmental aid to Tanzania |
| [Norwaynews] [18.02.2013, 06:08pm, Mon. GMT] |
| The Norwegian Embassy in Dar es Salaam has stopped disbursing $2.7million (about Sh4.3billion) to a local conservation organisation over failure to observe an agreed work plan. The embassy entered a $3.9 million (about Sh6.2billion) contract with the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST) to implement a pilot project called REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) in the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi forest reserves. The four-year REDD project started in February 2011 and was intended to reduce deforestation and reduce carbon dioxide by improving carbon stocks through forest conservation in the two forest reserves located on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam City. |
| | | | Cancellation of all Guinea’s debt |
| [Norwaynews] [16.02.2013, 01:43am, Sat. GMT] |
The Norwegian Government has decided to cancel all Guinea’s debt to Norway, which amounts to around NOK 100 million (USD 17.2 million). Minister of International Development Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås commented, “In August last year, we cancelled NOK 42 million of Guinea’s debt to Norway. I am glad that we can now cancel the rest. This means that this West African country can now use more of its income on schools and public health services without the heavy burden of debt.”
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Special Interest
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Akershus
