Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is on Tuesday visiting India, where he will have bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Krishna, Trade Minister Sharma and the National Security Adviser, Mr. Menon. The Norwegian Foreign Minister will also meet with representatives for Norwegian business and industry in India. Støre will also speak at a seminar on maritime security arranged by the Institute for Defence Studies and the Institute for Defence and Strategic Analyses.

Two  nine-year-old Norwegian girls playing on slippery coastal rocks  near Kristiansund in Norway fell into the sea on Sunday. Both were found, but died later at the local hospital. Hospital officials tried to resuscitate the girls, one of whom was believed to have been in the ice-cold water for around an hour, but gave up efforts late Sunday night. The girls reportedly were playing on the large rocks, called svaberg, that slope into the sea at a park area at Karihola, north of the city on Norway’s northwest coast.

Norway announced on Wednesday an Iranian diplomat had been asked to leave the Nordic country after Iran had ordered a Norwegian diplomat to leave Tehran. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said in a statement the Norwegian ambassador to Iran was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry and handed an official note on Feb. 24 to protest Norway's decision to grant asylum to a former Iranian diplomat, Mohammed Reza Heydari, and an unnamed Norwegian diplomat was ordered to leave Iran.

General Sarath Fonseka will face immediate court martial for treason and he can be jailed for up to five years, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in an interview published today. Sri Lanka’s former army chief Sarath Fonseka will face immediate court martial for treason and he can be jailed for up to five years, the country’s Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in an interview published Thursday. Rajapaksa, a brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, also told Singapore’s Straits Times that Fonseka had planned to impose military rule and his candidature in the presidential election that he lost was backed by the US and Norway.

The Prime Minister of the Royal Kingdom of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg congratulated President Mahinda Rajapaksa on his re- election at the Presidential election. Norway is prepared to work closely with Sri Lanka in addressing issues of mutual concern, at both bilateral and multilateral levels, stated Prime Minister Stoltenberg.

Filmmakers Sasi Kumar, Samuthirakkani and SP Jananathan cordially inaugurated the Norway Tamil Film Festival in Norway. This film festival was organized by Moser Baer in collaboration with Tamil Community in Norway and showcased wide range of Tamil movies that captured the global interest. Director Sasikumar’s Subramaniapuram and Pasanga, Nadodigal, Director Mysskin’s Nandalala and Anjathey, Director SP. Jananathan’s Ee and Peranmai, Director Sasi’s POO, Director Jagannath’s Raman Thediya Seethai, Director Rasu Madhuravan’s Mayandi Kudumbathar and Ameer’s Yogi were screened during this festival.

The Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri has asked that diplomats at the Norwegian embassy in Rabat be questioned and prosecuted, in connection with their alleged role in the Skah child custody case. Norway has broken diplomatic protocol, ethical guidelines and damaged the friendship between our two countries, the Moroccan Foreign Minister said at a press briefing Wednesday.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store has expressed concern about large quantities of tactical nuclear weapons stockpiled in the world, in Russia in particular.  The United States and Russia are holding talks on strategic arms and Norway hopes for their major reduction, he said on Ekho Moskvy radio on Wednesday. Such countries as Norway, Sweden, Poland and others are also concerned about the large quantities of tactical nuclear weapons.