Thursday, February 19, 2026
Africa and Norway

Beef exporter receives $7 million boost from Norfund

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) has announced an investment of $7.4 million in Verde Beef Processing PLC, an Ethiopian beef producer.

 

The capital provided by Norfund will help VBP become the largest cattle processing operation in Eastern Africa by enabling the construction of a state of the art abattoir and meat processing facility – currently underway – and also fund working capital for the business. Norfund will work alongside 8 Miles – a UK based pan-African private equity fund – who made an initial investment into VBP in November 2015.

Verde Beef Processing PLC (VBP) is an integrated beef producer that undertakes feed production and feedlotting activities. The company produces premium beef and aims to become the largest cattle processing operation in Eastern Africa with a target output of more than 130,000 carcasses per year.

VBP has a significant cost advantage over its international competition, and is expanding its feedlot operation in Ethiopia to capitalize on this; producing high-quality beef for export and local markets.

Ethiopia’s geographical positioning combined with its livestock population, the largest in Africa and the fifth largest in the world, position the country perfectly as a potential provider of meat to the rapidly expanding markets of the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA).

The beef farm is located in the Adami Tulu district of the Oromia regional state, Ziway Ethiopia, close to the new railway line to Djibouti. The company is part of the agricultural transformation in Ethiopia, and has been instrumental in the development of the surrounding community through purchase of bull calves and inputs for feed.

The company has todate created over 400 jobs directly on the farm with the upgraded skills needed for competing in the global beef market. In addition, more than 3500 jobs have been created indirectly through local sourcing of calves and feed inputs.

As the company expands, these numbers will grow, and is anticipated to reach 2000 employees and supporting over 50,000 livelihoods when the company reaches full operation. VBP also supports the Ethiopian economy by creating a premium product with local resources, which is then exported, generating much needed foreign currency.

Commenting on the announcement, Scott Friesen, Chairman and Co-founder of Verde Beef Processing PLC said: “We’re excited about the partnership with Norfund which will enable us to provide incomes to thousands more families annually, generate USD 18 million of revenues in 2018, reach an export value of USD 100 million annually by 2021, and further develop the important meat sector in Ethiopia. Verde Beef is a critical project that is aligned with the Ethiopian government’s focus on job creation, increasing exports and introducing improvements to the agricultural sector.”

Managing Director of Norfund Mr. Kjell Roland added: “This is our first direct investment in Ethiopia, and Norfund is delighted to contribute to Ethiopia’s growth and export through Verde Beef” adding that “this investment is focused on employment creation and export and fits very well with our strategy to contribute to sustainable enterprises and economic development in Africa.”

Ethiopia is the second largest country in Africa in terms of population. Although the country has undergone significant economic and social changes and has recorded some of the highest growth rates in the world in recent years, Ethiopia still ranks 173rd out of 186 countries on the United Nations Development Programmes Human Development Index.

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Norwegian Aid

Norway interested in academic cooperation with Cuba in health

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

A delegation of professionals from the University of Applied Sciences of Norway visited the University of Medical Sciences of Havana (UCMH) in order to develop research and joint academic cooperation, especially in Masters and PhDs.

Dr. Nidia Márquez Morales, vice chancellor of the institution, and Professor María Elena Fernández, director of International Relations, explained to the visitors everything related to medical education in Cuba, with education at workplaces and prevention as basic principles.

All this endorsed by the regulatory agency of the quality of teaching in Cuba that certifies the level of the training processes in pre and postgraduate courses.

The delegation of Norwegian professionals is in Cuba since April 19. They were interested in knowing the characteristics of human resources training for health, especially in the specialties of nursing and health technologies and in the ways to strengthen cooperation by exploring opportunities at Master’s level and joint research.

They also discussed the possibilities of developing proposals for bilateral projects and finding financing for research, academic cooperation and mobility of students and staff in both directions, says Cosme Moré, Head of Outreach and Information at UCMH.

Composed by the teacher Monica Wammen Nortvedt, dean of the Faculty of Social Science and Health; Britt Viola Danielsen, head of the Department of Nursing; Bjort Hafslund, at the head of the Department of Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and X-ray; Among others, the Norwegian professionals will stay in Cuba until next April 29.

(ACN)

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Crimes

Norwegian man caught stealing iPhone

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

A Norwegian national has been caught stealing the mobile phone of a Saudi Arabian national at national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia’s Business Lounge in Terminal 2 of International Airport Soekarno-Hatta.

“The thief is Erik Berger, a Norwegian. The incident occurred at 11.30 a.m. [on Sunday],” said Soekarno-Hatta Indonesia police spokesperson Second Insp. Prayogo as quoted by media.

He added that Erik stole the mobile phone, an iPhone 6 plus, after it was left on a business lounge sofa by Al Sehari Sultan Wazi. Sultan, who had gotten up to get some food while waiting for his flight to Jeddah.

Upon returning to his seat, Sultan realized his mobile phone was missing and reported it to lounge staffers.

However, because his flight was about to take off, Sultan decided to board his plane and asked Garuda Indonesia to return his phone to him once it was found.

CCTV footage showed Berger, who was scheduled to fly to Bangkok at 4.50 p.m., taking Sultan’s phone.

Prayogo said Berger admitted to the theft and was allowed to board his flight to Bangkok as scheduled after making a statement letter.

Meanwhile, the stolen iPhone was returned to its rightful owner by Garuda Indonesia crew on a flight from Jakarta to Jeddah at 4.50 p.m.

(wnd)

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Asia and Norway

Iran, Norway agree on petrochemical cooperation

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Petrochemical Research and Technology Company (PRTC) of Iran signed an agreement on development of polypropylene technology and the relevant catalyst with Norwegian Company of Norner.

 

The agreement was signed on Sunday by Managing Director of PRTC Esmaeil Qanbari and Director of Business Development of Norner Company Lars H. Evensen on the sidelines of the 13th International Conference on Iran Petrochemical Industry.

In the signing ceremony, Qanbari said that to promote downstream and supplementary industries of petrochemical industry in Iran and compensating shortages of propylene in the next 10 years, National Petrochemical Company (NPC) function would be propylene-oriented.

He reminded that past year polypropylene unit with capacity of 2,400 tons was launched in Arak and for the first time its catalyst was successfully tested with indigenous know-how.

Qanbari said nominal capacity of polypropylene production in Iran was close to 965,000 tons until 1392 (2013), and added that increasing the capacity to 4 million tons in the sixth development plan and 8 million tons until the end of seventh development plan indicates the necessity to achieve indigenous know-how to produce this material for future plans.

He said that duration for the signed agreement with Norwegian company is 10 years.

Low investment, high employment and more value-added are among the most important peculiarities of downstream or supplementary sectors of petrochemical industry, which is so important for investors and industrial policy-makers.

Petrochemical industry production capacity in Iran is 62 million tons annually which is to increase to 72 million tons until the end of this year considering post-JCPOA era.

(IRNA)

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Economics

Skanska wins Oslo tunnel scheme

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Skanska is to renovate two road tunnels in Oslo on behalf of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

The NOK516m (£47.5m) contract covers upgrades to the Ekeberg and Svartdal tunnels on the E6/E18.

The project consists mainly of electrical work, fire protection and an improved cleaning solution for water from the tunnels. In addition, new service buildings will be built, evacuation routes will be upgraded, a new layer of asphalt will be added and all signs will be replaced.

The work will largely take place at night time in order to minimise the impact on traffic.

Renovation will begin this summer for completion before summer 2019.

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Defence

Inside the World’s First All-Female Special Forces Unit: Norway’s Jegertroppen

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

An explosion just a few feet away rocks the unmarked station wagon as it travels along a dirt road in the Norwegian woodland.

Immediately, two soldiers jump from their front seats and run for cover behind the carcass of an old, rusty tank. Firing their weapons at targets along the snow-covered hillside, they call for support from the rest of their unit.

This firefight is just a drill, but the soldiers taking part are battling to break down one of the final barriers to women serving in the armed forces. They are training to become part of Norway’s Jegertroppen or “Hunter Troops” — the world’s first all-female military special forces unit.

More than a year after the U.S. Department of Defense repealed a longtime ban on women serving in ground combat assignments, relatively few have been trained or assigned to these jobs in the U.S. military.

Norway has moved a lot faster to break down military gender barriers. Its parliament introduced legislation in the 1980s that opened up all military roles to women. Last year, Norway became the first NATO country to introduce female conscription.

But the introduction of the all-female special forces unit in 2014 raised the profile of women in the Norwegian military the most.

The unit was started after Norway’s Armed Forces’ Special Command saw an increased need for female special operations soldiers — particularly in places like Afghanistan where male troops were forbidden from communicating with women. The exclusion of half the population was having a detrimental impact on intelligence gathering and building community relations.

“When [Norway] deployed to Afghanistan we saw that we needed female soldiers. Both as female advisers for the Afghan special police unit that we mentored, but also when we did an arrest,” said Col. Frode Kristofferson, the commander of Norway’s special forces. “We needed female soldiers to take care of the women and children in the buildings that we searched.”

So they created the all-female unit specifically designed to train them.

“One of the advantages that we see with an all-female unit is that we can have a tailored program and a tailored selection for the female operators,” Kristofferson said, adding that at the end of the one-year program the female soldiers are just as capable as their male counterparts.

One of the unit’s members, 22-year-old Tonje, said the unit is proof that women can do the same job as men, even in the male-dominated world of the military.

“We’re carrying the same weight in the backpack as the boys,” said Tonje, who did not provide her full name due to the unit’s rules. “We do the same tasks.”

Those tasks at Terningmoen Camp, about 100 miles north of Oslo, include parachuting out of military aircraft, skiing in the Arctic tundra, navigating the wilderness and fighting in urban terrain.

She added that the weapon, backpack and other gear she carries on long marches, weighs over 100 pounds.

“I’m the smallest, so I carry as much weight as I myself weigh,” she said.

To qualify for the Jegertroppen, applicants have to run about four miles carrying 60 pounds of military gear in under 52 minutes. That’s just three minutes less than their male counterparts who have to do the same thing in under 49 minutes.

Tonje, who grew up in a town of about 30,000, said she has been interested military service since she was a child. “And I knew that I wanted to do the toughest thing I could do in the military,” she said. “When the Jegertroppen came up as an option, it felt like it was made for me.”

Three years into the all-female program, the Norwegian military is already counting it as a success.

“We have them available when we need the female soldiers in operations abroad,” Kristofferson said.

During a break from the training drills, while the unit relaxed around a campfire, 20-year-old Mari explained that she joined the military to follow in her grandfather’s and father’s footsteps.

“If I’m needed, I think that it would be a great opportunity to both serve my country and also to be able to contribute positively in a very masculine environment,” she said. “With the skills that we get this year, I think that we definitely can continue to build on them and become very good soldiers, maybe just as good as the boys.”

Commanders say the all-female unit is already on its way. At a recent exercise, one of the female soldiers shot better than some of the men in the elite platoon, Capt. Ole Vidar, the officer leading the training program, said. He added that the female unit has also shown a stronger sense of solidarity among its members.

“The boys see that the girls help each other, so the boys are doing better on that as well,” said Vidar.

He added that despite some skepticism at first, the program has been an instant success with over 300 applicants in the first year alone. And the entry requirements have already been raised.

“Girls come better prepared than before,” said Vidar.

(nbcnews)

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Environment

12,000 tonnes of rock from Norway will be used to build new £1.5m flood defences at seaside

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Work is about to start on £1.5 million of flood defences to replace a century-old structure on the North Promenade in Cleethorpes.

Nearly 12,000 tonnes of rock will be delivered from Norway for the work – each rock size being up to four tonnes in weight.

The Environment Agency has secured £1.5 million to replace the the timber breakwater at the northern end of the North Promenade, next to Wonderland.

The area was left devastated by floods in 1953, when storms battered the Lincolnshire coast, destroying 24,000 homes.

Wonderland and the promenade were left in tatters, with wooden structures turned into matchsticks by the fierce storm and the Arcadia swept away.

Work will now start on Monday, April 24, to replace the existing timber groyne with a Y-shaped groyne made from rocks.

Officials say this is the most effective shape for the tidal movements around the area and is the most cost-efficient in terms of long-term maintenance.

The new groyne will be half the length of the existing one, which will be refurbished as part of the scheme, and the work will take about 10 weeks to complete.

The groyne plays an important role in maintaining sand levels on the beach to reduce the impact of the waves on the sea walls, protecting this area of Cleethorpes from flooding.

Councillor Dave Watson, portfolio holder for the environment, said: “The 100-year-old groyne has come to the end of its natural life and is due for replacement.

“The new groyne is the most cost-efficient in terms of construction and on-going maintenance and additionally has been designed to re-establish the sand levels in this area.”

The remaining groynes between Wonderland and the Pier will also be partially refurbished as part of this project, with new timbers installed to prolong the groynes’ residual life.

(grimsbytelegraph)

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Economics

Norway to invest $500 million in solar feed-in tariff program in Egypt

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The Norwegian company Scatec Solar will push $500 million worth of new investments into the Egyptian market in October, according to a statement issued by the International Cooperation Ministry after minister Sahar Nasr met with Morten Langsholdt, the regional director of the company, on Tuesday to discuss the company’s plan for increasing investments in Egypt.

According to the ministry, Langsholdt informed Nasr that Scatec Solar, in cooperation with several investors, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation, will pump $3 billion worth of investments into Egypt through the solar feed-in tariff program.

The company will invest $500 million in October within its plan to establish 40 solar energy stations in Benban, Aswan. This project will be concluded by 2018, producing 1800 megawatts, the statement said.

Nasr welcomed the company’s investments in Egypt, particularly in the field of solar energy, indicating the government’s growing interest in taking advantage of Egypt’s solar energy resources to produce electricity and thus diversify the country’s energy sources.

Egypt seeks to increase its share of renewable energy to 22 percent of the total energy consumption by 2020.

Langsholdt said Egypt enjoys a wide range of solar energy resources and has huge capabilities for wind energy, which makes the company interested in investing in renewable energy.

Nasr said providing the necessary measures to attract investors is at the top of her priorities, in order to boost the economy and reach targeted growth rates.

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Environment

Norway and Sweden come to certificates agreement

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The Swedish and Norwegian governments have come to an agreement allowing the former to extend its renewable energy target to 18TWh by 2030.

Norway and Sweden have been operating a common market for electricity certificates since 2012; however, this has caused somecomplaints of an uneven playing field.

Last year, Sweden’s political parties agreed a long-term strategy to develop a 100% renewable energy system by 2040. To do this, it proposed an increase in the renewable target, something Norway did not want to do.

This had caused uncertainty in the sector, which the Norwegian Wind Energy Association (NORWEA) said had affected energy prices in the country.

A new deal between the two countries has been reached, which will allow Sweden to increase its quota to 18TWh by 2030. Currently, the common market is targeting 28.4TWh of renewable energy by 2020, with Sweden aiming for 15.2TWh, and Norway providing 13.2TWh towards the target.

Norway will retain the target from the original agreement, even though Sweden is increasing its aim. In April 2016, the Norwegain government unveiled plans to end its certificate system from 2021, which NORWEA criticised as being “premature”.

Under the new agreement, Sweden will also devise a “stop mechanism” which will set a limit on when new projects can qualify for the scheme once the target has been reached.

“We have been through a period of great insecurity, which has reflected on prices in recent weeks. The provisions in today’s agreement as well as a constructive effort to enact the agreement, should ensure that we land on an even keel before summer,” said NORWEA.

Despite not increasing its target, Norway has pledged to increase support for renewable energy. In early April, the government proposed doubling funding to NOK 1 billion (€109.7 million) by 2019.

(windpowermonthly)

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Asia and Norway

Norwegian Pakistani woman tortured at Islamabad airport

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

A female Pakistani immigration officer of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was caught on camera torturing a Norwegian lady over a petty issue at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Saturday morning.

According to reports, Norwegian national Haseena Begum had to board a plane to Norway at Benazir Bhutto airport along with her daughter Fouzia and Fatima Umer.

In an interview to Express Tribune, Haseena detailed that the flight had to take off at 12:45 pm and prior to that her daughter Fouzia Umer went to the restroom after obtaining her boarding cards and handing over luggage. As she came out of the restroom, Fouzia asked for some toilet papers from a female airport staff.

‘The request angered the FIA officer Noshila, who replied that she was from the immigration department and had nothing to do with the availability of toilet papers that was apparently a menial job of cleaners’ Haseena said.

Responding to the somewhat rude reply of the immigration official, Fouzia asked her not to misbehave with travellers. The two engaged in a verbal spat after this.

Haseena claimed that Noshila allegedly threatened that she would not let them head to Norway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtVsZTQhN7g&feature=youtu.be

‘As we stood in the queue for our immigration clearance, the FIA woman came and snatched our passports and boarding cards. She tore the boarding cards,’ Haseena claimed.

She added that as her daughter resisted, Noshila with help of two other female officials dragged her daughter to a room where they allegedly tortured her. Eyewitnesses claimed that the passengers and FIA officials also allegedly slapped each other.

Sensing the heat, FIA staff and the Airport Security Force intervened and rescued Fouzia and handed the women over to Airport police.

Fouzia, who had received minor injuries to her head and neck during the brawl with FIA officials, was given first aid by the Civil Aviation Authority and then was to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital for treatment.

As news of the incident made waves across the country, the FIA immigration department released a statement claiming that the three female passengers had misbehaved with one of their staff.

Moreover, FIA Rawalpindi Zone Director launched an inquiry into the incident whereas Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar taking notice of the incident sought a report about the incident.

Later at BBH Khalid Umer, Fouzia’s father, told the newsmen that he would appeal to Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar to look into the shameful incident.

Being a Norwegian national, Umer said, he would also take up the issue with Norwegian authorities. Regarding his country of origin, Umer said after the incident, he was so broken that he would never return to Pakistan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtVsZTQhN7g&feature=youtu.be

(N.sethurupan, dailypakistan)

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Science

Norways starts F-35 braking parachute tests

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norway has begun testing of the braking parachute it will employ on its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35As.

Initial efforts at Edwards AFB in California will focus on how the Joint Strike Fighter handles with the parachute fitted, as well as braking on both dry and wet runways. A later phase, running until early 2018 at Eielson AFB in Alaska, will evaluate its performance on icy runways.

All trials will be performed with test aircraft AF-2, the Norwegian defence ministry says.

It is sharing the development and integration costs for the system with the Netherlands, which is also acquiring the conventional take-off and landing F-35A.

Modifications include strengthening the fuselage and adapting the aircraft to house the parachute between the two tailfins.

Olso cites the extreme weather conditions its aircraft typically operate in – which include low temperatures, strong winds, poor visibility and slippery runways – as key reasons for needing the parachute.

“Being able to operate fighter aircraft under varying weather conditions is critical for our operational capability,” says defence minister Øystein Bø.

The first F-35 will arrive in Norway in November 2017, the ministry says.

(N.C2, flightglobal)

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Sex scandal

Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) selling Sex to Norway ?

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

A man linked with Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) arrested for selling child pornography Sex to Norway and Sweden. The case was revealed with the help of Norwegian embassy in the country.

According to Dawn’s report, the 45-year-old suspect Saadat Amin confessed that he had been selling child pornograpy content online for the last few years. Amin lured children on the pretext of imparting computer education. He even paid between 30 and 50 USD to the parents of the victims, saying that their children would learn computer skills at his one-room rented workshop in Sargodha.

Pakistani police launched the investigation after Norwegian Embassy in Pakistan sent them a letter informing that Norway police had arrested a Norwegian man in connection with the child pornographic content and that Saadat Amin was one of his accomplices in Pakistan.

A graduate of a University of Engineering and Technology Amin said to Dawn that he first was introduced to child pornography industry by his Norwegian client on the Internet.

– He offered me a deal asking me to sell him child pornographic content that I accepted. He would pay me between $100 and $400 for each video involving young boys. I used to sell not only my own recordings but also the video clips hacked from the servers of Russian and Bangladeshi porn websites to buyers in Norway and Sweden,” said Amin to Dawn.

A 45-year-old man linked with Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) involved in country’s first child pornography scandal had wanted his main offshore client to arrange his and some children’s travel to Norway to produce pornographic content there, claims the Federal Investigation Agency’s cyber crime wing in Lahore.

The FIA has booked Saadat Amin under sections 20, 21 and 22 of the new cybercrime law (Prevention of Electronic Crime Act). These sections carry an imprisonment of 15 years. The FIA says this is a “first-of-its-kind” scandal unearthed in the country.

“I had asked my main client – Jane Lindstorm – in Norway to arrange for documents for visas for me and some children (who were learning computer skills) to travel to Norway. I had shared the nude pictures of these children with Lindstorm. The children are between 8 and 14 years,” Amin who was arrested in Sargodha on Tuesday last told this to his interrogator.

It took the FIA three months to trace Amin after being informed by the Norwegian Embassy, Islamabad, through a letter that the country’s police had arrested a man (Jane Lindstorm) in connection with the child pornographic content and that Amin was one of his accomplices in Pakistan.

Pakistani police reportedly seized some 65,000 child pornography video clips from the suspect’s possession. The suspect is known as a good hacker and having links with some Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) policemen.

(Mr.Jaffna, tnp)

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Terrorist

Sweden considers tougher anti-terror laws

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Sweden could follow Norway’s lead and make it a criminal offence to participate in a terrorist organisation. It is currently not illegal to simply be part of such an organisation.

As reported by The Local, the Swedish government has called on Supreme Court judge Stefan Johansson to review a possible change in the laws. He has been asked to complete his investigation by December 15.

While the April 8 attack in Stockholm brought the issue to the fore, Sweden’s previous inquiries into terror legislation have shown there could be gaps in the current legislation.

At a press conference on April 12, Justice Minister Morgan Johansson said: “Financing a terrorist organisation is already prohibited, and that has been seen compatible with freedom of association… What we are now saying is that if you are active in the organisation which engages in terror offences, it should be possible to prosecute you for that”.

(neweurope)

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Norwegian Aid

Government issues call for Norwegian Funds operator

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds Ian Borg has announced that the government has issued a call for a Norwegian Fund Operator.

Dr Borg said that the allocation of funds for Malta under this particular programme amounts to €8 million. The fund for Active Citizens for the period 2014 – 2021, amounts to €700,000. The call will close on June 2017.

The fund will be open for NGOs who will take up projects related to democracy and good governance, human rights, social justice and the environment.

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NATO and Norway

Reinforcing NATO Bonds, Speaker Ryan to Meet with Allies in the UK, Norway, Poland, and Estonia

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

WASHINGTON — Next week, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) will lead a bipartisan delegation traveling to key European ally nations, with the goal of strengthening economic and security ties with our NATO partners. In the United Kingdom, Norway, Poland, and Estonia, the delegation will meet with government officials and military leaders to review and discuss evolving security threats facing Europe as well as opportunities for greater economic cooperation.

Members joining the speaker are House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL), Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), and Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL).

While in the United Kingdom, the speaker will deliver remarks and take audience questions at an open press event. He will speak about the critical role that the United States and United Kingdom play in promoting regional and global stability, new opportunities for trade and economic partnerships, and the enduring importance of the special relationship between our two counties, particularly following the recent initiation of the Article 50 process.

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Defence

Rolls-Royce to supply automatic crossing system

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Rolls-Royce has signed a deal with Norwegian shipbuilder Kleven to supply its innovative automatic crossing system, for two new double-ended plug-in battery-hybrid ferries being built for Norwegian ferry company FosenNamsos Sjø.

The system will control the ferries as they cross the fjord between Flakk and Rørvik connecting the peninsula of Fosen with Trondheim.

New ferry contracts in Norway have strict yearly limits on energy consumption as part of the commercial agreement between the ferry operator and the customer, in this case the county authority Sør-Trøndelag Fylkeskommune. Automatic systems ensure consistent behaviour during the journey and hence predictable energy consumption.

The automatic crossing system ensures safe and energy-efficient transit back and forth by automatically controlling the vessel’s acceleration, deceleration, speed and track. Two energy-efficient Rolls-Royce Azipull thrusters respond adaptively to environmental conditions to ensure optimal behaviour and maximise efficiency.

The captain will supervise the automatic system and intervene using traditional manoeuvring systems if needed. In the first deliveries the Captain will manoeuvre the ferry manually the last few metres to the dock.

If the Captain is not, for some reason, able to take manual control, the system stops the vessel at a safe distance from the quayside and keeps it safely positioned automatically until further action can be taken.

Jann Peter Strand, Rolls-Royce, product manager, automation and control – marine said: “These additional orders for the Rolls-Royce Automatic Crossing System mean it is fast becoming the industry standard for double ended ferry control systems helping the customer meet their contractual need to ensure predictable energy consumption optimised for varying environmental conditions. The Automatic Crossing System can be installed as an add-on to any standard Rolls-Royce azimuthing thruster which means it can be retrofitted to the existing fleet of ferries around the world.”

Construction of the Multi Maritime-designed vessels will take place at the Kleven owned Myklebust Verft Shipyard in Norway, starting in May.

The vessels are due for delivery in late 2018 and will begin operation on 1 January 2019.

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Economics

EU bank lends €350m for German-Norway power link

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending €350 million (£298m) for the first power link between Germany and Norway.

Dubbed ‘NordLink’, the interconnector will have a capacity of 1,400MW and a route length of 624 kilometres.

It will be capable of providing renewable energy for more than 3.6 million German households.

The interconnector is expected to improve diversification and security of supply as well as enhance electricity market integration in both countries and more widely between NorthWest Europe and Scandivanian nations.

Ambroise Fayolle, EIB Vice President, responsible for Germany said: “Security of electricity supply and effective use of renewable energy will be improved significantly.

“Initially, NordLink will bring surplus hydro generation from Norway to Germany. In the medium term, it will help ease constraints and allow the evacuation of surplus renewable generation from Germany to Scandinavia.”

Work has begun on a new electricity connection between Britain and France.

(energylivenews)

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Science

Surgery in Norway just a bit riskier than in Sweden

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

A new study shows that there were more surgical errors in Norwegian hospitals than in Swedish ones in 2013. Ninety of the Swedish and Norwegian patients whose journals were used in the study died from what are categorised as “adverse events”.

It’s no joke that the most dangerous place to be is a hospital. In Norway some 13 percent of hospital patients suffered some form of hospital injury, or adverse events, as they are called in the study. In Sweden there were a few more – 14.4 percent.

The study was recently published by the British Medical Journal website BMJ and used nearly 11,000 Norwegian patients’ medical records and a little over 19,000 Swedish patient records, all from 2013.

The researchers compared serious and less serious patient injuries and errors in the two countries. All in all the risks were fairly equal.

But certain differences in frequency were seen in the types of injuries patients can suffer when hospitalised in either of the two Scandinavian countries.

More complications after surgery

A considerably larger share of Norwegian patients suffered surgical complications.

Records showed that some 0.9 percent of patients operated on in Swedish hospitals suffered surgical complications. The share in Norway was over twice as high, at 1.9 percent.

A higher share of Norwegian patients also suffered severe surgical complications.

“More patients suffered from errors that left them with permanent injuries. This can probably be attributed to a higher number of surgical complications here,” says Researcher Ellen Tveter Deilkås at Akershus University Hospital (Ahus).

Deilkås is chief physician, researcher and project leader of the Ahus health services research unit.

While 0.7 percent of Norwegian patients suffered permanent injuries, just 0.4 percent of Swedish patients were so unfortunate.

Norwegian patients were generally more apt to develop pneumonia than their Swedish counterparts.

More bedsores in Sweden

Swedish patients, however, were more likely to suffer bedsores, injuries from falls and other unspecified adverse events.

Among other things, relatively twice the share of Swedish patients (1.2 percent) ended up with pressure ulcers than Norwegian patients.

But the study indicates that Swedish surgeons might be said to have steadier hands.

Patient injuries are defined as accidental physical harm caused my medical treatment which requires extra supervision, extra treatment or whole new hospital admittance.

Causing 90 patient deaths

The study covers everything from infections and allergic reactions to more serious injuries such as blood poisoning, pneumonia infections from breathing apparatuses and in worst case – deaths.

The injuries are grouped according to the treatment they require, whether they lead to a longer stay in hospital, cause permanent disabilities and injury, trigger the need for life-saving procedures or lead to a patient’s death.

Such fatal consequences were suffered by about 0.3 percent of the patients. This rate was about the same in both countries. In other words, in 2013, 90 of the random Norwegian and Swedish patients covered by the study died from mistakes in treatment.

If this sum is multiplied by the total number of hospital admittances that year, we can estimate that nearly 5,700 Norwegian and Swedish patients die in hospitals because of patient injuries annually.

Urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections are clearly the most common adverse events in total, affecting 220 patients in Norway in the random selection of records from 2013.

“If we multiply this by the total number of hospital admittances, this means nearly 12,000 Norwegian patients annually suffer urinary tract infections contracted in hospitals,” says Deilkås.

In the Swedish selection of patients – nearly twice as large as there are about twice as many Swedes as Norwegians – 285 contracted urinary tract infections.

In total the analysis was based on about 11,000 Norwegian hospital patient medical records and 19,000 Swedish ones.

What causes the differences?

What could be causing the differences between Sweden and Norway?

“We don’t have that information. But we do know that the nursing factor is lower in Sweden than in Norway,” says Deilkås.

She thinks this could explain why Swedish patients are more prone to bedsores and injuries from falls.

The difference in surgical injuries might be attributed to Sweden getting an earlier start in the centralisation of hospital functions, according to the researcher. Centralisation generally involves the shutting down of smaller local hospitals.

“The centralising of surgery started later in Norway and the degree in which we centralise functions is politically controversial. But this could possibly lead to a decrease in such injuries in Norway,” she says.

More operations per capita in Norway?

It is also possible that a greater share of hospital patients in Norway undergo surgery than in Sweden.

“We haven’t investigated this,” says Deilkås.

The researchers think the study should be appeal to Swedish and Norwegian authorities to ensure better patient safety.

The Norwegian-Swedish study was conducted on the initiative of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The idea was to chart differences as a step in finding ways of reducing injuries incurred in hospital.

The Norwegian Government launched a national patient safety campaign in in 2011 to raise competence and reduce patient injuries.

Third largest cause of death

In another study published by BMJ in May 2016, researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, found that medical errors comprise the third biggest cause of death in the USA, after cardiovascular disease and cancer. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is in fourth place.

They estimated that 251,000 American deaths can be attributed to medical errors.

“This is not news to the medical profession,” asserts Ellen Tveter Deilkås.

The American researchers call for the opportunity to freely report such fatal errors in the USA’s national causes of death statistics.

(sciencenordic)

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Religion

Norwegian Parliament: Iran Regime, the Source of Terrorism and Exporting Islamic Fundamentalism

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

NCRI – A conference was held in Norway titled, “Islamic Fundamentalism: What is the solution?” in which Norwegian MPs from various parties, representatives of different embassies, including the Dutch Ambassador in Norway, and a number of Iranian Resistance supporters took part.

The speakers at this session, held by Hans Olav Syversen, Chairman of the Norwegian Parliament Finance Commission and Vice President of Norway’s Christian Democrat Party Parliamentary Group, were:

Ola Elvestuen, Chairman of the Norwegian Parliament Energy and Environment Commission, and Vice President of Norway’s Liberal Party Parliamentary Group;

Tom Siring, Fellow at the Oslo University Human Rights Center;

Former MEP Struan Stevenson;

Former Norwegian MP Lars Rise;

Hanan al-Balakhi, envoy of the Syrian National Coalition in Norway; and Parviz Khazaie, Representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Nordic countries.

The subject of Islamic fundamentalism is one of the main and most important issues of today, and major threat for our world, Lars Rise said in his speech. He added the Iranian Resistance had for years warned about the threat of fundamentalism under the banner of Islam.

Struan Stevenson emphasized Iran’s role as the source of terrorism and exporting Islamic fundamentalism, adding they are the main problems and must be overthrown. The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) must be designated as a terrorist organization.

They not only violate human rights in their own country, but Iran also exports terrorism to kill innocent people, including Shiites and Sunnis.

Western countries must recognize the Iranian Resistance and consider the IRGC a terrorist entity to uproot Islamic fundamentalism, Stevenson added.

Any regime without popular support seeks legitimacy through saber-rattling abroad to maintain its forces, Tom Siring said. Exporting terrorism is stated in Iran’s constitution, concluding crackdown and the export of terrorism are needed for the regime to remain in power, he added.

Only the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) is the solution to Islamic fundamentalism, and the leaders of this movement are women, Khazaie said. He also provided explanations about the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s objectives and agendas as the alternative to the Iranian regime, presented a report of the Iranian Resistance’s global activities, and the status of this Resistance on the international stage against the Iranian regime.

Iran is the epicenter of exporting terrorism and is a grave threat for Middle East security, Elvestuen said.

“As we are holding this conference, the Assad regime is bombing Syrian civilians with the help of the Iranian regime,” al-Bakhli said.

(ncr-iran)

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Science

Boeing uses first FAA-approved 3D-printed parts for the 787

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Boeing expects to shave $2 to $3 million off each 787 Dreamliner’smanufacturing costs by 2018, thanks to 3D-printed titanium. The company has teamed up with Norwegian company Norsk Titanium to create the first printed structural titanium components for a plane. As Reuters notes, General Electric already prints fuel nozzles for aircraft engines. However, this is the first time a company is using 3D-printed components for parts of a plane that bear the stress of an airframe during a flight.

Boeing turned to 3D printing for the 787, because it requires more metal than its other models. Plus, traditionally manufactured titanium alloy can be very expensive, especially since the company makes 144 Dreamliners a year. The aerospace corporation’s partnership is a resounding recommendation for printed metals in the aviation industry and is proof that companies are starting to trust the manufacturing process and its resulting materials.

From early 2016 to February 2017, Boeing worked with Norsk to be able to pass the Federal Aviation Administration’s rigorous testing program for the components. The partners expect to get additional FAA approval for the material’s properties and manufacturing process later this year. That will allow the Norwegian firm to make more 3D-printed titanium parts without having to get each of them approved, leading to even more savings per plane.

(engadget)

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Svalbard

Inside the ‘Doomsday’ Vault

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Deep in the bowels of an icy mountain on an island above the Arctic Circle between Norway and the North Pole lies a resource of vital importance for the future of human­kind. It’s not coal, oil or precious minerals, but seeds.

Millions of these tiny brown specks, from more than 930,000 varieties of food crops, are stored in the Global Seed Vault on Spitsbergen, part of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. It is essentially a huge safety deposit box, holding the world’s largest collection of agricultural biodiversity. “Inside this building is 13,000 years of agricultural history,” says Brian Lainoff, lead partnerships coordinator of the Crop Trust, which manages the vault, as he hauls open the huge steel door leading inside the mountain.

It would be difficult to find a place more remote than the icy wilderness of Svalbard. It is the farthest north you can fly on a commercial airline, and apart from the nearby town of Longyearbyen, it is a vast white expanse of frozen emptiness.

The Global Seed Vault has been dubbed the “doomsday” vault, which conjures up an image of a reserve of seeds for use in case of an apocalyptic event or a global catastrophe. But it is the much smaller, localized destruction and threats facing gene banks all over the world that the vault was designed to protect against—and it’s why the vault was opened in February, when TIME visited.

On this occasion, samples from India, Pakistan and Mexico were being deposited alongside seeds from Syria, many of whose citizens are living through their own apocalypse. “There are big and small doomsdays going on around the world every day. Genetic material is being lost all over the globe,” says Marie Haga, executive director of the Crop Trust. This past winter offered the gene bank a chance to redress the balance.

Near the entrance to the facility, a rectangular wedge of concrete that juts out starkly against the snowy landscape, the doomsday nickname seems eerily apt. It was precisely for its remoteness that Svalbard was chosen as the location of the vault. “It is away from the places on earth where you have war and terror, everything maybe you are afraid of in other places. It is situated in a safe place,” says Bente Naeverdal, a property manager who oversees the day-to-day operation of the vault.

(organic consumers)

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Science

University Naming Dispute in Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences in Norway wants to become a full-fledged university, but if its pending application were to be approved, the institution does not yet know what it would be called.

Administrators have spent nearly $100,000 and about a year debating various names, according to the higher education publication Khrono (note: the article is in Norwegian). One option, Aker University, references the geographic region surrounding Oslo, while another, Nova University Oslo, emphasizes the newness of the institution.

Rector Curt Rice, the first non-Norwegian to lead an institution in the country, has suggested OsloMet, short for Oslo Metropolitan University. But the suggestion is facing resistance from the Language Council of Norway.

“All Norwegian government agencies are required to have Norwegian names,” Åse Wetås, director general of the language council, told Khrono. “‘Metropolitan’ is not a Norwegian word, nor is the abbreviation ‘Met,’ so this won’t do.” (The council has approved both Aker and Nova.)

Rice, who holds a Ph.D. in general linguistics, on Tuesday fired back on Twitter. “The language council is speaking out of both sides of its mouth, because they know full well that ‘metropol’ is Norwegian,” he wrote.

Rice, a reserve member of the board of the language council, is also drawing attention among Norwegian academics these days for an interview in the weekly newspaper Morgenbladet, in which he said researchers should publish in English, not Norwegian.

The university college is still working on the best Norwegian translation for Oslo Metropolitan University and plans to settle on a name in September.

(insidehighered)

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Environment

TOMRA: 90 000 systems installed in 80 markets worldwide

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Recycling technology provider TOMRA celebrates its 45th anniversary. Since its launch on April 1, 1972, TOMRA has developed from a pioneer in automated recycling technology to a multi million Euro turnover company today offering a wide range of sensor based solutions.

Starting in a small shed in Asker, Norway, the brothers Petter and Tore Planke created a solution to a problem: a local grocer wanted an automated machine that could quickly and easily take back used, empty bottles for recycling, and so TOMRA was born. By the end of 1972, the company had installed 29 machines in Norway, and their successes quickly began to generate interest abroad.

During the first 30 years of its history, TOMRA focused on growing its reverse vending business in markets with deposit systems for beverage packaging. In the year 2000, the company began developing a more comprehensive business platform. Through a number of ‘strategic’ acquisitions during the past two decades, TOMRA has become a major provider of optical sorting technology for a broad range of materials.

In 2016, TOMRA noted record revenues of Euro 710 million. TOMRA’s sensor-based solutions are used today in reverse vending, recycling, mining and food sorting. Recycling applications include numerous waste streams and metals in which optical sorters support plant operators with recovery and sorting of valuable secondary resources.

‘Our growth is due in part to the growing understanding that the world needs to utilise its natural resources in a better way to ensure sustainability’, comments TOMRA’s ceo Stefan Ranstrand. ‘We are proud of the success our company has achieved so far, and look forward to building on this in the years ahead as we continue to develop cutting-edge solutions for helping our customers meet their business needs and contribute to a better and more sustainable future.’

(recycling international)

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Media Freedom

Norwegian media competitors join forces in war against fake news

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

One of the sucky legacies of 2016 is the surge of fake news. Donald Trump rode a wave of misinformation to the White House and British voters shot themselves in the foot after listening to the false promises of Brexit.

Norway is one of the countries that isn’t especially keen on following the fuckups of the US and UK by letting lies slide. That’s why Norway’s three biggest competing media outlets announced a joint project to combat fake news.

Dagbladet, VG and the public broadcaster NRK will launch a joint website Faktisk, meaning ‘factual’ (but pronounced ‘fuck-dis’), that will be dedicated to fact-checking. The service will be up and running in May and will rank how factually correct political news items are on a five point scale from ‘absolutely true’ to ‘completely wrong’.

The fact-checking will initially be done with a good ol’ human read-through, but the people behind Faktisk have bigger plans for the future.

In an interview with Nieman Lab, Jari Bakken, a VG developer is working on building a new CMS instead of relying on dominant what platforms like Facebook might offer for fact-checking.

Although the VG and other news outlets have advanced CMSes for their websites, Bakken says they aren’t equipped with the tools needed to fight fake news.

[W]e are not just making articles. We are making fact checks. We need a CMS that can cut up our fact checks into parts, that will then make it possible in the future to use it in automation and artificial intelligence efforts. Our traditional CMSes are not made for this.

The issues that Faktisk will deal with will probably be centered around climate change, international relations, and Norwegian politics and elections. To encourage transparency, Faktiskt will share and distribute the articles that have been ranked by the website.

Visibility of the fact-checking will be the key to a better and more factual debate in Norway. In addition to allowing any media outlet to take and embed the fact checks, Faktisk is also looking for ways to engage the younger audience, for example through Snaphchat Discover.

Faktisk is truly a historic partnership involving competing companies trying to establish better and more factual debates that will benefit society. It’s almost like if ‘fantastic’ Fox News and ‘very fake news‘ CNN got together and managed to agree on which political news are factual and which aren’t.

US has some really good fact-checking sites, but that didn’t save the country from farcical elections last year. People stick to their guns in debates and only read news to their liking, which isn’t likely to result in a better informed discussion of issues.

Norway’s initiative is truly a light in the dark for truth in the age of ‘alternative facts’. By bringing together competitors it’s more likely that providing real information to the public will succeed .

(thenextweb)

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Environment

Ship Arrested in Norway Following Disastrous Flight to Asian Recycling Yard

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norway has arrested a ship which had to be rescued as it fled to a notorious South Asian recycling yard following a tip off that it had been sold illegally.

The Norwegian environmental authorities have arrested a ship following a tip off that it had been sold illegally and was destined for breaking in a dirty and dangerous South Asian recycling facility.

NGO Shipbreaking Platform and its member organisation Bellona explained that the vessel, is not allowed to leave Norway unless it is to sail to a ship recycling destination in line with international and European hazardous waste laws. According to the Norwegian Environment Agency, it is the first arrest of a vessel in Norway for the illegal export of hazardous waste..

The Platform explained that it had been informed already during the summer of 2015 that the ship was sold for scrap.

Having been laid up for many years on the Norwegian west coast the Platform said that it immediately contacted the Norwegian owners, Eide Group, to make them aware of the laws governing end-of-life ships and that exporting the vessel to a South Asian beaching yard would be in breach of the European Waste Shipment Regulation and the UN Basel Convention. Eide Group was said to have denied then that the vessel would be scrapped.

According to Shipbreaking Platform on 22 February 2017 the vessel attempted to leave Norway under a new name, flag and registered owner.

Now called TIDE CARRIER, the ship was said to have swapped its flag to that of Comoros and was registered under an anonymous St. Kitts and Nevis based post-box company, Julia Shipping. The organisation said that these are all solid indications that a cash buyer, a scrap dealer specialised in the trading of end-of-life ships to the South Asian beaching yards, was involved.

Drama on the High Seas
The TIDE CARRIER however ran into difficulties as the engine stopped working outside the Norwegian coast of Jaeren. The coastguards were forced to trigger a salvage operation, complicated by way of the weather conditions, to avoid the risk of oil spill and grounding close to one of the most renowned beaches in Norway.

The rescue operation included the emergency evacuation of five crew members – one of which suffered from a broken shoulder – and the deployment of two tugboats to bring the ship to safety.

Norwegian authorities have since then been trying to trace the owner and insurer of the vessel, given that someone should be held accountable for the costs of the rescue operation incurred by the Norwegian state.

While the authorities investigated the ownership and condition of the vessel, it remained docked in Gismarvik, Norway.

“We immediately informed Norwegian authorities that the ship was most likely sold for scrapping in South Asia and also that there were suspicions that the ship had been used to store hazardous sludge,” said Ingvild Jenssen, director at the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.

The Platform added that on Monday 4 April the Environment Agency and the Police found evidence that the vessel was under a “break up voyage” insurance from Norway to Gadani, Pakistan. They were also said to have found unidentified and excessive amounts of sludge and fuel oils.

What’s in a Name?
According to the NGO the previous week, while the vessel was still in the dock, the TIDE CARRIER changed name to HARRIER and changed from Comoros to another popular end-of-life flag – Palau.

Consequently, it was said to have became clear that the repair contract from Oman which had been provided to the Norwegian authorities as a way to escape checks for the illegal export of the vessel was false. Revelations of the attempt of the ship’s illegal export and subsequent breaking on the Gadani beach resulted in the arrest of the ship.

Shipbreaking Platform warned that this is not the first time cash buyers have sought to circumvent environmental protection laws by providing fake contracts of repair or further operational use.

Recently the Norwegian owned CITY OF TOKYO was said to have been allowed to leave the port of Antwerp under the pretence of repair work in Dubai – instead it sailed directly to the infamous beaching yards in Bangladesh.

The FPSO NORTH SEA PRODUCER was also said to have been illegally exported from the UK to Bangladesh under the pretence of further operational use in Nigeria. Cash buyer GMS reportedly used grey- and black listed Paris MoU flags and established anonymous post box companies in both cases.

“The cash buyers of TIDE CARRIER will not only have to pay back the Norwegian authorities for the rescue operation, but will also have to answer for the fake repair documents which were used to let it sail in the first place,” said Jenssen.

Norwegian owner Eide will have to be held responsible for having sold to a cash buyer as this clearly indicates their complicity in the attempt to illegally export the ship and the potentially toxic excess sludges and fuels found on board,” she concluded.

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