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Norway announced Monday that it would deploy 60 soldiers to train Syrians fighting ISIS, boosting its involvement in the international coalition against the extremists.
The soldiers belonging to the Norwegian special forces would conduct the training in Jordan, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said at a press conference in Oslo.
“The brutal acts by IS (ISIS) have cost many civilians their lives and led an even greater number to flee (the country),” Solberg said.
ISIS has also “brought terrorism to Europe and young people are radicalized and recruited in order to have foreign fighters,” she added.
The Syrian groups that will be trained by the Norwegian soldiers were not identified, but according to Defense Minister Ine Eriksen SoreidIne Eriksen, they were chosen following a “thorough and systematic” selection process.”One condition for our support is that their operations be directed against ISIS and that they do not harm any of the current peace efforts in Syria,” Soreide said.
Norway is already involved in the anti-ISIS coalition, in particular by training Kurdish peshmerga fighters in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
(AFP)
Norway is the world´s largest producer of farmed salmon. Tremendous amount of Norwegian salmon is flown daily to the markets in Asia, Middle East and US. The number of intercontinental flights from Norway is increasing to take part of the shipping of Norwegian fish. Today there are direct flights out of Europe from Oslo to New York, Moscow, Istanbul, Dubai, Doha and Bangkok.
Fresh salmon from Norway is sold every day all year in Taiwan.
The poster tells that the salmon uses four days on ice from Norwegian fjord to the store in Taiwan.
– Freight accounts for around 20 percent of revenues on a route to Norway, Terje Grue told Aftenposten. He is Norwegian chief of Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, which has its headquarters in Dubai. – Dubai is a destination that seems incredibly attractive to Norwegians. In addition we have a large grid to Asia and Australia as many uses. And then lots of shipping. Because of Norwegian fish, routes are profitable. So the passenger tickets can be sold cheaper. The aircraft used to Norway is one of the largest. Started in September 2014, the route had in few months achieved a passenger occupancy of 80 percent. The plane can take 360 passengers. and usual brings tens of tons of freight, up to 50 tons. In Dubai this gets picked up by Cool Dollies – a kind of rolling refrigerator – to keep a stable cool temperature before the next departure, Grue explained.
Norwegian mackerel are sold at big stores as well as on the outdoor marked in Taiwan.
In Taiwan salmon becomes sushi, or here as a restaurant dish with bean curd.
Mr. Geir Yeh Fotland – Taiwan National Correspondent NORWAY NEWS.com
Email: – geiryeh@gmail.com, or news@norwaynews.com
The Norwegian government has taken actions to give more Investment opportunities to Sri Lanka in their fish market with the lifting of the ban imposed by the European Union on exports of Sri Lankan fish and fishery products, the Finance Ministry said.
Following a meeting with the Finance Minister, Ravi Karunanayake earlier this week, the Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther has said that with the lifting of the ban Sri Lanka has gained opportunity to invest in fish exports industry in Norway.
The meeting with the Norwegian Ambassador was a follow-up on a meeting the Finance Minister held with his Norwegian counterpart Ms. Siv Jensen in Washington, while participating for Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group.Finance Minister has said that now Sri Lanka is receiving outcomes of positive aspects like financial discipline and transparency, lifting of fish export ban imposed by the European Union will be a great potential for Sri Lanka’s Economy.
The Norwegian Ambassador assured that his government will take steps to enhance the trade and commercial affairs between Sri Lanka and Norway.
A Norwegian politician has spoken of how how he felt guilty that the Somali asylum seeker who raped him was deported. Karsten Nordal Hauken, from Ås, Akershus, was raped in his home and the perpetrator was subsequently caught and jailed for 4.5 years. However, when Nordal Hauken found out that the man was to be deported back to Somalia after serving his time, he reveals he felt guilt that the man would possibly face hardship in his old country.Nordal Hauken has told his story as part of a television series on Norwegian state broadcaster NRK called Jeg mot Meg [Me against Myself] about mental illness and psychological struggles.
Nordal Hauken, who describes himself as a ‘young Socialist Left Party member, feminist and anti-racist’, was attacked in his own home.
The politician reveals that he struggled to come to terms with being a heterosexual male rape victim, and subsequently self-medicated with alcohol and cannabis.
‘I am a heterosexual man who was raped by a Somalian asylum seeker,’ Nordal Hauken writes for NRK.
‘My life fell into ruin, but now I feel guilty about him being sent out of the country.’
He reveals how he was called up by the prison shortly before the perpetrator was to be deported to Somalia, having served 4.5 years in prison for the rape.
‘I felt relief and happiness that he would be gone forever. I felt like the Norwegian State had taken responsibility to carry out the ultimate revenge, like an angry father confronting it’s child’s attacker.
‘But I also had a strong feeling of guilt and responsibility. I was the reason that he would not be in Norway anymore, but rather sent to a dark uncertain future in Somalia
He adds: I see him mostly like a product of an unfair world, a product of an upbringing marked by war and despair.
(dailymail)
The week-long Arctic Frontiers conference kicked off on Sunday as about 1,300 delegates from around the world gathered in the northern Norwegian city of Tromso to discuss the balance between industrial and environmental interests in the Arctic.At an opening ceremony at the Fram Centre in central Tromso Sunday evening, Jan-Gunnar Winther and Harald Steen from the Norwegian Polar Institute presented the 2015 Norwegian Winter Research Expedition to the Arctic Ocean, which shows a thinning ice with dramatic consequences in the region.
During the tenth Arctic Frontiers conference, slated for Jan. 24 to 29 and titled “Industry and Environment,” policymakers, researchers, businessmen and others are expected to give their views on the balance between resource utilisation and preservation in the region.
The conference organizers believe the Arctic is a global crossroad between commercial and environmental interests as many actors are investigating ways to utilize its substantial natural resources while others view the region as a particularly pristine and vulnerable environment.
Delegates will explore ways to achieve a well-planned, well-governed and sustainable development in the Arctic during various sessions of the conference, most of them will be held at University of Tromso, the world’s northernmost university.
The Arctic Frontiers conference has become one of the main platforms for discussions of Arctic issues to ensure a sustainable development in the region over the past decade.
General Lieutenant Morten Haga Lunde, chief of Norwegian intelligence service E-tjenesten, has publicly accused hackers affiliated with the Chinese government of conducting cyber-espionage against Norway-based firms to steal sensitive data and military state secrets.The statements were first reported by Norwegian TV station TV2 as Lunde was showcasing his agencies annual intelligence report – a detailed analysis undertaken by the defence department that highlights key cyber-threats and emerging concerns.
“The digital space is an arena where the big powers actively pursuing their objectives. Russia and China [are] emerging as the most active players behind networked intelligence operations directed against Norway,” the report revealed. “Both nations have high skills and show a high degree of assertiveness in its approach to Norwegian goals. They are now implementing persistent networked intelligence operations against Norwegian interests.”
While not mentioning the firms compromised or what technology was stolen by hackers, Lunde added: “The Norwegian technology industry is where we primarily see China [infiltrate the] Norwegian network to capture information that they can use in their own technological development.” He added that military state secrets have been exploited and are now being implemented into Chinese military weaponry.
While Chinese state hackers have long been suspected of infiltrating foreign countries in order to steal sensitive data, these rare accusations from a high-ranking official are believed to be the first case of this Nato government pointing the finger directly at Beijing. While many cyber-security firms are involved with tracking threats thought to be linked with Chinese state-sponsored hackers, most stop short of claiming the government is responsible for the attacks.
The US government has, in the past, indicated that it believes China regularly infiltrates networks to steal secrets. Indeed, the two nations were involved in a cyber peace-treaty last year forced by rising tensions resulting from the hack at the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Now, according to Norway’s defence minister, Ine Eriksen Søreide, the rapid changes of the cyber landscape mean it is difficult to predict what threats are likely to emerge. “The ripple effects of a changing world have long since reached us here at home. We live in a very uncertain time,” she warned. “The stability we have been accustomed to, we can no longer take for granted. Violent extremism knows no boundaries and ideologies cannot be stopped at passport controls,” she said.
Meanwhile, in an interview with SC Magazine, Snorre Fagerland, a senior researcher at the Oslo-based security firm Blue Coat, said research indicates that Chinese hackers have been active for “quite a long time”. However, he noted that proper attribution remains difficult to determine with absolute certainty.
“Chinese hackers have traditionally been negligent or indifferent to operational security. They can hack and then blog about it – [this was] more prevalent five years back,” he said. “Now they are getting better, but they still make mistakes, like when they were more careless, and some of the attribution comes from this. You can go back and look at their history, the technology, what they have done before, and even though they are quite good now, they will often do things they did back then.”
Most recently, an insider exposed the long-rumoured database project of the Chinese government set up to collate the slew of data compromised from cyberattacks into one searchable system. The source, who spoke out on condition of anonymity, claimed the Chinese government brought in a small group of “independent software developers” from the US to work alongside China’s security services to build and implement the project in 2013.
With a story about the spark of enthusiasm as a symbol for inspiration, passion and creativity, Norway kicked off the opening ceremony of the second Winter Youth Olympic Games in its central city here. About 15,000 spectators braved bone-chilling cold in the evening to participate in the ceremony at the Lysgardsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena on Friday, the same venue that hosted the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer in 1994, reports media.The celebration centred around the journey of a boy who dreams of becoming the best athlete in the world and trains hard to achieve his goals.
And then, just as he loses his spark and simply gives up, he witnesses the Olympic Flame being carried by his hero Marit Bjorgen, Norwegian cross-country skier and six times Olympic champion, into the stadium — an encounter that re-ignites his passion and joy in doing what he loves.
Bjorgen passed on the flame to 12-year-old Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, who lit the same cauldron exactly 22 years after her father Crown Prince Haakon did the same thing at the opening ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach urged the young athletes to enjoy competition, friendship and love for the sport during the ten-day events.
“These Games will be about your love for sport. They will also be about learning and sharing and about making new friends,” the IOC chief said in his speech at the opening ceremony.
“This is what the Youth Olympic Games are all about: bringing young athletes together from all around the world to enjoy competition and friendship,” Bach said. “We are coming together to celebrate the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.”
A total of 1100 young athletes from the age of 14 to 18 from about 70 Olympic Committees will compete in 70 medal events during the Games from Feb. 12 to 21 in Norwegian cities of Lillehammer, Hamar, Gjovik, Oyer and Oslo.
Cultural exchange, learning and sharing are also important parts of the Youth Olympic Games as the young athletes will be engaged in many cultural and educational programmes to help them foster the Olympic values.
The Youth Olympic Games was established on April 25, 2007 on the initiative of the former IOC President Jacques Rogge. The vision of the Games is to encourage young people around the world to practice sport, raise awareness of Olympism and encourage them to adopt the values of Olympism and disseminate the message of the Olympic Movement around them.
The first summer version of the Youth Olympic Games was held in Singapore in 2010 while the first winter version was held in Innsbruck, Austria in 2012. China’s eastern city of Nanjing hosted the second Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2014.
A team of scientists led by Marc Lessard of the University of New Hampshire Space Science Center launched an instrument-laden, four-stage sounding rocket from Norway’s Andøya Space Center about 280 miles above Earth to study how particles move in a region near the North Pole where Earth’s magnetic field is directly connected to the solar wind. The launch occurred Sunday, Dec. 13, at 2:34 a.m. EST.Funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the second iteration of the Rocket Experiment for Neutral Upwelling, or RENU 2, was designed to measure the complex, underlying physics behind the northern lights and heating of the very high altitude thermosphere – a process known as “upwelling” that contributes to the phenomena of “satellite drag.”
The thermosphere begins some 56 miles above Earth and the process of upwelling, which involves neutral atoms that carry no electrical charge and are denser than charged particles, has been known to exist since the earliest days of the space program when observers noted increased drag on Earth-orbiting satellites during periods of increased solar activity. The drag intensifies when the dense neutral atoms create “speed bumps” that slow satellites down and can eventually make them fall back into Earth’s atmosphere.
At the time, the effect was largely attributed to large-scale motion in the ionosphere, which begins at 37 miles above Earth, heating the thermosphere from below. However, more recent observations have shown that neutral thermospheric upwelling can also occur on much smaller scales and can be more localized in what’s known as the cusp region – two “funnels” of magnetic field lines that allow a small amount of solar wind to reach the top of the atmosphere and produce the auroral glow.
Lessard and colleagues launched the first RENU rocket in 2010 from the Norwegian launch site. The RENU 2 instrument payload was designed to take an array of additional measurements. The mission is attempting to test, measure, and quantify “electron precipitation” that brings energetic particles down from high above the Earth and delivers energy into the upper atmosphere via Earth’s magnetic field lines.
The new data acquired during the flight will provide information essential for the advancement of understanding the process. The launch location in the far northern polar region was chosen so that the experiment could take place in total darkness at noontime.
Although the effect of satellite drag can negatively impact a spacecraft’s orbit over time, which is a concern for certain low-orbit, strategic satellites, Lessard stresses this was not the primary motivation for the experiment.
“From NASA’s point of view this is a mission of pure science, we’re trying to understand the processes behind neutral upwelling and how it is associated with visible aurora phenomena,” says Lessard, associate professor at the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space (EOS) and department of physics.
“This is the first time anyone has tried to measure these neutral particle enhancements at these altitudes and with this combination of instruments,” Lessard says. He adds that it appears the team was successful in getting the rocket to transit a region of neutral density enhancement but because so much data is gathered during rocket launches (unlike satellites, vast amounts of data can be transmitted quickly back to Earth) it could take months to analyze the results.
The team of investigators also includes colleagues from the Aerospace Corporation, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, and other collaborators, including those at the University of Oslo, the Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO, operated by the University Center of Svalbard), the EISCAT Svalbard Radar, and SuperDARN radar
An array of ground-based instrumentation located at KHO in the northernmost part of Norway complemented the rocket measurements. The data will be used to quantify neutral density enhancement, or regions of higher neutral atom density, and will also be used by theorists on the team to run mathematical models to gain insight into the heating and precipitation processes. Notes Lessard, “the instrumentation and science support provided from our colleagues at KHO has been invaluable.”
Russia’s ambassador to Norway, Viatsjeslav Alfredovitsj Pavlovskij concludes his tenure as ambassador and heads home to takeover deputy chairmanship of the Board of Directors of Russian Railways.
There is nothing unusual about this and six years is a long time, says press attache Andrey Kulikov at Russia’s embassy to TV2.
President Vladimir Putin has asked the ambassador Viatsjeslav A. Pavlovskij to conclude his Norway tenure. He has been ambassador since 2010.
The Foreign Ministry confirms to NTB that the ambassador’s official period is over and that Pavlovskij is returning to Russia.
The Foreign Ministry has been given due notice.The Russian Federation is the founder and sole shareholder of Russian Railways.
On behalf of its shareholders the powers are exercised by the Government of the Russian Federation.
It approves the President of the Company, forms the Board of Directors annually and approves the annual reports.
Kirill Androsov is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Russian Railways from September 2011. Before him, the position was occupied by Alexander Zhukov – from July 20, 2004 to September 2011 and Viktor Khristenko – from October 16, 2003 – July 20, 2004. President of JSC Russian Railways is Vladimir Yakunin – from June 14, 2005, before him — Gennady Fadeev from September 23, 2003 – June 14, 2005.
Norway’s Lutheran Church voted on Monday in favour of allowing same-sex marriage, becoming the latest of a small but growing number of churches worldwide to do so. Last year the French Protestant Church allowed gay marriage blessings, while the US Presbyterian Church approved a change in the wording of its constitution to include same-sex marriage.In a vote at the annual conference of the Norwegian Lutheran Church on Monday 88 delegates out of 115 in total backed same-sex marriage.
“Finally we can celebrate love independently of whom one falls in love with,” said Gard Sandaker-Nilsen, leader of the Open Public Church, a religious movement within the church that had campaigned to change the rules.
Under the new rules, priests who do not want to marry a same-sex couple will still have the right to object.
The vote by Norway’s Lutheran Church reflects increasingly liberal attitudes in wider Norwegian society to issues such as homosexuality.
Norway became the second country in the world after Denmark to allow same-sex registered partnerships in 1993. The Nordic country of 5.2 million people has allowed civil same-sex marriage since 2009.
Some 74 percent of Norwegians were members of the Lutheran Church last year, according to the national statistics agency, but that number has been declining.
Norwegian appeals court has upheld a ruling that the former chief of Russian telecoms provider Vimpelcom, Jo Lunder, should be released from custody during an ongoing police investigation into allegations of corruption. Lunder was released from custody late on November 10 after the appeals court upheld a November 6 ruling by a lower court that he should be released.His detention on November 4 after arriving in Oslo on a flight from London came in the midst of an investigation into corruption allegations concerning Vimpelcom’s activities in Uzbekistan.
Lunder’s lawyer, Cato Schioetz, told RFE/RL on November 5 that Lunder was arrested on charges related to unspecified payments made in 2011 when he had been Vimpelcom’s CEO.
U.S. and Dutch authorities suspect Vimpelcom may have made illicit payments between 2006 and 2011 to a company close to Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, in order to obtain operating licenses in Uzbekistan.
Lunder, a Norwegian national was the chief executive officer and a board member of Vimpelcom from 2001 until April 2015.
Thousands of Romanians have expressed anger at a decision by the Oslo authorities to take five children away from their Romanian-Norwegian parents over allegations of mistreatment. Over 62,000 people in Romania have signed a petition in recent days asking for a fast and fair solution in a sensitive case involving a Romanian-Norwegian family whose five children were taken into care by the Norwegian authorities because of alleged mistreatment.
The petition, initiated by two well-known Romanian journalists, accuses the Norwegian authorities of “breaching human rights”.
The case, which involve Romanian IT engineer Marius Bodnariu, his Norwegian wife Ruth Johanne Bodnariu and their children, has sparked a protests in Romania.
Thousands of people took to the streets over the weekend in Romania’s major cities, as well as in other European and American cities, in support of the Bodnariu family.
The Romanian government has said that the country’s ambassador in Norway will meet the Norwegian Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion on Wednesday to discuss the situation.
“We want to get a clearer picture of the case… Of course, we understand that Norway has strict laws in regard to child protection, and its institutions are working independently, but we also have the obligation to protect the interests of Romanian citizens,” government spokesperson Dan Suciu said on Tuesday.
“The Romanian government hopes for a rapid solution in this case, which will only take into consideration the children’s best interests,” Suciu added.
In November, the Norwegian child protection service, Barnevernet, took the Bodnariu family’s five children into care after receiving a complaint from the principal of the school that the elder children attended.
Barnevernet has given no information about the reasons for its decision, but media reports said the parents allegedly abused their elder daughters and were also suspected of religious indoctrination.
The only official reaction came from Norwegian embassy in Bucharest.
“A care order is issued only when the child is subject to serious neglect, maltreatment or abuse. Additionally the care order must be necessary and in the best interest of the child… Placing a child outside the home without the parents’ consent is always a measure of last resort,” said a press statement frm the embassy.
The Bodnariu family – who are Baptists – have said that the Norwegian child protection institution overreacted to the “children’s religious upbringing” or to “the way they are disciplined at home”.
They denied beating the children, but admitted they smacked them on occasions.
They added that Barnevement considers them to be fundamentalist Christians, “which is not the case”.
The children – aged between four months and ten years – are being cared for by three foster families while the Norwegian authorities open an international adoption procedure for them, according to media reports.
In Romania, many have accused the Norwegian authorities of cultural insensitivity at best and child abduction at worst.
“I can’t believe that the Bodnariu parents are able to physically abuse their children. Of course, they should slap them or apply minor corrective discipline, but only as a way to educate them. What is wrong with this?” asked 31-year-old Daniel Balanescu.
Official data confirms that domestic violence against children remains a problem in Romania.
Around 63 per cent of Romanian families use physical correction, such as slapping or pulling hair, as a way of educating their children, according to data from the international organisation Save the Children.
More than half of the domestic violence cases against children are registered in rural areas.
Experts say this reflects the endurance of traditional values.
“The problem in Romania is not that we don’t have laws on the subject, but the way they are enforced,” said Diana Stanculescu, an expert on child abuse.
“While Norway has no tolerance for any form of abuse, in Romania the norms are different,” she added.
(balkaninsight)
The dramatic escalation of the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone raises serious concerns, Norwegian FM Børge Brende stated. “Norway urges the sides to the conflict to cease military actions and honor the ceasefire agreement signed in 1994. Human losses and destabilization of the situation in the region should be avoided. On Friday evening battles began all along the Line of Contact established in 1994. Despite the ceasefire, from time to time clashes took place between the sides, but the last day was the toughest one since 1994.’
FM Børge also noted that Norway backs the actions of the OSCE Minsk Group aimed at the peaceful settlement of the conflict. “I urge the sides to put down the arms and look for a solution at the bargaining table,” he stressed.
Azerbaijan launched outright offensive military actions along the Line of Contact between the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces, from late Friday night through Saturday morning, and using a variety of weaponry as well as artillery, armored vehicles, and air force. A 12-year-old boy was killed, two other children were wounded. The Karabakh forces have reported about destroying two Azerbaijani helicopters, four tanks and two drones. The Armenian side has 18 casualties, nearly 35 soldiers having been wounded.
Azerbaijani side has suffered over 200 casualties.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has issued an update on its analysis of recoverable oil from Norway’s various offshore fields and discoveries. NPD’s goal in 2005 was to achieve growth in oil reserves of 5 BBbl over 10 years. The actual result is somewhat below that figure, although the target would have been achieved if Statoil’s development plan for Johan Sverdrup in the North Sea had been submitted before the end of 2014.“There has been substantial resource growth in many fields,” said Kirsti Veggeland, assistant director general for shelf analysis. “The most important reasons for this are more wells, extended field lifetimes and improved knowledge.”
In addition, NPD reviewed 62 discoveries for which development decisions had not been taken in 2005. Since then, 28 have been developed and their oil reserves, due to a combination of new information, improved reservoir understanding and optimization of development solutions and drainage strategies.
Discoveries made after 2004 also led to development decisions for 13 new fields, and these have contributed 80 MMcm to reserves growth, with Edvard Grieg, Ivar Aasen, and Knarr, accounting for over 75% of that figure.
NPD had hoped that improved recovery measures would lead to stronger growth in oil volumes, Veggeland added. “However, many new opportunities to improve recovery have been identified, and the potential is greater in 2015 than it was 10 years ago.”
(offshore-mag)
US Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work met with Norway’s State Secretary for Defense Oystein Bo in Washington, DC to discuss bilateral security cooperation, a spokesperson for Work, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Hillson, said in a statement on Thursday, APA reports quoting Sputnik. “During their meeting, Work and Bo discussed US-Norwegian defense cooperation efforts and highlighted the Marine Corps Prepositioning equipment in Norway,” the statement noted.The two officials also addressed the upcoming NATO Summit in Warsaw in July and the security situation in Europe and the Middle East.
“Work and Bo exchanged insights on sustaining robust military capabilities and noted the strategic, operational and tactical benefits of defense cooperation for both nations,” the statement added.
As NATO allies, the United States and Norway cooperate on a number of defense issues. US Marines were among the 15,000 troops from 14 countries to participate in Norway’s “Cold Response” military summit. The United States also has contributed tanks and mobile artillery to the training exercises, which concluded earlier this month.
A Norwegian national flag flies from a vessel near the Scarabeo 8 deepwater oil drilling rig, operated by ENI Norge AS, in Olensvag, Norway, on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. The world’s seventh-largest oil exporter boasts no net debt, adding to its appeal as an alternative to the debt-riddled euro area. Photographer: Kristian Helgesen/Bloomberg
The World Bank on Monday transferred $25 million to the Palestinian Authority to assist with urgent budget needs, a statement from the global financial body said. The funds were taken from the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan Trust Fund (PRDP-MDTF), a multi-donor budget support mechanism in place since 2008. Monday’s funds will be channeled towards macroeconomic and public management reforms.While the primary donors to Monday’s transfer were Norway and the United Kingdom, the total funds allocated via the PRDP-MDTF include $1.38 billion from the United States.
The Palestinian Authority relies heavily on international donors whose contributions have historically been related to ongoing peace negotiations.
In May, the World Bank warned of a fiscal crisis, particularly in the blockaded Gaza Strip where the economy was “on the verge of collapse.”
The report called on the PA, Israel and the donor community to take “actions” and carry out “reforms” in order “to reverse the recent and worrisome slowdown in economic growth” and “avoid a dangerous fiscal crisis.”
The downfall of the economies in both the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and the PA-run West Bank is impacted by corruption within the PA, as well as the systematic destruction of the economy by Israeli authorities, according to Palestinian think-tank Al-Shabaka.
The World Bank has transferred over one billion in funds since 1993.
(albawaba)
The National Dialogue Quartet, winners of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, were presented with this prestigious award at a solemn ceremony held Thursday in Oslo City Hall, with attendance of King Harald of Norway and the Norwegian government. In their remarks, Houcine Abassi (Tunisian General Labour Union, UGTT), Mohamed Fadhel Ben Mahfoudh (Tunisian Order of Lawyers, ONAT), Abdessattar Ben Moussa (Tunisian Human Rights League, LTDH) and Wided Bouchamaoui (Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handcrafts, UTICA) affirmed that the Nobel Prize is a tribute to the Tunisian Revolution and an inspiration to all the peoples of the world, urging them to claim their legitimate rights.
They said this prestigious award has crowned a rich militant path towards national liberation and construction of the democratic edifice. This Prize also rewards the political stakeholders who opted for consensus as well as Tunisian women, youth, men of culture, unionists, human right defenders, security forces and the national army, they said.
The world needs today a dialogue between civilisation and peaceful and diversified co-existence, members of the Quartet said, affirming the need to intensify efforts of fight against terrorism and against all forms of ideological obscurantism.
“The National Dialogue has never been easy, but despite the difficulties, the transition process was able to succeed,” they stressed.
They added: “The achievements accomplished on the path of democratic transition push the Quartet to exert more effort to entrench them, all the more that they are aware of the ongoing challenges and threats against the country.”
The achievement of stability in Tunisia depends on job creation for youth, development of interior regions and improvement of infrastructure and amenities and boosting investment.
In her opening remarks, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Kaci Kullmann Five said the Quartet has deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia, reminding that this Prize speaks to the core of Alfred Nobel’s vision of fraternity and disarmament.
The Quartet’s work has led to a better platform for peace and non-violent resolution of conflicts, she stressed, adding that its story is about building strong institutions to ensure justice and stability, and demonstrating the will to engage in dialogue and cooperation.
Its work also helped steer the constitutional process to a successful conclusion and end up with one of the most democratic constitution in the entire Arab world, along with strong institutions to ensure justice and democracy.
She added that Tunisia has shown the world that Islamist and secular political movements can negotiate with one another to reach solutions in the country’s best interest. Economic and political reforms, not least a sustained effort to combat corruption, are also needed for Tunisia, she underlined, speaking of the major security challenges faced by Tunisia.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded gold medals to the representatives of the National Dialogue Quartet. The Nobel Peace Prize Award ceremony was marked by musical interludes performed by Tunisian (Amel Mathlouthi) and Norwegian singers.
The government of Norway, in collaboration with leading outsourcing and technology services specialist VFS Global, has opened the first visa application centre (VAC) in Amman, Jordan. The Norway Visa Application Centre in Amman was officially inaugurated today by Ms Sissel Breie, ambassador of Norway to Jordan.Speaking on the occasion, the Ambassador said that the visa application centre will be the main channel in Jordan for submitting applications for visas to Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, as well as residence permits to Norway and Denmark for persons residing in Jordan and Iraq.
“This is a major improvement in the processing of visas. We also expect that this will reduce the waiting times for those who still have to submit their applications at the Embassy,” Breie said.
Yummi Talwar, regional head Middle East – VFS Global, said: “We are honoured to work with the government of Norway on a global level and aim to deliver an aligned and harmonised process cross all our centres. VFS Global is committed to the highest levels of customer experience offering an accessible and safe process that is seamless and convenient.”
This contract marks the extension of VFS Global’s relationship with Norway in Jordan as the company already serves the client globally with 53 VACs in 17 countries.
The key features of the new centre are:
Conveniently located and easily accessible state-of-the art Visa Application Centres;
Longer operating hours allowing applicants to visit at a time of their convenience;
Professional and responsive staff with local language capability dedicated to handle visa application queries;
Automated queue governance for smooth flow of applicants, providing better crowd management;
Dedicated counters for applicants and travel agents/tour operators;
Dedicated website for easy access to information including visa categories, application requirements and checklists, and applicable fees;
Online appointment scheduling, and tracking of application status;
Dedicated call centres and email support to answer queries;
100 per cent secure handling of passports, documents and personal information and online feedback services for applicants;
SMS alerts for visa status update and door-step delivery of passports.
(TradeArabia)
Norwegian commercial broadcaster TV2 is reportedly planning to make record cuts of NOK350 million (US$42.7 million) over the next four years.
Olav T SandnesVarious local reports say “shock waves” were sent through the local industry upon the announcement, though the number of jobs lost was not clear, and TBI couldn’t reach Egmont-owned TV2 before press time this morning.
However, the Nordic Film and TV Fund reported employees were immediately offered to apply to severance packages as part of a strategic initiative known as ‘TV2 in 2020’.
“The time for gradual changes in the industry is over and the time for gradual changes at TV2 will also come to an end,” TV2 CEO Olav T Sandnes (pictured) told the board in a statement. “It’s time for us to equip ourselves in the best possible way to achieve further growth.”It is thought the move is an effort to restructure to better position against digital upstarts such as Netflix and YouTube, which are gaining share in local markets, primarily by beefing up SVOD platform TV2 Sumo.
“TV2’s main task is to continue to create content that our viewers want. We must steer the transformation towards a fully-fledged digital TV business where TV2 Sumo takes a bigger role than today. To achieve this, we must be prepared to meet the needs and expectations of future viewers, users and advertising customers.”
TV2 has had international hits in recent years through dramas such as Occupied and Acquitted. Its channel includes the flagship FTA net, news net TV2 Nyhetskanalen, TV2 Sporten, TV2 Filmkanalen and entertainment channel TV2 Zebra.
Several people have been found dead after a helicopter crashed west of the Norwegian city of Bergen with 13 on board, local media report.
There were initial reports of people in the sea, but a rescue official told broadcaster NRK that there were no signs of any survivors.
The helicopter was “totally destroyed”. Photos from the scene show thick smoke coming from an area of rocky islets.
It was flying from the Gullfaks oil field to Bergen.
The western city is a centre for the North Sea oil and gas industry.
The helicopter, a Eurocopter 225, came down near the small island of Turoy, just west of the village of Solsvik.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the helicopter’s rotary blade come loose and sheer off in a different direction.
Some wreckage was found on the island, and parts of the hull are in the sea, local media said.
All passengers on the helicopter were employees of the oil company Statoil, reports say.
Service company CHC Helicopter confirmed that there had been “an incident involving one of our aircraft in the Norwegian sector”.
Statoil has temporarily grounded all helicopters of the same type.
A Norwegian national flag flies from a vessel near the Scarabeo 8 deepwater oil drilling rig, operated by ENI Norge AS, in Olensvag, Norway, on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. The world’s seventh-largest oil exporter boasts no net debt, adding to its appeal as an alternative to the debt-riddled euro area. Photographer: Kristian Helgesen/Bloomberg
While the US debates the controversial gun issue, Norwegians are calling for more guns, but this time they want them to be carried on the trains and for a very good reason. Believe it or not, the demand has been made by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. They want the weapons to be available to deal with any injured animals found on the tracks, so that they can then be put out of their misery in a humane manner. The agency says that animals have suffered for too long after collisions with trains and has accused rail companies of violating the Animal Welfare Act.Speaking of the Nordland Line, Asle-Håvard Miklegard, a senior adviser, told the local NRK news agency that the way they see it, the animal welfare law is repeatedly violated.
The Nordland line runs 453 miles (728 kilometers) between Trondheim and Bodø in northern Norway. According to official statistics, around 2,316 deer were hit by trains on the line between Steinkjer and Bodø during the period 2001-2011.
Miklegard said that the situation is serious and requires measures to remedy the problems, adding, “Animals are left for hours with a broken back, fractured bones and severe pain before being killed.”
“With the present system, both herders and hunters can often be far away from the location when they are called. In an ideal world the animals would be killed immediately.”
Requests are still outstanding for reindeer fences along the railway lines, apparently, which would stop the problem.
However, it seems unlikely that the guns will be deployed on board the trains, with Åge-Christoffer Lundebyveien of the national rail operator NSB stating that what was a common practice before, has since been discontinued.
“Weapons regulations are strict in Norway, and should be strict. There were fewer and fewer of our employees who felt it was right to leave the train in unknown terrain, only to make a killing, and often in the dark,” Lundebyveien explained.
However, NRK has published a series of very disturbing photos of the dead animals to emphasize the point, which can be viewed from the links below, if you have a strong stomach.
(Norwegian sources: NRK 1 , NRK 2)
Norway’s former minister for the environment and international development, Erik Solheim, was appointed on Tuesday to head the UN Environment Programme.
Solheim, 61, worked at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as head of the development assistance committee.
He served as Norway’s minister for the environment and international development from 2007 to 2012.
The former minister will replace Achim Steiner who has been executive director of Nairobi-based UNEP for the past ten years.
(AFP)
A Norwegian national flag flies from a vessel near the Scarabeo 8 deepwater oil drilling rig, operated by ENI Norge AS, in Olensvag, Norway, on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. The world’s seventh-largest oil exporter boasts no net debt, adding to its appeal as an alternative to the debt-riddled euro area. Photographer: Kristian Helgesen/Bloomberg
Norway will take more money from its $858-billion sovereign wealth fund to combat a deeper-than-expected economic slowdown as the drop in oil prices continues to hurt western Europe’s top crude exporter. With the price of oil down 60 percent since mid-2014, Norway has raised spending from its wealth fund, the world’s largest, and cut interest rates to combat falling private-sector investments and rising unemployment and to pay for an influx of refugees.
Mainland GDP growth, excluding the volatile oil and shipping sectors, is now seen at 1.0 percent in 2016, down from 1.8 percent seen in October and 2.0 percent seen in May 2015. The slowdown meant a further fiscal boost was necessary, Finance Minister Siv Jensen said. “A key priority for the government in the current situation is to support growth and employment in sectors exposed to international competition,” she said. Spending of petroleum revenues, as measured by the structural non-oil budget deficit, is estimated to be 205.6 billion Norwegian crowns, up 10 billion crowns on October. This is equivalent to 7.5 percent of GDP for mainland Norway, up from 6.4 percent in 2015.
Norway’s structural non-oil deficit shows how much money government spends beyond the income from mainland taxes levied on consumers and companies outside the oil industry. The deficit must be plugged through income from the oil industry and, in case this income is insufficient, with saved-up cash from the wealth fund. Analysts were divided as to how the government’s policy would have an impact on interest rates, which the central bank will announce on Thursday at 0800 GMT.
All but one of 18 economists polled by Reuters ahead of Wednesday’s announcement expect no change from the current key policy rate of 0.50 percent, but most have forecast that one or more cuts will come later. “This could indicate there is no longer need for more interest rate cuts,” said SEB Norway chief economist Stein Bruun. Fellow economist Erik Bruce, chief analyst at Nordea Markets, disagreed. “We … stick to our forecast for two more cuts,” he said. The crown weakened to 9.3627 at 1015 GMT from an intra-day low of 9.3238.
The so-called budget impulse, which measures how much the government’s spending will impact economic growth, rose to 1.1 percent from 0.7 percent, among the highest levels seen in the last 15 years, the minority right-wing coalition government said. The revised budget raised the 2016 unemployment forecast to 4.7 percent from 4.5 percent and the 2017 prediction to 4.6 percent from 4.2. The government will need to negotiate a compromise with two small centre-right parties, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. The head of Parliament’s finance committee, who is also the finance spokesman for the Christian Democrats, told Reuters he expected the budget to go through after talks.
Ferney Cifuentes, like so many Colombian children from his area, was helping his father herd cattle in Montecristo in January 2015 when a violent blast lifted the Earth and sent shrapnel flying.
The 14-year-old had stepped on a landmine. His death — tragically — was not unique. More than 11,000 Colombians have been wounded or killed by landmines and other unexploded ordnance in the past quarter century.
Landmines are singularly dangerous because they can lay dormant for years, only to kill and maim innocent people without warning. In Colombia last year, 285 people, including 40 children, were killed by landmines, a toll surpassed only by Afghanistan. At current mine clearance rates, decades will pass before the country is mine free.The United States and Norway believe that time line is not acceptable. That’s why we are leading a global effort to increase resources and technical expertise to help Colombia win the battle against these indiscriminate tools of war in the next five years. More than 20 countries and the European Union have joined our initiative, and we are welcoming others to come on board.
Hosted by the government of Colombia, supporters of the initiative are participating this week in a Forum of Experts in Bogota.
They will meet the operators conducting the demining, learn from Colombia’s past experience, share best practices and discuss ways to effectively channel additional aid.
Participants will also visit a pilot demining project being run jointly by Colombia’s government and the guerrilla group, FARC. The decades-long war has generated much of the landmine problem. The project is the first successful example of the two parties working together in the field to heal the wounds of that conflict. Victims’ groups have welcomed the joint project and hope that, by building trust, it will help smooth the path to a full and final peace agreement in the near future.
Now, as the Colombian government and the FARC are approaching a final agreement, we must stand ready to support implementation.
It will be crucial even after a peace accord is signed to underscore the benefits of peace by producing visible results for residents of conflict-affected communities. Confidence needs to be restored, security ensured, and institutions strengthened.
Demining can be a crucial part of this normalization process by helping to create safe conditions for people to return to their homes, freeing up productive land and making it safer for children to play outside and go to school.
As was true during the long conflict, Colombians will bear the overwhelming share of the cost. But for a peace deal to be successfully implemented, the international community must also play a role, including by sharing technical expertise and resources.
The Colombian government estimates it will need $350 million to eliminate the threat posed by landmines within five years.
Peace in Colombia is a global concern that has the support of nations around the world, regional organizations, NGOs, humanitarian groups, and religious leaders — including his Holiness Pope Francis.
As difficult as the negotiations have been at times, peace cannot wait. We must all do our part.
There would be no more fitting memorial to the memory of Ferney Cifuentes than to rid Colombia of the land mines that ended his life far too soon.
About the Author: John Kerry serves as the 68th Secretary of State of the United States. Borge Brende serves as the Foreign Minister of Norway.
(blogs.state.gov)