Saturday, October 3, 2026
Russia and Norway

Norway do not recognize Russian presidential election in Crimea

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

France does not recognize the results of the Russian presidential election in the occupied Crimea. The press service of French foreign ministry reported that on Monday.

The official statement mentioned that France remains committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. ‘Four years after the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, France most decisively confirms its commitment to sovereignty and territorial integrity of Crimea within the internationally recognized borders,’ it says. ‘France is concerned about the militarization of the peninsula and the worsening situation in the human rights area, especially that of Crimean Tatars. France also urges Russia to save and protect the historical and cultural heritage of Crimea’.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, French foreign minister is to visit Kyiv this week.

Norway followed France’s statement, not recognizing the outcome of Russian presidential election in Crimea; the respective post appeared on the official page of Norwegian foreign ministry on Twitter.

(N.Sethu, 112.international)

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Media Freedom

Social media post pushes Norway government to the brink of collapse

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg could face a tough choice: sacrifice her embattled justice minister or put her whole cabinet to a vote.

The minority government hangs in the balance after Justice Minister Sylvi Listhaug incensed the opposition by saying on Facebook that the Labor Party — whose youth camp was targeted by Anders Behring Breivik in the 2011 terrorist attack — cares more about the rights of terrorists than national security.

While she has since reluctantly apologised and erased the March 9 post after almost a week, the minister now faces a no-confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday (local time). The Christian Democrats have scheduled a meeting on Monday to decide on whether they will join the centre-left opposition and provide a majority for her ouster.

“This is a very demanding and serious matter, which we will have to discuss thoroughly before we decide,” Knut Arild Hareide, the head of the Christian Democrats, said on Friday.

The government would resign if the Christian Democrats back the no-confidence vote, VG reported on Sunday, citing a “central source.”

Listhaug has a power-base within the anti-immigration wing of her Progress Party, which is led by Finance Minister Siv Jensen. The 40-year-old Listhaug has in the past called political correctness on immigration a “tyranny of good” and has posted a picture on Facebook of an immigrant being expelled from Norway encouraging followers to “like and share!”

Her backers showed their support on Friday, flooding the Justice Ministry with flowers. A poll released on Friday for newspaper VG showed growing support for the Progress Party, its backing rising 2.8 percentage point to 15.9 per cent. Jensen also said over the weekend that she had full confidence in Listhaug.

She has also crossed swords personally with Hareide, who now could hold her fate in his hands. In a debate about religious extremism last year, she said he and other politicians are guilty of “licking Imams up the back.”

Solberg has already apologised for Listhaug’s March 9 comment on behalf of the government. But it could be until Tuesday until it’s revealed how the premier will deal with a no-confidence vote. “The question on how the government will handle a no-confidence vote will only be answered in parliament,” Solberg told news agency NTB.

Listhaug lashed out on Facebook after a majority in parliament, including Labor, defeated a government proposal to strip potential terrorists of their citizenship without a court order.

The no-confidence motion was brought by one of parliament’s smallest parties, the Red party, and was then backed by Labor and the others.

“The parliamentary majority can’t accept a Justice Minister who claims that we put terrorists’ rights above the nation’s security,” Red Party leader Bjornar Moxnes said on Twitter. “It quite simply goes beyond the limits of what a government minister can do.”

Labor Party leader, Jonas Gahr Store said on Saturday to broadcaster NRK that it would be acceptable if Listhaug was given another ministry to run. The plan was rejected by the Progress Party, which is also holding a meeting on Monday.

( – Bloomberg,stuff.co.nz)

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Russia and Norway

Four years since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

‘Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol violated fundamental principles of international law. It has therefore had major consequences not just for Ukraine but also for the international order and for global security,’ said State Secretary Audun Halvorsen.

On 20 February 2014, under the false pretext of restoring law, order and stability in Crimea, Russian forces entered Ukrainian territory and took control of political institutions and key societal functions. In the course of a few weeks, a part of Ukraine was forcibly placed under Russian administration.

The so-called referendum of 16 March the same year was designed to legitimise Russia’s use of force. In the absence of any form of international recognition, the referendum was used to justify the illegal incorporation of Crimea and Sevastopol into the Russian Federation on 18 March.

Since then, the human rights situation in Crimea and Sevastopol has deteriorated. Today, four years later, Russia is still denying international organisations and NGOs access to Crimea.

‘We are still hearing claims that Crimea has always been Russian and that Russia was simply taking back an area of territory that was rightfully its own. The fact is that Russia chose to place itself above international law, disregarding a series of legally binding agreements developed in the wake of two devastating world wars to regulate relations between states,’ State Secretary Halvorsen said.

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Economics

KONGSBERG in Qatar

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan
KONGSBERG has signed a cooperation agreement in Qatar for long-term technology development programs within defence, maritime industry and digitalization.

 

The first programme in relation to the cooperation will be delivery of communication, digitalization and tower solutions for military vehicles, a programme with a potential of approximately NOK 15 billion over the next eight years.

The programme will be the largest in KONGSBERG’s history and entail 15.000 Norwegian man-labour years and involve more than 170 Norwegian sub-suppliers.

Together with Barzan Holdings, KONGSBERG has established a new company for technology development programs. The company, BK Systems, will have its main office in Qatar Science & Technology Park, and KONGSBERG holding the CEO position. The park is an innovation hub for leading international industry and universities.

– BK Systems will be an important company for the development of technology and solutions within defence, digitalization and maritime industry in Qatar. The establishment of this cooperation shows that Norwegian high-tech industry is world-leading and in demand. We see considerable opportunities and potential for Norwegian industry and technology development with this establishment, says Geir Håøy, President and CEO of KONGSBERG.

Today, Barzan Holdings announced the companies that have been selected to deliver to the country’s upcoming vehicle programme which is to be delivered over the next eight years.

KONGSBERG is to deliver tower solutions, and digitalization and communication solutions to 490 armoured vehicles delivered by the French company Nexter. The next steps in the process will be detailing and final negotiations prior to signing the final contract for the programme.

– The vehicle program will be KONGSBERG’s single largest contract ever and entails considerable Norwegian value creation and high-tech jobs for many years to come. The potential is approximately 15 billion kroner for KONGSBERG. Approximately 15.000 Norwegian man-labour years and more than 170 small and medium sized sub-suppliers will be involved in the programme over the next eight years, says Håøy.

KONGSBERG is to deliver the solutions “PROTECTOR Remote Weapon Station” and “Medium Caliber Turret” to the programme, both tower solutions developed for increased protection of personnel.

The PROTECTOR Remote Weapon Station is a system that was developed in cooperation with Norwegian armed forces towards the end of the 1990s, and has since been continuously developed and is now the world-leading solution with close to 20.000 systems delivered to 19 nations.

The Medium Caliber Turret is a further developed, larger sized solution currently under delivery to the US armed forces. In addition to the delivery of the tower solutions, the agreement also includes delivery of integrated digitalization and communication solutions for the vehicles.

– Together with other Norwegian high-tech industry, KONGSBERG has for decades built up world-leading competence on system integration, decision support tools and digitalization solutions which are to be delivered to this vehicle programme. Today we are the world-leading supplier of these systems and we are pleased that the Qatari authorities have chosen our solutions, technology and competence, says Håøy.

(Kongsberg Gruppen)

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Spy War

NORWAY USED NSA TECHNOLOGY FOR POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL SPYING

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

BEHIND AN ABANDONED military facility 40 miles northwest of Oslo, Norway built a surveillance base in close collaboration with the National Security Agency. Its bright, white satellite dishes, some of them 60 feet in diameter, stand out against the backdrop of pine-covered hills and red-roofed buildings that scatter the area.

Classified documents describe the facility as “state-of-the-art,” with capabilities “previously not released outside of NSA.” Despite a hefty price tag of more than $33 million paid by Norwegian taxpayers, the Norwegian Intelligence Service has kept the operations at the site beyond public scrutiny.

The station, code-named VICTORY GARDEN, was ostensibly built to support Norwegian troops serving overseas and to combat terrorism. But its dragnet has also secretly captured records of phone calls and emails transmitted between law-abiding Norwegians and their friends, families, or colleagues in foreign countries, an investigation by The Intercept and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, known as NRK, has found.

In 2014, the data collection at the base was central to a behind-closed-doors dispute between the Norwegian Intelligence Service and the oversight committee that monitors the conduct of the country’s spy agencies, according to sources with knowledge of the incident. The intelligence service argued that the surveillance was lawful and necessary. But the committee disagreed and claimed that the storing and searching of Norwegians’ communication records was legally dubious. The disagreement remains unresolved; meanwhile, the surveillance appears to have continued unabated.

[AdSense-A]

https://theintercept.com/2018/03/01/norway-nsa-victory-garden-surveillance/

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Svalbard

Norwegian Town Where You’re Not Allowed to Die

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

In addition to dealing with round-the-clock darkness in the winter and the constant threat of polar bears, the 2,000 residents in the remote Norwegian town of Longyearbyen must also follow one very strange law: It’s illegal to die there.

Located on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard about halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, Longyearbyen is so cold that dying has been illegal there since 1950 when locals discovered that bodies weren’t decomposing in the cemetery because of the frigid weather.

In fact, when scientists exhumed corpses of those who died in the 1918 flu pandemic in 1998, they were able to retrieve live samples of the deadly virus.

Inhabited mostly by cole miners, locals became so scared of diseases spreading after they found that bodies weren’t decomposing, they made it illegal for any more people to buried in the local graveyard. While cremation urns are allowed to be buried there, so few people have taken up on this option that the terminally ill must leave the island and fly to the Norwegian mainland to spend their last days.

“If you seem to be about to expire, every effort will be made to send you to the mainland,” Jan Christian Meyer, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, told The Sun.

However, there are very few people born here, too. While there is a small hospital in Svalbard, pregnant women are encouraged to travel to the mainland in advance of their due date.

These aren’t the only reason why you probably don’t want to move here anytime soon. The town is so far north that it stays dark in the winter for four months at a time with zero difference between night and day for nearly three of those months. There are also nearly 1,000 polar bears who call the island home, which pose a dangerous threat to locals. But hey, you’re basically guaranteed to see the Northern Lights there so maybe it’s worth a trip. Just don’t die.

(menshealth)

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Environment

Rape of forests must be stopped

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The late Prof Wangari Maathai received a call from Ole Danbolt Mjøs, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, informing her that she had become the first African woman, and the first environmentalist, to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

This was a feat like no other by a Kenyan, but it was just another feather in Maathai’s cap of accolades during her lifetime. One of her greatest achievements is her fight for the environment that saw her humiliated at the hands of the Kanu government.

And through her struggles, we cannot forget one of her many memorable quotes, “The generation that destroys the environment is not the generation that pays the price. That is the problem.”

If she were alive today, Prof Maathai’s words would resonate with the ongoing debate in the country about our forests — our water towers. For now, we have to remind ourselves of her warning against environmental degradation and the future of this country.

Last week, I decided to take a drive to Naivasha with my family. Along the way, near Lari, there were large bare tracts of land in an area that once was filled with beautiful trees, making the drive very scenic.

As I drove further down, there were multiple loggers openly cutting down trees and next to them was a board from the KFS stating they were removing ‘mature’ trees. This makes it official for them to cut down the trees with no actual plans to plant others.

And so I kept asking myself, what logic would anyone in this day and age use to cut down trees when our tree cover in the country is already threatened? Why would anyone continue depleting our already depleted forest cover? According to Global Forest Watch, between 2001-2016, Kenya lost 288,000 hectares of tree cover.

The lobby also says that in 2010, Kenya had 2.7 million hectares of tree cover, extending over 4.6 per cent of its land area. In 2016 alone, Kenya lost 19,000 hectares of forest.

In other words, we are losing more forest cover than we are gaining as time goes by. Global Forest Watch also says 10 counties were responsible for more than half ( 69 per cent) of all tree cover loss between 2001-16. Narok had the largest tree cover loss of 57,500 hectares.

The other nine counties with the greatest loss of forest cover are Nakuru, Kilifi, Lamu, Kwale, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kericho, Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Baringo, each of which lost more than 10,000 hectares of forest cover during that period.

If this does not worry every Kenyan, then I wonder what should. With the growing threat of global warming, human-driven forest cover loss should be one of the things that we should clearly and strongly discourage.

We thus need policies to populate forests such as Karura, Mau, Aberdares and Mt Kenya, among others. We must also ensure the recent ban on logging is real and extends beyond the 90-day period announced.

As a matter of urgency, we must start a nationwide tree planting initiative. Recently, India made news and broke the Guinness records for planting 66 million trees in 12 hours.

We should beat this record, aiming to plant 100 million trees in 12 hours and attempt to break this record every year. This is less than eight trees for every adult in the country. If we all come together and break this record, then we will set a precedent that will be emulated by future generations.

In the end, our children will thank us for starting an initiative that will transform the environment and leave this country better than we found it.

And in the words of Prof Maathai, “Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing. You are just talking.”

(the-star)

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Environment

Oslo Wants to Use Drones to Alleviate Garbage-Filled Fjords

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

*** EXCLUSIVE – VIDEO AVAILABLE ***
LOFOTEN, NORWAY – APRIL 2016: While Joel was in Norway the sun was out for nearly 20 hours a day giving him the chance to make the most of the soft light in Lofoten, Norway, April 2016.
Submerge yourself in the fantastical natural beauty of Norways Lofoten Islands with these stunning landscapes. While leading a photo tour with fellow photographer Magali Tarouca, Joel Santos dedicated as much time as possible to documenting the regions famous scenery with his drone camera. The Portuguese photographer spent five days travelling over 1500km to thoroughly scout the locations before the participants arrived.With darkness only creeping in for a few hours in the early morning, Joel only slept for a few hours a night to take full advantage of the light and to capture the towns and villages of Reine, Hamnøy, Sakrisøya, Olenilsøya, Unstad, Uttakleiv, Nusfjord, Henningsvær and Fredvang.
PHOTOGRAPH BY Joel Santos / Barcroft Images
London-T:+44 207 033 1031 E:hello@barcroftmedia.com –
New York-T:+1 212 796 2458 E:hello@barcroftusa.com –
New Delhi-T:+91 11 4053 2429 E:hello@barcroftindia.com www.barcroftmedia.com (Photo credit should read Joel Santos / Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Oslo’s fjords, inlets of glacier-derived waters ensconced by steep cliff-sides, might look pristine and majestic in the winter, but reveal hidden aggregations of garbage beneath when thawed. Amongst the environmentally disconcerting hunks of trash are abandoned cars and plastic materials that damage local marine life. In addition to Oslo eagerly working to become the first major European city to establish car-free zones by 2019, it is now proactively looking toward drone technology to combat its polluted Fjords beneath.

According to The New York Times, the depths of Norway’s southern fjords likely contain historically significant items like sunken Viking ships and World War II materials, in addition to potential homicide victims and general trash. It is the latter, that environmentalists in the area are keen on combating via unmanned vehicles equipped with drone technology. The reason these fjords have swallowed such an abundance of garbage is that they’ve provided a popular method of disposal. “Not many years ago, a mayor said if you want to get rid of a car, put it on ice,” said Solve Stubberud, general secretary of the Norwegian Divers Federation.

Not many years later, fortunately, the capital is keenly eyeing drone tech to proactively clean its surroundings. “We will test out drones,” said Svein Olav Lunde, chief technical officer of the Oslo Port Authority, to clear away the “islands of trash” under water. According to board member Geir Rognlien Elgvin, the city’s port will be the first in the world to attempt a drone-assisted clean up of this kind. The drones themselves will essentially dive beneath the surface and locate substantial build-ups of trash, so that the electric-powered ship they deploy from can utilize its crane to assist in removal.

As The New York Times is wise to point out, Norwegians have a strong sense of pride and justice when it comes to their environment, having collectively been disgusted in January by images on social-media of dead dolphin trapped in plastic. This loud, moral compass which is further evident by the city’s plans on designating car-free zones in certain areas was awarded the European Green Capital Award for 2019. It’s no surprise then, that the city is working on yet another way to improve environmentally, this time, through drone technology.

“Plastic is the real problem,” said Stubberud. He claims that that besides politicians publicly voicing their interest in fighting pollution, it’s the environmentalists driving the ambitious plans exemplified by this new drone-tech approach. Unfortunately, Norway’s government allows mines to dump their waste offshore, providing for a frustrating situation where one initiative could really begin to make a difference, and an active legislation allowing for waste to be dumped into the ocean on a regular basis.

Christine Spiten, a drone pilot and tech entrepreneur, would describe the amount of trash in the fjords as vast. “There are whole households of furniture,” she explained. Having showcased Blueye’s Pioneer remote operated vehicle (ROV) drone to Oslo Port Authority representatives in February, during which she found a rusty bicycle underwater, she argued for the technology’s convenience and functionality. Hopefully for her, the citizens of Oslo and every other living thing on this Earth, our collective tech advancements continue to be used for environmental clean-up in the area.

(thedrive)

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Science

Saab’s New Air Traffic Surveillance Capability Goes Operational In Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Saab and Avinor announced that the northern Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS-B) region of the Norway National Wide Area Multilateration (WAM) system is now operational.

The system will enable Avinor to implement a new reduced separation procedure, thereby increasing traffic capacity between the Svalbard archipelago and the mainland.

Avinor, who is responsible for the 45 state-owned airports and air navigation services for civilian and military aviation in Norway, is installing Saab’s WAM surveillance system, which features virtualised central processing and ground stations that are shared between systems. The system features three ADS-B only regions, partly to address areas where WAM is not possible due to site limitations. The Svalbard region provides surveillance to the northernmost permanent community on the earth.

Saab’s new Cooperative Surveillance System (CSS), is ideal for creating a national WAM in Norway, because of the need to phase in different geographical and service regions. It is the flexibility of CSS that allows one region to go into operation while the others are still being built.

“We have worked together with Avinor to set a new standard for cooperative surveillance technology. Bringing this ADS-B region in the extreme north into operation demonstrates the system’s ability to function in harsh conditions, and it’s flexibility in deployment approaches,” says Mike Gerry, head of Saab business area Industrial Products and Services.

(defenseworld)

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Diplomatic relations

Norway’s Deputy Minister Visits Malawi with International Treaty

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Hanne Maren Blafjelldal, Norway’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food joined FAO’s International Treaty Secretary, Kent Nnadozie, on a very special field mission in Africa today – to visit farmers’ fields in Malawi.

This visit marks the first time the International Treaty Secretariat is going into the field with a major donor to witness, first-hand, a project supported through the Benefit-sharing Fund of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

“We are excited to go into the field with Norway to see the Benefit-sharing Fund at work on the ground,” said Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty. “Norway is one of the International Treaty’s most steadfast champions and has long supported our efforts to conserve the world’s crop diversity and the rights of small farmers, and we are delighted to have the Deputy Minister participate in this field visit.”

Norway is a longtime supporter of the International Treaty and contributes a percentage of its annual seed sales to the Benefit-sharing Fund, which supports farmers in developing countries in conserving and using agricultural biodiversity in their fields as they cope with climate change.

“All countries benefit from the exchange of material and information made available through the Multilateral System of the International Treaty, so it is only right that we give back by contributing to the Benefit-sharing Fund and help farmers conserve agricultural biodiversity,” said Deputy Minister Blafjelldal.

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Norwegian Aid

Norway to increase support to the Western Balkans by NOK 140 million in 2018

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norway is almost doubling its development assistance to the Western Balkans, with an increase from NOK 175 million in 2017 to NOK 319 million in 2018.

In the white paper on the course for Norwegian foreign and security policy published last year, the Government announced that it would be increasing its support for promoting stability, democracy and development in neighbouring areas. The EU and a number of individual European countries are also focusing more strongly on the Western Balkans at present. All the recipient countries in the region are seeking EU membership. On 6 February, the European Commission presented an ambitious strategy for enlarging the EU to include the Western Balkans.

‘The countries of the Western Balkans need to implement comprehensive reforms to guarantee democracy, strengthen the rule of law, create jobs and achieve economic and social progress. They are currently among the poorest countries in Europe, some of them with youth unemployment rates of up to 60 %. It is vital for these countries to succeed in their efforts, so that they can once again contribute to development, cooperation and security in Europe. This will be in the interests of both Norway and Europe as a whole,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide.

Norway’s support is intended to promote cooperation and reconciliation in the region, economic growth and job creation, good governance and anti-corruption, the protection of minorities and a stronger civil society. Priorities will vary from country to country, depending on their needs and the priorities of other donor countries and the EU.

Norway’s support is based on the recipient countries’ own priorities, and will be harmonised with the contributions of other donor countries and the EU. Some of the funding will be allocated to programmes that are jointly financed by other donors, including the EU.

Norwegian funding is available for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Some of the funding will be allocated to regional projects that include two or more countries.

(Press release – MFA)

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Environment

Norway uses connected cars to increase safety on wintry roads

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norwegian road authority Norska Statens Vegvesen (NSV) is deploying Klimator and Nira Dynamics’ Road Status Information (RSI) software in connected cars to determine and transmit road grip conditions in real-time with the intention of increasing safety on wintry roads. RSI uses algorithms that combine the data from the vehicles with information from roadside weather stations and weather forecasts.

The cars feature Nira’s on-board diagnostics (OBD) dongles and register current position, ambient temperature, wiper activity and road friction with data continuously available on the RSI-server.

Torgeir Vaa from NSV, said: “This technology quantum leap is overdue in the business to make use of new opportunities and meet the road users’ expectations. We have tested the new technology and are confident that RSI is the best performing solution.

“The plan was to have only about 50 OBD units for private volunteers, but we are very happy about this level of acceptance. The remaining OBD-dongles will be fitted into taxis, rental cars and delivery vehicles with varying use patterns – we expect very interesting winter months,” Vaa added.

(itsinternational)

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Crimes

Norwegian Police Raid Five Poker Rooms In Oslo

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

There was a massive crackdown on underground poker in Oslo Thursday evening, per a translated report from nrk.no. According to the report, around 100 police officers arrested the operators of five poker clubs in the city.

The poker game raids were unprecedented in Norway, said the report.

Police Attorney Philip Matthew Green said that authorities received tips about the underground poker rooms. The clubs allegedly had connections to other criminal activity. The government crackdown will not ensnare the poker players themselves, but rather the organizers of the games, police said.

According to authorities, the clubs hired people with criminal histories to protect the games.

Apparently, the five clubs that were shut down Thursday might just be the first of subsequent raids on the Oslo poker scene. Several years ago, Norway loosened its laws against poker, but the new rules made it clear that a legal poker game couldn’t take a rake from the players.

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Defence

Norway’s military contribution to the fight against ISIL in 2018

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norway will continue its contribution to the fight against the terrorist organisation ISIL. Norway will maintain its troop contributions from the Army and the Special Forces after March 2018, and will in addition deploy a medical unit to Iraq.

– The fight against ISIL has now reached a critical phase. Almost all the areas previously controlled by the group have now been won back. However, ISIL is still able and willing to carry out terrorist attacks both within and outside the region, and to destabilise areas that have been liberated. Iraq therefore needs continued support from the international coalition to prevent ISIL from regaining a foothold in the country, and to contribute to civilian stabilisation, said Minister of Defence Frank Bakke-Jensen.

The coalition against ISIL is now in a transitional phase, where international support is being shifted from warfare against ISIL to building up the capacity of the Iraqi forces.

– Iraqi force development since 2014 has been impressive, but many units still need further training, and new units need to be built up, said Mr Bakke-Jensen.

The original mandate for the Norwegian forces expires on 10 March 2018. The Government has now decided to continue Norway’s contribution until the end of 2018. The number of troops will be maintained at about the same level, but possibly with a reduction in numbers during the year, depending on the coalition’s needs and how the security situation develops.

Norway will provide around 110 troops from the Army and the Special Forces. They will assist in strengthening the capacity of the Iraqi forces tasked with securing and stabilising areas of Iraq that have been won back from ISIL. In addition, Norway will provide a 20-strong medical unit for up to six months. Norway will maintain its presence in Jordan for logistical support, and will also retain a limited number of staff officers in the relevant coalition headquarters.

(MFA – Norway)

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Corruption in Norway

FBI contacted over fake Trump Nobel nom

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Police in Norway have contacted the FBI as part of an investigation into a fake nomination for Donald Trump to win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

Norwegian police have contacted the FBI as part of a probe into a fake nomination of US President Donald Trump for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

The Norway-based Nobel Committee earlier this week said it had made a police complaint.

Rune Skjold of the Oslo police force’s economic crimes unit on Thursday confirmed reports that the FBI was contacted for assistance.

“We are investigating possible forgery of documents,” Skjold said, adding that he could not offer details or name any suspects.

Forging documents can result in several years in prison, he added.

Skjold said the Nobel Committee had contacted Oslo police about a month ago. Police had also been alerted last year over a similar suspect nomination for Trump.

A meeting with FBI officials was due next week in Oslo, Skjold said.

Concerning “the nomination of the US president, I can say that we have good reason to believe it is a fake nomination,” Olav Njolstad, non-voting secretary of the Nobel Committee, had told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK earlier this week.

Njolstad, who is also head of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, which assists the five-strong award panel in vetting nominated candidates, declined to comment further.

This year the committee received 329 nominations, the second-highest number to date. Last year’s prize went to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

(Source: AAP, N.Sethu)

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Crimes

Norway says Nintendo is breaking the law over eShop refund policy

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Nintendo has issued the following statement in response: “The operation of Nintendo eShop in Europe is fully compliant with European laws relating to the statutory rights of consumers.”

Norway has accused Nintendo of breaking the law by not letting customers get a refund on a pre-order.

In an open letter to Nintendo, the Norwegian Consumer Council called upon the Japanese company to comply with European law on the eShop.

When pre-ordering a video game, you have the right to cancel your order at any time before the release date,” said Finn Myrstad, director of digital policy at the NCC.

“This should be a quick and easy process, for example by the click of a button.” We’ve asked Nintendo for comment.

Nintendo isn’t the only video game company to come under fire from the Norwegian Consumer Council. It found of the seven leading digital video game platforms, only EA’s Origin and Valve’s Steam have adequate systems in place for refunding purchased video games. But the Consumer Council said Nintendo stands out from the rest when it comes to pre-ordering.

“The company plainly states that all purchases are final,” the NCC said. “According to the right of withdrawal laid down in the Consumer Rights Directive, such terms are illegal. Until the game can be downloaded and launched, the seller cannot prohibit the consumer from cancelling their pre-order.”

We had a gander at the eShop on a Nintendo Switch this morning in a bid to verify the Norwegian Consumer Council’s accusation. When we tried to pre-order Toki Tori 2+, we were presented with a box to check. It reads: “I consent that Nintendo begins with the performance of its obligations before the cancellation period ends. I acknowledge that I thereby lose my right to cancel.”

This checkbox reveals Nintendo considers the “performance of its obligations” to begin as soon as you put your money down for a pre-order, and because you’ve agreed to this and to waive your right to cancel, it isn’t required to offer a refund. Norway, however, disagrees, insisting Nintendo’s “performance of its obligations” only begins when you download and start a game.

This isn’t the first time a video game company’s digital refund policy has hit the headlines. In 2015, the BBC’s Watchdog programme investigated Sony’s digital refund policy after it received a number of complaints from PlayStation owners who had struggled to get their money back following fraudulent purchases.

At the time, Sony was heavily criticised for not refunding some customers who were charged for games they never bought. When these customers had their banks refund the money, Sony blocked their PlayStation Network accounts, preventing them from accessing online features and playing games they’d previously bought.

(eurogamer)

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Science

NASA Joins International Science Team in Exploring Auroral Cusp from Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

North of Norway over the Norwegian and Greenland Seas, the magnetic bubble surrounding the Earth dips inward, allowing space particles to funnel in toward the planet.

NASA and United States scientists will join those from Norway, Japan, Canada and other countries during the next two years to investigate the physics of heating and charged particle precipitation in this region called the geomagnetic cusp — one of the few places on Earth with easy access to the electrically charged solar wind that pervades the solar system.

The Grand Challenge Initiative (GCI) – Cusp is a series of international sounding rocket missions planned for launch in 2018-2019. Together, the rockets provide unprecedented coordinated studies of near-Earth space at the polar regions. In addition to helping us understand the fundamental processes of our neighborhood in space, such knowledge is needed for safe navigation and communication near the poles, where solar activity can disrupt radio signals.

“The magnetic cusp is a unique place in near Earth space — where energy from the solar wind can come directly down into Earth’s atmosphere. This energy heats the atmosphere by hundreds of degrees, inflating it and driving fierce winds of both neutral atmospheric and ionized gases. The cusp thus provides a unique laboratory for understanding how planetary atmospheres are modified by the intense energy inputs from their stars,” said Doug Rowland, a space scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and principal investigator of the Visualizing Ion Outflow via Neutral Atom Sensing-2 experiment or VISIONS-2 scheduled for launch in December 2018.

Eight missions with 11 rockets will launch from two sites in Norway — Andøya Space Center and Svalbard Rocket Range. The first mission — a NASA mission called the Auroral Zone Upwelling Rocket Experiment, or AZURE — launches in March 2018.

In some cases, launches will be conducted nearly at the same time from Andøya and Svalbard, providing simultaneous observations at different altitudes and latitudes for the first time. Sounding rockets launched from these sites are able to fly into the cusp and measure the solar particles streaming from the sun.

“During the polar night mid-winter, in December and January months when seven of the missions will be conducted, it is dark all day in Svalbard. The cusp is then visible to the naked eye. Svalbard is well equipped with ground-based radars and all-sky cameras to determine the launch conditions for cusp rockets,” said Jøran Moen with the University of Oslo and principal investigator of the Norwegian Investigation of Cusp Irregularities-5 or ICI-5 mission in December 2019.

The Grand Challenge will provide significant advances in understanding of near-Earth space beyond what each partners’ independent projects could achieve individually.

“For the first time ever, we aim to coordinate launches of sounding rockets through the cusp region from both Andøya and Svalbard,” said Moen. The main advantage is that we will obtain multidimensional information when combining observations for several rocket trajectories. We also will make data accessible through the Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing system, or SIOS. Our aim is to significantly increase the number of scientists who can dive into the exploration of the unique data sets to come, thus increasing the academic capacity to discover new physics.”

“Making sure that the appropriate ground based systems and modeling communities were included as early as possible has been a very important issue during the GCI – Cusp build-up,” said Kolbjørn Blix, GCI – Cusp program manager and director of space systems at Andøya Space Center. Planning began in 2012, he said.

In addition to AZURE, VISIONS-2 and ICI-5, other NASA Grand Challenge missions are the Twin Rockets to Investigate Cusp Electrodynamics or TRICE-2 (led by the University of Iowa, launching December 2018), The Cusp Alfven and Plasma Electrodynamics Rocket or CAPER-2 (led by Dartmouth University, launching January 2019), and the Cusp-Region Experiment or C-REX 2 (led by the University of Alaska, launching November 2019), which also includes three Canadian instruments from the University of Calgary (also flying on VISIONS-2).

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will fly the SS-520-3 in January 2019, which investigates the ion outflow mechanism in the cusp.

“It is quite exciting for us to participate in the GCI – Cusp with advanced science payloads on SS-520-3,” said Yoshifumi Saito, JAXA project principal investigator. “Participation in GCI – Cusp is a unique opportunity to dramatically increase our knowledge about the cusp by conducting comprehensive observations including ground-based radar and optical observations as well as GCI – Cusp sounding rockets.”

An international undergraduate student mission called G-Chaser, coordinated through the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, will also be conducted in January 2019. University students from the United States, Norway and Japan will fly several experiments to conduct measurements and technology development in the upper atmosphere in the region near the cusp.

Participating universities include the University of Tokyo; University of Oslo; Arctic University of Norway, Tromso; Capitol Technology University, Laurel, Maryland; Penn State, State College, Pennsylvania; University of New Hampshire, Durham; University of Puerto Rico; Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; and West Virginia University, Morgantown.

(NASA, N.Sc2)

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Norwegian Aid

Norway supports civilian capacity building for the G5 Sahel joint force

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The increased funding will go to a civilian component of the G5 Sahel cooperation, including capacity building within international humanitarian law and human rights.

‘The situation in the vulnerable Sahel region has deteriorated since the crisis in Mali broke out in 2012. Instability and terrorism are impeding long-term development and depriving the population of an entire region of opportunities to create a better future. The Government has intensified its efforts in countries and regions affected by conflict and fragility, and we are now increasing our support for the Sahel region by a further NOK 15 million to around NOK 455 million,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide.

Ms Eriksen Søreide is participating at a high-level conference on the Sahel in Brussels today, the aim of which is to mobilise financial and material resources to support cooperation between the Sahel countries in the areas of security and development. The five countries of the Sahel – Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad (the G5 Sahel) – are co-chairing the conference, together with the European Union, the United Nations and the African Union.

‘I am pleased to see the broad international support for the G5 Sahel cooperation. A well-coordinated regional effort is essential for combating transnational challenges such as terrorism, violent extremism and organised crime. At the same time, it is vital that the parties implement and comply with the Mali peace agreement signed in 2015,’ Ms Eriksen Søreide said.

Norway has a broad engagement in the Sahel region and is promoting stability and development through financial and military contributions to the UN mission in Mali (Minusma), bilateral and multilateral development cooperation, and humanitarian assistance.

The five Sahel countries have established a joint security initiative in the Sahel, the G5 Sahel Joint Force. The Norwegian contribution announced at today’s conference will be used to support the civilian components of the initiative, such as training in international humanitarian law and human rights for G5 Sahel troops and efforts to build trust between the troops and the local population.

The Norwegian Embassy in Bamako was opened earlier this year. The Embassy’s responsibilities include following up cooperation with Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.

Norway’s engagement in Mali dates back to the time of the drought in the country in the 1980s. Broad cooperation involving Norwegian civil society groups and international partners was established to prevent famine, poverty and conflict in the region. Since then, Norway’s engagement has been expanded, and today includes efforts to promote education, peace and reconciliation, and support for stabilisation and democratisation processes. Norway’s participation in Minusma has strengthened the Government’s peace efforts in the region.

The additional contribution of NOK 15 million will bring Norway’s support for the Sahel region to approximately NOK 455 million in 2018. This is an overall increase of NOK 130 million compared with 2017. Norway’s contribution to the UN mission in Mali (Minusma) comes in addition to this, as does Norwegian support for the Lake Chad region. Norwegian support for the Lake Chad region totalled around NOK 700 million in 2017 and is expected to remain at a high level in 2018.

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Norwegian Aid

Norway increases funding for UN human rights efforts

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Today, Norway entered into a four-year agreement on support for UN human rights efforts. ‘Human rights and democracy are under considerable pressure in many parts of the world. It is therefore important that Norway is increasing its support to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, politically as well as financially. We urge other countries to do so as well,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide.

Foreign Minister Eriksen Søreide attended the opening of the 34th regular session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva today. Ms Eriksen Søreide signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on long-term, strengthened cooperation between Norway and OHCHR during the period 2018-2021. Norway has set aside up to NOK 150 million for 2018, an increase of NOK 20 million compared with 2017.

‘Seventy years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is more important than ever to fight against the forces that are trying to undermine fundamental rights. OHCHR is a clear, principled voice in support of international norms and the principles of the rule of law. I am concerned that lack of financing is restricting the UN’s efforts to promote member states’ compliance with their human rights obligations,’ said Ms Eriksen Søreide.

Only about 3 % of the regular UN budget goes to OHCHR. Human rights are one of the three pillars of the UN, alongside peace and security and sustainable development.

‘Insufficient funding means that measures and resolutions to support human rights are not implemented in practice. This in turn weakens the impact of measures in other areas. If we are to succeed in creating lasting peace and in realising the sustainable development goals, human rights cannot be disregarded. Norway will continue to be at the forefront of international efforts to promote human rights,’ Foreign Minister Eriksen Søreide said.

For more information, see the Government’s white paper on human rights.

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Norwegian Aid

Norwegian Government calls on aid sector to intensify efforts to prevent sexual exploitation

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide and Minister of International Development Nikolai Astrup are urging all partner organisations that receive funding from Norway to intensify their efforts to prevent sexual harassment, violence and abuse committed by employees in the aid sector.

‘In crises all over the world, aid workers are doing invaluable work in challenging conditions. Also, this is a large sector with tens of thousands of employees. Cases that have come to light recently in the Norwegian and international press show that the aid community needs to do far more to combat misconduct and a negative culture in its own ranks. All forms of sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse are unacceptable, and in many cases they are also criminal acts. Norway will put this issue even higher on the agenda, both at political level and at senior official level,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide.

Norway is one of the world’s largest donor countries and allocates approx. 1 per cent of its GNI to fight poverty and alleviate suffering in humanitarian crises around the world.

‘Norway is a significant actor in the field of international aid and development assistance. We expect all our partners to take their responsibility as employers seriously, whether they are UN organisations, parts of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, multilateral actors or non-governmental organisations. Employers must have adequate measures in place to prevent employees from sexually harassing or exploiting colleagues or members of the local communities they are serving,’ said Minister of International Development Nikolai Astrup.

In a letter to all partner organisations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) set out the following expectations:

  • Norway expects all its partners to actively endorse the message that all forms of sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse are completely unacceptable.
  • Norway expects all organisations that receive funding from the MFA and Norad to have ethical guidelines and good systems in place for preventing, reporting, and dealing with sexual harassment, sexual abuse and gender-based violence carried out by, or against, their own employees.
  • Addressing this issue is an important part of the organisations’ responsibility as employers, and they also have a responsibility in relation to their partners and the local communities in which they are working.
  • The MFA and Norad will raise this issue routinely in their meetings with partners.
  • The MFA has separate procedures for following up Norwegian Junior Professional Officers in the UN.

Read the letter from the ministers.

https://www.regjeringen.no/en/aktuelt/letter_aidsector/id2590298/

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Defence

Chief of Norwegian navy visits NAS Jax

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville Capt. Sean Haley (fourth from left) meets with Rear Adm. Nils Anreas Stensønes (to his left) , Chief of the Royal Navy of Norway and other members of the Norwegian navy before their Distinguished Visitor Flight to USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Feb. 15. / Photos by Reggie Jarrett

Chief of the Royal Navy of Norway Rear Adm. Nils Anreas Stensønes made a brief stop at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville on his way to fly out to USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Feb. 15.

Stensønes, along with four other members of the Norwegian navy, flew out of NAS Jacksonville aboard a C-2 Greyhound to the Truman to observe the Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX). He would spend a few hours on the Truman before flying on to the Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen (F 311), which was participating in COMPTUEX.

Stensønes began his United States trip Feb. 7 in Washington, D.C., where he met with Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson.

“The high point of the trip is visiting the carrier battle group,” Stensønes said.

“My purpose was to observe our frigate integrate with the Harry S. Truman Battle Group and see how that was going.”
Stensønes was also looking forward to seeing his own Sailors. “It’s always a privilege to visit with your own Sailors when they at sea,” he said. “As an old Sailor, I love to go to sea. There is nothing that gives you as much energy as being around young Sailors.”

NAS Jacksonville Commanding Officer Capt. Sean Haley, who met with Stensønes, spoke of the importance of working with foreign navies. “It’s critical for us to continue to build upon those relationships that we have with nations that we routinely operate with,” he said. “It increases coordination and communication in our ability to operate together, which ultimately improves efficiency when we operate across the globe.”

Stensønes also recognizes the value in multi-national cooperation. “Norway is a small nation,” he said. “We are absolutely dependent on NATO and our allies. It is great training for our ships and it is also increasing interoperability, which is absolutely necessary for our alliance to be efficient.

(jaxairnews jacksonville)

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Defence

Successful F-35 drag chute test in Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

While The US Air Force is completing another round of cold-weather testing of the F-35A at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, Norway completed a successful verification of the drag chute system at Ørland Air Force Base in Norway February 16th.

− Receiving the first three aircraft in November 2017 was a major milestone for Norway. The program delivers on all key criteria: Time, cost and performance. Through the verification of the production version of the drag chute on our production model of the F-35, the weapons system is expected to fully qualify for arctic conditions this spring, says Major General Morten Klever, Program Director for the F-35 program in Norway’s Ministry of Defence.

Video can be watched on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5aPvJakASc

The chute — unique to the Norwegian aircraft — is housed under a small fairing on the upper rear fuselage between the vertical tails. It is being added in order to rapidly decelerate Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35s after landing on the country’s icy runways when there are challenging wind conditions. Other country’s may adopt the system.

The Royal Norwegian Air Force had three aircraft delivered to Norway, Ørland in November 2017. From 2018, Norway will receive six aircraft annually up until, and including, 2024.

(Press release, MFA)

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Africa and Norway

Ethiopian Indigenous Leader Okello Akway Ochalla is Free!

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Oakland, CA—On February 14, 2018, Mr. Okello Akway Ochalla, an indigenous Anuak leader, Norwegian citizen, and the former Governor of the Gambella region of Ethiopia, was released after being held as a prisoner on trumped up charges in an Ethiopian jail for nearly four years.

In March 2014, while visiting relatives in South Sudan, Mr. Okello was abducted in complete disregard of extradition treaties and international law, forcibly taken to Ethiopia, and charged under the country’s draconian Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. His crimes included speaking to the international media, such as the BBC and Voice of America, about the 2003 massacre of the Anuak people, and the ongoing plight of the people of Gambella.

In December 2003, over a period of several days, Ethiopian soldiers massacred over 400 Anuaks in Gambella. Mr. Okello, who was the governor of the region at the time and an Anuak himself, fled Ethiopia with his young children, making the perilous journey to South Sudan by foot, and eventually sought asylum in Norway. In the ensuing years, human rights abuses in the region – including the planned eviction of up to 225,000 people from their land to make way for large-scale agriculture investments – continued. Mr. Okello became an outspoken advocate for justice and the rights of his people to their life and land. It was this work that led to his unlawful detention.

Mr. Okello’s case is emblematic of the vicious disregard for rule of law in Ethiopia and the oppressive nature of the Ethiopian regime.

“From day one, Mr. Okello’s case has exposed the brutality of the Ethiopian regime,” said Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute. “They kidnapped a man, forced him to sign a confession, made him endure solitary confinement, and put him through a seemingly endless and fraudulent legal process. In the end, he was sentenced to nine years in prison, all for speaking up for the rights of his people.”

“Over the past four years, the Oakland Institute has fought tirelessly, hand-in-hand with Mr. Okello’s family and lawyers, including defense lawyer Ameha Mekonnen and Lewis Gordon the Environmental Defender Law Center, to secure his release,” continued Mittal. “Today, we cannot undo the immense injustice that Mr. Okello and his family have borne, but we can celebrate his freedom. We remain committed to supporting Mr. Okello’s transition back home, and the plight of the numerous other political prisoners currently held in Ethiopia.”

“I would like to thank the Oakland Institute for its devotion to my father’s case, and commitment to see him free,” said Obok Akway, Mr. Okello’s son. “When the world turned their back on my father, everyone at the Oakland Institute was there to support him and my family.”

Mr. Okello’s release comes in the wake of the Ethiopian government’s recent pledge to free some of the countless political prisoners currently held in the country and close its notorious detention facility, the Maekelawi police station. For years, thousands have been prosecuted and tortured for speaking out about land grabbing and the human rights and governance crises in the country. This includes opposition politicians, indigenous and religious leaders, students, journalists, and more.

“While we celebrate that Mr. Okello is free, the release of some political prisoners is far from enough,” said Mittal. “Thousands continue to languish behind bars; repressive legislation, like the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, remains in effect; and the government’s development policy continues to marginalize and dispossess indigenous groups from their lands and livelihoods. As long as the economic development of the country takes place at the expense of basic human rights, we will continue our work.”

(oaklandinstitute)

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Russia and Norway

Mishandling of spent nuclear fuel in Russia may have caused radioactivity to spread across Europe

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

For 2 weeks in September and October last year, traces of the humanmade isotope ruthenium-106 wafted across Europe, triggering detectors from Norway to Greece and Ukraine to Switzerland. The radioactive cloud was too thin to be dangerous, containing no more than a few grams of material, but its origin posed an outsize mystery.

Now, scientists at the French Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear Security (IRSN) in Paris say the isotope may have been released from the Mayak nuclear facility near Ozyorsk in southern Russia. IRSN argues that the leak could have taken place when Mayak technicians botched the fabrication of a highly radioactive component for a physics experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in L’Aquila, Italy.

The Russian government and state nuclear operator Rosatom have vehemently denied that an accident took place, however. Meanwhile, an international committee set up by the Russian Academy of Sciences’s Nuclear Safety Institute (IBRAE) in Moscow that met on 31 January is divided over the origins of the pollution.

Based on a computer model that used the air-sampling data and weather patterns, IRSN concluded in early October 2017 that the ruthenium most likely originated in the southern Urals; its German counterpart agreed. The French team went on to rule out a number of potential sources, including a mishap at a nuclear reactor. Such an incident would have spewed many other radioactive pollutants besides ruthenium.

The southern Urals are home to the secretive Mayak facility, the scene of one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents 60 years ago, and speculation soon turned to a possible accident at its reprocessing plant, which extracts isotopes from spent nuclear fuel. The IRSN report, made public on 6 February, says Mayak’s attempt to manufacture a capsule of cerium-144 destined for Gran Sasso “should be investigated” as a possible cause. Scientists at Gran Sasso needed the cerium for a search—now called off—for hypothetical particles called sterile neutrinos.

The estimated amount of radioactive ruthenium released could only have come from processing several tons of spent nuclear fuel, IRSN says. What’s more, the ratio of ruthenium-106 to the faster-decaying isotope ruthenium-103, detected in smaller amounts last autumn, reveals that the fuel must have been removed from its reactor only a year or two earlier. Spent fuel is normally cooled for up to a decade before it is reprocessed, so it seems the plant was preparing material for an application requiring high levels of radioactivity, IRSN says.

That fits the description of the sterile neutrino experiment at Gran Sasso, known as SOX and supported by Italy’s National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. It required a source that was both extremely radioactive and very small, says SOX spokesperson Marco Pallavicini, a particle physicist at the University of Genoa in Italy. He says Mayak Production Association, the only company able to supply it, signed a contract in fall 2016 to produce a cerium capsule, expected to arrive in early 2018.

But in December 2017 the company stated it could not reach the desired radioactivity level. (“The Russians said absolutely nothing” about a radiation leak, Pallavicini says.) That meant SOX would lack the required sensitivity, and on 1 February, INFN announced it had axed the experiment, in what Pallavicini described as “a big blow” for scientists.

Jean-Christophe Gariel, IRSN’s director of health, says an uncontrolled temperature rise during the separation of cerium from the spent fuel at Mayak might have converted some of the ruthenium in the waste to gaseous ruthenium oxide. That gas would have escaped through the facility’s filters and solidified in the cool outside air, he says, turning into small solid oxide particles that could have wafted across Europe.

IBRAE Director Leonid Bolshov calls IRSN’s scenario “a good hypothesis,” but says it’s incorrect. For one thing, he says, the separation process never reached “the hot phase.” And in any case, he adds, “major operations” on the spent fuel at Mayak were done in late October 2017, after the ruthenium release. Bolshov says that a “rather rare meteorological event” might have transported the ruthenium from an as-yet-unidentified place to the southern Urals, from which it then appeared to spread.

Non-Russian members of IBRAE’s international panel, which is due to meet again in April, support IRSN’s conclusion that the southern Urals is the likely source of the leak, says IRSN physicist Jean-Luc Lachaume, a panel member, although some argue that the region is too large to pinpoint an exact location. Russian members claim the leak could have arisen “in the eastern part of the Russian federation,” Lachaume says. He says a representative of the Russian nuclear regulator Rostechnadzor who inspected Mayak in November 2017 told the panel that he saw no anomalies from a month earlier, but didn’t supply data to support that statement.

Princeton University physicist Frank von Hippel, a nonproliferation expert, says he doesn’t see “anything wrong with the IRSN analysis.” He notes that the amount of ruthenium-106 that the French team estimates was emitted—between 1 gram and 4 grams—matches the 30 grams of cerium-144 required for SOX, given that spent fuel contains the two isotopes in a ratio of about one to 14. And although the cloud over Europe was harmless, an accident at Mayak could mean that people living close by took in “potentially significant lung doses,” Von Hippel says.

(sciencemag)

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Royal House

Crown Prince Haakon concludes his visit to South Korea

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark participated in the Birkebeinerrennet in 2017. Photo: Gunn-Eva Høgseth, Det kongelige hoff / The Royal Court.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon ended his three-day visit to the Olympic city of Pyeongchang yesterday. On his last day, the Crown Prince was a witness to a historic day for Norway. Norway has never had such a good day when it comes to victory in the Olympic Games as yesterday. Norway won six medals: three gold, two silver and one bronze.

The Crown Prince started his last day in South Korea by watching Aksel Svindal and Kjetil Jansrud win gold and silver in alpine skiing. Before the race, the Crown Prince was given a guided tour together with the Norwegian national team in alpine skiing and talked with the athletes and coaches.

After this event, His Royal Highness witnessed Ragnhild Mowinckel win silver in women’s alpine skiing. This was Norway’s first female alpine medal in the Olympic Games since 1936. The Crown Prince then continued his hectic programme when he saw Ragnhild Haga win gold and Marit Bjørgen win bronze in cross country skiing. The day concluded when Johannes Thingnes Bø won Norway’s third gold, in the biathlon.

Crown Prince Haakon has had a jam-packed programme in the last three days. He has talked to most Norwegian athletes in all the sports Norway participated in and received a lot of information about the Norwegian athletes and their techniques.

After talking to gold medal winner Johannes Klæbo on the second day, they met the press together. Norwegian television NRK asked His Royal Highness if he had received any tips that he could use when he participates in the “Birkebeinerrennet”.

Birkebeinerrennet is a ski race with royal history and was established in 1932 in memory of the trip that Torstein Skevla and Vald Skrukka had with King Haakon Håkonsson in 1206. The race takes place between the Norwegian mountain villages of Lillehammer and Rena and is 54 kilometres long.

The Crown Prince has participated in the competition in many consecutive years, and last year, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark also participated. However, Crown Prince Haakon revealed that he would not take part this year. His Royal Highness would not go into detail why he will not attend but said he, unfortunately, did not have time this year.

(royalcentral)

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