Friday, November 13, 2026
Crimes

Norwegian police expect more arrests in extensive paedophile probe

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

screen-shot-2016-11-23-at-12-35-16Norwegian police said Tuesday they expect more arrests in connection with a probe into 51 men linked to what they believe is the country’s largest paedophile ring to date.

Police in the west coast city of Bergen on Sunday disclosed they had made 21 arrests and secured three convictions.

Investigations were ongoing in other parts of the country. A man in his 60s was arrested Tuesday in the northern region of Finnmark.

The suspects – including lawyers, students, and businessmen – shared images and videos, including live web camera feeds of abuse. Some showed abuse of infants, police said.

A total of 5,000 user accounts have been traced and the case was “shockingly large,” lead investigator Hilde Reikras told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

The investigation began in January after police found suspect chat conversations on a 22-year-old man’s computer after his arrest in 2015 over having sex with a 14-year-old girl.

The chats were traced to the dark web, a hidden part of the World Wide Web that does not show up on ordinary search engines, like Google, and users are anonymous.

The probe has been dubbed Dark Room.

In one chat documented by investigators, two men discussed abducting a young girl. Other suspects asked for live feeds of abuse.

Minors in both Norway and the Philippines were reportedly abused.

(ebinews)

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Srilanka and Norway

Norway and ILO partner in Sri Lanka’s North

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

norway11222016Norway and International Labor Organization (ILO) in Sri Lanka have signed a partnership agreement on Tuesday to extend the Government of Norway’s support to the conflict affected communities in the North. The project will address the immediate needs of decent work and livelihood opportunities at the grass root level in the conflict affected Northern Districts.

The Agreement was signed between ILO Sri Lanka, Officer in Charge Indra Tudawa and the Ambassador of Norway to Sri Lanka Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther.

Under the partnership, ILO Sri Lanka with the financial support of the Government of Norway will enhance local economic development through partnerships between the private sector and primary producer communities which will lead to sustainable income generation activities for the families in the project districts.

Under the support of NOK 11 million (approx. Rs. 190 million), the two-year project will directly support more than 2000 families by developing new business models such as joint ventures between cooperatives and large agro based companies, fruit and vegetable and fish exporters to transform the lives of conflict affected communities. Under the norway-02fruit and vegetable sector the project will focus on expanding different varieties of fruits and green leaves and herbal products which have viable export market potential. Under the fishery sector, the main focus will be on seafood for developing export links.

The Cooperatives in the project areas will be strengthened to work with Private Sector and negotiate the partnerships for the benefit of the members. In parallel the project will support to achieve Fairtrade certification and sustainably sourced certification for the cooperatives to enhance potential market value for the produced. In all the project interventions will constitute of 60% of women, out of which 30% to 40% will be from Female Headed Households.

At the signing of the contract the Norwegian Ambassador stated “generating sustainable livelihood and economic empowerment of the conflict affected communities is key to reconciliation and economic development of the country.”

(N.Sethu)

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Norwegian Aid

Brussels: Norway pledges $5.5m aid support to CAR

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

bruss-300x200Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Borge Brende in a statement on Thursday, announced additional aid funds of estimated $5.5 million to the Central African Republic (CAR) as part of a donor support conference led by the European Union (EU) in the Belgian capital, Brussels.

According to Borge Brende “it was important for the international community to support the CAR with a view to alleviating the acute humanitarian needs and contributing to more long-term peacebuilding.”

The central African nation has been plunged into crisis with international bodies reporting that the potential for sectarian violence remained high. Indiscriminate violence and looting has occurred since the overthrow of the government in March 2013.

The EU donor conference aims at getting CAR back on track after years of conflict that has adversely affected the country.

‘The main objective of the Brussels Conference on the Central African Republic will be to draw together commitments to help the authorities restore peace and security, renew the social contract and revive the economy” an EU statement read.

According to the bloc, ‘‘in order to develop a consensus on needs and priorities for the next five years, the CAR authorities requested the support from the World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union to prepare a joint Recovery and Peace Building Assessment.”

Thousands of UN peacekeepers and a few hundred French troops are still in the Capital Bangui and areas where tensions remain high.

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Asia and Norway

Bangladesh expects Norway foreign minister’s visit in February

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

screen-shot-2016-11-21-at-21-32-15The newly appointed Ambassador of Norway to Bangladesh, Blake Sidsel, has met Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali and State Minister for Foreign affairs Md. Shahriar Alam.

During separate meetings on Monday at the foreign ministry, they discussed bilateral issues and areas for further expanding the relations, the foreign ministry said.

The foreign minister recalled his visit to Norway in early September and expressed “confidence” that Norwegian foreign minister would visit Bangladesh in February 2017, as was agreed in Oslo.

Ali said there was “ample scope” of expanding the bilateral trade.

He said Bangladesh offers “significant” investment incentives which the Norwegian businesspeople can take.
The state minister sought the ambassador’s support for technology transfer from Norway “to identify and quantify our marine resources”.

He encouraged Norwegian investment in renewable energy.

Norwegian company ‘Scatec Solar’ offered $800 million investment to generate 500 MW solar power in different parts of Bangladesh when Foreign Minister Ali was in Oslo.

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Crimes

Politicians, lawyers arrested in Norway paedophile network probe

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

jailNorwegian police say they are investigating a paedophile network suspected to involve at least 51 people, which includes the abuse of infants and at least one case of a suspect acknowledging abusing his own children.

Deputy Police Chief Gunnar Floystad says that in Norway’s largest abuse case to date they have arrested 20 men so far, with three convictions, in western Norway. The 31 other suspects are from other regions in Norway.

Floystad told reporters Sunday that many of the suspects are highly educated, and include lawyers and politicians. He said he could not reveal more details pending the conclusion of the investigation, known as “Dark Room,” which began in 2015.

Prosecutors said the perpetrators met in the dark web, using encryption and anonymity to hide their tracks.

(AP)

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Economics

Norway: Staff Concluding Statement of an IMF Staff Visit

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan
(FILES): This April 5, 2007 file photo shows the International Monetary Fund logo at IMF headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. The IMF announced November 2, 2009 the sale of 200 tonnes of gold to India's central bank, nearly half the amount targeted for sale over the coming years to shore up IMF finances. The total sales proceeds are equivalent to 6.7 billion dollars, the IMF said. AFP PHOTO / Files / TIM SLOAN (Photo credit should read TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images)

logo at IMF headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.  (Photo credit should read TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images)

A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.

The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.

Recent Developments and Outlook

The economy is slowly recovering from the shock of low oil prices. After remaining largely flat last year, mainland GDP expanded at a slow pace in the first three quarters this year, aided by supportive monetary and fiscal policies. Inflation remains above the 2.5 percent target, largely reflecting lagged effects of last year’s krone depreciation on imported consumer goods prices, whereas wage growth is very modest. Unemployment is expected to peak this year— albeit still at a low level— and is mainly concentrated in oil-dependent regions as the economy continues to adjust to declining offshore demand. The krone has strengthened somewhat this year alongside the recovery in oil prices. House price inflation accelerated again recently, particularly in Oslo and surrounding areas, and household debt remains elevated at 224 percent of disposable income.

A continued recovery is expected, but there are downside risks. We project mainland growth to remain at about 1 percent this year, but to accelerate to 1¾ percent next year, supported by a pick-up in investment and export growth and improving consumer and business sentiment. Unemployment is projected to peak this year before declining in 2017. As low capacity utilization weighs on domestic inflation and the effects of the krone depreciation dissipate, inflation is set to return gradually to target next year. However, the outlook hinges on a smooth transition away from oil and is subject to downside risks. Weaker-than-expected growth in key advanced and emerging economies could derail the non-oil export recovery and the transition. Persistently lower energy prices could compound the adverse growth impact of the ongoing decline in oil investment. Domestically, a housing market correction could result in an abrupt reduction in consumption and residential investment with ripple effects on corporate earnings and banks.

Policy Challenges — Supporting Transition and Addressing Structural Vulnerabilities

Monetary Policy

Monetary policy should stay accommodative to support the recovery. With core inflation returning to target and inflation expectation remained close thereto, monetary policy can afford to remain on hold for now. As the recovery takes on a more solid footing, a gradual return to the neutral rate will be needed over time. Given the significant slack in the economy, financial stability risks stemming from the housing market would best be tackled by targeted macroprudential and other measures (see below), including gradually phasing out the large tax subsidy for housing investment.

Fiscal Policy

The expansionary 2017 budget is broadly appropriate, but fiscal measures should be pro-transition and pro-growth. The level of fiscal stimulus planned for 2017 is justified, given the significant output gap, the level of unemployment, and ample fiscal space. However, stimulus should focus on well-targeted measures that facilitate the economy’s rebalancing to a new growth model based on non-oil tradable sectors. The 2017 budget contains welcome further reductions in personal and corporate income tax rates, but other tax policy changes to promote a more efficient allocation of resources should also be considered. In particular, reducing tax preferences for housing would help channel new investment toward more productive uses and take some of the pressure off rapidly rising house prices. The temporary funding allocated to combat unemployment in oil-dependent regions should help smooth the transition. Emphasis should be put on retraining and mobility-enhancing measures, such as measures to promote housing supply and related infrastructure in job-abundant urban areas, to move unemployed workers into non-oil private tradable sectors, instead of replacing declining oil-related employment with public sector employment.

The fiscal stance should shift to neutral as the economy returns to potential. The government’s fiscal policy has generally been prudent with the non-oil structural deficit staying well below 4 percent of GPFG assets in recent years. However, the fact that GPFG has been growing much faster than the economy has allowed increased spending of oil revenues as share of mainland GDP. The new global norm of low interest rates and high equity valuations also suggest likely returns to GPFG assets to be considerably lower than 4 percent for the next decade, and we note that the Mork Commission reached a similar conclusion. In this regard, the fiscal rule’s 4 percent target is no longer appropriate as operational guidance for fiscal policy, and a target of about 2.5-3 percent of GPFG assets would be needed to conserve oil revenue to address long-run fiscal challenges even if the equity allocation of the GPFG is increased. A revised rule should also ensure non-positive fiscal impulse when the economy is at or above capacity, thereby relieving so-called “Dutch disease” pressures.

Structural Reform

Continued structural reforms are also crucial to a successful transition to a new growth model. Low wage growth and the depreciation of the krone during 2013-15 has improved cost competitiveness, but productivity growth remains sluggish and Norway’s unit labor costs are still well above those of peer countries. In this regard, continued wage restraint on the part of social partners is important, as are reforms to reinvigorate productivity growth in the areas identified by the Productivity Commission, including education, research and innovation, mobilization of the workforce, and public sector efficiency. Such reforms would help restore Norway’s competitiveness and foster non-oil tradable sectors. More generally, further efforts are needed to increase efficiency in the labor market. While private sector pension reform has been effective in raising labor force participation among the elderly, it will be critical to complete similar reforms to the public sector retirement system and to tighten sickness and disability benefits. Additionally, relaxing constraints on new property construction, particularly in main urban areas that are less affected by low oil prices, could boost the supply of housing, thereby taking some of the pressure off elevated housing prices and facilitating labor relocation between regions.

Financial Sector Policy

The banking system is well capitalized and profitable, but important structural vulnerabilities remain. The 2015 FSAP update identified elevated household debt, overvalued house prices, and banks’ heavy reliance on external wholesale funding as the main sources of financial stability risks. Despite the housing sector-specific measures implemented so far, both house prices and household debt have been growing considerably faster than household disposable income, and have accelerated recently at an unsustainable rate, particularly in the Oslo area. Further targeted measures to contain systemic risks arising from the housing sector are thus called for, such as higher mortgage risk weights, tighter loan-to-value limits, and the introduction of debt-to-income (DTI) or debt-service-to-income ratio limits. In this regard, the mission strongly supports the recent proposals by the FSA and the Norges Bank to make permanent and tighten the current regulation on requirements for new residential mortgage loans, including reducing the speed limit and introducing a DTI ratio. The authorities should also continue to enhance stress tests for banks to take account of funding risks.

Regional cooperation on financial stability issues should be strengthened given the need to calibrate macroprudential measures to economic conditions of host countries. This is particularly important in view of the intended conversion of Nordea Bank Norge from a subsidiary into a branch. Enhanced supervisory cooperation among the Nordic finance ministries, central banks, and financial supervisors, which safeguards host country treatment and information exchange, would better ensure financial stability and a more level playing field for banks.

The mission is grateful to the Norwegian authorities and other counterparts for their warm hospitality and for the candid and high-quality discussions.

(IMF Communications Department)

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Asylum

UN Asks Norway Not to Send Refugees Back to Somalia

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

unhcrJust a few weeks after the Norwegian authorities said they will send refugees back to Somalia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged Norway to change its mind.

In October, Immigration Minister Sylvi Listhaug said that the Norwegian government had concluded that the situation in Somalia has settled down and that 1,600 Somali refugees living in Norway should have their refugee status revoked.

In a letter dated November 7th, but first reported on Wednesday night, the UNHCR wrote to the Norwegian government and said that the security situation in Mogadishu was far too unstable to warrant Norway’s decision. Just two days before the letter was sent, a car bomb attack near the Somali parliament building in Mogadishu killed at least two police officers, with some reports indicating that up to 20 people were killed.

Norwegian authorities believe the situation in Mogadishu is safe and that the practise of sending people back is in line with the UN Refugee Convention. The UNHCR, however, said there is continued violence and conflict in the Somali capital, causing high levels of insecurity.

The UNHCR’s letter pointed out that there is a difference between those who choose to go back voluntarily and sending people back by force.

(allafrica)

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Asia and NorwayTaiwan and Norway

Aslaug Holm´s movie Brothers awarded around the globe.

by Geir Yeh Fotland
written by Geir Yeh Fotland

Aslaug Holm´s movie Brothers awarded around the globe.
Report from Taiwan.
img_8410-2Taiwan International Documentary Film Festival this year chose Aslaug Holm’s film Brothers as the best international film. 

A week earlier the festival Hot Docs in Canada named “Brothers” for best international documentary. Last year the film was  honored in Haugesund, Norway, with Amanda for Best Director. In August Brothers was the opening film at EBS International Documentary Festival in Seoul, South Korea. In September it was shown at the Nordic Panorama Film Festival in Malmo, Sweden, and received “Honorable Mention” which in practice means 2nd place in competition with the 14 best Nordic documentary films in this year’s competition program. In October the film won Le Prix Trajectoires in France.

Aslaug Holm studied Film and Television at Volda District School in the years 1987 – 89. She married her classmate Tore Buvarp. Together with a 3rd classmate they started in 1992 Fenris Film, a name taken from Norse mythology. Fenris means wolf.

Aslaug Holm was photograph for the 2001 film Cool & Crazy (“Heftig og Begeistret” in Norwegian), a documentary about the Berlevaag Male Choir. In 2006 she was both director and photographer for the movie Oljeberget about Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his journey through a prosperous Norway. Both films had much coverage in media.

Aslaug and Tore got two sons, Markus and Lukas, named as the Biblical two best documentary writers Mark and Luke. Filming of the brothers began in 2007 with Lukas (5) starting primary school together with his brother Markus (8). The recordings were made at home in Sagene in Oslo and on holidays at her childhood house in Smola on the North West coast of Norway. It shows great scenes of different seasons in Oslo and from summers at the coast. Nordic Panorama writes:  – Over the course of eight years Holm has documented their transition from childhood to youth, resulting in a unique film which presents the boys’ dreams and expectations with both tenderness and an adult eye, and follows the brothers all the way into the wildness of their teenage years.

The father gets the oldest son interested in football. Lukas is not as enthusiastic. But Markus lets Lukas make some goals and brag about his skills. Then Lukas starts enjoying football as well.

Over the past two years she had to edit 450 hours of recording down to 106 minutes. So in all, she spent 10 years on the film. The first show in Norway was in March last year and was shown in cinemas until October. Now you get the movie on DVD for Europe.

This year Aslaug Holm was present with her film Brothers at the Taiwan
International Documentary Film Festival, a festival that started in 1998. This year’s festival was the 10th in the series and was held in May with 70 foreign participants from 23 countries including Norway.

img_8616-3Pro China demonstration in Taipei at Film Festival posters shows Taiwan has freedom of speech.

I saw a few products Chinese film students have made in China where they interviewed people who had experienced the great famine from 1959 to 1960 and the Cultural Revolution of 1966. No one dared complain because it could be perceived as criticism of Mao Tse-tung who then reigned. People interviewed ment the victims did´t deserve any memorial, they were no heroes such as those who fought against Japan. True documentary films may be banned in China. People of Taiwan therefor feels it is a disgrace when Norwegian authorities call Taiwan a province of China. Outside next to posters of the film festival, as to show the political freedom in Taiwan and as also a protest against Taiwan’s lack of censorship of documentaries, someone was demonstrating for union with China.

Each film was shown twice. Peter Watkins from England made a film in 1974 about Edvard Munch. It was shown twice to full sets halls, all tickets sold out. The festival has unfortunately contract to show movies only twice even if a film could fill up the showroom several times. Only the winning film was screened a 3rd time.
The film Brothers created at first display great interest. “This wins,” said Morton John Chen when he came out of the cinema. He had bought tickets for ten different movies. The jury said Brothers was made with warmth, humor, good observation and reflection and assigned the film the Grand Prize as best foreign film.

img_8634-2San-San Liu (to the left in the photo) was at the first screening and decided to see the second. When the film won the main prize, she invited family and friends to see the additional performance with her.


While in Taiwan, Aslaug Holm had a sightseeing at the National Parliament, in Taiwan called Legislative Yuan. She found it interesting to visit the office of Kuomintang (KMT), the eldest political party in Asia, founded in 1911. Now in 2016 KMT lost its power over this parliament  for the first time since Taiwan was taken over by Republic of China in 1945. 

A cousin  from her neighbour house in Smola has his girlfriend from Tainan in South Taiwan. She told me the United Daily News had an article about Ms. Holm June 29 this year. Taiwan International Documentary Film Festival could have been more documented in the local media.

The Brothers has been shown on NRK1, the Norwegian Broadcasting. In Taiwan Brothers was shown at cinemas on July 1.  It might come on DVD with Chinese subtitles. The Taiwan European Film Festival (TEFF) offers every year since 2005 over 450 screenings in more than 30 locations all around Taiwan (English and Chinese subtitles, free of charge entrance). Infine Art and Culture Exchange (INFINE) is one of the orginisers and hopes to include a Norwegian film at their festival next year.

Mr. Geir Yeh Fotland – Taiwan National Correspondent NORWAY NEWS.com
Email: – geiryeh@gmail.com, or news@norwaynews.com

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Science

First unmanned, fully-automated vessel for launch in 2018

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

boat-1062x598To safeguard lives and protect people from the hazards from the sea environment, United-Kingdom based, Automated Ships Limited, and Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to build the world’s first unmanned and fully-automated vessel for offshore operations.

The historic project is expected to take off in January 2017, when Automated Ships will contract the vessel tagged ‘Hrönn’, which will be designed and built in Norway in cooperation with KONGSBERG. The vessel is expected to begin operations in 2018.

Sea trials will take place in Norway’s newly designated automated vessel test bed in the Trondheim fjord, and will be conducted under the auspices of DNV GL and the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA). The Hrönn will ultimately be classed and flagged, respectively.

Hrönn will initially operate and function primarily as a remotely piloted ship, in Man-in-the-Loop Control mode, but will transition to fully automated, and ultimately autonomous operations as the control algorithms are developed concurrently during remotely piloted operations.

Automated Ships will be the primary integrator, project manager and ship-owner of this world’s first fully automated and unmanned ship for commercial use.

The project will leverage existing technology to develop a robust, flexible and low-cost ship to become the market leader and offer not only a capable work-boat but provide an unparalleled research and development asset for the furtherance of this emerging industry sector.

Currently, only small unmanned boats are being utilised for near shore operations but there are no technical limitations to constructing large, unmanned and automated systems. The only impediments are regulatory, but with the participation of DNV GL and the NMA, and Norwegian and UK companies and institutions, it will be possible to rapidly and at low-cost be the first to market with a full-size unmanned ship.

Hrönn is a light-duty, offshore utility ship servicing the offshore energy, scientific/hydrographic and offshore fish-farming industries. Its intended uses include but are not limited to: Survey, ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) and AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) Launch & Recovery, light intermodal cargo delivery and delivery to offshore installations, and open-water fish farm support.

The vessel can also be utilised as a standby vessel, able to provide firefighting support to an offshore platform working in cooperation with manned vessels.

Automated Ships is currently in discussion with several end-users that will act as early-adopters and to establish a base-rate for operations and secure contracts for Hrönn offshore, in the near future.

The advantages of unmanned ships are manifold, but primarily centre on the safe guarding of life and reduction in the cost of production and operations; removing people from the hazardous environment of at-sea operations and re-employing them on-shore to monitor and operate robotic vessels remotely, along with the significantly decreased cost in constructing ships, will revolutionise the marine industry.

Managing Director of Automated Ships Ltd. Brett A. Phaneuf, said “the company will be at the forefront of that revolution, along with its many Norwegian partners,”

Head of DNV GL Maritime Research, Bjørn Johan Vartdal, said: “Research, innovation and technology development are at the core of DNV GL’s business development philosophy. In general, we are widely involved in the qualification of new shipping technology. Increased automation combined with remote monitoring and control is an inevitable trend and has the potential to create safer and more efficient transport and operations at sea. This may lead to unmanned ships, as in this case, and the technologies involved also have the potential to improve the safety and efficiency of manned ships in the form of increased decision support and operational assistance. The contract that has been announced today is a brave initiative and a major step towards the realisation of these technologies, and we look forward to moving technology frontiers together with all those involved,”.

(Guardian)

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Diplomatic relations

46th meeting of the European Economic Area Council

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

20160616Vidar-Helgesen21. The forty-sixth meeting of the EEA Council took place in Brussels on 15 November 2016 under the Presidency of Ms Elisabeth Vik Aspaker, Minister of EEA and EU Affairs of Norway. The meeting was attended by Ms Aurelia Frick, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein, Mr Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson, representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, and Mr Lukas Parizek, representing the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, as well as by members of the Council of the European Union and representatives of the European Commission and the European External Action Service.

2. The EEA Council noted that, within the framework of the political dialogue, the Ministers would discuss Western Balkans, Ukraine/Russia, Migration, and the EU global strategy on Foreign and Security Policy. An orientation debate was held on the digital single market, including the collaborative economy.

3. The EEA Council acknowledged the key role played by the EEA Agreement for more than 20 years in advancing economic relations and internal market integration between the EU and the EEA EFTA States. The EEA Council highlighted that the Agreement had been robust and capable of adapting to changes in EU treaties and EU enlargements. The EEA Council recognised that increased efforts towards enhancing competitiveness would be key for jobs and growth in Europe.

4. The EEA Council emphasised the importance of a well-functioning Single Market as a driver in boosting economic growth and creating new jobs throughout Europe, and welcomed the steps already taken to implement the proposals contained in the strategies for a digital single market and for upgrading the Single Market, both launched in 2015, with a view to exploiting in full its untapped growth and productivity potential. The EEA Council agreed that a holistic approach is required to tackle some of the main challenges facing the Single Market, and stressed the importance of close involvement of the EEA EFTA States in the further design and development of single market policies and initiatives.

5. The EEA Council welcomed the adoption of the EEA Joint Committee decisions of the first package of legal acts related to the EU regulations on the European supervisory authorities in the area of financial services. The EEA Council also highlighted the high importance of promptly incorporating and applying the other outstanding legislation in the field of financial services as soon as possible in order to ensure a level playing field throughout the EEA in this important sector.

6. Noting the progress report of the EEA Joint Committee, the EEA Council expressed its appreciation for the work of the Joint Committee in ensuring the continued successful operation and good functioning of the EEA Agreement.

7. The EEA Council emphasised the importance of solidarity among the countries of Europe to overcome social and economic challenges. In particular, the EEA Council expressed concern regarding the continued high level of youth unemployment in some EEA member states.

8. The EEA Council commended the positive contribution of the EEA and Norway financial mechanism 2009-2014 and of their predecessors in reducing economic and social disparities throughout the EEA and recognised the still existing need to alleviate social and economic disparities in the EEA.

9. The EEA Council welcomed the ratification of the agreement on an EEA financial mechanism 2014-2021 by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and of the agreement between Norway and the EU on a Norwegian financial mechanism for the 2014-2021 period by Norway. The EEA Council further welcomed the provisional application of the agreement on a Norwegian financial mechanism for the 2014-2021 period as of 1 July 2016 and of the agreement on an EEA financial mechanism 2014-2021 as of 1 August 2016.

10. The EEA Council also welcomed the provisional application of the Protocol on trade in fish and fisheries products between Iceland and the EU as of 1 August 2016 and of the Protocol on trade in fish and fisheries products between Norway and the EU as of 1 September 2016.

11. Emphasising the fact that greater knowledge of the EEA Agreement throughout the EEA is in the interest of all contracting parties, the EEA Council urged them to ensure that information on the EEA Agreement is made readily and easily available.

12. The EEA Council noted that free movement of capital is a fundamental internal market freedom and an integral part of the EEA acquis and acknowledged that restrictions can be implemented only temporarily on the basis of the provisions of article 43 of the EEA Agreement. The EEA Council welcomed the progress of the comprehensive plan of the Icelandic government for removal of capital controls without threatening economic and financial stability of the country.

13. The EEA Council placed great importance on continued close cooperation between the EU and the EEA EFTA States in environment, energy and climate change polices, particularly in light of the 2030 framework for climate and energy and the framework strategy for a resilient Energy Union with a forward-looking climate change policy. The close cooperation should also continue in particular in the areas of internal energy market, energy security, emissions trading, promotion of competitive, climate resilient, safe and sustainable low carbon energy, energy efficiency, renewable energy resources, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU), as well as other environmental issues such as waste, chemicals, water resource management and industrial pollution.

14. The EEA Council recalled the historic global and legally-binding climate agreement reached in Paris in December 2015 and welcomed its entry into force on 4 November 2016, triggered by the EU ratification. The EEA Council welcomed the efforts undertaken by both EU member states and EEA EFTA States to ensure speedy completion of their national ratification procedures and encouraged other countries to ratify as soon as possible.

15. The EEA Council welcomed the broad support the joint initiative on European standardisation had achieved and the efforts the EU side had initiated with this successful collaborative co-regulation modernising the European standardisation system. The EEA Council also acknowledged that the involvement and contribution from EFTA in this field is an illustration of efficient EU-EFTA cooperation supporting a homogenous EEA.

16. The EEA Council welcomed the ongoing efforts made to both reduce the number of EEA-relevant EU acts awaiting incorporation into the EEA Agreement and to accelerate the incorporation process. While commending all the steps undertaken in the course of the last years, the EEA Council noted that the number of acts awaiting incorporation was still too high. The EEA Council called for continued work in order to significantly and durably reduce the current backlog and thereby ensure legal certainty and homogeneity in the EEA. It urged all parties to engage constructively to find solutions to pending difficult issues.

17. With regard to the third package for the internal energy market, the EEA Council welcomed progress made in recent months with regard to removing the remaining obstacles towards its incorporation in the EEA Agreement, notably as concerns the EEA EFTA participation in the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), and underlined the importance of swiftly finalising this work in order to establish a fully functional internal market for energy.

18. The EEA Council welcomed progress made in recent months with regard to the 2009 regulatory framework for electronic communications (including the regulation on the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications – BEREC), and the regulation on medicinal products for paediatric use.

19. The EEA Council noted that progress was still needed on a number of important outstanding issues and looked forward to reaching a conclusion as soon as possible, in particular regarding the third postal directive, the EU legal acts in the area of organic production, as well as in the area of common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations.

20. The EEA Council noted that there was a number of Joint Committee decisions, for which the six-month deadline provided for in the EEA Agreement with regard to constitutional clearance had been exceeded. It encouraged the EEA EFTA States to strengthen their efforts to resolve the pending cases as soon as possible and to avoid such delays in the future.

21. The EEA Council acknowledged the significance of the negotiations on an ambitious, balanced and comprehensive free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States. The EEA Council welcomed the continuous exchange of information between the European Commission and the EEA EFTA States, initiated in the EEA Joint Committee in December 2014. Bearing in mind inter alia Protocol 12 to the EEA Agreement, the EEA Council encouraged a continuation of this exchange of information.

22. The EEA Council acknowledged that the contracting parties, pursuant to article 19 of the EEA Agreement, had undertaken to continue their efforts with a view to achieving the progressive liberalisation of agricultural trade. The EEA Council looked forward to the signing of the agreements on the further liberalisation of agricultural trade and on the protection of geographical indications between the EU and Iceland, which were initialled on 17 September 2015, in the near future. The EEA Council noted the suspension of the negotiations between the EU and Norway on protection of geographical indications.

23. The EEA Council welcomed the progress made in the negotiations between the EU and Norway on further liberalisation of agricultural trade within the framework of article 19 launched in February 2015 and encouraged the parties to actively continue their efforts for further progress in the negotiations.

24. The EEA Council looked forward to the adoption of the Joint Committee decision related to the agreement on the further liberalisation of trade in processed agricultural products within the framework of article 2(2) and article 6 of Protocol 3 to the EEA Agreement between Iceland and the EU, which was concluded on 17 September 2015, in the near future.

25. The EEA Council encouraged the contracting parties to continue the dialogue on the review of the trade regime for processed agricultural products within the framework of article 2(2) and article 6 of Protocol 3 to the EEA Agreement in order to further promote trade in this area.

26. Acknowledging the contribution made by EU programmes to building a more competitive, innovative and social Europe, the EEA Council welcomed the participation of the EEA EFTA States in EEA-relevant programmes to which they contribute financially.

27. The EEA Council recognised the active participation and full integration of the EEA EFTA States in the European research area and the successful association of Norway and Iceland in Horizon 2020, the EU’s flagship programme for research and innovation. The EEA Council will continue to place high importance to the integration and policy alignment of EEA EFTA States with the EU in the area of research and innovation.

28. The EEA Council underlined the importance of continuing the practice of inviting officials from the EEA EFTA States to political dialogues held at the level of the relevant EU Council working parties.

29. The EEA Council underlined the importance of inviting EEA EFTA Ministers to informal EU ministerial meetings and ministerial conferences relevant to EEA EFTA participation in the Internal Market, and expressed its appreciation to the current Slovak and incoming Maltese Presidencies for the continuation of this practice.

30. The EEA Council recognised the positive contributions made by the EEA EFTA States to the decision-shaping process of EEA-relevant EU legislation and programmes through their participation in the relevant committees, expert groups, studies and agencies, as well as through the submission of EEA EFTA comments.

(EU)

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Farming

Norway-Mongolia Friendship business forum

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

700Mongolian MP, L.Munkhbaatar MP has attended a business forum of the Norway-Mongolia Friendship Community, which has taken place in Oslo.

The business forum aimed at boosting business cooperation and drawing more investment to Mongolia through various projects.

He presented some information on the current political, social and economic situation and foreign policy of Mongolia.

_700The business forum was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to the Kingdom of Norway Z.Altai, Minister-Counsellor E.Bulgan, Economic Advisor B.Battsetseg and the head of the Norway-Mongolia Friendship Community Rolf Amundsen.

He went to Kautokeino village of Norway at the invitation of the Association of World Reindeer herders.

During the visit, the sides signed a Memorandum of 0Understanding on Cooperation in improving livelihoods of reindeer herders and providing more opportunities to children from the reindeer herding families to study with scholarships in Norway and other Scandinavian countries.

The students are able to choose various fields for majoring such as reindeer farming, biological and traditional knowledge, food culture, linguistics and English language studies. Also, in accordance with the MoU, the sides decided to launch a TV reality show featuring the lives and businesses of reindeer herding communities.

The authorities agreed to establish sisterhood ties between Kautokieno village and Tsagaannuur soum of Khuvsgul province, and to provide assistance in increasing the population of reindeers in Mongolia by localizing herds of reindeers from Siberia.

In Kautokeino, more than 3,000 “sami” locals are living and herding some 700 thousand reindeers.

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Defence

EU extends internal border controls

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

281a2dfcecb292e49ccde53c21df9d35-800xEU states backed extending internal border checks for three months in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Norway, and Sweden.
The move was formally approved on Friday (11 November) by the EU council, representing member states.

The European Commission had recommended the extension in late October, following demands from the respective capitals over broader fears that refugees and asylum seekers in Italy and Greece may attempt to settle in the countries.
The closed border along the Western Balkan route earlier this year and a migrant swap deal with Turkey has seen migratory flows into greater Europe drop. Italy has also imposed stiff border checks along the Brenner Pass with Austria, a major transit route into Germany.

Fears prevail, as all five states seek to maintain controls initially imposed in May.

Those checks were allowed to remain in place for six months as a response to “a serious threat and to safeguard public policy and internal security.”

Facts and figures

But, of the some 3 million people screened by Swedish authorities from June until the end of August only 640 were refused entry.

Norway refused only 14 people between May and September.

Austria stopped entry of 233 between May and August and Germany over 3,000 from mid-May until the end of July.

Denmark said it had refused entry of just over 1,000 people from May until September, out of some 1 million people screened.

The frequency of the checks, location, and time varies.

Despite the relative low refusal rates, the commission has described the internal border checks as proportionate.

All five are part of the Schengen border-free zone, which spans 26 countries throughout Europe.

It means Austria will continue to impose checks along its border with Hungary and Germany with Austria.

Denmark will carry out land border and ferry port checks with Germany, while Sweden will maintain checks at Oresund bridge with Denmark, and Norway will oversee ferry connections to Denmark, Germany, and Sweden.

The commission had previously said such internal controls would be removed before the end of the year to restore “a normally functioning Schengen.”

But Robert Kalinak, the Slovak interior minister speaking on behalf of his country’s EU presidency, now says the controls will be lifted when possible.

“Although we are not there yet, the situation is improving. The prolongation will, therefore, be for three months only, and there will be more intensive reporting obligations compared to the previous period,” he said in a statement.

(euobserver)

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Sports

Successful European Endurance Conference held in Oslo

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

1280278_g08_w01An illustrious line-up gathered in Oslo for the European Endurance Conference from 4-6 November, as part of the European Athletics Coaching Summit Series.

The conference was organised by the Norwegian Athletics Coaches Association in cooperation with the Norwegian Athletics Federation. A total of 101 coaches attended the three-day conference, including 52 from overseas representing 19 countries.

The programme included lectures from some of the continent’s leading coaches including Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father and coach of middle distance runners Henrik, Jakob and Filip on his sons’ successes; Johan Kaggestad, the former coach of distance running greats Grete Waitz and Ingrid Kristiansen on the makings of world-class distance runners; Zbigniew Krol, the coach of two-time European champion and world silver medallist Adam Kszczot on training for the 800m; and 1996 Olympic 800m champion Vebjorn Rodal and his coach Oyvind Sandbakk on the success factors in the two-lap event.

Other highlights of the conference included a presentation from Henrik Larsen on the strategies of Kenyan distance runners over the years and how they can be applied to European athletes while Honore Hoedt, the former coach of world and European indoor 1500m champion Sifan Hassan, led a practical demonstration on running drills and technique in distance running.

The Norwegian Athletics Coaches Association and the Norwegian Athletics Federation would like to thank all participants for taking part in the European Endurance Conference 2016.

The next part of the coaching conference will be the World Javelin Conference which takes place in Kuortane from 17-19 November.

(european-athletics)

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Diplomatic relations

Cross border services debut between Norway and Finland

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

full_area_map-1Avinor and Finavia today launched cross border air traffic services across the border of Finland and Norway, where Kirkenes tower/approach is now providing the services in parts of Finnish airspace.

The arrangement facilitates more efficient and safe flight operations for flights in and outbound Kirkenes Airport in northern Norway serving the interests of airspace users.

This initiative has become possible in the cooperative work within the North European Functional Airspace Block, NEFAB.

The cross border services in Kirkenes TMA are another concrete result of the NEFAB development programme that is investigating airspace and service improvements for the benefit of the airlines and travellers. Cross border services are an essential element in the NEFAB programme to achieve more optimised and efficient airspace.

“I am very satisfied that the NEFAB cooperation is supporting development of efficient airspace and services. This initiative is confirming that joint efforts in NEFAB are benefiting our customers. Avinor is looking forward to develop the cross border services further, together with our partners,” said Anders Kirsebom, CEO Avinor Air Navigation Services.

“The cross border services with Norway are a good proof of how we are working in NEFAB towards building more efficient airspace structures for the benefit our customers, and are one among many other initiatives. Finavia has worked close with Avinor in the past years, as the two countries have exchanged civilian radar data, thus reducing the investment needs of both companies,” said Raine Luojus, CEO Finavia.

The service agreement on cross border services in Kirkenes TMA was signed between both parties earlier this autumn.

The NEFAB Programme is the cooperation between air navigation service providers Avinor (Norway), EANS (Estonia), Finavia (Finland) and LGS (Latvia). The cooperation is seeking opportunities to improve the cost efficiency of airspace and services in NEFAB for the benefit of airspace users. Programme’s recent achievements are the implementation of Free Route Airspace (FRA) within all NEFAB States and a seamless FRA interface with Danish – Swedish Functional Airspace Block partners.

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Defence

UK and Norway agree new cooperation on Maritime Patrol Aircraft

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan
Besøk av Britisk Forsvarminister til Forsvarets operative hovedkvarter. / Visit from UK Secretary of State for Defence to the Norwegian Joint Headquarters.

Besøk av Britisk Forsvarminister til Forsvarets operative hovedkvarter. / Visit from UK Secretary of State for Defence to the Norwegian Joint Headquarters.

The UK and Norway stepped up their defence relationship today, as Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon announced new cooperation on Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and exercises.

Sir Michael, who visited Norway’s top military headquarters, close to the Arctic Circle on Thursday, announced that the UK and Norway would work closer on Maritime Patrol Aircraft cooperation, including in reducing costs and increasing operational effectiveness.

The UK announced that it would procure nine Boeing P8 MPA in last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review. The new capability, which will be based in Scotland, will allow for enhanced situational awareness in key areas such as the North Atlantic, and will also further increase the protection of the UK’s nuclear deterrent and our two new aircraft carriers.

Sir Michael also visited Norway’s Bodø Main Air Station, home of two F-16 squadrons and a squadron of Search and Rescue Sea King helicopters, where he signed a new agreement on host nation support for UK exercises in the country, further increasing the UK and Norway’s ability to exercise, train and operate together. Mr Fallon welcomed the fact that British armed forces undertake yearly winter training in Norway, particularly 3 Commando Brigade in Harstad and Evenes and elements of Joint Helicopter Command at Bardufoss.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:

Britain needs Maritime Patrol Aircraft to keep watch over the seas. As part of our £178 billion defence equipment programme, we’ve committed to new maritime patrol aircraft that are able to monitor threats to Britain and our armed forces.

By stepping up cooperation with Norway on maritime patrol, we will help keep Britain safer and more secure.

The Defence Secretary arrived in Norway following meetings with the Northern Group countries on Wednesday in Copenhagen, where he reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to European defence. As part of this, the Defence Secretary announced that 5 Battalion The Rifles would lead the UK’s battalion in Estonia next year, part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence in the East.

Work on the UK’s MPA programme is progressing well, including the investment on infrastructure in Lossiemouth in Scotland, where the planes will be based. Former armed forces personnel who previously served on UK Nimrod are also re-joining the RAF to help operate the future P-8s. 12 have recently re-joined and more will re-join in the future.

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Killing

Vietnam bus overturns killing Norwegian couple, injuring 14

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan
People transfer an injured train passenger to a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. A passenger train crashed into the back end of another in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Thursday, killing many people and injuring others, officials said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

People transfer an injured train passenger to a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. A passenger train crashed into the back end of another in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Thursday, killing many people and injuring others, officials said. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

A bus carrying 31 passengers overturned on a rain-soaked road in central Vietnam, killing a Norwegian couple and injuring 14 others, police said.

Most passengers were asleep when the bus skidded off a curved road during heavy rains around 1:45 a.m. Wednesday, police said. It was traveling from the central highland province of Dak Lak to the historic city of Hue.

The fatalities were identified as a Norwegian couple of Vietnamese origin. They died at the scene of the crash in Nam Giang district in Quang Nam province, about 850 kilometers south of Hanoi, and their bodies were returned to their families in Vietnam, a police officer said. Norway’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ingrid Kvammen Ekker in Oslo confirmed the deaths of the two nationals.

(AP)

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Diplomatic relations

Prime Minister congratulates Donald Trump

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

web-erna-solberg-get‘I would like to congratulate Donald Trump on his election victory. The US is our closest ally and our cooperation is based on shared values and interests. We will seek to cooperate constructively with Donald Trump and with his administration once it is in place,’ said Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

At a press conference today, Ms Solberg said that Norway has always given priority to its cooperation with the US, through changing times and different administrations. ‘We will continue to do so. Cooperation with Europe and the US is the main pillar of Norwegian foreign and security policy.’

‘We hope to establish dialogue with the new administration as soon as possible. The Norwegian Government’s primary aim is to safeguard Norway’s interests. The US is important for the Norwegian economy, for our jobs, and for the security of our country.’

‘The international community is facing a number of challenges, and there are many difficult issues that can only be resolved by working together. Here, we need the leadership of the US,’ Ms Solberg said.

(PM-Office-News)

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Russia and Norway

Norway on a list of possible nuclear targets

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

the-operation-is-being-held-in-central-norway-1024x683A senior member of Russia’s defense and security committee told Russian TV that Norway has been added to the list of potential targets for a nuclear strike after Norway agreed to host 330 U.S. Marines for a rotational training deployment.

Norway has allowed other NATO militaries to use its country for cold weather training for years.

The Marines rotating into Norway are expected to stay at Værnes, an area 600 miles from the border with Russia.

A deputy chairman of Russia’s defense and security committee made the threats, saying, “How should we react to this? We have never before had Norway on the list of targets for our strategic weapons. But if this develops, Norway’s population will suffer.”

He later said, “Because we need to react against definitive military threats. And we have things to react to, I might as well tell it like it is.”

It’s not clear how the Marines provide a definitive military threat to Russia. While significant U.S. hardware is cached within Norway, the 330 Marines would have to invade through famously neutral Sweden to use a 700-mile route. Going around would add on hundreds of miles of travel distance and logistics problems.

And even Marines would struggle if they took on the Russian military in such small numbers.

Meanwhile, the U.S. already has troops permanently stationed in Germany, which is about the same distance from Russia, as well as service members on training rotations in Estonia, Latvia, and Ukraine — all of which share a border with Russia.

The Air Force, meanwhile, has forces permanently deployed to Incirlik, Turkey, which is also much closer to Russia than Værnes.

So it’s doubtful that Russia’s bluster is really about countering a valid military threat. More likely, this is Russia protesting what it sees as its continuing isolation as more and more countries deepen their ties with NATO.

Norway, for its part, insists that the Russian reaction to a training rotation of Marines is ridiculous.

The country’s defense minister told journalists, “There is no objective reason for the Russians to react to this. But the Russians are reacting at the moment in the same way toward almost everything the NATO countries are doing.”

Tensions between Russia and NATO have been on the rise, partially due to conflicting agendas in Syria where the U.S. and Russia are both conducting air strikes. But the dispute also comes from disagreements over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threatening actions, such as the Russian abduction and jailing of an Estonian intelligence officer.

(businessinsider)

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Asia and Norway

Minister Brende seriously concerned about situation in Turkey

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

7635426-3x2-700x467Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende is seriously concerned about the situation in Turkey, and decided on Friday to call in Turkey’s Ambassador to Norway.

This reaction followed the arrest of the two leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaș and Figen Yüksekdağ, early on Friday.

‘This is a dramatic and negative development. We recognise Turkey’s right to fight terrorism within its borders, but this does not justify silencing or even imprisoning members of the opposition,’ said Mr Brende.

Turkey’s Ambassador to Norway, Esat Şafak Gökturk, was called in to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

Mr Brende pointed out that this latest development comes in addition to the recent arrest of the editor of the newspaper Cumhuriyet and other media representatives.

‘This is a serious encroachment on freedom of expression. Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are important principles that are fundamental for a democratic society and freedom of opinion,’ said Mr Brende.

Mr Brende also condemned the terrorist attack in Diyarbakir on Friday morning.

‘Violence will not bring about a solution to the conflict in south-east Turkey,’ he said. ‘I urge a rapid return to dialogue to resolve the conflict.’

(MFA)

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Asia and Norway

Climate change humanity’s biggest challenge: Norway ambassador

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

950314Climate change is the biggest challenge for humanity and all nations will have to adopt policies to face and address it, Norway’s ambassador to India, Nils Ragnar Kamsvag said here today.

“Not many have understood the seriousness of climate change. As a nation, Norway is a witness to extreme weathers but during last few years the extreme weathers have become more extreme. Areas that were once felt as a safe zone are no more a safe zone.

“The drain systems which were designed to deal with limited rainfall are choking up because of increase in rainfall and the areas which were considered safe are getting submerged due to heavy rainfall,” Kamsvag said.

He was delivering inaugural address at the two-day international conference on “Climate Change, Water, Agriculture and Food Security” at ICRISAT here.

The conference is organised by a consortium of institutes, including the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, and Water and Land Management Training and Research Institute (WALAMTARI).

The objective of the conference is to better understand and synthesise the biophysical, technological, institutional, social, economic and political drivers for future agricultural development and food security.

The conference has been planned across 15 themes and 70 papers.

On the occasion, Kamsvag called upon various nations to come forward and join hands and address the challenges properly.

He said Norway was contributing to the extent of USD 25 billion to countries which are limiting deforestation and trying to have programmes for forestation.

Speaking to media on the sidelines of the conference, Kamsvag said that he was hopeful of a “positive outcome” from the Conference of Parties (COP 22) and the forthcoming 12th session of COP 22 serving as the meeting of parties to Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12) which will be held in Marrakech in Morocco next week.

“A lot depends on US elections,” he said, adding that he was hopeful of a positive outcome.

In his address, Central Water Commission (CWC) chairman G.S.Jha said climate change was an issue of concern.

“At Central Water Commission, we have taken up measurements and study of glacier lakes and are trying to analyse them. As per the finding, some lakes are shrinking while some are increasing in size,” he said.
Jha said there was a rainfall of increased intensity but

it cannot be established whether the change was due to change in weather cycle or other factors.

CWC has taken up some irrigation projects in different regions and found that irrigation projects are running at low efficiency due to the lack of maintenance as the prime reason, he said.

“There are instances where canal (system) has lost its design capacity, there are erosions and it does not run full as a result of which the tail-end areas suffer. There is no association to manage water and ensure equitable distribution of water. Huge investments made on dams are not giving commensurate benefits,” Jha said.

He further said the “attitude” of farmers was to look up for everything to government, but there is a need to generate local investment to have a sense of belonging among farmers.

On the occasion, posters were released on ultrasonic sensors developed by WALAMTARI besides a book on climate change and agricultural development, published by Earth Scan London. The book is authored by Dr Udaya Sekhar Nagothu of the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research.

(business-standard)

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Africa and Norway

Important with stability in the Horn of Africa

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

un-21-16Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende visited the Horn of Africa between 25 and 29 October. ‘The region is facing armed conflict, humanitarian crisis and political instability. It is in Norway’s interest to support measures which can contribute to stability and development,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende.

In South Sudan five million people are suffering from humanitarian crisis after armed conflict broke out in December 2013. Somalia still faces major challenges including armed conflicts, humanitarian crisis and mass displacement. Kenya is preparing for next year’s presidential and parliamentarian elections, while Ethiopia recently introduced a state of emergency because of unrest and demonstrations in several parts of the country.

‘Norway is actively engaged in close dialogue with authorities in the Horn of Africa. We contribute with humanitarian aid and long-term development support, as well as business sector engagement where this is possible. The region has great potential, but there are major political challenges and millions of displaced people who need a durable solution to their situation,’ said Mr Brende.

After meeting governments in South Sudan and then in Kenya, where he also met Somalia’s Prime Minister, Mr Brende ended his visit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on 28 and 29 October. Here he had meetings with the African Union and with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

‘Ethiopia is an important partner country for Norway, and has for a long time represented stability and development in an otherwise unstable region. I wish to continue our dialogue also in challenging times. I am worried about the unrest and about the state of emergency which has now been introduced. It is important that the situation does not deteriorate. Half of Ethiopia’s 100 million citizens are young people who want jobs, freedom of expression and the opportunity to participate in politics,’ said Mr Brende.

Norway will be closely following Ethiopia’s future development and planned political reforms. Norway and Ethiopia have broad cooperation on issues including climate, education and human rights.

(MFA)

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Science

Recharge: Intelligence for the new global energy order

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

fullsizerenderIt feels auspicious to be relaunching the Recharge digital platform as the global energy system passes a most important milestone – almost an obelisk – in its history, with power generation capacity in renewable energy for the first time now greater than in coal-fired plants.

We have been reporting from the front lines of the renewables industry on five continents since late-2008. Even for dyed-in-the-wool believers in the Grand Transition, this momentous achievement in build-out, fuelled by a record $310bn in investment streamed in to clean-energy projects around the world last year, gives new courage to our editorial mission.

Much as ‘change’ is a force at the heart of renewables – the engine of the energy transition and hope for a world facing a daunting climatic future after 150 years of turning the planet on fossil fuels – so it is for contemporary journalism.

Worldwide-webbed readers access information in a medium where free is the norm. But pause and question the value of this ‘news’, especially in the speeding evolution of the renewable energy industry, where only the ‘what’ is reported, not the ‘why’ not the ‘how’, not the market insight or intelligence.

The new Recharge digital platform is designed to bring depth and dimension to coverage of the renewable energy industries: the news that matters, with the accent on the many important angles of a story beyond the news – including analysis, opinion and relevant in-depth features.

Take our coverage of GE’s recent takeover of LM Wind Power. We carried the news, including industry analyst opinion pieces, but also ran our own market analysis, an interview with GE Renewable Energy chief Jerome Pecresse, and an in-depth feature on LM’s pioneering blade technology. This to give both immediacy and context to the story.

The homepage on the new website – which has a ‘responsive’ architecture for reading on smart-phones, tablets or computer screens – is split into three by two editorial ‘carousels: In Depth, our long-read features and profiles, and Circuit, building on our Thought Leaders’ group with contributions from industry players and observers on the existential challenges facing renewables.

Each section will feature an ‘anchor’ module: On Point, where we’ll run a piece focused on a key industry talking-point; The Big Deal, a stand-out contract or order; and Newsmaker, looking at an industrial influencer.

Articles will now have the potential for much more interconnection to related Recharge materials: thumbnail links to features and analysis, photo carousels, and embedded videos and maps.

For quick access, the site has been constructed as five ‘supersections’ – Wind, Solar, Markets, Technology and Circuit – so a click will take you directly to the news you need.

All our articles will be free to access for two weeks, and we hope first-time visitors to the site will stay with us for months and years to come. You can also sign up for our new newsletters, here.

Since our launch eight years ago, Recharge, like the wider renewables industry, has espoused change for the better in the global energy system and, as a business intelligence title, aspired to do the same for energy journalism.

We hope you find the new digital platform serves both objectives faithfully.

(rechargenews)

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Farming

NGOs urge European Union to take lead in ending whaling in European waters

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

unnamedDuring the 66thmeeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), conservation organizations openly criticized the fact that actions against commercial whaling are absent from the IWC agenda. A petition directed at the European Union was presented to IWC delegates by Pro Wildlife (Germany), the Animal Welfare Institute (USA), and OceanCare (Switzerland), along with their joint report “Frozen in Time: How Modern Norway Clings to Its Whaling Past.” The report details Norway’s undermining of the IWC ban on commercial whaling and exposes the serious growth of Norway’s overseas trade in whale products.

The three organizations are highlighting the fact that European citizens, as well as member states of the IWC, expect the European Union to lead efforts to end commercial whaling in European waters. While Australia and New Zealand address whaling in the Southern Ocean, and the Latin American countries advocate for the establishment of a sanctuary within the South Atlantic, the European Union has arrived at the IWC meeting with empty hands and the highest number of whales killed in neighboring waters.

“While the IWC is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the commercial whaling moratorium, Norway continues with its hunts, by invoking its formal objection and granting itself catch quotas without the approval of the IWC,” stated Nicolas Entrup, spokesperson for OceanCare. “Over recent years Norway has silently become the world’s number one whaling nation – killing more whales than Japan and Iceland combined.” Norway killed nearly 600 minke whales during its 2016 whaling season.

“We are disappointed that the EU came to this jubilee IWC meeting with empty hands: They failed to submit a resolution against commercial whaling in European waters,” criticized Sandra Altherr of Pro Wildlife. “Since 2001, the IWC has not passed a single resolution on commercial whaling – and this silence is interpreted by Norway’s government and others as acceptance of its bloody business.”

“Norway’s domestic market for whale meat and blubber is extremely limited and the whaling industry is relying almost exclusively on Japan to keep itself afloat,” stated Kate O’Connell, marine wildlife consultant for the Animal Welfare Institute. “In September, a Norwegian company shipped 195 metric tons of whale meat to Japan, the largest export of whale products to Japan by Norway since the moratorium.”

The groups note that these exports undermine the international trade ban on whale products put into effect by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In support of the IWC moratorium, parties to CITES listed large whales on the treaty’s Appendix I, banning commercial trade in these species. Since then, CITES has regularly reminded parties not to issue export or import permits for whale products.

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Sports

Kasper criticised by Norwegian officials after admitting to “doubt” Johaug’s failed drug test explanation

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

qfj1k0ckmnoxcb0tInternational Ski Federation (FIS) President Gian-Franco Kasper has been criticised by the Norwegian Ski Federation after admitting to “doubt” the explanation given by cross-country skier Therese Johaug after she failed a drugs test.

The three-time Olympic medallist and reigning overall World Cup champion tested positive for banned anabolic steroid clostebol last month, but claimed to have used the product inadvertently via a sun cream she was given by her doctor.

She was eventually handed a two month provisional suspension last week and appears set to miss the start of the World Cup season as an investigation continues.

“Listen, I have not seen the evidence,” Kasper told Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet when asked about the sun cream explanation.

“It will be up to the medical experts to determine this, but I have my doubts.

“We have to get the facts on the table.”

The Swiss official, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board, added that, if found guilty, Johaug should receive a four year ban.

“There is not any question about [this],” he told the newspaper.

“It is primarily a national issue now, and as of now it is up to the Norwegians to find a solution.

“So either the FIS or World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) [can] appeal, and we must do if nothing happens or if what is being done is not enough.”

Norwegian Ski Federation President Erik Røste has already criticised these comments.

“If FIS President Gian Franco Kasper is properly cited, I am surprised and disappointed,” he said in a statement.

“It could be construed as a presumption of guilt, which I have little sense of.”

Others have criticised Kasper for venting an opinion on a case which is still ongoing.

Many others share his doubts, however, and have been increasingly sceptical of the Norwegian explanation.

Former WADA director general Harri Syväsalmi has claimed that the Norwegian skiing team are operating in a “grey area”.

Johaug’s lawyer Christian B. Hjort told Aftenposten that the skier had not been drug tested for 129 days before the September 16 sample.

Markus Cramer, the German coach of the Russian cross-country team, has described this as “completely incomprehensible”.

He claims Russian skiers are subject to far more regular testing.

Reigning male World Cup champion Martin Johnsrud Sundby was also handed a two-month ban and stripped of his 2014-15 World Cup title earlier this year following two failed tests for asthma medication salbutamol.

Sundby claimed to have received the wrong advice from a doctor on what dosage he should take and was initially cleared of any wrongdoing by an FIS tribunal, only for WADA to successfully appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

He was consequently banned from July until September 11, with Russian rival Evgeniy Belov claiming the process was deliberately slowed in order to ensure he was only banned during the off-season.

(insidethegames)

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Politics

Swiss seek closer cooperation with Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

screen-shot-2016-10-29-at-19-31-45Switzerland and Norway are considering boosting cooperation in development aid, human rights, security and peace promotion.

Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter says both countries share a strong commitment to humanitarian policy while cooperating in migration and diplomatic representation.

Both countries are members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), but not of the European Union.

Burkhalter, as well as Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann and Energy Minister Doris Leuthard, met the visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende for talks on a broad range of policy issues on Monday.

“Against the backdrop of United Nations Day, both foreign ministers expressed their great satisfaction at their countries’ constructive collaboration in multilateral forums,” said a statement by the Swiss authorities.

The meeting also covered Switzerland’s immigration policy towards EU citizens, Britain’s decision to leave the 28-nation bloc and an international climate accord – including a reduction of carbon dioxide, and energy issues.

(swissinfo)

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