Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Science

Norwegian shipowner fits BWMS on domestic vessel

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

While the international ballast water management convention has been implemented to prevent the spread of potentially harmful aquatic organisms via ballast water from vessels in international traffic, there are no such regulations for ships only commuting between Norwegian waters and the open sea.

Austevoll-based shipowner Hordafor’s commercial vessel Hordafor IV sails exclusively in domestic Norwegian waters, but shipowner Hordafor has nevertheless chosen to order a ballast water treatment system from Norwegian company PG Flow Solutions, a specialist in liquid handling and pump systems for marine applications.

“We want to be a leader within biosafety and do what we can to optimise both marine and fish health on behalf of our clients. If treatment of ballast water can contribute towards improved biosecurity along the Norwegian coastline, it will be a good investment in both the environment and our business,” says Hordafor’s fleet manager Karsten Østervold.

Hordafor is a leading player within handling and processing of by-products from the Norwegian aquaculture and fisheries industries. The shipowner has its own vessels for shipping by-product and finished products such as marine oils and proteins.

The Hordafor IV vessel is utilised to collect silage from by-products from the aquaculture industry. With a ballast water treatment system, the vessel can now also sail in international waters.

“We have six such vessels, and they all sail along the Norwegian coast. We installed a ballast water treatment system on board one of the ships to evaluate the positive effects it can create. Biosecurity is important to us, which is why we invested a seven-figure sum in this,” said Karsten Østervold.

PG Flow Solutions has been contracted to supply its IMO-approved PG-Hyde ballast water treatment system to Hordafor IV. The system is based on UV-technology in combination with automatic, self-cleaning filters. The PG-Hyde treatment system sterilises the ballast water during both ballasting and de-ballasting.

“Ballast water systems regulate the intake, discharge and treatment of ballast water and sediments, and is therefore an important environmental measure to prevent the spread of foreign species through ballast water from vessels that sail in international waters. The fact that Hordafor, for biosecurity reasons, wants to explore and apply the same mindset to a vessel that sails along the Norwegian coastline is a great initiative. We are a proud supplier to Hordafor,” said PG Flow Solutions’ sales manager Are Hjertvik.

PG Flow Solutions is a provider of proprietary solutions, systems and products for companies within the energy, maritime, aquaculture and land-based process industries. The heritage of the business is pumps and pumping systems. The company’s headquarters and manufacturing facility is located in Sande, Vestfold, Norway. Its subsidiary Calder Ltd operates out of a similar facility in Worcester outside Birmingham, UK, while subsidiary Cflow Fish Handling AS operates out of Aalesund, Norway.

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Crimes

Norway to block iGaming transactions

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The government will block iGaming transactions in Norway involving unauthorised websites to prevent unregulated cash flow.

Norway.- The online gambling market is the future (and present) of the industry and forces governments to properly regulate it. That’s why the Norwegian government has taken a step towards strengthening the segment.

The government will demand financial institutions in Norway to block iGaming payments to unlicensed operators. Norway’s Lotteri-og stiftelsestilsynet regulatory body confirmed January 1, 2020, which involves its order on said institutions.

“The change also means that banks and others who have payment services in Norway must investigate all payment transactions to and from payment intermediaries or companies that are not allowed to offer gambling in Norway if the regulator comes up with a decision on this,” the regulator had said.

“We can also instruct banks and others with payment services in Norway to provide information about companies that provide payment related to gambling.”

The regulator has sent a letter of information to Norwegian banks, financial institutions and payment agencies about the changes.

Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gambling company, could soon assume responsibility for the horse racing monopoly in Norway. The rights of the activity are currently under Norsk Rikstoto, but they expire at the end of 2021.

The Norwegian government will consider which company is more fit for the exclusive rights model. The Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food will assess which company should be in charge of the horse racing monopoly.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Olaug Bollestad sad: “The government’s gambling policy must first and foremost take into account the social responsibility and consideration of gambling addicts. At the same time, it is important for the government to ensure that the future solution is for the best for Norwegian equestrian sport.”

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Middle East and Norway

US strikes to ‘deter Iran’

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The United States is not seeking to escalate its simmering conflict with Iran, a senior official said on Monday after the Pentagon launched air strikes on Tehran-allied Iraqi militia forces.

US Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker said the Sunday strikes on Hezbollah Brigades bases were a message to Iran after months of “restraint” by the administration of President Donald Trump.

The airstrikes – the largest yet by the US targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia – were in response to a rocket attack on a US base last week that killed an American contractor.

“This was a defensive action that was designed to protect American forces and American citizens in Iraq but we are also working on the mission set of restoring deterrents against Iranian aggression,” US special representative for Iran Brian Hook said. “After so many attacks it was important for the president to direct our armed forces to respond in a way that the Iranian regime will understand.”

Schenker said the locations hit on Sunday were “significant targets and the ones on the Syrian side of the border were even more significant in many ways.”

Both Hook and Schenker said the US does not want an escalation in the region, but rather a “deescalation.”

Hook said that the US has enhanced their “troop posture by 14,000 to the region since May, specifically with Saudi (Arabia), where they have enhanced their air defenses.”

He said the US works very closely with regional allies, especially the countries that are “on the front line of Iranian aggression, to protect them against Iranian attacks, whether it kinetic or cyber.”

Below is a full rush transcript of the press conference by Special Briefing via Telephone with Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State Brian Hook and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker and State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus.

Ms. Ortagus:  The Secretary was on U.S. news media this morning, for all of you who haven’t seen it, talking about the actions that the U.S. took over the weekend.  And both he and Brian Hook and myself will also be on media later today. 

So we’re here to answer any of your questions, but I think that this is an incredibly significant moment for the U.S.  And I think I’ll just go ahead and quickly turn it over to Brian and let him give some opening remarks, and then we’ll jump right into Q&A. 

Mr. Hook:  Thanks very much, Morgan.  One of the things that we want to emphasize is that this was a defensive action that was designed to protect American forces and American citizens in Iraq.  But we’re also working on the mission set of restoring deterrence against Iranian aggression.  This is an Iranian-backed rogue militia, Kata’ib Hezbollah, and they are not acting in the interests of the Iraqi people.  They are violating Iraq’s sovereignty.  And we know that the Iranian regime runs an expansionist foreign policy by the supreme leader and Qasem Soleimani.  And they have been running an expansionist foreign policy for some time. 

Our campaign of maximum economic pressure is making it much harder for them to accomplish that.  We have repeatedly – the President and the Secretary of State have made clear repeatedly that if our – that if we are attacked by the regime or by one of its proxies, that we will take decisive action in response.

And President Trump took that yesterday with the strikes that were in five different locations.  And these locations included weapons storage facilities and also some of the command and control locations that Kata’ib Hezbollah uses to plan and execute attacks against American forces and also against Iraqis.

It’s important to remember that the United States is in Iraq and the coalition – they are there at the invitation of the Iraqi Government.  And when our forces and the Iraqi forces are attacked, as they have been, there have been – we’ve already seen, just in the past two months alone, 11 attacks on bases inside Iraq that are hosting coalition forces. 

So the President has been very patient.  He has shown a great deal of restraint because the last thing the United States is looking for is kinetic action in the Middle East, any conflict in the Middle East.  We have kept our foreign policy squarely in the left-right limits of diplomacy.  But we’ve also made clear that we will not tolerate attacks against U.S. citizens, our military, or our partners and allies in the region. 

And so there are a number of statements that have been made since September 11th of 2018 on this – on this threat.  We made – and we very much hoped that Iran would not miscalculate and confuse our restraint for weakness.  But after so many attacks, it was important for the President to direct our armed forces to respond in a way that the Iranian regime will understand. 

Ms. Ortagus:  Great.  Thanks.  And just a reminder that we also have Dave Schenker on the line, who can – our Assistant Secretary for NEA, who can also answer questions as well.  And I’ll just turn it over to the  Media Hub for the Q&A. 

Question:  I have a question on the logic of the operation from a foreign policy standpoint.  The five sites that were picked in Western Iraq and in Syria are not located anywhere near the location of the Kirkuk base where the American contractor was killed.  It looks as if your goal was to carry out strikes in relatively isolated areas that would be on the low end of escalation to avoid escalation and limit collateral damage.  Was that the thinking behind this?  And also, what is the legal rationale for the strikes since self-defense is often thought of as an action that’s taken to thwart an imminent attack, not a retaliatory attack two days later against a location in a different part of the country? 

Assistant Secretary Schenker:  Well, I don’t want to get into why we chose what targets.  Let’s say these were significant targets, and the ones on the Syrian side of the border were, I think, even more significant in many ways, although I’m not going to get into why.

But so if you look at this, this was a response that was serious but was, I think, in many ways proportionate.  We don’t want an escalation here; we want a de-escalation.  But what we have seen, as Brian said before, is that the Iranians have, let’s say over the past several years, taken our non-response as – understanding that as weakness and have continuously pushed the envelope.  And so we’ve seen in terms of the trajectory of their strikes that they have come increasingly closer to killing American personnel. 

They surround U.S. bases, they come closer to U.S. bases, they hit on different parts of U.S. bases, and finally, inevitably, they kill an American.  This was not a mistake and we thought it important to hit a significant target set to send a very clear message to them about – about how serious we take American lives.

Likewise, importantly, this was – the violation of sovereignty here, if there was a violation of sovereignty, occurred on Friday when Iranian-backed forces basically shot missiles, rockets at an Iraqi military base.  And so I think we should be – we can talk about the U.S. response and the defensive strikes that re-establish deterrence, but we should also talk about how Iran continuously violates Iraqi sovereignty.

Question:  I wanted to ask are there any other targeted locations of Hizballah and – of Hizballah in Iraq and Syria?  And can you please assess the level of threat imposed by Iran in the region?

Mr. Hook:  We don’t ever preview military action or military targets.

Question:  Okay.  And can you assess the level of threat imposed by Iran in the region?

Mr. Hook:  Well, Iran has been threatening the region – the Islamic Republic – for the last 40 years.  But what we do know is that the regime is facing its worst financial crisis and its worst political crisis in its 40-year history.  And the Trump administration has weakened the regime and its proxies financially in ways that have no historic precedent.  And this is having, from our perspective, very positive consequences in terms of drying up the revenue the proxies need to undermine the sovereignty of countries like Iraq.

And now what we’re seeing, we are seeing the people of Lebanon, the peoples of Iraq, and the peoples of Iran all rising up against the Iranian model of dominance and exporting terror and weaponizing sectarian grievances and enriching themselves at the expense of the people that they govern.  And that’s true – one thing I’ll point out that’s very important for people to recognize:   You had protests in a hundred cities in Iran, you had protests all over Iraq and Lebanon.  None of them were directed at the United States, the United States Government, or American sanctions. 

These are people that are rejecting the Iranian model that they have been exporting for some time, and people are tired of the corruption, of the lack of transparency, of having their national wealth stolen to finance proxy wars. And so that’s our assessment of the current Iranian threat.  It’s weakening and it will get weaker, especially as our sanctions increase in 2020.  And we will compound Iran’s economic – it’s already now at negative 10, 11, 12 percent roughly – in that category.  And Secretary Pompeo made clear a year and a half ago that the Iranian regime faces a choice, and the supreme Leader keeps choosing to manage economic collapse.

Question:  You’ve already had an Iranian retaliatory attack on an airbase in Iraq, Taji.  Why do you think that you have deterred Iran with what is really a modest strike?

Mr. Hook:  I didn’t say that we had deterred Iran.  I said that our policy is to restore deterrence that was lost under the – Obama’s nuclear deal.  And Iran was able to run an expansionist foreign policy for many years while countries looked the other way in order to preserve and protect the deal.  Now that we’re out of the deal, we’re in a much better picture to squeeze the regime economically and to impose costs on them for behaving like an outlaw regime.  And so it is unquestionable that Iran is facing its worst financial and political crisis, and so I think your question to some extent is sort of not fully appropriating the current headwinds that the regime is facing.  

Now, what we’ve done yesterday is also made very clear that we will act in defense of our interests when we are attacked.  So we are combining our diplomacy with hard power, and we’re very pleased with the progress that we’ve made.

Question:  We understand the potential deterrence options, the administration in early May issued a warning about potential Iranian strikes on U.S. interests, oil infrastructure, in the region.  And eight months later, some of those warnings have actually happened, or there have been attacks on tankers, oil infrastructure, now on a U.S. military base.  So are the actions the United States has taken not been sufficient, or those – or did the specific attacks come as a surprise?  I’m just trying to understand.  And when you talk about restoring deterrence, what possible options can there be that hasn’t helped in the last eight months?

Mr. Hook:  We don’t preview any options that we’re considering or that we will be taking, and so I don’t have anything to offer about the future.  But since May, we have enhanced our troop posture by 14,000 – 14,000 additional troops to the region since May. Specifically with Saudi, we have enhanced their air defenses, the United States along with other countries.  We work very closely with our partners in the region to – especially the countries that are on the front lines of Iranian aggression – to protect them against Iranian attacks, whether it’s kinetic or cyber.  And so we’re working very closely with all of our partners in the region.

The International Maritime Security Initiative has a number of countries that are participating in it.  We have enhanced our intelligence, our surveillance, our reconnaissance activities, and we know that the combination of all of these things has disrupted and deterred many attacks that the regime would have liked to have execute.  We’ve also made clear for some time that we’re not going to tolerate these kinds of attacks.  The President has shown a lot of restraint and that has been – I think if you talk to the leaders in the region, they’ve been very pleased with the restraint that the President has shown. 

I think Iran would like to bait the President into all sorts of things, but the President has shown, I think, very skillful leadership navigating through this, using our diplomacy backed up by hard power.

Assistant Secretary Schenker:  I’d say that there has been sort of a lashing out that we can see as the economic pressure has really taken hold since May.  You saw in June the Fujairah.  You saw escalation from the Houthis.  You saw increased targeting, operational tempo of targeting of U.S. assets in Iraq by Iranian proxies.  Then you saw the shooting down of a UAV.  And after every one of these incidents – there’s the scuttling of boats, the hijacking of boats – after every time this occurred, what you saw from the United States, from the President, was strategic patience that, as Brian said, was widely appreciated throughout the region from our allies.  And finally, the downing of a U.S. UAV in international waters over the Gulf, and we responded just with more sanctions.

And so this type of patience has resulted in incredible lashing out that culminated with Abqaiq most recently, the attack on ARAMCO.  And still we are exercising this strategic patience.  And so now they had to go and try and escalate this further by killing an American citizen, and I think we have responded I think with strength and with careful – carefully, I think, calibrating what is appropriate, to try and reestablish that deterrence.  

Mr. Hook:  I think it’s also the case that Iran is currently in a state of panicked aggression.  The regime understands very clearly the kind of economic pressure they’re under, and they also know that it’s not sustainable.  And so they are lashing out.  They’re not used to being told no.  They’re not used to seeing this kind of resolve.  And the President is, I think, very carefully deploying our – sort of our diplomats, working on the right mission set, and also our military.

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Russia and Norway

NATO records Russia’s largest submarine activity since end of Cold War

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

NATO has fixated Russia’s largest submarine activity since the end of the Cold War: ten Russian submarines were immediately located around Norway in October, RND reports.

“In mid-October this year, a swarm of modern Russian submarines initially openly demonstrated force in the North Atlantic, moving west across the territory between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, and then went to deep waters,” the newspaper wrote.

This year, NATO has recorded the largest activity of Russian submarines since the end of the Cold War. For this reason, the modernization of maritime capabilities has now been the subject of intense debate at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

“Russia is steadily increasing its operations underwater. Most of all – it concerns the North Atlantic and the Norwegian Sea. NATO will respond, inter alia, with an increase in patrolling. In addition, they will invest money in modern anti-submarine aircraft missiles,” NATO’s Press Secretary, Oana Lungescu, stated.

She also stressed that the North Atlantic remains “vital to Europe’s security” in terms of military supply routes, civilian trade routes and communication channels.

Western planners are particularly concerned about the connection between submarines and rockets that they can launch. In recent years, Putin has introduced technological improvements in both areas: submarines have become much quieter and Russian missiles have been faster than before.

It is expected that Russian submarines will receive supersonic rockets in 2020 – and it is not yet known if modern Western interception systems can stop them at all.

As we reported earlier, Germany and four other NATO members signed a document in Hamburg, which is set to strengthen co-operation aimed at protecting maritime routes in the English Channel and the North Sea, Deutsche Welle informed.

NATO intends to strengthen its position in the North Sea and the English Channel in order to be ready to repel Russia’s threat: The relevant provisions are contained in an agreement signed on Thursday, November 7 by heads of naval forces of Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and the Netherlands in Hamburg.

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Srilanka and Norway

Iranian origin arrested in sea off the Gulf of Mannar turns out to be Norwegian

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Questions are being asked as to why a Norwegian taken into custody recently in the seas off India and Sri Lanka , Silavathurai, Mannar misled the Sri Lankan navy regarding his nationality.

Well informed sources told that though the foreigner identified himself as an Iranian when the Sri Lankan Navy intercepted a dinghy carrying him and a Sri Lankan off Indian and Sri Lankan sea water, later produced a Norwegian passport bearing No XXXXXX issued to RaXX NaXX.

Having briefly questioned them, they had been handed over to Sri Lankan police for further investigations.

However, the Norwegian of Iranian origin had been released by the police following preliminary inquiry, The Media learns.

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Asia and Norway

Kazakh Olympic gold medallist visits Norway Ski Museum

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Three sports legends – Vladimir Smirnov, Sten Stensen and Vegard Ulvang – delivered emotional remarks at the Kazakhstan – Norway: Sports Diplomacy exhibit launch Dec 14. in Oslo’s Holmenkollen Ski Museum.

“For me, all the time, Medeo, Almaty, was the best in my career,” said Stensen, a Norwegian long-distance speed skater who broke several world records at the city’s high mountain ice rink in the 1970s.

Ambassador of Kazakhstan, H.E. Mr Yerkin Akhinzhanov

Friends and Olympic cross-country skiing rivals Smirnov (Kazakhstan) and Ulvang (Norway) also shared their views on sports, friendship and intercultural exchange.

“Even though we have had many hard fights and competitions as athletes, our friendship got stronger and it is still there,” said Ulvang.

“I am proud to be at this exhibition on sports because most of the youth probably don’t know very much about Kazakhstan. This is one of the ways to get knowledge about the other country and other cultures,” said Smirnov.

Better known in the Scandinavian countries as “Smirre,” Smirnov brought his gold medal to the event.

Kazakhstan – Norway: Sports Diplomacy, organised by the Kazakh Embassy in Norway, Kazakh Association of Sports Press and the museum, will continue for two weeks, until Dec. 28. It is supported by the Foundation of the First President of Kazakhstan, the country’s Foreign Ministry and QazSport national TV channel.

“Sporting connections between Kazakhstan and Norway extend far beyond conventional diplomacy. These ties began long before the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries,” said Kazakh Ambassador to Norway Yerkin Akhinzhanov.

The photo exhibit tells the story of the great achievements of Kazakh and Norwegian athletes, including their joint participation in high-level competitions such as the Olympic Games and world championships. It includes pictures of matches between their national teams in hockey, bandy, football and wrestling and appearances of Kazakh athletes in Norway and Norwegian athletes in Kazakhstan.

Several examples of sports diplomacy phenomena are also represented – Jersey diplomacy (sports apparel presented to politicians as gifts) and Chapan diplomacy (national gowns presented to prominent sportspeople). The display also includes a collection of paraphernalia from professional Kazakh sports clubs.

The Kazakh Association of Sports Press is planning to continue organising similar events in other countries with the support of the foreign ministry.

(astanatimes)

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Crimes

Norway confirms payment ban amendments

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The gambling regulator from Norway has confirmed that the amendments to the payment ban will come into force on January 1, 2020.

Norway.- Lottstift, the gambling regulator from Norway, confirmed on Thursday that the amendments to the payment pan will come into force on January 1, 2020. While the ban has been around since 2010, the regulator estimates that Norwegians still spend approximately €600k on unlicensed companies every year.

The regulator said that around 250k Norwegians bet through foreign unlicensed gaming companies. The payment ban amendment is one of the measures that the regulator from Norway introduced to stop these gaming companies from offering their services. The goal is for Norwegian banks to stop money transfers to and from gaming companies.

Rannveig Gram Skår, adviser and lawyer at the regulator, said that the foundation of the Norwegian gambling model is to protect vulnerable groups from becoming addicts.

The regulator estimates that it will stop around €593k from being bet through unlicensed sites. “We see the effect of the work we are doing today, but the purpose of the changes is to make the payment service ban more effective,” said the regulator.

“The change also means that banks and others who have payment services in Norway must investigate all payment transactions to and from payment intermediaries or companies that are not allowed to offer gambling in Norway, if the regulator comes up with a decision on this.”

“We can also instruct banks and others with payment services in Norway to provide information about companies that provide payment related to gambling.”

The regulator has sent a letter of information to Norwegian banks, financial institutions and payment agencies about the changes.

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Royal House

Norwegian princess’ ex-husband takes own life

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The former husband of Norway’s Princess Martha Louise has taken his own life, it has been announced tonight.

The 47-year-old talented author and artist leaves behind three young children, who he shares with the princess, 48.

“We ask for respect for our privacy in the coming time.”

In a statement this evening, King Harald, the princess’s father, said: “It is with great sadness that the Queen and I have received the message of Ari Behn’s passing.

“Ari has been an important part of our family for many years, and we carry warm, fond memories of him.”

A statement from the Crown Prince family added: “For us, Ari was a good friend, a dear family member and a wonderful uncle, with whom we shared many of life’s small and big moments.

“It is with great sadness that we have received the message of his passing away.”

No other details about his death have been confirmed.

Ari was born in Denmark to teacher parents and grew up in Norway.

He attended the Waldorf School in Moss and is baptized in The Christian Community. He achieved a bachelor’s degree in history and religion from University of Oslo.

He wrote three novels, two collections of short stories and a book about his wedding.

His 1999 short stories collection Trist som faen (“Sad as hell”) sold about 100,000 copies and received several favourable reviews.

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Srilanka and Norway

Media secretary fled Sri Lanka due to Police crackdown

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Sri Lankan Police Criminal Investigations Department has revealed the former media secretary of Sri Lankan Minister Rajitha Senaratne has fled the country soon after an anticipatory bail application was filed to prevent the arrest for the serious exposure made with media on white van abductions.

The drivers of the white vans in a statement given to CID has claimed the media conference and the makeup along with necessary prepping was done by media secretary M.I. J. Wijenaike alias Malith. It was found that he has fled the country to avoid possible arrest.

Police believes Wijenaike could be the centre of focus in order to revel important facts about the white van abductions and the investigations are underway. During the last few days Wijenayake’s house was checked and his parents were interrogated. 

Wijenayake was arrested some years ago at the Katunayake International Airport on his return from abroad after releasing some controversial photographs of President Maithripala Sirisena and his family who was on an official visit engaged in wasting public money for private requirements.

Colombo magistrate’s court issued an overseas travel ban on former Minister Dr. Rajitha Senarathne with effect from last week.

Minister who revealed serious information on white van abductions at a media conference filed anticipatory bail applications twice to prevent the government arresting him. 

Due to the growing tension his media secretary fled Sri Lanka to avoid Criminal Investigations Department arresting him too. Meanwhile the CID has revealed the former media secretary of Minister Rajitha Senaratne has fled the country soon after an anticipatory bail application was filed to prevent the arrest for the serious exposure made with media on white van abductions.

The drivers of the white vans in a statement given to CID has claimed the media conference and the makeup along with necessary prepping was done by media secretary M.I. J. Wijenaike alias Malith. It was found that he has fled the country to avoid possible arrest.

Police believes Wijenaike could be the centre of focus in order to revel important facts about the white van abductions and the investigations are underway. During the last few days Wijenayake’s house was checked and his parents were interrogated. 

Wijenayake was arrested some years ago at the Katunayake International Airport on his return from abroad after releasing some controversial photographs of President Maithripala Sirisena and his family who was on an official visit engaged in wasting public money for private requirements.

May 19, 2008 , Rajitha rejected fresh Norwegian role – In a brief interview with Medias on his return from Norway Senaratne said the vast majority of the people had felt the Norwegian government had given oxygen to the LTTE during the CFA, thereby strengthening its capacity to achieve its objectives through military means. President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government would continue military operations against the group until it laid down its arms unconditionally and returned to the negotiating table.

Minister Senaratne dismissed assertion that the government would undermine the ongoing military campaign.

During his meeting with Solheim, Senaratne said the people believed that the Norwegian government had been partial to the LTTE.

The Minister said that he asked Solheim whether the Norwegian government, the United States and the European Union would guarantee that the LTTE was genuinely interested in a negotiated settlement.

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Diplomatic relations

Kosovo opens its embassy in Oslo, Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Kosovo’s first Ambassador to Norway Uliks Emra presented his letters of credence to his Highness King of Norway Harald V, being accredited as the Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Kosovo to the Kingdom of Norway.

Conveying the greetings of the President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci and the population of Kosovo, Emra expressed appreciation to his Highness King of Norway Harald V for the unsaved and comprehensive contribution that the Kingdom of Norway offered to Kosovo during the years.

“On his side, His Majesty King Harald, after expressing his heartfelt greetings to President Thaci, stressed that they are very happy about Kosovo’s decision to open the Embassy in Oslo and that this is a special moment in the relations between two countries.

“The Kingdom of Norway will continue to support Kosovo in all areas, and you can be very sure of that,” he was quoted as saying.

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Politics

Norway invited to launch air service to Belarus

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Belarus Transport and Communications Minister Aleksei Avramenko met with Minister of Transport and Communications Jon Georg Dale of Norway in Oslo on 12 December, Media learned from press service of the Belarusian ministry.

“There is currently no regular air service with Norway. In this regard, we propose Norwegian air carriers to consider launching flights to both Minsk National Airport and regional airports,” Belarus Minister Aleksei Avramenko said.

The Belarusian delegation noted that favorable conditions have been created for road transport between the countries. Moreover, Belarus has taken the initiative to consider a permits-free system. The topic of electric transport was touched upon during the meeting as well. For example, the Belarusian delegation offered to organize a meeting with Norwegian partners who work in this sector.

The parties also reviewed the state of cooperation in transport and logistics within the framework of Nordic Dimension, given that Belarus takes over the chairmanship of the NDPTL steering committee in 2020. During the visit to Norway The Belarusian delegation also met with top executives of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Nye Veier AS (New Roads) and the Norwegian Contractors Association.

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Terrorist

Kazakhs returned from Syria convicted of terrorism, sentenced to years in prison

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Nur-Sultan Specialised Inter-District Criminal Court convicted 14 Kazakh men returned from Syria of working for terrorist organisation, the Islamic State or DAESH, and sentenced them to eight to 14 years in prison, reports The Astana Times.

These 14 men were returned to Kazakhstan as part of the national Jusan (Butter Wormwood) Operation, conducted from January to June. The operation retrieved 595 Kazakh citizens from Syria, including more than 400 children and 150 women. According to government data cited by Tengrinews.kz, the Kazakhs recruited to ISIS left mostly for Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria between 2012 and 2015, but there is no data on the actual number of people who left.

The trial, which started Oct. 22, evaluated charges against the 14 men of spreading terrorist propaganda, stirring social, national or religious hatred, participating in a terrorist organisation banned in Kazakhstan, and other crimes. Most of the men had lived in Syria for five to 10 years. Prosecutors asked for sentences from 10 to 17 years.

The defendants asked to be spared lengthy sentences. In their final statements, they expressed remorse for their crimes and gratitude for being returned. They urged the Kazakhs still in Syria to return home.

“Everything that happened to me will be a lesson for my whole life. A few years ago, I saw on the internet calls for help, so I went to Waziristan [a region of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan] and later to Syria. Going to help some people, I did not think about my relatives, parents. I put my wife and children in danger. This is my mistake,” said Amanzhol Zhansegirov, one of the convicted men.

He said he had decided to return home after an explosion near him killed 10 men, leaving him the only survivor.

“We were looking for a way back, but it was not easy. There was no opportunity, no money. We could get blown up at any moment, which happened to many people who were with us then,” said Zhansegirov.

The court asked him about a photo where he stood with a rifle next to severed human heads. The photo was taken after ISIS members executed men they had defeated in battle.

“After armed clashes, after some time, bodies of seven or eight people were brought in. ISIS has its own policy of cutting off heads and throwing them on the streets. I remember there was a crowd and I walked over. The crowd started taking pictures. I was ordered to be filmed in a video. I asked ‘Why?’ to which I received the answer ‘I am your amir, Abdulhafiz [Zhansegirov’s nickname], you must obey me.’ Then the amir ordered me to put my foot on a head. I did. He said to raise a hand. I did,” answered Zhansegirov.

He was sentenced to 12 years in a medium security colony. His lawyer said he would file an appeal.

“Zhansegirov himself is unhappy with the verdict of the court; with this regard I intend to appeal. He could not get a higher education for a long time. He could not get in the civil service for a long time. He could not prove himself as a citizen. In this regard, he, as a person, broke down and decided to prove himself in this way,” said the lawyer.

Another of the convicted men, Yermukhan Aiypkaliyev, was not able to be personally present in the court, but communicated by video from jail. While in Syria he was paralysed during a gunfight and cannot walk, sit up, or take care of himself. Aiypkaliyev said he had long since repented and had already received a severe punishment.

“One person under investigation agreed to take care of me, but he was transferred and he cannot come to jail. The jail head says there are no people who can take care of me and he cannot force the other persons under investigation to clean me. So I am laying… I am like a living corpse, only my head and heart work. Dear court, I do not have the health to serve 12 years in prison. You’d better sentence me to death,” he said.

He was sentenced to eight years in a medium security colony. All 14 men will start serving their sentences in two weeks, while appeals on certain cases are expected.

As a contribution to the resolution of the conflict in Syria, Kazakhstan’s capital hosts regular meetings of the “Astana Process” which was instrumental in consolidating ceasefire arrangement between the Syrian Government and the armed opposition though the establishment of de-escalation zones across the country.

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Asia and Norway

Kazakhstan to liberalize rules on political parties

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Kazakhstan plans to ease the arrangements for public rallies, decriminalize libel, strengthen parliamentary opposition and introduce party quotas for women and youth.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has introduced the package of political reforms following several months-long discussions at the National Council of Public Trust. The Council was convened by Mr. Tokayev after his election in June this year and includes prominent representatives of various circles of the society.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. File photo

“We must strengthen the constructive foundation of the political process so that pluralism becomes an important element in enhancing the economic well-being and human capital,” he said, introducing the package.

In particular, the government will change the very principle of arrangement of public rallies from permissive into a notification one. Mr. Tokayev emphasized the importance of instilling a “culture of rallies” in the public consciousness.

“It is time for both the society and the state to take the public expression adequately. We also must understand that the rallies are not only a right but also a responsibility,” he said. The government will submit to the Parliament a new draft law on rallies, which will regulate the organization and conduct of all forms of peaceful assembly.

The President proposed to reduce by half the threshold for the number of members of political parties for their registration from 40 000 to 20 000 people. He also initiated the introduction of a mandatory 30 percent quota for women and youth in party lists. Besides, the new legislative norms will affirm the rights of a political minority in the legislature, which, for example, will allow representatives of various parties to chair parliamentary committees.

“We need the institution of parliamentary opposition. Some active citizens express their opinions. We must take into account such views and legislatively fix the issues of political minorities in the Parliament,” Mr. Tokayev said.

The President proposed several measures to humanize the criminal law, and also presented his decision on the decriminalization of libel. “Based on an analysis of all the positions and nuances of this issue, I decided to decriminalize article 130 of the Criminal Code (Libel) and transfer it to the Administrative Code. At the same time, we must maintain a high measure of responsibility to guarantee the rights of other citizens and protect them from slanderous fabrications and attacks,” he emphasized.

At the meeting of the National Council, the President introduced several other reforms in the field of economy, social sphere, and strengthening the accountability of the government.

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Media Freedom

Norway keeps a top slot in human development

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Switzerland has come second behind Norway in the UN’s 2019 Human Development Index (HDI), keeping the position it enjoyed last year.

Ireland is third, Germany and Hong Kong share fourth place, while the US is placed 15th in the index external link released on Tuesday by the UN Development Programme. The bottom ten in the rankings are all sub-Saharan African countries, with Niger 189th, just behind the Central African Republic.

The index measures progress in three aspects of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living. The three indicators are measured by looking at life expectancy, mean years of schooling among the adult population, and Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, respectively.

Switzerland’s HDI is above average for countries in the “very high human development group” and is also above average for OECD countries. Between 1990 and 2018, life expectancy at birth increased by 6.1 years in Switzerland, mean years of schooling went up by 3.7 years, and GNI per capita rose by about 20.8 percent, according to the Human Development Report.

At the global level, the UNDP warns of new factors affecting inequality.

“A new generation of inequalities is opening up around education, and around technology and climate change,” it writesexternal link. “In countries with very high human development, for example, subscriptions to fixed broadband are growing 15 times faster and the proportion of adults with tertiary education is growing more than six times faster than in countries with low human development.”

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China and Norway

The 30th Anniversary of Noble peace Prize to H.H. the Dalai Lama in Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The 30th Anniversary of Noble peace Prize to H H the Dalai Lama was celebrated by Norwegian Tibet Committee on 12th December 2019 at the Litteraturhuset, Oslo.

The event was commenced with the welcome speech by Namgyal Tsomo Svenningsen, Chairperson of the Norwegian Tibet Committee followed by the dance performance by children from Tibetan community of Norway.

Screening of a film from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony that took place on 10th December 1989 produced by the Meridian Trust was the highlight of the evening as many from the 1989 ceremony were present among the audience. For many, it was nostalgic moment to see many familiar faces from 30 years ago.

The guest of honour, Bishop Emeritus Gunnar Stålsett, member of the Nobel Committee in 1989, who had delivered a very touching speech at the Nobel Lecture in 1989, gave a very inspirational account of his encounters with H H the Dalai Lama and read the personal message sent to the Norwegian Tibet Committee for the occasion by H H the Dalai Lama.

Later, Ms. Chungdak Koren, former representative of H H the Dalai Lama gave a wonderful & humorous speech of her experiences from the 1989 ceremony. She was one of the key persons in both founding the Norwegian Tibet Committee and as well during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in 1989. During the break, a huge cake for the occasion was served.

The second part of the celebration started with a powerful talk by the leader of the Youth Group of the Norwegian Tibet Committee, Ms. Anna Deskyi Erichsen. She talked about future of Tibet seen through the eyes of the youth, comparing similarities of climate crisis and the solution of Tibet. 

The panel that consisted of Prof. Per Kvaerne, Prof. Robert Barnett and Prof. Ole Henrik Magga was moderated by the Deputy Chair of the Norwegian Tibet Committee, Ms. Merethe Lind Jodalen. It was an interesting panel discussion where we saw different views and perspectives of the speakers. The speakers not only shared their experiences during Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, but also shared their opinions and concerns about the future of Tibet and Tibetans.

Moments from the The Meridian Trust – Buddhist Film Archive from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in 1989.

The present political, religious and environmental issues were also discussed. Questions regarding the views on the issues of Tibetans, Uighurs, now the people of Hong Kong and particularly the silence of Norway were raised during the panel session.

Bishop emeritus Gunnar Stålsett with a special message from HH the. 14th Dalai Lama

Prof. Ole Henrik Magga who, in 1989 was the President of the Sami Parliament and had invited H. H. the Dalai Lama to Tromsø shared with us precious memories from his many meetings with HH the Dalai Lama along with a very personal “joke” for Tibet on the occasion.

After the Questions – Answer session the concluding vote of thanks was given by Ms. Merethe Lind Jodalen, Deputy Chairperson of the Norwegian Tibet Committee followed by singing of same Tibetan song sung by the same group of people who actually had sung it during the prize ceremony in 1989. Dinner was served at the end of the event.  

A powerful voice from the young tibetans – Anna Deskyi Erichsen
Generous @bjorgthorhallsdottir created this artwork for the @dennorsketibet committee on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of HH Dalai Lama’s 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. Bjørg attended the celebration at the Literature House and surprised us with the news that she will print a limited edition of the picture, which will be sold for revenue for our work on Tibet’s cause. 
Moments from the The Meridian Trust – Buddhist Film Archive from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in 1989.
Thupten Tenzin and professor ole Henrik Magga together with Jan Arntzen and his daughter Julie Arntzen.
Jan Arntzen as in 1964, together with tibetanerhjelpen and “Uncle Lauritz” from nrk children’s TV, made sure that 40 young tibetan refugees got a roof over their head, teaching and a good everyday life at gjøvik. Thupten Tenzin (on the left) was one of the boys who came to gjøvik in 1965. Read the fine article about Jan Arntzens’s priceless effort here: https://www.aftenposten.no/a-magasinet/i/Rx8ka/da-verden-kom-til-gjoev
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Norwegian Aid

Norway significant contributor to world’s biggest sustainable development

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The replenishment negotiations for the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and the African Development Bank’s African Development Fund (ADF) have now been completed. Norway will provide over NOK 3 billion to IDA for the period 2020-2022, and will provide around NOK 2 billion to the ADF for the same period. The total IDA replenishment is expected to be around USD 82 billion, and the ADF replenishment will amount to USD 7.6 billion.

‘I am very pleased that the donor countries are now contributing so substantially to the world’s biggest team effort to fight poverty and promote sustainable development. Some 33 of the world’s 47 least-developed countries are in sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless, the share of global aid that is going to these countries has decreased in recent years. We want to reverse this trend and to increase assistance to these countries, so that they can reach the SDGs and eradicate poverty in all its forms by 2030,’ said Minister of International Development Dag-Inge Ulstein. 

Around two-thirds of the funding provided by IDA goes to African countries. For the next three-year period, IDA will give priority to efforts in the following areas: climate change, women’s rights and gender equality, private sector development and job creation, support for countries and regions affected by conflict and fragility and for sound financial governance, including efforts to improve domestic resource mobilisation. In the replenishment negotiations, Norway has had responsibility for raising IDA’s level of ambition as regards domestic resource mobilisation.

‘In response to pressure from Norway and other countries, IDA will also increase its support for vulnerable groups, including those who it is hardest to reach and people with disabilities. IDA will also step up its efforts to strengthen the ability of poor countries to manage their external debt,’ Mr Ulstein said.

Norway’s priorities are also clearly reflected in the focus areas identified in the negotiations on the ADF replenishment. Projects relating to women’s rights and gender equality, climate change, clean energy and digitalisation will be given priority.

‘I am pleased that the African Development Fund is to focus on sustainable food systems and climate-resilient agriculture. The Fund will also intensify its efforts to promote entrepreneurship and job creation for young people. It is particularly significant that the Fund’s efforts in countries and regions affected by conflict and fragility, such as the Sahel region, the Lake Chad region, and the Horn of Africa are to be stepped up,’ said Mr Ulstein.

About the International Development Association (IDA): 

The World Bank’s fund for the world’s 74 poorest countries was established in 1962. IDA is the largest single channel for multilateral aid to these countries. IDA provides heavily subsidised loans to low-income countries, and grants to the most indebted of these countries. For every dollar the donors give to IDA, IDA provides three dollars to the poorest countries. This is made possible by a financing model under which donor contributions are combined with internal resources from the World Bank itself and resources borrowed in the financial markets on favourable terms, where the Bank benefits from its AAA credit rating. 

About the African Development Fund (ADF): 

The ADF offers technical assistance and funding in the form of heavily subsidised loans and grants to low-income countries in Africa. Funding from the ADF enables the implementation of high-priority infrastructure projects, particularly in the areas of energy, agriculture, water and sanitation, climate change and gender equality. In addition, the ADF supports capacity-building in the areas of governance and financial management, and helps to create jobs, promote entrepreneurship and enhance access to vocational education.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

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Economics

Norway’s aluminium wire exports to Sweden

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

According to the international trade data, Norway’s aluminium wire exports to Sweden are likely to stand lower at the end of this year, while its exports to the Netherlands are likely to amount higher. Norway in 2019 is estimated to export 27,521 tonnes of aluminium wire to Sweden, down 15.44 per cent from 2018. The country’s export volume to Sweden in 2018 was also slightly lower from its previous year at 31,771 tonnes. In 2017, Norway’s aluminium wire exports to Sweden were approximately 32,008 tonnes.

To the Netherlands, Norway’s aluminium wire exports in 2019 are likely to come in at 18,183 tonnes, up 20 per cent from 15,212 tonnes in 2018. In 2017, the export amount was 16,701 tonnes, which means the country’s aluminium wire exports to the Netherlands in 2018 were down by about 9 per cent.

In tandem with the decline in Norway’s aluminium wire export volume to Sweden, the country’s export value is also expected to decline in 2019 from US$59 million in 2018 to US$51 million, down 14 per cent. In 2017, the export value had come in at US$60, a slightly higher than in 2018, as a consequence of the increased volume of export.

From exports to the Netherlands, Norway is likely to yield the revenue of US$33 million in 2019, up 22 per cent from US$27 million in 2018. In 2017, the export value was US$30 million, which indicates that the value in 2018 fell by 10 per cent.

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Russia and Norway

Russian Railways Sign Agreement with Oslo Port

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Kaliningrad Railway, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, has signed a memorandum of understanding on developing a multimodal transit container rail service between China and Europe via the ports of Kaliningrad and Norway.

Viktor Golomolzin, Head of Kaliningrad Railway, told the representatives of Norwegian transport market about the newly launched China – Europe – China block train via Baltiysk in Kaliningrad and Sassniz in Germany.

The transit time between China and Baltiysk made 8.5 days. 

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Srilanka and Norway

Norway facilitates disaster management in Sri Lanka

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The two-day symposium held in Sri Lanka, , it is aiming to showcase NBRO’s innovations –geotechnical guideline for safe construction of building foundations, technical guideline on building demolition work in Sri Lanka, handbook on test methods and specifications for material and product section and Air Quality Monitoring network under its Research and Development Program.

Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Trine Joranli Eskedal said the seven- year long cooperation between the Norwegian Geo-technical Institute and the NBRO, had facilitated to introduce the advanced Norwegian technology such as ground penetrating Radars, using drones to look for landslides, building warning systems and effectively conducting ground water continuation assessments among other.

“During the last few weeks we have heard that there have been several losses of lives and a considerable number of people were affected by the adverse weather conditions which led to floods and landslides in some parts of the island. In many cases it is possible to forecast natural disasters and early action is more effective than responding after the disaster has risen,” she said.

Ambassador Eskedal said there was a clear connection between the need to climate change reduction and prevention of climate related and other natural disasters and the need for humanitarian efforts.

She noted that it was the poorest communities that were at most risk from natural disasters, and in particular women and children.

“Experiences tell us that early warning systems based on landslide monitoring and predictions are most economical in landslide risk reductions because of prevention is significantly lower than the price of reparation,” Eskedal said adding that technology used in landslide identification can analyze, monitor, make predictions, reduce risks, and enhance sustainable disaster management.

She said this year’s theme for the symposium ‘Equitable Resilience’ was important and there was a need to make fundamental change for transformation when some stresses and shocks which were unavailable takes place.

“Governments, natural and social scientist , engineers , lawyers, and policy makers, businesses, NGOs, civil society and all of the individual have to work together to have a critical resilience and reach to sustainable forms to the global challenges in to this era,” Eskedal said adding that trans-disciplinary research cooperation are critical on this matter.

Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Maj.Gen. Kamal Gunaratne (Retd) emphasising the urgent need for a holistic precautionary approach for disaster management, said bringing disaster management stake holders within the purview of Defence Ministry would facilitate the coordination and cohesiveness at all levels.

He said disaster management was not a process that could be tackled in isolation but needed careful coordination, cooperation and liaison among many state holders to be successful in any emergency situation.

“Being cognizant of this vital need, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has made the decision to synergize all these capabilities which were under different establishments, under the Ministry of Defence to achieve efficiency and effectiveness as a cohesive outfit to face any disaster situation in future,” he said.

Maj.Gen. Gunaratne said with this new move the government would be able to focus more towards enhancing resilience empowering the people, to take appropriate action during and post disaster phase.

Referring to the 10 policy decisions, including sustainable environmental management, development of natural resources and a society based on technology which are more directly linked to the disaster resilience, taken by President Rajapaksa, he said all stake holders were urgently required to line up to achieve the desired efforts of resilience.

Maj.Gen. Gunaratne, who was the chief guest at the 10th Annual Research Symposium of the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) held in Colombo, today, said even though, the people were not immune to the destructive impact of the forces of nature, the impact could be reduced when communities were prepared to face natural calamities and their disruption.

He said two calamities – Meeriyabedda landslide in Badulla district and the Samasarakanda landslide in Kegalle district and its flow-on impact in last few years were reminding the need of well preparedness by local communities to get them immune from natural disasters.

“There is an urgent need for a precautionary approach with proper understanding of the risk and the need for cohesive approach which is capable of ensuring much more prescient, precise and holistic risk governance in the future,” he stressed.
Reminding the assistance extended by the Tri- Forces and the Police in disaster responses and providing relief to affected communities, he said troops were not only engaged in disaster management but also led the rehabilitation and reconstruction process.

According to Maj.Gen. Gunaratne, resilience to a disaster had been a prime concern in the past but in today’s context, vulnerability is not only associated with disaster, but also to environmental, social, health, economic and other related issues.

“Climate change makes extreme weather effects more likely than ever before. The average temperature of the globe has already risen by 1°C. Heat waves, droughts, floods, and violent storms could become much more common in the decades to come, making disaster risk reduction even more urgent priority,” he said.
Maj.Gen. Gunaratne said the building physical infrastructure, such as transport and energy systems and commercial and residential buildings, had not taken into account with associated disaster risks.

“The resilience-based sustainable development must be comprehensive in nature, and it requires integrated responses to complex challenges and respect for national ownership and leadership,” he said adding that NBRO has tremendously worked in disaster mitigation while introducing guidelines and provide guidance through its research and innovations.

Appreciating the contribution and support given by the international stakeholders during disaster situations, he said it was vital to work together in a more collaborative manner in managing disasters , which were challenging and required modern technology and innovation.

He also called for greater collaboration between the institutions, including the NBRO, working in the humanitarian and development fields to facilitate the communities affected by disasters to rebuild their lives to face future disasters.

(MOD LK)

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Terrorist

Abducted JJ Ugland bulker crew released by pirates

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norwegian owner JJ Ugland has confirmed that nine crewmembers from 2014-built supramax bulker Bonita, who were held hostage by pirates, were released in Nigeria after 35 days in captivity.

The vessel was boarded by pirates on November 2 off Cotonou, Benin when it was at anchor waiting for a berth to discharge cargo. Nine crewmembers, including the captain, were kidnapped and taken off the vessel by pirates. The remaining crew onboard notified local authorities.

All of the crewmembers have gone through medical examinations and the doctor declared all nine fit to travel. After being safely transported out of Nigeria, the crewmembers have now safely arrived in Manila, where they will receive further care and follow up treatment.

“We are truly happy that the nine crewmembers are now reunited with their families and have their wellbeing at heart. I would on behalf of the company like to sincerely thank all parties that have contributed to resolving this difficult situation,” said Øystein Beisland, president of JJ Ugland.

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Economics

Norway’s Equinor buys half stake in Polish offshore project

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Norway’s Equinor has acquired a 50-percent stake in a Polish offshore wind project, Baltyk I with a capacity of 1.56 GW, from Poland-based privately-owned energy producer Polenergia, the Norwegian company said in a Tuesday statement.

Norwegians added they now have half of the shares in Polenergia’s three planned wind farms with a total capacity of 3 GW. In 2018, Equinor bought a 50-percent share in Polenergia’s Baltyk II and Baltyk III offshore projects with a total output of 1.44 GW.

Equinor also said it would manage the construction preparation phase of the wind development projects at the site about 80 kilometres from the port of Łeba, at depths of between 25 and 35 metres.

“This acquisition strengthens our presence in the Baltic Sea,” Jens Okland, the state-controlled Norwegian firm’s vice-president, said. He added that Poland is a very important market for Equinor and the company is pleased to further deepen their presence in Poland and to work with Polenergia, which has an in-depth knowledge of the Polish energy market.

Equinor (formerly Statoil) operates wind farms off the coasts of Great Britain, Germany and Norway.

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Environment

Germany ponders storing CO2 beneath the North Sea

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

As part of a revised industrial energy strategy drafted by economy minister Peter Altmaier (CDU), the German government contemplates capturing and storing unavoidable CO2 emissions from industrial processes beneath the North Sea, writes Tagesspiegel Background. “Major European offshore potentials are available for the implementation of environmentally compatible CO2 storage.

This requires corresponding cooperation, especially with Norway, the Netherlands and Great Britain,” says the strategy. Germany will be keeping a close eye on the trials of Scottish company Pale Blue Dot Energy, which has a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project led by engineer and CCS expert Sam Gomersall, to sink carbon dioxide in exploited gas fields beneath the North Sea, writes Tagesspiegel.

“We can store the emissions of centuries for the United Kingdom there,” Gomersall told journalists in the British town of Aberdeen, the site of a gas processing plant called St. Fergus. Pale Blue Dot Energy has already calculated a storage fee for companies that want to get rid of their CO2 in St Fergus: the equivalent of around 14 euros per tonne, according to Tagesspiegel.

Scotland is not the only country offering to store its neighbours’ carbon – Norway has been driving this development for some time. Earlier this year, German chancellor Angela Merkel had already brought the controversial CCS process back to the political table, despite sceptics, who criticise the high cost of CCS and the unknown environmental effects of the technology. Merkel and her party, however, argue that CCS is a necessary measure in reaching net greenhouse gasneutrality.

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China and Norway

Op-Ed from Senior U.S. Official on Human Rights Day

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

China is everywhere.  Huawei is in control of virtually everything.  And so from the human rights perspective, China’s performance in Xinjiang is just – it truly dwarfs anything, even Siberia in World War II.  And so if you want to say who’s the worst human rights violator of all time, it has to be the – it has to be the Communist Party in China said Robert Destro, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

“We need to take China very seriously when it says “one country, two systems.”  Because Hong Kong is a signatory to some conventions that the PRC is not.  And so that offers us some opportunities to go after some of China’s bad behavior.  Labor is a particularly interesting one in the sense that not only do you have slave labor in Xinjiang, and worse – I mean, that’s another whole topic with the organ harvesting and that kind of stuff – but the – but they’re also undercutting labor markets in Italy, in Ethiopia.  All over – all over Africa, China is actually exporting prisoners to these other countries to work, which has the effect of undercutting those workers locally, plus we don’t need to get into the resource extraction where basically China – China has become the bedroom of the 21st century in terms of that” he said. 

Below is a full rush transcript of the press conference with Assistant Secretary Robert Destro, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Assistant Secretary Destro:  Well, good morning,  I’ve been on the road.  Actually, I’m going to be heading back to the United States tonight.  And we started out in Bratislava for the meetings of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and did some absolutely fascinating discussions.  There’s actually two conferences that go on when OSCE meets.  We were in the parallel conference with the civil society folks, and so we got to meet people from Ukraine, from Russia, from central – all across Central Asia.  We got to visit with prisoners who were tortured.  We got to meet with civil society – or civil human rights defenders.  And in one respect, I’d have to say that that’s a very sobering kind of conversation in the sense that you – you find it hard to imagine that people are – that these really, really wonderful people live under such circumstances where you always have to watch what you have to say, not unlike the situation that I was in when I first – when I had my first classified briefing, and I read the material in terms of the briefing and said, well, thank God I was born in the United States.  

So then we went from Bratislava, where we spent a couple of days, and went to – went over to Geneva, where we met with ambassadors from the like-minded countries, and then had a very, very – with ambassador – had a one-on-one with Ambassador Andrew Bremberg, who’s pretty new in his position, talking about ways in which we can engage the multilateral space in places on the margins either of the human rights group or, to, getting in some things like the International Labor Organization, which I can talk a little bit about later.  We then had an absolutely fascinating lunch with the ambassadors of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which was very, very interesting, about things we could be doing together to reach into the Muslim world in a more effective way.  Then we took off and went down to Rome and had meetings at Embassy Vatican and with some colleagues from the World Food Program about how we would piggyback on top of some of the World Food Program’s programs in places like south – like in Sudan and Ethiopia.  And my view is once you take care of getting people fed, you then need to take a look in civil society and their human rights issues.  

So then after that we went to Brussels for a consultation we hadn’t done for about five years between the United States and the EU, and that took a day, and then we went to Berlin for a German foreign ministry conference, where I got to opine on a panel on artificial intelligence and human rights, which was really quite fun.  And we got up at 5:15 this morning and flew to London, and tonight we get to go home. 

Question: About Russia and Central Asia and what’s going on in that region.  Could you talk a little more about that, sir?

Assistant Secretary Destro:  Sure.  One of the – one of the reasons we went to the OSCE conference is to talk to all of the – as many as possible of the civil society advocates and human rights defenders who work in that whole band of – the whole band of East Europe and then into Central Asia.  So we were talking with people from Armenia, from Russia, from Ukraine, from Tajikistan, from Uzbekistan, from Kyrgyzstan.  I mean, it was – it was a little bit like a speed dating program because you were just kind of going through and talking to people.  But the number of stories was just fascinating, and I was privileged and before I left for Bratislava to have engaged back at the State Department in bilaterals with the – with – I’m sorry, with Belarus and with Turkmenistan, and that was – that was pretty interesting as well.  So it kind of rounded out the periphery of Russia and what the Russian Federation is up to with respect to the countries on – in what they often call the near abroad.  

So anyway, it’s a – that’s a fascinating discussion.  And I can tell you quite honestly that all of them are scared to death of their big neighbor, and it’s how do you avoid the fatal clutches of the Russian bear, and I was particularly – particularly [inaudible] in terms of the people we talked to from Belarus in light of the conversation – the bilateral discussions I had had with the deputy foreign minister from Belarus in Washington.  

Question:  I have two questions.  When you will participate in UNHRC human rights sessions?  Why staying away from that system? Also, briefly, elaborate to me about the human rights situation inside China. So can you briefly give me some information about China and UNHRC?

Assistant Secretary Destro:  Sure.  We – let’s start with your first question first, but I should preface it by saying how grateful I am to my friends in Norway.  I’ve spent way more years, since at least two – probably 14 years working with your Peace Research Institute of Oslo, and very, very good friends.  I’ve been to Norway many times and I have to say your work in the field of human rights is just – and peace-building is just exemplary.  So let me just kind of get that on the table first.

Let’s talk about the Human Rights Commission.  The United States has made its position pretty clear with respect to the Human Rights Commission.  You’ve got two big problems.  Actually, three.  The first one is just the management of it is not what we want to see.  It’s completely disorganized; it’s pretty dysfunctional; everybody recognizes that it’s dysfunctional.  Even the like-minded ambassadors, who will remain nameless, think it’s dysfunctional.  The question is, well, it’s dysfunctional but it’s the only Human Rights Commission we have.  The United States finally said, wait a minute.  We want to see some changes.

We’ve also got the pesky matter of Item 7, which is the permanent assault on Israel, and as long as there’s not going to be reasonable conversation about that topic.  And then you’ve got the – you’ve got the bad actors like Venezuela and Iran and others that are scarcely paradigms of the protection of human rights, and finally we just threw up our hands and said forget it.  And I think people were somewhat taken by surprise.  Would the United States consider coming back in?  Sure, we would, but there are certain things we want to see.  Did our allies encourage us to come back in?  Sure, they did.  We just reiterated the position I just told you about.

But Ambassador Bremberg and I are committed to doing a lot on the margins of the HRC, so the fact that we’re not in doesn’t mean we’re going to be quiet and not involved.  And then there are other multilateral organizations, in particular the ILO, and that segues nicely right into Xinjiang.

And the – what’s really interesting about – and this was Ambassador Bremberg’s observation, which I have to give him credit for.  I wasn’t smart enough to come up with it on my own.  But we need to take China very seriously when it says “one country, two systems.”  Because Hong Kong is a signatory to some conventions that the PRC is not.  And so that offers us some opportunities to go after some of China’s bad behavior.  Labor is a particularly interesting one in the sense that not only do you have slave labor in Xinjiang, and worse – I mean, that’s another whole topic with the organ harvesting and that kind of stuff – but the – but they’re also undercutting labor markets in Italy, in Ethiopia.  All over – all over Africa, China is actually exporting prisoners to these other countries to work, which has the effect of undercutting those workers locally, plus we don’t need to get into the resource extraction where basically China – China has become the bedroom of the 21st century in terms of that.

So it’s really – I mean, no matter where you go, and talking with our African friends and partners, they just say, look, China is everywhere.  Huawei is in control of virtually everything.  And so from the human rights perspective, China’s performance in Xinjiang is just – it truly dwarfs anything, even Siberia in World War II.  And so if you want to say who’s the worst human rights violator of all time, it has to be the – it has to be the Communist Party in China.  

Question:  What the United States is doing with the OIC, the Organization of Islamic —

Assistant Secretary Destro:  Well, one of the – one of the things I’ve been doing for the last 17 years, really, I’ve been involved in an ongoing – what we call an Abrahamic dialogue with Iran, which has now expanded into Iraq and Lebanon, where we really talk at great length to very senior religious, political, business and other figures across the religious landscape.  And when you have the privilege of getting to know some of the leading people, including people very close to Ayatollah Sistani, key people very close to the leadership in Iran – I’ve been to Iran twice and have been to Qom twice and have met many of the – many in the religious and business and political leaders.

So I have often thought that the United States interaction with the OIC is really a question of can you speak the language.  And so when we had the lunch at Ambassador Bremberg’s – at the embassy in Geneva, the conversation involved several of the countries in the organization and it was what can we do together to foster human rights, or how do we do that in a way that you’re not speaking Western human rights, you’re speaking about the kinds of justice questions that Islamic law tends to focus on.  And in the – and of course, if you’re going to be dealing with the OIC, you can’t be bothered by saying, well, you don’t talk about politics or religion.  You have to talk about both at the same time.  And as one of the ambassadors told us, he says, “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a lunch like this before,” where we literally put – we put women’s rights on the table, we put – we put terrorism on the table.  We put all of those kinds of issues because I’m of the view that a really successful meeting means that you have agreed on what you most disagree on, and then you can assign the homework after so that you can kind of figure out where the – where you can nibble around the edges of those issues.

So, I mean, that was just a fascinating meeting.  I was originally supposed to go to Abu Dhabi after this trip and participate in a big conference sponsored by the Alliance of Civilizations, where I was going to give a human rights speech.  But after all this trip I thought the last thing I want to do is fly another seven hours to the Middle East and 15 going back.  

Assistant Secretary Destro:  Well, thank you all for participating today.  As somebody who in the United States both teaches and litigates in the First Amendment space, I can’t tell you how grateful we are to have working journalists like you asking us tough questions.  That’s your job, and one of the things that really came across strongly when we were meeting with the civil society protectors and human rights defenders and journalists from Central Asia is, boy, am I glad I was born in the United States.  My sister happens to be a journalist, and the thought of going to jail for something you put in a podcast or something, a tweet that you send out, is just a pretty sobering proposition.  

So thank you all for doing what you do every day, and just remember that our door is open.  We’re always willing to answer questions just as long as you understand that I’m the kind of person who will actually tell you, “I don’t know, I’ll have to go find out.”  

So thanks, and thanks again, and have a very good day.

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