Saturday, November 14, 2026
Taiwan and Norway

Free outdoor concert with Tung-Chieh Chuang and Oslo Philharmonic June 17th.

by Geir Yeh Fotland
written by Geir Yeh Fotland

 Photo credit Ragnar Time, 2017.

Many people in Norway are looking forward  to this yearly Summer Sunday event with free admission hosted  by Sagene Sommer Concerts and Oslo-Philharmonic Orchestra, this year also together with the Oslo Philharmonic Choir and Swedish guest violinist Johan Dalene. Guest conductor in 2018 is the young Tung-chieh Chuang from Taiwan. The weather forecast for Sunday says rain in the morning,  but cloudy in the afternoon when the concert starts at 3 p.m.  According a Facebook notice more the 19000 people have showed interest to attend this event sitting on the green lawns of the Myraløkka park along the Aker River between Sagene and Torshov in Oslo.

– We guarantee a varied program and a summery atmosphere. Bring friends and acquaintances, a blanket and a picnic blanket, a dog and a grandmother. Food and drinks are sold on site. Welcome to everyone, the organizer says.

Program for the concert:  

Orff: “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana (with choir)
Grieg: Norwegian Dance  nr.2
Tchaikovsky: Violin concert No. 3
Monti: Czardas                                                                                                                                                                                                       Borodin: Polovetsian Dances (with choir)                                                                                                                                                    Verdi: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (with choir)
Halvorsen: Entry March of the Boyars
Grieg: In the Hall of the Mountain King

 Tung-Chieh Chuang conducting outdoor in Sweden last year.

Tung-chieh Chuang was born in 1982 into a family of professional musicians in Taipei, Taiwan. He showed great musical promise from an early age and learned early to play horn and piano, giving his first public concert at age 11. He studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and at the Weimar Academy of Music. His mentors include Mark Gibson, Gustav Meier, Otto-Werner Mueller and Nicolás Pasquet.  He has some awards and is often guest conductor in Europe and Asia. In October 2016 he  conducted the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra on a tour in China. Today he lives with his wife and two years old child in Berlin. He hopes in the future to start his own orchestra.

– This will be my 4th time to Norway. I have been to Bergen and Trondheim. Greatly looking forward to working with the Oslo Phil ,  Tung-Chieh Chuang says.

Once on a transfer to Romania he met a student of  Hochschule für Musik und Theater München,  Min Hua Chiu from Taichung, Taiwan.

And I met the same Min-hua Chiu in Taipei (photo left) when Oslo Philharmonic was back to Hong Kong and Taipei in March 2017.

– After 3 years study in Germany, Chiu told me last year.  – I did the audition for co-principal in June 2016 and went through the final. The job wasn’t given, but I was very lucky to be offered a one-year-contract for 2nd oboe full time.  After a few months I found that I love Norway and the job so much, so I will definitely do the auditions again. Now he wrote me from Oslo: – I just passed my probation and am going to live here for good!

Now he is looking forward to being conducted by his countryman Tung-Chieh Chuang.

– We both  joined to the same military band in Taiwan, but not at the same time, Min-hua Chiu said.

– So we never met in Taiwan. 

 

China Times ,Taiwan, had an article about Tung-chieh Chuang going to Norway.

 

 

 

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Russia and Norway

Nordics must keep Russian aggression on the minds of allies

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

National security experts all over Washington spent their winter binge-watching the second season of a popular Norwegian TV series titled Okkupert (or “Occupied”), in which Russia brazenly occupies Norway after a dispute over energy.

In this dystopian near future, the United States is no longer in NATO and world leaders are totally ineffective in securing Russia’s withdrawal. While the scenario is pure fiction, the underlying Russian aggression that inspired it is very real.

Throughout the Cold War, the Nordic nations wrestled with how best to deter their powerful neighbor. Denmark, Iceland and Norway relied on the collective security of NATO membership, while Sweden and Finland walked a tightrope of engagement and deterrence.

Russia’s growing assertiveness and belligerence in recent years has become a major preoccupation for publics and political elites in the Nordic countries, for good reason.

After a state-sponsored chemical weapon attack in the U.K. on a former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, the five Nordic countries responded in concert with EU and NATO allies  by expelling Russian diplomats and expressing their outrage.

Norway, Sweden and Finland expelled one Russian diplomat each, while Denmark expelled two. Iceland, with its much smaller diplomatic corps, stopped short of expelling any Russian representatives, but announced that no officials will attend this summer’s soccer World Cup in Russia.

These numbers may seem small compared to U.S. expulsions, but it’s important to realize that Nordic missions in Russia are much smaller than those of their larger allies, and any significant counter-expulsions could cripple their ability to serve Nordic citizens in Russia.

While these steps were necessary for the Nordics to send Russia a message and stand in solidarity with the U.K. and other allies, we must put this incident in perspective and not treat it as just another in the long line of Russian lies.

For the first time since the Second World War, a chemical weapon, a particularly nasty one at that, has been used in Europe. A major red line has been crossed, and the expulsion of diplomats does not even come close to addressing the severity of the attack in Salisbury.

While Russia will continue to protest its innocence and complain loudly at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and in other fora, the cost that has been inflicted on Russia for this and other past transgressions can best be described as minimal.

So the international community must consider how it can further respond in a way that doesn’t only temporarily discomfort Russia, but rather deters it from similar or more egregious future actions.

Unfortunately, the current U.S. administration has not provided what would historically be dependable American leadership on an issue of such gravity and importance to the transatlantic partner nations.

The Trump administration’s policy on Russia is both opaque and nebulous, shifting daily with a range of different messages coming out of the interagency and the White House. Effective deterrence is based on strong consistent messaging about boundaries and predictable repercussions, but that is notably absent from any U.S.-Russia communications today.

While the Nordic countries cannot deter Russia on their own, they can keep this issue on the international agenda by using their respected voice in the international community.

As states that are consistently among the strongest champions of international law, collective security and human rights, the Nordics ought to be vocal about the need to act more effectively to arrest the dangerous trajectory Russia is on.

They know that the importance of safeguarding international legal norms is most important for smaller states, states that rely on collective rather than individual power in order to deter aggression or illegal behavior. T

he fact that such attacks have now taken place at least twice in the U.K. sends a clear signal that Russia will not hesitate to commit similar violations against the sovereignty of less powerful states — such as the Nordics.

The Nordic states can act individually, but ideally in concert, in bilateral conversations with key allies and within NATO, the EU and the U.N. where their voices carry weight and influence.

The recent inconsistency of American messaging regarding Russia makes it even more important that the issue of how to deal with Russia forms a key part of any Nordic-U.S. consultations going forward.

The Nordics have been a reliable partner to the U.S. for decades in meeting the most intractable challenges of our time, including threats to peace and security. The healthy Nordic-U.S. relationship can be at the heart of meeting the challenge of a belligerent Russia that is intent on undermining the post-war international system.

Erlingur Erlingsson is a visiting fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and the former deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Iceland in Washington.

(thehill)

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Norwegian Aid

Norwegian government report sharply critical of funding for tropical forest conservation

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan
  • A recent report by Norway’s Office of the Auditor General had some tough criticisms for the country’s International Forests and Climate Initiative (NICFI), one of the chief funders of REDD+ initiatives around the world.
  • The Office of the Auditor General said that its investigation found “that progress and results are delayed, that current measures have uncertain feasibility and effect, and that the risk of fraud is not well-managed.”
  • Responding to the report, Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment, Ola Elvestuen, said that it provided some useful insights and that its recommendations would be followed up on. However, Elvestuen said he disagreed with many of the report’s key conclusions.

A recent report by Norway’s Office of the Auditor General had some tough criticisms for the country’s International Forests and Climate Initiative (NICFI), one of the chief funders of REDD+ initiatives around the world.

Over the last 10 years, NICFI has granted a total of 23.5 billion Norwegian krone (about $2.9 billion) to projects aimed at conserving tropical forests and reducing associated greenhouse gas emissions in several developing countries. Norway even paid three countries directly to protect their forests and draw down emissions: Brazil, in particular, has been a major recipient of funds from Norway, receiving 7.4 billion krone (more than $900 million), while Indonesia and Guyana have each received 1.1 billion krone (about $134 million).

Germany and the UK are also among the top three donors of funds to protect tropical forests in developing nations. But in a statement, the Office of the Auditor General noted that Norwegian contributions from 2008-2016 made up 51 percent of the total funds paid out by those three countries.

“The prerequisite for increased support from other countries has not been met, and Norwegian contributions make up a larger proportion than anticipated,” Per-Kristian Foss, Norway’s Auditor General, said.

That was far from the harshest criticism in the report, however. The Office of the Auditor General said that its investigation found “that progress and results are delayed, that current measures have uncertain feasibility and effect, and that the risk of fraud is not well-managed.” The report identifies some key challenges that are preventing successful implementation of conservation measures, such as conflicts of interest between sectors, lack of capacity, and shifting policy priorities in countries receiving funds.

“International efforts to preserve tropical forest have not found solutions to address these global challenges,” Foss said. “There is therefore uncertainty about further implementation and if the measures give lasting effect.”

According to the report, Norwegian authorities do not sufficiently account for the risk of fraud, nor are there adequate mechanisms in place for measuring and reporting on outcomes such as protection of indigenous peoples’ rights, poverty alleviation, and conservation of natural forests.

Foss summed up the report’s findings by saying that “There is a need to ensure better control of the use and results of these funds.”

Responding to the report, Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment, Ola Elvestuen, said that it provided some useful insights and that its recommendations would be followed up on. However, Elvestuen said he disagreed with many of the conclusions reached by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG).

“It is always useful to have the OAG’s view on the management of money granted by our parliament (Stortinget),” Elvestuen said in a statement. “The remarks from OAG point to issues we are already aware of and are closely following up on. We will continue our efforts to promote permanent conservation of rainforest, we will strive to be even better at following up on results and lessons learned, and we will ensure active follow-up relating to the risk for financial fraud.”

Elvestuen noted that he wants to strengthen efforts to measure, report, and verify results on the ground, as well as to combat international forest crime. He strongly disagreed with the OAG’s conclusion that the administration has not complied with its own guidelines to prevent abuse of Norwegian funds, however.

“We have good systems in place to ensure that Norwegian money transactions are channeled appropriately and used as intended. However, it is obvious that the risk of fraud and corruption is far greater for this type of international aid management, than for example, national subsidy management,” he said. “We have zero tolerance for corruption.” He added that the number of corruption cases “has been very limited” given that over 20 billion krone has been disbursed to date.

Elvestuen also objected to what he characterizes as misrepresentations the OAG makes about “the amazing results in reducing Amazon deforestation in Brazil,” and said that the report only examines parts of the NICFI, which led the OAG to make overly broad conclusions based on a limited audit. “Thus, many very important results are overlooked,” Elvestuen added. “The main challenge, a global mobilization to prevent climate change, cannot be solved with Norwegian money alone. But we have come a long way given the circumstances, and we have reason to be very content about what Norway together with our partners have achieved in this area.”

He points specifically to the partnerships NICFI has established with some of the world’s most important rainforest countries. “The work is challenging, and political priorities change over time. However, several partnerships have shown impressive progress. Brazil has reduced emissions corresponding to 70 years of Norwegian emissions, and we feel that the OAG rendering of this story is incomplete. Important advances in Indonesia and Colombia have also not been assessed by the Office of the Auditor General.”

It’s unclear what, if any, impact the report might have on initiatives in countries like Brazil and Indonesia that rely on Norwegian funds channeled through the UN’s program for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, known as REDD+. Combating deforestation is so critical to efforts to halt global warming that REDD+ was enshrined in the Paris Climate Agreement as a standalone article.

Florian Eisele, a spokesman for the UN-REDD Programme, declined to comment on the specifics of the report but said that efforts to combat global deforestation are moving in the right direction. Eisele noted that 6.3 gigatons of REDD+ emission reductions have already been reported under the UNFCCC by a number of countries, and that there continues to be “strong interest from forested countries” in creating REDD+ programs.

“We have seen that reducing emissions from forests is possible, and can be done with great sustainable development benefits, protecting the interests of some of the most vulnerable people,” Eisele told Mongabay. He noted that halting deforestation is not only crucial to mitigating global climate change but also to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on poverty, health, gender, water, and land use.

“While admittedly the progress is not as fast as everyone hoped ten years ago, we currently have an opportunity to help countries to achieve transformative change, supported by political commitment through the Paris Agreement and SDGs,” Eisele said. “Ensuring environmental and social safeguards will continue to be central to the success of REDD+.”

Not everyone is convinced that REDD+ is a viable solution, however, and the Norwegian Office of the Auditor General report is likely to fuel further criticism. For instance, Saskia Ozinga, a co-founder and campaigns coordinator for the NGO FERN, told Mongabay that the theory of change behind REDD+ has proven to be wrong. She appears to be skeptical that the reforms called for in the Auditor General’s report could make REDD+ work the way it was intended.

“REDD+ was based on the idea there would be, by now, a large forest carbon market paying for REDD+ projects. As this large market does not exist, REDD+ is now just one source of development aid money for forests,” she told Mongabay. “This money is needed but must be focused on addressing the causes of deforestation and forest degradation, including lack of good governance and unclear tenure rights (and reducing consumption). Carbon monitoring, reporting and verification is costly, often disempowering for local communities and does not address causes of deforestation and REDD+ funding for these type of activities is therefore not helpful.”

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Asia and Norway

China’s Belt and Road plans will damage Norwegian investment in Pakistan

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

It is a scorching hot June day in Gwadar, a port city on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, and more than a dozen eight-year-old children have blocked a road by lying across it. Dressed in traditional shalwar kameez, the kids are protesting against a severe water shortage and long hours without electricity. The traffic is stopped for a while but then the children get up, rub the dust off their clothes and run towards the crowded markets.

The combined opposition in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly (GBA) and Awami Action Comm­ittee (AAC) warned  that if traders’ demands were not accepted protests would be launched across the region.

GB traders, transporters, and labourers continued their protest sit-in in Sust town , blocking Karakoram Highway, the entry point of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC), against imposition of taxes and introduction of WeBOC (Web-Based One Customs) system at the Sust Dry Port.

Traffic between Pakistan and China remained suspended. Containers and trucks loaded with import and export goods became stranded both sides of the protest camp. Trade activities between the two countries have been suspended for the past two months as traders have boycotted import and export business till acceptance of their demands.

Chinese and Pakistani citizens faced difficulty while travelling to each other countries via Khunjerab Pass. The opposition leader said the GB people stood with the protest movement launched by people affiliated with Pakistan-China trade. He said for making the CPEC project successful it was necessary to address grievances of local people.

According to the press release, WeBOC is a clearance software that provides for end-to-end integration.

Clearing agents, traders, terminal operators, banks and many other government and non-government functionaries are linked in the system and the relevant data is visible on screen to all the stakeholders. Goods Declarations are processed through paperless workflow environment which ensures speedy disposal, decreases dwell time and cost of doing business. Moreover, Risk Management System (RMS) of WeBOC further reduces dwell time, under Green Channel, by marking consignment directly to the port authorities thus, bypassing examination and assessment.

In a nutshell, WeBOC is primarily aimed at trade facilitation and it is regrettable that clearing agents are protesting against its launch at SRDP, Sust. Recently, internet connectivity was established at the dry port and training sessions were held to educate the stakeholders regarding functioning of different modules of the software. MCC Gilgit-Baltistan has also operationalised a Trade Facilitation Centre at the dry port for traders and clearing agents to ensure speedy disposal of consignments.

Moreover, the department is unable to clear the stranded consignments because of refusal of traders to file GDs in WeBOC module and the ensuing sit-in.

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by area, but the least populated. Sharing borders with Iran and Afghanistan, it is also the country’s least developed province: three out of four people live below poverty line. But Balochistan at the centre of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Pakistani component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which comprises $60bn worth of infrastructure projects. For Pakistan, this is an enormous investment — equal to 20 per cent of the whole country’s GDP — and the government has claimed it will bring wealth and development to Balochistan and change the fortunes of its people. But the protests by children in Gwadar show that it is not universally popular.

The corridor comprises energy and infrastructure projects, industrial development and the Gwadar port. The port is the linchpin. It is located near the Strait of Hormuz, the passage between the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes. As the principal goal of the corridor is to connect China’s Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea, no Gwadar port means no CPEC.

However, the reality on the ground does not reflect these priorities. Of the 21 energy projects that are to be installed as part of CPEC throughout the country, only two of them are based in Balochistan. This is despite the fact that the province suffers a shortfall of over 1,000 megawatts of electricity. So far not a single megawatt has been pumped into Balochistan’s grid from a CPEC project. On infrastructure, China is spending more than $11bn, but that does not entail developing even one major six-lane highway in Balochistan. As for industrial development, special economic zones have been approved in all provinces of Pakistan except Balochistan.

According to the agreement between Pakistan and China, 91 per cent of the revenues from the Gwadar port over the next 40 years are to go to the port’s operator, Chinese Overseas Port Holding Company, with the remaining 9 per cent to go to the federal government. No revenues are directly reserved for Balochistan.

While its proponents talk about Gwadar port in glowing terms — it has been dubbed the next Dubai — the reality is that it has just three berths for the loading and unloading of cargo. Jebel Ali port in Dubai has 67 berths. Even Gwadar’s Iranian competitor, Chabahar port, has 10. Presently, a commercial ship hardly ever docks at Gwadar; occasional cargo ships bring in construction material for Chinese companies working in the city.

Meanwhile, CPEC is shrouded in mystery. Pakistan’s government has not made public the details of project agreements with China, which contain information about the financing models. The result has been mounting public discontent and intense criticism in Pakistan — so much so that Chinese ambassadors in the country took to social media to defend the projects.

China has long-term plans that it wants to achieve through its Belt and Road Initiative, possibly including strategic and economic dominance in Asia. But, these grand designs could be disrupted if the Pakistani component of the initiative continues to be seen as controversial in the eyes of ordinary people. If the government tells the truth about the nature of its agreements and ensures that the potential benefits are fairly distributed, this fate could be avoided. If not, Pakistan could miss a great opportunity to harness Chinese funding to develop the poor but strategically important region of Balochistan.

One such country is Norway with which Pakistan has very cordial relations. Norway established diplomatic relations with Pakistan since its independence in 1947. Both countries enjoy cordial relations based on commonality of views on a number of important issues. It is encouraging to note that the relations between them are following an upward trend. These relations are reinforced by the presence of a large Pakistani Diaspora in Norway. At present there are 50,000 Pakistanis working in Norway-Norwegian nationals.

The ten prominent Norwegian companies active in Pakistan include Telenor, Nera Networks, Tanberg Jotun Powder Coating Pakistan Pvt Ltd and Det Norske Veritas (DVN).

There is a vast scope of cooperation between Pakistan and Norway in governance, education, health and other sectors. The export of cotton, textile and leather from Pakistan to Norway has lot of potential for further improvement. Both countries can also look at new avenues of cooperation such as hydropower generation, exploration of oil and gas and minerals. Agriculture is another area of cooperation. Norway has been the third biggest exporter of gas in the world, fifth in oil and sixth in hydro power. Therefore Norway has great potential to help Pakistan in overcoming its energy crisis.

Pakistan is interested to further improve economic relations with Norway but how China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) can damage Norwegian investment in Pakistan. What this means for Pakistan’s CPEC dream is not yet clear.

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Nobel Peace Prize

Norway MPs nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Two lawmakers from Norway’s Progress Party, which is a part of the country’s government coalition, have nominated US President Donald Trump for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize because of his efforts to secure the nuclear disarmament of North Korea, according to NRK, Norway’s state broadcasting company.

Earlier, the UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson, and South Korean President Moon Jae In also had stated that Trump deserved to become a Nobel laureate for his efforts to establish peace in the Korean peninsula.

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Taiwan and Norway

Kåre Hanken (1943 – 2018) honored in Norway, Taiwan and South Africa.

by Geir Yeh Fotland
written by Geir Yeh Fotland

Kåre Hanken, Taiwan, 2013

The Norwegian administrator and conductor Kåre Hanken (19.11.1943, Ålesund, – 3.6.2018, Oslo), was a prominent figure in the choral world, a key person in the work of raising the artistic standard of choirs across Norway and contributed building structures for international choir cooperation. He held a Masters Degree in church Music from the Music Conservatory in Oslo, Norway, and obtained further qualifications in Organ and Choral Conducting in Denmark, Sweden and the USA.

His professional career started in his city of birth Ålesund, West Norway, as church musician, where he in 1980 established the Ålesund Chamber Choir.

In 1987 he moved to Oslo and took over as the conductor of Schola Cantorum after Knut Nystedt and Carl Høgset. He led the choir until 2002 and released with it two CDs, one with works of Knut Nystedt. He also led the choir on tours to Japan, the Baltic States, and South Africa, among others.

From 1987 Hanken was also Secretary General of the National Team Music in School until he in 1991 became the first Secretary-General of the Norwegian Choral Association, a job he had until 2009. He established this organization to be one of the most significant choir associations internationally.

In 1998 he became the cornerstone of a Norad-funded tripartite collaboration between the Choir Association, Norway’s Music College and the University of Port Elisabeth on the development of conductor education at all levels in South Africa. Between 2006 and 2012 he was guest lecturer in the academic choral conducting programmes at Stellenbosch University closer to Cape Town. In 2000 he was appointed honorary professor at the University of Port Elizabeth, and in the autumn of 2008 he was appointed professor II at Stellenbosch University.

Kåre Hanken with Taipei Century Choir in 2013

Students at a number of institutions in Norway and abroad including in Taiwan,  Latvia, Estonia, South Africa, Japan and the USA. have enjoyed Hanken’s education in choral leadership.

Kåre Hanken attended Taipei International Choral Festival several times, in 2012 together with the Norwegian sextet a cappella group PUST. Then he stayed at Cosmos Hotel who honered him by putting his signature and photo on the wall of fame in their lobby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

   

In May 2013 Hanken was invited back to Taiwan to conduct Taipei Century Choir and Kaohsiung Chamber Choir for their concerts with Scandinavian songs, both choral music and arranged folk songs.  Most of the songs were of Norwegian composers, and even in Norwegian.

 

May 17, 2013 at Tafong Elementary school in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

On the Norwegian National Day, May 17, a primary school had an exhibition about Norway and invited all the Norwegians included friends on the island to celebrate. Kåre Hanken participated with the 40 member Taipei choir.   Formosa TV made a report for the national news:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepaZFUgcc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

 

Hanken was editor of several books, he helped promote Norwegian choir tunes. He published Grieg’s total choirs, a collection of Knut Nystedt´s music and the book Norwegian Choral Music 1905-2005.

His wife and daughters say everyone is welcome to attend the funeral today June 14 at 1 p.m.  from  Paulus Church in Oslo.

There will be a concert in honour of Kåre Hanken at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Cape Town. The concert on Saturday 11. of August will end with a performance of Bach’s great motet “Jesu, meine Freude”. This sublime piece of music is one of Kåre Hanken’s favourites.

 

 

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Politics

The Holberg Prize conferred upon Professor Cass Sunstein

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

(Bergen, Norway) – The Holberg Prize was conferred upon Harvard Law Professor Cass Sunstein by HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway.

At a prestigious award ceremony in the University Aula in Bergen, Professor Cass Sunstein received the international research award from HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway.

The Holberg Prize is worth NOK 6 million (approx. USD 740,000) and is awarded annually for outstanding contributions to research in the arts and humanities, social sciences, law or theology.

“I am more honored than I can say to receive the Holberg Prize,” said the Laureate. “Of course, the Prize is shared with terrific coauthors, colleagues, teachers, students, friends, and family. It is both an honor and a joy to pay tribute to them right now.”

Supporting human dignity through deliberation
Sunstein will receive the Holberg Prize for his wide-ranging, original, prolific and highly influential research. Not only has his research redefined several academic fields; it has also had a far-reaching impact on public policy. His scholarship spans several major areas: constitutional law and democratic theory, behavioral economics and public policy, legal theory and jurisprudence, administrative law, and the regulation of risk.  In particular, Sunstein’s academic work has reshaped our understanding of the relationship between the modern regulatory state and constitutional law.

In his acceptance speech, Sunstein recounted how he—while working on constitutional law in the early 1980s—saw a pattern with respect to legal doctrines and such considerations as equality, liberty, property, religion and freedom of speech: “There was a single foundation for each and every one of them,” said the Laureate, “Whenever burdens are to be imposed, or benefits to be given, it must be for some public-regarding reason. In other words, government must offer an intelligible justification for hurting or helping people.”

Sunstein described how this democratic principle connected with human dignity, equality, freedom, as well as “the deepest foundations of the world’s great constitutional orders.” “It is,” said the Laureate, “at the heart of the idea of deliberative democracy – a system of government that combines political accountability with an insistence on reason-giving.” “In deliberative democracies,” Sunstein continued, ”what matters is not power but what an earlier Holberg Laureate, Jürgen Habermas, calls ‘the forceless force of the better argument.’”

About the Laureate
Cass R. Sunstein (b. 1954) is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University. He is the founder and Director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School.

From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, where he helped oversee a wide range of reforms involving safety, air quality, civil rights, open government, climate change, economic opportunity, health, and reduction of poverty.

Mr. Sunstein has been involved in constitution-making and law reform activities in many nations. His government service includes membership on President Barack Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies (2013) and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Innovation Board (2016-2017).

Mr. Sunstein is author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books, including Republic.com (2001), Risk and Reason (2002), Why Societies Need Dissent (2003), The Second Bill of Rights (2004), Laws of Fear: Beyond the Precautionary Principle (2005), Worst-Case Scenarios (2001), Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008), Simpler: The Future of Government (2013), Conspiracy Theories and Other Dangerous Ideas (2014), The World According to Star Wars (2016), The Ethics of Influence (2016), #Republic (2017), Impeachment (2017), Legal Reasoning and Political Conflict (2d. ed. 2018), and The Cost-Benefit Revolution (forthcoming 2018). He is now working on various projects on the relationship between social norms and social change.

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Farming

Norway’s Minister Peddles Seafood in NYC while Whales Die in Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Washington, DC—As Norway’s fisheries minister, Per Sandberg, travels around New York June 7-8 to promote Norwegian seafood, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) urges the city’s retailers, consumers and restaurateurs to question the source of any Norwegian seafood due to its possible ties to the country’s barbaric whaling industry.

Sandberg is in town for the Global Compact Action Platform for Sustainable Ocean Business meeting at the United Nations on June 8 to promote the sustainable use of ocean resources. The Norwegian government is co-hosting the meeting, which coincides with World Oceans Day. Sandberg also plans to visit the well-known fish stall at Chelsea Market during his stay.

“Minister Sandberg’s New York visit to tout his country’s leadership on ocean sustainability and its protection of ocean health and resources ignores the elephant in the room,” said Susan Millward, director of marine programs for AWI. “While he touts Norwegian seafood in New York, Norwegian whalers are brutally slaying minke whales in utter disregard for the international community’s desire to stop commercial whaling.”

Since the Norwegian whaling season began in early April, 163 minke whales have been killed out of a total quota—set by Sandberg—of 1,278. Fifteen Norwegian vessels have permits to whale, and many of these boats also hold licenses to fish for commercially sought-after species such as cod, haddock, pollock and herring.

Norway kills whales in defiance of a moratorium on commercial whaling approved by the International Whaling Commission (of which Norway is a member). Since the moratorium took effect in 1986, Norway has permitted the slaughter of 13,000 minke whales and is second only to Japan in the number of whales killed during this period. Japan provoked international outrage recently after it was revealed that a hunt last summer killed 333 minke whales, including 122 who were pregnant.

Living whales, according to peer-reviewed scientific research, provide significant ecological benefits to the marine environment—including carbon sequestration, increased productivity of fish stocks and marine biodiversity.

AWI urges New York seafood buyers to demand proof that these products did not come from a registered Norwegian whaling vessel. Given low domestic demand for whale meat in Norway, a number of whaling vessels rely on income from fishing to survive. Retailers should perform an audit of their supply chain to rule out whaling links, and AWI is willing to assist in this process.

“Norway is well aware that whales are worth far more alive than dead and yet it chooses to ignore this fact by continuing to promote its cruel and unnecessary whaling industry,” Millward said. “Buyers of Norwegian seafood keep this industry afloat by rewarding whalers.”

For more information on Norwegian whaling, visit: https://awionline.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/AWI-ML-NorwayReport-2016.pdf

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Environment

Dutch ASML realizes new hydropower plant in Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

11 June 2018 Oslo – Yet another European corporation, this time ASML – the Dutch technology company, has made the construction of a new renewable power plant possible. Sandvik, a small hydropower plant on the west coast of Norway, is now generating electricity and supplying clean power to the grid. ASML provided crucial top-financing to the building of Sandvik through a high impact renewable energy product called ECOHZ GO2. GO2 combines the purchase of documented renewable power with the financing and building of new renewable power capacity.

ASML is the world’s largest supplier of photolithography systems. Chip manufacturers use ASML’s machines to produce the microchips that are at the center of electronic devices.

“ASML is committed to operating sustainably and takes responsibility for the economic, social and environmental impact of its business decision. GO2 provides a great opportunity for companies such as ASML to create new renewable energy production for the grid”, the company states.

When a business purchases GO2, they match the energy they consume with documented energy production from a renewable source with a direct contribution to the ECOHZ Renewable Energy Foundation. The Foundation identifies and lends money to renewable energy projects that are ready to be constructed, but lack the final and crucial capital needed to initiate construction.

When a company purchases GO2 for a partial or full years’ worth of electricity consumption, the company’s purchase will set into motion multiple investments in new renewable energy production.

“After the ECOHZ Foundation loan has been repaid from the income of the renewable power plant that was financed, the ECOHZ Foundation will once again lend the money ASML contributed to other renewable energy projects in need of financing. Based on the current financing models we are using, ASML’s single decision will result in the building of other renewable energy power plants in the future. We extrapolate that this system will by 2030 generate around 67 GWh.Sandvik is an example of how companies can easily contribute to renewable energy production and participate in the global energy transition,” says Tom Lindberg, Managing Director of ECOHZ.

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Science

Norway deploys world’s first wireless network at sea, to tackle oil spills

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

To improve offshore oil spill preparedness, Norway’s government and the oil industry are building an offshore broadband wireless network.

When oil spills occur, the ability to exchange information quickly between ships, planes, and other actors can greatly limit the damage caused by the spill, according to the Norwegian Coastal Administration. In order to speed up communications in such a scenario, an offshore broadband network is being rolled out in Norway.

The network is being built onboard the vessels and planes that take part in oil spill recovery operations. Norway’s Coastal Administration will install the Maritime Broadband Radio (MBR) system on all its oil recovery vessels, as well as ten additional vessels that have oil recovery equipment onboard.

The Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO) – made up of oil industry organizations – will install the MBR system on all their oil recovery vessels. The system has already been rolled-out on a surveillance plane that’s a joint initiative between the Coastal Administration, NOFO, and the Norwegian Coast Guard. Three onshore base stations have also been installed, to aid in communications with ships and planes.

The Coastal Administration says this is the world’s first national implementation of maritime broadband communication on ships and planes in public service.

“This is a significant improvement that allows us to communicate with all units participating in an oil recovery mission, and share the data without an internet connection. MBR allows us to respond faster with the right actions,” says Kjetil Aasebø, senior advisor in the Coastal Administration, in a statement.

The MBR system has been developed in cooperation with the Norwegian companies Kongsberg Seatex and Radionor. The system operates in the 5GHz frequency band, and offers speeds up to 15Mbps. Its operational range is in excess of 50km, depending on antenna placement.

This means the radios will work well beyond line-of-sight, greatly improving the practical applications of the technology compared to traditional high-performance data communication equipment used offshore.

An MRB network has a mesh network topology. This means that senders and receivers that are out of reach of each other can use other MBR stations between them as radio relay stations. Consequently, a circling airplane with an MBR station can greatly extend the coverage of the network.

MRB radio stations are hardened for offshore use, and contain no moving parts. As a result, the omnidirectional models can contain up to 60 phased-array solid state antennas. The enclosed signal processing circuitry performs real-time radio beamforming and adaptive power control, in order to provide an optimal signal to users, both those nearby and behind the horizon.

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Economics

Norway’s tax administration combats economic crime through IT

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Photo of a UK self assessment tax return with calculator and payslips.
The payslip is a mock up the names and all other information on it is fictional.

Norway boasts one of the world’s most transparent tax systems, and investments in its IT support infrastructure in recent years have helped to elevate a sense of impartial openness and harmony between the Norwegian Tax Administration (NTA) and the country’s population.

Several of the NTA’s more recent IT investments have been developed and delivered to make it easier for citizens to navigate the often perplexing bureaucratic processes of paying taxes. Taxpayers can now use online self-assessment tools to calculate their liabilities, and a recently launched digital service permits Norwegians to inspect the annual tax returns of other citizens once tax returns are posted online each October.

Now the NTA’s IT focus is about to move into a higher gear to tackle tax evasion linked to economic crime in the “black” economy. This area is proving increasingly problematic for Norway, particularly within the segment of the economy that favours cash transactions and payments.

Clouded by a lack of transparency, this area poses a serious challenge for the NTA, which has traditionally battled hard against losing revenue in an economy where the personal tax rate has averaged 42% over the 23 years to 2018. The total tax burden constitutes about 45% of the Norway’s GDP.

In its struggle to combat economic crime and tax evasion, the NTA must also clear the underlying hurdles in revenue collection that are further complicated by the country’s high corporate tax rate.

Enterprises in Norway pay 23% corporate tax on their profits, a rate that was reduced from 24% in January this year. By contrast, businesses in nearby Finland pay 20%, and the comparable rate in Sweden and Denmark is 22%.

The NTA’s direct response to tackling economic crime in the black, or shadow economy, was to scale up its IT capacity and competence to track, detect and bring more “bad actors” into the tax loop. Government estimates suggest the shadow economy equates to about 14% of Norway’s GDP, making it one of Europe’s worst affected.

This estimate is supported by a report from ATKearney, commissioned by Visa, that calculated Norway’s shadow economy to be worth €44.2bn (NOK420bn).

To bolster its arsenal of tax collection tools, the NTA has contracted Atea Group to deliver a customised analysis and information platform capable of handling and processing very large amounts of data gathered from a broad array of sources. It will focus on the activities of enterprises and private individuals.

Atea is one of Norway’s leading IT infrastructure and system integration players, recording revenues of €3.2bn in 2017.

Its three-year contract with the NTA is worth €10m and covers the design and provision of an advanced data analytical and information platform that will enhance the tax administration’s ability to detect suspicious economic crime activities. The new system, which is being delivered in partnership with IBM Norway, is designed to process large amounts of structured and unstructured data.

The contract will require Atea to operate the platform, utilising continuous real-time information streams. The platform will support ongoing NTA projects and strategy, developing increasingly sophisticated systems to detect tax evasion activities and schemes more effectively.

“The platform and new analysis tools will also make it easier for the tax administration to predict errors and provide opportunities for a better digital direction for the submission of tax returns,” said Michael Jacobs, Atea’s managing director.

Before joining Atea, former Oracle and Kodak executive Jacobs headed Microsoft Norway and Dell’s operations in Scandinavia.

The NTA’s new crime detection system incorporates a risk-based analysis platform designed by IBM which will enable the tax administration to adopt a more risk-based approach in its evaluation of businesses. The platform supports deep analysis of data backed by real-time risk assessment capabilities that are an improvement on the NTA’s current arsenal of tools.

“The platform will be integrated with the NTA’s own solutions,” said Arne Norheim, IBM Norway’s managing director. “It is designed to help the tax administration gain new insights into an area of major social importance.”

The platform provided by Atea in alliance with IBM includes components supplied by two other project partners – Acando and iKnow A/S.

Acando, an IT project consulting firm headquartered in Stockholm, deepened its relationship with IBM in December 2017 when it bought cloud services company Anywhere.24, one of Microsoft Dynamics 365’s leading partners in Germany within the customer relationship management (CRM) domain.

Oslo-based iKnow also has longstanding project collaboration relationships with both Atea and IBM. The software-driven process automation firm’s offerings include the provision of functionality for operating IBM’s InfoSphere DataStage ETL platform.

The new economic crime-focused system will integrate with the NTA’s Ntax enterprise architecture, which covers Norway’s 3.7 million salaried taxpayers. The authority’s taxation loop also includes 280,000 enterprises and 351,000 self-employed individuals.

The NTA administered the collection of about €117bn in taxes in 2017. Of this total, €20bn came from the petroleum sector, €27bn via the national sales tax, €16bn in employer’s national insurance contributions and €42bn in personal income and corporate taxes.

The NTA’s strategy to “get tougher” on economic crime and the black economy is spearheaded by a special independent unit within the administration which was initially created to tackle shortfalls in tax receipts in the greater Oslo region.

Recurring problems caused by black market racketeering, as identified by the NTA, are most prevalent in cash-based payment service sectors such as medical, hairdressing, taxis, florists and food catering. The NTA is also investing more in investigating cash businesses that may have links to money-laundering networks and criminal organisations.

The advanced data processing and analytical features of the new IT platform will also make it easier, and more operationally efficient, for the NTA to track tax evasion by Norwegian citizens attempting to disguise and hide assets, undeclared to the national tax authority, in overseas tax havens.

(computerweekly)

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Defence

Norway and The United Kingdom plans co-operation in the North Atlantic

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

“In times like these, when the security landscape is complex and uncertain, we need close allies. I am especially pleased with the strong UK-Norwegian relations, says State Secretary Tone Skogen. Earlier this week Minister for Defence Procurement Guto Bebb hosted Skogen on her visit aboard a US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft – equipment which both the UK and Norway will soon own themselves.

State Secretary Tone Skogen visited London and Royal Air Force Lossiemouth, the military airfield in north-east Scotland which will be the future home of the UK’s fleet of MPA’s (Maritime Patrol Aircrafts). The Poseidons deploy sonobuoys to help them detect and hunt submarines. The UK is buying nine of the Boeing-built aircraft, whilst Norway is buying five.

“These sub-hunters will take to the skies from RAF Lossiemouth and help us combat a range of intensifying threats, not least increasing submarine activity in the North Atlantic. We’re investing £3bn in our own capability, but working alongside Norway takes this to a higher level. Not only could we cut costs by sharing training, spares and repair facilities, but we can patrol the seas together, meaning we’ve got more eyes and ears on any potential aggressors, says Guto Bebb, Minister for Defence Procurement in the UK. 

“In my discussions with Guto Bebb, I find a like-minded ally with unwavering determination to strengthen NATO and our bilateral defence cooperation. This relates to high-end capabilities such as the F-35 fighter and the P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, training and exercises in the North Atlantic and the Northern region, as well as operationalisation of the Joint Expeditionary Force. I am delighted that the United Kingdom and Norway significantly enhance our cooperation on these and other important issues”, State Secretary Tone Skogen says. 

Surveillance of the North Atlantic is important for both UK and Norwegian security. Norway and the UK will intensify cooperation in this important endeavour, also in a trilateral context with the US. As the F-35 is coming into operation in our countries, Norway welcome increased operational cooperation also in this domain – as well as the P-8’s. Norway also highly value Royal Marines’ training and exercising in Norway, and welcome the deepening relationship between the Marines and the Norwegian Armed Forces. Norway also highly appreciate the UK initiatives and European leadership in forums such as the Northern Group and the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). 

“Norway and the UK have special responsibility both to ourselves and to the Alliance to ensure stability in the High North”, concludes Tone Skogen.

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Science

Transparency in payments live in Finland, Norway and Sweden

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Transparency in Payments (TIP) has been implemented in the Finland, Norway and Sweden markets. TIP, which is being introduced in conjunction with NewGen ISS, is an industry initiative focused on providing airlines with increased transparency and control in the collection of their sales generated in the travel agency channel. At the same time, it will enable travel agents to take advantage of new forms of payment for the remittance of customer funds.

“The current landscape for payment services has changed dramatically, and new players and payment solutions are emerging, offering travel agents greater options to remit customer funds to airlines. However, up until now, airlines have lacked visibility into these newer payment methods. TIP will address this issue, creating new opportunities for airlines and travel agents,” said Aleks Popovich, IATA’s Senior Vice President, Financial and Distribution Services.

No form of remittance is barred by TIP, but travel agents can only use those forms to which an airline has previously given consent. Importantly, if an airline consents, TIP explicitly allows travel agents to use their own credit cards. IATA has worked closely with key industry stakeholders to develop TIP to ensure it provides:

  • Increased transparency and control for each player
  • An efficient framework and tools to enable agents and airlines to bilaterally agree on usage of Alternative Transfer Methods, such as agent’s own credit cards and agent’s virtual account numbers (VANs), for the direct remittance to airlines of agency Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) sales
  • A resolution framework which is better adapted to regulatory and market conditions.

Under TIP, providers of Alternative Transfer Methods wishing to participate in agency direct remittances to airlines of BSP sales will enlist with IATA, and provide relevant information about their payment products. Agents and airlines will have access to this information on a need-to-know basis. “We look forward to working with providers of Alternative Transfer Methods such as AirPlus International and Edenred Corporate Payment, who support the principles underlying TIP. We anticipate that other providers will commit to enrolling their products within the TIP framework once their technical environment is ready, to contribute to greater transparency in the airline and agency ecosystem,” said Popovich.

Over the coming weeks, TIP will be implemented in Iceland and Denmark (9 May), Canada (16 May), and Singapore (23 May), with rollout expected to be completed in all BSP markets by Q1 2020.

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Crimes

Former Syrian athlete convicted of smuggling refugees into Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The Oslo City Court has convicted a Syrian-Norwegian in his thirties to two and a half years in prison for breaking immigration laws and falsifying documents. While the court found that the life and the health of Syrian refugees was not in clear danger, it stressed the man should be punished nonetheless.

The man, a former member of the Syrian national beach football squad, has lived in the Scandinavian country for seven years, was found to have assisted about 20 people, to whom he referred to as “friends,” in getting to Europe and Norway providing them with IDs, travel tickets and route planning — an enterprise the police described as an “illegal travel agency,” the newspaper Dagbladet reported.

The investigation against the man was initially based on a tip-off from the Czech police, who found that he had acted as a middle man in a case that involved forging IDs in Eastern Europe.

The man admitted to helping several people travel to Norway through his collaboration with the group in Eastern Europe, but denied profiting off this enterprise. He specifically denied being engaged in smuggling people, insisting that he had helped “friends and family” in need of passports, IDs, tickets and information. However, the police also established that the man had dealt with people to whom he had no relation whatsoever. One of them claimed in court to having paid NOK 50,000 ($6,200) for two passports.

While the police have confirmed that the man had not personally profited from his actions, it nevertheless “found it proven” that he was not only part of an organized group with profitable intentions but actually played a central role in this enterprise. He was also found to have sent money abroad.

Police prosecutor Hans Petter Pedersen Skurdal described the Syrian-Norwegian as a “central cog” in a people smuggling operation which acted like a “travel agency” for the refugees.

The man’s defense lawyer claimed that the verdict would be appealed, stressing that his client acted “out of necessity.”

“Even though those he helped had already arrived in Europe, he believed their lives were at risk,” lawyer Heidi Ysen told Dagbladet.

Ysen also stressed that the verdict was heavily based on police work from the Czech Republic and that the evidence was “too thin.”

At present, there are about 20,000 Syrians in Norway, most of them having arrived as asylum seekers in the course of the Syrian civil war.

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Racism in Norway

Committee on the Rights of the Child closes seventy-eighth session in Geneva

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its seventy-eighth session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Argentina, Angola, Algeria, Montenegro, Russian Federation, Lesotho and Norway under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols.

The concluding observations and recommendations on the States’ reports and other documentation will be available on the session’s webpage.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Committee held a minute of silence in remembrance of Wanderlino Nogueira Neto, a children’s rights defender and advocate, and former member of the Committee.

Renate Winter, Committee Chairperson, in her concluding remarks, summarized the activities of the Committee during the session, which was held from 14 May to 1 June 2018.

Ms. Winter reminded that as of 1 June, there were 196 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child; 167 States had ratified the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and 174 States had ratified the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.  With the ratification on 17 May by Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on 25 May by Slovenia, 39 States were now parties to the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure.

The Committee had examined the reports of seven countries; reviewed four cases received in relation to the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure, one of which it had deemed a violation, one inadmissible, while two had been discontinued; and continued the revision of General Comment N°10 (2007) on children’s rights in juvenile justice.

In the context of the treaty body strengthening process and the United Nations General Assembly resolution 68/268, the Committee had continued its work to enhance its working methods, including the simplified reporting procedure.  The Committee continued preparing for the Day of General Discussion entitled “Protecting and empowering children as human rights defenders”, to be held on 28 September 2018 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Bernard Gastaud, Committee Rapporteur, presented the report on the intersessional activities of the Committee Experts, and the Committee then adopted the report of the session.

Meeting summaries of all public meetings held during the seventy-eighth session can be found here, and meeting webcasts here.

The Committee will hold its seventy-ninth session at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from 17 September to 5 October 2018 when it will review the reports of El Salvador, Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mauritania and Niger.

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Killing

Norwegian citizen charged with killing in Rwanda

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Kripos has arrested a Norwegian citizen in his 50s, charged with killing during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. The man was arrested in Nordland, and is being sentenced for detention in Oslo district court on Thursday.

Kripos believes there is reason to suspect the man for having participated in the killing of a larger number of people, mainly ‘Tutsi’ Rwandans. He came to Norway as a refugee via UNHCR in 2006.

“A lot of investigation still remains, including interrogation, review of seizures and further investigations. The case is being conducted with a view to further prosecution in Norway,” said police adviser,Espen Hanken of Kripos.

The case against the man is based, among other things, on information from Rwandan authorities and their own investigations to Rwanda. Since the autumn of 2017, three exploratory journeys have been conducted with a number of questions.

From April to July 1994, between 800,000 and 1 million Tutsi and moderate Hutu Rwandans were slaughtered in a genocide conducted by the Army and Hutu ‘Interahamwe’ and ‘Impuzamugambi’ killers.

It is believed that up to 200,000 people participated in the genocide.

‘’Investigation of such cases is complicated and time consuming.The alleged crime has usually occurred several years ago in a country that differs widely from Norway,’’ Kripos wrote in a press release.

(Norwaytoday)

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Corruption in Norway

Norway spends great amount for Facebook posts

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Newspaper Aftenposten reported the Norwegian government to have paid up to USD24.800 over the past three years for Facebook services.

Media researcher at the Institute for Social Research Kjersti Thorbjornsrud suggested “sponsored content can be problematic, because the administration should not pay for what is defined as political message.”

The majority of sponsored Facebook posts were job advertisements and campaign promotions, the ministries noted while speaking to Aftenposten.

Thorbjornsrud added “paid content should be linked to neutral information, such as job advertisements. But then there is always a question of when a message gets political overtones, for example when the ministries sell a message that the government or a minister does something good. The question is where to set the limits for payment, which we have not discussed properly yet.”

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Farming

McDonald’s Will Open 200 Restaurants In Nordic Region

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

According to Reuters, the plan is part of a turnaround drive led by McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook.

While the fast-food chain reported its highest sales growth in six years in January, U.S. same-store sales were down 1.3 percent year on year. In fact, the number of customers McDonald’s draws has reportedly been dropping every year for the past four, falling just over 2 percent in 2016. This comes to a 10.4 percent fall in foot traffic.

McDonald’s currently serves 150 million customers each year in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland from its estimated 430 restaurants in the region. And starting in May, it will begin home delivery in Sweden and Finland, followed by Denmark and Norway in the second half of 2018. McDonald’s already offers home delivery in the United States, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, among other countries.

McDonald’s Nordic Group CEO Christer Aberg said, “I think it’s about being where consumers want to meet us.”

The expansion will create 5,000 jobs in the region. Last year, McDonald’s sales in the Nordic region grew 5 percent to €1.2 billion ($1.5 billion).

The expansion into the Nordic region is just one part of the fast-food chain’s plans to boost sales and build brand loyalty. In addition to adding ordering features onto its mobile app and experimenting with delivery, McDonald’s has started adding self-service kiosk-ordering, digital smart-menu boards, custom-order options and even table service.

The company has also tried some interesting promotions, such as last year’s “Big Mac ATM” in Boston, which dispensed two new sizes of burger — the Mac Jr. and the Grand Mac — free of charge between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. In lieu of payment, hungry customers “paid” with their Twitter handles and got a free lunch.

(pymnts)

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Svalbard

Arctic satellite ground station caught up in bureaucratic delays

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

More than a year and a half ago, Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) built five new satellite receivers in Inuvik, in northwest Canada, as part of a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA). The ground station has remained untouched since 2016.

Norway’s Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) and American satellite company Planet Lab spent millions to build the Inuvik installations, that include one large antenna installation costing $6.0 million and four smaller installations costing around $8.0 million in total.

KSAT has now been waiting for almost 18 months for Ottawa to grant a license the company expected would take around 180 days. “We’re quite frustrated with the pace of the Canadian bureaucracy,” said Rolf Skatteboe, president of KSAT, reports CTV News.

Inuvik is on the northern tip of N.W.T. and is considered a prime location for receiving stations for Earth observation satellites (EOS). As a matter of fact, the federal government built the first receiving station in Inuvik in the mid-2000s for its own EOS, RADARSAT.

However, since that time, these satellites have become privatized. According to PixAlytics, there were 1 738 operational satellites in orbit around the Earth at the end of August 2017, and 620 have a main purpose of either EO or Earth Science.

PixAlytics’ data shows that 44.6 percent of the satellites belonged to commercial users, up from 21 percent in 2016. It is estimated global revenues from earth observation satellites is close to $100 billion a year, growing at 11 percent.

KSAT came to town in 2015

Skatteboe said his company built its installations in Inuvik before receiving a license because the short building season in the North doesn’t allow for flexible time lines. Plus, they really didn’t expect any licensing delays. KSAT also has a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA).

The ESA contract would use the Inuvik ground station for the agency’s environmental Earth monitoring project called the Copernicus program. “[Kongsberg Satellite] has 21 ground stations around the world and they have all been licensed without any problems,” Skatteboe said.

“So [Kongsberg] did not expect any problems related to approval to receive … data from an ESA satellite, an organization where Canada also is an associated member.” The Canadian Space Agency has a co-operation agreement with the European Space Agency.

Licensing red tape in Canada

For a number of reasons, including national security, satellite receiving stations must be federally licensed under the Remote Sensing Space Systems Act. However, in a report from the McGill Institute of Air and Space Law says that legislation, written when only governments launched satellites, has become outdated.

“This industry is really evolving very quickly,” said Aram Kerkonian, who helped write the report. “The commercialization of space is the direction we’re headed now.”

What’s interesting about the report is that it recommends the licensing process be streamlined, yet it says Global Affairs Canada staff on the file are severely under-resourced. “We spoke with the regulators and it was their position that the resources just weren’t there,” Kerkonian said.

In the meantime, KSAT is still frustrated and ESA is still waiting on a receiving station that was supposed to be operational by January 2017. “If Canada decided what we’re doing is a threat to national security, fine, I accept that,” Skatteboe said. “The frustrating part is that we haven’t gotten any feedback on the timescale for them to rule on this one.”

In an email statement from Global Affairs Canada, department spokesperson Brittany Venhola-Fletcher said “Global Affairs Canada continues to work closely” with Kongsberg and Planet Labs to finalize their licensing application.

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Environment

India Sets Pace in Global Race to Beat Plastic Pollution

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

India went big in their commitment to Beat Plastic Pollution today, with an announcement to eliminate all single-use plastic in the country by 2022. This unprecedented ambitious move against disposable plastic will drastically stem the flow of plastics from 1.3 billion people and business in the fasted growing economy in the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed World Environment Day as the start of a global movement to defeat single-use plastics, highlighting India’s rapid economic development can be done in a way that is sustainable and green.

“It is the duty of each one of us, to ensure that the quest for material prosperity does not compromise our environment,” Modi said. “The choices that we make today, will define our collective future. The choices may not be easy. But through awareness, technology, and a genuine global partnership, I am sure we can make the right choices. Let us all join together to beat plastic pollution and make this planet a better place to live.”

Solidifying India’s leadership of global sustainability, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change pledged to “achieve the India of our dreams,” announcing that single-use plastics would be banned in all Indian states by 2022.

“This has been the biggest, most resonant World Environment Day ever, thanks to the leadership of our global host India,” Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment, said. “India has made a phenomenal commitment and displayed clear, decisive and global environmental leadership. This will inspire the world and ignite real change.”

The announcement was a powerful finale after weeks of activities around the country, seeing millions of Indians – policymakers, celebrities, business Moghuls and small entrepreneurs, innovators, environmentalist, and activists – come together to collectively take action on plastic pollution.

Among the highlights from the national celebrations was Modi’s commitment to join UN Environment’s Clean Seas campaign, which seeks to turn the tide on marine litter. India has 7,500 km of coastline – the 7th longest in Asia. As part of this commitment, the government will establish a national and regional marine litter action campaign as well as a program to measure the total marine plastic footprint in India’s coastal waters.

Other notable steps towards a pollution-free India included a partnership between UN Environment and the Indian Board of Control to ‘green cricket’ across the country, and a pledge to make 100 national monuments litter-free.

The country further showcased innovative solutions to environmental challenges. The western state of Maharashtra introduced an urban e-mobility program to scale back emissions. Meanwhile, the state of Andhra Pradesh in India’s southeast launched a scale-out plan to transition 6 million farms from conventional synthetic chemical agriculture to Zero-Budget Natural Farming.

As part of the official ceremony in Delhi, the Indian government, in collaboration with UN Environment also launched a joint World Environment Day Report: “Single-use Plastics: A roadmap for Sustainability”. Presenting case studies from more than 60 countries, the report analyzes the complex relationships in our plastics economy and offers an approach to rethink how the world produces, uses and manages single-use plastics.

After months of preparations and thousands of events, the culmination of commitments and action have made this World Environment Day the most successful to date, setting the bar for governments, public and private sector, and individuals around the world to step up and Beat Plastic Pollution, once and for all.

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Crimes

Police uncovers money-laundering fraud scheme led by Norwegian citizens in Albania

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The Prosecution of Tirana has revealed a money-laundering scheme led by two Norwegian citizens, who were trying to recycle 800,000 EUR which they have earned in fraud schemes. Ove Johanson and Joo Borgen Nilsen tried attempted to clean hundreds of thousands of Euros through ghost firms in our country, through transactions of shares. Investigations showed […]

The Prosecution of Tirana has revealed a money-laundering scheme led by two Norwegian citizens, who were trying to recycle 800,000 EUR which they have earned in fraud schemes.

Ove Johanson and Joo Borgen Nilsen tried attempted to clean hundreds of thousands of Euros through ghost firms in our country, through transactions of shares.

Investigations showed that Norwegian Golf Development AS, registered in Norway, had sold its shares in Albania. The main buyer was Ove Johanson. Two months later, Johanson sold the shares to his collaborator, the other defendant Joo Borgen Nilsen with a price 500 times higher than the original one, although no investment was made in the company.

Nilsen then established the Asia Capital Group, focusing on construction, projection and implementation of engineering projects.

Johanson has also been sentenced to Kosovo for a 300,000 EUR graud. Nilsen, on the other hand, is known to Norwegian authorities for a ponzi scheme known as Unacio.

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Science

Norway’s rail network goes digital

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Bane Nor, the state-owned agency responsible for Norway’s national railway infrastructure, has contracted Siemens to install the European Train Control System (ETCS) on the country’s entire rail network. Commissioning of the rollout lines is scheduled to be completed by 2034.

The new ETCS technology will digitalise the Norwegian rail system’s signalling system. ETCS is a key component in the integration of rail transport in Europe and is intended to replace more than 20 national railway control and safety systems currently being used on the European continent.

The goal behind ETCS is to enable an interoperable and thus competitive rail transport system throughout Europe. (ben)

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Science

Future of Fjords electric catamaran launched in Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

The all-electric catamaran called the Future of Fjords has been launched just as planned. Its carbon fibre hull has space for 400 passengers and the electric ferry will sail between Norway’s UNESCO heritage sites and opportunity charge at sea.

Whilst the fjords of Norway have been declared a cultural heritage by the UNESCO, the electric catamaran appears to be the future of fjords indeed.

With its extra light hull made from carbon fibre, the battery pack of 1,800 kWh delivers enough power for the electric motor. Each of the two propels the electric boat forward with 450 kW. They reach 16 knots (almost 30 kph) during operation for a range of 55 km.

But that is not enough. So for charging the Future of Fjords, Norwegian maker Brødrene Aa (BRAA) came up with a waterborne opportunity charging solution called PowerDock. Says the press release: “This 40m long, 5m wide floating glass fibre dock will sit in the water at Gudvangen, housing a 2.4 MWh battery pack. This charges steadily throughout the day via connection to the local grid network, which does not have the capacity to charge the Future of The Fjords directly. The innovative solution allows the vessel to stably, efficiently and cost effectively ‘refill’ in just 20 minutes.”

Moreover, the dock also stores consumables, fuel for sister vessels, and allows black water to be offloaded for treatment on land so that the Future of The Fjords will not discharge sewage directly into the fjords.

The Future of the Fjords is to run all year long and will do 700 journeys annually, that is two trips a day. Its first route is between Norway’s Flåm and Gudvangen.

And the electric catamaran won’t stay alone there long as indeed the future of the fjords is electric. Norway is planning to create the first zero-emissions zone on water as the parliament in Oslo has accepted a resolution which would see emissions banned in the world heritage fjords “as soon as technically possible and no later than 2026.”

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Environment

Facebook strikes 294-MW wind PPA in Norway

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

US social networking major Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has inked a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) in Norway for the output of the 294-MW Bjerkreim cluster of wind farms.

Under the terms of the deal, each year Facebook will be buying 1,000 GWh of electricity from the three wind parks near Stavanger so it could power its Nordic data centres in Odense, Denmark, and Lulea, Sweden.

The three wind farms will consist of 70 pieces of 4.2-MW Siemens Gamesa wind turbines in total. The projects are being developed by Norsk Vind Energi, while the operational plants will be owned by German renewables investor and asset manager Luxcara GmbH. They should be completed next year, according to information on the website of Norsk Vind Energi.

Meanwhile, Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall AB said it has won long-term supply and service agreements from Facebook tied to that cluster. Vattenfall will be providing wind integration and balancing services for the wind trio.

“The balancing services agreement is Vattenfall’s largest agreement with an external partner in the Nordics,” noted Branislav Slavic, vice president of business sales nordic at Vattenfall.

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Politics

Nordic ministers address #metoo in the cultural sector

by Nadarajah Sethurupan
written by Nadarajah Sethurupan

Since the autumn of 2017, the #metoo movement has had a huge impact around the globe. During their meeting in Malmö on 9 May, the Nordic ministers for culture issued a joint statement regarding their continued efforts to tackle sexual harassment and promote safe workplaces in the Nordic cultural sector.

The ministers’ statement opens with a clear acknowledgement of the several different #metoo movements that have started up in the Nordic countries.

“The #MeToo movement has turned the Nordic Region on its head, uncovering systematic failures, a lack of leadership, and ignorance in many parts of our society in a somewhat dramatic fashion. Several different movements gained traction in the Nordic countries, with the cultural sector often in the spotlight.”

We, the Nordic ministers for culture, are determined to do everything we can to bring this change to pass. We have so much to learn from each other’s experiences.

Several areas of the cultural sector have been put in the spotlight, and the ministers stress that continued discussion is of equal importance for all their areas of responsibility.

“We, the Nordic ministers for culture, are determined to do everything we can to bring this change to pass. We have so much to learn from each other’s experiences, which is why going forwards our emphasis will continue to be on discussion, be this at a national, Nordic, or international level. And these discussions will command equal importance in all our areas of responsibility – culture, media, and sport.”

Gender equality is key to the success of the Nordic Model, and so it’s obvious that a gender equality perspective must shape everything we do within the Nordic Council of Ministers for Culture.

Nordic co-operation and the sharing of experiences is vital in this issue. The Secretariat to the Nordic Council of Ministers has now been tasked with preparing ways in which discussions and the sharing of knowledge can be further developed.

“Gender equality is key to the success of the Nordic Model, and so it’s obvious that a gender equality perspective must shape everything we do within the Nordic Council of Ministers for Culture. What is also obvious is that there is much more to be achieved from Nordic co-operation, which is why we are instructing our Secretariat to explore ways in which the discussion can evolve with regard to efforts to prevent sexual harassment and to ensure safe workplaces within our areas of responsibility.”

“And even if momentum wanes, we will see this issue through to the end.”

The ministerial meeting in Malmö on 9 May was held within the framework of the cultural-political summit in Malmö on 8 and 9 May 2018.

Contacts

Linn Mårtens
Phone +45 29 69 29 26
Email linm@norden.org

Elisabet Skylare
Phone +45 2171 7127
Email elisky@norden.org

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