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☆ Norway evacuates thousands from worst floods in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A person walks in mud after extreme weather Hans hit Valdres, near Oslo, Norway August 8, 2023. NTB/Cornelius Poppe via REUTERSOSLO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Norway evacuated thousands of people as rivers swelled to their highest levels in at least 50 years on Wednesday and homes and businesses were submerged or swept away by landslides. Innlandet county, one of Norway's worst hit areas, said many people were isolated by the floods and that first responders may not be able to reach those in need. On Monday, a Swedish train derailed when a railway embankment was washed away by floods, injuring three people. Authorities in Norway and Sweden maintained red alerts, their most severe flood warnings, for several regions on Wednesday.

Persons: Hans, Valdres, NTB, Cornelius Poppe, Terje Solsvik, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Hove, TV2, Authorities, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Oslo, Norway, REUTERS OSLO, Innlandet, Nordic, Finland, Sweden, Swedish

☆ Storm continues to sweep over the Nordics, causing landslides
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A view shows damaged residential buildings in the aftermath of Storm Hans in Valdres, near Oslo, Norway August 8, 2023. NTB/Cornelius Poppe via REUTERSSTOCKHOLM, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Norwegian emergency services evacuated hundreds of people in various locations on Tuesday, the second day that heavy rains caused landslides, with the risk of more, as a storm sweeps over the Nordics. Strong winds, intense rain and landslides hit parts of the Nordic region, knocking out power lines, flooding villages and bringing public transport to a standstill in the worst-affected areas. The storm, which has been called "Hans," hit Sweden late on Sunday and reached Norway on Monday, with parts of Denmark and Finland also affected. In southern Norway, floods and landslides blocked roads and halted key train services.

Persons: Storm Hans, NTB, Cornelius Poppe, Hans, Marie Mannes, Leslie Adler Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Valdres, Oslo, Norway, REUTERS STOCKHOLM, Nordic, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Hemsedal, Swedish

A stronger dollar makes crude more expensive for investors holding other currencies. PVM analyst Tamas Varga noted that for months, predictions have been made that global oil demand will grow in the second half of 2023 versus the first half, in tandem with supply cuts to reduce global oil inventories. The latest figures from the U.S.- the world's biggest fuel consumer - showed fuel demand rose the highest level since August 2019. A Reuters poll also estimated U.S. crude oil and gasoline stockpiles were expected to have declined last week. In a conference on Monday, BP (BP.L) chief Bernard Looney presaged oil demand growth continuing into next year and OPEC+ being increasingly disciplined.

Persons: Johan Sverdrup, Carina Johansen, NTB, Brent, Dennis Kissler, Tamas Varga, group's, Bernard Looney, Arathy somasekhar, Natalie Grover, Emily Chow, Christian Schmollinger, Sonali Paul, David Evans, Nick Macfie, Jan Harvey Organizations: Reuters Connect, HOUSTON, Brent, . West Texas, BOK, Reuters, Thomson Locations: North, ., U.S, OPEC, Saudi Arabia, Houston, London, Singapore

☆ Norway, Finland battle rapid spread of bird flu
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Louise Rasmussen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People wearing protective suits collect dead birds, as there is a major outbreak of bird flu, in Vadso municipality in Finnmark in Norway, July 20,2023. Oyvind Zahl Arntzen/NTB/via REUTERS/File PhotoCOPENHAGEN, July 28 (Reuters) - Norway and Finland face record outbreaks of bird flu this year which have killed thousands of seagulls and other species, put livestock at risk and restricted travel in some areas, officials said. Avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has circulated throughout Europe in recent years, leading to a cull in May and June of millions of birds on French farms alone and affecting the supply of poultry meat and eggs. The H5N1 virus strain has spread among poultry and wild birds for years but there have been sporadic outbreaks reported globally in mammals such as cats, mink and otters. Neighbouring Finland also said wild birds were heavily affected and that the H5N1 strain has now been found in 20 fur farms, up from 12 earlier this week.

Persons: Oyvind Zahl, Ole, Herman Tronerud, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Terje Solsvik, Toby Chopra Organizations: Norwegian Food Safety Authority, Norwegian Food, World Health, Thomson Locations: Vadso, Finnmark, Norway, COPENHAGEN, Finland, Europe, Norway's Finnmark, Norwegian

☆ Secretive and highly paid submariners are behind some of Russia's most worrying undersea operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Known as GUGI, the directorate is responsible for conducting sabotage and surveillance against critical maritime infrastructure, including undersea cables and energy pipelines. NATO's intelligence chief warned this year that Russia could attempt to sabotage undersea cables in retaliation for Western support of Ukraine. Yantar, the special-purpose survey ship, was spotted lingering near undersea cables west of Ireland in 2021. "We know that Russia has the capacity to map but also potentially to conduct actions against critical infrastructure," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on June 16. "That's also the reason why we have, for many years, addressed the vulnerability of critical undersea infrastructure."

Persons: Sidharth Kaushal, Kaushal, GUGI, OLGA MALTSEVA, Sutton, Andrey Luzik, Jens Stoltenberg, That's, Stoltenberg, Constantine Atlamazoglou Organizations: NATO, Service, Directorate, Russian Ministry of Defense, Submarine, Royal United Services Institute, Getty, Barents Observer, Russia Ministry of Defense, US Navy, Norwegian Coast Guard, OLE BERG, NATO Maritime Centre, Fletcher School of Law, LinkedIn, Twitter Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russia, GUGI, British, St . Petersburg, AFP, Belgorod, Moscow, Olenya, Baltic, Severomorsk, Europe, Ukraine, Ireland, GUGI's St, Petersburg

☆ Summer solstice celebrations and traditions around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Summer solstice scienceThe sun sets behind the Oculus transit hub and One World Trade Center in New York City on the summer solstice in 2019. Gary Hershorn/Corbis/Getty ImagesIs summer solstice all over the world? How to celebrate summer solsticeWhat does Stonehenge have to do with the summer solstice? Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty ImagesWhat other cultural traditions surround the summer solstice? In India, the birthplace of the ancient practice of yoga, the summer solstice is traditionally celebrated with mass yoga sessions throughout the nation.

Persons: It’s, Ivan Kupala, Gary Hershorn, Hakon Mosvold Larsen, NTB, They’ll, ”, Taylor Ward, “, Petras Malukas Organizations: CNN, Northern, Trade, NASA, Heritage, Getty, United Nations Locations: England, Sweden, Eastern Europe, New York City, Chile, South Africa, Australia, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Earthsky.org, Quito, Oslo, Bjorvika, Norway, AFP, Helsinki, Finland, Fairbanks, Alaska, Earth, United States, Japan, Europe, Southwest England, Lithuania, Ukraine, India

☆ What the chaos at Twitter means for the future of social movements
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —When thousands of Egyptians marched through the streets during the Arab Spring of 2011, they had a tool at their disposal that earlier social movements didn’t: Twitter. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images“You can’t underestimate the impact of Twitter to social movements,” Amara Enyia, manager of policy and research for the Movement for Black Lives, told CNN. “There are now issues in how people see Twitter as a source of information and a source of political community,” said Kuo, whose research focuses on race, social movements and digital technologies. “It isn’t seen in the same way anymore.”Elon Musk's controversial policy changes at Twitter could have implications for social movements, some activists say. Twitter has been an incredibly powerful tool for social movements, Enyia said.

Persons: Michael Brown, George Floyd, Harvey Weinstein, Peter Macdiarmid, ” Amara Enyia, Elon Musk, wouldn’t, Rachel Kuo, ”, Kuo, ” Elon, Carina Johansen, NTB, Musk, Sarah Aoun, Aoun, Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, ” Aoun, Linda Yaccarino, Rich Wallace, Wallace, Chandan Khanna, we’ve, ” Kuo, Enyia, it’s, Jack Dorsey, Richard Drew, –, ” Enyia, don’t Organizations: CNN, Twitter, Occupy, Hollywood, Movement, Elon, University of Illinois, Getty, Intelligence, Protesters, Center, Defamation League, GOP, Equity, AP Locations: New York, Ferguson , Missouri, Cairo, Egypt, Urbana, Champaign, AFP, cybersecurity, Tahrir, Chicago

☆ Norway police could have prevented last year's gay bar shooting, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People embrace near the police line following a shooting at the London Pub, a popular gay bar and nightclub, in central Oslo, Norway June 25, 2022. PST also failed to share the intelligence it had about the shooter with police officers in charge of the surveillance of radicalised individuals. "This is a devastating report," Oslo's governing mayor, Raymond Johansen, told public broadcaster NRK. PST apologised to the victims, their relatives and the nation immediately after the report. The LGBTQ+ community is preparing for the one-year anniversary of the attack on June 25 and the annual Pride celebration on June 23-July 1.

Persons: Terje Pedersen, Raymond Johansen, Beate Gangaas, Marius Dietrichson, Gwladys Fouche, Hugh Lawson Organizations: NRK, Matapour, Thomson Locations: Oslo, Norway, OSLO

☆ Freya the Walrus: Norway unveils sculpture of euthanized walrus in Oslo
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The artist behind a sculpture of a walrus that was controversially euthanized over public safety concerns says she hopes her creation becomes a “three-dimensional history lesson” after it was unveiled in Norway’s capital Oslo. The life-sized bronze statue shows Freya the walrus curled up on her side close to the water’s edge. She hopes it will serve as a “three-dimensional history lesson.”The statue of Freya was unveiled on Saturday in Oslo. She believes that Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries should have dealt with the situation in a more ethical manner. Previously, the directorate told CNN that it was considering multiple solutions, including relocating Freya out of the fjord.

NTB/via REUTERSOSLO, April 25 (Reuters) - A former commander in Russia's Wagner mercenary group seeking asylum in Norway pleaded guilty on Tuesday to being involved in a fight outside an Oslo bar and carrying an air gun in public and said he felt "very ashamed." Medvedev pleaded guilty to fighting outside the Oslo bar on Feb. 22 and preventing a police officer from doing his or her duty. He also pleaded guilty to carrying an air gun in public on a separate occasion on March 14. He also said he had bought an air gun from a shop in Oslo for self-defence, because he feared somebody might attack him. Medvedev told Reuters in February he had fought in Ukraine, including in the region around Bakhmut, at the centre of months of fierce battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces that have all but destroyed the city.

☆ Elon Musk dreams of Twitter's AI power
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk's personal AI ambitions. Elon Musk was one of the more prominent names on an open letter calling for a pause in AI development. My teammate Asia Martin points out that Musk's position on AI is contradicted by Twitter's investment in generative AI. Twitter's recent purchase of hardware normally used to develop generative AI products shows the extent of this ambition. Read more on Elon Musk's AI ambitions.

☆ In show of unity, NATO and EU heads visit North Sea gas platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Nora Buli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Equinor CEO Anders Opedal visit the Troll A gas platform in the North Sea, Norway March 17, 2023. Ole Berg-Rusten /NTB/via REUTERSTROLL A PLATFORM, North Sea, March 17 (Reuters) - The heads of NATO and the European Commission flew on Friday to a North Sea platform to discuss the security of supplies and infrastructure, a visit underlining Norway's importance for gas shipments since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Troll A platform extracts gas from Norway's biggest gas field. After a drop in Russian flows, the Nordic country last year became the largest gas supplier to the EU. The field accounts for one third of daily Norwegian gas exports to Europe.

[1/5] Campaigners who have been protesting in Oslo for over a week against the wind turbines at Fosen, end the campaign with a demonstration in front of the Royal Castle in Oslo, Norway, March 3, 2023. Demonstrators had urged government action after Norway's supreme court ruled in 2021 that 151 turbines erected at Fosen in central Norway violated Sami rights under international conventions, but remained in operation 17 months later. Saying that a transition to green energy should not come at the expense of Indigenous rights, protesters blocked access to several ministries, putting the centre-left minority government in crisis mode. "We have made the government take responsibility for the ongoing violations of human rights and apologise," Sami artist and campaigner Ella Marie Haetta Isaksen told Reuters. "This case is bigger than just Fosen," Christian Rynning-Toennesen, the head of utility Statkraft and the operator of one of the affected wind farms, told reporters on Thursday.

[1/3] Greta Thunberg is carried away as activits demonstrate outside the Ministry of Finance entrance and several other ministries in protest that the wind turbines at Fosen, which the Supreme Court has said are illegal, have not been demolished. Alf Simensen/NTB/via REUTERSOSLO, March 1 (Reuters) - Norwegian police on Wednesday briefly detained environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg during a demonstration in Oslo, removing her and other activists from the finance ministry. The campaigners are demanding the removal of wind turbines from reindeer pastures on Sami Indigenous land in central Norway. Thunberg, holding a red, blue, yellow and green Sami flag, was lifted and carried away by police officers while hundreds of demonstrators chanted slogans. Activists on Tuesday said they had raised close to $100,000 in recent days to help individual demonstrators pay police fines.

☆ Thunberg, other protesters block Norway energy ministry over wind farms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The reason for the action is that the wind turbines at Fosen, which the Supreme Court has said are illegal, have not been demolished. NTB/Ole Berg-Rusten via REUTERSOSLO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg and dozens of other activists on Monday blocked entrances to Norway's energy ministry, protesting against wind turbines built on land traditionally used by indigenous Sami reindeer herders. Norway's supreme court in 2021 ruled that two wind farms built in central Norway violated Sami rights under international conventions, but the turbines remain in operation more than 16 months later. "I am here to support the struggle for human rights and indigenous rights," Thunberg told Reuters while sitting outside the ministry's main entrance with other demonstrators. The government has said the ultimate fate of the wind farms is a complex legal and political quandary despite the supreme court ruling and is hoping to find a compromise.

☆ Norway wealth fund posts record $164 bln loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Victoria Klesty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Norway wealth fund CEO Nicolai Tangen presents the results for 2022, at a news conference in Oslo, Norway January 31, 2023. The previous largest loss was 633 billion crowns in 2008. The loss ends a record-breaking streak for the fund, where annual returns exceeded one trillion crowns in each of the three years from 2019 to 2021, amounting to more than four trillion crowns combined. Reuters GraphicsStill, despite the record loss, the value of the fund rose overall, by 89 billion crowns or $8.9 billion year-on-year, partly due to the weak Norwegian currency and partly due to record 1.1 trillion crowns of cash inflows into the fund. The inflows in 2022 were nearly three times the previous record, of 386 billion crowns, set in 2008.

☆ Norway wealth fund posts record $164 billion loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Victoria Klesty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Norway wealth fund CEO Nicolai Tangen presents the results for 2022, at a news conference in Oslo, Norway January 31, 2023. The previous largest loss was 633 billion crowns in 2008. It ends a record-breaking streak for the fund, where annual returns exceeded one trillion crowns in each of the three years from 2019 to 2021, amounting to more than four trillion crowns combined. Still, despite the record loss, the value of the fund rose overall by 89 billion crowns or $8.9 billion year-on-year, partly due to the weak Norwegian currency and a record 1.1 trillion crowns of cash inflows. The inflows in 2022 were nearly three times the previous record, of 386 billion crowns, set in 2008.

☆ The Nord Stream pipeline attack shows what Russia can do, Western officials say, even if they can't prove Russia did it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

After months of investigation, Western officials can't prove Russia blew up the Nord Stream pipelines. While they can't name Russia as the culprit, officials say the attacks illustrate what Russia can do. The vulnerability of undersea infrastructure, like pipelines and data cables, is a growing concern. Four months on, investigators are unable to prove Moscow was behind the attack, but officials say the explosions illustrate the threat malign actors — especially Russia — pose to vital undersea infrastructure. Despite the uncertainty, the attack has only added to concern about threats to undersea infrastructure, particularly cables and pipelines, that connects continents and powers economies.

☆ Norway naval officer goes on trial over oil tanker collision
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OSLO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A Norwegian naval officer stands trial on Monday accused of negligence that led to the 2018 collision between a warship he commanded and an oil tanker in which the military vessel sank. The early-morning crash between the Ingstad and the fully loaded Sola TS crude carrier near a major North Sea oil export terminal also triggered shutdowns of parts of Norway's petroleum production. There was no leak from the oil tanker. A commission investigating the collision later said the brightly lit Sola TS may have been difficult to distinguish from the nearby terminal from where it had set off, confusing the Ingstad crew. The collision exposed safety gaps in the Norwegian navy, including inadequate training and risk assessment systems.

☆ NATO chief warns against underestimating Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during NHO's (Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise) annual conference in Oslo Spektrum, Sweden January 5, 2023. NTB/Stian Lysberg Solum via REUTERSOSLO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday it would be dangerous to underestimate Russia and President Vladimir Putin's ambitions amid the war in Ukraine. "They have shown a great willingness to tolerate losses and suffering," Stoltenberg told a business conference in Norway. "We have no indication that President Putin has changed his plans and goals in Ukraine. So it's dangerous to underestimate Russia."

☆ Nobel awards to take place in Stockholm with full glitz and glamour
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NTB/Haakon Mosvold Larsen via REUTERSSTOCKHOLM, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Nobel laureates congregated in the Swedish capital Stockholm on Saturday for the first fully in-person award ceremonies complete with a formal banquet since the COVID-19 pandemic that curtailed events in the past two years. Five of the six Nobel prizes are awarded in Stockholm every year after a nomination process that is kept secret for the next 50 years. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo where separate festivities are held. The Nobel Foundation has also snubbed the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Jailed Belarusian activist Ales Byalyatski, Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

[1/2] Offshore oil and gas platform supply vessels (PSVs) are docked at a pier in Stavanger, Norway, August 10, 2021. The decision to postpone the so-called 26th licensing round was part of the minority government's budget deal with the opposition Socialist Left Party (SV), Terje Aasland said in an interview. The deal extends an agreement the minority cabinet and SV made last year, when the government won elections, which delayed the 26th licensing round by a year. Aasland said there was "no drama" in the decision as authorities still issue licences to oil companies in a parallel licensing around called the APA round, in so-called mature areas that are already open to oil companies. The 26th licensing round grants the right to oil companies to explore and produce oil and gas in areas not explored previously.

☆ Reports of possible Russian missiles hitting Polish village raise NATO alarm
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Marek Strzelecki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Associated Press earlier cited a senior U.S. intelligence official as saying the blast was due to Russian missiles crossing into Poland. Russia's defence ministry denied reports that Russian missiles had hit Polish territory, describing them as "a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation". Latvian Deputy Prime Minister Artis Pabriks said on Twitter that Russia "fired missiles which target not only Ukrainian civilians but also landed on NATO territory in Poland." Officials from Norway, Lithuania and Estonia - members of the NATO defence alliance - said they were trying to find out more information. "Every inch of #NATO territory must be defended!," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Twitter.

☆ Alaska cancels snow crab fishing for a year after the population mysteriously collapsed
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Alaska canceled the Bering Sea snow crab fishing season for the first time ever on Monday. The snow crab stock looked promising in recent years, sparking hope amid the steep decade-long decline of Alaskan king crab. Yereth Rosen/ReutersScientists need to conduct further research to determine what exactly caused this year's snow crab population crash. Snow crabs had a baby boom, then disappearedA fisherman holds a snow crab in Kjoellefjord, Norway, on November 1, 2017. "Management of Bering Sea snow crab must now focus on conservation and rebuilding given the condition of thestock.

☆ Europe has enough energy to survive the winter. Next year might be different
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Cornelius Poppe/NTB/AFP/Getty ImagesBut success has come at a heavy cost to the economy: the scramble for alternative sources has sent energy prices soaring. Alexei Miller, CEO of Russian state energy giant Gazprom, said on Wednesday that there was “no guarantee” that Europe would survive the winter with its current reserves. “Adopting policies that prevent the pass-through of high energy prices to consumers is an expensive gamble that is doomed to fail if wholesale energy prices will stay high in the future,” he added. Carlos Torres Diaz, head of power analysis at Rystad Energy, told CNN business that Europe’s energy transition “has been put on hold” as it prioritizes energy security. “These sources of energy also help reduce the dependency on energy imports,” Torres Diaz added.

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