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☆ 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.

WARSAW, Feb 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will meet leaders of NATO's eastern flank on Wednesday to show support for their security after Moscow suspended a landmark nuclear arms control treaty. Hours earlier, Putin delivered lengthy remarks laden with criticism of the Western powers, blaming them for the war in Ukraine. At the meeting, Biden plans to reaffirm commitments over their security and discuss support for Ukraine before he returns to Washington. "Lithuania and other like-minded countries have several requests, which concern air defence, forward defence presence, air defence systems, and greater investments in the defence industry," Asta Skaisgiryte said. The former Soviet republic on Russia's doorstep joined NATO in 2004 and plans to host Biden in July for the security alliance's leaders' summit.

Biden said the West was never plotting to attack Russia and the invasion was Putin's choice. "It is a big mistake," Biden said of Putin's decision before his session with eastern European allies known as the Bucharest Nine. We will defend literally every inch of NATO, every inch of NATO," he said. The Kremlin says it regards NATO, which could soon expand to include Sweden and Finland, as an existential threat to Russia. It said the leaders looked forward to further strengthening unity and collective defense at a NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

Of at least 36 missiles that Russia fired about 16 were shot down, the air force said, a lower rate than normal. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris are among many top officials attending the Munich Security Conference. As Russian troops massed on Ukraine's borders, Western leaders in Munich urged President Vladimir Putin not to invade and warned of dire consequences if he did. Russian leaders will be notable by their absence at the conference, which runs until Sunday, but senior Ukrainian officials are expected to address it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address his priority was to hold off Russian attacks and get ready for an eventual Ukrainian counter-offensive.

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy thanks Norway for $7 bln in aid over five years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shake hands before a meeting, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 1, 2022. Speaking via video link from Kyiv, Zelenskiy said Norway's decision set a precedent for "sustainable support", calling it a "historic contribution". Russia will not overcome our unity, the unity of all those that cherish freedom." Those who are here today, we are with Ukraine today," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said. For 2023, half the package will fund military aid to Ukraine and the rest is to go to humanitarian assistance, although this breakdown could change in coming years.

Following a pattern of heavy bombardments after Ukrainian battlefield or diplomatic gains, Russia launched 36 missiles in the early hours, Ukraine's Air Force said. The Russian missiles triggered air-raid sirens and landed across Ukraine, including at the Kremenchuk refinery, where the extent of damage was unclear. Ukraine said the barrage included three KH-31 missiles and one Oniks anti-ship cruise missile, which its air defences cannot shoot down. [1/6] Ukrainian servicemen of the 80th Air Assault Brigade fire M119 Howitzer artillery weapon towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bahmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, February 16, 2023. Its capture would give Russia a stepping stone to advance on two bigger Donetsk cities further west, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

The fund has long engaged on climate change with the companies it invests in. Last year, it voted against the re-election of 61 directors at 18 companies due to failures in adequately managing climate risk. In 2022, the fund discussed climate change at 810 meetings it held with companies that represent 33% of the value of the its equity portfolio. One of them was oil major Shell (SHEL.L), with whom the fund discussed the company's energy transition plan and climate change, it said. In a sign of its focus on climate, the fund no longer prints the report, making it available online only.

"We will now vote against board members if a company has experienced material failures in the oversight, management or disclosure of climate risk," the fund said in its annual report on responsible investments, published on Thursday. The fund has long engaged on climate change with the companies it invests in. In 2022, the fund discussed climate change at 810 meetings it held with companies that represent 33% of the value of the fund's equity portfolio. One of them was oil major Shell (SHEL.L), with whom the fund discussed the company's energy transition plan and climate change, it said. Climate change was the second-most important issue discussed by the fund with companies after "human capital management", or how companies invests in their workers.

☆ Norway wealth fund has sold its stakes in Adani companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OSLO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Norway's sovereign wealth fund has sold its stakes in three Adani Group companies worth just over $200 million since the start of the year, the world's largest stock investor said on Thursday. The $1.35 trillion fund at the end of 2022 held stakes in Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) and Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS). "We have monitored Adani for many years (on ESG) issues, many on their handling of environmental risks," he said. Norway's sovereign wealth fund at the end of 2022 held a stake in Adani Total worth $83.6 million, a stake in Adani Ports worth $63.4 million and a stake in Adani Green Energy of $52.7 million. The fund, managed by a unit of the central bank, owns 1.3% of all globally listed shares with stakes in some 9,200 companies.

With net profit for the year of $28.7 billion, up from $8.6 billion a year earlier, Equinor joined global oil and gas majors such as ExxonMobil (XOM.N), Shell (SHEL.L) and BP (BP.L) in reporting record returns for 2022. Majority state-owned Equinor (EQNR.OL) became Europe's largest supplier of natural gas last year as Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) cut deliveries over the West's support for Ukraine, sending European gas prices to all-time highs. But gas prices have tumbled in 2023 and Equinor's Oslo-listed stocks have fallen 9% year-to-date, underperforming a 3.3% rise in European petroleum stocks (.SXEP). The board reaffirmed a regular share buyback plan of $1.2 billion per year and said it would make an extraordinary buy back in 2023 of $4.8 billion, for a total of $6 billion. Equinor's previous adjusted earnings record was $36.2 billion in 2008, when North Sea oil prices hit record highs.

☆ Equinor shares soar on record 2022 profit, Q4 beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Nerijus Adomaitis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Net profit for the year was $28.7 billion, up from $8.6 billion a year earlier. The company joined global oil and gas majors such as ExxonMobil (XOM.N), Shell (SHEL.L) and BP (BP.L) in reporting record bottom lines. Equinor's previous adjusted earnings record amounted to $36.2 billion in 2008, when the price of North Sea oil had risen to record highs. Equinor said it expected capital spending for 2023 at between $10 billion and $11 billion, broadly in line with a previous plan. It raised it spending projection for the next three years to $13 billion per year from $12 billion seen before.

☆ Equinor posts record profit for 2022, Q4 beats expectation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File PhotoOSLO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Equinor (EQNR.OL) on Wednesday posted a record $74.9 billion adjusted operating profit for 2022, more than double the previous record thanks to soaring gas prices and with fourth-quarter results beating analyst expectations. The oil and gas producer's adjusted earnings before tax and interest for October-December rose to $15.1 billion from $15 billion a year earlier, beating the $14.4 billion predicted in a poll of 25 analysts compiled by Equinor. The majority state-owned company last year became Europe's largest supplier of natural gas as Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) cut deliveries amid the West's support for Ukraine, sending European gas prices to all-time highs. Equinor's previous adjusted earnings record amounted to $36.2 billion in 2008, when the price of North Sea oil rose to record highs. Gas prices have tumbled in the new year, however, and Equinor's Oslo-listed stocks have fallen 15% year-to-date, underperforming a 1% rise in European petroleum stocks (.SXEP).

[1/3] Andrei Medvedev, a former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group poses for a picture during an interview in Oslo, Norway February 1, 2023. REUTERS/Janis LaizansOSLO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Norwegian police said on Friday they intend to continue to interrogate former Wagner mercenary group commander Andrei Medvedev, who fled from Russia to Norway last month after fighting in the war in Ukraine. "Medvedev gives the impression that he wants to continue to say more" about his time with Wagner, police said. Wagner forces have been locked in a bloody battle of attrition against Ukrainian forces in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Wagner has said Medvedev had worked in a "Norwegian unit" of Wagner and had "mistreated prisoners".

☆ Norway to order 54 new army tanks from Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OSLO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Norway will order 54 new German-made Leopard 2 tanks for its army from the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Group, and will get an option to buy a further 18 tanks at a later time, the government said on Friday. "We ensure that we have the same tanks as our Nordic neighbours and many key NATO allies," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a news conference. The Nordic NATO member, which shares a 196 km (122 miles)Arctic border with Russia, had planned to choose either German-made Leopard 2 A7 tanks or the rival Korean-produced K2 Black Panther, made by Hyundai Rotem (064350.KS). Norway had originally planned to acquire 72 tanks, but in recent months discussed a scaled-down purchase after the country's chief of defence recommended spending more funds on helicopters, drones and long-range artillery. Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Andrei Medvedev, a former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group poses for a picture during an interview in Oslo, Norway February 1, 2023. Andrei Medvedev, who fled by crossing the Russian-Norwegian border on Jan. 13, says he witnessed the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners taken to Ukraine to fight for Wagner. Medvedev said he wanted to speak out about his experiences in the war so "the perpetrators are punished" for their crimes in Ukraine. A special report published by Reuters last week found a graveyard in southern Russia buried with men who were convicts who had been recruited by Wagner to fight in Ukraine. Kripos, Norway's national criminal police service, which has responsibility for investigating war crimes, has begun questioning Medvedev about his experiences in Ukraine.

☆ 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.

☆ Ex-Wagner commander witnessed comrades shot for fleeing, says his Norwegian lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Ilze Filks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OSLO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway has spoken about how he witnessed some of his comrades being shot as they were trying to flee from the frontline in Ukraine, his Norwegian lawyer told Reuters. His lawyer Brynjulf Risnes told Reuters that Medvedev had seen some "incredibly horrible" situations while he was fighting with Wagner last autumn. He had witnessed "the shooting of his comrades while he was watching because they tried to flee," Risnes said in an interview, citing Medvedev. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed, millions uprooted and cities reduced to rubble since Russian forces invaded Ukraine 11 months ago. Other groups like the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Clooney Foundation were also interested in talking to Medvedev, his lawyer said.

At stake is whether EU vessels have the right to catch snow crab, whose meat is considered a delicacy by gourmets in Japan and South Korea, in the same way than Norwegian vessels do. "If the Supreme Court thinks the Svalbard treaty applies, it is not only about snow crab, it will be about oil, gas, minerals and fish," he told Reuters. In a sign of the importance the case has for Norway, 16 Supreme Court judges were present on Tuesday to hear arguments during the four-day session. "The key question here is the Svalbard Treaty and the surrounding areas," Hallvard Oestgaard, representing the Latvian fishing firm, told the court in his opening statement. In 2019 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that EU fishermen must ask permission from Oslo to catch snow crab, after the same Latvian fisheries company had tried to fish off Svalbard with only an EU licence.

☆ Norway detains former Wagner commander, denies any plan to deport him to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Former Wagner Group commander seeking asylum in NorwayPolice detained him amid disagreement on security measuresRussian rights group says he fears being deported to RussiaPolice, lawyer deny any plan to deport MedvedevOSLO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Norwegian police have detained a former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who recently fled to Norway, but denied suggestions that he might be deported to Russia. Medvedev said he had been detained and handcuffed on Sunday at a hotel where he was staying and taken to a detention centre. Gulagu.net said Medvedev would face "brutal murder and death" for speaking out against Wagner if he was returned to Russia. He has done many bad things in his life," the rights group said. He has said he crossed the snowy Arctic Circle border into Norway, a NATO member, from Russia after climbing through barbed-wire fences and evading a border patrol with dogs.

☆ Former Wagner commander seeks asylum in Norway after fleeing Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who founded Wagner, said that Medvedev had worked in a Norwegian unit of Wagner but had "mistreated prisoners". In interviews with Gulagu, Medvedev said he grew disaffected after his contract was repeatedly extended by Wagner without his consent. He said he had witnessed the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners who were brought to the front by Wagner. Medvedev said losses were very high after Wagner began sending large numbers of prisoners to the front in the second half of 2022. The Wagner statement did not address Medvedev's accounts of punishment and of battlefield losses, or that his contract was repeatedly extended.

☆ 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.

[1/4] Portraits of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including of Henry Kissinger, are seen in the meeting room where the Norwegian Nobel Committee holds its meetings at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, January 3, 2023. Nominations to the Peace Prize remain secret for 50 years. Le Duc Tho refused the Peace Prize on the grounds peace had not yet been established. Two out of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee - all now dead - resigned in protest. "The prize was given to Kissinger for having gotten the U.S. out of Vietnam ... without any peaceful solution in South Vietnam," he said.

☆ 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."

☆ Norway central bank hikes rate by quarter point, likely to act again
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Victoria Klesty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Of the 24 analysts polled ahead of Thursday's meeting, all but one had anticipated a quarter-point rise, while one had bet on an unchanged rate. Reuters Graphics"The policy rate will most likely be raised further in the first quarter of next year," Norges Bank said in a statement. The Norwegian currency, the crown, strengthened to 10.42 against the euro at 0921 GMT from 10.44 just before the rate announcement. Reuters Graphics"The forecasts for the Norwegian economy are more uncertain than normal, but if the economy evolves as anticipated, the policy rate will be around 3% next year," Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache said in a statement. Norges Bank, which targets core inflation of 2% over time, on Thursday raised its 2023 core inflation forecast to 5.2% from 4.8% seen in September.

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