Introspekt

It's hard to imagine two places more different than tropical Thailand and the Arctic Norwegian territory of Svalbard, or Spitsbergen as it is more commonly known after the main island in the frozen archipelago. But ironically Thais are the largest ethnic group here after the Norwegians. The total population of the main settlement Longyearbyen is only about 1,800, of whom 70 are Thais. Most of them are female cleaners and chambermaids in Longyearbyen's…

Norway's krone may become the next favorite for investors seeking the highest-yielding currencies as the central bank increases interest rates to quash inflation. "I like the Norwegian krone," said Paul Barrett, chief foreign-exchange trader in New York at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, which has $390 billion under management. "People are hunting for yields, and the rising interest rates make it attractive." Norges Bank said March 15 that it may raise…

L'Angola sera représenté à la prochaine conférence internationale dédiée à la responsabilité sociale, environnement et bonne gouvernance prévue le 28 mars prochain, à Oslo, à Norvège, a-t-on appris de source officielle. La délégation angolaise à cette rencontre sera conduite par la vice-ministre des Relations Extérieures chargée de la Coopération, Irene Neto. En marge de la conférence, a-t-on indiqué de la même source, la vice-ministre angolaise…

During Ramallah visit, Swedish FM Carl Bildt says his country will reestablish political, economic relations with PA government and won’t differentiate between Hamas and Fatah lawmakers. Following Norway’s lead, Sweden announced Sunday that it will re-establish political and economic relations with the new Palestinian coalition government. During a visit to Ramallah, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said that Sweden would not differentiate between…

U.S. State Department has summoned Norway's ambassador to Washington over the country's renewed ties with the Palestinian government. According to the London-based Alhayat Arabic newspaper, Washington expressed "extreme dissatisfaction" over Norwegian deputy-foreign minister's meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister in Gaza last week, calling Norway's stance as a break of an internationally-imposed economic embargo since March… Viktig tilleggsinformasjon

More than 90 percent of shareholders in Norway's Tandberg Television have accepted a takeover bid from Ericsson, the wireless equipment maker said Friday. That means LM Ericsson has now passed the acceptance and ownership threshold and can proceed with a mandatory redemption of the remaining shares. Ericsson launched the 106 kroner ($17) per share offer for the Norwegian company in February. The Swedish company said that once the transaction is…

Norwegen entsendet trotz einer bevorstehenden Verschärfung der UNO-Sanktionen gegen Teheran eine Parlamentarierdelegation sowie einen Staatssekretär zu offiziellen Besuchen in den Iran. Wie der Vorsitzende des außenpolitischen Ausschusses im norwegischen Parlament, Olav Akselsen, am Freitag im Rundfunksender NRK sagte, soll dabei im Mai auch über den Streit um das iranische Atomprogramm gesprochen werden. Akselsen nannte die…

Offiziell gilt die Kontaktsperre weiter: Solange die neue palästinensische Regierung ein Existenzrecht Israels nicht anerkennt, sind Amerikaner und Europäer auf Distanz. Hinter den Kulissen aber wird in Europas Hauptstädten die Nahost-Politik in diesen Tagen von Grund auf verändert. Brüssel - US-Außenministerin Condoleezza Rice und Uno-Generalsekretär Ban Ki Moon sind schon im Anflug. Gegen Ende kommender Woche will auch die…

Today saw a human rights demonstration at the Norwegian Embassy in London in support and solidarity with the people of Rossport, County Mayo, Ireland. "The demonstration held today, by a nation-wide autonomous collective (and one dog), was highlighting Norway's state-owned Statoil and gas company's present involvement in the West of Ireland at Rossport, County Mayo. Statoil has an alleged "ethical policy", but there are no ethics involved in this…

Barren and uninhabited, Hans Island is very hard to find on a map. Yet these days the Frisbee-shaped rock in the Arctic is much in demand _ so much so that Canada and Denmark have both staked their claim to it with flags and warships. The reason: an international race for oil, fish, diamonds and shipping routes, accelerated by the impact of global warming on Earth's frozen north. The latest report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change…

Um an der Europameisterschaft in Norwegen teilnehmen zu können, brauchen die Mindbreakers Sponsoren. Sie sind so erfolgreich, dass sie im Mai zur Europameisterschaft nach Norwegen fahren dürfen und nun Sponsoren dafür brauchen. Ihre Disziplin: Roboter bauen. Ihre Klasse: die First-Lego-League. Ihr Name: Mindbreakers. Vor fünf Jahren starteten die Schüler aus Bad Oldesloe noch als Außenseiterteam. Mittlerweile haben sich die "wilden Sieben"…

Indian-born New York University professor Srinivasa S. R. Varadhan won Norway's 6 million kroner (US$975,000, €736,000) Abel Prize for mathematics for "his fundamental contributions to probability theory." Varadhan, 67, teaches at NYU's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and the award said his theories are useful in a broad range of fields, including quantum field theory, statistical physics, population dynamics, econometrics and finance…

Hafslund ASA said it is to propose the payment of a 15 nkr per share special dividend following the successful sale of part of its stake in Norway's Renewable Energy Corporation ASA. The special dividend, worth a total of 2.9 bln nkr, will be proposed at its shareholder meeting in May, the company said, and will come in addition to the previously announced annual dividend of 2.75 nkr per share. Hafslund said the remaining proceeds from the share sale…

Le ministère de l’Énergie a organisé hier, en coopération avec le programme international norvégien pour la gestion du pétrole, Petrad, et avec la collaboration de l’ambassade de Norvège, un séminaire sur les ressources pétrolières, leur gestion et leur commercialisation. Le chargé d’affaires de la Norvège au Liban, Tryggve Gjesdal, a annoncé l’engagement de son pays dans un premier projet qu’il exécute en vertu d’un contrat d’État à État pour la…

In Norwegen schätzt man Live Maria Roggen bereits seit gut zehn Jahren als Interpretin von Jazzstandards, aber auch als Sängerin brasilianischer oder afrikanischer Musik und improvisierende Vokalistin. Außerhalb ihrer Heimat wurde sie vor allem durch die Zusammenarbeit mit der Band Wibutee bekannt. Jetzt legt die 36jährige mit "Circuit Songs" endlich ihr Debütalbum vor. Darauf befinden sich neun von Live Maria und Mitgliedern ihrer Band verfaßte Songs…

Why was Raymond Johansen, the Norwegian deputy foreign minister, in such a hurry to be the first European representative to meet Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the new Palestinian unity government in Gaza? What was the hurry? He certainly read Haniyeh's March 17 speech in which the Hamas chief outlined the Fatah/Hamas government program. Haniyeh said: "The government affirms that resistance is a legitimate right of the Palestinian people."…

Norway's government and opposition parties agreed Wednesday on a pension reform compromise intended to ensure fair and economically sustainable benefits while encouraging older workers to stay on the job longer. The center-left coalition government has a majority in Parliament that could have passed the reforms alone. However, it sought a compromise with opposition parties to ensure there was a system that would survive future changes in the legislative…

Norway has allowed two financial investors to raise their stakes in life insurer Storebrand to up to 20 percent, boosting its shares and rekindling talk of a possible takeover battle for the $3.9 billion group. The finance ministry gave the green light to Norwegian mutual insurer Gjensidige, which this month said it may list shares to gain strength for the region's consolidation drive, as well as to Icelandic bank Kaupthing. Storebrand is one…

Poland's PGNiG reached a conditional deal with ExxonMobil to buy a 15 percent stake in the Skarv and Snadd oil and gas fields in the Norwegian Sea. The PAP news agency reported Monday that the Skarv field was discovered in 1998 and has been developed by BP and other companies. It is located 120 miles from Norway's shore and 250 miles below the surface of the sea. The Snadd field is near Skarv. The fields contain 14.3 million cubic meters of…

While European elites have been preparing for the Treaty of Rome's birthday, two non-members of the European Union have in recent weeks done little to contribute to a party mood. The Swiss have quarrelled with the EU over taxes - rejecting suggestions that theirs are too low - and Norwegian officials have got tough over plans to increase the country's fee for membership of the European Economic Area (EEA). The fee is already more than 200m euros…