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Following the joint press conference in Brussels, Belgium on Tuesday, where the governments of Spain, Ireland, and Norway recognized a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, Christians in Ireland and Norway criticized their respective governments' decisions. Christian leaders in Ireland and Norway, affiliated with the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), issued statements on Tuesday rejecting their governments' unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. They denounced the recognition as a grave mistake and a "reward for terrorism," arguing that the move would not contribute to peace in the region. “Christian supporters of Israel in Ireland sense...

After the announcement last week that Spain, Norway and Ireland would recognize the state of Palestine, a visibly-delighted Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations came to talk to the press. “We need somebody to take pictures,” Riyad Mansour said, ushering the Irish, Spanish and Norwegian envoys into an impromptu photoshoot just outside the UN Security Council. “A glorious day today,” Mr. Mansour declared as the four ambassadors stood shoulder-to-shoulder. […] All this, the supporters of Palestinian statehood hope, is gathering momentum towards the implementation of a two-state solution. That is not how Israel, nor its closest ally, the US, see...

Irish Ambassador to Israel Sonya McGuinness was summoned to the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry in Jerusalem today and reprimanded over Ireland’s decision to recognize the State of Palestine. The ambassadors of Spain and Norway attended the same meeting for the same reason. Before any discussions, they were shown a previously unaired video of Hamas taking female army conscripts captive on 7 October last year. It is understood the Irish Government was disappointed at this, on the basis that it fell below the established procedures and practices regarding diplomatic engagement. What is believed to have been a “forthright exchange of views”...

I will begin with a couple of paragraphs about Eurovision, the annual international song contest that I wrote about here the other day, but rest assured that this is not going to be another essay about that fatuous event, which, as I strove to point out in that earlier piece, is virtually worthless as a cultural offering but, as a social barometer, can provide fascinating insights. As I noted, the continent’s anti-Semites and Hamas-lovers were outraged at the refusal of Eurovision authorities to ban Israel, a longtime participant, from this year’s competition because of its current actions in Gaza, which...

Klaus Schwab will reportedly step down as the executive chairman of the globalist World Economic Forum (WEF). According to Semafor, which cites an internal email to WEF staff, Schwab intends to step down from his current position as head of the powerful globalist organization before its next annual meeting in 2025 and transition to a role as non-executive chairman. While Schwab has not announced his successor, Semafor names Norwegian politician and current president of the WEF, Børge Brende, as a likely candidate. Schwab, who turned 86 in March, has been synonymous with the World Economic Forum, acting as chairman since...

Around the spring of 1290, bad-boy Norwegian nobleman Alv Erlingsson was broken on the wheel by a Danish sheriff. Sometimes remembered as the “last Viking”, Erlinggson (English Wikipedia entry | Norwegian) wasn’t only one of the great lords of the Norse kingdom: he was a prolific pirate. The 1280s saw Norway warring with the rising German merchant cities, the latter soon allied with Denmark. Alv Erlingsson made his sea-dog bones in this conflict, terrorizing Hanseatic League fleets and eventually raiding the Danish coast as well. His “Viking” reputation proceeds not only from this mastery of the waves but from his...

Nod to deep-sea mining sparks global concerns. Image: Shutterstock/Hermann Viria IN a historic move, Norway has become the first country to approve commercial-scale deep-sea mining, passing a bill in its Parliament on January 9. The legislation aims to accelerate the search for minerals crucial for green technologies, including electric vehicle batteries. This decision permits exploration in approximately 280,000 square metres of the country’s national waters, equivalent to the size of Italy, situated in the Arctic between Svalbard, Greenland, and Iceland. What Lies Beneath: Minerals and Green Technology While the Norwegian government asserts caution, Energy Minister Terje Aasland emphasised the need...

OPINION The USA, Canada, Australia, Norway and the UK which had the moral responsibility to rapidly phase out oil and gas production are responsible for planned expansion from new oil and gas fields for next decade and half. How can these countries advise India to cut on coal consumption? Our greenhouse gas emission is nearly 3 Giga tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually. We are distant third behind the two top emitters China with 14 Giga tonnes and the US with 8 Giga tonnes Among the important outcomes, COP 28 text proposes to triple renewable energy capacity and double the global...

At the beginning of last week, several bus services in Oslo were cancelled. The reason was that the new electric buses could not cope with the cold. On Monday, about 50 city buses were cancelled and taken out of service. The bus company Ruter reported that the range of the electric buses was not as good as usual because of the cold weather. It was about 12 degrees below zero. – The buses run out of power more quickly. We are now registering what happens day by day, and then we will see how we can improve this in the...

LUTEFISK DAY On December 9th, Lutefisk Day reminds residents in Norway, Finland, and Sweden to begin preparing their lutefisk for Christmas. The day is also referred to as Anna’s Day. In case you’re not Scandinavian, lutefisk is basically cod that gets soaked in lye. After the cod is caught, it’s dried to the point of becoming firm and leathery. To tenderize the fish and bring it back to its former condition, it gets soaked in lye. Once it’s nice and tender, the lutefisk is skinned and boned. Finally, the fish is boiled until it reaches a gelatinous consistency. Another way...

A "very rare" ancient gold coin found recently in the mountains of central Norway could be lost cash that once belonged to an early monarch, according to Norwegian officials. The gold coin was discovered by a metal detectorist in Vestre Slidre, a rural city known for skiing, in Norway's south-central Innlandet County. Technically called "histamenon nomisma," the coin was first introduced around 960 C.E. and used as standard Byzantine currency, the Innlandet County Municipality said in a news release. That means the artifact would have traveled more than 1,600 miles from its origin site to the spot where it was...

It’s about time Californians of all ideological persuasions wake up and stop what is possibly the most economically wasteful and environmentally destructive project in American history: the utility scale adoption of offshore wind energy. The California Legislature intends to despoil our coastline and coastal waters with floating wind turbines, 20+ miles offshore, tethered to the sea floor 4,000 feet beneath the waves. Along with tethering cables, high voltage wires will descend from each of these noisy, 1,000 foot tall leviathans, but we’re to assume none of this will disrupt the migrations of our treasured Cetaceans and other marine and avian...

Traditional bullets lose their deadly momentum within mere feet when submerged, rendering water a safe haven from gunfire. However, this paradigm is on the brink of an epic shift, thanks to an innovative breakthrough by Norway's DSG. Harnessing the enigmatic powers of supercavitation, DSG has engineered a projectile that defies the constraints of underwater physics. The CAV-X bullet, with its unique design, breaks through the watery barrier that has long shielded those seeking refuge beneath the surface, striking targets up to 200 feet away, and opening up the possibility for a new breed of underwater soldiers…

A new study out of Norway is exactly what was needed to shut down the climate alarmists. Its findings show that man has not set fire to his home planet. Right from the top, in the abstract not 10 lines into the study, the authors get to the point. “Using theoretical arguments and statistical tests we find,” the researchers say, “that the effect of man-made CO2 emissions does not appear to be strong enough to cause systematic changes in the temperature fluctuations during the last 200 years.” In other words, our words, the greenhouse effect is so weak that it...

A subsea gas pipeline and a telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea have been damaged in what may have been a deliberate act, the Finnish government said on Tuesday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO was sharing its information over the damage and stands ready to support the allies concerned. Finland joined the military alliance in April, while Estonia has been a member since 2004. The Balticconnector gas pipeline was shut early on Sunday on concerns that gas was leaking from a hole in the 77-km (48-mile) pipeline. Finnish operator Gasgrid said it could take...

[SNIP] In a clear swipe at his predecessor, George W. Bush, the committee praised the “change in the international climate” that the President had brought, along with his cherished goal of ridding the world of nuclear weapons. [SNIP] But Lech Walesa, [SNIP], who won the Peace Prize in 1983, [SNIP], declaring: “So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far.” Mr Obama’s domestic critics leapt on the award as evidence of foreigners fawning over an untested “celebrity” leader. [SNIP] The Nobel Peace Prize is a notoriously difficult award to predict, but yesterday's decision was clearly a political choice, with...

When I first moved to Norway in 1999, I often heard the term amerikanske tilstander – “American conditions.” It was never, ever used positively; it didn’t refer, for example, to things like freedom and prosperity. No, it was always used to describe some dreaded social or cultural or economic phenomenon that was supposedly on the rise in Norway and that threatened to make the country look more like – horrors! – the United States. Evangelical Christianity? Amerikanske tilstander! Gun crime? Amerikanske tilstander! Rough-and-tumble election campaigns? Dumb TV shows? Private medical options? Growing economic inequality? Amerikanske tilstander! Back then, you never,...

Norway is an EV leader thanks to a generous pot of tax incentives. Today, battery-electric cars make up more than half of all new car sales in Norway. Schalk Cloete takes a detailed look at what those incentives cost, and how many tonnes of CO2 they avoid. Norway – a major oil and gas exporter – needs to sell over 100 barrels of oil (which emits 40 tonnes of CO2) to pay for the tax breaks it gives EVs to avoid one tonne of CO2. And Norway’s electricity is almost completely clean thanks to hydro power, so the CO2 avoidance...

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient bridle and other artifacts from a mountain pass almost 2,000 meters above sea level.Near a mountain pass, not far from Norway's highest mountain Galdhøpiggen, archaeologists have found traces of horse travel.A metal bit and parts of the leather straps that fasten around the horse's head have emerged from under the ice...Traffic through a mountain pass on Lomseggen was at its peak during the Viking Age.Snow and ice melting in the area has previously uncovered hundreds of ancient artifacts. They have revealed that Norwegians used this mountain pass for more than 1,200 years (link in Norwegian)...The...

Norwegian chief of defense claims Putin 'knows very well' NATO is not a threat to Russia Norway said Russian forces have pulled back from its border in the Arctic, claiming the number of soldiers Moscow has there now is "20% or less" compared to the start of the Ukraine war