Norway

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American Adviser to Kurds Outed as Oil Shareholder

Galbraith's policy push won him $100M

(Newser) - An influential American advocate for Iraqi Kurds, who helped successfully secure Kurdish control over new oil finds in northern Iraq in the country's constitution, stands to reap more than $100 million from the policy he shaped. Peter Galbraith, it turns out, received rights to an enormous oil stake in Kurdistan...

Most of Nobel Panel Objected to Obama Pick

Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland talked fellow voters into selection

(Newser) - President Obama's Nobel Prize was a tough sell for the chairman of the committee that awarded the honor, with three of the five members initially opposing his selection, anonymous sources tell a Norwegian newspaper. They were persuaded mainly by chairman Thorbjoern Jagland, who strongly backed Obama from the beginning. The...

Nobel Jury: Obama Is the Right Choice

One says of critics: 'Where do these people come from?'

(Newser) - The Nobel panel that gave the peace prize to President Obama is strongly defending its choice amid widespread criticism. "We simply disagree that he has done nothing," said chairman Thorbjoern Jagland. Another of the five panelists said of critics: "Where do these people come from?" The four...

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
 Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize 
UPDATED
Oct 9, 2009 4:04 AM CDT

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Committee cites president's commitment to disarmament, international institutions

(Newser) - President Barack Obama is the surprise winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." The Norwegian Nobel committee said it attached particular importance to Obama's commitment to nuclear disarmament and his emphasis on the...

US Lensman Captures Life-Size Whale Pics

Photog praises 'gentle, friendly' beasts

(Newser) - A US lensman who has opened an exhibit of life-size whale photographs in Norway calls the great beasts "the most friendly and inquisitive carnivores on the planet." Bryant Austin spent five years, including days diving with "exceptional individual" whales he could touch, to collect enough photos to...

UN Names Norway Best Place to Live

Niger, Afghanistan round out list of 182 nations; China makes big gains

(Newser) - Norway is the best country in the world to live in, according to the UN’s human development index, and Niger is the worst, ranking just below Afghanistan. The index ranks 182 countries based on life expectancy, school enrollment, and GDP per capita. China came in at 92, up seven...

Scandinavia Battles Genital Mutilation

African, Middle Eastern immigrants arrested after mutilations abroad

(Newser) - Scandinavian countries are hitting perpetrators of genital mutilation with heavy fines and prison sentences, even when the act is committed in other countries, Global Post reports. African and Middle Eastern immigrants who take their daughters abroad for genital mutilations—which are considered normal and even necessary in some cultures—are...

Domesticated Swedes Make Best Husbands

Brits, Americans land in top 5 on 'egalitarian index'; Aussies last

(Newser) - Swedish men make the best husbands, while Australian men, preferring beer and sports over housework, rank lowest on an “egalitarian index” outlined in a study of 12 developed nations. Domestic roles carry less stigma in egalitarian societies, one researcher tells the Telegraph, “so the likelihood of forming a...

New Zealand Rated Most Peaceful; US 83rd

(Newser) - The Institute for Economics and Peace has released its annual list of the world’s most peaceful countries, Bloomberg reports. The index is based on things like "international security" and "tolerant solidarity." New Zealand is No. 1; the US is No. 83. A sampling:
  1. New Zealand: A
...

Against Economic Tide, Norway Thrives

Often standing in contrast to Europe, strict state control puts Norway in good stead

(Newser) - While the rest of the world struggles with recession, Norway’s socialist-leaning government looks pretty smart, the New York Times reports. Norway enjoys a budget surplus of 11% and is free of debt (the US owes $11 trillion), and its economy grew 3% last year. Oil revenues are pouring in—...

The World's Best Waterfalls
 The World's Best Waterfalls 
Apr 18, 2009 11:41 AM CDT

The World's Best Waterfalls

(Newser) - Waterfalls are a prime tourist destination, and for good reason. Travel + Leisure runs down a list of the “world’s most spectacular,” but check before you go. Visit in the wrong season and you’ll see just a trickle. And dams can turn off the spectacle in...

Sex at 80 MPH Not Cool With Norwegian Cops

(Newser) - A Norwegian man faces a stiff fine and driving ban for having sex behind the wheel, the AFP reports. Cops thought he was just speeding—about 80 mph in a 60 zone—until they pulled closer and found his view obstructed “because her back was in the way.”...

Warming Is Polar Bears' Top Killer, Host Nations Agree

US, Russia, Norway, Denmark and Canada sign joint statement on bear population

(Newser) - Five nations whose land is home to polar bears signed a joint statement today declaring global warming to be the biggest threat to the animals, AFP reports. Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the US agree that “long-term conservation of polar bears depends upon successful mitigation of climate change,”...

Norway Summit to Debate Cutback in Polar Bear Hunts

Hunters kill 3% of polar bears each year

(Newser) - World leaders meet tomorrow in Norway to consider reducing polar bear hunting, reports the Independent. Conservation organizations estimate the polar bear population, particularly hard hit by global warming, will drop two-thirds to the brink of extinction over the next 50 years. Greenland, the US and Russia permit hunting by Inuit...

Human Waste Helps Oslo's Carbon Footprint

Buses in Norway's capital will run on methane distilled from feces

(Newser) - Norwegian officials have hit on a novel, if gassy, alternative to carbon-spewing gasoline, Dave Demerjian writes in Wired. Starting in September, Oslo will capture methane, a byproduct of the process at its sewage treatment plants, and use it to power city buses. Norway hopes to use the gaseous human contribution...

Cod Farmers Bet Tech Tames Finicky Fish in Fjords

Investors put millions into new attempts to raise fish in Norway

(Newser) - As consumption of farmed fish reaches an all-time high, Norwegian entrepreneurs hope you'll soon pick farm-raised cod over salmon for dinner, the Wall Street Journal reports. Wild cod stocks are overfished, and the fickle ocean species is difficult to breed on farms. But improved aquaculture techniques have persuaded investors to...

Hefty Carbon Tax Raised Norway's Emissions
Hefty Carbon Tax Raised Norway's Emissions
ANALYSIS
Sep 30, 2008 4:07 PM CDT

Hefty Carbon Tax Raised Norway's Emissions

Greenhouse gases up 15% despite system aimed to curb them

(Newser) - In 1991, Norway enacted a punishing carbon tax, but things haven’t turned out quite as expected, the Wall Street Journal reports. Greenhouse-gas emissions have actually risen 15%, and industries deemed vital to the nation’s economy or image were spared the tax or given sweet deals. Though the oil...

Iconic Munch Could Fetch $35M
 Iconic Munch Could Fetch $35M 
Sep 23, 2008 6:19 AM CDT

Iconic Munch Could Fetch $35M

Vampire , in private hands, comes up for auction

(Newser) - A masterpiece by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch that has spent 70 years in private hands will be sold on the open market, reveals the Independent, where it's expected to fetch $35 million. Vampire, painted in 1894, is the last privately owned work from a 20-canvas series that also includes The ...

Norway Ponies Up $1B to Help Save Rainforests

Brazil seeks more donors in fight against deforestation, climate change

(Newser) - Brazil’s renewed push to save the rainforest gained support from a far-flung proponent today when oil-rich Norway pledged nearly $1 billion, the BBC reports. “Efforts against deforestation may give us the largest, quickest, and cheapest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," said Norway's prime minister. "Brazilian efforts...

Norway Knights King Penguin
 Norway Knights King Penguin 
Aug 15, 2008 4:09 PM CDT

Norway Knights King Penguin

Military, royalty honor beloved bird with grand ceremony

(Newser) - Nils Olav, an honorary colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King’s Guard—and a 3-foot-tall king penguin—was knighted today by Norway's King Harald V, the AP reports. Nils, named after former Norwegian King Olav V, caught the attention of the guards while they were touring the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland...

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