Category Archives: Norway

Britain’s biggest gas supplier accused of ‘profiteering’ from energy crisis

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Climate campaigners hit out at Norwegian state-owned Equinor’s record £62bn profits as household bills rise

Britain’s biggest gas supplier, the Norwegian state-owned oil company Equinor, has been accused of “profiteering” from the energy crisis and higher household bills after posting record annual earnings of £62bn.

The oil and gas producer said on Wednesday that adjusted profits hit $15.1bn (£12.5bn) in the final three months of last year, bringing total annual profits to $74.9bn, the highest in its 51-year history.

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World’s biggest investment fund warns directors to tackle climate crisis or face sack

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Norway’s sovereign wealth titan threatens to vote against boards on firms it holds investments with over lax climate and social targets

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s single largest investor, has warned company directors it will vote against their re-election to the board if they don’t up their game on tackling the climate crisis, human rights abuses and boardroom diversity.

Carine Smith Ihenacho, chief governance and compliance officer of Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages more than 13tn Norwegian kroner (£1tn) on behalf of the Norwegian people, said the fund was preparing to vote against the re-election of at least 80 company boards for failing to set or hit environmental or social targets.

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Higher UK energy bills here to stay, warns oil company boss

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Equinor chief says bills won’t return to levels seen before Ukraine invasion given windfall taxes and move to greener energy

The boss of one of Europe’s biggest energy companies has warned that higher gas and electricity prices are here to stay and consumers should not expect them to return to levels seen before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Anders Opedal, the chief executive of Norway’s state oil company Equinor, said factors including windfall taxes and the large sums energy firms must invest to move from fossil fuels to greener alternatives mean bills are likely to remain elevated.

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Hunters go home empty-handed on first day of Sweden’s biggest wolf cull

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Hunters allowed to kill 75 wolves from an already endangered population of 460 amid ‘political pressure’ from hunting lobby

The biggest wolf cull in modern times has begun in Sweden as nature organisations warn it could drastically harm the population.

On Monday, the Guardian accompanied 200 hunters as they went to kill wolves in the frost-covered forests between Gävleborg and Dalarna, hunting from midnight until the sun set at 3pm. Groups will be going out across Sweden all month as they attempt to take down the large predators.

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Svalbard reindeer thrive as they shift diet towards ‘popsicle-like’ grasses

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Increased plant growth due to warmer climate appears to be prompting change in eating habits

As the Arctic warms, concern for the plight of Santa’s favourite sleigh pullers is mounting. But in one small corner of the far flung north – Svalbard – Rudolph and his friends are thriving.

Warmer temperatures are boosting plant growth and giving Svalbard reindeer more time to build up fat reserves; they also appear to be shifting their diets towards “popsicle-like” grasses that poke up through the ice and snow, data suggests.

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Suspected Russian spy arrested in Norway spent years studying in Canada

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Man posing as Brazilian academic José Assis Giammaria thought to have used his time in the country to build up a deep-cover identity

A suspected Russian spy who posed as a Brazilian academic before his arrest this week by Norway’s domestic security agency spent years studying at Canadian universities with a focus on Arctic security issues.

The man, who called himself José Assis Giammaria, worked as researcher at the University of Tromsø and was arrested on suspicion he had entered Norway under false pretences. On Friday, prosecutor Thomas Blom named the man as Mikhail Mikushin, adding that Norway’s domestic security agency was “not positively sure of his identity, but we are quite certain that he is not Brazilian”.

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Norway arrests ‘Brazilian researcher’ accused of spying for Russia

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Investigators believe man posing as academic at University of Tromsø, in sensitive far north, was using false identity

Norway’s domestic security agency has arrested a man claiming to be a Brazilian academic whom it suspects of being a Russian spy.

“We have requested that a Brazilian researcher at the University of Tromsø be expelled from Norway because we believe he represents a threat to fundamental national interests,” the police security service (PST) deputy chief, Hedvig Moe, told the public broadcaster NRK.

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Nobel peace prize given to human rights activists in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine

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Jailed campaigner Ales Bialiatski, Memorial and Center for Civil Liberties win award that will be seen as condemnation of Putin

The jailed Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties have won the 2022 Nobel peace prize, in an award the committee said was to honour champions of “peaceful coexistence” during the most tumultuous period in Europe since the second world war.

“The peace prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee. “They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens.”

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Nord Stream attacks highlight vulnerability of undersea pipelines in west

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As Norway steps up seabed security, experts say underwater cables carrying world’s internet traffic are also at risk

Nato countries are scrambling to improve security of highly vulnerable undersea pipelines and communications cables after the apparent Nord Stream attack in the Baltic Sea underlines the west’s extreme vulnerability.

Four gas leaks on two Nord Stream pipelines have now been reported after blasts were detected on Monday. According to several reports citing European officials, Russian vessels were seen in the vicinity of the Nord Stream I and II pipelines where they were damaged, but an examination of the damage may not be possible for weeks for safety reasons, and no proof of Moscow’s involvement has been presented.

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Judith Schalansky is ninth author to write secret work for Future Library

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The German author’s contribution will remain unseen, alongside contributions from authors including Margaret Atwood and David Mitchell, until 2114

German writer Judith Schalansky has become the ninth author to be selected for the Future Library, which asks authors to create a work that will not be revealed to readers until 2114.

The Future Library is an organic artwork dreamed up by the Scottish artist Katie Paterson. It began in 2014 with the planting of 1,000 Norwegian spruces in a patch of forest outside Oslo, and one writer a year is asked to contribute a manuscript to the project.

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Norway was right to put down Freya the walrus, prime minister says

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Jonas Gahr Støre speaks out after criticism from campaigners, while a zoologist says decision was inevitable

Norway’s prime minister has said it was “right” to put down Freya, a 600kg (1,300lb) female walrus euthanised on Sunday in Oslo fjord, as animal rights campaigners attacked the decision but a leading zoologist insisted it was inevitable.

“I support the decision to euthanise Freya,” Jonas Gahr Støre told the public broadcaster NRK on Monday. “It was the right decision. I am not surprised that this has led to many international reactions. Sometimes we have to make unpopular decisions.”

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Freya the walrus euthanised after troubling crowds in Oslo fjord

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Young 600kg female had been basking in waters of Norway’s capital and attracting crowds who disturbed her rest

A walrus nicknamed Freya that attracted crowds while basking in the sun in the Oslo fjord has been euthanised.

“The decision to euthanise was taken on the basis of a global evaluation of the persistent threat to human security,” the head of Norway’s fisheries directorate, Frank Bakke-Jensen, said in a statement.

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Freya the walrus: Norway officials warn of euthanasia risk if crowds don’t stay away

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Onlookers continue to get close to ‘stressed’ 600kg mammal in Oslo despite appeals to keep a distance

Norwegian authorities say they are considering putting down a walrus that won hearts basking in the sun of the Oslo fjord, because of the danger to the public and itself from sightseers.

Despite repeated appeals to the public to keep their distance from the walrus – a young female weighing 600kg (1,300 pounds) that has been nicknamed Freya – the mammal continues to attract big crowds, the fisheries directorate has said.

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UK braces for even higher bills as Norway threatens electricity export cut

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Water levels in southern Norway so low domestic consumers may be prioritised over international customers

British consumers could face even higher bills and potential energy shortages this winter after Norway threatened to ration electricity exports.

The UK receives hydroelectric power from Norway through a subsea interconnector cable running beneath the North Sea.

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Norway halts strike that threatened gas supplies to Britain

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Norwegian government intervenes in pay row because of ‘great social consequences for whole of Europe’

The Norwegian government has stepped in to end a strike that had threatened supplies of gas to Britain.

The labour dispute had shut down oil and gasfields and was expected to cut Norway’s gas supplies by almost 60% by the weekend.

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Oslo shootings won’t stop fight against hate, says Norway’s prime minister

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Jonas Gahr Støre joined mourners, church leaders and royalty at the memorial service to the victims of the attack

Fatal shootings at a gay bar in Oslo would not halt the fight against “discrimination, prejudice and hate”, Norway’s prime minister has said, as the country paid tribute to the victims of the attack in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The altar and aisles of the Norwegian capital’s cathedral were draped with rainbow flags for a special memorial service on Sunday attended by mourners, government ministers, church leaders and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

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British Gas owner signs deal with Norway firm for extra UK supplies

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Centrica says Equinor will deliver enough gas for next three years to heat 4.5m extra homes

The British Gas owner, Centrica, has signed a major supply deal with the Norwegian state oil company, Equinor, as ministers scramble to secure domestic energy supplies.

Equinor has agreed to deliver an additional 1bn cubic metres of gas supplies to the company for each of the next three years, enough to heat an additional 4.5m UK homes.

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Russian oligarch’s yacht stuck in Norway as suppliers refuse to refuel

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Fuel sellers in Narvik say they will not sell to crew of Ragnar, which is owned by Vladimir Strzhalkovsky

A 223-foot (68-metre) luxury yacht owned by a former KGB agent and longtime acquaintance of Vladimir Putin is currently stranded at a Norwegian port after locals’ persistent refusal to sell it fuel.

The vessel, called Ragnar, an old norse word meaning “warrior”, is owned by Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, and its crew has been told by Norwegian fuel suppliers in the northern port of Narvik to “row home” or “raise the sails”. They say they will not refuel it because of the owner’s links to the Russian president.

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Boris Johnson to host Nordic and Baltic leaders for talks on Ukraine invasion

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Prime minister to host summit of Joint Expeditionary Force as he seeks to bolster European resilience

Boris Johnson is preparing to embark on a series of meetings with Nordic and Baltic leaders as he seeks to bolster European resilience after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The prime minister will host a summit of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in London, where he will urge leaders to work together to ensure no further nations fall victim to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s aggression, No 10 said.

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New Hampshire students launched a boat in 2020. It was just found in Norway

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The 6ft-long Rye Riptides was packed with photos, fall leaves, acorns and state quarters and equipped with a GPS

A small boat – containing photos, fall leaves, acorns and state quarters – launched in October 2020 by some New Hampshire middle school students has been found 462 days later by a sixth grader in Norway.

The 6ft-long (1.8-meter) Rye Riptides, decorated with artwork from the kids and equipped with a tracking device that went silent for parts of the journey, was found on 1 February in Smola, a small island near Dyrnes, Norway, the Portsmouth Herald reported Monday.

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