Norway

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.

"This further strengthens our relationship with Germany," he added.

OSLO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway told Reuters he wanted to apologise for fighting in Ukraine and was speaking out to bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice.

Andrei Medvedev, who crossed the Russian-Norwegian border on Jan. 13, said he witnessed the killing and mistreatment by Wagner of Russian convicts taken to Ukraine to fight for the group.

OSLO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - A Norwegian study has found a "substantial" amount of metals and minerals ranging from copper to rare earth metals on the seabed of its extended continental shelf, authorities said on Friday in their first official estimates.

The Nordic country, a major oil and gas exporter, is considering whether to open its offshore areas to deep-sea mining, a process that requires parliament's approval and has sparked environmental concerns.

24 Dec 2022; MEMO: Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund is considering reviewing its investments in Israel to ensure that its funds do not finance settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, Israeli media reported on Friday.

The Fund manages and invests revenue from the country's natural resources for the benefit of the government's developmental budget worth $1.3 trillion and is the largest of its kind in the world.

OSLO, Norway (AP) — The winners of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine shared their visions of a fairer world and denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine during Saturday’s award ceremony.

Oleksandra Matviichuk of Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties dismissed calls for a political compromise that would allow Russia to retain some of the illegally annexed Ukrainian territories, saying that “fighting for peace does not mean yielding to pressure of the aggressor, it means protecting people from its cruelty.”

OSLO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Norway will put its military on a raised level of alert from Tuesday, moving more personnel on to operational duties and enhancing the role of a rapid mobilisation force in response to the war in Ukraine, the government said on Monday.

Norway will also seek to bring its new fleet of U.S.-made P-8 Poseidon submarine-hunting maritime patrol aircraft into regular operation at a faster pace than originally planned, the chief of defence, General Eirik Kristoffersen, said.

STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — Norwegian oil and gas workers normally don’t see anything more threatening than North Sea waves crashing against the steel legs of their offshore platforms. But lately they have noticed a more troubling sight: unidentified drones buzzing in the skies overhead.

With Norway replacing Russia as Europe’s main source of natural gas, military experts suspect the unmanned aircraft are Moscow’s doings. They list espionage, sabotage and intimidation as possible motives for the drone flights.

OSLO/PARIS/WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft flew near the site of the ruptured Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea hours after the first damage emerged, according to tracking reviewed by Reuters, a flight Washington said was routine.

Russia's Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines burst on Sept. 26, draining gas into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark and Sweden. Seismologists registered explosions in the area, and police in several countries have launched investigations.

OSLO/STOCKHOLM, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Sweden's Inspectorate of Strategic Products (ISP) said on Friday reversed a ban against exporting military equipment to Turkey, following the Nordic country's decision to join the NATO military alliance and agreement to overcome Turkish objections.

The Sweden and Finland sought membership to NATO earlier this year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but faced a hurdle as its application needs the approval of all 30 current members, with Turkey raising objections.

OSLO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Norway will deploy its military to protect its oil and gas installations against possible sabotage after several countries said two Russian pipelines to Europe spewing gas into the Baltic had been attacked, the prime minister said on Wednesday.

Gas leaks as a result of suspected sabotage discovered on the Nord Stream pipelines on Tuesday have roiled energy markets and heightened security concerns.