Norway

Norwegian river dam partly collapses after floods

OSLO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - A dam on a Norwegian river partly collapsed on Wednesday, sending water gushing through a gaping hole in the structure after days of heavy flooding, TV images showed.

The Braskereidfoss power dam on the Glomma River, Norway's biggest waterway, had been unable to open its hatches after its control room flooded.

Water appeared to be flowing through it in a controlled manner following the breach, utility Hafslund said in a statement.

There were no immediate signs of major downstream flooding, a police spokesperson said.

Norway: Icelandic volcano erupts near capital

OSLO, July 10 (Reuters) - A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland, near the capital Reykjavik, following intense earthquake activity in the area, the country's Meteorological Office (IMO) said on Monday.

"At the moment, it's a very small eruption," said Matthew Roberts of the service and research division at the IMO. He added there was no direct imminent hazard to people in the region.

Traffic at Reykjavik's international Keflavik airport was not disrupted, the airport said on its website.

Norway: NATO squabbles over speedy accession of Ukraine as decisive summit looms

OSLO, June 1 (Reuters) - Moscow cannot stop Ukraine from becoming a NATO member, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, as divisions among allies about the speed of Kyiv's accession became apparent only weeks before a decisive mid-July summit in Vilnius.

"All allies agree that Moscow does not have a veto against NATO enlargement," Stoltenberg told reporters as NATO foreign ministers gathered in Oslo, seeking to dispel any signs of discord ahead of the summit.

"We are moving, allies agree that Ukraine will become a member."

Norway expels 15 Russian 'intelligence officers' from embassy

OSLO, April 13 (Reuters) - Norway is expelling 15 Russian embassy officials that the foreign ministry said on Thursday were intelligence officers operating under the cover of diplomatic positions, the latest such expulsion by a Western nation since Moscow invaded Ukraine.

The Russian embassy in Oslo told Reuters Norway's decision was "another extremely unfriendly step, which will see a response".

Some 40 Russian diplomats are currently accredited in Oslo, so the expulsions amount to more than a third of their number.

Norway: Sweden summons Russia's ambassador over "legitimate target" statement

OSLO, March 29 (Reuters) - Sweden's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it will summon Russia's Stockholm ambassador to complain about an "attempt at interference" with the Swedish NATO application process.

Sweden and Finland in 2022 both sought NATO membership shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and are hoping to complete the process this year.

The Russian ambassador in a statement on the embassy's web site said joining NATO made the Nordic countries "a legitimate target for Russian retaliatory measures, including those of a military nature".

Iran, E3 diplomats meet in Oslo to break nuclear deal logjam

Efforts to resume the stalled talks in Vienna aimed at the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal have gathered momentum again amid geopolitical shifts spurred by the Tehran-Riyadh rapprochement, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Iran's deputy Foreign Minister and lead nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri, on Wednesday night confirmed reports about his meeting with senior European diplomats in Oslo last week.

Norway wealth fund has sold its stakes in Adani companies

OSLO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Norway's sovereign wealth fund has sold its stakes in three Adani Group companies worth just over $200 million since the start of the year, the world's largest stock investor said on Thursday.

The $1.35 trillion fund at the end of 2022 held stakes in Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) and Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS).

"Since year-end, we have further reduced in Adani companies. We have no exposure left," Christopher Wright, the fund's head of ESG risk monitoring, told a news conference.

Police ban planned Quran burning protest in Norway

OSLO, Feb 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Police in Norway has banned a planned protest including burning a copy of the Islamic holy book, the Quran, hours after the Turkish foreign ministry summoned the Norwegian ambassador to complain.

A group of protesters planned to burn a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Oslo on Friday, police said.

“The police emphasise that burning the Quran is a legal political statement in Norway, but this event can’t go ahead due to security concerns,” Oslo police Inspector Martin Strand said in a statement.

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