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Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts

Friday, July 22, 2011

Oslo: Bomb blast near Norway prime minister's office












Eyewitness Ingunn Anderson says she saw many injured people




Norway Attacks


A massive bomb blast has hit government buildings in the Norwegian capital Oslo, killing at least seven people and injuring several others.

PM Jens Stoltenberg described the situation as "very serious".

The bomb was followed by a fatal shooting incident near Oslo at a youth meeting of the Labour Party, which Mr Stoltenberg leads.

Norwegian media said at least four people were killed when a man opened fire indiscriminately.

Police said the suspected gunman had been arrested, TV2 reported.

No group has said they carried out the attacks but police say they believe them to be linked.

Hours after the bomb struck Oslo, officials said some people were still inside the damaged buildings, some of which were on fire.

Television footage from the government quarter showed rubble and glass from shattered windows in the streets and smoke from the fires drifting across the city. The wreckage of at least one car could be seen.

Smoke in downtown Oslo


All roads into the city centre have been closed, said national broadcaster NRK, and security officials evacuated people from the area, fearing another blast.

Mr Stoltenberg, in a telephone call to Norwegian television, said all government ministers were safe.

He said he had been advised by police not to reveal his current location, but is not thought to have been in central Oslo on Friday.

"Even if one is well prepared, it is always rather dramatic when something like this happens," he said.
Egil Vrekke, Assistant Chief Constable of Oslo police told the BBC the rescue operation was ongoing.
"We are issuing warnings just [to] make sure people are not in the area in case there are further explosions," he told the BBC.

"We have cordoned off large areas. There are bomb experts at the scene investigating whether there are other devices in the area."

A spokesman for Oslo University hospital said 10 people had been taken there for treatment, some with serious injuries.

A few hours after the explosion, reports emerged of the shooting at a Labour Party youth camp in Utoeya, an island outside the capital.

TV2 said at least four people had been killed and several injured - there were reports a gunman was wearing a police uniform.

"This created a panic situation where people started to swim from the island" said Labour Party spokesman Per Gunnar Dahl.

Mr Stoltenberg, who had been due to visit the camp on Saturday, told TV2 the situation in Utoeya was critical.

'Focus on rescue'
State Secretary Kristian Amundsen said Friday was a public holiday in Norway so the government offices were not as busy as they might usually have been.








Assistant Chief Constable Egil Vrekke: "There are a lot of casualties"



"But there are many hundreds of people in these buildings every day," he told the BBC.

"We have to focus on the rescue operation - there are still people in the building, there are still people in the hospital."

Reuters said the oil ministry was among the other government buildings hit, while NRK journalist Ingunn Andersen said the headquarters of tabloid newspaper VG were also damaged.

"It's complete chaos here. The windows are blown out in all the buildings close by," she told AP.

Oistein Mjarum, head of communications for the Norwegian Red Cross, which has offices nearby, said the blast could be heard across Oslo.

"This is a very busy area on Friday afternoon and there were a lot of people in the streets, and many people working in these buildings that are now burning," he said.

Local resident Silvio told the BBC the blast shook everything in his apartment and that he saw several unconscious people in the street.

"If they were dead or not I wouldn't be able to tell you but they were receiving assistance at the time."
Mr Mjarum said people across Oslo and Norway were in shock.

"We have never had a terrorist attack like this in Norway - if that's what it is - but of course this has been a great fear for all Norwegians when they have seen what has been happening around the world."

The United States has condemned the "despicable acts of violence" in Oslo, while the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said he was "deeply shocked" by "these acts of cowardice for which there is no justification".

Map

Are you in Oslo and did you see what happened? Get in touch and let us know if you witnessed this event. You can send eyewitness accounts using the form below.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Get Blown Away By This Architectural Music Light Show

From: http://gizmodo.com/

I love what happens when you put technology in the hands of very creative people like André Chocron. Using only time-lapse photography, the Norwegian director created one of the best music light shows I've seen.

Chorcon filmed old apartment buildings in Oslo, Norway and used the lights in each room as the medium for his light show. He captured each building using time-lapse photography taken at night. Using this technique, he was able to get pictures of each room with the lights on and off. He then used a computer to map the lights in a pattern to the tune "Time is of the essence" by Cold Mailman. If you have no idea what this means, watch the video and it will all make sense. The results are simply amazing. [Fast Company]

Cold mailman - Time is of the essence from André Chocron on Vimeo.


Official music video for Cold Mailman - "Time is of the essence". This is a shortened version of the song. The original song is available on their critically acclaimed second album "Relax; the mountain will come to you" . For more info about Cold Mailman, visit coldmailman.com/​

-

Director and animator: André Chocron
Director of photography: Audun Magnæs
Colorist: Camilla Holst Vea at Storyline Studios
Conform: Raymond Gangstad

Cast:

Haugenstua brl
Vestlitoppen brl
Tveita brl
Solfjellet brl
Ammerudlia brl

Supported by Groruddalssatsningen:
prosjekt-groruddalen.oslo.kommune.no/​

Thank you:

Roy Tjomsland, Hallvar Witzø, Raymond Gangstad, Johannes Dahl, Kari Andresen, Jon Erik Berger, Gunnar Paulsen, Veronica Skaret

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Meanwhile in Norway

From: http://i.imgur.com/

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Results of the 2011 World Beard and Moustache Championships in Norway

WBMC_Winners_2011

The results of the 2011 World Beard and Moustache Championships, held Sunday in Trondheim, Norway, are in, and the biggest surprise is the dethroning of two-time Full Beard Natural champ Jack Passion by fellow American Craig "Rooty" Lundvall, top right.

Passion, the whiskered wizard of Walnut Creek, Calif., author of "The Facial Hair Handbook", and subject of a 2009 profile in the Los Angeles Times, took second in the Trondheim competition. According Mitchell_WBMC to the World Beard and Moustache Championships website, the American delegation -- which is referred to en masse as Beard Team U.S.A. -- brought home a six gold medals.

In addition to Lundvall, Americans that took top honors were: Burke Kenny (in the Full Beard Styled Moustache category), Bruce Roe (Hungarian Moustache), Keith “Gandhi Jones” Haubrich (Freestyle Moustache), Bill Mitchell, left, (Partial Beard Freestyle), and Giovanni Dominice (Imperial Moustache).

The biannual beard-off's overall winner -- with a beard elaborately shaped into a reindeer at one end -- was Germany's Elmar Weisser, 47, top left, who is no stranger to the competition, having taken the top prize at the 2005 event held in Berlin with a beard sculpted to look like the Brandenburg Gate and at the 2007 England championships in which he showed up with a beard shaped to resemble the Tower Bridge. (He didn't attend the 2009 conclave, which gave the award to American David Travers for a snowshoe-shaped beard.)

The Norwegian Moustache Club was chosen as the host group at the last World Beard and Moustache Championship held in Anchorage, Alaska, on May 23, 2009.

-- Adam Tschorn

Full results of the 2010 National Beard & Moustache Championships

Results of the 2009 World Beard & Moustache Championships in Anchorage

Read more Bearded & Tschorn: The World Beard and Moustache Championships

Photos, from top: Germany's Elmar Weisser, left, was the overall winner and American Craig Lundvall took the Full Beard Natural category, unseating two-time champion Jack Passion; American Bill Mitchell won the Partial Beard Freestyle category. Altogether, Beard Team U.S.A. took home six gold medals. Credit: Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP/Getty Images

Friday, April 15, 2011

Train Ride Through Norway: from Finse where the scenes from Hoth in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back were filmed.


Slipstream Part XI: Travel by (non)Linear Observation from Nilz on Vimeo.

Slipstream Part XI: Travel by (non)Linear Observation

*This video is a loop, if you like right click the video to enable looping*

Slipstream Series: vimeo.com/​groups/​slipstream


This footage is used under a creative commons licence ( creativecommons.org/​licenses/​by-sa/​3.0/​ )

Source:
“Bergensbanen” – NRK
Click here for info on the film: nrkbeta.no/​2009/​12/​18/​bergensbanen-eng/​

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

10 best biking cities in Europe



While biking is becoming more popular in U.S. cities — L.A. is adding 1,600 bike lanes, Chicago has a new bike plan, and Portland has 17,000 daily commuters — Europe has some amazing biking cities of their own.
The Ecologist has come up with the 10 best biking cities in Europe (in no particular order):

-Lyon, France
  • “With its charming twisty lanes and dedicated bike routes, Lyon is a cyclists’ paradise.”
  • The city’s bike sharing program, Velo’v has over 300 stations throughout the city.
-Rome, Italy
  • “Cycling is by far the best bet for seeing the sights close to the Tiber, where a picturesque route runs from the Ponte Sublicio to the Ponte della Magliana.”
-Basel, Switzerland
  • “Featuring street lanes geared to cyclists and dedicated left hand turns to make crossing the road safer, Basel tops the list of cities to cycle in Switzerland.”
-Berlin, Germany
  • Thanks to the combined efforts of Allied air raids and the Communist predilection for destroying picturesque old buildings and replacing them with big, brash new ones, Berlin’s streets are wonderfully wide, which makes it easy to get around by bike.”
-Trondheim, Norway
  • “With its picturesque setting on the shores of the cerulean Trondheimsfjord, Norway’s fourth largest city has built a reputation for bicycling brilliance thanks to innovations such as the Trampe bicycle lift which takes the effort out of pedaling uphill.”
-Paris, France
  • While the many hazards of the Place de la Concorde aren’t the greatest advertisement for cycling in Paris, once you’re a safe distance from the city’s infamously crazy drivers – on the pavement in other words – then cycling in Paris can be a real pleasure.”
-Barcelona, Spain
  • “Surprisingly, given Spain’s reputation for endangering the lives and limbs of cyclists thanks to its motorists’ penchant for going everywhere at top speed, Barcelona has 50,000 regular cyclists and that figure is increasing daily.”
-Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 37 percent of all Copenhageners bike a total of 1.2 million kilometers each day.
  • “The Danish capital has been quietly turning itself into one of the best biking cities in the world; a fact revealed when the International Cycling Union gave it the first ‘Bike City’ award last year.”
-London, England
  • The city is working to build 12 biking “superhighways” — there are already two — and increase biking by 400 percent from 2000.
  • “Cycling in London used to be pretty dreadful thanks to an unfortunate combination of rain and aggressive drivers but since the first two Barclays Cycle Superhighways launched last summer, things have become a little easier.”
-Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • There are 600,000 bikes in a city of 750,000.
  • Thanks in part to the narrow streets in the medieval city center, cycling is by far the most efficient way to get around.”
Watch this inspiring video of Amsterdam’s biking community:

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

New Aurora Pictures: First Big Show of 2011


news.nationalgeographic.com — In the year's first big northern lights show, ''gusts'' of solar wind set the Arctic sky alight in shades of green. 

Click here for Full Gallery: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/pictures/110120-aurora-borealis-northern-lights-science-space/

Monday, December 13, 2010

Meanwhile in NORWAY

Thursday, May 13, 2010

World's poshest prison? Cells with en-suite bathrooms and no window bars (plus £1m Banksy-style art)

By Mail Foreign Service

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

It's the ultimate prison break for murderers and rapists - en-suite bathrooms, £1million Banksy-style art and even windows without bars.

That's the 'hard-time' waiting for some of Norway's most dangerous criminals in the new purpose built £15 million Halden Prison.

The jail took 10 years to build and has been touted to be the most humane in the world for its 252 inmates.

Home away from home: One of the private cells at Norway's new  Halden Prison - which appears to be nicer than most university dormitory  rooms

Home away from home: One of the private cells at Norway's new Halden Prison - which appears to be nicer than most university dormitory rooms

It's the end of 'dropping the soap' jokes with these posh en-suite  bathrooms for inmates at the new £15million prison

It's the end of 'dropping the soap' jokes with these posh en-suite bathrooms for inmates at the new £15million prison

Prison authorities claim the luxury environment of the 75-acre site helps reduce the country's already very low crime rate.

Each inmate gets a private cell with mini-fridge, flat-screen TV and even a private en-suite bathroom and barless windows - because they let in more sunlight.

Then for every 12 to 15 rooms there is a top-notch kitchen with stainless steel work tops and lounge areas complete with IKEA-style sofas and coffee tables.

To cap-off their stay at Halden, the pampered prisoners can even enjoy a gym - complete with rock-climbing wall - a music studio and luxury library.

Keeping prisoners healthy: The rock-climbing wall and basketball  nets in the new gym at the prison

Keeping prisoners healthy: The rock-climbing wall and basketball nets in the new gym at the prison

Banksy-style: A £1million mural in the prison courtyard by  Norwegian street artist Dolk

Banksy-style: A £1million mural in the prison courtyard by Norwegian street artist Dolk

Architect Hans Henrik Hoilund admitted Halden holds some of Norway's most dangerous prisoners but - believes its design means they don't re-offend.

He said: 'The most important thing is that the prison looks as much like the outside world as possible.

'To avoid an institutional feel, exteriors are not concrete but made of bricks, galvanized steel and larch; the buildings seem to have grown organically from the woodlands.

'And while there is one obvious symbol of incarceration - a 20-foot concrete security wall along the prison's perimeter - trees obscure it.

'And it's top has been rounded off, so it isn't too hostile.'

A jail cell corridor in the new prison - where half the guards are  female as it is believed this decreases aggression

A jail cell corridor in the new prison - where half the guards are female as it is believed this decreases aggression

The landscaped prison grounds surrounding the institution

The landscaped prison grounds surrounding the institution

The Norwegian Banksy-style artist Dolk was also hired to paint a £1million mural on the prison wall showing a prisoner in striped uniform using a ball and chain as a shot put.

Halden opened it's doors officially last month, taking in the first batch of inmates. Prison governor Are Hoidal said there have been no escape attempts.

He said: 'In the Norwegian prison system, there's a focus on human rights and respect.

'We don't see any of this as unusual.

'When they arrive many of them are in bad shape and we want to build them up, give them confidence through education and work and have them leave as better people.'

Halden also features jogging trails in nearby woods and a freestanding two-bedroom house where inmates can host their families during overnight visits.

In Norway only 20 per cent of prisoners end up back in jail after release, compared to between 50 and 60 per cent in the UK.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Human Development Indicators




A new report from the UN has shown where in the world is the most desirable, and least desirable place to live. The 182 countries featured in the report, were ranked according to the quality of life their citizens experienced.

The results of the report, showed that the most desirable place in the world to live, is Norway, while the least desirable is Niger.

Criteria examined in the report, included life expectancy, literacy rates, school enrolment and country economies.

The UN Development Programme said the index highlighted the grave disparities between rich and poor countries.

Looking at Norway, the reason for its consistently high rating for desirable living standards, is, in a large part, thanks to the discovery of offshore oil and gas deposits in the late 1960s.

Whereas looking at Niger, it is a drought-prone country which has sometimes struggled to feed its people.

A major difference between the two countries was life expectancy. In Niger, the life expectancy was 50 years, approximately 30 years shorter than it is for those living in Norway.

Another huge difference, is that for every dollar earned per person in Niger, US$85 was earned in Norway.

The below infographic has looked at the Human Development report, and shows the differences between the two countries in terms of factors such as estimated yearly income, female to male income, and government education expenditure per pupil.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

4G Goes Live in Sweden and Norway


By Zee







Picture 16

4G network technology has arrived in Oslo and Stockholm thanks to wireless carrier TeliaSonera.

As of Tuesday, people in Norway and Sweden will be able to buy a mobile dongle that supports the long-term evolution (LTE) of 4G.

The technology can deliver speeds of up to 100 megabits per second–ten times faster that its 3G predecessor.

In a press conference in Stockholm on Monday, Karlberg said LTE makes it possible “to do everything that you can do on the fixed network, but on top of that, [the network adds] the mobility dimension”. He said this combination of mobility and fixed-line-quality speeds and bandwidth would allow for “applications that we haven’t seen so far”.

At launch, TeliaSonera’s LTE services cover around 400,000 people in the centres of Stockholm and Oslo. However, the operator said it is adding base stations every day. That aside, users primary frustration will lie in the fact that no handsets can yet use 4G meaning customers will initially only be able to connect via a dongle and a laptop.

Until July 1, consumers keen to try out the technology will receive the modems for free and pay a subscription price of just 4 kronor a month. The price will then will increased to 500 kronor a month.

TeliaSonera said it expected the boost in speed to drive many novel applications including gaming on the move and much greater viewing of video on laptops.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

World’s Tallest Wooden Building Planned for Norway


August 24, 2009


by Bridgette Meinhold

Norwegian Barents Secretariat - World's Tallest Wooden Building

Recently the Norwegian Barents Secretariat announced plans for a new cultural center that is being touted as the world’s tallest wooden building. The Secretariat hopes that the new structure will serve as a physical symbol of their important role in the High North - a lighthouse of sorts and a beacon of knowledge and development. As part of that role, the new office and cultural center will also act as a model for sustainable building and carbon neutrality.

wooden structure, wooden building, world's tallest wooden building, kirkenes, norway, norwegian barents secretariat, local materials

Currently the world’s tallest wooden structure is said to be a 144 ft, 13-story home in Arkhangelsk, in North-West Russia built by Nikolai Sutyagin. The new tower by the Secretariat will be located in Kirkenes, Norwayand will be 16-17 stories tall and constructed from natural materials with innovative and environmental solutions in all parts of the building. Oslo-based Reiulf Ramstad Architects are responsible for the ambitious project, which will be situated in downtown Kirkenes on the historical ground of a multiethnic area.

To achieve carbon neutrality, Reiulf Ramstad Architects is relying on integrated systems that also enable it- to adapt to the changing seasons and climate. The firm also plans to reuse biodegradable household and industrial waste to produce biogas. Recycled materials from the surrounding area will be incorporated into the design, which is based on traditional architecture from Russia, Sweden, Finland and Norway.

The interior of the center will house energy-efficient offices for the Barents Secretariat as well as a library, a theater and a creative environment for artists, researchers, students and other relevant institutions. Their goal is that the wooden building will serve as an example of sustainable construction for the surrounding region while acting as a center for cooperation between Russians, Finns, Swedes, Saamis and Norwegians.

+ Reiulf Ramstad Architects

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Norwegian man caught having sex with girlfriend while driving at 100mph

A Norwegian man faces a heavy fine and a driving ban after police caught him having sex with his girlfriend while speeding on the motorway, police said on Monday.

The unnamed couple, a 28-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, were caught in the act late on Easter Sunday by traffic police on the E18 highway, some 25 miles west of Oslo.

Officers who clocked the couple's silver Mazda 323 racing at 133 kilometres per hour in a 100 zone realised they were doing more than just breaking the speed limit, police told AFP.

"It was veering from one side to the other because the woman was sitting on the man's lap while he was driving and doing the act, shall we say," said Tor Stein Hagen, a superintendent with Soendre Buskerund district police.

"He couldn't see much because her back was in the way," he added.

"Why they did it on a highway with such a high risk we don't know."

After following the couple for nearly a kilometre, officers pulled the car over at a service station.

"We have taken away his driving licence because of the danger that he caused," Mr Hagen said.

Prosecutors will decide within the next week what his punishment will be, with police having filmed the incident to use as evidence against the driver.

Mr Hagen said he expected the man to face a fine of "several thousand Norwegian crowns" and a lengthy driving ban.


Can we find a picture???

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Spectacular Norwegian port of Ålesund




Photo by Patricia Hamilton. Other great shots of the port:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2284/2159299869_65b ...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2069/2496203182_133 ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%85lesund

Friday, November 14, 2008

This Massive Glacier in Norway is So Damn Awesome..



upload.wikimedia.org — Briksdalsbreen (The Briksdal glacier) is one of the most accessible and best known arms of the Jostedalsbreen, the biggest glacier in continental Europe. It is situated in the county Sogn og Fjordane at the west coast of southern Norway. The size of Briksdalsbreen is not only depending on temperature. Yes, those are people in the lower-left!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Preacher's Pulpit: Massive Cliff With a Stunning View



upload.wikimedia.org — Preikestolen or Preacher's Pulpit/Pulpit Rock is a massive cliff 604 metres above Lysefjorden, opposite the Kjerag plateau, in Forsand, Norway. The top of the cliff is approximately 25 by 25 metres, square and almost flat, and is a famous tourist attraction.


Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Trolltunga


Trolltunga is a piece of rock that stands horizontally out of the mountain above Skjeggedal in Odda, Norway.

To get to Trolltunga, which is Norwegian for "Troll's tongue", you need to go to Odda, then to Skjeggedal via Tyssedal. Previously a trolley car transported visitors the first 950 meters above sea level during the summer[1]. There are however both stairs and a path that will take you the first 950 meters, and from there marked hiking trails will take you the rest of the way.

For a family with young children the hike there and back will take at least 6 hours. -There are cabins in the area owned by the Norwegian Tourist Association where it is possible to spend the night. The area opens up to the rest of Hardangervidda, and can be a starting point for a longer hike to for example Hårteigen.