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NORWAY

Sarkozy condemns ‘odious’ attack on Norway

French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned the deadly bombing in the Norwegian capital Oslo on Friday as an "odious and unacceptable act" of violence.

“At this dramatic time, I wish to pass on the profound sympathy of the entire French people for the Norwegian people,” he said, responding to early reports of the bombing in the city centre and offering his condolences to the families of the victims.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé also condemned the attacks, describing them as “blind and savage acts of violence”.

Norwegian intelligence did not consider the far-right as a serious threat to society and instead primarily feared an attack by Islamist extremists, according to an official report published this year.  

With its forces involved in the NATO campaigns in both Afghanistan and Libya, Friday’s tragic twin attacks prompted speculation that the country could have been paying a price for its participation in the Western alliance.  

But after the arrest of a 32-year-old ethnic Norwegian, whom police have described as a “fundamentalist Christian” with political opinions that leaned “to the right”, there has been a fundamental shift in focus.  

In its annual threat assessment report released earlier this year, the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) had detected a rise in far-right activity but said “the lack of strong leaders limits the growth of these groups.”  

“There was an increase in the activity of far-right extremist groups in 2010, and this activity is expected to continue in 2011,” the PST said.  

However “as in previous years, the far-right and far-left extremist communities will not represent a serious threat to Norwegian society in 2011,” the report added.  

The same report said there were indications of contacts between Norwegian far-right extremists and criminal groups, which could give far-right activists easier access to weapons and “thereby increase the potential for violence.”  

According to the TV2 channel, the arrested suspect possessed two weapons registered in his name. Other Norwegian media reported that the suspect, widely named as Anders Behring Breivik, was interested in hunting and computer games like World of Warcraft and Modern Warfare 2.  

Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has refused to comment directly on the motives of the gunman who shot dead 84 people at a summer youth camp after seven other people were killed in a bomb attack in Oslo.  

But in a press conference on Saturday, the prime minister denied that right-wing extremism was a particular problem for Norway.  

“Compared to other countries I would not say we have a big problem with right-wing extremists in Norway,” he said.  

“We have had some groups, we have followed them before, and our police is aware that there are some right-wing extreme groups, or at least have been some groups of that kind in Norway.  

“We will not speculate, we will wait for the investigation from the police before we say anything about this particular case but its part of the work of our police to follow this kind of right wing extreme group.”  

The PST report did however lay out fears of the “radicalisation” of some Islamists “who could present a direct threat to Norway in the year ahead.”

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NORWAY

Norway to send 200,000 AstraZeneca doses to Sweden and Iceland

Norway, which has suspended the use of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine until further notice, will send 216,000 doses to Sweden and Iceland at their request, the Norwegian health ministry said Thursday.

Norway to send 200,000 AstraZeneca doses to Sweden and Iceland
Empty vials of the AstraZeneca vaccine. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

“I’m happy that the vaccines we have in stock can be put to use even if the AstraZeneca vaccine has been paused in Norway,” Health Minister Bent Høie said in a statement.

The 216,000 doses, which are currently stored in Norwegian fridges, have to be used before their expiry dates in June and July.

Sweden will receive 200,000 shots and Iceland 16,000 under the expectation they will return the favour at some point. 

“If we do resume the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, we will get the doses back as soon as we ask,” Høie said.

Like neighbouring Denmark, Norway suspended the use of the AstraZeneca jab on March 11 in order to examine rare but potentially severe side effects, including blood clots.

Among the 134,000 AstraZeneca shots administered in Norway before the suspension, five cases of severe thrombosis, including three fatal ones, had been registered among relatively young people in otherwise good health. One other person died of a brain haemorrhage.

On April 15, Norway’s government ignored a recommendation from the Institute of Public Health to drop the AstraZeneca jab for good, saying it wanted more time to decide.

READ MORE: Norway delays final decision on withdrawal of AstraZeneca vaccine 

The government has therefore set up a committee of Norwegian and international experts tasked with studying all of the risks linked to the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, which is also suspected of causing blood clots.

Both are both based on adenovirus vector technology. Denmark is the only European country to have dropped the AstraZeneca
vaccine from its vaccination campaign, and said on Tuesday it would “lend” 55,000 doses to the neighbouring German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

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