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MOSCOW — Russia admitted on Thursday another failed test of its much-touted Bulava intercontinental missile, after unusual lights were spotted in Norway across the border from the launch site. The submarine-based Bulava (Mace) missile has been billed as Russia's newest technological breakthrough to support its nuclear deterrent, but the repeated test failures are an embarrassment for the Kremlin. The missile failed in its 13th test on Wednesday morning, Russia's leading economic dailies Vedomosti and Kommersant reported on Thursday, quoting sources in the military-industrial complex. Hours later, the Defense Ministry admitted the failure, saying the launch had been made by the...

What was the Nobel Peace Prize Commitee SMOKING when they decided to award President Obama with this year's Peace Prize? Continuing the hot 2009 Obama tour in Oslo, Norway, the president again reached out to the world to let them know that the United States would reserve the right to act unilaterally to defend our country, but mentions again that we have not followed the rules ourselves.

A mysterious giant spiral of light that dominated the sky over Norway on Wednesday has stunned experts — raising the possibility of an entirely new astral phenomenon. Thousands of awe-struck Norwegians bombarded the Meteorological Institute to ask what the incredible light — which could be seen in the pre-dawn sky for hundreds of miles — could possibly be. Theories have ranged from a misfired Russian missile, meteor fireball, never-before-seen type of northern light, black hole and even alien activity. Witnesses across Norway all described seeing a spinning "Catherine wheel-style" spiral of white light, centered around a bright moon-like star....

OSLO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama acknowledged criticism of his Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday but said he hoped it would subside if he succeeded in his goals, including cutting nuclear weapons and tackling climate change. Speaking in Norway before collecting the prize, Obama also reaffirmed U.S. troops would begin transferring responsibility for Afghan security to local forces in July 2011 but said there would be no "precipitous drawdown." Obama will accept the prize just nine days after ordering 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan to break the momentum of the Taliban. The escalation of the war effort there, and...

Barack Obama's trip to Oslo to pick up his Nobel peace award is in danger of being overshadowed by a row over the cancellation of a series of events normally attended by the prizewinner. Norwegians are incensed over what they view as his shabby response to the prize by cutting short his visit. The White House has cancelled many of the events peace prize laureates traditionally submit to, including a dinner with the Norwegian Nobel committee, a press conference, a television interview, appearances at a children's event promoting peace and a music concert, as well as a visit to an...

Trip to Norway Reignites Debate Over Obama's Qualifications for Prestigious Award. There is a bit of irony in that just 10 days after announcing the deployment of 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan, President Obama will accept the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Thursday in Oslo, Norway. the White House said he will acknowledge that he accepts the peace prize as a war president. Aides said he will address Afghanistan and the decision to add troops there and present it in the overall context of the award he is accepting. The peace prize sparked considerable debate over Obama's qualifications: Was his...

A mysterious light display appearing over Norway last night has left thousands of residents in the north of the country baffled. Witnesses from Trøndelag to Finnmark compared the amazing sight to anything from a Russian rocket to a meteor or a shock wave - although no one appears to have mentioned UFOs yet. The phenomenon began when what appeared to be a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain. It stopped mid-air, then began to circulate.

A mysterious spiral of light has appeared in northern Norway one day before President Obama arrives to give his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo. The spiral has baffled experts who do not believe it is related to the Aurora Borealis. Speculation that it is a rocket launched by the Russian Northern Fleet has been denied by Russian authorities. Similarly the Norwegian military has claimed no knowledge of any rocket launches in the area. There has been speculation that it may be some exotic weapon system, the opening of a space-time portal, or even UFO activity. Obama’s arrival in...

Finally some Europeans are angry with Obama—the very ones who are awarding him his peace prize. Katarina Andersson on the president’s rebuff of King Harald, a group of Norwegian children, and his own Nobel exhibit. A day before President Obama receives his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, the president’s treatment of his Norwegian hosts has become hot news across Scandinavia. News outlets across the region are calling Obama arrogant for slashing some of the prize winners’ traditional duties from his schedule. “Everybody wants to visit the Peace Center except Obama,” sniped the Norwegian daily Aftenposten, amid reports the president would...

A mysterious light display appearing over Norway last night has left thousands of residents in the north of the country baffled. Witnesses from Trøndelag to Finnmark compared the amazing sight to anything from a Russian rocket to a meteor or a shock wave - although no one appears to have mentioned UFOs yet. The phenomenon began when what appeared to be a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain. It stopped mid-air, then began to circulate.

This article is in Norwegian, but the photo and video is pretty strange!

A mysterious light display appearing over Norway last night has left thousands of residents in the north of the country baffled. Witnesses from Trøndelag to Finnmark compared the amazing sight to anything from a Russian rocket to a meteor or a shock wave - although no one appears to have mentioned UFOs yet.

Finally some Europeans are angry with Obama—the very ones who are awarding him his Nobel. Katarina Andersson on the president's decision to decline lunch with King Harald and skip his own Nobel exhibit. A day before President Obama receives his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, the president’s treatment of his Norwegian hosts has become hot news across Scandinavia. News outlets across the region are calling Obama arrogant for slashing some of the prize winners’ traditional duties from his schedule. “Everybody wants to visit the Peace Center except Obama,” sniped the Norwegian daily Aftenposten, amid reports the president would snub his...

People are freaking out all over Norway because of what you are seeing here. According to Norwegian news outlets, the spooky giant spiral was seen, photographed, and recorded on video from all over the country. Updated with video. Could it all be a hoax? Maybe it's a massive joke, but all kinds of Norwegian news sites are reporting on it. According to NKR—Norway's national TV channel—it could be related to a rocket fired from a Russian submarine in the White Sea. The Russians are denying any part on it at this at the moment. Nick Banbury, a witness located...

Large Hadron Collider physicists claim energy world record HEREScientists claimed a world record by crashing particles together at the highest energy achieved in a laboratory. Physicists at the Cern nuclear research organisation near Geneva working on the Large Hadron Collider recorded head-on collisions between beams of protons at an energy of 2.36 trillion electron volts. The machine is designed to recreate the conditions in the moments after the big bang. Scientists hope it will help them to identify the Higgs boson, which gives other particles mass, and reveal the nature of dark matter, the invisible substance that clusters around galaxies....

A MYSTERIOUS giant spiral of light that dominated the sky over Norway this morning has stunned experts — who believe the space spectacle is an entirely new astral phenomenon. Thousands of awe-struck Norwegians bombarded the Meteorological Institute to ask what the incredible light — that could be seen in the pre-dawn sky for hundreds of miles — could possibly be. The phenomenon has been dubbed 'Star-Gate' — as the world's top scientists and the military lined up to admit they were baffled. Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2764647/Spiral-UFO-puts-Norway-in-a-spin.html#ixzz0ZD4IN4Rd

A majority of Norwegians consider "impolite" US President Barack Obama's decision to snub parts of the official Nobel Peace Prize programme in Oslo this week, a poll showed on Wednesday. Obama, who will formally receive the award at a ceremony at Oslo's City Hall on Thursday, will limit his attendance at the normally-scheduled events to a strict minimum. Faced with two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the fallout of the economic crisis, the US leader has declined the traditional lunch with the king of Norway, and, unlike previous laureates, will not hold a press conference nor attend the Nobel...

A few days from now, the president of the United States will fly to this cold, dark, and usually sleepy northern capital to accept a prize that much of the world still holds in deep respect, even though it should have long since been entirely discredited in the minds of civilized men. As has been widely observed, of course, the awarding of this trophy to Mr. Obama has already helped to underscore the absurdity of taking this honor any more seriously than, say, the Teen Choice Awards. When the Norwegian Nobel Committee — composed of five people that virtually nobody...

Scientists in Norway have identified a mutated form of the swine flu virus that is raising concern because it was found in two patients who died of the flu and a third who was severely ill with the disease, officials announced Friday. In a statement, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said the mutation "could possibly make the virus more prone to infect deeper in the airways and thus cause more severe disease," such as pneumonia.

TOFTE, Norway (Reuters) - Norway opened on Tuesday the world's first osmotic power plant, which produces emissions-free electricity by mixing fresh water and sea water through a special membrane. State-owned utility Statkraft's prototype plant, which for now will produce a tiny 2-4 kilowatts of power or enough to run a coffee machine, will enable Statkraft to test and develop the technology needed to drive down production costs. The plant is driven by osmosis that naturally draws fresh water across a membrane and toward the seawater side. This creates higher pressure on the sea water side, driving a turbine and producing...

Within minutes, six-year-old Rubjit Thindal went from happily chatting in the back seat of the car to collapsing and dying in her father's arms. "If we had known it was so serious, we would have called 911,'' Kuldip Thindal, Rubjit's distraught mother, said in Punjabi yesterday. "She just had a stomach ache -- she wasn't even crying.'' Rubjit was pronounced dead at hospital barely 24 hours after showing signs of a fever. Later, doctors told her parents she had the H1N1 influenza virus. She is believed to be the youngest person in Canada with the virus to have died.

A Norwegian man said experts told him the sword he found abandoned at a roadside four years ago dates back 3,000 years. Ernst Skofteland said he asked a team of archaeologists digging on a farm near his home to look at the sword, which he discovered at the side of a lumber road in a forest area four years ago, and they told him it dates from around 1100-900 B.C., Aftenposten reported Friday. "When they told me how old it was, I thought they were kidding me," Skofteland said. He said he turned the sword over to government authorities for...

Norway expelled a 36-year-old Iranian student studying space technology earlier this month amid fears his studies may be used to contribute to the Iranian missile program, according to reports Tuesday in the Norwegian media. The student studied Norwegian language and culture last year and, according to the reports, was due to begin a master's program in space technology at Narvik University College in Narvik, a town some 1,400 km north of Oslo. Jorn Preserudstuen, police inspector for the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), told the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation that history has shown a connection between a space program and missile...

Norway Becomes First European Country To Raise Interest RatesNorway has become the first country in Europe to raise interest rates since the start of the financial crisis as its economy recovers from a shallow downturn. Published: 5:00PM GMT 28 Oct 2009 Norway's economy has been buoyed by its vast offshore oil and gas sector. Norges Bank, the country's central bank, increased its deposit rate by a quarter point from record lows to 1.5pc on Wednesday. The rise will offset a significant fiscal stimulus package introduced by the government at the height of the financial crisis. Norway, buoyed by its vast...

CUSTOMS officials in Norway say they had arrested a man who tried to illegally import 14 snakes and 10 lizards into the country by taping the reptiles to his body. The snakes, king pythons that are large in size but not venomous, were rolled up in socks and taped to the man's torso, while the geckos were found in small boxes taped to his legs. The unusual load was discovered during a body search after customs officials found a tarantula in the man's luggage.

The Norwegian Health authorities are today, Friday, expected to announce that they advice that all Norwegians be vaccinated against the swine flu. So far, nine persons are known to have died from the flu in Norway. It is estimated that 100,000 now have the flu, and in many schools and kindergartens 50 per cent of the children are absent, but it is not certain that all have the H1N1 flu. Already, there are daily long lineups at many vaccination centres around the country, and many GPs report that they are inundated with calls from nervous patients who either have symptoms,...

It's the moment nosy Norwegian neighbors have been waiting for — the release of official records showing the annual income and overall wealth of nearly every taxpayer in the Scandinavian country. In a move that would be unthinkable elsewhere, tax authorities in Norway have issued the "skatteliste," or "tax list," for 2008 to the media under a law designed to uphold the country's tradition of transparency. It's Norwegians' way of keeping up with the Johansens — from fishermen on the western fjords and Sami reindeer herders in the north to members of the committee that awarded President Barack Obama the...

We have suffered a week of apoplexy having endured a bombardment of reasons offered to justify a Nobel Prize awarded for expectations and promises rather than results. Our rationality has been addled as all corners of the MSM meandered through fantastic rationalizations. All appear to have missed the mark. The ideologically motivated radicals dominating the Norwegian Nobel Committee, are not seeking peace in the world, but are making a down payment on fortification for their own agenda. The United States and Canada will pay dearly if this agenda materializes. Let’s first dispel any doubt that the offered reasons for awarding...

The White House has confirmed that President Obama will personally come to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and the capital is gearing up for the visit, including the massive security arrangements which will have to be made. The presentation will be made at a ceremony at the Oslo City Hall on December 10th, and the security will be a challenge. However, Oslo Mayor Fabian Stang bids the US president heartily welcome: - Clinton has visited us earlier, and I am sure that the police and the municipal authorities will solve that problem in a good way, Stang says....

The Nobel committee becomes the pundit pinata on the Sunday morning news shows, for its decision to award President Obama the Peace Prize before the end of his first year in office.A raft of conservative pundits and even one network anchor used the Sunday morning news shows to batter the Nobel committee for awarding President Obama the Peace Prize before he had a chance to turn his lofty rhetoric into historic accomplishments. The decision, announced Friday, to award Obama the peace prize has drawn widespread astonishment. While past recipients like Al Gore praised the move, even Obama said upon learning...

Norway is a tiny country that was born lucky. It is weak and defenseless (and was quickly overrun in World War II [while neighboring, neutral Sweden sold the Third Reich 40% of its iron ore, that went for everything from Tiger tanks to kill Americans to the ovens at Auschwitz—with free shipping across the Baltic included as a favor]. In the late 1940s it would have been Finlandized during the Cold War, if not for American-led NATO. And the world’s largest military is still pledged to its defense, in case any of the nations, to whose icons it bestows awards,...

Americans were justifiably proud last week of their many Nobel Prize winners. Eight of the nine honorees in physics, chemistry and medicine were US citizens, some native-born, some naturalized, a near total American sweep. And their achievements were glorious: better understanding how DNA works, the basis for enormous medical progress; developing fiber-optic cable, revolutionizing global communications; and advances in cell biology, with enormous implications for treating cancer. In each case, these breakthroughs, some made as long as 20 years ago, have proven themselves beyond the laboratory, and already made enormous real-world differences. Next to these marvels, how to explain the...

Reader Alan Macomber writes: Got curious about how the media in Norway is playing the Nobel Peace Prize decision (I read/write Norwegian fluently), so I check out the Aftenposten (largest daily) this morning.Found one of those opinion poll widgets on their site- vote on if you think the prize to Obama was correct.62% of Aftenposten's own Norwegian readers voted not vs 37% who voted yes. Just thought you'd be interested in how it plays out over there.Swedish dailies are pretty much skewing this as a stupid joke the Norwegians have created (to be expected...Swedes love to laugh at dumb stuff...

Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize Friday shocked the world. But a peek at the backgrounds of the five people who made the selection gives a clue why the prize panel would be so favorably disposed to Obama – three of them would be considered hard-left liberals in American politics. One of those belongs to Norway’s Socialist Left party. And all five people on the committee are politicians selected by the Norwegian parliament, and generally hew to a Norwegian view of foreign affairs — internationalist in outlook and with a broad affinity for Obama’s posture on the world stage. “Obama’s speech...

Every one was surprised that the President who has only served 9 months was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Even more surprising was that he must have been nominated less than 12 days after his inauguration, since the closing date for this year's nominees was 1 February. Strangely enough no one seems to have wondered who actually did suggest Obama as a nominee. Let's have a look at the possible nominators. Here is the list of people and organizations that are allowed to nominate from the Norwegian Nobel site:: 1. Members of national assemblies and governments of states; 2. Members...

How the Nobel Peace Prize Is Awarded The Norwegian Nobel Committee's deadline for nominations was February 1, just 11 days after Obama's inauguration. Up to 200 nominations are received annually by the committee, a number that has risen steadily as the award has become increasingly global. FOXNews.com Friday, October 09, 2009 President Obama, the third sitting American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize, was selected from a so-called "short list" of 5 to 20 finalist candidates. The Norwegian Nobel Committee's deadline for nominations was February 1, just 11 days after Obama's inauguration. Up to 200 nominations are received annually...

Below is the e-mail address of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Let those folks up there know what a joke their awarding the Peace Prize to Obama really is. postmaster@nobel.no

President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, in a surprise pick from the Norwegian Nobel Committee that cited the president's creation of a "new climate in international politics."

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2009 to US President Barak Obama. The Nobel Peace Prize is an international prize which is awarded annually by the Norwegian Nobel Committee according to guidelines laid down in Alfred Nobel's will. The Peace Prize is one of five prizes that have been awarded annually since 1901 under the auspices of the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm for outstanding contributions in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. Starting in 1969, a Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel has also been...

Did somebody say lunch?             By RICHARD MORIARTY Published: Today     THIS hungry polar bear didn't need a second invitation to pop in for lunch after smelling it being prepared on a tourist ship in the Arctic. The beast stuck its head through the porthole after smelling cauliflower soup being heated up as the boat stopped at an ice flow close to the island of Svalbard, midway between Norway and the North Pole.   Close encounter ... tourists get a rare close-up with a polar bear  Luckily wildlife photographer Andy Rouse was one of 12...

Norway is the best place in the world to live while Niger is the least desirable, according to an annual report by the United Nations. The 182 countries were ranked according to the quality of life their citizens experienced. Criteria examined included life expectancy, literacy rates, school enrolment and country economies. However the UN human development index used data collected in 2007 - before the global economic crisis. The UN Development Programme said the index highlighted the grave disparities between rich and poor countries.

Mon Oct 5, 7:53 am ET PARIS (AFP) – Norway takes the number one spot in the annual United Nations human development index released Monday but China has made the biggest strides in improving the well-being of its citizens. The index compiled by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) ranks 182 countries based on such criteria as life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Norway, Australia and Iceland took the first three spots while Niger ranks at the very bottom, just below Afghanistan. -snip- The top ten countries listed on the index are: Norway, Australia, Iceland,...

Norway takes the number one spot in the annual United Nations human development index released Monday but China has made the biggest strides in improving the well-being of its citizens. The index compiled by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) ranks 182 countries based on such criteria as life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Norway, Australia and Iceland took the first three spots while Niger ranks at the very bottom, just below Afghanistan.

ORIGINAL TITLE: "Obama-Støttegruppe Felt Av Falsk Hore Og Hhallik"Norwegian news outlet Dabgladet carries a HUGE, above the fold story on the ACORN STING including a link to the video.Here is the English quick automatic translation from the Norwegian:(TRANSLATION): "Obama-Support Group Helps Fake Whore and Pimp Tips: Tip: Send tips til Dagbladet.no MMS/SMS: 2400 Tlf: 2400 0000 e-post: 2400@db.no Send tips to Dagbladet.no MMS / SMS: 2400 Tel: 2400 0000 e-mail: 2400@db.no ACORN activists working to improve conditions for low-and mellominnteksamerikanere. The two pictured here demonstrating against what they perceive as the financial industry's gambling with the housing market, and is...

Norwegians To Vote In Tight Poll Norwegians are to vote in what is expected to be a closely fought poll between the prime minister's Labour Party and the centre-right opposition. Jens Stoltenberg, in power since 2005, has emphasised his success in guiding Norway through the economic crisis. The world's fifth biggest exporter of crude oil experienced only a brief recession and has Europe's lowest unemployment rate. His main challenger is Siv Jensen who leads the right-wing Progress Party. She has campaigned on a platform of lower taxes and tightening immigration. Currently, more than 10% of Norway's population is of foreign...

Norway’s left-leaning prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, wants his nation to renew its commitment to one of the world’s most advanced social welfare models, which has weathered the global financial crisis with nary a wobble because of the country’s carefully managed oil riches. But as Norwegians voted in parliamentary elections on Monday, Mr. Stoltenberg, 50, appeared to be on the defensive. Many voters had already told pollsters that they were weary of the high taxes and open-door asylum policies they have associated with Mr. Stoltenberg’s so-called red-green government of laborites, socialists and agrarians. The polling booths opened Sunday and close Monday...

The weekend edition of Norway's largest newspaper contained a very interesting interview with a female IFV-gunner this week. The CV-9030 gunner, witch has the somewhat fitting name of Tone Gunnes, was just 20 years old when she went to Afghanistan in the fall of 2007. She took part in the active fighting in operation Herekate Yolo II, where she (wo)manned the 30mm gun of the CV9030 IFV. She was credited with 20-25 confirmed kills during the battle of November 5. In the interview she tells her story about the battle and how she experienced it.

The Oslo Police have over the past three years investigated 41 cases of aggravated sexual assault, which resulted in rape. All of them were carried out by non-western immigrants to Norway. The police now urge that more efforts be put into preventive measures among men with immigrant background. The police have investigated all reported cases of aggravated sexual assault over the past three years, and have gained a clear imprssion of the offenders: Most of the rapists have a Kurdish or African background, NRK reports. The cases of aggravated sexual assults all have one thing in common, namely the use...

Congo is demanding 3038 billion norwegian kroner (500 billion US dollars) in compensation for an alleged Norwegian plot involving the Norwegian king and the Ugandans against the state of Congo.

A Norwegian team is set to embark on an expedition to find the submerged wreck of a plane which carried Norway's great polar explorer Roald Amundsen.Amundsen was aboard a Latham 47 sea plane when the aircraft disappeared over the sea on its way to the Arctic island of Spitsbergen in 1928. Two ships will set sail from the Norwegian city of Tromso on Monday to begin the two-week expedition. The team will use an underwater robot to scan for the plane using sonar. Between 1910 and 1912, Amundsen led the first expedition to reach the South Pole, reaching the target...