Foreign News

Norway princess and US shaman’s wedding begins after years of ‘turmoil

Published

2 years ago

2024/08/30

Priyan

Norway's Princess Märtha Louise and US self-described shaman Durek Verrett in 2022 (BBC)

Festivities have begun for the wedding of Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise and her American partner, self-styled shaman Durek Verrett.

Hundreds of guests are arriving in the town of Alesund, in western Norway, for a “meet and greet” in a historic hotel.

On Friday, they will travel by sea to the scenic town of Geiranger, on the shores of a fjord designated a Unesco World Heritage Site. The wedding programme says that guests will enjoy a “light lunch on the boat while witnessing the majestic mountains and waterfalls”.

The couple will then tie the knot at a private event on Saturday.

Members of the Swedish royal family are said to be attending alongside various social media influencers and TV personalities, including US reality star and model Cynthia Bailey.

According to Norwegian media, guests have been asked not to use mobile phones or cameras during the celebrations and not to post anything on social media.

Princess Märtha Louise, 52, and Mr Verrett, 49, announced their engagement in 2022.

The princess – a former equestrian and the eldest of Norwegian King Harald’s two children – was previously married to the late writer and artist Ari Behn, with whom she had three daughters – Maud, Leah and Emma. The two divorced in 2017. Mr Behn, who had discussed suffering from depression, died on Christmas Day 2019.

Märtha Louise has long attracted controversy in Norway for decades for her involvement in alternative treatments. She lost her honorific “Her Royal Highness” title in 2002 so as to be allowed to start her own business. In 2007, she announced she was clairvoyant and, until 2018, ran a school which she said taught students to “create miracles” and talk to angels.

Last year, Märtha Louise told the BBC’s Katty Kay that there had been so much “turmoil” concerning her decision to take a different path than that of a “traditional royal”. “There’s been a lot of criticism over the years, especially with me being spiritual – and in Norway, that’s taboo,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mr Verrett says on his site that he is a sixth generation shaman, “servant of god and energy activator” who “demystifies spirituality” through his “no-nonsense teachings”.

In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, he claimed to have risen from the dead and said that when he was a child a relative had predicted he would one day marry the princess of Norway.

Getty Images View of Geiranger and the fjords — *The town of Geiranger in western Norway, where the couple will marry on Saturday*

Princess Märtha Louise announced her relationship with Mr Verrett with an Instagram post in 2019. Perhaps hoping to pre-empt potential criticism, she wrote: “To those of you who feel the need to criticise: Hold your horses. It is not up to you to choose for me or to judge me. Shaman Durek is merely a man I love spending my time with and who fulfils me.”

However, many Norwegians have not yet fully accepted Mr Verrett. “They think he has said very strange things and there are many cultural differences,” said royal correspondent for Norway’s NRK TV Kristi Marie Skrede. ”Many people here are very critical of what Mr Verrett says and does in his role as a shaman.”

Despite the couple’s spiritual beliefs, this weekend’s wedding ceremony will follow a more traditional canon, with Parish Priest Margit Lovise Holte officiating according to the Norwegian Church’s wedding liturgy.

When the engagement was first announced, Norway’s state broadcaster NRK reported Mr Verrett would move to Norway and join the royal family without holding a title. He and Märtha Louise have now reportedly bought a house in Norway.

In 2022, the Norwegian palace announced Märtha Louise would relinquish her patronage role as she and Mr Verrett sought to “distinguish more clearly between their activities and the Royal House of Norway” and to “prevent misunderstandings regarding the Royal House”.

It added that King Harald had decided she would keep her title but that the princess would not use it in her commercial endeavours.

At the time, King Harald told Norwegian reporters that Mr Verrett was “a great guy” and that the two of them “laughed a lot, even in this difficult time. I think both we and he have gained a greater understanding of what this is about, and we’ve agreed to disagree.”

However, over the summer Märtha Louise came under fire after her name and royal title appeared on the label of a commemorative wedding gin created to mark her nuptials.

Ms Skrede said many Norwegians are “tired of this behaviour”, which some feel shows the princess “disrespects” her father. Beloved King Harald, 88, ascended to the throne in 1991 and is one of Europe’s longest-serving monarchs. In April, plans were announced to reduce his public engagements “out of consideration for his age”.

Locals are also upset that Norwegian media is excluded from covering the wedding as the couple has signed deals with Hello! magazine for exclusive coverage. “This means the public won’t know or see anything about it unless they buy the magazine,” Ms Skrede said.

On Wednesday, it was also revealed that the couple has been working with Netflix for a year on what the streaming giant called an “in-depth and moving documentary” on their relationship.

“We’re going more global and there’s nothing more powerful than the love that fuels us,” Mr Verrett wrote on Instagram.

Princess Märtha Louise is King Harald’s eldest child and fourth in line to the throne. Her younger brother, Crown Prince Haakon, will succeed his father as king.

(BBC)

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Foreign News

Malta businessman acquitted of plotting journalist Caruana Galizia murder

Published

7 hours ago

2026/09/3

Priyan

The sons of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Matthew, Andrew and Paul are seen in Valletta, Malta [Aljazeera]

A court in Malta has acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of masterminding the murder of prominent anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Fenech, 44, was acquitted on Wednesday at the end of a jury trial. He had been tried on charges of complicity to murder and for the lesser charge of criminal association to commit murder.

If found guilty, Fenech could have faced life in prison.

Caruana Galizia’s family were seen weeping in the packed courtroom in Valletta after the businessman was cleared of both counts by an 8-1 margin following eight hours of deliberation by the jury.

“Nine years after Daphne’s brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed,” the slain reporter’s family said in a statement.

“Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again. Our country failed to protect Daphne’s life. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost.”

Fenech’s family members were seen celebrating the jury’s decision.

The killing of Caruana Galizia in October 2017 shocked Europe’s journalist community and set off a political firestorm in Malta, focusing international attention on its police and judiciary.

Dubbed a “one-woman WikiLeaks”, Caruana Galizia had exposed corruption at the highest level in the Mediterranean island country, shining a spotlight on links between Malta’s business and political elites. She was 53 when she was killed.

Prosecutors argued that Fenech had wanted Caruana Galizia killed because she was about to reveal information about him.

Fenech has denied the accusations. His defence instead pointed fingers at his one-time friend Keith Schembri, the former chief of staff of then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and a target of Caruana Galizia’s blogs.

Muscat, who was never linked to the murder, stepped down in January 2020 due to the political fallout from the assassination.

Police told the court that Schembri had never been a suspect. He has denied any role in the murder.

An independent inquiry in 2021 found that officials in Malta had failed to protect Caruana Galizia from threats to her life before her death.

[Aljazeera]

Foreign News

Head teacher evacuated 900 children minutes before school washed away by Nepal floods

Published

4 days ago

2026/08/30

Priyan

A head teacher’s quick decision to evacuate his school saved 900 pupils from deadly flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border

Rajendra Dawadi tells the BBC he was tipped off about incoming flood waters and moved students to higher ground with just minutes to spare. One pupil says she and her friends survived by just 10 seconds and watched as a nearby bazaar was swept away

Wednesday’s disaster has killed at least 794 people and more than 2,500 people are missing in Nepal, local officials say

In Tibet, the official death toll is 16, with 546 reported to be missing, according to Chinese state media –

[BBC]

Foreign News

Ferry carrying 260 people capsizes off northern Cyprus coast

Published

4 days ago

2026/08/30

Priyan

A ferry carrying around 260 people has capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus with a search underway for survivors, according to local media.

The catamaran-style boat was travelling from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, and started sinking a few kilometres off the coast of the island state on Sunday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

[Aljazeera]