Foreign News

Tight vote in Norway to decide whether to stick with Labour or turn right

Published

5 months ago

2025/09/7

Priyan

Conservative Erna Solberg is challenged by Labour's Jonas Gahr Støre during a TV debate in the run-up to the election [BBC]

Norwegians go to the polls on Sunday and Monday in a tight race to decide whether to continue with a Labour-led government or turn to the centre right.

There are only four million voters in this founding member of Nato, which shares an Artic border with Russia and is part of the EU’s single market but not a member state.

Despite its small population, Norway has long punched above its weight on the international stage, and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine – as well as US trade tariffs – have played a significant part in the election campaign.

Nevertheless, in the final stretch of the race, the focus has switched to the increasing cost of living and inequality.

“Public spending, school and infrastructure, railway infrastructure and road construction, those kinds of things,” says Andreas, who is father to a small child, about what he considers the key issues.

This domestic focus became clear during Norway’s summer politics fest in the small town of Arendal, last month.

Every year, Norway’s political class joins company bosses, unions and the public on the south-east coast for an array of panel talks and meetings. This time, it opened with a nationally televised election debate in which all the main political leaders took part.

Among them was Labour Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, 65, who is aiming for a second term in office after eight years of conservative rule ended in 2021.

He is fighting off a challenge from a bloc made up of two conservative parties: the right-wing populist Progress Party under Sylvi Listhaug, 47, which has risen in popularity, and the Høyre party of ex-Prime Minister Erna Solberg, which is looking to return to power.

BBC/Alex Maxia A man and woman, both political leaders, stand behind a microphone in front of a dark wooden panelled wall — *Silvi Listhaug (L) and Jonas Gahr Støre answer questions during the annual festival in Arendal [BBC]*

One of the hot-button issues of the campaign has been the future of a 1% wealth tax, which Norwegians pay if their assets add up to more than 1.76m Norwegian kroner (£130,000; $175,000).

Hundreds of wealthy Norwegians have already left the country for Switzerland in recent years, anecdotally because of their native country’s high taxes.

Can that exodus be reversed?

Sylvi Listhaug has called for the abolition of the wealth tax and cutting other taxes too, while Solberg’s conservatives want to remove the wealth tax on what they call “working capital”, such as shares.

Labour refuses to go that far but has promised a wide-ranging review of taxation. It has heavyweight former Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg in charge of finance and he warns against creating a tax system that means the wealthiest in Norway end up paying little or no tax.

Opinion polls ahead of the vote have put Labour in the lead, ahead of Listhaug’s Progress party and the conservatives, and buoyed partly by the “Stoltenberg effect”.

But if the combined forces of the centre right win, one of the big questions of this election is which of the two party leaders would be prime minister.

Solberg, 67, who was prime minister for eight years, has so far refused to accept the idea that her populist rival could take office ahead of her, suggesting that voters see her as too polarising as a politician.

Foreign policy has rarely been far away from the election campaign, and recent weeks have been dominated by a move by Norway’s sovereign wealth fund – the world’s largest – to scrap investments in almost half the Israeli companies it held because of alleged rights violations.

The $1.9tn (£1.4tn) fund, built up over decades from Norway’s enormous oil and gas resources, is managed by the central bank but it has to follow ethical guidelines.

Buffeted by political headwinds surrounding the Gaza war, the fund’s chief executive Nicolai Tangen, has described its recent decisions as “my worst-ever crisis”.

*Nicolai Tangen also appeared at the annual conference in Arendal last month [BBC]*

Although Norway is part of Nato, it has never been part of the European Union.

It does have access to the EU’s single market through its membership of the European Economic Area, so it has to respect its rules. And it is part of the EU’s border-free Schengen zone.

Russia’s war in Ukraine may have brought Norway closer to its European neighbours on a range of levels, but the question of joining the EU has been barely touched on during the election campaign as parties are wary of losing voters on such a polarising issue.

“There’s still a massive ‘no vote’ in Norway. And so the voters are not there,” said journalist Fredrik Solvang, who was one of the moderators of the TV debate in Arendal.

For Solberg’s conservatives, working actively towards EU membership is a core policy, but it would have to be based on a referendum.

“So it’s not about this election campaign,” she told the BBC. “And of course, as long as we don’t see a clearer move towards a majority for EU membership, none of us will start a new debate about the referendum.”

“The Labour Party has always been pro-EU, but it’s not a topic on the agenda today,” said foreign minister Espen Barth Eide.

“I’m not precluding that it could happen in the future if major things happen, but right now, my mandate as foreign minister is to try to maintain as best as possible the relationship as we have it.”

*Norway’s political leaders have taken part in several TV debates during the campaign [BBC]*

Part of the TV debate in Arendal featured a duel between party leaders from the same side in politics.

When two parties on the centre right – the Liberals who want to join the EU and the Christian Democrats who don’t – were offered a choice between the EU or Pride flags in schools, they preferred to discuss flags.

“I guess with the geopolitical status, it’s an unsure future and I think that we maybe have to take the discussion seriously,” said Iver Hoen, a nurse.

Christina Stuyck, who has both Norwegian and Spanish nationality, agrees.

“I think Norwegian politics kind of acts as if it’s on a separate island to the rest of the world and isn’t affected, but clearly it is.”

Norway’s political system requires parties to attract 4% of the vote to get into parliament, and because it has proportional representation no party can govern on its own.

To form a majority in the 169-seat Storting, a coalition needs 85 seats, and minority governments have long been common in Norway.

Støre’s Labour Party formed a minority government with the Centre party after the last election, but that two-party coalition collapsed in January in a row over EU energy policies.

The centre-right bloc has its own disagreements, so this election may end up with no clear majority when votes are counted on Monday evening.

***[BBC]***

Bloomberg via Getty Images A man in a checked-blue jacket and light blue shirt stretches his hands out as he talks, while a woman looks on — *Silvi Listhaug (L) and Jonas Gahr Støre answer questions during the annual festival in Arendal [BBC]*

One of the hot-button issues of the campaign has been the future of a 1% wealth tax, which Norwegians pay if their assets add up to more than 1.76m Norwegian kroner (£130,000; $175,000).

Hundreds of wealthy Norwegians have already left the country for Switzerland in recent years, anecdotally because of their native country’s high taxes.

Can that exodus be reversed?

Sylvi Listhaug has called for the abolition of the wealth tax and cutting other taxes too, while Solberg’s conservatives want to remove the wealth tax on what they call “working capital”, such as shares.

Labour refuses to go that far but has promised a wide-ranging review of taxation. It has heavyweight former Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg in charge of finance and he warns against creating a tax system that means the wealthiest in Norway end up paying little or no tax.

Opinion polls ahead of the vote have put Labour in the lead, ahead of Listhaug’s Progress party and the conservatives, and buoyed partly by the “Stoltenberg effect”.

But if the combined forces of the centre right win, one of the big questions of this election is which of the two party leaders would be prime minister.

Solberg, 67, who was prime minister for eight years, has so far refused to accept the idea that her populist rival could take office ahead of her, suggesting that voters see her as too polarising as a politician.

Foreign policy has rarely been far away from the election campaign, and recent weeks have been dominated by a move by Norway’s sovereign wealth fund – the world’s largest – to scrap investments in almost half the Israeli companies it held because of alleged rights violations.

The $1.9tn (£1.4tn) fund, built up over decades from Norway’s enormous oil and gas resources, is managed by the central bank but it has to follow ethical guidelines.

Buffeted by political headwinds surrounding the Gaza war, the fund’s chief executive Nicolai Tangen, has described its recent decisions as “my worst-ever crisis”.

*Nicolai Tangen also appeared at the annual conference in Arendal last month [BBC]*

Although Norway is part of Nato, it has never been part of the European Union.

It does have access to the EU’s single market through its membership of the European Economic Area, so it has to respect its rules. And it is part of the EU’s border-free Schengen zone.

Russia’s war in Ukraine may have brought Norway closer to its European neighbours on a range of levels, but the question of joining the EU has been barely touched on during the election campaign as parties are wary of losing voters on such a polarising issue.

“There’s still a massive ‘no vote’ in Norway. And so the voters are not there,” said journalist Fredrik Solvang, who was one of the moderators of the TV debate in Arendal.

For Solberg’s conservatives, working actively towards EU membership is a core policy, but it would have to be based on a referendum.

“So it’s not about this election campaign,” she told the BBC. “And of course, as long as we don’t see a clearer move towards a majority for EU membership, none of us will start a new debate about the referendum.”

“The Labour Party has always been pro-EU, but it’s not a topic on the agenda today,” said foreign minister Espen Barth Eide.

“I’m not precluding that it could happen in the future if major things happen, but right now, my mandate as foreign minister is to try to maintain as best as possible the relationship as we have it.”

*Norway’s political leaders have taken part in several TV debates during the campaign [BBC]*

Part of the TV debate in Arendal featured a duel between party leaders from the same side in politics.

When two parties on the centre right – the Liberals who want to join the EU and the Christian Democrats who don’t – were offered a choice between the EU or Pride flags in schools, they preferred to discuss flags.

“I guess with the geopolitical status, it’s an unsure future and I think that we maybe have to take the discussion seriously,” said Iver Hoen, a nurse.

Christina Stuyck, who has both Norwegian and Spanish nationality, agrees.

“I think Norwegian politics kind of acts as if it’s on a separate island to the rest of the world and isn’t affected, but clearly it is.”

Norway’s political system requires parties to attract 4% of the vote to get into parliament, and because it has proportional representation no party can govern on its own.

To form a majority in the 169-seat Storting, a coalition needs 85 seats, and minority governments have long been common in Norway.

Støre’s Labour Party formed a minority government with the Centre party after the last election, but that two-party coalition collapsed in January in a row over EU energy policies.

The centre-right bloc has its own disagreements, so this election may end up with no clear majority when votes are counted on Monday evening.

***[BBC]***

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Foreign News

Naqvi casts uncertainty on Pakistan’s participation in T20 World Cup after Bangladesh ouster

Published

2 days ago

2026/01/25

Priyan

Mohsin Naqvi said the decision to play in the T20 World Cup or not now rests with the Pakistan government [Cricinfo]

Pakistan’s participation at the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has been thrown into uncertainty after the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said a final decision would be made after talking to Pakistan’s government. Speaking shortly after the ICC officially removed Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup owing to their refusal to play in India, Naqvi accused the ICC of “double standards” favouring India, and termed what happened to Bangladesh “an injustice”.

“Our stance on World Cup participation will be what the government of Pakistan instructs me,” he said. “The Prime Minister is not in Pakistan right now. When he returns, I’ll be able to give you our final decision. It’s the government’s decision. We obey them, not the ICC.”

Over the past week or so, Pakistan has firmly thrown its support behind Bangladesh in their dispute with the ICC demanding a venue outside of India to play their T20 World Cup matches. At an ICC meeting last week, the PCB was understood to be the only board to back the BCB in their stance. The tournament is jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, but Bangladesh’s games were all scheduled in India. Bangladesh, however, have said it is no longer safe for them to play in India after the BCCI, on January 3, instructed Kilkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman rom their IPL 2026 squad.

Though no reason was stated for that directive, it came amid deteriorating relations between India and Bangladesh. On January 4, the BCB wrote to the ICC after consultation with the government that the Bangladesh team would not travel to India for its T20 World Cup matches due to security concerns, a stance it stuck to through several subsequent discussions with the ICC.

The ICC has repeatedly refused Bangladesh’s request, and earlier this week gave them an ultimatum demanding them to accept the schedule as it was, or face being removed from the tournament. On Saturday, with Bangladesh sticking to their position, the ICC formally announced Bangladesh would not be part of the T20 World Cup, and would be replaced instead by Scotland.

Naqvi was critical of the decision, calling it an injustice to Bangladesh. “I think Bangladesh has been hard done by,” he said. “You can’t have double standards. You can’t say for one country [India] they can do whatever they want and for the others to have to do the complete opposite. That’s why we’ve taken this stand, and made clear Bangladesh have had an injustice done to them. They should play in the World Cup, they are a major stakeholder in cricket.”

While there have been local, unverified reports that the PCB would refuse to participate in the World Cup in solidarity with Bangladesh should they be removed, the PCB has declined to confirm to ESPNcricinfo when approached. Naqvi’s comments to the media on Saturday was the first time anyone at the PCB has directly addressed the issue, where he repeatedly said the decision was no longer in the hands of the PCB.

“If the government of Pakistan says we mustn’t play, then maybe the ICC will bring in a 22nd team (after Scotland). It’s up to the government.”

No specific reason was given by Naqvi other than to support Bangladesh, as to why government permission would now be required for an event that starts in two weeks. Last year, both BCCI and PCB, with the approval of ICC, signed up to a hybrid model agreement by which both countries would play each other on neutral territory for all global events in the 2024-27 rights cycle.

Pakistan play all their games in Sri Lanka for this event (which already was a co-hosted event) and are scheduled to play the opening game of the tournament, against Netherlands on February 7. They are scheduled to play India on February 15 in Colombo in their group stage clash.

[Cricinfo]

Foreign News

Indonesia landslide kills 7, dozens more missing

Published

2 days ago

2026/01/24

Priyan

At least seven people have died and more than 80 others are missing after a landslide hit Indonesia’s West Java province, officials said.

The landslide occurred in the West Bandung region, south-east of the capital Jakarta, following days of intense rainfall.

More than thirty homes were destroyed after “landslide material buried residential areas, causing fatalities and affecting local residents”, Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said in a statement.

Flooding, landslide and extreme weather alerts have also been issued for the broader region.

The landslide hit the village of Pasirlangu around 02:30AM on Saturday [24] (19:30 GMT).

Two dozen people were evacuated safely from the affected region, according to Abdul Muhari, communication chief of the National Search Agency.

Images shared by local news outlets showed homes buried under mud and debris.

[BBC]

Foreign News

Alleged drug kingpin and ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding arrested after years on the run

Published

3 days ago

2026/01/24

Priyan

Wedding, seen in an undated photo released by the FBI

Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding has been arrested in Mexico and will be extradited to the US after years on the run, FBI Director Kash Patel has said.

Wedding, who had been on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking operation that moved tonnes of cocaine across international borders.

Wedding, 44, was also wanted on murder charges. US officials had said they believed Wedding was living in Mexico under the Sinaloa drug cartel’s protection.

The head of Canada’s federal police force, which assisted in the investigation, spoke alongside Patel on Friday to praise the law enforcement operation.

Wedding is accused of running a vast drug trafficking operation responsible for importing some 60 metric tonnes of cocaine a year.

The organisation operated across North America, as well as several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and was also the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada, bringing in an estimated $1bn a year.

Before he was arrested, Wedding was accused of killing a federal witness in a case against him. Officials say he has also ordered the murders of several others.

Wedding is now facing a slew of felony charges, including witness tampering and intimidation, murder, money laundering and drug trafficking.

The FBI had previously placed a $15m (£11m) reward for information leading to his arrest. Patel declined to comment on whether anyone would be claiming the reward money.

US officials have released limited details regarding how Wedding was captured, except to say that his arrest took place on Thursday night in Mexico City.

Mexico’s top security official, Omar García Harfuch, said in a post on X that Patel had visited Mexico City on Thursday, and departed with two fugitives on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.

He did not name the men arrested, but said one was a “Canadian citizen who voluntarily surrendered” at the US embassy in Mexico.

The Associated Press, citing an unnamed Mexican Security Cabinet member, reported that Wedding is the Canadian who turned himself in at the US embassy.

In his remarks at a news conference, Patel described Wedding as a “modern-day Pablo Escobar”, referring to the Colombian cartel leader. US officials have also compared him to Mexican drug dealer Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

“When you go after a guy like Ryan Wedding, it takes a united front,” Patel said, thanking Canadian and Mexican authorities for their help in the investigation.

Patel also thanked the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, who participated in taking Wedding into custody.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Patel praised the team, which had also been involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro weeks earlier.

“This was a complex, high-stakes operation with zero margin for error,” Patel told the magazine.

“I was on the ground with our team in Mexico and witnessed extraordinary teamwork, precision, and trust between our agents and partners in Mexico.”

Wedding’s aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King,” and “Jesse King”, the FBI said. He has reportedly had plastic surgery to change his appearance while on the run.

Officials allege that he launched his criminal enterprise following his release from a US federal prison in 2011, where he was serving a sentence for cocaine distribution.

Authorities allege he has ordered dozens of murders across the globe, including in the US, Canada and Latin America.

Getty Images Sign showing $15m reward for Ryan James Wedding — *The FBI had offered a $15m reward for Ryan Wedding (BBC)*

It is unclear to whom the medals belong. Wedding competed for Canada in the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, but did not win any medals. He came in 24th place in the men’s giant parallel slalom ski event.

In November, the FBI seized his rare 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR, which had been valued at $13m.

Patel also spoke about the recent arrest of another man in Mexico who had been on the FBI’s most wanted list.

American man Alejandro Castillo was wanted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. According to the FBI, he has been in hiding in Mexico for nearly 10 years, and will now be extradited back to North Carolina for trial.

(BBC)