Foreign News

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

Published

6 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

Rembrandt painting worth millions rediscovered after 65 years

Published

14 hours ago

2026/03/3

Priyan

Rembrandt was 27 when he painted the high priest Zacharias, father of John the Baptist [BBC]

A long lost painting by Rembrandt has been rediscovered and authenticated by experts, after its whereabouts were unknown for decades.

Rembrandt’s Vision of Zacharias in the Temple, from 1633, was excluded from a list of the Dutch master’s works in 1960, and disappeared after being sold to a private collector the following year.

But it resurfaced when its owners presented it for tests at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which undertook a two-year examination.

“When I saw it in our studio when it was restored, I was immediately struck by the incredible power it has,” Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits said.

Kelly Schenk, Rijksmuseum Detail showing the high priest Zacharias holding a large book and wearing ornate robes in Rembrandt’s Vision of Zacharias in the Temple (1633)

The Rijksmuseum receives many emails from people asking for information about paintings they have inherited or bought, Dibbits said. In this case, they knew it could be something special.

“It came to us via email and one of our curators thought, this is really an interesting image, we’ve known about the painting for over 100 years but we’ve never seen it.”

The museum confirmed the authenticity after studying the paints, which fit with those used by Rembrandt during that period, and the painting technique and build-up of layers, which are also comparable with his other early works.

The signature is original and the wooden panel dates from the correct period, the researchers said.

“Materials analysis, stylistic and thematic similarities, alterations made by Rembrandt, and the overall quality of the painting all support the conclusion that this painting is a genuine work,” the gallery said.

The painting has all the hallmarks of Rembrandt at the “peak” of the early part of his career, Dibbits said.

“It’s very high quality. Sometimes with Rembrandt’s portraits you feel that he’s producing in quantity, but with this painting you really feel that he dedicated his soul to it.”

The museum will put the painting on public view from Wednesday.

Its value is not known, but the world record auction price for a Rembrandt painting is £20m, set in 2009.

Other Rembrandt paintings to be sold in recent years include one for £8.6m in 2019, a self-portrait for £12.6m in 2020, and another once-lost Rembrandt work for £11m in 2023.

In 2015, a Rembrandt painting was given a price tag of £35m by the UK government after being sold privately.

Last month, a drawing of a lion by the artist sold for $18m (£13m).

Kelly Schenk, Rijksmuseum Rembrandt’s Vision of Zacharias in the Temple (1633) on an easel

Rembrandt was 27 when he created the painting, which depicts the Biblical scene when priest Zacharias is told by the Archangel Gabriel that despite their age, he and his wife will have a son, John the Baptist.

The museum said Rembrandt had given the Biblical story an innovative twist. Instead of depicting the Archangel Gabriel visibly, he only suggested his presence. In doing so, he departed from established visual traditions and introduced a new way of representing this subject.

Rembrandt deliberately chose the decisive moment, just before Gabriel reveals his true identity.

It is one of the few history paintings Rembrandt created during this period. At the time, he was primarily producing portraits, which were highly lucrative.

[BBC]

Foreign News

War photographer Paul Conroy dies as tributes paid

Published

2 days ago

2026/03/2

Priyan

Paul Conroy captured images from conflicts in Syria, Rwanda and Ukraine [BBC]

Tributes have been paid to the war photographer Paul Conroy who has died at the age of 61.

He covered conflicts around the world and was wounded in the Syrian army’s bombardment of Homs, which killed his Sunday Times colleague Marie Colvin in 2012.

Their fateful assignment was depicted in the 2018 movie A Private War, with the actor Jamie Dornan playing Conroy.

The Liverpool-born photographer died from a heart attack on Saturday in Devon, where he had lived, his brother Alan told the BBC.

“He did all his life what he wanted to do to make a difference – he found great pleasure in exposing wrongs,” Alan added.

BBC newsreader Clive Myrie posted that he was “utterly devastated” by the news, describing Conroy as “a wonderful photojournalist and a wonderful human being”.

“I counted him as a friend and a decent, principled and kind man. My brutha you will be sorely missed. RIP”

Lindsey Hilsum, international editor at Channel 4, added: “All of us who knew and loved him are devastated.”

BBC/Arrow International Media/Paul Conroy Image of Paul Conroy and Maire Colvin in protective helmets and bulletproof vest in Libya — *Paul Conroy and Maire Colvin worked together on various assignments including in Libya (above) [BBC]*

Conroy also spent seven years with the Royal Artillery as a soldier before becoming a professional photographer and was a trustee of the Frontline Club for media professionals, diplomats and aid workers.

Its founder Vaughan Smith, who was also in the Army, said: “He was one of the characters – those people who stand out because everybody adores them and they make you feel better.”

The 2018 documentary Under the Wire was made about Conroy’s escape from the 2012 bombardment of a makeshift media centre in Homs, where his colleagues Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik were killed.

Referring to the Syrians who were killed in the area, he said: “These beautiful people who were being slaughtered, I wanted to tell their story.”

He only realised how badly injured he was when he returned to the UK.

“Obviously I knew I had a huge hole in the back of my leg,” he said.

“But in London I found out I also had a great big piece of shrapnel wedged under my kidneys. I had 23 operations on my leg and others on my abdomen and back. I was in hospital for five months.”

Conroy worked in Libya and Ukraine and had recently returned from an assignment in Cuba.

He also took photos for the British singer Joss Stone and wrote music with her.

She said she was “so grateful to have known him and honoured to call him my friend”.

“I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Paul. Paul Conroy was a legend. A wonderful person through and through. Always standing up for what was right. Always there for those in need.”

He leaves behind a wife, three sons and grandchildren.

***[BBC]***

Foreign News

Iran begins 40-day mourning after Khamenei killed in US-Israeli attack

Published

2 days ago

2026/03/1

Priyan

People mourn at the Enghelab Square in Tehran [Aljazeera]

Iran has begun 40 days of mourning after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in ongoing attacks by the United States and Israel, according to Iranian state media.

Top security officials were also killed in Saturday’s strikes, along with Khamenei’s daughter, son-in-law and grandson. The killings mark one of the most significant blows to Iran’s leadership since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the killing as “a great crime”, according to a statement from his office. He also declared seven days of public holidays in addition to the 40-day mourning period.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said people were pouring into the streets of the capital following the news of Khamenei’s killing.

“There will be expected ceremonies,” he said, noting they would likely take place amid continuing bombardment across the country.

Protests denouncing Khamenei’s killing were also reported elsewhere, including Shiraz, Yasuj and Lorestan.

Footage aired by Iranian state media showed supporters mourning at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, with several people seen crying and collapsing in grief.

The killing also led to protests in neighbouring Iraq, which declared three days of public mourning. In Baghdad, protesters confronted security forces in the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses Iraqi government buildings and foreign embassies.

Videos verified by Al Jazeera showed demonstrators waving flags and shouting slogans, with witnesses saying some were attempting to mobilise towards the US Embassy. Footage also showed protesters blocking vehicles at a roundabout near one of the entrances to the area.

Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite armed groups gather after the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Baghdad — *Protesters demonstrate near the entrance of the Green Zone after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 1, 2026 [Aljazeera]*

There was also a protest in the Pakistani city of Karachi, where footage, verified by Al Jazeera, showed people setting fire to and smashing the windows of the US consulate.

However, there have also been reports of celebrations in Iran, with the Reuters news agency quoting witnesses as saying some people had taken to the streets in Tehran, the nearby city of Karaj and the central city of Isfahan.

Meanwhile, the official IRNA news agency reported that a three-person council, consisting of the country’s president, the chief of the judiciary, and one of the jurists of the Guardian Council, will temporarily assume all leadership duties in the country. The body will temporarily oversee the country until a new supreme leader is elected.

Khamenei assumed leadership of Iran in 1989 following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had led the Islamic revolution a decade earlier.

While Khomeini was regarded as the ideological force behind the revolution that ended the Pahlavi monarchy, Khamenei went on to shape Iran’s military and paramilitary apparatus, strengthening both its domestic control and its regional influence.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pledged revenge and said it had launched strikes on 27 bases hosting US troops in the region, as well as Israeli military facilities in Tel Aviv.

[Aljazeera]