ostponed the move because of worries he could
face execution or torture in Iraq.
(SFC, 1/2/04, p.A3)(AP, 2/14/12)
2004 Jan 19, The freighter MS
Rocknes capsized in a narrow inlet between the island of Bjoroey and
Norway's western coast, less than 200 yards from land after it put
out a distress call. The 30 crew members included 24 Filipinos,
three Dutch, two Norwegians and one German. 12 crew members were
rescued. The death toll was put at 18.
(AP, 1/20/04)(WSJ, 1/21/04, p.A1)
2004 Mar 25, A Norwegian
Academy awarded the Abel Prize in Mathematics to Isadore M. Singer
of MIT and Sir Michael F. Atiyah of the Univ. of Edinburgh for
discovering and proving the mathematical concept called the "index
(SFC, 3/26/04, p.A15)
2004 Jul 2, A Norwegian strike
began targeting the oil exploration sector. It incidentally affected
two mobile production units, the Petrojarl I, which ceased
operations in early September, and the Petrojarl Varg.
2004 Aug 22, In Oslo, Norway,
armed men stormed into the Munch Museum, threatened staff at
gunpoint and stole 2 of Edvard Munch's famous paintings, "The
Scream" and "Madonna" before the eyes of stunned museum-goers.
Another of 4 versions of “The Scream" was stolen in 1994. Police
recovered both paintings in 2006. In 2007 3 men were sentenced to
prison for their roles in the heist. The 3 were ordered to pay a
total of $262 million in compensation.
(AP, 8/22/04)(WSJ, 8/24/04, p.A1)(SFC, 9/1/06,
p.A2)(SFC, 4/24/07, p.D6)
2004 Sep 29, An Algerian asylum
seeker on a commuter plane in northern Norway attacked both pilots
and a passenger with an ax as the aircraft was landing.
2004 Oct 11, Edward C. Prescott
(63), an American, and Finn E. Kydland (60), a Norwegian, won the
2004 Nobel Memorial Prize in economics for shedding light on how
government policies and actions affect economies around the world.
2004 Oct 25, The Norwegian
Shipowners Association threatened to lock out more oil and gas rig
workers, a move analysts said could result in a near shutdown of the
third-largest petroleum exporter's production and drive world oil
prices even higher.
2004 Nov, Norway adopted new
rules that barred investments in its national Petroleum Fund “which
constitute an unacceptable risk that the Fund may contribute to
unethical acts or omissions."
(WSJ, 12/1/05, p.A11)
2004 Dec 5, It was reported
that the Norwegian firm Hydro and Qatar's state energy company
signed a deal to build one of world's largest aluminium plants in
the gas-rich Gulf state at a cost of three billion dollars.
2005 Jan 1, Norway was forecast
for 3% annual GDP growth with a population at 4.6 million and GDP
per head at $55,290.
(Econ, 1/1/05, p.89)
2005 Feb 22, It was reported
that Norway finished 2004 with the world’s best performing equities
market, based on nominal return on equity investment in dollar
(WSJ, 2/22/05, p.C20)
2005 Mar 6, In Norway 3 works
by Edvard Munch were stolen from a hotel, the second theft of the
renowned Norwegian's art in less than seven months.
2005 Apr 13, Norway’s Statoil
ASA announced oil exploration drilling from the offshore rig Eirik
Raude has been shut down after its 3rd spill into ecologically
fragile Arctic waters in just over two months.
2005 May 23, The Norwegian
Petroleum Directorate announced a wildcat exploration well drilled
in the Norwegian Sea has made a promising natural gas strike,
although it was too early to say how large.
2005 May, Norway announced a
new biennial prize for science, the Kavli prize, funded by
philanthropist Fred Kavli to begin in 2008. Only the fields of
astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience would be considered for
the $1 million prize.
(Econ, 5/14/05, p.84)
2005 Jun 8, In Norway US
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and his Norwegian counterpart
on signed an agreement allowing the US military to continue storing
2005 Jun 10, King Harald V of
Norway and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden met in the middle of the
Svinesund bridge and opened the span over a fjord south of Oslo.
2005 Jun 24, A Norwegian court
sentenced the pilot of a British Airways jet to six months in prison
for pre