Sunday, August 3, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Norwegian deep-sea mining halted

Published 4 December 2024
– By Editorial Staff
The World Wildlife Fund calls seabed mining “madness”.
1 minute read

The Norwegian government is halting the handing out of licenses for seabed mining. Reportedly, the plans are temporarily hampered due to tough budget negotiations.

At the beginning of the year, the Norwegian Parliament voted in favor of so-called deep-sea mining, that is, mining on the seabed. The minerals they hoped to extract included cobalt, magnesium, nickel and copper. The decision was met with strong criticism, including from 120 MPs and MEPs from 19 different parliaments, who sent a letter to Norwegian politicians urging them to say no to mining.

Over the weekend, the Norwegian government negotiated the state budget for next year. There it was decided to postpone the planned mining, an initiative mainly driven by the Socialist Left (SV).

We have stopped the plans to open up mining on the seabed, says party leader Kirsti Bergstø.

Only a pause

The Norwegian branch of WWF welcomes the decision. It had previously filed a lawsuit against the government over the deep-sea mining plans.

– The government rushed ahead, ignoring warnings from experts about significant knowledge gaps that made seabed mining indefensible. Fortunately, SV has recognized the seriousness of the situation and taken responsibility to stop the madness, said Karoline Andaur, Secretary General of WWF.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre emphasizes that this is a pause in the plans, not a definitive stop to seabed mining.

It will be a postponement and we have to be able to accept that, Støre told Norwegian TV 2.

TNT is truly independent!

We don’t have a billionaire owner, and our unique reader-funded model keeps us free from political or corporate influence. This means we can fearlessly report the facts and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power.

Consider a donation to keep our independent journalism running…

OpenAI opens data center in Norway

The future of AI

Published today 10:23
– By Editorial Staff
In Norway, OpenAI is planning to establish one of Europe's largest AI data centers as part of the global Stargate project.
2 minute read

In Norway, OpenAI plans to establish one of Europe’s largest AI data centers as part of the global Stargate project. The facility will be built in the northern parts of the country and operated entirely on renewable energy.

Stargate was launched earlier this year as a comprehensive AI initiative with the goal of strengthening the US dominance in artificial intelligence. The project is a collaboration between American OpenAI and Oracle, along with Japanese SoftBank, with the ambition to build a global AI infrastructure at a cost of up to $500 billion over the next four years. This makes Stargate one of the largest technology investments in history.

First in Europe

On Thursday, OpenAI announced that the company plans to open a Stargate-branded data center in Norway. It will be the company’s first European facility of this kind.

The data center will be located in Kvandal, outside Narvik in northern Norway, and built in collaboration with British company Nscale and Norwegian Aker. OpenAI will function as a so-called “off-taker”, meaning the company will purchase capacity from the facility to power its AI services.

Part of the purpose of this project is to partner with OpenAI and leverage European sovereign compute to release additional services and features to the European continent, says Josh Payne, CEO of Nscale, in an interview with CNBC.

Powered by hydroelectric energy

The data center, planned to be completed in 2026, will house up to 100,000 NVIDIA GPUs and have a capacity of 230 megawatts – making it one of the largest AI facilities in Europe. The facility will be operated entirely on so-called “green energy”, made possible by the region’s access to hydroelectric power.

The first phase of the project involves an investment of approximately $2 billion. Nscale and Aker have committed to contributing $1 billion each. The initial capacity is estimated at 20 megawatts, with ambitions to expand significantly in the coming years.

Woman and dog found in Norwegian Viking grave

Published 3 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The grave was only about 30 centimeters below the surface, near a garage.
2 minute read

Archaeologists in Norway have uncovered the grave of a woman buried alongside a dog in a Viking-era boat burial. The woman is believed to have been a person of importance, as boat graves were a sign of high status during the Viking Age.

Norwegian hobbyists Stig Rune Johannessen and Nils Arne Solvold were out with their metal detectors about two years ago in a field in southeastern Norway when they discovered two oval brooches – common during the Viking Age – along with bone fragments. When archaeologists later examined the site, they dated the brooches to between 900 and 950 AD. Excavation of the grave began last week, confirming it to be a Viking boat burial.

Although the boat was poorly preserved, archaeologists determined it had been about 5.4 meters long. In the center of the boat were the remains of a woman, and at her feet lay the skeleton of a dog.

Whether it was a pet or served a practical function, we’re not entirely sure yet. But one can imagine that it was an animal of significance to her in life, Anja Roth Niemi, researcher and head of the department of administrative archaeology at the Arctic University Museum of Norway, told the Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

The woman was buried with a number of grave goods: an iron sickle, a slate whetstone, a possible bronze earring, two disc-shaped beads that may be amber, and what appears to be a weaving sword made from whale bone.

A Unique Find

The grave was just 30 centimeters below the surface, near a garage. It was a so-called flat-ground grave, meaning it lacked a burial mound, which was more typical in Viking times. These types of graves are particularly valuable to researchers because they are often undisturbed.

Flat-ground graves are quite exciting because they often escape notice, as they’re not visible on the surface, Niemi explained.

The next step is to analyze the remains to learn more about the woman’s life, her health, and the society she lived in. Researchers also hope to identify the breed of dog buried with her and determine how it died. However, archaeologists are fairly confident that the woman belonged to the upper ranks of society.

Being buried in a boat alone suggests she was a special person. And the grave goods indicate she held fairly high status – at least locally, and possibly regionally, Niemi said.

Norway’s Progress Party voted yes to surrogacy – despite the party leader’s opposition

Published 5 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Critics have long warned that legalizing surrogacy could lead to the commercialization and exploitation of women.
2 minute read

The Norwegian Progress Party (FRP) has decided to work for the legalization of surrogacy in Norway during the next parliamentary term. The decision was taken by a clear majority at the party’s national convention this weekend, marking a clear departure from party leader Sylvi Listhaug’s line.

This means that the FRP goes even further than the liberal party Venstre, which in the spring supported only non-commercial and strictly regulated surrogacy.

Ahead of the vote, Listhaug clearly distanced herself from the proposal and urged party members to vote no. She warned that the decision risks having far-reaching negative consequences for how we view children and childbirth.

– I believe the decision opens the door to something more – it opens the door to receiving payment. And then I think we’re going down the wrong path, said Listhaug.

Among the proponents was Julianne Ofstad, deputy chair of the Oslo city council. She sees legalization as a way to help more people have children safely:

– By allowing surrogacy, we can ensure that it takes place in an orderly manner here at home, instead of only being possible for those who can travel abroad and pay for it themselves, she told NRK.

Criticized from various quarters

Opponents of surrogacy have long warned that legalization could lead to the commercialization and exploitation of women, especially those in vulnerable economic situations. Feminists also highlight the risk that women’s bodies could be reduced to a means of procuring children for others.

Ethical objections also concern lack of consent, power imbalances and the child’s right to its origin, and some argue that legalization in Norway risks contributing to the normalization of a global market for surrogacy.

Even in conservative circles, many oppose surrogacy emphasizing that it violates traditional family ideals and the human view that children should not be “ordered like goods”.

Critics also argue that surrogacy undermines the relationship between mother and child, creating unclear family ties and a world where children become a right for adults rather than individuals with rights of their own.

Norwegian man found guilty of abusing hundreds of children

Published 3 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
"His own satisfaction has always been at the center", the judgment reads.
2 minute read

A 50-year-old man is convicted of, among other things, aggravated rape and sexual abuse of children after grooming them online. In total, there are more than 250 proven sexual offenses and it is described as one of the most extensive cases of sexual abuse in Norwegian history.

The man is said to have come into contact with children on a chat forum, mainly boys. He allegedly forced the children to perform sexual acts on himself and others, which he also recorded. He then allegedly threatened the children with publishing the recordings if they did not continue to do as he said.

In total, there are 447 self-produced videos with a total playing time of 48 hours and 39 minutes. The 50-year-old, who used to work in a school, has pleaded guilty to the crime, but claims he is not a pedophile.

The Court of Appeal sentenced him to 20 years’ detention, which in short is an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment that can be imposed on dangerous criminals with a high risk of re-offending, and can be extended as long as the person is deemed a threat to society. He was convicted of, among other things, attempted aggravated rape, complicity in aggravated rape and also aggravated rape of a child.

The court found that he had not considered the consequences for the children of doing what he had asked them to do.

His own satisfaction has always been at the center”, the verdict reads, according to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

Took his own life

In total, the man was convicted of 251 sexual assaults against a large number of children. The children were between six and 14 years old and one of them took his own life last year.

– My client was a vulnerable child with a range of difficulties in life. Being a victim in this criminal case was an additional burden, said defense lawyer Charlotte Ringkjøb, who represented 184 of the victims.

He will also have to pay damages of NOK 28 million, equivalent to about €2.45 million.

It is a thorough judgment from the Court of Appeal. He is now convicted of all the crimes set out in the indictment, and we are satisfied with that, says State Prosecutor Thor Erik Høiskar.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
Consider a donation.

You can donate any amount of your choosing, one-time payment or even monthly.
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Dont miss another article!

Sign up for our newsletter today!

Take part of uncensored news – free from industry interests and political correctness from the Polaris of Enlightenment – every week.