This short story is filmed in Oslo, Norway. We follow two traceurs through the Norwegian capital.

There are two movies: One with subs and the other without. Remember to press the fullscreen button (down on the right hand side).

The movie is shot with Nikon D3s and a Nikkor 28mm (2.8). And the “matrix” shots are made from 17 Nikon cameras (D3s, D3, D700, D300).

If you want the movie on your iPad, download the free DN-app from appstore: HERE
You´ll find the movie in the second edition of the newspaper.
In the third edition you´ll find the behind the scenes movie from the recording of Parkour & Freerunning short movie.

Producer/Film/Photo/Editing:
Luca Kleve-Ruud

Music by:
Indianarane

Traceurs:
Snorre Jøllanger and Preben Hunstad

Executive producer:
Dagens Næringsliv, Aleksander Nordahl, Luca Kleve-Ruud

Assistant manager:
Dag Alvang

Assistants:
Helena Marie Krekling, Didrik Linnerud, Vetle Opedal, Sjur Stølen and Jannik Semb Fredricsson

Please leave a comment on why you liked/didn´t like the movie.

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Norway suffered dual attacks on Friday, when powerful explosions from one or more car bombs shook the government center in the capital and, shortly after, a gunman dressed as a police officer stalked youths on an island summer camp for children of members of the governing Labor Party.

Terrified youths jumped into the water to escape the gunman. Many could not flee in time. The police said that at least 60 people were killed at the camp, but that they expected the toll to rise.

All together at least 10 people are confirmed dead from the bombing and several injuried. The force of the explosion in the capital, Oslo, blew out nearly every window in the main center, panicking people fled to the streets from the several government buildings in the area, including one housing the office of the Norwegian prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, who was unharmed. Analysts say that the vehicle bomb would have been very difficult for a ‘lone wolf’ attacker to carry out, but not impossible. The suspect is believed to have been spotted in the area of the bombing a few hours before the explosion.

Due to vacation the government buildings were mostly empty, but death toll will rise.
One man (32-years) has been arrested after the shooting and police see a connection between the two attacks. The shooter has links to right-wing extremism. The police is now searching the gunmans house.

48 million women give each year birth without any professional assistance and even without having received any checkups during pregnancy.

Because of cultural reasons pregnant women in some countries give birth at home without a midwife, with only a dirty blade to cut the umbilical cord and herbs from a traditional healer to try and combat infection. Two million of these women deliver their babies completely alone – often with devastating consequences.

There is a global shortage of 350,000 midwives,16 which is part of a worldwide shortage of 3.5 million healthcare workers.

— 'Missing Midwives'-report

In Ethiopia 94% give birth with no skilled birth attendant, in Bangladesh 76%. As a result, 1,000 women and 2,000 babies die every day from birth complications which could be easily prevented. One woman every minute – die as a result of pregnancy.

One woman every minute – die as a result of pregnancy.

— 'Missing Midwives'-report

Every year more than 2 million women give birth completely alone.

— Save The Children

How many children dies each year?
•2 million the day of birth
•3 million within a week
•4 million within 28 days after birth
•8,1 million children die before reaching the age of 5

The three biggest killers of newborn babies in the first month are:
• complications arising from prematurity, eg, breathing difficulties due to underdeveloped lungs, or feeding difficulties due to an under-developed digestive system (28%)
• asphyxia, when a baby is deprived of oxygen during delivery and is more likely to need resuscitation when it is born (23%)
• sepsis, an infection of the blood (15%).

2011 Mothers’ Index Rankings
Read the “Missing Midwives”-report (PDF from Save The Children)
The distance between the first on the list, Norway, and the last country on the list, Afghanistan, is abysmal: in Norway every birth occurs in the presence of qualified personnel while in Afghanistan, this occurs only in 16% of births. One Norwegian woman out of 175 will lose their babies before reaching the age of 5, while at the other extreme, in Afghanistan every woman undergoes the loss of a child throughout her life. Looking at other countries at the bottom of the list, comparisons are no less dramatic: a woman out of 14 in Chad and Somalia are in danger of dying during pregnancy or childbirth. In Italy the risk of maternal mortality is less than 1 out of 15,000 women.

Top 10 best places to be a mother
1 Norway
2 Australia
2 Iceland
4 Sweden
5 Denmark
6 New Zealand
7 Finland
8 Belgium
9 Netherlands
10 France

Bottom 10 Worst Places To Be A Mother
155 Central African Republic
156 Sudan
157 Mali
158 Eritrea
159 DR Congo
160 Chad
161 Yemen
162 Guinea-Bissau
163 Niger
164 Afghanistan

 For 10 years Maoists armed to their teeth prowled Nepal’s remote Himalayan trails dodging attacks from army helicopters. Today, five years after a peace accord ended the insurgency, tourists armed with cameras and water purification tablets are following in the rebels’ footsteps.

The Maoist have been called terrorists but think about themselves as the saviors of the poor and the opposition against the urban elite. Even though the war is over and the Maoist are in power, many are still suffering from the mistakes made from Nepal’s new leaders.

Sometimes to get everybody to appear the Maoist arranged activities at the school and called up our names. The teachers told that all children from the third grade and up would be kidnapped. I was scared and I never answered when they said my name.

— Keshari (13)

It’s barely four o’clock in the mourning. The fog is lies smooth as silk over the mountains that surrounds the small village were Keshari (13) lives. Her mother wakes her gently up, as she has done every single morning since Keshari was five. Keshari stands up and puts the same clothes as she has done for the last week. A red and worn t-skirt, a black pair of sweatpants full of holes and a pair of yellow sandals that lost the pattern on the sole a long time ago. Her brothers Khum (10) and Til (5) are no early birds and are still sleeping on the clay floor covered with a thin filthy wool carpet. In the same room her little sister sleeps in the mothers bed well wrapped. The door is open and the cold morning winds sweeps into the room.

I met Keshari in 2008. Two years after Keshari and her big brother, Aaitu, walked together on the way back home. They had done all their chores that day, fetched water, carried dirt to the fields, fed the animals, chopped wood and been to school. They walked on a dusty road when something caught their attention. A shiny round object. Aaitu took his sickle, pried it and took it up with his hands and showed it to his sister.
Keshari’s eyes are quickly filled up with tears as she continues
- there was nothing left of my brother she says. She was injured and her brother died from the land mine that the Maoist had put out.
Keshari doesn’t like to show her weakness and turns quickly away and stares to the ground.

I hate them.

— Keshari (13)

Since her father was the “mokia” (chief of the village) they got a lot of attention. And the envy came along as well because of the visits from the Maoist. The Maoist wanted to excuse what had happend and made Aaitu a Maoist martyr. They even donated 2000 rupies (50$). After all this attention rumors about the family being Maoist-friendly started in the village. I wasn’t true but nobody believed them. Their house was set on fire, Keshari’s father lost the position as the “mokia” and moved to India to earn enough money to rebuild their house and send the kids to school.
- We speak to him once a week on the phone. There is one telephone here in the village.
Keshari’s father left nine months ago and will be away for several years.

Two years ago Keshari had to leave school because of the accident and had to see her school friends pass to the next grade without her. It was not the first time her school period was disturbed. Keshari tells about all the episodes were fully armed Maoist came by the school and pupils were told to stay home for days because it was not safe enough.
- Sometimes to get everybody to appear the Maoist arranged activities at the school and called up our names. The teachers told that all children from the third grade and up would be kidnapped. I was scared and I never answered when they said my name, Keshari tells.

Now it’s Keshari’s last day at school again for this year and it’s the day of the important exam at school. Unfortunately she flunked. Not because she’s not good enough, but because of her injuries. She has constant headaches, pain in her neck, back and legs and finds it impossible to concentrate for a long period of time. And the pain grows because of the heavy work she does. Together with her mother she has to do all the farming, since her oldest brother is dead and the father had to leave.

This is just a small part of a long documentary in Keshari’s life.
The story became also a childrens book for Save The Children (given out to schools in Norway). See the book here.
Keshari is now a part of a Save The Children program in Nepal.

During the last four days 19 palestinians have been killed. 57 are injuried. Both Israel and Hamas now agrees on cease-fire.

(pictures are from the 2008 war in Gaza)
The violence started when a rocket was fired against an Israeli school bus thursday. Two persons were injuried. The Israeli responded with firing back.

More than hundred rockets from the Gaza-strip have been fired against Israeli settlements. 38 rockets were fired saturday against the regions of Negev and Lachish. No injuried or killed have been reported from these attacks. Some infrastructure and homes are destroyed. These are the worst attacks since the 2008 conflict.

During the 22 days of war in 2008, 1400 Palestinians were killed and 5000 were injuried. 400 of the deceased and 1890 of the injuried were children.
5000 homes, 16 government buildings and 20 mosques were destroyed. 25000 homes were damaged.

Many Hmong are being forced to relocate from their highland homes to areas with poor agricultural potential.

They were hunted as wild animals.

—

Little was known about the ethnic Hmong people, and even less about those rumoured to be fighting a low-level war against the Lao Government. But what seems certain, according to numerous human rights reports, is that many of the Hmong in Laos have a poor standard of living, and often feel marginalised by the authorities. And over the last 40 years these people were hunted like wild animals. In public the Lao government has always denied that the Hmong existed.

Now they are recognized but the Lao Government often accuses the Hmong of being the cause of the country’s problems, such as the high levels of deforestation and widespread cultivation of opium.

The problem stems from the Vietnam War, when large numbers of ethnic Hmong sided with the United States army, as the conflict spread from Vietnam into neighbouring Laos and Cambodia. The Hmongs became a Special Guerrilla Unit trained by the CIA and led by General Vang Pao. About 60% of the Hmong men in Laos were assisted by the CIA to join fighting for the “Secret War” in Laos. Between 1962 and 1975, some 12,000 Hmong also died fighting against Communist Pathet Lao troops.

The Hmong are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong groups began a gradual southward migration in the 18th century due to political unrest and to find more arable land. A number of Hmong people fought against the communist-nationalist Pathet Lao during the Laotian Civil War. Hmong people were singled out for retribution when the Pathet Lao took over the Laotian government in 1975, and tens of thousands fled to Thailand seeking political asylum. Thousands of these refugees have resettled in Western countries since the late 1970s, mostly the United States but also Australia, France, French Guiana, and Canada. Others have been returned to Laos under United Nations-sponsored repatriation programs. Around 8,000 Hmong refugees remain in Thailand.

Movie of Hmong people. The secret CIA army: “The Lost Tribe”

I’m really happy   Got three awards at the Picture Of The Year Award Norway

Main Prize – Picture of the year – Norway
1. prize – News – Picture of the year – Norway
1. prize – News Reportage – Picture of the year – Norway

And I am selected to be NIKON ambassadeur for one year!

To see the rest of the finalists and category winners go to:  PK (page in Norwegian)

Luang Prabang, is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about 425 kilometers (264 mi) north of Vientiane. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage city.

The main road, Xiang Thong, of Luang Prabang is a wonderful patchwork of traditional Lao wooden houses and hints of European architecture. A reminder of when Laos was part of the French colony of Indochine. You can also find a large amount of Wats (temples), decorated with mosaics and murals of the life of Buddha, between all the small houses.

By the riverbanks there are plenty of boats that will take you out for a nice trip to see the sunset from the river. It will cost you about 40.000 Kip per person (4,50$). You will probably get the boat for yourself.

After the boattrip you could take a walk along the streets by the river. A nice place to have dinner with the view to the Nam Khan river or the Mekong River. Luang Prabang has a lot of restaurants, shops and a large streetmarket on the mainstreet that starts at 18.00 every night. The city is clean and quite. Most of the center of the city closes at 22.30. Even the hotels want you to be in no later than 24.00. A really nice place to relaxe and maybe not the place to party.

Luang Prabang has an airport and there are scheduled flights from/to Vientiane (40 min. and 60$ one way), Bangkok (85$ one way), Chiang Mai, Hanoi and Siem Reap. Visa-on-Arrival is available at the airport – price is variable based upon your nationality.

It’s possible to get to Luang Prabang by road and boat, but it will take you a long time to get there. 13 hours from Bangkok to Vientiane (20-30$), 24 hours from Hanoi to Vientiane (20-30$) and 10 hours from Vientiane to Luang Prabang by bus (10$).

Thai baht and US$ are widely accepted. There are ATM’s accepting Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and Eurocards. These ATM’s are situated mostly in Sisavangvong Rd just near the Night Market.

Next post will be from the Hmong-people up in the mountainous regions.

If you have more information or tip and hints for travellers, please post a comment on the message board.

Despite international pressure, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is going to run in the country’s polls scheduled for June this year. The ZANU-PF ruled the country since independence in 1980 with the 86-year-old Mugabe being one of the longest-serving rulers in the world.

Nearly one-third of Zimbabwe’s registered voters are dead, and others appear to be babies or up to 120 years old, researchers said, calling for the list to be overhauled so that the upcoming election cannot be rigged. The anomalies opened the way for “double voting and other rigging intentions.” In its research, the group found some 2,344 voters between the ages of 101 and 110 still on Zimbabwe’s voting rolls, a dubious figure in a country where the average life expectancy is a mere 44 years.

Read the rest of the article here.

The 12th of January 2010 a 7 magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean city Port Au Prince, Haiti. More than 230.000 people died. The streets were full of dead bodies and the smell unbearable for the inhabitants of Haitis capital city.

One year after the earthquake all bodies are removed from the streets but less than 5% of all ruins are taken away.

Joseph (30) is one of many that are trying to earn some money collecting iron and other material from the ruins around in Port Au Prince. He is standing on a roof top at the old Castel City Hotel. For every kilo (2,2 Lbs.) he collect, he gets 10 Haitian Gourdes (0,25$). On an average day he manages to collect between 25-30 kilos (55-66 Lbs.).
His goal is to earn enough money to rebuild his house and send his children to school. But in a country were the education system is private and the fees are too high for a normal family, Joseph has given up his goal to send his children to school. And so have most of the inhabitants in Haiti.

Life was not easy before the earthquake. But at least we had a home.

— Joseph (30)

But unemployment and high fees for school are not the only problems that Haitians have to face. A cholera epidemic in Haiti has killed over 3300. The World Health Organization will start vaccinating in April to help stem the cholera epidemic. And the epidemic will not peak for another few months. Ten million Haitians are at risk but only about 400,000 doses of vaccine could be ready by April, and a million by late 2011. Available stocks will be used in a pilot project, possibly in central Haiti. Inevitably, many Haitians will miss out.

Three million haitians were directly affected by the arthquake. Schools, universities, governmental buildings, housing and hospitals collapsed. An already bad infrastructure and economy took a hit. Almost two million people were refugees in their own country. Many moved to relatives in the countryside or to the north were the Artibonite valley is. A fertile land, the senter of Haitis production of grain and rice. But it’s difficult even here. USA are dumping cheap subsidized rice produced in Arkansas to Haiti, making life for rice producers in Artibonite impossible and forcing them to move in to the crowded city. Others decided to build temporary homes on the ruins of their old home. 1300 refugee camps are build in Port Au Prince, housing over one million haitians. Even on an old airport between airplanes people have settled.

They don’t have food. They don’t have healthcare. It’s crazy!

— Michel -Sweet Mickey- Martelly, former president candidate

Michel “Sweet Mickey” Martelly tried to get elected to president of Haiti, but ended on third place, after Mirlande Manginat (suported by the elite in Haiti) and Jude Celestin (supported by a former president that was unpopular and said to be the traitor of the poor people after the earthquake).
Both Manginat and Celestin were ready for the secod round, but protest in all haitian cities stopped the election. Most of the haitians are demanding Martelly to be a part of the second round.
OAS are in these days counting the votes. If or when the second round will be held is not known.

To rebuild Haiti a reinforcement of the farming is needed. And USAs dumping of rice must be removed. The only one earning money on this deal is the american rice producers delivering to USAid. Forcing the price on rice further down.
The UN promised 11 million USD to rebuild Haiti. Some of the money was to remove the debt. How is the money going to be used? Who is going to rebuild the country? And who will supervise the spending? Mirlande Manginat, the winner of the first round in the election, thinks it’s an illusion to believe the money will arrive to Haiti or the inhabitants.

People were emotional when they promised to help. It was honest, but not realistic.

— Mirlande Manginat, winer of the first round of the election

While politicians continue to talk amongst themselves, Joseph is still at the roof top in Castel City. A house, a home.