Norway was yesterday rocked by two terrorist attacks. A bomb in Oslo caused considerable damage to government buildings and killed at least seven people; and a gunman opened fire on young people at a Labour Party camp, killing at least ten. Read the full story

The terror alert level in Sweden has been raised to “elevated” after rumours of Mumbai-style terror raids across Europe. The head of the Swedish Security Service (Sapo), Anders Danielsson, announced this week that the threat level has gone from two to three on the five point scale. Read the full story

An Icelandic trawler yesterday came in for a surprise when it landed an active mine among its fishy catch. Read the full story

An art project in the Swedish town of Orebro went awry when locals mistook clusters of carrots for bombs, prompting police to step in an attempt to diffuse the situation. The carrot bombs were part of an open-air arts festival in Obrero, but apparently they were a little too real for the residents of this southern Swedish town. Read the full story

Although 20 member states of the European Union signed a landmark treaty in Oslo banning the use of cluster bombs, one surprising holdout was Finland. The Nordic nation has been extremely vocal in its opposition to the ban, claiming that it still needs to keep cluster munitions in its arsenal to help properly defend its 1,300km border with Russia. Read the full story

Monday’s bombing of the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan may have been a reaction to the Mohammed cartoons published in Danish newspapers.

Last year’s cartoons depicted the Prophet Mohammed with a bomb for a turban. It is expressly forbidden in Islam to draw pictures of the Prophet at all. The cartoons were reprinted in February this year.

The reason behind the attack will not be known before the completion of investigations, but it is widely believed to be linked to Muslim distaste for the cartoons, and the Danish government’s continued refusal to apologise for them.

In a recent interview, Pakistan’s ambassador to Denmark enquired whether the newspaper “is satisfied with what it has done and what it has unleashed?” She continued that the matter of the cartoons is something Danes need to reflect on.

Most people agree the cartoons were in poor taste, but debate rages on as to whether the guarantee of free speech justifies their publication.