Mikael Davud, a Norwegian from China’s ethnic Uighur minority, was jailed for seven years, while Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak, an Iraqi Kurd, was given a three-and-a-half year sentence. A third man, David Jakobsen, was cleared of terrorism charges.

Davud conspired with al-Qaeda to attack the offices of Jyllands-Posten newspaper after it published controversial cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed in 2005. Prosecutors said he was taught about explosives at an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan before plotting with Bujak to launch an attack.

Although Davud admitted to planning hits against Chinese interests in Norway in retaliation to their treatment of the Uighur minority, he and all the other defendants denied that Jyllands-Posten was a target. The men were also accused of plotting to kill one of the cartoonists, Kurt Westergaard, but said they had only spoken about punishing him and had not taken any further action.

Jakobesen was cleared of terror charges but found guilty of helping the others secure explosives, even though he alerted the police after buying the chemical hydrogen peroxide in 2009. He has been freed after already serving a four-month sentence.

The convictions of Davud and Bujak are the first to be brought under Norway’s anti-terrorism legislation.

Huang Nubo’s application to buy the land at Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum caused a major government rift last year and ended up with Minister for the Interior Ögmundur Jónasson denying him an exemption from the law barring non-EEA businesses from buying land in Iceland. Left Green minister Ögmundur’s government associates in the Social Democrats were unhappy at his decision — especially Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism Katrín Júlíusdóttir and Kristján Möller; head of the Alþingi industry committee. Together they declared they would try and help the Chinese investor invest in Iceland and called a meeting with his representative.

Now it seems a solution has been found thanks to a one-year-old law which allows the industry minister to grant concessions allowing foreigners to control land use and resources which would otherwise need to be controlled by Icelandic citizens. The law relates solely to brand new investment in Iceland and still precludes Huang Nubo from buying the land; but he may be able to lease it on a long-term basis. A special concessionary committee made up of representatives of the ministries of industry, finance and trade must agree to recommend that the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism give out such a concession to a particular company or individual.

Huang Nubo’s application for the concession is dated 18th January and it calls for Mr. Huang to be allowed to long-term-lease part of Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum and for an Icelandic company owned by him to be allowed to build and operate a 100-room luxury hotel. It also calls for the same company to be able to build and operate a five-star hotel in the Reykjavík area.

According to Vísir.is, the law means the decision will be in the hands of the industry minister and will not depend on Ögmundur Jónasson’s support at the Minister of the Interior. However, Katrín Júlíusdóttir’s approaching maternity leave complicates the matter, as it is not certain who will temporarily take her place as Minister of Indistry, Energy and Tourism, or even whether that minister will come from the Social Democrats or the Left Greens.

The Sunnlenska.is local news website reports that the company Heilsuþorp ehf. in Flúðir has been in negotiations with the Chinese company CSST International hoping to attract start-up funding. Now it is believed the Chinese company has agreed to invest ISK 6.5 to 7 billion (EUR 40.5 to 43.6 million) in the project.

It is likely that CSST would become a significant shareholder in Heilsuþorp.

Organisers hope the health resort will be built on land near Flúðir called Gröf. The plan is for the local municipality to allow the land (which it owns) to be used for free, in exchange for a chunk of shares in the new company.

Flúðir is in a geothermal area of south Iceland and is not short of natural hot water. It is also ideally located along the popular Golden Circle tourist trail.

Þráinn Bertelsson and Björn Valur Gíslason put forward their proposal to Alþingi yesterday, calling on the Icelandic government to make a strong statement by offering Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned Chinese pro-democracy campaigner who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, political asylum and a place to live in Iceland.

Supporting documents provided to the Reykjavík parliament say that in recent years the Chinese authorities and businesses have shown great interest in Iceland; most recently when the rich investor Huang Nubo wanted to purchase a large plot of land for a luxury resort (a plan which may still be alive and in the pipeline, it has since been claimed).

It would therefore be appropriate, the two MPs claim, for Iceland to repay that great interest by offering a safe haven for Liu Xiaobo, as there does not seem to be room for him in his very large homeland.

Parliamentary resolution proposals are an effective way for Icelandic MPs to gain publicity for causes they feel strongly about. There is little indication that this particular resolution will pass and be put into action; but the two MPs have already generated the desired attention and conversation about Liu Xiaobo within Iceland.

Another recent example was when the Icelandic government was called on to make cigarettes available only in pharmacies and by prescription only. There was very little hope that proposal would pass, but it succeeded in generating attention to the dangers of smoking in Iceland, and was also reported on around the world.

Minister Össur Skarphéðinsson says it is crazy to suggest that Huang’s plan to build a hotel and golf resort in northeast Iceland is somehow connected to a colonial plot — adding that it is nothing short of funny that the Canadian military intends to play on these fears to secure extra funding from its government to buy icebreakers, ships and submarines.

The Canadian paper Globe and Mail reports that the country’s defence ministry has been looking seriously into the issue.

Huang Nubo’s intention to buy Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum has attracted attention further afield than just Iceland and the Globe and Mail reports that Canadian military generals fear that the investor has more on his mind when trying to buy 0.3 percent of Iceland than a mere hotel and golf course.

The paper speculates that Chinese interest is more connected to important Arctic shipping lanes which are slowly opening with the melting sea ice to the far north of Iceland, which could make the country a trans-shipping hub for freight between Asia and Europe and North America.

Canadian military officials are apparently taking that threat seriously, saying it means Canada should buy more icebreakers, other ships and submarines.

Össur Skarphéðinsson makes little of it, saying to RÚV: “I find it sort of quaint that the Canadian Army is worried because a Chinese person wants to build up a tourist resort in Iceland [...] and make a direct link between that and trying to get more funding from the government to build a counterweight against the Chinese.”

Icelandic interior minister Ögmundur Jónasson’s decision to block Huang Nubo’s land purchase caused ruptures within the Icelandic coalition government last week and they only got deeper this weekend when he and Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism Katrín Júlíusdóttir became embroiled in a discussion over what defines helping the Chinese investor to circumvent Icelandic law. Katrín is reportedly working to help Huang Nubo lease the land instead of buying it outright.

The decision to grant or deny land purchase requests from non-EEA companies and individuals lies with the Icelandic Ministry of the Interior; but that is not the case with land leases. The Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism was in favour of Huang buying the huge plot of land to build a luxury resort and she now plans to contact Huang Nubo about the land lease idea over the coming days, Vísir.is reports.

Furthermore, in an interview with Stöð 2 yesterday, Huang Nubo said that he is not even considering bending the rules by buying Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum through a European-based front company. He is, however, interested in leasing the land for his proposed resort.

Jóhannes H. Hauksson, who owns half of the land along with his sister, says that he would theoretically be happy to lease the land out — adding that his main concern is first and foremost the development of a strong and stable tourism industry in northeast Iceland.

Jóhannes told Vísir that Huang Nubo is the right man for the job. He has had purchase requests before and always rejected them — but now is the first time he has wanted to sell the land. He says that is largely because he wants Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum to be put to good use in developing the remote region. He also expressed sympathy with Mr. Huang’s vocal disappointment, saying that nobody from the government made contact with him to discuss the foreigner’s land purchase application.

Minister of Industry Energy and Tourism Katrín Júlíusdóttir told reporters she is looking into ways to help Huang Nubo invest in Iceland if he is still interested, saying news that he may be interested in leasing the land is positive and that she will talk to him in person soon.

Ögmundur says his decision not to grant Mr. Huang’s application for an exemption to the law barring non-EEA nationals from acquiring large plots of land in Iceland is in accordance with Icelandic law and rules. The size of the proposed purchase would have rendered the law pointless had an exemption been made, the minister said.

Ögmundur explained to RÚV after yesterday’s extended cabinet meeting that it was not an individual trying to buy Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum, but rather a limited company, largely owned by the individual: Huang Nubo. It was the opinion of the minister and the Ministry of the Interior, after careful consideration, that the company did not qualify for an exemption to the law. To provide the exemption in this case would have set such a huge legal precedent that non-EEA parties would have felt confident in gaining exemptions for almost any land purchases in the future, Ögmundur added. The land in question amounts to roughly 0.3 percent of Iceland’s entire land area.

Asked if his decision had been universally welcomed, or at least accepted, by his cabinet colleagues, Ögmundur dodged the question; saying it was a decision which fell solely on the Minister of the Interior to make.

Unsurprisingly the decision has split opinion within the two government parties. The larger Social Democrats were widely seen as being more pro- the potentially lucrative deal than Ögmundur’s Left Green Movement.

Northeast Iceland Social Democrat MP Sigmundur Ernir Rúnarsson was quick to criticise; describing the decision as “crazy”:

“I find this a crazy decision by the minister who, in his intransigence, is probably unfit to take this decision in light of the declarations he has made on the case in the lead up to the decision. Quite apart from that, there are at least 25 precedents for cases of this kind. This is a deplorable message to the people outside the capital region where there is a need to distribute the tourism industry better across the country and better across all times of year — and this is a devastating message to send out into the world to investors who are eyeing the country,” Sigmundur said.

He added that he has called for a special Social Democrat working group to go over the matter and he also said he wants to hold a meeting with Ögmundur Jónasson in person — adding that the matter is by no means over in his opinion.

Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (leader of the Social Democrats) also commented later in the day, describing Ögmundur’s decision as “a disappointment”.

Background to this story can be read here:

Chinese investor wants to build luxury country hotel in Iceland

North Iceland tourism officials support Chinese land purchase plan

Chinese investment in Iceland making world headlines

Icelandic ministers gearing up for Chinese investment battle?

Talking to Xinhua this week, Kleist said he expects Chinese investment in the potentially-vast reserves of oil and gas under Greenland’s quickly-diminishing ice sheet will play a big part in the future of both countries.

“I think that China together with other nations is taking a huge interest in the Arctic area in general and specifically in Greenland, and we have seen quite a number of visitors from China over the last couple of years,” Kleist said. “We don’t really have that much co-operation for the time being, but I know that Chinese companies are showing an interest in Greenland.”

He went on to say that any such negotiations are likely to benefit both sides. “Greenland is also showing an interest in China: my minister for minerals (and industry) and labour is going to China today on an official visit. I would see a future co-operation as a very positive one and we welcome the Chinese interest,” he said.

Since gaining self-rule from Denmark in 2009, Greenland is free to invite foreign investors to discuss the prospects of the Arctic. UK-based oil company Cairn Energy has already drilled several wells off the cost of Greenland in the hope of tapping into what is thought to be 10 percent of the world’s unproven oil reserves and 30 percent of its gas reserves.

“We are a society in transition in many ways, and at a high speed,” Kleist told Xinhua. “Our place on the global stage is changing fast, partly due to climate change and partly owing to the international companies interested in Greenland’s minerals.”

He added, however, that they are also looking to form partnerships away from oil and gas. “We would like to see economic co-operation in other areas. Green growth, for instance, is a very actual and timely issue, and Greenland of course wants to participate in the development of green technology and we want to see green growth in Greenland itself,” Kleist said.

Tubten Samdrup, of the Tibet North European Office, told Berlingske newspaper that it is unacceptable that several Tibetan monks and nuns have felt forced to set fire to themselves in protest at Chinese harassment in recent months. Just last week, before the meeting between Villy Sovndal and Yang Jeichi, 20 year-old Tenzin Wanmo made the dramatic self sacrifice in western China.

“I am disappointed because it is worrying to see people commit suicide. The international community must put pressure on the Chinese on the issue and Denmark had a unique possibility as China’s foreign minister was in the country,” Thubten Samdrup said. “How many nuns and monks have to commit suicide before the world wakes up.”

Samdrup, whose organisation claims to be the official agency ‘of the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration in-exile in Northern Europe, the Baltic States and Poland’, apparently wrote to Sonvdal after the latest suicide and asked him to address the issue in his meeting with Jeichi. According to Berlingske, the subject of self-immolation did not come up during the talks.

Sovndal, however, told reporters that human rights and religious freedoms were discussed in reference to the Tibetan minority.

“In concrete terms we discussed Tibet, we discussed human rights in general. I mentioned our view that we would like to see more autonomy in Tibet, greater cultural and religious freedom, a wish that China was more ambitious in connection with human rights in general, the EU’s views on the death penalty and the suchlike,” he said.

The Chinese government has now stated in may recommend Nubo drop his idea if the storm of controversy surrounding it does not die down soon. Chino-Icelandic relations could potentially become strained amid claims the deal could mask a more sinister intent to increase Chinese influence on the North Atlantic and potential Arctic shipping lanes.

Some in Icelandic politics are wary of selling such a large plot of land to foreign interests; but others say the country’s regulatory framework is strong enough for such a deal to go ahead without risk.

The North Iceland tourism marketing office has fallen in with the pro-side; saying it welcomes investment in North Iceland tourism.

A statement from the tourism board states that all new investment in the region’s tourism is welcome; as long as it is in accordance with laws and regulations and adheres to the goal of sustainable and environmentally-aware tourist services; which is a nationwide aim for the tourism industry.

Nubo says his resort would draw on eco-tourism principles and take environmental protection extremely seriously.

If his plans are allowed to go ahead, Nubo’s project at Grimsstadir a Fjollum would create a raft of new opportunities, boost the North Iceland travel industry and create better living conditions for locals in the area, the statement says.