Terrorist attack of norway honors victims

Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- Norway paid tribute Friday to those killed and wounded in two terror attacks a week ago with a somber memorial service in Oslo organized by the youth movement of the ruling Labour Party.
As the service began, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg recalled the scores of young people lost to a "cold-blooded massacre."
Police raised the death toll from 76 to 77 Friday after one of the wounded died.
The shooter targeted the party's youth camp on Utoya Island, where it was holding a summer camp, after setting off a bomb that struck government offices in downtown Oslo.
"The shots hit our young people but they actually hurt the whole nation," Stoltenberg told relatives of the victims and political leaders attending the service. "It was a vicious attack on all our common values."
The prime minister urged young Norwegians not to feel alone as they struggled to come to terms with what happened, saying the party would support them.
"Out of our grief a much stronger unity will arise," he said. "We are going to honor and celebrate our heroes -- but most of all we are going stay true to our ideas and our values."
Workers Youth League leader Eskil Pedersen, who was on Utoya during the shootings, vowed that the youth movement would return to the island where it has held political summer camps every year for decades.

"Today, we promise that July 22 next year we will be back at Utoya," he said. "We will forever be the generation of July 22. That is a great responsibility," he added. "This is a watershed, a new start and beginning of something lasting and important."
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'We will fix it up ... just like before': Norway tries to return to normal

OSLO, Norway — A Norwegian cabinet minister will make a symbolic return on Wednesday to her bomb-damaged office as the nation tries to restore some normality after the massacre by a right-winger whose lawyer believes is insane.
Friday's attacks by Anders Behring Breivik killed 76 and traumatized normally peaceful Norway, which has been struggling to come to terms with his cold-blooded shooting of young people and bomb attack in the heart of Oslo's government district.
Story: Police begin to release IDs of Norway massacre victims
Administration and Church Affairs Minister Rigmor Aasrud will be the first cabinet member to return to her normal office after the bomb blew a hole through the prime minister's office and badly damaged other buildings.For the time being, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will work from the defense ministry, which is in another part of the city, and cabinet meetings will be held in a medieval fort near the Oslo waterfront.
It is not clear whether the prime minister's 17-story building will be rebuilt or torn down.

Also Wednesday, Norwegian police evacuated Oslo's central station after a suspicious suitcase was discovered on a bus. All train and bus services were halted.

Suspect in Norway attacks is denied public platform in court

Reporting from Oslo— 

It was supposed to be a defining moment for Norwegian terror suspect Anders Behring Breivik.He'd hoped that the first hearing Monday into last week's twin attacks would be televised live by the world's media. He wanted to dress in a uniform to defend his actions as part of a bid to trigger an anti-Islamic revolution in Europe.
But to his disappointment, Breivik was neither seen nor heard in court. A Norwegian judge ruled the proceedings should be held behind closed doors, siding with government prosecutors who are increasingly nervous about giving the suspect a forum to expose his radical views.

Inside the courtroom, Breivik was formally charged with violating Norway’s anti-terrorism laws and remanded to solitary confinement for the next four weeks.

During a news briefing after the hearing, Judge Kim Heger said Breivik confessed to the attacks — which police now say killed 76 people, revised down from previous reports of 93 — but pleaded not guilty to the terrorism charges, justifying his actions as part of an anti-Muslim campaign.

He also claimed to be working with two other cells, although previously police said he told them he worked alone.

Norwegian officials said Monday it remains unclear whether Breivik is part of a wider conspiracy or is a lone megalomaniac.

Inside the courtroom, Breivik was formally charged with violating Norway's anti-terrorism laws and remanded to solitary confinement for the next four weeks.

During a news briefing after the hearing, Judge Kim Heger said Breivik confessed to the attacks — which police now say killed 76 people, revised down from previous reports of 93 — but pleaded not guilty to the terrorism charges, justifying his actions as part of an anti-Muslim campaign.He also claimed to be working with two other cells, although previously police said he told them he worked alone.Norwegian officials said Monday it remains unclear whether Breivik is part of a wider conspiracy or is a lone megalomaniac.But as more is learned about Breivik — through friends, family and a 1,500-page manifesto he released on the Internet — it appears likely that he is relishing the attention now being focused on his life and ideas.

His manifesto, released shortly before Friday's mayhem, refers to the bombing in downtown Oslo and an hourlong shooting massacre at a youth political camp outing as a "marketing" tool designed to focus international attention on his extremist ideology."Unfortunately, I don't think he's crazy," said Peter Svaar, a childhood friend of Breivik's. "He's cold, intelligent and resourceful. He's playing us all like a piano."Elsewhere, Norwegians continued to grapple with the tragedy. Police said new information had led them to lower their estimate of the number of casualties to 68 people on the island and raise the number of victims to eight in the earlier bomb blast. A massive rally was planned for Monday evening. Earlier in the day, the nation observed a minute of silence to remember the dead and those victims still unaccounted for and feared dead in the water around Utoya.Around downtown, lines at florist shops snaked out the door as well-wishers purchased bouquets to place at a growing memorial near the site of Friday's bomb blast.

Norwegians fill Oslo cathedral to mourn

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, center, his wife Ingrid Schulerud, and Eskil Pedersen, leader of the Labor Party youth wing, lay flowers before a memorial service at an Oslo cathedral. (July 24, 2011)

OSLO, Norway—
"Today we are mourning. Today we want to stop and remember those who died," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said at the service, as attendees in the pews wept.

In all, 92 people were killed and 97 wounded in the Oslo bombing and Utoya Island shooting rampage. There are still people missing at both scenes, and divers were searching the waters around the island for bodies.

Stoltenberg grew emotional as he recalled a woman named Monica who had worked at the island youth camp for 20 years. "She has died, shot and killed while she tried to create safety and happiness for young people," Stoltenberg said.

"Soon we will be given the names and pictures of those who have died, and then the size and scale of this cruelty will become apparent. This will be a new trial for us, but we will manage that one as well. In the middle of all this tragedy I am proud to live in a country that is able to stand at such a critical moment, to stand together."

Also Sunday, Oslo Deputy Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim said the suspect, Anders Behring Breivik, was cooperating, and that "the dialogue between him and police has been good."

Police would not comment on the long right-wing online manifesto attributed to Breivik, saying only that it was part of the investigation.