Saturday, December 12, 2009 OSLO: US president has turned down an invitation to lunch with the king of Norway, will not hold a press conference nor attend the Nobel concert held in his honour the day after the prize ceremony. Obama is due to arrive in Oslo in the morning and will stay in the Norwegian capital for less than 24 hours. The official Nobel programme is usually spread out over three days. His decision is thought to be fuelled by embarrassment over being given the award so early in his presidency and a wish to avoid a public backlash in the US. But his decision to pull out of parts of large sections of the programme has been taken as a snub in Norway. Polls suggest the Norwegians are deeply unimpressed by his decision not to make more of the visit.
Saturday, December 12, 2009 OSLO: US president has turned down an invitation to lunch with the king of Norway, will not hold a press conference nor attend the Nobel concert held in his honour the day after the prize ceremony. Obama is due to arrive in Oslo in the morning and will stay in the Norwegian capital for less than 24 hours. The official Nobel programme is usually spread out over three days. His decision is thought to be fuelled by embarrassment over being given the award so early in his presidency and a wish to avoid a public backlash in the US. But his decision to pull out of parts of large sections of the programme has been taken as a snub in Norway. Polls suggest the Norwegians are deeply unimpressed by his decision not to make more of the visit.
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