As Norway names dead, religious leaders and counselors offer comfort to a nation (The Christian Science Monitor)

Oslo, Norway – As Norwegian police begin naming the victims from last Friday’s terrorist attacks, adding a human face to the country’s loss, caregivers and aid organizations say they stand ready to help the public sort out its raw emotions.

Survivors and mourners alike are still coming to grips with the heavy death toll from the shooting spree at the lake island of Utoya and the bombing in downtown Oslo which killed at least 76. Many are particularly disturbed over the mass murder on Utoya, where police claim Anders Behring Breivik shot 68 people – many of them in their late teens and early 20s – dead at a summer camp.

“Everyone seems beaten,” says Oslo resident Sigvald Sveinbjornsson, calling the deaths “extremely meaningless.”

“It’s impossible to comprehend,” he adds.

RECOMMENDED: Norwegian police under scrutiny after terror attacks

Investigators have portrayed Mr. Breivik’s actions as chilling, saying he hunted down the campers, many of whom hid in the woods or dove into the lake to escape. The attacks have triggered an outpouring of sympathy both at home and from abroad, with world leaders and Norway’s institutions offering their support.

Police have provided grief counseling and lawyers to the victims to help them navigate the impending legal process. The University of Oslo has opened telephone lines and prayer rooms to those seeking solace, and made the university’s priest available to students.

The Oslo Cathedral has also become a magnet for memorials and visitors. A gathering of flowers and flags that began on Friday outside of the church has only grown, engulfing much of the adjacent square.

“It has been overwhelming,” senior pastor Elisabeth Thornsen says of the response. She says the church now has to restrict the number of visitors inside the cathedral at one time after a small fire broke Monday night from candles placed throughout the building.

To meet the demand, Ms. Thornsen says the cathedral has extended its hours and will offer services every night this week. She says the state church has sought to give the public a space to grieve but also impart a sense of hope.

“I think it’s important to give a sense of peace; to let people feel what they feel and try to give room for that,” she says. “What I feel is very important is to say what the church always is saying; that there is hope. We believe in hope.”

Astrid Arnslett, spokeswoman with the Norwegian Red Cross, says its volunteers have been working with the authorities since the afternoon explosion in central Oslo. She says the organization has aided with search and rescue operations amid the rubble and on Utoya as well as provided psychological care to victims from both attacks.

Mrs. Arnslett was with many of Utoya’s victims over the weekend, sorting out practical details like finding new pairs of shoes and offering a shoulder to cry on. She says the mood was mixed as victims, overjoyed to be alive and reunited with friends, increasingly became filled with a sense of survivor’s guilt after it became clear dozens had died.

She says as more and more names are released, the number of those grieving will only increase, since victims on Utoya hailed from across the sparsely populated country. As a result, the Red Cross is keeping its centers open nationwide and is preparing to stay in touch with victims as they leave Oslo for home or head back to school.

“These young people have been through things that we’ll never understand,” she says. “Some of these kids will need people to talk to for a very long time.”

Experts agreed the healing process would be long and difficult for those who lived through the attack, especially the young. Rather than trying to shield them from what happened, officials said it is best to keep them informed and open to discussions.

“The more they understand the better they cope with the situation,â€

He doubts the attacks would ultimately scare young people away from politics, instead predicting they could fuel their interest in activism. In any case, he said the attacks would be seared into the public’s conscience, which in the end may serve to benefit Norway’s future generations.

“It is important to remember so that we can work to prevent such a thing in the future,” he says.

RECOMMENDED: Norwegian police under scrutiny after terror attacks

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Innovation nation?

18 July 2011 Last updated at 23:00 GMT By Katy Watson Middle East business reporter, BBC News WATCH: Shifting sands: The United Arab Emirates is investing heavily in new post-oil technologies

It has been less than a century, but in that time, the Gulf states have changed beyond all recognition.

Before the discovery of oil, the region's vast desert was home to Bedouin tribes and their camels. The desert may still be close to peoples' hearts but you are more likely to find the Bedouin's grandchildren churning up the sand in their 4x4s than riding on a camel.

After the oil

Oil-wealth has helped this region boom. But governments are realising that they need to prepare their economies for when the oil runs out. They are trying to show the world that they are more than just one big oil field.

The United Arab Emirates is among the region's biggest spenders.

Just outside the capital Abu Dhabi is a project called Masdar City. It means 'source' in Arabic and has been billed as a zero-carbon sustainable city.

Complete with experimental solar panel farms, a research institute and electric cars, it will cost a cool $16bn to complete.

It is a project that few governments could afford. A green city is the ultimate vanity project for an oil-exporter you could say.

And you may have a point - despite this heavy spending on trying to innovate and experiment with new projects, the results are not there to show.

In INSEAD's recent Global Innovation Index, the United Arab Emirates came 34th out of 125 countries when it came to innovation. Qatar was slightly higher at 26th but no other Arab states even reached the top 40.

Masdar City is intended to be a zero-carbon sustainable city

These are some of the richest nations on the planet yet they are not producing the results that you would expect with the money they have.

Green shoots

But here are some examples of success stories.

Twenty minutes from the centre of Dubai, off the main highway and in the middle of the desert, is a glass building - no different from any other office building, apart from the fact that it stands alone in the sand.

The building is owned by technology company Pacific Controls. Inside is the company's 'global command control centre', one large room with dozens of people looking at computer screens with flashing lights and maps.

From here, they monitor thousands of buildings across Dubai and abroad, using wireless technology.

Pacific Controls monitors buildings remotely across Dubai using wireless technology

They keep an eye on fire hazards, technical issues and control energy use. It is certainly very innovative, and Pacific Controls is reaping the rewards as its business grows and grows.

Every Gulf city here has a 'technopark' or a 'science and research city' or 'knowledge village'. Buzzwords abound and money is being poured into trying to make this region a research hub, a place where people can innovate.

But experts say governments have to go beyond funding impressive projects, that a sustainable eco-system for innovation is what is needed.

That takes time and time is money, especially when it comes to setting up a small business.

Patience please

May Habib is 26. She has spent the past six months developing her business, aiming to become the world's biggest Arabic digital publisher.

May Habib is trying to set up her business to be the biggest digital Arabic publisher in the world

She came to the United Arab Emirates because that is where her market is and where the money is but it is not without its challenges.

"The hypergrowth in the region has really been driven by multinational corporations," she says.

"The ability of the system to be hospitable to small companies who are trying to stretch shoe-string budgets is not in the mentality. If you're trying to run a lean, mean startup organization, it's tough to do."

But experts urge patience. The economies here are young and time is needed for governments to develop their innovation projects.

"This region came to the whole agenda of social and economic development very late in the process. In a single decade, they have achieved what probably took three to four to five decades for other mature markets," says Karim Sabbagh from Booz & Co and one of the authors of the Global Innovation Index.

"My expectation will be that over the next three - five years, the region will be in a position to move up the ladder. We just have to accept the fact that it takes time to set up these institutions."

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This is a path that we know we have to be part of if we want to maintain our relevance”

End Quote Wasfi Abu Ghazaleh Technology Development Committee And things are changing. There is talk of Dubai offering an entrepreneurship visa to give people the freedom to set up their own business here, rather than being tied to a big company.

And bodies like Abu Dhabi's Technology Development Committee have been set up with the aim of providing support for small businesses in the technology sector.

Great initiatives but for some, they have come late in the day.

"I think the question is not why not before, why now." says Wasfi Abu Ghazaleh, the Chief Operating Officer at the Technology Development Committee.

"This is a path that we know we have to be part of if we want to maintain our relevance."

Spending money on maintaining that relevance isn't a problem for the likes of oil-rich Abu Dhabi. But it'll have to wait a few more years to see if that spending translates into actual results.

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