j.m@talk
11-24-2003, 08:08 PM
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's prime minister cannot use his new bomb-proof car despite a threat of attack by al Qaeda because Norway's state road authority says it is too heavy.
The vehicle, built by Germany's BMW AG to specifications for leaders of NATO nations, has been parked unused in a garage in Oslo since mid-October.
Weighing in at around four tons because of armor-plating and thick bullet-proof windows, the car is twice as heavy as a standard BMW 760 iL model and nearly 90 pounds over the limit for registration by Norway's road authorities, a spokesman for Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said Monday.
"We expect the problem will be solved in a week or two," Bondevik's spokesman Oiyvind Oestang told Reuters. Making the car light enough for registration had meant cutting down on safety features, he said.
In May, a leader of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network urged Muslims to attack the interests of the United States, Britain, Australia and Norway. It was unclear why Norway, which did not take part in the war in Iraq, was singled out.
© Reuters 2003. All Rights Reserved.
The vehicle, built by Germany's BMW AG to specifications for leaders of NATO nations, has been parked unused in a garage in Oslo since mid-October.
Weighing in at around four tons because of armor-plating and thick bullet-proof windows, the car is twice as heavy as a standard BMW 760 iL model and nearly 90 pounds over the limit for registration by Norway's road authorities, a spokesman for Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said Monday.
"We expect the problem will be solved in a week or two," Bondevik's spokesman Oiyvind Oestang told Reuters. Making the car light enough for registration had meant cutting down on safety features, he said.
In May, a leader of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network urged Muslims to attack the interests of the United States, Britain, Australia and Norway. It was unclear why Norway, which did not take part in the war in Iraq, was singled out.
© Reuters 2003. All Rights Reserved.