US Embassy, palace in Oslo evacuated

The U.S. Embassy and the royal palace in Oslo, Norway, were evacuated Tuesday for several hours after police found a suspicious package near the embassy. Police ended the emergency response about two hours later after determining the "suspicious object" beneath a vehicle parked near the embassy wasn't dangerous, Views and News from Norway reported. The evacuation orders extended from the embassy to the palace, where spokeswoman Marianne Hagen said visitors touring the palace were ushered out. Hagen told Norwegian Broadcasting no members of the royal family were at the palace and that employees were not being evacuated. The evacuation order covered an area within 500 meters (about 547 yards) of the U.S. Embassy, taking in the Foreign Ministry building, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, residential and commercial buildings, retail shops and restaurants, police said. Transit service in the evacuation zone was suspended. The U.S. Embassy in Oslo has been considered a terrorist target for years and is under continuous police surveillance, Views and News said. Construction of a new embassy is under way at a site considered to be more secure.