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Norwegian air space over Oslo and the neighbouring region of Romerike was partially closing on Tuesday, after news broke of a high-level meeting in Norway’s capital aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was flying in once again, to meet with the leaders of Norway and Finland and…
Train service in southern Norway was getting back to normal during the weekend, after locomotive engineers and state train operator Vy agreed on a new labour pact. They’d been ordered into mandatory arbitration on Friday. State mediator Mats Ruland could announce settlement of the nearly month-long strike after talks…
Reaction was swift and furious after a state commission handed over its proposals on Thursday for changes in the ethical framework and management of Norway’s huge sovereign wealth fund, known as the Oil Fund. The commission proposed investing in some companies tied to nuclear weapons, and that led to verbal blasts…
Five Norwegians have been charged in an alleged swindle of NATO that’s been unraveling around Europe this week. Those arrested in Bergen are suspected of over-billing for work done on NATO vessels in Norwegian harbours between 2021 and 2025. The suspects arrested at their homes in the Bergen area on Wednesday were…
Norwegian football players are on a roll. Another of the country’s teams good enough to be playing in the Champions’ League, Bodø/Glimt, beat another top German team, just a day after Stavanger’s Vikings did the same. Football commentators were as happily stunned as fans in the stands, after Bodø/Glimt beat Borussia…
Oslo’s recently renovated Restaurant Schrøder has won lots of attention over the years, not least as the hangout for the main character in Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø’s books. This week it grabbed media attention for offering bear meat on its menu, and that’s something animal rights activists couldn’t swallow…
Norway is known for “caring” for those sentenced to prison instead of simply punishing them. A new prison in downtown Oslo will feature not only individual cells. They’ll all be equipped with private toilets and showers. The new prison will replace the old Oslo Prison known as Botsen that closed in June after 175 years
A new public health advisory council in Norway is calling for higher taxes and new age limits on the purchase of tobacco products, plus a ban on tax-free sales of tobacco and nicotine products at Norwegian airports. Those are just some of the council’s proposed restrictions to cut back on nicotine use, especially…
After nearly a month of disruption on various train lines in Southern Norway, striking locomotive engineers were ordered into compulsory mediation this week. On Friday they’ll likely have to settle their differences with state-owned train operator Vy. The strike began on September 18 over the engineers’…
Another Norwegian football team has made its mark in the top leagues, and it’s even called Viking. The Stavanger-based team scored three goals against powerhouse Bayern Munchen during their first match in the Champions League, and Bayern Munchen failed to beat them. Commentators were still raving on Wednesday over…
Norway’s 89-year-old Queen Sonja was back on the job this week, right after the official mourning period for her husband, the late King Harald V, ended on October 9. She no longer carries the additional title of “Her Majesty,” but will continue to represent the royal family. Queen Sonja’s daughter-in-law Mette-Marit…
Of all the 357 municipalities in Norway, the country’s new monarch chose to make his first official visit this week to Narvik. King Haakon VIII flew up to the northern city known for its harbour, mountains and strategic location that’s now more important than ever. The new king noted himself that Narvik was no…
Norwegians woke up Saturday morning to hear the president of the United States on morning newscasts, publicly bashing their country. Donald Trump didn’t like the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s choice for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, prompting Norway’s foreign minister to once again explain that the independent…
Praise, criticism and some vicious reaction were all rolling in after the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced it was awarding this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to human rights advocate Navi Pillay, a judge on the International Court of Justice. While most applauded the committee’s choice, Israel’s foreign ministry was…
The Norwegian Nobel Committee sent a message to national leaders around the world, not least in the USA, when it announced this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. It went to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a champion of upholding international law and not least in her role as a judge on the International Court of
Norway’s state statistics bureau SSB reported on Friday that the country’s consumer price index rose to 3.4 percent from September of last year to September this year. SSB blamed most of the rise on higher fuel prices. They’ve since dipped, but last month’s fuel shock also can have an effect on the price of other
Norway’s state-owned telecoms firm Telenor was back on the defense Thursday after problems with its mobile phone network ended up shutting down the country’s entire train system. It took Telenor more than two hours to fix the problems, stranding commuters and passenges and blocking access to emergency services. The…
Norway’s royal family and their staff will be “gradually” getting back to official duties when their mourning period for the late King Harald V ends on Friday. The new King Haakon VIII, however, will need to tackle most of the family’s program alone because his heirs are heading back to college and his wife remains
The Norwegian Air Force and its “Quick Reaction Alert” program with NATO have been busy monitoring a boom in Russian aviation activity close to Norwegian air space this year. Norway’s domestic intelligence agency PST, meanwhile, is warning residents along the coast of Northern Norway to be on the alert for both…
Norway’s national football team lost its third Nations League match in a row Sunday night, in competition that can determine seeding in the next European Championships. Head coach Ståle Solbakken remains optimistic, suggesting the other teams are playing extra hard against the Norwegians just because they’re so good…
Nearly 700 train departures in southeastern Norway will be cancelled after an additional 26 locomotive engineers were called out on strike from Monday morning. Lines through Oslo and especially between Asker and Kongsvinger will be hit hardest. Thousands of commuters and other train passengers had to find another mode…
Police and maritime authorities have launched an investigation after three ships collided off Ålesund on Norway’s west coast during the weekend. Ålesund is a popular cruise port, but the collision involved a tanker and two bulk cargo vessels. It occurred in the Valderhaugfjord off Ålesund and set off a major emergency…
Stricter rules and more lobster preservation areas in the waters around Norway have raised hopes for more lobsters in the traps allowed this year. The season got underway October 1 and trappers have reason to be optimistic. Lobsters are called hummer in Norwegian, and trappers seemed to be humming themselves last…
Norwegian football star Erling Braut Haaland has been making a lot of money in recent years, and clearly wants to maintain control over his name, branding and image for financial gain. He and his lawyers weren’t happy when Norwegian Air allegedly tried to cash in on his former trademark ponytail. “We can confirm that…
Norway’s national football team was heading into another match against Portugal Sunday night, after losing to Portugal at home in Oslo last weekend and then to Wales in Cardiff. The tightly-packed Nations League matches have been exhausting for all involved. Head coach Ståle Solbakken confirmed that Norway would play…
UPDATED: The southern Norwegian municipality of Halden woke up Sunday morning to news of a fatal shooting at a local farm. A group of hunters had gathered early at the farm when shots suddenly were fired at them, killing two and seriously injuring a third. The shooting drama began when the hunting group of 14
PHOTO FEATURE: The annual and highly ceremonial opening of Norway’s new parliamentary session took on historic dimensions on Friday. Norway’s new monarch was in place for the first time, as was the country’s first female heir to the throne. It wasn’t only 120 years since King Haakon VII opened Parliament (Stortinget)…
Former Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen apologized earlier this week for the close ties he had for many years to the late billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The apology came in a rare interview with Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK), conducted at his villa on the Greek island Paxos. It’s the first…
It’s being called everything from “embarrassing and tragic” to simply “very serious” for Norway’s foreign- and foreign aid ministries: All their top political leaders over the past 20 years were being questioned by the Norwegian Parliament’s disciplinary committee this week. At issue are their roles in their long-time…
Former Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen apologized earlier this week for the close ties he had for many years to the late billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The apology came in a rare interview with Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK), conducted at his villa on the Greek island Paxos. It’s the first…
After months of joy and victory, the Norwegian men’s national football team lost to mighty Portugal Sunday night, largely because of a mistake made by its otherwise revered goalkeeper. It could have been worse, though. Calls were predictably going out on Monday that goalkeeper Ørjan Håskjold Nyland should be replaced…
The warnings of melting sea ice and glaciers have been coming for years. New reports show how 10 glaciers on Svalbard have melted so much that they’ve retracted back to land just in the past two years. The report, from the Norwegian Polar Institute, comes shortly after news that an entire new island in the
Norwegian government ministers just had a busy week at the United Nations, and share concerns that it’s caught in crisis. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide urged reforms when he addressed the UN’s 81st General Assembly during the weekend. Eide, who delivered Norway’s statement on Saturday, noted that the UN is facing…
UPDATED: Norway’s train system has been plagued by problems for years, much of it caused by inadequate maintenance of railroad infrastructure and the challenges that poses for various train operators. Passengers suffered through another summer of delays and cancellations, and then locomotive engineers and conductors…
The Norwegian men’s national football team scored again on Thursday night, three times against Denmark and enough to win their first match in Nations League action. Superstar Erling Braut Haaland even kissed the coach who’d trained them on a corner play that won the match. Commentators and coaches agreed it was a…
Officials at Norway’s gateway airport at Gardermoen (OSL) have been posting warnings in baggage claim areas about taxi swindle. That didn’t help a woman who landed at OSL this summer, and ended up paying NOK 22,000 (USD 2,200) for a ride into downtown. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported her case last week, as…
The dwindling use of cash in Norway may leave the country’s new King Haakon VIII as the first Norwegian monarch in a thousand years who’s not depicted on a Norwegian coin. The central bank has acknowledged that it has no plans to issue new coins following the recent death of Haakon’s father, King Harald V.
Only 12 percent of businesses and organizations that have suffered digital attacks actually report them as data crime, according to a new survey conducted for Norway’s business security council NSR (Næringslivets sikkerhetsråd). Now the police are making it easier to report data crime through its own website…
Police in Oslo were investigating two separate shootings in the greater metropolitan area during the night. No one was hurt but the search is on for at least one assailant, or more. The first shooting occurred just before 10pm at Jessheim, which has grown into a major residential area near Oslo’s main airport at…
A need for “a somewhat tighter monetary policy stance” prompted Norway’s central bank to boost its key policy rate by another quarter-point on Thursday. It’s the second rise in recent months, and brings the country’s policy rate up to 4.5 percent. The main justification for the increase is an inflation rate that the…
UPDATED: Norway had to conduct its second royal funeral in just two weeks on Wednesday. The late King Harald’s older sister, Princess Astrid, was laid to rest in a public ceremony at her large local church in Oslo, and then came news her little dog has died as well. Princess Astrid, age 94, had remained
It’s that time of year again, when Norwegian peace advocates, researchers and historians publicly speculate over who or what may win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. An unusual candidate was launched on Tuesday: The International Space Station. The International Space Station (ISS) is a prime example of cooperation even…
A Norwegian appeals court has upheld a lower court’s decision to sentence a former guard at the US Embassy in Oslo to prison for spying. The appeals court reduced the jail term by a month, though, and the case is likely to end up at Norway’s Supreme Court. The former guard, a Norwegian citizen in
Norwegians and tourists in Norway were suffering through more train trouble this weekend, after locomotive engineers for train company Vy went on strike. Nearly 400 train departures have been cancelled over the next three days. Worst hit are the lines running from Drammen through Oslo and on to Hamar and Lillehammer…
Henriette Jæger seemed to be as surprised as everyone else, when she set a new record in London heading into the weekend. She ran 400 meters in just 49 seconds. After a year in which Norwegian athletes have excelled from the ski slopes to the football field, Jæger made headlines again. “I did not see
It’s enough to set off new screams: The City of Oslo’s popular but problematic museum devoted to Norwegian artist Edvard Munch has undergone budget cuts, layoffs and the loss of its director in the past few months. Now it faces expensive renovations just five years after opening, to replace faulty pipes in its…
New warnings have been literally pouring in about melting ice on and around Svalbard. It was another record-warm summer for the Arctic archipelago goverened by Norway, with receding glaciers even exposing at least one new island that had been hidden by ice. “We saw it for the first time around a month ago,” said Geir
Funeral services for Norway’s Princess Astrid, older sister of the late King Harald V, have been set for September 23 at a local if large church near her family’s longtime home in Oslo. Since she was not in line for the throne, her funeral will be mostly a private yet royal family affair. Princess Astrid
Oslo-based Telenor’s former operations in Myanmar came back to haunt the large telecoms firm once again on Tuesday, when it was raided by Norwegian police and formally charged with possible crimes against humanity. What had been a promising expansion into Myanmar turned into a nightmare, after another military coup in…
Tensions continue to rise after a Russian drone attack on the locomotive of a Ukrainian passenger train near the Polish border during the weekend. A Norwegian state secretary was among those on board or nearby, along with a former Swedish- and British prime minister. Russian authorities have since confirmed the attack…
Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has decided to stay on as Norway’s finance minister, and won’t be taking over as head of the Munich Security Conference after all. He came home to Norway early last year to support his longtime political ally, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and now he doesn’t want to leave. “For
More people than ever before were running in the Oslo Marathon on Saturday, and they set records for both participation and, in the women’s category, speed. A total of 29,100 runners had signed up for the race, which sold out all its slots even before Christmas last year. Several thousand more were put on a
Norwegians headed into the weekend with more sad news from the Royal Palace in Oslo. Just two days after the funeral of their much-loved King Harald V came the announcement that his older sister, Princess Astrid, had also died, at the age of 94. Princess Astrid served as Norway’s first lady for more than a