Oslo goes ahead with Christmas tree gift plans

City officials in Oslo, faced with budget cuts, considered dropping their annual gift of large city Christmas trees to London, Reykjavik and Rotterdam, to save money. They apparently didn’t want to be seen as Scrooge, though, and the trees will be sent as usual. Newspaper Aften reported last week how the city earlier stopped sending [...]

‘Greener’ government grows in Oslo

The two winning parties in the Oslo city election, plus a minor potential partner, are finally hashing out a prospective platform for a new coalition government. It will be led by the Conservatives (Høyre), with the small Liberal Party (Venstre) expected to give the coalition a much more environmentally conscious profile. Venstre will be taking [...]

Frp pulls out of Oslo’s government

More than two weeks after municipal elections were held in Norway, the country’s capital remained without a city government on Tuesday. The Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet, Frp) pulled out of its eight-year ruling coalition with the Conservatives (Høyre) after refusing to go along with Høyre’s plans for a new high-rise Munch Museum on the waterfront at [...]

A-ha reunites for memorial concert

The only Norwegian band ever to have been top of the charts in the USA, A-ha, will reunite for one time only to play at a special memorial concert for those killed in the Oslo bombing and Utøya shootings. A-ha, famous for their worldwide hit “Take on Me,” had retired after a world tour at [...]

July 22 attacks commission appointed

Members of the independent commission to review the July 22nd terrorist attacks were named on Friday by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. The commission will be led by Alexandra Bech Gjørv, who is a partner in the law firm Hjort, deputy chair of the board of Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) and a director of Norske Skog, [...]

Police answer terror critics

The Norwegian police has rejected the idea that its response to the Oslo bombing and Utøya shootings could have been any faster under the circumstances, although promises have been made that the force will learn from any mistakes. Criticism has been forthcoming over recent days regarding why it took the police nearly an hour to [...]

Breivik ‘knew al-Qaeda members’

Newspaper VG has revealed that the suspect for the Oslo bombing and Utøya shootings, Anders Behring Breivik, wrote a string of unchallenged posts on the web forum of the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet, FrP) youth-wing’s website in 2002 and 2003 in which he put forward conspiracy theories and claimed to know “two people that have a [...]

New criticism of terror response

As Norway’s initial mourning period comes to a close, Norwegian media have begun criticizing various police agencies for their response to the Oslo bombing and Utøya shootings. New details are also emerging about boat problems, the lack of availability of a helicopter and issues encountered in the post-crisis command structure. Police had already been criticized [...]

Norwegians more giving after attacks

Norwegian giving towards the Somali famine appeal has been high, with an increase noted after the 22 July attacks on Oslo and Utøya. Aid organization Care Norway confirmed last week that they had received NOK 500,000 (nearly USD 91,000) in the first week of their campaign, but spokesperson Lisa Sivertsen stated in newspaper Aftenposten that [...]

Northerners have more summer sex

North Norwegians have more frequent and better sex during the warmer seasons of the year than those in Oslo, according to a survey published by newspaper VG. The surveys shows that a third of Norwegians have more sex in the hotter months of the year, while half of north Norwegians have sex more often. In [...]

Experts and hackers aid terror police

Psychiatrists, body language interpreters, code breakers and hackers from around the world are aiding the investigation into the Oslo and Utøya terrorist attacks suspect Anders Behring Breivik, bringing to light new aspects of the case that could reveal further individuals involved in the terrorist plot. The search for anyone who knew about the plans or [...]

Oslo Stock Exchange continues fall

The Oslo Stock Exchange’s main index fell by 5.65 percent to 344.39 by the end of trading on Monday, as turbulence in the international financial markets continued and predictions that a new financial crisis was on the way gathered pace. In step with other European indexes, the Oslo Stock Exchange rallied during the morning after [...]

Calls to tackle racism after attacks

Issues of racism and discrimination continue to be hotly debated in Norway in the aftermath to the Oslo bombings and Utøya shootings that the confessed perpetrator, Anders Behring Breivik, claims were an attack on the country’s multiculturalism. The leader of the Conservative Party, Erna Solberg, has commented on the need to tackle racism, particularly Islamophobia. [...]

Oslo Central Station reopens

Oslo Central Station, commonly referred to as “Oslo S,” reopened on Monday after weeks of essential maintenance, with promises that the work done would improve service and reduce problems. The work, which began on June 26, apparently completed upgrades that would usually take 18 months in just six weeks. Trains can now travel out of [...]

‘Fjordman’ raises anonymity issues

New information about the life of Peder Jensen, who revealed himself to be the blogger “Fjordman” that is often quoted as a leading influence by Oslo and Utøya terrorist attacks suspect Anders Behring Breivik, has been disclosed, as Jensen himself criticized police for treating him “like a murder suspect.” The debate on anonymous blogging in [...]

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