A former top official at Norway’s state maritime directorate who’s also a veteran of the UN’s International Maritime Organzation (IMO) is strongly criticizing a preliminary report on last month’s collision and near sinking of the frigate KNM Helge Ingstad. He claims the report downplays the responsibility of the frigate’s crew, and calls the collision “an […]
Electric ‘city cars’ getting ready to roll
December 4, 2018
Scores of identical small electric cars have been neatly parked for the past week or so on property owned by state railway NSB in Oslo. They’re ready to be shared among Oslo residents who’ll soon be able to borrow them when needed, as NSB breaks into a new market that can compete with taxis and discourage […]
Hegerberg still won’t play for Norway
December 4, 2018
Winning one of the most prestigious international prizes in the sport of football hasn’t changed Norwegian player Ada Hegerberg’s mind. She still doesn’t want to re-join Norway’s national team and play for her homeland until the Norwegian football federation (NFF) “gets better.” Hegerberg was making headlines again on Tuesday after becoming the first woman to […]
Drama behind the state budget talks
December 3, 2018
They’ve mostly put on smiles for the cameras, but there’s been so much drama and apparent conflict within the Liberal Party that its deputy leader and chief negotiator, Abid Raja, is now out on sick leave. The Liberals’ leader, Trine Skei Grande, has had to publicly apologize after getting caught speaking badly about Raja to […]
‘No discrimination’ of Muslim teacher
December 3, 2018
Norway’s state anti-discrimination board has ruled that an Oslo school did not discriminate against a Muslim man when it refused to renew his substitute teaching contract. He had refused to shake hands with female colleagues or parents, but the board ruled that his refusal in turn threatened gender equality. “If we are to make conservative […]
Greater Oslo hits the million mark
December 3, 2018
More than a million people now live in the greater Oslo metropolitan area, marking the first time Norway can lay claim to an urban center over the million-mark. New statistics released Monday also show that 82 percent of Norway’s population now lives in cities and towns. “Stockholm and Copenhagen can stop boasting,” claimed the leader […]
Parties withhold own party spending
December 3, 2018
Members of Parliament were debating next year’s use of the taxpayers’ money on Monday, amidst revelations that several of their own political parties won’t disclose how they spend public funds they’ve received for their parliamentary delegations. Calls are rising for a state audit, not least after the Progress Party was found to have spent the […]
Norwegian spy ‘cast to the wolves’
November 30, 2018
Frode Berg, the Norwegian charged with espionage in Russia, was ordered held in a Moscow jail for another two months on Friday. His wife back home in Kirkenes, meanwhile, claims Berg has been “cast to the wolves” by Norwegian officials who allegedly recruited him as a courier, only to refuse to acknowledge any connection to […]
Minister gets tough on grocery chains
November 30, 2018
The Norwegian government is finally cracking down on grocery retailers and wholesalers who dominate the market and thus, it’s believed, limit competition. Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, the government minister in charge of business and trade, formally presented 39 measures to Parliament on Friday aimed at making sure the dominant players comply with competition law. Isaksen’s “Report […]
Coastal town put under preservation
November 30, 2018
The Norwegian government put the central portion of an entire coastal town under historic preservation orders on Friday. Once known as a sailing ship and herring hub, the unique white wooden buildings of Skudeneshavn are now meant to be saved forever. “We want to secure an extremely special and well-preserved coastal town,” said Ola Elvestuen, […]
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