The Norwegian government is mounting what commentators are calling an “historic” reaction against Russia. It was front-page news on Wednesday after Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide blamed Norway’s neighbour in the north for an attack on the Norwegian Parliament’s email systems, and then went public with it. “This is a very serious incident, affecting our […]
Won public’s trust before free vaccine
October 13, 2020
Health Minister Bent Høie and his colleagues from the state health directorate and public health institute have all seen their public reputations soar, according to an annual survey released Tuesday. That occurred even before Høie announced Tuesday afternoon that vaccinations against Covid-19 will be free for all Norwegians, when a vaccine is finally available. The […]
Northerners defend Nordland gateway
October 13, 2020
An overwhelming majority of Norwegians have defended a symbolic gateway to Northern Norway that stands just north of the Nordland county line. They firmly reject a local university lecturer’s proposal that it be torn down because he thinks it’s artificial and unnecessarily divides the country from the south. Fully 83 percent of nearly 50,000 votes […]
Oil ministers face Equinor grilling, too
October 12, 2020
A long string of Norwegian oil ministers from across political party lines also have some explaining to do, regarding huge losses at state oil company Equinor. They formally serve as representatives of the state’s and taxpayers’ large ownership stake in Equinor, and will be called into an upcoming hearing on the losses in Parliament. Current […]
Equinor set to be grilled in Parliament
October 12, 2020
UPDATED: Members of the Norwegian Parliament will be summoning leaders of shamed state oil company Equinor, along with former oil ministers, to a committee hearing on huge losses at Equinor’s US operations. Results of a new probe into the losses reveal a lack of management control and poor follow-up when problems were pointed out by […]
Oil and gas to flow after strike ended
October 10, 2020
Norway’s giant offshore oil field Johan Sverdrup narrowly avoided having to shut down production after mediation ended a 10-day strike by offshore workers just before the weekend. The strike had been set to expand, threatening Sverdrup’s production in addition to that on six other platforms. Nearly a quarter of all total oil and gas production […]
Peace Prize aims to help fight hunger
October 9, 2020
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), for its efforts to combat hunger not least in the middle of the Corona pandemic. The committee’s choice was also motivated by what it called an urgent need for more international solidarity and multilateral cooperation. Both “seem to […]
Norway hails rebel-author Bjørneboe
October 8, 2020
KRISTIANSAND: Norwegians are marking 100 years of their controversial author Jens Bjørneboe (1920-1976), who spent much of his brief but noisy life challenging authorities and conventions with memorable passion. Special events honouring Bjørneboe have been taking place around the country all year, culminating on October 9, which would have been Bjørneboe’s 100th birthday. Even his native […]
Airlines brace for Wizz competition
October 8, 2020
Both Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air claim they’re not being scared off by new looming competition from Hungarian carrier Wizz Air, even in the midst of the Corona crisis. Norwegian was quick to match at least some of Wizz’s introductory fares in November, but those offered in the meantime remained much higher at both Norwegian […]
Corona truce over, budget battle begins
October 7, 2020
Finance Minister Jan Tore Sanner presented his first state budget on behalf of the government on Wednesday, claiming it was aimed at bringing Norway out of the Corona virus crisis. Opposition parties led off by Labour briefly acknowledged how they’ve cooperated on doing just that, before attacking the proposed budget for allegedly increasing social differences […]
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