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OSLO

Youth gangs behind repeated Oslo trouble: police

After three incidents of arson in consecutive nights, police believe that a youth gang has been targeting the Vestli neighbourhood in Oslo.

Published: 29 May 2017 18:02 CEST
Youth gangs behind repeated Oslo trouble: police
A police car in the Vestli neighbourhood after a separate incident in 2015. Photo: Audun Braastad / NTB scanpix

A daycare facility and a car were set alight Sunday night in the latest of the incidents, reports news agency NTB.

Both fires were extinguished by Monday morning, operation leader Cathrine Sylju of Oslo Police told the news agency.

Police have been present in the area throughout the weekend after youth set fire to rubbish and threw stones at firefighters, security guards and police, according to the report.

“We think the same gang is out again. It is remarkable that this has happened for the third night in a row, at almost the same place,” Sylju said at 2am on Monday.

“First they set light to some paper on top of a car. Shortly after, we received a report of a fire at a daycare,” the officer continued.

Police dispatched several units to apprehend the youths, but were unable to track them down, reports NTB.

Two teenagers aged 17 and 18 were arrested after a comprehensive police operation on Saturday, accused of dropping 15kg of stones on a security guard’s car as it passed under a bridge, according to the news agency.

“We don’t know whether it was the same boys or some others from the same gang. There were several of them out on Saturday night that we didn’t catch,” Sylju said.

The gang also caused disruption Friday night, with several incidences of rubbish being set on fire in the area. Stones were thrown by youths at security staff, police and fire services responding to reports of the fires.

READ ALSO: Norway arrests 40 young people in organised crime raid

RENTING

Rental prices in Norway’s biggest cities continue to rise

The cost of renting in Norway's four largest cities rose overall during the third quarter, with prices up six percent this year, figures from Real Estate Norway show. 

Published: 11 October 2022 11:33 CEST
Rental prices in Norway's biggest cities continue to rise

A sharp increase in rent prices in Norway continued throughout the third quarter, figures from Real Estate Norway (Eiendom Norge) released on Tuesday show. 

“Real Estate Norway’s rental housing price statistics show a historically strong rise in rental housing prices in Norway in the third quarter,” Henning Lauridsen, CEO of Real Estate Norway, stated in a report on the latest figures. 

Growth was most robust in Stavanger and Oslo, according to Real Estate Norway. 

“The strong growth in rental prices we have seen in the wake of the pandemic continued in the third quarter, and it is particularly in the Stavanger region and in Oslo that the growth in rental prices is strong,” Lauridsen said. 

Stavanger and nearby Sandnes saw the largest price increases, with the cost of renting there increasing by 4.7 percent during the third quarter. During the same period, rents in Oslo increased by 2.5 percent, while a marginal 0.3 percent rise was recorded in Trondheim. 

While the cost of renting in Norway’s four largest cities overall increased by 2 percent, rental prices in Bergen declined. There, rents fell by 2.5 percent in the third quarter.

Lauridsen said that the increase in rental prices was likely to continue due to several factors. High inflation, interest rates, increased taxes on rental properties and a low supply of homes on the market all contributed to increasing rents. 

However, he did note that the supply of rental homes on the market had increased in Trondheim and Oslo since the summer. 

Lauridsen said that the least well-off financially were being hit hardest by rent rises. Previously, the Norwegian government has informed The Local that it will not introduce a temporary cap on rent increases. 

READ MORE: Norway’s government rules out a temporary rent cap

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