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TODAY IN NORWAY

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday 

New health minister to be announced, train delays, and military aid to Ukraine are among the headlines on Friday. 

Published: 19 April 2024 09:20 CEST
Pictured is the Opera House in Oslo.
Find out what's going on in Norway with The Local's short roundup of important news. Pictured is the Opera House in Oslo. Photo by Eirik Skarstein on Unsplash

New health minister to be announced 

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will announce the new health minister today. 

The Norwegian media reports that Jan Christian Vestre, the trade minister, will take over as health minister. 

His appointment comes a week after Ingvild Kjerkol resigned due to her master’s being withdrawn for plagiarism. 

Fisheries minister Cecilie Myrseth will take over as trade minister, and Marianne Sivertsen Næss will step into the post at the fisheries ministry. 

Norway sent a billion kroner’s worth of military aid to Ukraine this winter

Over the winter, Norway donated military equipment from the Norwegian Armed Forces to the value of 1 billion kroner to Ukraine, the defence minister has said. 

“The war in Ukraine is raging in full swing. Ukraine is in dire need of more military equipment. Norway has delivered important material to support them in their fight against Russia,” Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram told Norwegian newspaper VG. 

“We and our allies are clear about our long-term support for Ukraine. Ukraine can count on continued solid support from Norway,” he added. 

Earlier this week, foreign minister Espen Barth Eide announced an emergency aid package of 745 million kroner and said the country would work to obtain more ant-aircraft weapons for the country. 

Train delays in eastern Norway 

There are delays and cancellations on the Drammen and Asker lines due to a fault on a track switch between Oslo S and Nationaltheatret. 

“We are working to correct the error. Currently, we do not know how long it will take,” Bane Nor said. 

The L1, R12, R13, R14, L2, R21, R22, F4, F5, RE10, RE11, FLY1 and FLY2 trains are all affected by the issue .

Norway’s richest woman dead 

Rannfrid Rasmussen, the main shareholder in the Rasmussen Group, has passed away. 

According to Kapital’s ranking of Norway’s wealthiest individuals, she was the country’s richest woman with an estimated fortune of over 9 billion kroner. 

She was 89 when she passed away on April 14th, with her passing announced in a newspaper obituary. She is survived by four children and a brother. 

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TODAY IN NORWAY

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Norway's egg shortage likely to persist throughout the year, warnings issued for grass and heather fires in parts of eastern and western Norway, and other news making the headlines on Friday.

Published: 3 May 2024 08:35 CEST
Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Shortage of Norwegian eggs expected to last throughout 2024

Norwegian supermarkets have grappled with a widespread shortage of eggs since last spring, with the shortages making national headlines numerous times over the past 12 months.

READ MORE: Why there are currently no eggs in supermarkets in Norway

On Friday, Nortura, the agricultural cooperative in Norway responsible for the egg market, said there may be a slight shortage of Norwegian eggs in the shops until 2025.

The reason is that too few eggs are produced in Norway.

“In an attempt to recruit more producers, Nortura has increased the price we pay for eggs to our producers,” communications advisor Matilda Aronsson at Nortura said in a press release.

The shortage of Norwegian eggs will be addressed with imported eggs, according to Nortura.

Yellow danger warning for grass and heather fires in parts of Norway

Meteorologists have issued a yellow danger warning for grass and heather fires, which applies to parts of eastern and southwestern Norway.

“Vegetation can easily catch fire, and large areas can be affected,” the meteorologists said.

The danger warning applies from Thursday afternoon until “significant” rainfall occurs.

“Be especially careful with open fires where there is dry grass or leaves from last year,” they added.

The Norwegian Directorate for Emergency Preparedness has decided to deploy two additional forest fire helicopters from May 3rd to May 5th.

Passengers forced to leave Widerøe flight after fire alarm went off

Passengers had to leave the plane after a Widerøe flight that was supposed to travel between Bergen and Kristiansand Airport Kjevik ran into problems on Thursday.

The reason for the plane’s evacuation was that the fire alarm went off in the toilet, according to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).

The issue occurred before the plane took off.

New fraud wave in Finnmark

The police department in Finnmark has issued a warning about a surge in fraud attempts across the region.

There have been multiple reports of scammers attempting to get access to people’s sensitive information like BankID.

The fraudsters impersonate both law enforcement officers and bailiffs.

Lars Rune Hagen, the operations manager at the Finmark Police Department, said it was important for people to stay vigilant.

“If you encounter unusual inquiries regarding your BankID or other sensitive data, exercise caution,” he said, adding that police never request account numbers or BankID information over the phone.

The perpetrators employ a technique known as spoofing, which enables them to pretend to call from Norwegian numbers.

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