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TODAY IN NORWAY

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

Risk of retail strike as union talks go into overtime, 20C temperatures expected in the south, hotel magnate appeals tax judgement, and other news from Norway on Tuesday.

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
The Norwegian hotel magnate Petter Stordalen. Photo: Erik Krafft/Strawberry

Balmy weather of 20C expected in southern Norway 

Summer is finally here! Or at least it is if you live in southern Norway, where a warm front coming up from Europe will bring t-shirt temperatures of 20C, Norway’s national weather forecasting site Yr has said on X

“Over the course of the week, a warm front will move up from the south, and will cause high temperatures in southern Norway,” the site wrote. “We expect over 20C in several places.” 

Norwegian vocabulary: varme luftmassar – a warm front (literally “warm air masses”)

Risk of retail industry strike after unions and employers miss talks deadline

The Handel og Kontor (HK), Parat and Negotia unions have decided to continue negotiations with The Federation of Norwegian Enterprise (Virke), despite failing to reach a deal by the deadline of midnight on Monday, raising the risk of a strike. 

The Parat union has warned that shops such as Byggmakker, XL-Bygg, Løvenskiold/Maxbo, Montér, Gustav Pedersen and Optimera could be hit by strikes if no deal is reached, while Handel og Kontor has said that members working for the duty free chain Travel Retail Norway will strike at airports in Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim, potentially forcing the duty free shops there to close.

Negotia meanwhile has warned it will call a strike among members working for the building materials company Gausdal Landhandleri and Imperial Brands. 

Norwegian vocabulary: mekling – mediation 

Hotel billionaire Petter Stordalen appeals tax judgement 

The Norwegian hotel magnate Petter Stordalen has appealed a judgment from the Oslo district court which reduced the tax authorities’ claim against him from 200 kroner to NOK 180 kroner, the E24 financial site has written.

Stordalen’s lawyer Nils Sture Nilsson confirmed to the newspaper that his client had appealed the judgement, which was given in March.

Stordalen bought the holding company Oslo Properties in 2013, using it withdraw over 800 million kroner in tax-free dividends.

In 2022, the Tax Appeal Board ruled that these payments should not be tax-free, leading Norway’s tax authorities to demand over 200 million kroner in back taxes. The district court decided that this claim should be reduced to 180 million.

The billionaire denies buying the company to take advantage of its favorable tax position.

Norwegian vocabulary: gunstig – favourable 

Norwegian police charge Olympic champion’s father for domestic violence

Norwegian police said on Monday that Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father and former coach of 1,500m Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, had been charged with domestic violence against a family member.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen and two of his brothers, Henrik and Filip, who are also athletes, shocked Norway last October when they accused their father of being violent.

“We grew up with a very aggressive and authoritarian father, who used physical violence and threats as part of his upbringing,” the brothers wrote in an op-ed for newspaper VG. “We still feel a sense of discomfort and fear that we have felt since childhood,” they added.

Police opened a probe into the abuse claims and on Monday said prosecutors had decided to charge Gjert Ingebrigtsen, 58, with domestic violence against a child.

According to a source close to the case, the acts in question do not concern the trio of known athletes but another, younger child.

Over a period of four years, from 2018 to 2022, Gjert Ingebrigtsen allegedly manhandled, insulted, threatened and hit the child in the face with his hand or with a towel.

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TODAY IN NORWAY

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

High risk of forest fires in southern Norway, Princess Anne of Great Britain visits Norway, and other news making the headlines in the country on Tuesday.

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

Forest fire risk increases in southern Norway

In the coming days, large parts of southern Norway face a significant increase in the risk of forest fires, according to data from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

The fire service in Sarpsborg and Rakkestad municipalities issued a warning against any form of open flame in forested areas.

MAPS: Where is there a risk of forest fire in Norway this week?

“Do not light anything – no coffee fires or disposable grills… The speed at which a fire can spread and its potential size are unpredictable,” they said.

At bright red, the Forest Fire Risk Index indicates a very high probability of forest fires. The index also reveals escalating danger levels from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Princess Anne honours WWII resistance in Rjukan

On Tuesday, Princess Anne of Great Britain, sister of King Charles, will visit Rjukan in Tinn Municipality in Telemark County as part of her journey across Norway.

Her visit is dedicated to commemorating the resistance efforts during the Second World War.

Among her scheduled stops, Princess Anne will visit the Vemork site, where she’ll tour the museum constructed around the basement central to the famous 1943 sabotage operation.

She’ll also pay her respects by laying flowers at the power station site.

Train service disrupted on Sørlandsbanen

Travellers on the Sørlandsbanen route between Drammen via Kristiansand to Stavanger should expect delays today due to the line’s closure between Kristiansand and Gjerstad.

The closure is due to extensive damage from a goods train derailment in Vegårshei on Monday evening. Bane NOR estimated that repairs would require considerable time.

Bus services have been arranged between Kristiansand and Gjerstad for the remainder of Tuesday.

Further updates on the route’s status will be provided by Bane NOR at noon.

Man with knife arrested in central Oslo

During the night between Monday and Tuesday, the police detained a man in his late 20s in the centre of Oslo, on Karl Johans street, following reports of him threatening multiple people with a knife.

Oslo Police District, in a press release, stated that law enforcement successfully apprehended the person in question.

The arrest occurred without incident.

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