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TODAY IN NORWAY

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

How rising shipping costs could delay interest rate cuts, Norway boosts aid to UNRWA by 100 million kroner, and other news from the country on Tuesday.

Published: 18 June 2024 08:21 CEST
Shipping 1
The recent surge in shipping prices could influence central bank decisions on interest rate cuts. Photo by Erik Odiin on Unsplash

Rising shipping costs may delay interest rate cuts

The recent surge in shipping prices, now 200 percent higher than at the same time last year, could influence central bank decisions on interest rate cuts.

Marius Gonsholt Hov, chief economist at Handelsbanken, told the newspaper E24 that this trend impacts inflation, making it harder for central banks to control overall price levels.

Gonsholt Hov further said that while central banks can’t directly influence shipping costs, these rising prices contribute to higher overall inflation.

The global decline in inflation has largely been due to falling consumer goods prices. However, service prices remain high, pushing consumption costs up and slowing the reduction in overall inflation.

As a result, central banks may opt to maintain high interest rates to manage inflation more effectively.

Norway increases aid to UNRWA by 100 million kroner

Norway is providing an additional NOK 100 million to the UN aid organization for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) reported on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim made the announcement during a joint press conference with UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini.

This new contribution brings Norway’s total support for UNRWA to 375 million kroner in 2024.

Trollstigen closed until Thursday for safety assessment

Trollstigen, a major tourist attraction in Møre og Romsdal, Norway, will remain closed until at least Thursday following a rockfall incident that damaged a car on Sunday.

Brynjulv Eide, county head of road operations, announced that a new assessment will be made at 1pm on Thursday.

The popular tourist road, which attracts visitors from around the world, faced a delayed opening this year on June 7th due to rockfall risks.

READ ALSO: Essential tips for driving Norway’s most famous road

Man sentenced to prison for bomb threat against Bergen police station

A man in his 20s has been sentenced to 35 days in prison for making a bomb threat against the Bergen city centre police station in 2022.

The incident occurred after police seized his mobile phone, prompting him to call the emergency number 112 and threaten to blow up the station, claiming he could make bombs.

The Hordaland District Court issued the verdict on Tuesday, as reported by the local newspaper Bergens Tidende.

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TODAY IN NORWAY

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

Norwegian government strikes deal to stockpile grain, parliament votes through medicine rationing law, and more news from Norway on Wednesday.

Published: 26 June 2024 08:02 CEST
Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

The government establishes emergency storage for grain

The Norwegian government has signed contracts with four companies in the grain industry to build up and store a national emergency grain stockpile corresponding to three months of national consumption. 

Under the deal, the state aims to build up the 82,500 tonne stockpile by 2029, with the four companies — Norgesmøllene, Fiskå Mølle, Strand Unikorn and Lantmännen Cerealia — responsible for buying and storing some 15,000 tonnes a year into storage.  

“Contingency storage of grain has been an important matter for the government. The Center Party and the Labor Party, both in opposition and in government, have worked to get emergency stocks in place,” Agriculture and Food Minister Geir Pollestad (Sp) said in a press release. 

The Norwegian government liquidated its stategic grain stockpile in 2004, judging that there was no longer a need for it. 

Norwegian vocabulary: beredskapslager — emergency storage site

Norway’s parliament votes through law rationing medicines

Norway’s parliament on Tuesday passed a new law which will allow the government to ration medicines that are in critically short supply in the country. 

The law, which comes into force on July 1st, will allow the government to ration medicines in high demand, such as ADHD medicines, anti-obesity medicines such as Wegovy and Ozempic, and antibiotics for children. 

The law will give the government the opportunity to ration medicines of which there is a critical shortage in Norway, says health policy spokesman in the Labor Party, Truls Vasvik.

“Today we have no legal basis for doing that, and that is what we have to put in place. And it is important to have also for future critical situations,” the health policy spokesman for the Labour Party, Truls Vasvik, told NRK. 

“For patients, the new law means that pharmacies will limit the amount of medication that can be dispensed at a time,” Ingrid Aas, senior physician at the Norwegian Medical Products Agency, said. 

Norwegian vocabulary: at begrense – to limit

Swedish 19-year-old charged with arson in Aurskog

A Swedish 19-year-old has been charged with arson after a fire broke out in a detached house in Aurskog in Romerike, east of Oslo, on Tuesday night.

“In questioning, he admitted to being involved in the action and to have been on the site at the time,” the prosecutor in the case, Marit Aurdal, told the VG newspaper. 

According to the police the man doused a house in petrol and then set fire to it, causing some damage to the structure but not destroying it. 

The man’s defence lawyer, Hilde Mo, told VG that while his client had explained what had happened and his role in it, he had not decided whether or not to admit to the charge of arson.

“We cannot rule out that there may be others involved, and we want to get an overview of any helpers,” Aurdal said.

Norwegian vocabulary: mordbrann – arson

SAS accuses pilots of ‘illegal action’ after 30 flights cancelled at weekend 

Scandinavia’s SAS airline has accused its Norwegian pilots of mounting an illegal strike action after 30 flights were cancelled over the weekend due to pilots not being available. 

According to NRK, SAS has sent a letter to pilots’ unions accusing them of using sick leave, refusal sales of their holiday days, and claiming not to be in a physical or mental state to fly in a coordinated way, which it argued constituted an illegal strike action. 

The airline is claiming that the pilots engineered a staff shortage to protest the fact that their collective agreement was worse than what competing airlines received in their wage settlements. 

The airline has said it plans to hold both individual pilots and their unions responsible, and will levy financial penalties to offset the financial damage from the cancelled flights. 

Roger Klokset from the Norwegian SAS pilots’ association (NSF) told the national broadcaster NRK that the union “absolutely refutes” these claims. 

“We are not aware that there has been a strike at all. We have asked SAS to explain what is the root cause of this weekend’s cancellations,” he said. 

Knut Morten Johansen, the airline’s public relations director, confirmed to NRK that the airline had sent a letter to unions demanding that pilots stop “what we believe is an illegal collective bargaining action”.

Norwegian vocabulary: en aksjon — a strike action 

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