Norway

Following ongoing reduction of sealife in the Oslo Fjord, extensive bans on fishing in three key areas will come into force from January 1. Critics and fishing firms claim farming, development and other sources of pollution should be addressed first

From 1 August highway authority will use a new EU directive that makes it easier the exchange of vehicle registration information across borders and be able to get addresses for owners of the foreign vehicles picked up by cameras along Norwegian roads

Increasing tourists arrivals have led to Parliament approving a new tourist tax starting next summer; local communities will benefit from it, financing the public facilities needed and reducing the tourism industry footprint on nature

High food prices, higher than ever, led to political debate these days: food price issues come up before national elections, but few things change mostly because of Norway’s own high tariffs on food imports, seldom under scrutiny

A cargo ship landed 15m from a house in Trondheim area, in fine weather and daylight: rescue operations and investigations are ongoing; of 16 people on board and those in the house at the moment, nobody was injured are there are no environmental concerns

New, large offshore areas in the Arctic have been offered for more oil and gas exploration, as Norway seeks to pull more money out of its Oil Fund: the money, oil and gas revenues of the past 30 years, would be used mostly to cover extra aid to Ukraine

The Church of Norway is attracting record numbers of new members after years of decline; they are mostly young adults who’ve had their first child and researchers think they’re attracted more by the emphasis on fellowship, than just worship

Cocaine use in Oslo has tripled in the past four years and the city Oslo has the highest cocaine use of all Scandinavian cities taking part in the EU Drug Agency study, an analysis of wastewater from sewage systems in over 100 European cities

Oslo recorded a temperature of 16°C at the end of last week; skiers complain about the lack of snow on neighboring hills and mountains, where it has been raining instead of snowing

Labour Party, deeply troubled lately, now has the highest support of all 10 parties in Parliament; Labour’s leader Støre has a chance to return as PM in the September election after the most stunning turn of events in Norwegian political history

Almost 90% of all new car sales in Norway involved electric or hybrid cars last year, and the numbers continued to grow in the new year

Norwegian soldiers undertook the longest winter exercise in recent history, cutting off all contact with the outside world for 100 days to prepare for combat behind enemy lines