Norway

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

8 months before the elections, the coalition between the two parties that had governed since 2021 broke apart: Centre Party and Labour Party had been squabbling for weeks over the adoption of 3 European directives on environmental and energy issues

The iconic old Tryvann transmission and observation tower in the hills above Oslo, closed and neglected for decades, has finally been sold by city officials to an investor who intends to renovate it and reopen it to the public

100 years ago the name of the Norwegian capital was officially changed to the original 'Oslo', dating back to the end of the Viking Age and the foundation of the city in 1024; it had been renamed Christiania in 1624, then altered to Kristiania until 1925

A combination of stable and probably lower interest rates next year, together with an imminent reduction in capital requirements for first-time homebuyers, is likely to facilitate entry into the Norwegian market for high-priced homes

A solid majority of the Norwegian Parliament voted in favour of extending women's right to self-determined abortion from 12 to 18 weeks of pregnancy; previous law had not been changed for 46 years

Oslo city officials hope that the Christmas tree sent as a gift for London's Trafalgar Square will arrive in good condition this year, after critics in past years; it is a symbol of Norway's gratitude for the help Britain offered during World War II