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

Scottish vaccine certificates accepted 

From 5pm today, Norway will begin to accept Scottish digital Covid certificates for travel, allowing fully vaccinated arrivals to skip all entry restrictions, as well as entry requirements such as quarantine and testing. 

The announcement was made by the Norwegian Ministry of Justice on Thursday. 

They will need to have received a WHO-approved vaccine. This includes Indian-made AstraZeneca or Covishield vaccine doses. 

Previously, entry from Scotland was restricted to residents, citizens, and the close family and partners of those living in Norway.

READ MORE: Norway to accept Scottish digital Covid-19 certificates for travel

Norwegian national team boss hits out at Covid rules 

Norway men's football team coach Stale Solbakken has caused controversy by calling for people to vote against the government in the upcoming parliamentary elections because of the strictness of their Covid rules. 

Solbakken was angry that the 28,000-capacity Ullevål Stadion could only be a quarter-full during a fixture against the Netherlands on Wednesday. 

"Today we played in front of 7,000 spectators who were fantastic, but it could have been surreal here today," he said after the game.

"We will play in a 'cathedral' in Amsterdam in front of 60,000 people and in a stadium filled to the brim in Istanbul. I don't want to waste time on this subject, but it must be said: 'We can do nothing other than vote in the legislative elections," Solbakken added. 

When asked by a journalist if he was hoping for a change of government, Solbakken said: "That is completely correct."

Employees in cultural sector to go on strike

The culture sector in Norway is being taken out on strike, and a number of performances have already been cancelled or postponed. 

In total, 220 employees in operas, theatres and orchestras are being taken out due to a dispute over pension schemes. 

"The pandemic has hit the cultural sector hard, and the Opera has been closed more than it has been open for the past 18 months. Therefore, it is an extra heavy blow that the LO unions choose to go on strike now," Geir Bergkastet, CEO of the Norwegian Opera & Ballet, said. 

Important cultural objects seized 

Økokrim, or the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, has seized a number of cultural-historical objects that Iraqi authorities have demanded be returned. 

The seizure consists of cuneiform tablets and other archaeological objects from Mesopotamia, or present-day Iraq.

Økokrim har beslaglagt i en rekke kulturhistoriske gjenstander som irakiske myndigheter krever tilbakelevert.

Det omfattende beslaget består
av gjenstander som anses å være viktige for den kulturhistoriske verdensarven. https://t.co/Bzg9xEV5cd pic.twitter.com/TKEAtpJRti

— Økokrim (@Okokrim) September 3, 2021

Professionals and experts are now examining the seizure to try and determine authenticity and establish possible provenance of the artefacts.

1,550 new Covid-19 cases  

On Thursday, 1,550 new cases of coronavirus infection were registered in Norway. This is 165 more cases than the average of the past seven days. 

In Oslo, 432 new Covid-19 cases were recorded, 13 more than the average of the previous seven days. 

Total number of Covid-19 cases in Norway. Source: Norwegian Institute of Public Health.