Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Monday
Housing construction projects in Norway postponed due to poor sales, 28-year-old woman from Bergen reaches the South Pole and other news from Norway on Monday.
Housing construction projects in Norway postponed
OBOS, Norway's largest housing developer, is postponing multiple housing projects. The reason? Norwegians are not willing to pay for homes at the current prices.
"The trend is the same everywhere. There is no match between the construction costs and what people are willing to pay for homes in the market today," OBOS chief Daniel K. Siraj told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).
Therefore, OBOS is putting the construction of new homes on hold. This includes projects at Kløfta, Ammerud, and Furuset in the Oslo area.
In addition, projects in Bergen and Sweden are also being put on hold.
"We hope the situation will improve after the summer holidays. But we don't think we will be in full swing again until 2024," Siraj added.
Last year, OBOS started the construction of over 4,500 homes, but only 2,700 were sold.
Norwegian 28-year-old Hedvig Hjertaker has reached the South Pole
After 49 days, Hedvig Hjertaker from Bergen reached the South Pole on Sunday. At 28, she is the youngest woman to have done it alone.
In an email to the newspaper Bergensavisen, her manager, André Fjærestrand Bratli, confirmed that Hjertaker reached the goal at 3:19am on Sunday night Norwegian time.
"Hedvig is exhausted, hungry and has some frostbite but is fine and is in good condition," he noted.
Hjertaker ordered her dream meal – a hamburger – from a chef at the research station at the pole in advance.
"It's the first time I got emotional over a burger order. I would have been happy with anything, but oh, how happy I am (with the burger)," she said in an audio clip posted before the last part of the trip.
Hjertaker is one year younger than British Mollie Hughes was when she reached the South Pole alone in 2020. She spent 58 days on the trip.
Former Wagner Group manager has applied for asylum in Norway
A former department head in the Russian Wagner Group mercenary group is seeking asylum in Norway.
The man who has defected to Norway is named Andrej Medvedev, his lawyer Jens Bernhard Herstad told several media on Sunday.
The former soldier in the private mercenary group controlled by Putin's ally Yevgeny Prigotsji was arrested by the Defense Forces in Pasvikdalen on the night of Friday, the newspaper Dagbladet reported during the weekend.
The Police Security Service (PST) told the news bureau NTB that they were aware of the incident.
On Friday, the Finnmark Police District stated that a Russian person had been arrested after he had crossed the border from Russia.
Chief of Staff in the Finnmark Police District, Tarjei Sirma-Tellefsen, stated that the man had approached private houses in the border area and asked for help.
Yellow danger warning for snow issued for southern and eastern Norway
A lot of snow is expected in eastern and southern Norway up to Tuesday, meteorologists warned this weekend.
A yellow danger warning has been issued for the area from Monday afternoon.
"Be prepared for 15-30 centimetres of snow to fall until Tuesday evening," Yr noted.
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Housing construction projects in Norway postponed
OBOS, Norway's largest housing developer, is postponing multiple housing projects. The reason? Norwegians are not willing to pay for homes at the current prices.
"The trend is the same everywhere. There is no match between the construction costs and what people are willing to pay for homes in the market today," OBOS chief Daniel K. Siraj told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).
Therefore, OBOS is putting the construction of new homes on hold. This includes projects at Kløfta, Ammerud, and Furuset in the Oslo area.
In addition, projects in Bergen and Sweden are also being put on hold.
"We hope the situation will improve after the summer holidays. But we don't think we will be in full swing again until 2024," Siraj added.
Last year, OBOS started the construction of over 4,500 homes, but only 2,700 were sold.
Norwegian 28-year-old Hedvig Hjertaker has reached the South Pole
After 49 days, Hedvig Hjertaker from Bergen reached the South Pole on Sunday. At 28, she is the youngest woman to have done it alone.
In an email to the newspaper Bergensavisen, her manager, André Fjærestrand Bratli, confirmed that Hjertaker reached the goal at 3:19am on Sunday night Norwegian time.
"Hedvig is exhausted, hungry and has some frostbite but is fine and is in good condition," he noted.
Hjertaker ordered her dream meal – a hamburger – from a chef at the research station at the pole in advance.
"It's the first time I got emotional over a burger order. I would have been happy with anything, but oh, how happy I am (with the burger)," she said in an audio clip posted before the last part of the trip.
Hjertaker is one year younger than British Mollie Hughes was when she reached the South Pole alone in 2020. She spent 58 days on the trip.
Former Wagner Group manager has applied for asylum in Norway
A former department head in the Russian Wagner Group mercenary group is seeking asylum in Norway.
The man who has defected to Norway is named Andrej Medvedev, his lawyer Jens Bernhard Herstad told several media on Sunday.
The former soldier in the private mercenary group controlled by Putin's ally Yevgeny Prigotsji was arrested by the Defense Forces in Pasvikdalen on the night of Friday, the newspaper Dagbladet reported during the weekend.
The Police Security Service (PST) told the news bureau NTB that they were aware of the incident.
On Friday, the Finnmark Police District stated that a Russian person had been arrested after he had crossed the border from Russia.
Chief of Staff in the Finnmark Police District, Tarjei Sirma-Tellefsen, stated that the man had approached private houses in the border area and asked for help.
Yellow danger warning for snow issued for southern and eastern Norway
A lot of snow is expected in eastern and southern Norway up to Tuesday, meteorologists warned this weekend.
A yellow danger warning has been issued for the area from Monday afternoon.
"Be prepared for 15-30 centimetres of snow to fall until Tuesday evening," Yr noted.
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